Sitka
RSSNews from Sitka, Alaska
Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair
Sitka will close Davidoff Street between Charteris Street and Halibut Point Road from 5:30 a.m. to about 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, while crews repair a manhole lid at the Halibut Point Road intersection.
by Walter AlaskaNews18h ago1 min readAI
Deep Inlet reopens to seine, gillnet and troll fleets at 12:01 a.m. Saturday
Alaska reopened Deep Inlet to commercial salmon fishing after the state hatchery finished cost-recovery operations, ending a closure that began June 28.
by Bill AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Sitka crews cleaning waste oil spilled Aug. 12 on the O'Connell Bridge lane to Harbor Drive
Sitka crews are cleaning oil from O'Connell Bridge to Harbor Drive now. Expect delays and follow crew directions.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
Lower Barracks Street closes Wednesday morning for Sitka crosswalk painting
Lower Barracks Street closes Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. to noon for volunteers to paint crosswalk art as part of Sitka's pedestrian safety project.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Sitka's old pulp mill site keeps filling up — another lot goes out for development
Sitka is seeking a developer for another lot at its former pulp mill site — long mostly empty after the mill's 1993 closure, and now steadily filling up.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min readAI
Sitka Assembly takes first reading Aug. 11 on ordinance replacing taxicab code
Sitka is rewriting its taxi rules for the first time since the '90s — pulling tours, shuttles, limos and pedicabs into one framework with flat zone fares.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Why Sitka subsidizes electric bills: the Blue Lake Dam debt
Sitka is taking applications through Oct. 31 to subsidize electric bills — a program driven by the $125M Blue Lake Dam debt that keeps local power expensive.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
IHS picks Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups for first-ever elder care construction program
Indian Health Service picked Sitka and Bethel tribal health groups to build and expand skilled nursing facilities, the first time the federal program has funded long-term elder care in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
Eleven Sitka islands lose power for a day as crews swap a channel cable
Eleven islands off Sitka go dark for eight hours on July 31 while crews swap out an aging underwater cable. Charge everything Thursday night.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Sitka Harbor Office closes at noon Friday, reopens Monday
Sitka Harbor Office closes at noon Friday and reopens Monday, leaving boat owners and fishers without walk-in service or phone access until then. Call 907-738-0835 for emergencies.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Sitka moves to fix its late-night ride problem
Sitka has few cabs, no Uber, and a hard time getting anyone to the airport. The city is rewriting its 1990s taxi rules to fix that.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Alaska News Roundup: Gas pipeline tax fight, Point Thomson trade-off, and McNeil River access debate
This episode covers the week's major Alaska stories: a gas pipeline tax bill that added oil tax increases, the Point Thomson condensate trade-off for pipeline gas, Mount Edgecumbe enrollment crisis, and McNeil River bear sanctuary access proposals.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Sitka wades into an unsettled frontier of environmental law
Sitka may sue over PFAS, 1,4-dioxane and microplastics in its water — and the microplastics part is a legal frontier no other Alaska town appears to have tested.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock clears review; work set for 2026
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock cleared its environmental review, with waterfront construction set to run from 2026 to 2028.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
Some Sitka customers can't reach 911; call dispatch directly
Some Sitka phone customers can't reach 911 after a vehicle hit a utility line. Until it's fixed, call dispatch directly at 907-747-3245, staffed 24/7.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Too few goats, too easy to reach: South Baranof stays closed
South Baranof stays closed to goat hunting a second year running — too few goats, and too easy to get to, which is exactly the problem.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed on Harbor Mountain above Sitka
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter went down on Harbor Mountain above Sitka Monday. The road is closed, and the crew that rescues others needed it
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka Assembly reconsiders hatchery lease at Gary Paxton park
Sitka's Assembly takes another swing at leasing a chunk of the Gary Paxton park to a hatchery group, plus two more parcels up for private bids.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Two Sitka men face child exploitation charges
A statewide task force arrested two Sitka men within a day of each other on separate child sexual abuse material charges; both are held without bail and presumed innocent.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka opens candidate filing for municipal election
Sitka has six seats up in October and the filing window closes Aug. 7 — including a School Board seat you only need 30 days' residency for.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Past three miles, Alaskans fish like nonresidents
