Sorted by date Results 1298 - 1322 of 7954
Alaska’s Supreme Court, with support from the state bar association, approved a waiver at the end of last year that will allow specially trained nonlawyers to represent Alaskans in court on some issues. Nikole Nelson, Alaska Legal Services Corp.’s director, said the system is unique to Alaska — no other state has a program quite like it. She said these nonlawyers with legal training are crucial because there isn’t enough legal representation in the state. “As long as I’ve been working in legal aid, which is my entire legal career, we’ve faced...
Nick Begich III, a Republican candidate who lost to Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in last year’s races for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, said Thursday, July 13, that he will run against Peltola again in 2024. Peltola hasn’t announced a re-election campaign but has been raising money and has a campaign manager. In an August special ranked-choice election to replace Young, Begich finished third out of three candidates, behind Peltola and fellow Republican Sarah Palin. Post-election analysis of all ranked-choice ballots indicated that had Begic...
Alaska saw a drop in the number of food stamp recipients over the past year far larger than any other state as processing delays caused low-income households to miss out on their benefits. While more than half of states actually had an increase in SNAP beneficiaries, among those that saw a decline none came anywhere close to the 69% drop in participation Alaska experienced through this spring. Behind Alaska, Maryland saw a 21% decrease, Arkansas saw a 19% decrease and New Jersey saw a 14% decrease between March 2022 and March 2023. Those...
Thousands of aboveground tanks that store diesel fuel and other petroleum products would no longer be regulated by the state, under a proposal from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The proposal is to repeal regulation of what are known as Class 2 facilities, which are scattered throughout the state and store between 1,000 and 420,000 gallons of non-crude oil products such as diesel, heating oil and gasoline. If the state regulation is repealed, those Class 2 facilities will no longer be required to register their storage...
The spendable portion of the Alaska Permanent Fund is dwindling and could be exhausted entirely within three years, fund leaders were told during a regular quarterly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, in Anchorage. Deven Mitchell, CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., presented the results of limited modeling that estimates the fund’s performance over the next three years. Under the “low” scenario, the fund would be unable to pay for state services or dividends by summer 2026. The “mid” scenario calls for the spendable portion of the fund to b...
Proposed ballot measures — if they make it to the election and win voter approval — would raise Alaska’s minimum wage and add mandatory paid sick leave; limit campaign contributions; and restrict state spending on political party candidate nominations. The Alaska Division of Elections received the proposals earlier this month. One proposed ballot measure would make a series of changes to state labor laws. It would raise the hourly minimum wage — currently $10.85 — to $13 in July 2025, $14 in July 2026 and $15 in July 2027. Annual increases...
Juneau tourism companies are being forced to turn away visitors who want to see the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area this summer as they are reaching the commercial tourism limit due to “unprecedented increases in visitation,” the U.S. Forest Service announced July 7. The Forest Service each year doles out permitted “service days” to tour providers, such as bus companies or taxi services carrying tourists, in order to manage the area and protect the ecosystem. A service day equates to one tourist visiting the Mendenhall Glacier for one day...
After years of planning, the borough has awarded a contract for the initial phase of development at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) residential subdivision at the former Wrangell Institute property. At its special meeting July 6, the borough assembly unanimously approved an almost $1 million contract with Ketchikan Ready-Mix & Quarry. The company will spend the summer clearing space for about 20 new lots at the site and performing preliminary road work. The contract’s completion date is Oct. 30. At Borough Manager Jeff Good’s recom...
The Fourth of July celebration literally heated up over the four days of festivities as the Tongass Toughman Triathlon kicked things off with a cold, gray and rainy swim on July 1 and the street dance closed it out on July 4 when the temperature topped out at 72 degrees. From endurance contests and games of skill to a dog show and fireworks and everything in between, the various events packed the streets of downtown with locals, visiting family and friends and tourists. Despite concerns over...
It was a month of learning, exploring, brainstorming and playing in the wilds of Alaska that left one Wrangell youth with a lot to think about. Andrei Bardin-Siekawitch was the only teen from Southeast to join other students from across the state on the latest Upward Bound and Teaching Through Technology Alliance (T3) trip, giving him an opportunity to make new friends and start plotting a course for his future endeavors. From May 31 through June 30, Bardin-Siekawitch, 13, traveled to the...
When the shrinking Alaska fishing village of Karluk made a plea on social media asking two families with three to four children each to move to the community to save their cherished school, they did not expect thousands of responses to pour in. “We have been bombarded with phone calls, and overwhelmed with emails,” Alicia Andrews, the president of Karluk Tribal Council, told The Washington Post. “For years, we have been trying to save our school and our community, and now it seems we have a solution.” The advertisement that quickly spread...
Healthy helpings of hot dogs, fry bread and burgers are quintessential parts of any Wrangell Fourth of July, but this year the community's palates were graced with a taste of something different -Mexican food. Estevan's Taqueria, a food stand operated by Mariana Sausedo and David McHolland, served up its first delicious meals on July 3 and 4. Once its state permits are approved - hopefully later this month - the stand will open in its permanent spot behind TK's Mini Mart. Sausedo created the...
