Sorted by date Results 2054 - 2078 of 7954
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Republican candidate for governor, Charlie Pierce, faces a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed a former assistant while he was mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The lawsuit filed in state Superior Court on Friday accuses Pierce of “constant unwanted physical touching, sexual remarks, and sexual advances,” the Anchorage Daily News reported. The borough already has paid two other former employees a combined $267,000 in settlements for separate complaints against Pierce. “When an elected official abuses their power a...
Because the hybrid cruise ship Roald Amundsen started coming to Wrangell this summer, projects based in town are now eligible for grant funds through the cruise line parent company’s nonprofit foundation. Norway-based Hurtigruten Group has been awarding grants through its foundation to projects in communities its cruise ships visit since 2015. It awards projects focused on preserving wildlife, battling plastic waste and marine litter, and supporting the communities Hurtigruten stops in. “Everywhere we operate, we see the negative effects tha...
Alaska’s Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she plans on ranking Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola first in the U.S. House race on the Nov. 8 ballot, where Murkowski’s own name will also appear as she runs for a fourth term. Murkowski broke the news after delivering remarks to a packed room of Alaska Federation of Natives convention delegates at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center, where she was greeted with a standing ovation and frequently interrupted with rounds of applause. Her remarks focused on what she sees as reasons for optimism for the...
Alaskans voting by mail will need to put 84 cents worth of postage on their ballot envelopes to send them back by post to the state Division of Elections. One Forever stamp is currently worth 60 cents, meaning a second stamp would be needed to mail absentee ballots. Voters are required to use the correct amount of postage when mailing a ballot, but the U.S. Postal Service has a policy to still deliver ballots even if postage is unpaid or if there is insufficient postage. Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said the postage costs were...
The state’s largest Alaska Native organization declared its opposition to a constitutional convention on Saturday, saying rural Alaska could have the most to lose if a convention is called. The Alaska Federation of Natives also called for a potential reduction in the amount of fish caught in Area M, a state-managed fishery off the Alaska Peninsula, in order to protect salmon runs that have crashed on the state’s two largest rivers, the Yukon and Kuskokwim. And, after passing several other measures, the organization voted in executive ses...
The Skagway borough assembly has unanimously approved spending almost $3.2 million for a temporary solution to protect cruise ships, their passengers and the dock itself from frequent rockslides. Several slides have come down this year, hitting the railroad dock and forcing the closure of the forward berth, costing the community lost tourism business. Even while using the forward berth, ships had to tender their passengers to shore using small boats from the other side of the vessel to avoid putting people the dock. This year’s slides r...
Recreational clam harvesters should take extra caution while preparing and cooking shellfish collected from Shoemaker Bay due to high fecal bacteria levels in those waters, according to Carol Brady of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Brian Herman, co-owner of Canoe Lagoon Oysters, began testing the water in the Shoemaker Bay area for fecal bacteria — called fecal coliforms — because he hopes to establish an underwater storage facility to hold oysters that are awaiting meat test results. The Canoe Lagoon oyster farm is located...
A century ago on Nov. 7, 1922, Tlingit translator and civil rights advocate Tillie Paul Tamaree helped Charlie Jones, the seventh Chief Shakes, vote in a Wrangell municipal election. Her actions led to a court case that would secure the right to vote for Alaska Natives two years before the federal Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 extended citizenship to Native people across the United States. When she was 12 years old, Tamaree entered the Amanda McFarland Home for Girls in Wrangell to avoid an...
Calling all candy lovers - a year after a blaze destroyed the Jabusch garage, the family's renowned Halloween decorations are back from the dead, with enough inflatable monsters and spooky skeletons to terrorize an entire army of trick-or-treaters. Kay and Jeff Jabusch aren't certain what caused last year's fire, though they suspect an old light bulb may have overheated and ignited nearby drapery. Instead of their usual festive fare - lights, grinning skulls and ominous signage directing trick-o...
Alaska House District 1 candidates Dan Ortiz and Jeremy Bynum took turns at a Ketchikan community forum on Oct. 13 promoting why they deserve to win the Nov. 8 election for the district that represents Ketchikan, Wrangell, Prince of Wales Island and Metlakatla. About 50 people attended the forum, which was moderated by Ketchikan Gateway Borough Attorney Glenn Brown. Ortiz, the incumbent, drew nearly all of his answers and arguments back to his experience and accomplishments; his experience...
Outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to a new and improved trail system next summer, with increased accessibility, slip-resistant tread and locally sourced materials on the upcoming Mt. Dewey trail extension. Last Thursday, borough Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad held a public walk-through of the new trail route, followed by a design review with landscape architect Chris Mertl and engineer Brandon Ivanowicz, contractors on the design work. The three-quarter-mile extension will wrap around the back of Mt. Dewey before connecting to...
With voter approval of a $3.5 million bond issue, the Wrangell School District wasted no time in moving ahead with its plan to go after a state grant as it works to fully fund needed repairs at its buildings. But before the district starts any work, it first must determine exactly what needs fixing so it can set priorities and assemble cost estimates. To that end, the school board voted Oct. 11 to appropriate up to $385,900 from the district’s major maintenance fund to pay for condition surveys of all three buildings. The fund has a current b...
