A huge thank you to everyone – you have made my last 26 years at Alaska Power & Telephone wonderful, and all the other years that came before. For all those who stopped by, the well wishes, cards, flowers and hugs all made my last day very special. I am so very grateful to be […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
In response to a letter by the misinformed
It pains me to correct the author of a letter in the April 24 edition titled “Letter-writer calling citizens ‘misinformed’ was himself misinformed,” but it must be done for the sake of clarity. First, according to the Treasury Department, Trump left office with the national debt rising by $7.8 trillion and Biden left with an […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Proposed mine not worth the risk to salmon
We are speaking up for the wild salmon in the Chilkat Valley. Having a chest freezer full and jars of wild salmon to eat is how we live. If we have too much, we give it to elders or those in need who can’t fish. Subsistence fishing is an integral part of our family’s lives, […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: A new baby, a walk, ballroom dancing, and an office dog roundup
Dylan and Dakota Swinton welcomed Henry James Swinton into the world in Anchorage on April 23, 2025. He was 6.6 pounds and 20-inches tall. The Elliott family looks forward to the extremely low tides that we get to enjoy at the end of April in Haines. Sarah, Brian, and their 15-year-old daughter CeeCee planned their […]
Posted inGarden Edition
Boron deficiency, local soils and fruitfulness
The element boron (B) is a plant micro-nutrient and deficient in many Alaska-area soils, including in the Chilkat Valley. Boron is easily leached away where soils are seasonally saturated with water. In 2021-2022, the Chilkat Valley Orchard Project collected and analyzed about 30 local soil samples, ranging from tidewater to near the Canadian border. Only […]
Posted inGarden Edition
Gardening with feathered friends
When you think of a garden you might imagine idyllic scenes of rows of leafy greens and red strawberries peeking from beneath foliage, with plump chickens scratching in the dirt of the path and ducks waddling down the lanes. Reality with feathered friends is quite different — shredded, trampled plants and veggies with holes pecked […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety, Government & Elections
US eyes Aleutian military revival as Russia, China expand operations near Alaska
RFE/RL originally published this article. In October 2024, the US Coast Guard spotted two Chinese maritime enforcement vessels operating alongside a pair of Russian border patrol boats as they transited the Bering Sea, just kilometers from Alaskan waters. It was the third consecutive year that a joint Russian-Chinese military convoy sailed through the strategic waterway. A year […]
Posted inArts & Culture, Southeast News
From Alaska Capitol’s cafeteria, author and illustrator claims Pulitzer Prize
Tessa Hulls was making sandwiches in the Alaska Capitol when she learned she had won a Pulitzer Prize. Her book, “Feeding Ghosts,” is a nonfiction graphic novel that documents three generations of women in her family, starting with her grandmother, who was a journalist at the time of the Chinese Communist Revolution. It had already won three national […]
Posted inHaines Borough, Public Safety, Local News
Budget Nuggets: Assembly considers changing police, ambulance funding
The assembly concluded the second of two informal discussions on the proposed borough budget Tuesday. Up next is the first public hearings of budget season, where, ultimately, city leaders will decide how to tax and how to spend in the upcoming year. Tuesday’s meeting focused on the townsite service area – essentially the city of […]
Posted inGarden Edition
Tips for growing potatoes and carrots for home gardeners
Potatoes I begin with certified seed, since it is officially inspected for disease and condition. Potato diseases reside in the soil. Around May 15, I’ll have prepared a bed with 25% or better organic material, a pH of neutral or slightly negative, and a kindly portion of organic fertilizer mixed in and covered with about […]