Sorted by date Results 3803 - 3827 of 7980
City officials reported three more COVID-19 cases late Wednesday afternoon, bringing to 12 the total number of new cases in town in the past seven days. "Wrangell is experiencing a COVID outbreak," said the statement issued by Wrangell's emergency operations center. "There is confirmation of community spread of the virus. We need everyone’s help to stop this outbreak." The three reported coronavirus cases Wednesday are local residents and are in isolation. The outbreak started last Thursday, with more cases reported Friday, Sunday, Monday and T...
Wrangell assembly members do not like the idea of a state sales tax, even if may be the only tax that state lawmakers are willing to consider. Despite their objection, members agreed they should stay engaged in the issue, particularly as the Alaska Municipal League discusses state revenue options and talks with communities about how a state sales tax could work. AML Director Nils Andreassen explained the situation at a borough assembly workshop March 23. Given the political reality in Alaska, a...
Alaska state transportation officials are contemplating sinking a ferry to save money. The Department of Transportation has considered turning the Malaspina into an artificial reef. The ship is one of the two large sister ships, along with the Matanuska, that helped start the Alaska Marine Highway System almost 60 years ago. The Malaspina has been tied up in Ketchikan since December 2019, when it was taken out of service to cut the budget. The department has said it could cost $18 million for...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Some Alaska Costco shoppers said they've had their groceries stolen by ravens in the store parking lot. Matt Lewallen said he was packing his groceries into his car in the parking lot of an Anchorage Costco when ravens swooped in to steal a short rib from his cart, the Anchorage Daily News reported March 26. "I literally took 10 steps away and turned around, two ravens came down and instantly grabbed one out of the package, ripped it off and flew off with it," Lewallen said....
"I think it was '52 that we got married, I met her just before," Elmer Mork said about his wife Patricia. "She was the 1950 queen, Fourth of July Queen. The first one. I'm kind of lucky to find a queen." Elmer and Patricia Mork met back in the 1950s at a dance, Elmer said. He caught her eye and said she would like to meet him, and asked him to dance. The rest is history. "My older sister taught me how to do the jitterbug thing," he said. Elmer, 91, and Patricia, 87, have been married about 70...
The one-shot COVID-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson recently became available in the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's network and is now in Wrangell. Carly Allen, clinic manager with SEARHC in Wrangell, said the community has received a very limited supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Both this and the Moderna vaccine are currently available in Wrangell. She said SEARHC intends to begin administering the Johnson & Johnson shots next week. "SEARHC is excited to add...
The borough assembly could decide to adopt a new definition for harbor liveaboards at its April 13 meeting, clarifying that the residential user fee would not be charged if people don't overnight aboard the vessel at least 60 days a year. The assembly also has backed away from a January proposal to raise the fee from $85 to $117 a month. The assembly considered the latest version of the liveaboard ordinance at its March 23 meeting, scheduling a public hearing and possible final action April 13....
State House and Senate committees continue to work on competing bills that would change the membership of the state ferry system advisory board. The Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday heard the governor's bill, while the House State Affairs Committee considered legislation Tuesday offered by House Speaker Louise Stutes, of Kodiak. Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposal would allow every governor to change out the board's membership, while Stutes' legislation attempts to protect almost half the...
The 58-year-old Matanuska, the oldest operating vessel in the state ferry fleet, has had troubles operating the past two months. The Alaska Marine Highway System took it out of service last week to fix a mechanical problem, canceling port calls Saturday through Thursday this week and expecting that repairs would be completed and the ship ready to resume its weekly run out of Bellingham, Washington, this Friday. The 23-year-old Kennicott stepped in to provide service. The Matanuska expected to...
High school wrestling season will kick off for Wrangell this Friday and Saturday, as the Wolves head to Juneau for their first meet of the year. Wrangell did not compete in any 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Assistant Coach Jack Carney said the team is eager to hit the mat once again. This year will be unique in that it will feature two wrestling seasons in 2021: One now and a second in the fall. Team Captain Rowen Wiederspohn said he is excited by the opportunity. "If somebody w...
The state Transportation Department is asking for public comments on its plan to reduce the hazards along a stretch of Wrangell's Zimovia Highway frequently hit by rocks coming down from the hillside. A rockfall last August at 8-mile Zimovia Highway "drew our attention" to the stretch of roadway, state Transportation Department officials said last week. Talking with the department's Wrangell crew, they learned there had been 36 rockfalls between 2007 and 2019 along just a few miles of the...
A cohesive document outlining guidelines for the tourism industry in Wrangell is slowly coming together. During a workshop last Friday, the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau looked over a draft of its Tourism Best Management Practices statement. The planning document has been an ongoing project for the bureau for over a year now, covering guidelines for a variety of tourism-related matters including transportation, the use of hiking trails, restaurants and hospitality businesses. Several...
The Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau launched the first of a series of photo and video contests earlier this month to help replenish its stock of images for marketing efforts. "The Best of Wrangell" is scheduled to run to the end of May. The contest is also an opportunity for community members and past visitors to show off their photography or videography skills. Ceona Koch, with the bureau, said that while they will accept any photos or videos, except those showing inappropriate content,...
JUNEAU (AP) - The state health department is floating the idea of providing COVID-19 vaccinations to travelers at Alaska's busiest airports with the summer tourism and fishing seasons looming. The department released a request for information March 24, seeking to determine interest among potential contractors to provide a one-dose vaccine to interested travelers in a secure section of the airports in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks and Ketchikan. The document said implementing strategies to reduce...
JUNEAU (AP) - The state of Alaska and several other groups have filed to defend the Tongass National Forest’s 5-month-old exemption from a nationwide rule that limits development on federal land. The filing fights back against a group of tribal, environmental, fishing and tourism organizations that sued the Trump administration’s decision last year to dismiss the roadless rule for the Tongass. The roadless rule was adopted in 2001 and limits road construction and timber harvesting on National Forest lands. “The Tongass holds great economic oppo...
JUNEAU (AP) - Alaska had 22,300 fewer jobs last month than it did in February 2020, the state labor department reported last Friday, citing the ongoing economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest job losses were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which had 7,300 fewer jobs last month than in February 2020, a department jobs report showed. Oil and gas had 3,900 fewer jobs, and the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector had 1,800 fewer jobs. The report showed 2,000 fewer local government jobs last month compared to...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heli-skiing trip in Alaska's backcountry crashed on Saturday, killing the pilot and four others, including the Czech Republic's richest man. The only other person onboard Czech Republic resident David Horvath, 48, was in serious condition but stable Monday at an Anchorage hospital, Alaska State Troopers said. The five people killed in the accident were identified as Petr Kellner, 56, and Benjamin Larochaix,...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A proposal by the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission could provide juveniles sentenced to lengthy prison sentences an opportunity for parole after serving 15 years. The commission recommended state lawmakers pass a “second look” law that would allow juvenile cases to be reexamined by a parole board or judge, the Anchorage Daily News reported March 24. The Alaska Criminal Justice Commission was created by the state Legislature in 2014 and makes recommendations to lawmakers to improve the criminal justice system. “The impos...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Eight Alaska youths have developed a serious inflammatory syndrome from previous coronavirus infections, state health officials said in a report. The report, released March 26, said some of the eight youths ended up in the pediatric intensive-care unit with severe complications. The condition they developed is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. The syndrome can lead to inflamed organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since...
JUNEAU (AP) - Sentencing has been set for June for a man who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the beating death of his wife during a 2017 family cruise to Alaska. Kenneth Manzanares, who is from Utah, signed a plea agreement in the case in January 2020. Sentencing was initially set for last May but was pushed back and this week was scheduled to be held in Juneau’s federal court on June 3 and 4. The case was handled by federal authorities because the death took place in waters outside the state’s jurisdiction before the cruise ship rea...
JUNEAU (AP) - A judge has dismissed two election-tampering charges against a former Alaska legislator as falling outside a statute of limitations, but eight charges remain against Gabrielle LeDoux. Last March, the state charged LeDoux, an Anchorage Republican, and two other people with violating state law during LeDoux’s 2018 and 2014 state House campaigns. LeDoux faced charges of voter misconduct and unlawful interference with voting. District Court Judge Michael Franciosi in January dismissed two misdemeanor counts against LeDoux related t...
A new COVID-19 case was announced in Wrangell on Thursday. According to the city, the newest case is a Wrangell resident, showing symptoms of the virus. The person is in isolation, according to the city’s prepared statement. In a Facebook post on Friday, the Wrangell Public School District announced that the case was found in Wrangell High School. Given that the schools closed for spring break on Thursday, the district reports that there will be no building closures. Another case was announced by city officials Friday afternoon. The patient, a...
Wrangell's mask mandate was rescinded at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting, while testing rules for travelers were reaffirmed with some minor changes. Both the mask mandate and traveler rules were adopted by the assembly at the beginning of March, in response to a significant spike of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg as well as several cases in town. However, Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recommended the city repeal the mask mandate as cases have declined, lessening the risk of an outbreak...
Legislators started the session in January amid a shortage of revenues and debate whether the state could even afford a dividend this fall unless it exceeded its annual limited draw from the Permanent Fund. Significantly higher oil prices and more than $1 billion from this month's federal pandemic aid package may fix both problems, though only temporarily. The Alaska Department of Revenue told legislators last week that higher oil prices could produce an additional $790 million in revenues this...
Though the Wrangell School District now projects 259 students to enroll for the fall semester based on the belief that more families will send their children back to the classroom, enrollment would still be down 13% from pre-pandemic numbers and the latest draft budget shows a loss of five teaching positions from this year. School board members reviewed the latest draft budget at their March 18 meeting, with more work to come before adopting a spending plan for next school year. State funding...
