Sorted by date Results 1620 - 1644 of 8043
For communities around the globe, tourism can be both a blessing and a curse. The industry can provide a much-needed economic bump, but in Venice, millions of international arrivals inflate prices for residents and replace locally owned businesses with tourist traps. Closer to home, the city of Ketchikan has hosted cruise ships with capacities of nearly half its population, which can crowd out residents and risk the town’s authentic character. As the tourism industry expands, Alaska communities are seeking a path forward that will allow them t...
Dennis Martin works his way through a drainage ditch last Saturday, picking up trash as part of the community-wide cleanup effort. Martin and many others focused on the Airport Loop, as a lot of trash collects along the roadside due to knocked-over garbage cans or refuse falling from vehicles on the way to the transfer station. A total of 69 volunteers collected 133 bags plus two trucks full of items too big to bag from throughout Wrangell, according to Kim Wickman, IGAP technician with the...
The Rainforest Islander greets the monthly fuel barge on April 25 in Zimovia Strait. Eric Yancey, captain of the Islander, was using his vessel to act as the bow thruster for the tugboat Dale R. Lindsay and Petro Marine's barge. Since there is limited space in the harbor and certain safety and other requirements, Yancey is on hand to make sure the barge can enter and exit Reliance Harbor without incident. The Islander helps move the barge forward and backward as needed, Yancey said. "I take...
Legislative leaders focused on the Permanent Fund dividend and taxes as they described the budget choices facing lawmakers trying to find a combination that will win enough political support to balance state spending. “The dividend has been the massive rock in the middle of the road,” making it difficult to find an affordable path to a long-term state fiscal plan, Anchorage Sen. Cathy Giessel, the Senate majority leader, said during an online discussion with Alaska Common Ground last week. “The dividend provides a lot of benefits to Alask...
Wrangell Sentinel staff won five awards in the annual Alaska Press Club competition, with radio station KSTK bringing home four honors in the statewide contest for journalists. Marc Lutz won second place in the Best Feature Story category (small newspapers) for his report in the Sept. 21, 2022, Sentinel about retired teacher Jacquie Dozier’s 1965 lunch with Queen Elizabeth II while in the U.K. on a teacher exchange program. The judge commented on Lutz’s work: “A timely memory of QEII, published just after the monarch’s death. The reporte...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, once a staunch opponent of tax increases, said last Thursday that they are now a core part of any long-term state fiscal plan. Speaking in a news conference, the governor said there is a broad recognition in the Legislature and in his office that the state can no longer rely on oil to balance the state budget. “To simply ride oil in a do-or-die situation for the state of Alaska is folly,” he said. Dunleavy confirmed reports that he intends to propose a statewide sales tax, saying work on the proposal was almost done — though...
The Alaska Senate rolled out its latest version of the operating budget on April 26, with a $1,300 Permanent Fund dividend, a $175 million one-time boost for public schools and a $90 million surplus to cover contingencies or if oil prices drop. The 17-member bipartisan Senate majority caucus — unlike the House Republican-led majority — has insisted that lawmakers should not draw from state savings to balance the budget. Following gloomy revenue projections last month, the House spending plan — with a $2,700 dividend — was projected to create...
Almost two weeks after Gov. Mike Dunleavy told lawmakers he would propose a new sales tax, legislators have yet to see the governor’s bill — and are still far from reaching agreement on the state’s fiscal future. Lawmakers broadly agree on the need for new revenue sources amid declining oil taxes. But any proposal from the governor, along with other revenue measures considered by lawmakers this year, are unlikely to pass with only two weeks until the constitutional deadline marking the end of the regular legislative session, key lawma...
The borough has been preparing to make costly updates to its wastewater treatment plant, but recent estimates suggest that the multimillion-dollar project could be over twice as expensive as anticipated. Late last year, borough officials placed the project in the $3 million to $5 million range; the new price tag is over $12.5 million. “This is considerably more than what we were planning on,” said Borough Manager Jeff Good. Construction costs are rising nationwide and the borough has had to adjust estimates on many major projects acc...
If there's one thing fourth graders can count on each year, it's that they will see a dead animal inside and out. Teacher Brian Merritt uses various animals to teach about science, whether biology, environment or, in the case of this year, the food chain. On April 18, Merritt brought his class outside to show them the food chain of the animal kingdom in action, if only slightly after the fact. "Whoa!" "That's huge!" "Wow!" The students reacted with astonishment at the unveiling of the enormous...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy told legislators in a pair of closed-door meetings last week that he will introduce a state sales tax as a component of a budget-balancing, long-term fiscal plan. But with just three weeks left in the legislative session, with no details about the governor’s tax bill as of Monday, and with strong opposition from lawmakers who represent communities with a local sales tax, the odds of passage this year are extremely low. If the governor goes ahead with a sales tax bill, it would join more than a dozen proposals offered by H...
The Irene Ingle Public Library has undergone countless changes in the past three decades, from the digitization of its catalog to major building renovations to the advent of e-books. Library Director Margaret Villarma has guided the facility through it all, offering support to elders and fostering a love of reading in generations of Wrangell youth. Now, after 34 years, she is ready to retire. "I'm just grateful for the job I had here," she said. "I really am. I enjoyed it. I couldn't have asked...