From a “beary” pie contest to a cub-o-war, art workshops, live music and a usually sold-out dinner, BearFest is returning for its 14th year. The activities start July 26. The popular educational and cultural event celebrates bears and the surrounding environment. Along with the activities, educational opportunities and symposiums and a bear safety session are planned. One of the more popular features of BearFest is the dinner and fundraising auction held at the Stikine Inn and Restaurant, which will begin at 6 p.m. July 28. Tickets went on sal...
Inflation in Alaska is dropping sharply this year after hitting a 41-year high in 2022, but it still remains unstable overall and uneven in some categories such as housing, according to a report published July 5 by the Alaska Department of Labor. The statewide inflation rate was 8.1% in 2022, but as of April this year was down to 3.1%, the lowest since February 2021, according to the current issue of Alaska Economic Trends, which is published by the department. “While it’s uncertain how long it will continue slowing, the rate in April approache...
The borough’s contract with Republic Services — the company that manages the transportation and disposal of Wrangell’s trash —expires at the end of July. Despite a substantial increase in Republic’s pricing, the borough assembly voted to extend the company’s contract at its June 27 meeting due to a lack of cheaper alternatives. In 2018, Republic charged $121.03 per ton for disposal and hauling, according to a letter from the company’s area president Gregg Brummer. In the contract the assembly just approved, the disposal cost has increased mor...
A fire has left Petersburg's St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in ruins. No serious injuries were reported and the fire did not spread to any surrounding buildings, though smoke from the Thursday, July 6, blaze caused the Petersburg Medical Center and multiple businesses downtown to close. According to parish priest Father Jose Thomas, a few people were attending a prayer service in the chapel when they heard glass shattering and were alerted to smoke coming from the office. "We did not...
After Rosie and Jon Tollerud of the Salvation Army left Wrangell for Fairbanks last month, two new officers moved to town to take their place. Lieutenants Belle and Chase Green and their two children, KellyGrace, 3, and Ollivander, 1, arrived in Wrangell on June 20 and have been settling into their new home for the past few weeks. The couple looks forward to getting to know the community and to serving in Alaska, where they were both raised. Moving to Wrangell was "like being back at home,"...
Alaska school districts that are remote and serve mainly students from low-income households need to pay substantially more than they currently do to attract and retain teachers, a study from University of Alaska researchers found. Matthew Berman, a University of Alaska Anchorage economics professor, said the study shows that compensation does matter when it comes to recruitment and retention — and that some districts can and do pay teachers more to offset other disadvantages like a remote location. “Relatively advantaged districts are abl...
Kaiya Roher, 12 (center), and Violet Allen, 10, serve lemonade to Cassandra Schilling and her daughter Melany Shilts at their stand on Case Avenue on Friday, July 7. Violet is raising money for travel to Massachusetts and other places to see family. Schilling said it was the perfect time to happen across the stand, as she and her daughter had walked to downtown from 3 Mile. The temperature last Friday reached 82 degrees....
The group that championed Alaska’s ranked-choice voting reform filed a complaint on July 5 against several individuals and entities that are leading an effort to repeal the state’s new election laws, alleging that they violated multiple campaign finance rules and obscured the source of their funding. The complaint alleges that opponents of ranked-choice voting founded a church called the Ranked Choice Education Association that could allow donors to gain tax advantages for their contributions while skirting disclosure requirements. Those requir...
The Haines Borough is challenging the U.S. Census Bureau’s official count of its population, saying the agency undercounted the town’s residents by almost 20%. The lower population number threatens millions of dollars of federal funding over the next decade. The 2020 census reported Haines’ population at 2,080, down from 2,508 in the 2010 count. “If we had lost almost 500 people, you would feel it in our town,” said Borough Clerk Alekka Fullerton. “You would see it in empty houses, in schools and in voter rolls.” Census counts happen every...
Unalaska is preparing to start monitoring for European green crabs. That’s after the invasive species was first found in waters around Metlakatla last July. The crabs could cause a big problem. They destroy habitat and outcompete native species. Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game say the monitoring program is crucial in the nation’s largest fishing port. They’re preparing to deploy traps later this summer. “We don’t have any reason to believe that European green crab are here or established in the region, but we’re als...
Wrangell will go without any southbound ferry service in alternating weeks from Oct. 1 to mid-November under the Alaska Marine Highway System’s draft fall/winter schedule. The town is on the schedule for its usual weekly northbound stop during that period. The rest of the winter schedule shows once-a-week service to town in each direction, with the bonus of two stops in each direction the second week of each month from mid-November through February when the Kennicott will shorten its Southeast route and not go to Bellingham, Washington. The f...
At its upcoming July 25 meeting, the borough assembly will decide whether to spend $25,000 per year to help keep a state Office of Children’s Services (OCS) caseworker in town or cut funding for the position. About a year ago, the borough established a cost-sharing deal with the state to bring a caseworker to Wrangell. The deal stipulated that the borough would pay $53,000, half of the position’s annual cost, and provide an office in the Public Safety Building. Community advocates for the deal hoped that having a caseworker on the island wou...
As tribal members lined the shore on the backside of Shakes Island, dressed in regalia from their respective clans, one of their voices rang out. "Where do these boats come from?" "We are the children of Hawaii. We come from Hawaii," came the response from a canoe in Reliance Harbor. "Aahá. It is good to see you again. Aahá. Come on our land. You are welcome." From the moment the sailing vessel Hōkūleʻa appeared on the horizon June 27 to greet the Tlingit tribe near Petroglyph Beach for an esco...
