Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. “Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and […]
Posted inPublic Safety, News, Health
Alaska has second-lowest child vaccination rate among 48 states reporting results
Kindergarten vaccination rates in Alaska are the second-lowest among 48 states reporting data, with rates decreasing nationwide due to increasing exemptions and misinformation, according to reports and data published Monday. Alaska’s vaccination rate of 82.7% for children entering public kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year is 9.5% below the state’s rate for 2018-19, according to an […]
Posted inNews, Alaska Legislature
Vexed lawmakers told it will take ‘at least a year’ to assess report calling state pay uncompetitive
State employees hoping they might see a pay hike due to a study declaring their wages uncompetitive may be in for a long wait, as a Dunleavy administration official said Monday the plan is spend “at least a year” assessing how the study’s recommendations can be implemented. That declaration to the House Finance Committee was […]
Posted inSoutheast News
State board to probe concerns at Mt. Edgecumbe High School
The Alaska Board of Education is supporting a recommendation by the state education commissioner to form an ad-hoc committee to address student well-being at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. At its meeting on Jan. 23, board members backed the idea of initiating the ad-hoc committee process after hearing in public testimony that nearly 100 Mt. Edgecumbe […]
Posted inAlaska Legislature, Economy
Raising oil, corporate taxes is least-painful option for reducing Alaska deficits, ISER concludes
A new nonpartisan report by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage has concluded that raising oil and corporate taxes to balance Alaska’s budget likely has the lowest negative side effects for Alaskans’ jobs and income. The report, eagerly anticipated by state lawmakers and experts, comes as legislators consider ways to […]
Posted inEducation, Local News
After nearly a quarter century of use, the Haines Borough School District will own hbsd.net
In his classroom, with the steady thrum of a 3D printer in the background, district technology director and computer science teacher Sam McPhetres pulls up the internet archive Wayback Machine and scrolls back to 2002 when it first logged the domain hbsd.net. As near as he can tell, that’s the year he first established the […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: Towers, taxes, tourism and docks
Cell Tower final hearing A fifth and final public hearing on new cell-tower regulations became the fifth and not final public hearing after the assembly decided to send the ordinance to a special meeting for further review. The proposal includes stricter setbacks and permitting for new cell towers — something assembly members have seemed broadly […]
Posted inLocal News
As Juneau evacuates, local officials reflect on readiness
Earlier this month, the city of Juneau issued official warnings advising hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes due to avalanche risk following heavy snowfall. Over 50 residents evacuated to one downtown emergency shelter, Juneau’s KTOO reported, and Juneau emergency manager Ryan O’Shaughnessy said the city only made the evacuation call after intense deliberation. “We’re […]
Posted inLocal News
‘What are you doing here?’ Mud Bay neighbor conducts one-man rescue
It was 1 a.m. on the dot, December 30, when the borough’s emergency alert went out: just a few minutes after Andrew Letchworth had given up on digging out his car and hunkered down for the night, just a few minutes before Michael George was about to fall asleep. Near where Mud Bay Road bends […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: Babies, hens, dancing and eagles
Flora Lani Zuluaga-Jillson was born to Matt Jillson and Cindy Zuluaga Jimenez at 8:28 a.m. Jan. 27 at Bartlett Regional Hospital, Juneau. She weighed 6 lbs., 14 oz. and measured 19 1/4” long. She is expected home next week on the Kennicott. Lynette Campbell is in the process of rescuing five hens from Juneau after […]