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It really doesn’t matter why a Georgia-based real estate developer changed his mind about buying the former Wrangell hospital property and building high-end condos at the site. And it doesn’t much matter why he substantially amended his offer to the borough, months after starting negotiations, before later withdrawing the offer. Nor does it matter that he publicly blamed the Wrangell Sentinel for his decision to walk away from the development proposal, taking offense at what he perceived as criticism of his amended offer. All that really mat...
The state of Alaska, with all the legal wisdom of a political agenda and the flowing words of a high-priced law firm, has filed a claim against the federal government. Nothing new about that — the state has filed and signed onto more lawsuits against the national government in recent years than President Joe Biden has forgotten dates or former President Donald Trump has told lies. Nothing to be proud of in any of that. The state’s latest legal endeavor came July 2 in a dubious lawsuit — with a few errors and omissions for poor measure — that as...
I am extremely unhappy about the misleading headline in the June 26 Sentinel. I was shocked when I first read it and said immediately that it was very poor reporting. I believe the Wrangell Sentinel owes Mr. Wayne Johnson, the city and the public a sincere apology. I am sympathetic to Mr. Johnson’s situation. Your reporting made it appear that he was taking advantage of Wrangellites. It was very unfair and detrimental to progress for Wrangell. I am also very sad for Wrangell. It was an exciting and hopeful opportunity to have a purchaser for t...
Wrangell is on a financial winning streak these days. It has received multiple state and federal grants to pay for construction, repairs, rebuilds and improvements. But that does not help pay the operating costs of public services and local support for the schools. It’s a distinction people need to keep in mind. Money in one pocket does not automatically transfer to another pocket. The borough has received notice of a $25 million federal grant to rebuild most of the downtown harbors floats. It will receive $6.5 million from the state to go t...
A long time ago, the Sentinel called out a mayor for taking an action without city council approval (this was before Wrangell became a borough). The mayor had sent a letter to a federal agency, stating the city’s official position on an issue — but it was merely his personal opinion. There was no council discussion, no public notice. It wasn’t that controversial a position, but the point was that the mayor, no matter how well meaning, should not speak for the city without first making sure the elected council is in agreement. The mayor came...
A state Superior Court judge last week upheld fines of more than $90,000 against a group that opposes ranked-choice voting in Alaska. The group wasn’t fined by the Alaska Public Offices Commission for its views on the new voting system, but for cheating and lying in its ongoing effort to overturn the voting system, which was approved by voters in 2020. Back in December 2022, the director of the anti-ranked-choice voting group Alaskans for Honest Elections and others established a tax-exempt church in Washington state “to promote Christian doc...
Most everything pays better than newspapers. A lemonade stand in the winter, a barber shop at a convention of bald men, dry cleaning services for Carhartts — even canned farmed pink salmon at an Alaska street fair — all could be more profitable than running a newspaper. I used to think that publishing a quality paper, full of accurate, informative and entertaining news, always taking care to spell everyone’s name correctly, would produce enough revenue to pay the bills. But after reading more about political campaign donations, I reali...
People in Wrangell, just like the rest of Alaska and the country, love earning airline miles by using their credit cards. It’s not paying bills that they love so much, it’s the benefit of adding miles to their accounts for free travel. It’s understandable, considering the cost of flying in and out of Alaska and the fun of seeing friends and family outside the state. Another incentive is the fact that Alaska Airlines offers one of the more generous mileage plans among U.S. air carriers. In 2023, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members redeemed mile...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, his attorney general and others in the administration are spending a lot of time and state money defending Alaska against its perceived political enemies, fighting the U.S. government at every turn of the river, protecting Alaskans from the latest federal regulations and standing up for conservative values. The list includes picking fights with private banks that want to move away from oil and gas lending, egging on fights over library books, supporting the state of Texas in its fight to string razor wire along the border...
Wrangell has a lot of positives. It’s a caring community that can pull together a potluck and fill the tables to overflow. Residents support each other in times of loss without needing to be asked. People truly believe in helping their neighbors, regardless of their neighbors’ politics. Fundraisers are a way of life in Wrangell — and a necessity. School sports teams, youth groups, student activities, nonprofit organizations and others are always in need of money, frequently asking businesses to donate goods, services or cash to worthy causes. A...
There is nothing longer in America than a presidential election campaign. And that is not a good thing. A long vacation is enjoyable. Long summers are a treat. Reuniting with long-lost friends is special. But long campaigns are becoming indescribably painful. Just think of an Excedrin headache that lasts all year for more than 240 million eligible voters. It could be like the supply-chain shortages of the pandemic, with people clearing out store shelves and grabbing for the last bottle of headache medicine. Still not convinced how miserable...
We have a great opportunity before us. Let’s change our visitors’ first impression of Wrangell. Currently, the view is of old containers piled high. Not only do they block the visitors’ view of the downtown area, but the vans are surrounded with muddy water, which is very unattractive. I don’t believe the current container location fits in with the welcome intended by the community, evident by the children selling garnets and other trinkets on the pier. The borough has been successful in acquiring the former 6-Mile mill site. This location has...
