Sitka

Southeast seiners get one 15-hour opening, in Sitka Sound

Southeast seiners get one 15-hour opening in Sitka Sound this week and nothing else. The fleet has thinned to 75 boats from 121 a week earlier.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Necker Bay's goat zone closes after two billies fill the quota

Two billies filled the quota and closed Necker Bay's mountain goat zone for the season, the second Baranof Island zone to shut this year.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Sugpiaq artist who works in fish skin is in residency in Sitka

Sugpiaq artist Larissa Kramer, who works in fish skin, resin and botanicals, gives two free talks in Sitka this month during a museum residency.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska's governor race upended in a day: a disqualification, a last-minute filing, and a lone Democrat

Alaska's governor race flipped in a day: Treg Taylor was disqualified, his wife filed at the deadline, and it's now three Republicans versus one Democrat.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Sitka requires appointments for large scrap loads and vehicles at Gary Paxton yard

Sitka's scrap yard now requires appointments for loads larger than a dump truck or for large vehicles, citing limited space and shipping container shortages.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Sitka man to be paid $419,840 to put boats under Coast Guard helicopters

A Sitka man will collect $419,840 to park boats under Coast Guard helicopters so crews can practice hoisting people off the water. Only one company bid.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Deep Inlet closes to common property salmon fishing for broodstock

Alaska closed Deep Inlet to commercial salmon fishing Monday to let a hatchery collect broodstock, with no reopening date set, cutting off Sitka fishermen from a key fishing ground.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Deep Inlet reopens to the commercial fleet after the hatchery takes its cut

The FAA is paying $4.3 million to design a radar tower near Sitka

The FAA is paying $4.3 million just to design a radar tower on Biorka Island south of Sitka, with an option for the same firm to build it later.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Sealaska Heritage president says Tlingit-Russian War story belongs to all clans, not Kiks.ádi alone

Sealaska Heritage says the Tlingit-Russian War story belongs to all clans and Haidas, not the Kiks.ádi alone, ahead of the opera's September premiere in Tlingit.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Sitka's Planning Office will be closed for a full week in September

Sitka Planning Office closes Sept. 8-11 for internal work on code updates and land management, with no walk-in, phone, or email service during those four days.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, above and below

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, for the aircraft passing above them and the boats passing below. The whole project costs $170,000.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Bronson takes the last spot on Alaska's four-way November governor ballot

Dave Bronson, the former Anchorage mayor, advanced from Alaska's August governor primary to the November ranked-choice general election, joining three other candidates in the top-four system.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Sitka will test its ballot machines in public before the October election

Sitka residents can watch the ballot-counting machines get tested Sept. 3. The city's pages don't say whether its equipment matches the state's.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Heads up, Sitka flyers: the airport's pre-security restrooms close for six weeks in September

Sitka's airport closes its pre-security restrooms for about six weeks starting in September for a remodel — part of a $40M terminal expansion. Temporary restrooms will sit outside in the loading zone.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Sitka school zone flasher on Kashevaroff Street is out of service

A school zone flasher outside a Sitka elementary is down for a few weeks, but the speed limits still apply. The city asks drivers to slow down for kids.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Creators of first Tlingit opera take public questions Thursday in Juneau

Juneau can meet the team behind the first Tlingit opera in recorded history at a free panel Thursday, ahead of the Tlingit-language work's premiere next month.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: The first Tlingit opera in recorded history opens in Juneau next month

Sitka may rewrite its rules for second homes on residential lots

Sitka's planning commission takes up a draft rewrite of its accessory dwelling unit rules Monday. The draft does not say which direction it goes.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Sitka Assembly takes up a public records appeal Tuesday

A Sitka resident is appealing a records determination to the Assembly Tuesday. The agenda doesn't say what records he asked for or what he was told.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Sitka is set to confirm a fire chief who's already been doing the job

Sitka's Assembly is set to confirm Brian McLaughlin as fire chief this week, a role he already appears to have been filling for the volunteer-heavy department.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Peterson Avenue closes this weekend for a utility line, detour in place

Peterson Avenue near Halibut Point Road closes this weekend for a utility line across both lanes. There's no set detour, so follow the signs and flaggers.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Sitka's sole finalist for city administrator is gone, and the Assembly is starting over

The sole finalist Sitka introduced for city administrator last month is gone, and the Assembly interviews two new candidates Friday, with no explanation given.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Sitka nonprofit seeks to bend the rules to build more housing

A Sitka housing nonprofit is asking the city to waive parking and allow smaller lots so it can fit more homes on a lot on Halibut Point Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair

Somebody blew their lid. I'm just kidding, but the road will be closed down temporarily.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Deep Inlet reopens to the commercial fleet after the hatchery takes its cut

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Sealaska Heritage honors four Southeast educators at Juneau conference

Sealaska Heritage Institute awarded four Southeast Alaska educators for weaving Indigenous knowledge into classrooms at its annual conference in Juneau.

by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago1 min read

Ben Le, missing since a hike at Port Armstrong on Aug. 10, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff

A hiker missing near Port Armstrong since Monday is being searched by crews that added a thermal drone team Wednesday morning after ground and aerial searches found no sign of him.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

The state will renew a Sitka hatchery's Deep Inlet lease for 10 years, not the 25 it wanted

The state will renew a Sitka hatchery's Deep Inlet net pen lease for 10 years, less than half the 25 it asked for, and the notice doesn't say why.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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.News3mo ago1 min read

Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts

Pacific halibut are at a 40-year low, and Alaska's waters took the deepest 2025 cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing alike.

by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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 3mo ago2 min read

Troopers and corrections officers recruit at the Mat-Su Job Center

Two Alaska public-safety agencies are recruiting at the Mat-Su Job Center in Wasilla — State Troopers on Wednesday, corrections officers every Friday.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Alaska keeps trading its old flight beacons for GPS, one route at a time

The FAA is amending a GPS airway near Kodiak this fall, part of Alaska's slow statewide switch from old ground beacons to satellite-guided flight routes.

by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read

The first Tlingit opera in recorded history opens in Juneau next month

The first Tlingit opera in recorded history opens in Juneau Sept. 11 — in the Tlingit language, telling the Tlingit-Russian War from the Tlingit side.

by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read