For would-be gardeners without a place to call their own, there are three community gardening options in the Chilkat Valley. Mosquito Lake The Victory Garden at Mosquito Lake is a community garden run through the Four Winds Resource Center which is housed in the former Mosquito Lake School. The collective garden runs on a model […]
Posted inGarden Edition
Advice on onions and how to deal with root maggots
Most likely many of you gardeners have your garden spaces melted off and some are digging in the soil already. But then some of us still have piles of snow! If your beds are still covered in snow, it probably means that they do not get much light unless there is some other reason for […]
Posted inSoutheast News
SE Communities Join for Spruce Root Retreat
One hundred and thirty-eight like-minded professionals convened in Sitka this week for three days of networking, field trips and group work on projects, at the Sustainable Southeast Partnership Spring Retreat. Today was the last day of the retreat. Sustainable Southeast Partnership is a program of Spruce Root, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2012 and designated […]
Posted inCommentary
A free press, for a free people
“Freedom for people depends on freedom of the press.” — Antonio Guterres. That quote, not to mention the author, is likely to inspire billions of responses. Once Guterres’ identity is known, another billion or two. In other words, there is no shortage of thoughts when it comes to the press. News readers — even puzzle […]
Posted inNews, Alaska Legislature, State of Alaska
State, employees’ union reach tentative agreement on 11% pay hike over three years
An 11% pay increase and significant boost in health care coverage over three years is part of a tentative agreement announced Friday by a union representing more than 8,000 Alaska state government employees. The agreement calls for a 3% increase and a $2,500 lump sum payment on July 1 of this year; a 3% increase and $2,000 […]
Posted inAlaska Legislature, News
Alaska Senate committee’s draft budget has a surplus — and that’s a sign of trouble
On Friday, the Alaska Senate’s finance committee finished work on a draft state operating budget for the coming year and sent the draft ahead to a vote of the full Senate. Senators is scheduled to begin debating amendments on Monday, with a vote on the draft expected later in the week. The committee’s draft is […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Government & Elections
Bill seeks to exempt Alaska commercial fishers’ insurance pools from tighter regulation
To avoid high insurance costs, some groups of commercial fishers in Alaska have formed cooperatives to collectively pay liability and damage claims themselves. A bill passed April 25 by the Alaska House of Representatives would exempt these cooperatives from regulation under the state’s insurance laws. The House voted 37-0 to pass House Bill 116, which now goes to […]
Posted inNews, Health
State House asks Congress to prevent major health insurance cost hike for Alaskans
The Alaska House of Representatives has approved a formal letter asking Congress to extend a series of Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. Unless the credits are extended, Alaskans insured through the federal health insurance marketplace — about 25,000 people — could see their rates rise […]
Posted inCommentary
Public media is in the crosshairs. How will Alaska’s congressional delegation vote?
Should public media be spared the budget cutting axe of President Donald Trump and the congressional allies of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE? I’m not going to directly answer that question myself, because I’m not an unbiased observer: I’ve worked for years as a reporter and contractor for Alaska Public Media, Anchorage’s public […]
Posted inArts & Culture, Local News
Haines players come out strong during local bridge tournament
Bridge players gathered in Haines last weekend for three days of officially sanctioned bridge tournament play. The event, held at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, drew competitors from neighboring bridge communities in Juneau and Whitehorse. Not all competitors sat for the full slate of six sessions, which were 3-and-a-half hours each. For those who did, […]