The assembly’s decision to take away any benefit to the school district of the Legislature’s one-year increase in state education funding for next year makes sense from the perspective of the borough’s own finances. However, there are more perspectives to consider. Long term, the community needs a plan to adequately fund its schools. The school board had asked the borough to contribute $1.75 million — the maximum amount allowed under state law — to the school district’s $6 million spending plan for the 2024-2025 school year. That would have...
The expression, the best things in life are free, applies to fresh air, the view out the window and a positive attitude. For the next five weeks, it will also apply to the Wrangell Sentinel. Starting this week, the Sentinel has turned off the paywall to its website. Anyone with a keyboard, a mouse, a smartphone, a swiping finger or a voice-activated personal assistant will be able to go to wrangellsentinel.com and read all the news they want. Normally, the online edition of the Sentinel is available only to people who buy a subscription. As old...
More than 27 years ago, we arrived in Wrangell with our family as the new pastor at Bible Baptist Church and, soon thereafter, taking on the role as produce manager at City Market for the next 22 years of our time here. Thank you, Benn Curtis and Chet Powell for that opportunity. Wrangell welcomed our family with open arms, as did our new church family. Our children, Nathan, Westley and Mindy, experienced and enjoyed making a lifetime of memories living in such a different place than their familiar Midwest beginnings. Yes, the geographic...
It’s no surprise that the applicant pool was limited when the Wrangell School District advertised for a new counselor to serve elementary, middle and high school students. It’s a big job for one person to work with 260 students. That includes providing career guidance, making health and psychological referrals, helping to manage student testing and assessments, and building relationships with staff, parents and the community. That’s a lot to ask of one person, but that’s the reality of the district’s tight finances. A small pool of applicant...
A longtime friend who is just a couple of years younger than me called recently to ask some advice. I’m always flattered when someone seeks my opinion. It makes me feel wise and useful, which is more uplifting than my usual specialties of old and opinionated. But rather than some in-depth inquiry into public policy, finances, taxes, politics or journalism, his question made me feel nostalgic, like remembering my younger life of scrubbing whitewall tires, the low-cost joy of replacing a simple key before expensive programmable fobs took over the...
Legislators from the Railbelt, which covers the state’s population centers from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks, expect Southeast lawmakers to understand, to care and to spend state dollars on their constituents’ energy needs. They want money to help rebuild electrical transmission lines to move more renewable power and help from the state treasury to promote more natural gas production out of Cook Inlet. The Railbelt wants help for its local needs. Same for rural legislators who seek attention and funding from the state for a long list of loc...
National news stories last week reported that a survey of almost 1,500 Amazon employees across 42 states found that one in three need government assistance, primarily food stamps or Medicaid. The news matches a Government Accountability Office analysis in 2020 that covered nine states and found that Amazon — and Walmart, too — were among the biggest employers of workers whose earnings were low enough that they qualified for food stamps. That Amazon and Walmart would be near the top is no surprise: Walmart is the largest private-sector emp...
It may be hard for some to accept but, long term, it will be good for the community if commercial tour operators follow state law and register for the required permit to take people to the Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site. That includes collecting $6 per person from customers and sending the money to the state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The fee was on the books long before the beach was designated a state historic site in 2000, bringing it under the permit requirements. It’s just that no one realized it— not the borough or...
The Republican-controlled Alaska House of Representatives last Saturday did their best impersonation ever of the U.S. House, spending all day on legislation that will never make it into law. It was the same kind of political circus that the nation has endured the past couple of years after a skinny margin of Republicans took control of the U.S. House, beholden to a small group who spend more time on social media than doing their schoolwork. Too bad teachers cannot take away their phones. Rather than focus on bipartisan legislation that could he...
Wrangell kids will have a heads-up opportunity next month: Not only can they get free helmets to wear when riding bicycles and four-wheelers, but the offer also includes free paint, brushes and other supplies to decorate their new headgear. It’s a thoughtful giveaway to protect the center of kids’ thought process. Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL), which provides help and support services for people with disabilities, particularly brain injuries, will provide the helmets. Wrangell’s Parks and Recreation Department will put on the e...
One proposal to solve the impending energy shortage for Alaska’s population centers is to go back in time. To the 1970s, when coal was king in the U.S. The governor, legislators, municipal officials and business leaders are worried that the Railbelt — the population corridor stretching south from Fairbanks, through the Matanuska Valley and Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula — will run short of natural gas before the end of the decade. The region has lived off the nearby underground warehouse of natural gas from the Kenai Peninsula and Cook Inlet...
I read with great interest the guest opinion by Laurie Overbay-Barker in the April 24 Wrangell Sentinel. She brought up important issues related to the challenging and invaluable work of paid caregiving. My thoughts are running in a related direction. Our town’s aging population has a growing number of folks who could benefit from support to maintain an enjoyable and safe quality of life. We currently have a patchwork system of family, community and paid supports that doesn’t cover everyone. Current caregivers, paid and unpaid, often feel ove...
Alaska Marine Highway System management has decided to cut back on advertising that for years promoted the state ferries as a scenic, leisurely way for summer travelers to tour Southeast. Though painful to admit, it’s the right decision. Nothing upsets customers more than to bite on advertising, book a ticket, plan a trip and then find themselves at the dock all dressed up with no place to go. “Because of our reliability with the fleet, we have consciously pulled back our advertising in the Lower 48 because we just disappoint people right now...