It is a voyage of 43,000 miles encompassing the Pacific Ocean, and it begins in Southeast. The Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa and its crew will set sail from Juneau in June to circumnavigate the vast, blue body of water over the course of four years. On its way south, it will stop in Wrangell for a few days. The double-hulled plywood, fiberglass and resin canoe, which was built in 1975 and made its first voyage the following year, was lifted out of the waters of Honolulu Harbor and was scheduled to be delivered to Tacoma, Washington, last Friday. Fr...
Active shooter drills have become as commonplace in schools across the country as fire drills. However, that is not the case in Wrangell just yet. At the school board meeting on April 17, Devyn Johnson, a parent with two children enrolled at Evergreen Elementary School and one in Head Start, asked that the schools implement some kind of drill. “Wrangell has high access to firearms. Mental illness is high. Depression rates are high. And substance abuse is high,” Johnson said to the board during public comments. “In my opinion, these are all the...
Wrangell may not be on the road system, but that doesn't mean it's not connected to the rest of the world. Last week, a U.S. Forest Service project put Wrangell on the map - the Motus map. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative research network that uses radio telemetry technology to study the migratory patterns of birds and other animals. After scientists put a nanotag on a bird, its movements can be tracked by hundreds of Motus antennae all over the world. These...
It’s spring cleaning season, and while individual households may wash their baseboards and dust their blinds, it isn’t just private residences that benefit from a thorough seasonal cleanse — Wrangell’s public spaces need love too. Next month, Parks and Recreation is hosting a “Community Collaboration” event, where all borough departments will work alongside residents to clean and beautify the downtown area. The event will kick off on May 12 at the downtown pavilion at 9 a.m., though volunteers are welcome to drop in and out until it ends at...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced this month that commercial salmon fishermen across all gear groups caught a total 31.7 million salmon in Southeast Alaska during 2022. Last year's all-species harvest was low, Fish and Game reported. The 2022 catch amounts to 69% of the average harvest over the past 10 years of 46.1 million salmon. The Southeast salmon harvest has been erratic in the past few years. The 2022 catch of 31.7 million was about half of the 2021 catch of 58.9 million and about double the 2020 catch of 14.6 million...
Mia Wiederspohn, left, makes a purchase at Breakaway Adventures last Friday at the grand opening of the tour company's brick-and-mortar location, while Jaynee Fritzinger works behind the counter. The shop will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday year-round, said owner Spenser Stavee. The storefront will sometimes be open on Sundays, depending on cruise ship schedules. Along with clothing, food and souvenirs, shoppers can rent an electric bike or book jet boat tou...
Whether you prefer dainty French tips or long metallic claws, dayglo colors or classy neutrals, Wrangell's newest nail technician is ready to help you manifest your wildest manicure dreams. Recently certified Luba Lofftus is offering manicures from her home studio and will soon be sharing space with the Stone Cold Fox hair salon downtown. I visited Lofftus in her home to learn more about Happy Girl Nails - her forthcoming business - and to watch her expertise in action. Lofftus does nails at a...
The budget battle between the Alaska House of Representatives, the Senate and the governor is shaping up as a fight between the size of the Permanent Fund dividend and a proposed increase to public school spending after years of flat funding. Dozens of education advocates rallied on the Alaska State Capitol steps last Thursday evening in support of a substantial increase to the state’s per-student funding formula. The formula has not been significantly increased since 2017, and school administrators have reported struggling to balance their b...
After being delayed one week and one day to reopen, Sweet Tides will again welcome customers on Thursday. The bakery has been closed since early March to expand its storefront and offer specialty coffees in a café atmosphere. Due to a backlog in permitting through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, it was unknown how long the business would be delayed in reopening. Owner Shawna Buness posted on Facebook last week that the permits were approved the day after a Sentinel story reported she didn’t know if it would take a week or...
Alaskans who need cash quickly can go to a payday lender for a short-term loan of up to $500, handing over a check or access to their bank account to cover the entire loan repayment just as soon as they get paid at work or their pension arrives. But it will cost them plenty for that fast cash, as much as 15% interest on the debt every two weeks. A freshman Republican legislator from Anchorage wants to put an end to what he calls “these predatory loans.” Payday lenders “take advantage of the dire situations of individuals,” said Rep. Stanley...
Alaska posted the nation’s highest rate of increase in electronic cigarette use by young adults from 2016 to 2021, according to a report tracking patterns in all 50 states. The rate of e-cigarette use by Alaskans in that age group more than tripled, from 4.8% in 2019 — the lowest rate in the nation at the time — to 15.8% in 2021, according to the report. The sponsor of a bill in the Alaska Legislature to impose a tax on e-cigarettes, vape sticks and other electronic smoking devices has said the tax is intended to deter young people from vapin...
Rather than requiring a specific course in financial literacy for high school graduation, lawmakers have amended the legislation so that school districts could incorporate the same information into one or more classes as long as the material is covered. The amended Senate bill would require school districts to teach students how to open and manage an account at a financial institution, prepare a budget and manage debt and credit cards. It also would require districts to teach students about loans, insurance, taxes, financial fraud, retirement...
Legislation that could boost state funding to assist more low-income Alaskans needing help with civil law issues has advanced through its second state Senate committee and is waiting for a vote by the full chamber. The measure would more than double a source of state funding that could be directed each year to the Alaska Legal Services Corp., a 56-year-old nonprofit legal aid organization that helps several thousand Alaskans a year with domestic violence, family law, housing, elder advocacy and other cases. “They provide absolutely critical l...