Alaskans lose resident fishing limits the moment they cross into federal water — and keeping a big lingcod inshore can shut you out of the EEZ entirely.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Sitka crosswalk art project brings morning delays to Lincoln Street starting Thursday
Volunteers paint decorative crosswalk art on Lincoln Street in Sitka Thursday and Friday mornings, expect delays as part of a pedestrian safety project.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Sitka's next step in a multi-year federal road safety push — RFQ goes out as SS4A program nears its authorized end
Sitka is hiring a consultant to move its federal road safety project forward before the Safe Streets and Roads for All program's authorization expires September 30, with qualifications due July 8.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka Coast Guard dock switches from steel to plastic fender piles
Sitka's new Coast Guard dock is switching from steel to plastic piles, a change that both speeds up the work and shrinks the zones where pile-driving noise could disturb marine mammals.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
Sitka police tag 27 vehicles in abandoned-car crackdown since May
Sitka police have tagged 27 abandoned vehicles since May, removing 15 and giving owners up to 60 days to move or fix them before the city disposes of the car at their expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Sitka confronts a child care shortage it can't fully fix alone
Sitka doesn't have enough child care — a problem hitting all of Alaska, driven partly by the real cost of the safety rules that make care expensive to provide.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka seeks crosswalk design ideas for Lincoln Street
Sitka is asking residents of all ages to submit designs for painted crosswalk patterns on downtown Lincoln Street by June 24, with selected designs to be painted this summer as part of a pedestrian safety project.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Pioneer Park main shelter closes mornings July 23-24 for volunteer work
Pioneer Park's main shelter closes 9 a.m. to noon Thursday and Friday, July 23-24, while volunteers including Outer Coast do maintenance work. The park itself stays open.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
All 4 crew rescued after Coast Guard Jayhawk crashes near Sitka
All four crew members were rescued after a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crashed near Sitka.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka sets new ground rules for its cruise-season crush
Up to 7,000 cruise passengers a day hit a town of 8,000 — so Sitka rolled out new (voluntary) ground rules to keep the visitor boom from wearing on the people who live there.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka names sole finalist for municipal administrator, schedules public receptions
Sitka named Jenny Alber as sole finalist for municipal administrator and scheduled two public receptions July 26 and 27 before the Assembly votes on hiring.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
Sitka Deputy Mayor Pike to resign; Assembly to fill vacant seat
Sitka Deputy Mayor Timothy Pike resigns effective June 23, 2026. Assembly votes May 26 on how to fill the seat and adopts three budget ordinances for fiscal year 2027. Meeting starts 6 p.m. at Assembly Chambers, 330 Harbor Drive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A Sitka Assembly seat just opened — and the window's short
A Sitka Assembly seat opened when Tim Pike resigned — and residents have only until July 8 to apply for the appointment before October's election decides it for good.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka Assembly schedules child care work session for July 21
Sitka Assembly meets July 21 to tackle child care shortages that parents say are expensive and understaffed, and that hurt nearly two-thirds of local employers.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
A salmon hatchery wants to grow at Sitka's old pulp mill site
Sitka may lease a second lot at its old pulp mill site to the nonprofit behind much of Southeast's salmon hatchery production — room for the fish supply to grow.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka's Fourth of July party is back — just leave the car behind
Sitka's Fourth brings a parade, a Coast Guard rescue demo, and a firefighters-vs-Coast Guard water fight — but downtown streets close July 3–5, so plan to walk.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
When the Coast Guard searches, Sitka's sky can close
A Coast Guard search shut a patch of low airspace over Sitka for two days — a small disruption elsewhere, but real in a roadbound town that flies for a living.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
In Sitka, they're carrying your luggage by hand this summer
Sitka is running its biggest projects all at once — and at the torn-up airport, workers are hand-carrying travelers' bags to keep flights moving through tourist season.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka voters to decide charter change on initiative and referendum power
The Sitka Assembly will consider placing a charter amendment on the October 2026 ballot that would alter the city's initiative and referendum process.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min readAISitka Assembly awards Fisheries Enhancement Fund grants June 9
Sitka Assembly awards Fisheries Enhancement Fund grants June 9 to support salmon hatcheries as Southeast Alaska fish prices drop sharply.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI