After finishing a year-long term on the assembly, Richard Clement is running again — this time for a three-year term. During Clement’s tenure on the assembly, the borough has seen major re-staffing in the borough administration, including a new manager, clerk, planner, and police chief. That’s a boon for getting things done, Clement said, and his […]
Posted inElections, Local News
Thomas touts know-how and experience while seeking another assembly term
Gabe Thomas, whose six years in office currently make him the longest serving borough assembly member, is running this year for another three-year term. His motivation is unfinished business. Thomas recalls first running in 2019 with hopes of finishing the Lutak Dock rebuild. That’s obviously a big portion of the unfinished business, though not the […]
Posted inLocal News, Elections
Norton pitches himself as direction change for the assembly
John Norton has lived many lives around the region: commercial fisherman, geologist, Juneau-Douglas High School science teacher, over a decade in the Haines Volunteer Fire Department, and until recently, independent artist. Now, he hopes to add a term on the borough assembly to that resume. And if that happens, Norton plans to bring a change […]
Posted inLocal News, Environment
State issues trespass notices on cabins, moose stands in Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
The state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation issued notices of violation on dozens of structures in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, days before the start of moose season. The timing was intentional, said acting superintendent for the Southeast Region Brad Garasky, as the department is attempting to reach people at a time when […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Local News, Tourism
High wind warning prompts cruise ship cancellations, schedule changes in Haines, Juneau
A 2,100 passenger cruise ship is scheduled to detour to Haines on Wednesday after high winds will likely complicate docking in Skagway. The Nieuw Amsterdam is expected to port from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to an email from borough tourism specialist Kiara Hylton. Hylton wrote that the Haines shuttle service will begin running […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Local News
A good past year for Southeast, but federal government causing future worries, annual economic report finds
Cruise tourism is expected to be at record highs this year and next, the mining industry is feeling golden, and there’s more state jobs in Southeast Alaska for the first time since 2012. But seafood and timber are struggling, the Trump administration is causing great uncertainty, and young families are leaving due to a lack […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Wildlife
Brief tuna bounty in Southeast Alaska spurs excitement about new fishing opportunity
In Alaska, a state famous for abundant salmon and huge, cold-water-loving crab, another type of fish is making a splash: tuna. Incursion of warm waters into Southeast Alaska coastal areas off Sitka and Baranof Island created a brief tuna jackpot earlier this month for sport fishers. One of the first of those anglers was Troy […]
Posted inNews
Dunleavy administration asks US Supreme Court to decide the future of subsistence fishing in Alaska
The state of Alaska is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether rural Alaskans should continue to get preferential fishing rights on most rivers and lakes within federal parks, preserves and reserves. On Monday, the Alaska Department of Law asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling from a three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of […]
Posted inSoutheast News
Spearfisher scores an 18-pound skipjack tuna in Sitka harbor
Wearing a wetsuit and snorkel and carrying his speargun, Jason Own emerged from the waters of Sitka’s Crescent Harbor on Aug. 29 with the 18-pound, 30-inch-long skipjack tuna he had speared just moments before. Cheers erupted from the onlookers who had gathered to see the tuna, a species rarely seen in waters around Sitka. Own, […]
Posted inNews, Education
Trump administration terminates University of Alaska grants for Alaska Native, Indigenous students
The U.S. Department of Education has terminated grant funding for universities’ Alaska Native and Native-Hawaiian-serving programs and support services, an act that University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Mike Sfraga said “will have a substantial and negative impact on a large number of Alaskans, including our Alaska Native students.” Sfraga announced the federal decision in a campus-wide […]