Sorted by date Results 1703 - 1727 of 7954
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... Full story
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...
No invasive green crabs have been found outside the area on Annette Island where they were discovered last summer, though experts are working against a potential population explosion in Southeast Alaska. Barb Lake, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Juneau, gave a presentation in Ketchikan last Friday about the invasive crab species that a team of scientists with the Metlakatla Indian Community first identified on Annette Island in July. It’s the only place that the crab has been captured in Alaska waters. Lake said t...
JUNEAU (AP) - An Alaska lawmaker with a history of incendiary remarks was censured by the state House on Feb. 22 after he said it has been argued that cases of fatal child abuse can be a "cost savings" because the child would not need related government services. The House voted 35-1 to censure Republican Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla, with only Eastman voting against the censure. The House action has no formal consequences other than putting a statement on the record. Eastman was censured in...
On May 1, the Alaska Court System will remove the marijuana possession convictions of about 750 Alaskans from Courtview, the state’s online database of court cases. The Alaska Supreme Court announced the move in an order signed Jan. 31 by the court’s five justices. The action, first reported Feb. 19 by the Alaska Landmine website, follows years of similar, unsuccessful, legislative efforts to join a nationwide trend. “I’m glad that the Supreme Court has ordered this,” said Fairbanks Sen. Scott Kawasaki. The records will still be available for i... Full story
A multimillion-dollar share of the Alaska grocery store chain Three Bears is one of the latest additions to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s $200 million in-state investment program — a small slice of the $76 billion state savings account. The program, ordered by the board in 2018, has almost finished making its investments. The corporation’s board of trustees received an update on the program at a quarterly meeting this month. In addition to Three Bears, the new in-state investments include millions spent on a company that operates aviat... Full story
It was a week of change for a 100-year-old Petersburg institution: The Trading Union was officially renamed Petersburg IGA on Feb. 20, as new owners Mike Ward, his daughter Caroline Bangs and her husband Travis Bangs took over the grocery store. “I got crew over from Wrangell, crew over from Haines, and we’re power-stocking this place,” Ward said last week. The family also owns Wrangell IGA and Ward is the majority owner of Howsers IGA in Haines. Ward, who is in his 44th year actively managing grocery stores, was born in Haines and as a young...
Alaska oil production and prices are below last year’s estimates, and the state could run out of money before the end of the fiscal year in June, members of the Senate Finance Committee were told Feb. 21. “It’s a bit of a nail-biter,” said Neil Steininger, director of the Office of Management and Budget. While the prospect may sound alarming, it’s not as bad as it sounds, said Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Finance Committee. “There’s nothing to worry about,” Stedman said. The state’s fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30, and legisl... Full story
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Weeks after powerful storms dumped 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow on California, state officials and environmental groups in the drought-ravaged state are grappling with what to do with all of that water. State rules say when it rains and snows a lot in California, much of that water must go into the rivers to act as a conveyor belt to carry tens of thousands of endangered baby salmon into the Pacific Ocean. But last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked state regulators to temporarily change those rules. H...
The Organized Village of Kake is looking into using a U.S. Forest Service facility at Portage Bay, on the north end of Kupreanof Island, as a cultural healing and rehabilitation center. The goal of the program would be to reconnect people with their cultural identity, improve their mental health, and counsel those recovering from alcohol and substance abuse and other issues. The cultural healing center has been a dream of Joel Jackson, the village president, for years. “What I had in mind was getting people to teach them who they are, b...
At its special meeting last Friday, the borough assembly unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Alaska Trollers Association in its fight against a lawsuit that could shut down the Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery of chinook, or king salmon, this year. Though the association also requested a $7,500 donation to the fishery’s legal defense, the assembly did not approve funding for the cause. The Wild Fish Conservancy filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2020. The Washington-based nonprofit alleges t...
"Alaskans are such go-getters. If we don't have access to a service here, we either live without it, or make it happen," said Shawna Buness, co-owner of Sweet Tides Bakery. Buness and her partner Devyn Johnson are among the self-employed people who comprise about 9% of Alaska's workforce. The percentage is higher in Wrangell, where one in eight workers is his or her own boss, according to a report in Trends, a monthly magazine of the Alaska Department of Labor. Wrangell was in the top third of...
Bella Garcia-Rangel had a goal to teach kids everything they would need to know about making a book, and she went through the topic cover to cover. Last Saturday's class on creating a literary masterpiece - or at least its packaging - was part of a youth art series being taught once a month at The Salvation Army by Garcia-Rangel. The class went over the parts of a book, such as its pages, cover and spine, and the various ways a book can be bound by gluing or stitching and other methods. For Satu...
