Haines Borough Harbormaster Phil Benner and his staff are hosting a customer appreciation barbecue on Wednesday, May 16, and will share plans for facilities. “We’ll do it every year,” Benner said. “You get to interact differently with people when you’re eating with them, and also to show the projects that we got funded, as long […]

Lemonade stands are set to spring up around town on Sunday, May 6, as part of Lemonade Day Alaska, an event that educates students about the challenges of entrepreneurship. The national Lemonade Day started in Texas in 2007 and is “a free, fun, experiential learning program that teaches youth how to start, own and operate […]

The Haines Borough Assembly last week introduced an ordinance that would require a simple majority vote of remaining members to fill assembly vacancies, a move aimed at easing gridlock. The borough’s government affairs and services committee of assembly members Daymond Hoffman, Debra Schnabel and committee chair Steve Vick recommended the change. Last June, the assembly failed to appoint a replacement for a […]

By Krista Kielsmeier Haines Borough code mandates the municipality have a department of economic development and a director to lead it. “Despite this code requirement, to my knowledge the department has never been established,” Mayor Stephanie Scott wrote in a memo last month, requesting that section of code be repealed. The Haines Borough Assembly this week advanced to a second public […]

The Haines Borough is sponsoring a work visa for a Chinese national to become the municipality’s next planning and zoning technician. Xi “Tracy” Cui, who holds a master’s degree in planning from the University of Florida, was the administration’s top choice for the job, said manager Mark Earnest, who made the hire with the assistance of clerk Julie […]

Phil Benner is returning to his post as Haines Borough harbormaster, three years after leaving the job. “I am committed to Haines for the next 10 to 15 years,” Benner said this week. The Haines Borough Assembly approved Benner’s hire Tuesday, on the recommendation of manager Mark Earnest and the borough’s port and harbor advisory committee, at an annual salary of […]

The annual community clean-up offers residents three ways to help spruce up their community. It all starts Saturday, May 5, with a Cinco de Mayo celebration dubbed “Cleano de Mayo.” Besides the traditional, town clean-up, the second annual Chilkat River cleanup and the first Pooper Trooper cleanup also are on May 5. Cleano de Mayo, from 11 […]

After three years of relative quiet, debate over the fate of old school property on Main Street resumed at the Haines Borough Planning Commission meeting April 19, when commissioners split on a proposal that would classify two lots west of Fourth Avenue for sale “in the near term.” By a 4-3 margin, commissioners voted for a proposal […]

The Haines Borough stands to receive $350,000 more in state revenue sharing funds than projected, a boost that could put a big dent in a projected deficit in the coming year’s budget. Borough manager Mark Earnest has proposed cuts, slight property tax increases and borrowing from reserves to fill what was expected to be a $579,000 hole in the […]