Sorted by date Results 2731 - 2755 of 7954
A state Department of Transportation official told legislators that the ferry system is “burning out our crew” with lots of overtime amid staff shortages, and that the problem jeopardizes tentative plans to bring back the Columbia to service in Southeast for the first time since fall 2019. The Alaska Marine Highway System as of March 16 was down 125 employees from the minimum needed to staff its full online summer schedule plus the addition of the Columbia, according to a department presentation to the Senate Finance Committee. Deputy Commissio...
High oil prices driven by the war in Ukraine, tight global oil supplies and OPEC’s decision not to pump more crude are adding tens of millions of dollars per month to the Alaska state treasury. The rush of oil revenues is boosting the governor’s push for a larger Permanent Fund dividend for individual Alaskans this fall, while also fueling legislative interest to increase funding for education and deferred maintenance — or just save some of the money for the next time oil prices fall. The Alaska Department of Revenue last week issued its annua...
The anticipated return of visitors means that Wrangell business owners are readying themselves for customers to reserve lodging, stop into their shops and book tours on the waters of the Inside Passage and the Stikine River. Of the more than dozen bed and breakfasts and other rentals in town, one is in its second life. Tyla Nelson and Jimmy Nelson live at 2.9 Mile. Tyla works at the post office and Jimmy works for the Forest Service. Jimmy bought the decommissioned Binkley Slough Forest Service...
The Roald Amundsen, a first-of-its-kind hybrid cruise ship powered by battery energy and fossil fuel, is scheduled for its first Wrangell stop on May 23 - on its first voyage to Southeast. Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten had the 528-passenger ship - named for the first man to cross the Antarctic - specially constructed for voyages in polar waters. The 460-foot-long ship was built in Norway and started service in 2019. A spokesperson said Hurtigruten chose Wrangell as a port of call "because it...
WASHINGTON (AP) - Alaska Rep. Don Young, the longest-serving Republican in U.S. House history, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday. Young, 88, a blunt-speaking politician known for his brusque style, died last Friday. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1973 He was reelected in 2020 to serve his 25th term and was running this year for another term. A special election will be held this summer to fill the seat. Pelosi's...
The new election system approved by Alaska voters in 2020 will get an unexpected first test this summer with a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Congressman Don Young, Alaska’s sole member in the U.S. House of Representatives. Alaskans will pick a temporary replacement for Young using a top-four special primary election and a special ranked-choice general election. The prospect is adding a historic extra dimension to what was already expected to be a major year in Alaska politics. Alaska hasn’t had a statewide spe...
For the first time in more than a decade, Wrangell has a state child protection services caseworker. Jennifer Ridgeway was the Office of Children's Services worker in Petersburg from October 2021 until February, when she transferred to Wrangell. She first visited Wrangell from Tennessee in July 2018 to officiate and attend her daughter's wedding, according to a release from the state. She had no plans to move but loved the area and moved to Wrangell that fall. "Southeast Alaska offers so much...
With 1,153 boxes of two tests each piled up at the fire hall, there were enough COVID-19 self-tests available as of last Friday for more than the entire population of Wrangell to check for the virus at home. The tests are still available for free, though it can be days in between requests, said Wrangell Fire Department Capt. Dorianne Sprehe last Friday. Initially, during the Omicron wave of infections that hit the country last fall, at-home test kits were in short supply. Eventually, supply caught up with demand, and now demand has fallen back...
If it wasn't for the carts at Muskeg Meadows, more golfers might be forced to walk between holes. One teen is making sure that's not the case when the course opens this year. High school senior Jimmy Baggen is working on providing maintenance for several of Muskeg's carts for his senior project, an idea that came to him because of his interest in golf and mechanics. Baggen has been interested in fixing cars (and carts) only for a couple of years after hanging out with a friend of the family who...
Options for television in Wrangell narrowed in mid-January when some DISH Network customers lost access to the Alaska affiliates for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX when the provider switched satellites. After two months of calls to the satellite TV provider and technicians, a solution might finally be on the way. Kitty Angerman, who has been a DISH customer for more than 20 years, said when the channels disappeared from her menu she didn't think much of it because it's happened before. Unlike past...
The borough is requesting quotes for a second columbarium —a vault to hold urns with remains of the deceased — that would be added at Sunset Gardens cemetery. Borough Clerk Kim Lane reported on the issue for the borough assembly’s Tuesday meeting. She said she is hopeful the borough can get the additional columbarium installed in the upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1. “Although we have 17 available niches in the existing columbarium, I still believe that it’s important to get another one in place,” she wrote of the need for more spaces...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association announced the four winning candidates from its March 8 tribal council election. Results posted March 9 show Frank Churchill Jr., Heidi Armstrong, Edward Rilatos and Lavina “Lovey” Brock were elected to the eight-member council, which also consists of Xúns', Richard Oliver; Michelle Clark; Jason Clark; and AAnshaawasnook, Lue Knapp, speaker of the Naanyaa.aayí clan house. Elections are held every year, and each councilmember serves a two-year term, Councilmember Knapp said Monday. Brock, Churchill Jr. and R...
