Southeast

Sitka planning staff recommend denying courthouse move to Sheldon Jackson campus

Sitka planning staff recommend denying the court system's plan to move the courthouse beside a playground and youth camp. The state already funded the purchase.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 23

Forest Service gives shipyards another week to bid on its Tongass floating barracks

The Forest Service gave shipyards until Nov. 6 to bid on hauling out and repainting the Misty, a 1979 floating barracks. It needs hull work every five years.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read

Ketchikan weighs $63,750 more to design a tank for Ravenwood's low water pressure

Ketchikan's assembly votes Monday on $63,750 more for a Ravenwood water tank design, mostly a control panel. The project was first identified around 2006.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Skagway Assembly weighs handing clinic's federal grant to its nonprofit by 2028

Skagway wants to stop sharing its clinic's federal grant. A resolution Thursday would hand it to the nonprofit by 2028; the borough aims to keep the building.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 22

Juneau manager seeks Tlingit & Haida partnership to house Coast Guard crews

Juneau's city manager says the icebreaker Storis won't make Juneau home without housing. She wants to team up with Tlingit & Haida to open land at Kowee Creek.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly to weigh how it will pick a developer for Telephone Hill housing

Juneau is about to go shopping for a developer to put up to 155 homes on Telephone Hill. The Assembly gets one shot Monday at changing how it picks.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau assessor trims contested Glacier Highway value but says it appears undervalued

Juneau's assessor trimmed a Glacier Highway property's value by $217,500 after seeing its rent roll, but says the property still appears undervalued.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

FEMA is still paying for Southeast Alaska's deadly 2020 storms, nearly six years later

FEMA is still paying for Southeast Alaska's deadly 2020 storms. One Haines road it defunded, then refunded, now faces opposition from Klukwan's tribal council.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read

Coast Guard hires Ketchikan dive company to handle fuel on boat aground in Raymond Cove

The Coast Guard hired a Ketchikan dive company, without taking bids, to deal with fuel and oil aboard the Sultan, a boat aground in Raymond Cove.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Haines Assembly will start weighing two bids to run its cruise dock Nov. 17

Two companies want to run Haines' cruise dock for up to 35 years. The Assembly will start comparing them Nov. 17 but has no date to pick one, if either.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Huna Totem group and a global port operator bid to run Haines' cruise dock

Legislative Council approves up to $66,000 for new Alaska House SUV

The House's 15-year-old ride is wearing out, so legislative leaders OK'd up to $66,000 for a new SUV. Staff's pick is a Jeep Wagoneer, the cheapest quote.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Two hurt after vehicle loses control on ice and hits a guardrail in Ketchikan

Two people were hurt when their vehicle lost control on ice and hit a guardrail on Ketchikan's Revilla Road. No impairment is suspected, troopers said.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fishery council will study letting Southeast charters keep leasing halibut

Southeast charter clients can't keep a halibut over 34 inches, barring a rare giant, unless captains lease commercial quota. Managers will study that.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Pelican's hydro plant can keep running while FERC reviews a new license

Pelican's hydro license expired, but federal law lets the plant keep running while FERC weighs a new one. An environmental review is due in January.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Juneau to close five downtown and Douglas streets to vehicles for winter

Juneau will close five downtown and Douglas streets to vehicles starting Oct. 30 for winter safety. No reopening date is set.

by Alaska News2w ago1 min read

Legislature raises Juneau lodging stipend for session staff to $50 a day

Legislative staff who move to Juneau for session will get $50 a day for lodging instead of $37.50. Sixteen donated apartments should be ready, too.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

NOAA approves marine mammal permit for Petro Marine's Juneau fuel dock rebuild

Petro Marine says maintenance can't keep up with its 1971 Juneau fuel dock. NOAA just approved the noisy pile driving to replace it, seals and all.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Legislative Council delays extra $8,580 for managing lawmakers' Juneau apartments

Rep. Louise Stutes, who has owned apartments herself, balked at $8,580 more for managing lawmakers' Juneau units, so the Legislative Council punted to December.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Coast Guard searches for Angoon boater after empty skiff found near Killisnoo Island

Coast Guard and Wrangell rescue teams are searching near Angoon for Roger Williams Jr., 35, after his empty skiff was found near Killisnoo Island.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fish and Game closes two Southeast sea cucumber areas and raises the weekly limit

Divers took about all the sea cucumbers allowed off Gravina Island and in Zimovia Strait, so Fish and Game closed both and raised the weekly limit elsewhere.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Follows: Gravina Island sea cucumber divers get two hours as the area's cap nearly runs out

