On March 31, President Trump issued a new executive order on citizenship records and mail‑in ballots entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order has nothing to do with election integrity — the name is like “Newspeak,” Orwell’s fictional language for a totalitarian state. It is an unlawful attempt to seize control of how […]
Posted inLocal News
Pilot hospitalized after rescue from downed plane near Juneau
A Ward Air plane went down in Lynn Canal near Shelter Island on Thursday morning, with the pilot as the sole occupant hospitalized, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard was notified at 10:17 a.m. today of a downed Cessna plane with one person on board approximately 1.5 miles offshore Boy Scout Beach,” […]
Posted inLocal News, Arts & Culture
With new grant, organizers eye ArtFest expansion
It’s the fourth year of the Chilkat Valley’s annual spring art festival and organizers are hoping a new grant will help them grow the festival event further. The Alaska Arts Confluence is still raising the funds it needs to match and receive a $4,500 Alaska State Council on the Arts grant. Board members said they’re […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
An apology for my involvement in a landlord-tenant dispute
Since I wrote my piece comparing a lease to sharecropping, I have received quite a bit of feedback. I regret getting involved in a dispute between two parties who were not seeking resolution but dissolution of their business relationship. I was unaware of the tenant’s past-due rent, and I should have reached out to the […]
Posted inSalmon, Local News
After a decade, the Chilkat king salmon sport fishery is open
Haines’ king salmon sport fishery is once more open to anglers, even as state fish forecasters project a smaller run of Chilkat kings this year. For nearly a decade, sport fishing for king salmon has been shut down in the Upper Lynn Canal — a response to historically low returns. From 2011 to 2018, the […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Candy-fueled Easter is an unhealthy, inappropriate and wasted opportunity
Using Haines School for a privately funded “Easter” celebration wherein thousands of pieces of candy are distributed to children, is unhealthy, wasteful and inappropriate — but exemplifies our health crisis. Instead of maladaptive festivals of refinement and glucose-spiking junk, schools, churches and donors (and community organizations generally) might consider serving and offering heartfelt gratitude and […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: Smith writes big check, assembly considers major changes
Severance tax fails A flurry of final votes on major legislation, all coinciding at Tuesday’s meeting, came at somewhat of an inconvenient time. As has become familiar in recent weeks, the assembly requires four votes — a majority of the full body — to pass legislation. That remains the case even with assembly members missing, […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: Traveling musicians, a butterfly tree, transporting eagles and more
For the third year, Holly Davis has organized a butterfly migration at the Haines library. She said kids build a “butterfly tree” using children’s book illustrator Eric Carle’s style of painting vibrant textures using brushes and sponges. Then, they cut the butterflies for the tree. She was helped by Ava Stanford, Lolly Minor, and Maren […]
Posted inObituaries
Longtime Haines Firefighter, church leader dies in Fairbanks
Gerald “Jerry” Blood Aug. 22, 1944 – March 22, 2026 Gerald “Jerry” Everett Blood, beloved husband of Barbara Blood and devoted father and grandfather, passed into the Lord’s presence surrounded by his family Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Fairbanks after a 10-year battle with chronic lymphoma and heart disease. He was born on August 22, […]
Posted inBlotter
Blotter: April 6 – April 11
Monday, April 6 Caller on Piedad Road reported a stolen car battery. An officer responded. A caller on Deishu Drive reported a person trespassing on their property. Officers responded. Tuesday, April 7 A caller on the 800 block of Main Street reported a moose in the area. A caller in the 400 block of Main […]