The borough’s search for a full-time fire chief is down to one remaining candidate, but not entirely by choice of the hiring committee. Two weeks ago, the hiring committee interviewed the four candidates who had submitted applications for the position. Following those interviews, the committee told two of the candidates that they would not be […]
Posted inSports, Local News
Relay win a contest between cycling coach and his athletes
A cycling coach was edged out of a Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay win by two of his athletes during last Saturday’s race. The three joined just under 1,000 cyclists who rode all or segments of the annual 150-mile relay from Haines Junction to Haines. Hudson Lucier completed the race solo with a final time […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Environment
Stronger pink salmon harvest forecast this year for Southeast
This summer’s Southeast pink salmon catch is predicted at about 10% above average and 40% higher than last year, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issuing a harvest forecast of 29 million pinks. That would be slightly above the most recent 10-year average of 26 million fish and substantially higher than last year’s commercial pink […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: A work party, harvesting firewood, a car show, a dance festival and a painting workshop
The parks and recreation work party made progress on the waterfront loop trail from Picture Point to the waterfront on Saturday. Volunteers included Kathleen Menke, Sue Libenson, Bill Holton, Susette Carroll, Rio Daimes, Aimee Creelman, Thom Ely, Matthew Craig, Debbie Gravel, Cindy Buxton, Russ White, Luke Tergis and Ada Tergis. They gathered to clear the […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Alaska Department of Transportation warns of scam text messages
The Alaska Department of Transportation is warning Alaskans to be on “high alert” amid a surge in scam text messages falsely claiming that the recipients owe money for unpaid tolls or parking tickets. “These scams are designed to trick individuals into clicking malicious links or providing sensitive personal and financial information,”stated the DOT announcement issued on […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
ACLU of Alaska launches online reporting tool for tracking immigration enforcement actions
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has launched an online reporting tool to gather information around local and federal law enforcement agencies increasing immigration enforcement actions around the state. The civil rights group is seeking to monitor Alaska immigration enforcement actions, as the Trump administration has ramped up arrest quotas for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to 3,000 […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Environment
Forest Service plans to repeal rule that has blocked logging, mining in parts of Alaska and the West
The U.S. Forest Service will seek to repeal a rule that has effectively blocked the logging of almost a third of America’s national forests, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told a meeting of Western governors on Monday in New Mexico. The “Roadless Rule” has blocked the construction of new roads in wild areas of most states’ national forests since […]
Posted inLocal News
The Bottom Line: Tacos, Portage Cove, and a long-awaited break
Julian’s Todos Tacos Mario and Natalie Benassi are back in Haines after a winter in Colorado and they’ve reopened their taco stand on Main Street. Julian’s Todos Tacos closed last year after Natalie Benassi had a stroke in the fall; the couple spent months in Anchorage, then headed to an intensive speech therapy program in […]
Posted inLocal News
Lutheran volunteers visit Haines for the third year
A Minnesota Lutheran volunteer group that first came to Haines in 2023 to aid in landslide recovery returned this month for its third, and potentially final year in town. The group’s work, largely wood processing this year, has evolved since it started. In the immediate aftermath of the slide, Anchorage Lutheran organization Alaska Mission for […]
Posted inLocal News, Public Safety
New reporting standards, not record temps, prompt first-ever heat advisory
Haines holds the record for the hottest temperature ever reported to the National Weather Service in Southeast Alaska. On July 31, 1976, a gauge in town clocked a scorching 98 degrees. Friday was the first day of the region’s first-ever heat advisory, but downtown was breezy, with temperatures in the high 60s to low-70s for […]