I encourage residents to try the new sauna at the Haines pool. Besides offering a respite from winter’s cold, saunas increase circulation and may also improve heart health, according to recent studies. They are an ancient and proven technology. The new sauna is also a great way to warm up before or after swimming in […]
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Posted inNews
Planning commission develops road reconstruction priorities
Mathias Avenue is the road in most need of reconstruction according to a new road reconstruction priority calculator unanimously approved by the Haines Borough Planning Commission last week. The calculator scores roads based on six factors: code compliance, traffic volume, risk factor, topography, condition and planned work. Each factor is weighted, and the final sum determines its […]
Posted inNews
Haines custodian nationally recognized
Haines custodian Natasha Fitzpatrick is unfazed by most things-even middle school boys’ bathrooms, which she regards as one of the less pleasant parts of her daily cleaning routine at the Haines Borough School. “A lot of ’em just don’t flush,” Fitzpatrick said as she breezed through her initial appraisal of the work day-what she calls “assessing the […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly approves harbor fee increase
Harbor fees and port tariffs will be increasing, beginning Jan. 1. On Tuesday, the borough assembly unanimously adopted an ordinance increasing several port tariffs and harbor fees, most significantly at the Port Chilkoot Dock and in transient moorage. The Port Chilkoot Lightering Float, which is used exclusively by tour companies and cruise ships, has two […]
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Plastic bag ban begins January 1
Beginning Jan. 1, an ordinance banning the distribution of plastic shopping bags will take effect in the Haines Borough, though some store owners say they still have questions. “I have so many (plastic) to-go bags that I’ve used before, can we use ones that have already been used?” Bamboo Room and Pioneer Bar owner Christy Tengs […]
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Lack of snow masks DOT overtime cuts
Last Thursday’s snow-covered roads in the late afternoon and evening shined a light on what plowing will look like on the Haines Highway and other state roads if the borough experiences a normal winter. On Thursday Dec. 5, a foot of snow had fallen in town, according to NOAA data. Because the Alaska Department of […]
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Maidy resigns over charter interpretation
Haines Borough Assembly member Sean Maidy resigned Tuesday, following the assembly’s 4-2 approval of a resolution interpreting charter to specifically allow for areawide emergency police service. “I resigned because I cannot be a party to an assembly who willingly and knowingly violates their own charter,” Maidy told the CVN after the meeting. He emailed his […]
Posted inMining
Takshanuk Watershed Council resigns from mining committee
In a unanimous board decision last Thursday, Dec. 5, Takshanuk Watershed Council resigned from the Chilkat Mining Forum Committee with board president Ben Kirkpatrick saying the mining committee “was not worth the effort we were putting into it.” Takshanuk is the fourth organization to resign from the mining forum committee since 2017. The Chilkat Indian […]
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Local groups protest Ring of Fire management plan
The Bureau of Land Management may expand allotted helicopter landings on the 320,000 acres of mountain terrain in the Chilkat Valley from 300 to 11,000 annual landings (5,500 in the Haines), though local protesters believe that might negatively affect mountain goat habitat. In October, BLM released its final environmental impact statement for the Haines amendment […]
Posted inMining
HEDC resigns from mining committee
The Haines Economic Development Corporation resigned its membership on the Chilkat Valley Mining Forum committee last month, with HEDC president Heather Shade saying in a letter to the mining committee that its membership endangers community perception of HEDCs “neutral, non-advocacy position.” Shade told the CVN that the mining committee’s voting structure—decisions require 70 percent support—might […]