School enrollment is heading in the right direction, but just slightly. After counting 257 students during the state-mandated annual tally last year, this year’s Wrangell enrollment count was at 266 as of last week, said Schools Superintendent Bill Burr. The school district had estimated 263 students when it put together its budget for the 2022-2023 school year. State funding, which provides more than 60% of the district’s operating budget, is based on enrollment, with districts statewide required to submit their count every October. The hig...
David Wilson will serve as school board president for a second year. He was selected by board members at their Oct. 10 meeting. Wilson has served on the board since 2017. He ran unopposed for the board in the Oct. 4 municipal election. Members selected Brittani Robbins as vice president. She has served on the board since last year. Angela Allen was reappointed to a second term as the board secretary. Filling out the five-member school board are new members Elizabeth Roundtree and Esther Ashton. They replaced Jessica Whitaker and Julia...
The borough assembly unanimously approved a resolution to amend Trident Seafoods’ lease of the borough-owned cold storage facility. The new five-year lease establishes building maintenance guidelines and raises the rental rate from $1,370 to $2,990 per month, with 2% yearly increases to account for inflation. The changes are part of the borough’s ongoing effort to update its leases, explained Borough Manager Jeff Good. Though the company’s new agreement lasts longer than its previous one-year lease extensions, Trident is still deter...
The borough assembly unanimously approved a $574,000 contract with Sitka Electric to install new fire alarm systems at the middle and high schools. The majority of the project will be funded through state Community Development Block Grants, though the borough may contribute up to $180,750 in local funds. Though the fire alarm system meets the code that was in place when it was installed in the 1980s, it needs to be updated to meet current standards, explained borough Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad. The system has become difficult...
The chamber of commerce’s annual Pumpkin Patch event will start at 11 a.m. Saturday at the downtown pavilion. In addition to orange, white, blue and pink pumpkins for people to pick up and take home, the event will include a bake sale, chili feed and face painting, said Luana Wellons, of the chamber. Lynch Street will be closed to traffic and the pumpkins set out in the street for kids to make their selections. They will be sold by weight. The Girls Scouts will run the bake sale and Saint Frances Animal Rescue will staff the chili feed, both a...
As of last week, “The Sound of Music” cast was short just one male actor and will need some extras, partygoers and dancers as it gets closer to the Dec. 2 and 3 stage performance. “It’s hard to find male actors in town,” Cyni Crary, one of the show organizers, said last Friday. She described the open part as “kind of like a bad guy,” though he doesn’t have many lines. The cast already includes almost 20 Wrangell volunteers, plus about a dozen singers, musicians and a choreographer. About five more volunteers are helping behind the scenes with s...
Since 2016, no issue has divided Alaska state lawmakers more than the issue of the Permanent Fund dividend. The annual struggle over the amount given to state residents has repeatedly driven the Legislature into impasses that have brought the state to the brink of a government shutdown. Ahead of this year’s governor election, independent candidate Bill Walker, Democratic candidate Les Gara and Republicans Mike Dunleavy and Charlie Pierce have each outlined different approaches to solving the impasse, which voters have said is a top issue of c... Full story
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has indicated that he will vote in favor of calling a convention to consider amending the state constitution. Candidates for governor at an Alaska Resource Development Council forum on Oct. 11 were asked during if they would be voting for a constitutional convention in next month's general election. Candidates responded by raising “yes” or “no” signs. Dunleavy and Republican Charlie Pierce raised “yes” signs. Former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and Les Gara, a Democrat, raised “no” signs. A...
Wildlife officials in Metlakatla continue to trap record-setting numbers of the invasive crab species that threaten local subsistence food sources and fish habitat. The tribe's Department of Fish and Wildlife has trapped hundreds of European green crabs - but the numbers keep growing. Months after the first green crab shell was found on the beach in Metlakatla, the community is still trying to figure out how to handle the arrival of a species that officials call one of the most invasive around....
Natalie Bennett was walking surveying a beach on Annette Island as part of a team trying to defend Southeast Alaska from marine invaders when she made a major but ominous discovery: the state’s first documented shell of an invasive European green crab. Bennett, a summer intern with the nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute who was working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, noticed the tell-tale spines on the side of the eye areas. Right away, she notified one of her internship advisers, Barb Lake of NOAA Fisheries. ... Full story
SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska officials have canceled the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, and for the first time have also scrapped the winter harvest of smaller snow crab. The move is a double whammy to a fleet from Alaska, Washington and Oregon chasing Bering Sea crab in harvests that in 2016 grossed $280 million, The Seattle Times reported. The closures reflect conservation concerns about both crab species following bleak summer populations surveys. The decisions to shut down the snow crab and fall king crab harvests came after days of d...
An Anchorage man pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of illegally trafficking in walrus ivory and was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and sentenced to two years on probation. Uzi Levi, 71, of Anchorage, purchased six Pacific walrus tusks and one three-tusked Pacific walrus head mount from an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent, all of which is in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is unlawful for a non-Alaska Native to transport, purchase, sell, export or offer...
The stakes in Alaska are high in the search for a solution to the problem of bycatch, the unintended at-sea harvest of non-target species, such as hundreds of thousands of salmon a year, by commercial fishermen that are going after pollock or other fish. A special task force is nearing the end of a year-long process to find solutions that satisfy competing interests to the problem of bycatch. Many of the mostly Indigenous residents of western Alaska who depend on now-faltering salmon runs in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers have said strict rules... Full story
