COVID-19 could have a severe impact on Haines tourism this summer and, by extension, the Haines economy as a whole. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people avoid traveling on cruise ships as a safety measure. Cruise Lines International Association announced its members would voluntarily suspend sailings for 30 days. Royal Caribbean Cruises […]
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Posted inNews
Commission rejects comp plan RFP
The planning commission voted unanimously to decline to award a bid for the 2025 Haines Borough Comprehensive Plan Action Summary, with some members citing a lack of transparency and possible lack of information for potential bidders. However, it’s not clear if the borough manager will heed the recommendations. In a memorandum given to the planning commission in […]
Posted inNews
CWS prepares to ship garbage, unsorted trash goes up in price
Community Waste Solutions, the private company that operates the Haines landfill, announced that it will begin shipping most solid waste to the Lower 48 rather than disposing of it in the local landfill. Beginning April 1, unsorted garbage will cost 10 cents more per pound. The cost increase reflects the added cost of shipping trash […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Chief proposes flat-funded police budget
Haines Borough police chief Heath Scott submitted a flat-funded budget proposal for a five-officer force for the coming fiscal year. The proposal comes after discussion last month of the need to either increase police funding or reduce enforcement hours. At a Public Safety Commission meeting March 11, the commission voted unanimously to support his proposal. […]
Posted inNews
Residents build case for community center
Friends of Mosquito Lake School and Community Center board members are building a case for keeping the facility open for the coming fiscal year. At a meeting in February, Haines Borough Assembly members identified the Mosquito Lake Community Center as one of several facilities that could be offloaded in an effort to reduce the borough’s budget in […]
Posted inNews
Assembly: Put Ocean Rangers under DEC
The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously to send a letter to the Alaska Municipal League in support of a bill that would eliminate the state’s Ocean Ranger program and give the Department of Environmental Conservation the authority to set up a replacement oversight program through regulation. The bill would eliminate on-board marine engineers (called Ocean Rangers) who […]
Posted inNews
Haines Assembly misses Army Corps public comment deadline
The Haines Borough is asking the federal government to halt interim plans for in-place remediation for contaminated soil at 15 Mile on the Haines Highway. Last month, the Army Corps of Engineers detailed a proposal for cleaning up soil contaminated in 1968 by a 33,000-gallon fuel leak from the Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline. The proposal included plans to remove […]
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Haines prepares for Coronavirus threat
As the number of U.S. coronavirus cases continues to climb, state and local government are working to increase preparation for when the disease inevitably reaches Alaska. In Haines, employees at the local Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) clinic conducted a drill with the borough’s emergency service providers last week to prepare for dealing with […]
Posted inNews
New Ocean Ranger program considered
The Alaska Legislature is considering a revised version of a bill that would eliminate the state’s Ocean Ranger program and give the Department of Environmental Conservation the authority to set up an oversight program through regulation. The Alaska Municipal League has requested that Haines submit comments about the bill as a community impacted by cruise […]
Posted inNews
Assembly discusses swath of budget cuts
From divesting from the Chilkat Center and Mosquito Lake Community Center to closing the visitor center seasonally and rejecting the library expansion project, the Haines Borough Assembly discussed a slew of facilities and funding requirements that could be on the chopping block this budget cycle. At a four-hour workshop on Saturday, the assembly went down a list […]