Sorted by date Results 1692 - 1716 of 7954
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is planning to install a series of seismic instruments on Mount Edgecumbe near Sitka after preliminary measurements showed magma moving deep below the Mount Fuji-shaped volcano. The movement doesn't mean an eruption will happen soon - or even at all - from Southeast Alaska's most prominent volcano, but it's significant enough that the observatory has raised the volcano's threat level. "Internally, how we think about Edgecumbe has changed. It definitely has moved...
The borough assembly has issued a unanimous statement of opposition to a petition by conservation groups to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf as an endangered species. Earlier last month, the assembly considered signing a petition against listing the wolf but decided not to, opting instead to draft its own statement, which it approved Feb. 28. The opposition petition, which was drafted by the Klawock Fish and Game Advisory Council and has been circulating through Southeast communities, argues that an endangered listing likely would lead to...
State funding is being directed to help stock Alaska food pantries — including those serving rural communities — as part of a broader effort to address a monthslong state backlog in processing food stamp benefit applications. Major delays in processing applications for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have stressed thousands of Alaskans who depend on the monthly benefits to feed their families, and strained food bank resources across the state. State officials have attributed the processing delays to staffing sho...
Nearly six months after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill aimed at reducing youth use of electronic cigarettes, its primary sponsor is trying again to pass similar legislation. Senate President Gary Stevens on March 1 introduced Senate Bill 89, which seeks to impose the first-ever statewide tax on e-cigarette products. The bill would also raise the legal age in state law for purchasing, selling or distributing the products to 21, aligning with federal law. Currently, the legal age in Alaska is 19. Stevens said the bill is needed to counter a tre...
State regulators say that taking over what are known as Clean Water Act Section 404 permits will allow more flexibility to benefit businesses and the environment in “Alaska’s unique conditions.” Most construction, resource and community development projects require such permits, and regulators hope the state could take over up to 75% of them beginning in 2024. But since almost every other state is opting against such control, the question is if Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration is pitching only the positive aspects while ignoring the drawback...
WASHINGTON - Tlingit leaders dedicated a storied totem pole in Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office on Feb. 28. The 10-foot tall, 900-pound totem pole, which is on loan from the Sealaska Heritage Institute, has a long history on Capitol Hill. The totem pole once stood in the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' office. When Stevens left Congress, the totem pole journeyed to Alaska Rep. Don Young's office. When Young died last year, the totem pole traversed Capitol grounds back to Stevens' old office, no...
The Sitka-based Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association board voted March 1 to provide up to $75,000 toward legal expenses to help fight a lawsuit that threatens to shut down the Southeast commercial troll fisheries. The 22 members at the board meeting gave unanimous approval to the contribution to the Alaska Trollers Association, said association general manager Scott Wagner. The aquaculture association manages hatcheries and salmon run enhancement projects as far north in Southeast as Haines. The Wild Fish Conservancy, a...
WASHINGTON — Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski testified in support of the Equal Rights Amendment at a Senate hearing this week, opposite a fellow Republican senator who opposes it. The Equal Rights Amendment, which was proposed in Congress in 1972, would codify equal rights for women in the U.S. Constitution and ban discrimination based on sex. Along with Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, Murkowski sponsored legislation in the Senate in January that would remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and recognizes that t...
At its two meetings last month, members of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board expressed frustration over the state Department of Transportation’s communication with the board on significant decisions, including the state ferry system’s summer schedule, job vacancies, and short- and long-term planning. In phone interviews last week with the Ketchikan Daily News, several board members elaborated on those concerns, saying the department occasionally struggles to meet one of its only obligations to the board listed in state statute: “Th...
A proposed overhaul of Alaska’s public employees retirement system would provide a new pension plan for state and municipal workers, intended by supporters to address the ongoing inability to recruit and retain enough employees. Half of the 20-member state Senate have signed onto the bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, an Anchorage Republican. The measure was outlined in a news conference March 1 by members of the bipartisan coalition that controls the Senate. Coalition members said the 2006 legislation that moved Alaska f...
Alaska’s 401(k)-style retirement system for new employees is providing significantly smaller benefits than the pension-style retirement system discontinued for new hires in 2006, according to an analysis from the state Division of Retirement and Benefits. The analysis, presented Feb. 23 to the Senate Finance Committee, comes as legislators are considering whether to revive a pension system for new employees as a way to encourage hiring. Almost one in six state government jobs were vacant in December, according to the governor’s Office of Man...
Bills under consideration in the Legislature to cap state spending are not addressing the main challenges Alaska is facing, said Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “We don’t have a spending-side problem; we have a revenue-side problem,” said Stedman, who also represents Wrangell and the rest of Southeast except for Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Gustavus. He is in his 20th year in the Legislature. The senator pointed out that the latest spending-cap proposal advanced by an Anchorage Republican would exclude the P...