Southeast Alaska's commercial Dungeness crab season ends Saturday, a month early

Southeast's Dungeness crab fleet stops fishing Saturday after a fall season cut in half, capping a year with the weakest summer harvest estimate in 25 years.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

NOAA closes out its $5.2 million Rainier overhaul at Ketchikan Shipyard

NOAA closed out a $5 million repair order for the survey ship Rainier at Ketchikan Shipyard, clawing back $392,172 in unused funds.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read

Haines and Skagway power bills could rise about $180 a month to pay for an undersea cable

Haines and Skagway households could pay about $180 more a month for power under a proposed fund for their undersea cable, the state's consumer advocate says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Sitka hires Gerrie Cotter as municipal administrator at $200,000 a year

Sitka hired Gerrie Cotter, a township administrator, as city administrator at $200,000 a year. Her stated reason for leaving: more natural beauty.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readFrom Oct 13

Follows: Sitka Assembly votes to negotiate contract with Gerrie Cotter for municipal administrator

Eaglecrest has brought in $2.77 million of its $4.26 million budget, report shows

Juneau's $1.68 million for Eaglecrest is already in, about 40% of the ski area's budget. Season pass sales have reached about $941,000 so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau task force's whale-watch recommendation no longer commits to a license or cap

Juneau's tourism task force still calls the whale-watch status quo unsustainable. Its new draft no longer commits to a license or cap, just to weighing them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Geoduck divers get two more days near Ketchikan under a smaller Southeast harvest target

Geoduck divers get two more days near Ketchikan this week. Southeast's harvest target is about 40% below last year's, and two areas are still closed.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Forest Service adds Kake hearing on how roadless repeal could affect subsistence

The Forest Service added a Nov. 4 hearing in Kake on how lifting the Roadless Rule's limits on roads and logging could affect subsistence in Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly splits 5-4 on paying $80,000 to restore arts grants the arts council kept

Juneau's arts council kept grant money meant for local artists to cover its own costs. On a 5-4 vote, the Assembly added $80,000 so the grants go out anyway.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly drops e-bike trail rules and takes aim at e-motos citywide

Juneau scrapped its e-bike trail rules to go after e-motos citywide. A trail group says young teens on 50-mph electric dirt bikes are damaging a bike park.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly will hear neighbors' appeal of a Mendenhall Valley hobby farm permit

Neighbors appealed a permit letting a Mendenhall Valley family keep up to 100 chickens and ducks. The Juneau Assembly will hear the case itself.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly keeps harbors as raw fish tax default but adds an exception

Juneau's Assembly kept harbors as the default for raw fish tax money but gave itself an out for "extenuating fiscal circumstances," which have no set threshold.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Troopers say they suspect no foul play in death of 75-year-old Saxman woman

Ann McEachern, 75, died Saturday at her Saxman home after medics could not revive her. Alaska State Troopers say they do not suspect foul play.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Petersburg spent $1,122 in public money promoting its sales tax cap proposition

Petersburg spent $1,122 in public money on ads for its own sales tax hike, which lost by 14 votes. State law sets a specific bar for that spending.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Southeast seiners and gillnetters have until Nov. 13 to shape December task force agendas

Got thoughts on how Southeast's seine and gillnet fisheries are run? Fish and Game wants task force topics by Nov. 13 for December meetings in Ketchikan.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Sitka's residential electric rate drops more than a third for the winter

Sitka's residential power rate drops from 21.93 to 13.71 cents a kilowatt-hour for winter, when Sitkans lean on electric heat. Summer rates return in May.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Sitka to close downtown Lincoln Street for Halloween trick-or-treating

Sitka closes Lincoln Street downtown from 3 to 6 pm on Halloween for trick-or-treating. Cars left inside the closure stay put until the crowd clears.

by Alaska News2w ago1 min read

Juneau seeks comment on plan to keep ride providers eligible for state grants

Juneau's draft transit plan would keep local ride providers eligible for state grants through 2031. Comments are due Nov. 9, with Assembly testimony set for Nov. 16.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Chatham schools could serve salmon, venison and seaweed under new wellness policy

Chatham's school board votes Tuesday on a policy calling for foods like salmon, halibut, venison, seaweed and berries in school meals where practicable.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Haines Assembly may adopt development rules the planning commission asked to see again

Haines' Assembly may adopt planned-development rules Tuesday. The Planning Commission asked in March to see the final draft; its records show no such review.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read