Two of three Ketchikan-based U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters were recently deployed to the U.S./Mexico border, a USCG official stated in an email on Thursday. The Coast Guard cutters John McCormick and Bailey Barco “are currently completing short-duration deployments to the United States’ southern border,” Travis Magee, a spokesperson for the U.S.Coast Guard Arctic […]
Posted inLocal News
Rate hike rejected, residents to be refunded for portion of electricity increases
The state’s utility regulators struck down a 69.92% electricity rate increase proposed by the Upper Lynn Canal’s electric utility. Alaska Power Company, the region’s lone electricity supplier, first sought a rate increase from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska a year and a half ago to pay for a costly replacement of an underwater transmission cable […]
Posted inLocal News
Dock meeting leaves Lutak Dock project in limbo
The Lutak Dock redesign project is in limbo after a meeting borough manager Alekka Fullerton described as a “huge step back.” Borough staff say they’re ready to submit a “white paper,” a document that explains to the federal agency funding much of the project what the new dock design, selected in April, will entail. As […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly rejects plastic bag ban
Last week’s assembly meeting delivered a certain poetic justice for those who want plastic shopping bags in town. The Haines Borough Assembly decided against a stricter plastic bag regulation, but only after hearing one last installment in weeks of public debate on the issue. And while one generally expects the unexpected at assembly meetings, it […]
Posted inEating Well in the Chilkat Valley
Eating Well in the Chilkat Valley: Mushroom season
The Upper Lynn Canal is home to one of the best foraging resources for healthy eating: mushrooms. People are often surprised to learn that mushrooms are a nutrient-dense superfood, providing high levels of protein, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins B and D, with very little fat. It is important to cook all mushrooms, both wild […]
Posted inHaines Herring
Haines Herring: RV’er First to Discover Alaska
Buck Spender of Sweat, Florida, always considered himself in the ‘spirit of the pioneers’: “I love sunsets, Westerns, fishing, that stuff,” Spender said, “But I always dreamed of going West, like the pioneers. Maybe up to the new territory of Alaska. So that’s when I bought this RV. Just like the pioneers.” The recreational vehicle […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Economy
Tlingit and Haida opens Two Coppers Casino after years-long effort, but its legal status isn’t a sure bet
A tribal casino near Eaglecrest Ski Area that’s been discussed for many years is open, but its operator is taking something of a gamble by hoping it can prevail if the state challenges the legality of the establishment. A “soft opening” of the Two Coppers Casino began this week, with the facility featuring 100 slot-style […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Local News
History in the making: Eldred Rock Lighthouse grand opening sees passengers from the Chilkat Valley
After six years of restoration, the Eldred Rock Lighthouse opened to the public. A group of 16 passengers departed Haines early Saturday morning for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the lighthouse 17 miles south of town. One of the passengers aboard was Ralph Crane, who was stationed at the lighthouse from May 1969 […]
Posted inLocal News
Peltola makes campaign stop in Haines
Mary Peltola’s campaign for U.S. Senate arrived in Haines last week with little fanfare: a Saturday campaign event was announced by a lone, letter-size flier on local bulletin boards. It was sandwiched between flyers for karaoke night at the Pioneer Bar and a babysitting club advertisement. Meanwhile, Peltola has had the largest first quarter of […]
Posted inLocal News, Wildlife
First Alaska mule deer harvest follows years of fleeting appearances in the state
When Westin Nelson of Skagway became the first Alaska hunter on record to harvest a mule deer, he may have been doing the state a favor. Mule deer, better known as inhabitants of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions, have been expanding their range northward, including into Alaska. As they do so, they are […]