By Felicia Fonseca The Associated Press The Interior Department is on the verge of releasing a report on its investigation into the federal government’s past oversight of Native American boarding schools. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told journalists during a call March 16 that the report will come out in April but didn’t specify a date. She first outlined the initiative last June, saying it would uncover the truth about the loss of life and the lasting consequences of boarding schools. Starting with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819, the U...
JUNEAU (AP) — Simmering public anger in Alaska over the Legislature’s failure to settle the state’s most radioactive issue — how big a check residents should receive from the state’s oil-wealth fund — is colliding with a once-a-decade opportunity for political activists: The chance for voters to call a convention to amend the state constitution. The frustration over the long-festering Permanent Fund dividend question is providing a tailwind for groups seeking to change the constitution to address a range of hot-button topics, such as restrictin...
A bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of COVID-19 vaccination status passed the Alaska Senate on March 16 in a move to limit state service providers and private businesses from requiring the life-saving vaccine. The bill, sponsored by Eagle River Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold, would make it illegal for the state to withhold services based on COVID-19 vaccination status, such as in public education or assisted living in Pioneer Homes. The bill would also ban private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition for...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Canadian government’s announcement it is dropping the requirement for vaccinated travelers to show a negative COVID-19 test result to enter the country was greeted with relief by tourism and business groups on both sides of the border last Thursday. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said tests will no longer be needed beginning April 1. Currently, fully vaccinated travelers entering Canada must present proof of a negative result from a professionally administered antigen test. The antigen test replaced the...
JUNEAU (AP) - Sitka Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins announced last Friday that he will not seek reelection to a sixth term in the Alaska House of Representatives. In addition to Sitka, his district includes Petersburg, Kake, Angoon, Hoonah, Pelican and most of Prince of Wales Island. “I love Alaska and it’s been a tremendous privilege to represent my home of Southeast Alaska these last 10 years,” the 33-year-old lawmaker said in a prepared statement. “As I’ve grown older, it’s come time to make space for other pursuits and parts of li...
For years, Robert Miller and his son RJ have hunted, fished and enjoyed the outdoors around Sitka together. And now they have a wide audience through National Geographic's "Life Below Zero: Next Generation" television show. The show follows the Millers' outdoor adventures from hunting deer in the high country to fishing for halibut in the waters around Sitka. The elder Miller hopes he provides TV viewers a realistic and positive view of his lifestyle. "It's a way of life, and it's deeper than th...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska House passed legislation last Wednesday that would repeal a provision of law that allows a court to grant permission for someone as young as 14 to marry. The repeal provision was adopted as representatives weighed amendments to a bill dealing with witness requirements for marriage. The measure, which House members approved 27-13, next goes to the Senate for consideration. The bill repeals a section of law that spells out a process under which a court can grant permission for someone as young as 14-years-old to marry. I...
The Alaska House has narrowly passed legislation that would set a limit on individual contributions to candidates after previous limits were struck down by a court The bill passed 21-18 on March 16, with all the no votes coming from Republicans. It next goes to the Senate, with about eight weeks left before the Legislature’s adjournment deadline. If the bill fails to win Senate approval and the governor’s signature, there will be no restrictions on the amount of money that can be donated to candidates in Alaska elections starting this yea...
ANCHORAGE — A federal appeals court panel on March 16 reversed a decision that had rejected a land swap aimed at allowing construction of a road through an Alaska national wildlife refuge which is an internationally recognized habitat for migrating waterfowl. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the decision back to U.S. District Judge John Sedwick in Alaska for further consideration. Nine environmental groups had sued to stop the land swap on the Alaska Peninsula. Sedwick blocked an agreement that would have allowed the I...
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Federal regulators have issued a draft environmental impact statement declaring there are significant benefits to a plan to demolish four massive dams on Northern California's Klamath River to save imperiled migratory salmon, setting the stage for the largest dam demolition project in U.S. history. The issuing of a statement by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 25 clears a major regulatory hurdle for the project and paves the way for public hearings on the...
With lower enrollment creating ongoing revenue shortfalls, the school district is seeking solutions and resources to close the persistent gap — particularly as one-time federal pandemic aid money will run out in two years. On March 7, members of the school board and district employees met with the borough assembly to present what district Business Manager Tammy Stromberg referred to as Version 1.5 of the budget. The work session lasted nearly two hours and consisted of an exchange of ideas and positive remarks as the process moves forward. ...
The state has started negotiations to sell the Malaspina to a company owned by a business that operates a new multimillion-dollar cruise ship terminal at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. M/V Malaspina LLC and the Alaska Department of Transportation “have agreed to negotiate in good faith on the sale of the 59-year-old vessel,” the state announced Monday. “MVM’s letter of interest outlines a plan to use the Malaspina to showcase Alaska’s maritime history and support a Ketchikan-based tourism business,” the state said. “Among other uses, they propose...
Federal help for Wrangell’s ailing water delivery system will soon be flowing down the pipeline. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced on Friday that the borough would be among the communities sharing in $230 million directed to Alaska projects in the $1.5 trillion federal budget bill sent to the president for signature into law. Wrangell will be receiving $2.08 million to build a pipeline connection between the upper reservoir and water treatment plant. “Currently, we can only draw water off the lower reservoir,” said Tom Wetor, public works direc...