The state is shutting down most summer king salmon sportfishing around Cook Inlet amid continued declines in the strong, hard-running fish that not that long ago filled freezers and fueled tourism in the state’s most populated region. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game last Thursday announced an unprecedented array of restrictions and closures on sport and personal-use fishing from the Kenai Peninsula to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, a sweeping series of emergency regulations that illustrates the severity of king salmon population c...
In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Wrangell each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of summ...
Community members showed their support for the Churchill family last week after Randy Churchill Jr., 39, was killed by a falling tree in an accident Feb. 22. Parks and Recreation Coordinator Lucy Robinson organized a community walk last Sunday to raise money for the family and about 50 people showed up. “There were a few really close family members there that joined us,” said Robinson. “There were good conversations.” She planned the walk to create an outlet for community members to express their support in-person and provide financial assista...
The Wrangell school board voted unanimously Feb. 20 to approve a contract for business manager services with a private company based in La Center, Washington. K12 Business Services will fill the role after district business manager Tammy Stromberg submitted her resignation in January and left the job at the end of February. Kristy Andrew, the owner of K12, served as business manager for the Cordova School District before relocating to Washington state to be closer to family. Because she still...
How much does Wrangell shake, rattle and roll? Shake Club wants to find out. Four students from grades seven through 12 have been involved with the seismic data-collection program since last fall and are getting ready to present their findings at a conference in Fairbanks this weekend. Shake Club is a joint effort of University of Alaska Fairbanks Earthquake Center and the Teaching Through Technology (T3) Alliance program. Senior Will Ashton, sophomore Ander Edens, eighth grader Andrei...
One of the U.S. Forest Service's most popular recreational cabins in the area has met an untimely demise. The cabin at Anan Bay was demolished sometime before Feb. 18 by a fallen tree which was most likely toppled by high winds, said Tory Houser, acting Wrangell District ranger. "It's total destruction. It's pretty awful," Houser said Feb. 23. "It's really sad because it was a new cabin and beautiful." Built in 2012 of yellow cedar, the 15-foot by 17-foot structure could accommodate seven...
Pills laced with fentanyl are spreading through Southeast Alaska, and Wrangell authorities are doing what they can to address the health hazard and danger. “The buzzword right now is fentanyl,” said Police Chief Tom Radke. “The quantity that they’re recovering is exceeding what people thought was out there.” Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Alaska Department of Health reports fentanyl was responsible for almost 75% of opioid-related deaths in the st...
With its controlled movements, deep stretches and emphasis on mental awareness and breath, yoga is a low-impact activity whose benefits can be enjoyed by all. Under a new program, yoga classes will be available to Parks and Recreation members at least 18 years old at 8 a.m. Saturdays in the community center multi-purpose room starting this weekend. After moving to Wrangell in October from North Carolina, Yoga Alliance certified teacher Rachel Lange quickly reached out to Lucy Robinson of Parks and Recreation about offering classes through the d...
The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the packed Wrangell High gymnasium, where the school had gathered to watch Team Hollywood celebrity streetball perform on Feb. 21. Orchestral music filled the room as a spotlight illuminated a masked figure, hanging upside down from a basketball hoop. Batman, or Tommy Adams, formerly of the NBA summer league, dropped to the floor while Black Panther, or football player and Disney actor Maurice "Mo" Woodward, climbed down a rope suspended from the balcony....
In her annual address to the Alaska Legislature, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski urged state lawmakers to avoid spending too much time on the amount of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend and to focus on problems causing people to move out of the state. For a decade, the number of people moving out of the state has exceeded the number of people moving into Alaska. Only the addition of new births has caused the state’s population to plateau, rather than continue to fall. “They’re counting on us to have a vision and to push that vision, whether for res...
Last Wednesday afternoon, Alaska’s junior U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan visited Wrangell to learn more about the community’s priorities and concerns. After meeting with municipal and tribal leadership and touring the island, Sullivan held a public forum to discuss borough, state and national issues. He spoke with each of the roughly 20 attendees about their priorities. It was his first visit to Wrangell since 2018. Wrangell residents touched on a wide range of issues, such as adolescent mental health, harbor and transportation infrastructure, the Ton...
A trip that was almost scrapped because of scheduling conflicts received a jolt of inspiration to help out a Cordova business owner. Ten students in the Upward Bound and Teaching Through Technology (T3) Alliance programs, including two students from Wrangell, conducted an energy audit for the Orca Adventure Lodge to help its owner see where he could save energy and money. Originally, the trip was going to involve more students and be more of a leadership conference. Since basketball schedules kept many kids from attending, organizers switched...
When it comes to reaching the finish line for graduating, Devlyn Campbell's ambition is definitely not running on empty. Campbell's senior project is starting a high school track program to give student-athletes a springtime sport, something that's been lacking since the last baseball team was fielded in 2017. "I was on the state championship cross country team, so that made me want to run more," he said. "I realized we have a lot of kids with a high potential in running. We also don't have a...
