The Haines Borough Assembly last week approved an ordinance for spot checks of global positioning system data to monitor compliance with helicopter skiing regulations. Assemblymen Daymond Hoffman and Norm Smith were opposed in the 4-2 vote. As introduced in January, the ordinance would have required regular reporting of GPS data, but kept it confidential unless required in an investigation or court […]

The harbormaster’s office will be responsible for clearing snow off “finger” floats at the small boat harbor as the result of action last week by the Haines Borough Assembly. The change came in the form of an amendment by assemblyman Jerry Lapp to harbor code revisions the assembly was considering before passage at the Feb. 29 assembly meeting. […]

A Haines Borough contingent won’t be making the trip to Washington, D.C., this spring. “There are so many things that need to be tended to here in the borough, and I feel an absence from the borough should only be undertaken if it’s absolutely required,” said Mayor Stephanie Scott. She sought assembly approval last week to cancel the annual […]

A “roundtable” discussion with Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the American Bald Eagle Foundation was canceled last month due to weather that prevented her travel. Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott this week said the visit might be re-scheduled for spring or summer. The event, open to the public, was to cover topics such as school funding, borough maintenance conditions, the federal […]

The Haines Borough Assembly voted 5-1 on Tuesday to uphold a planning commission decision denying Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures a permit to use its 26 Mile property as a heliport. In a split 3-3 vote in January, the borough planning commission rejected a conditional use permit for a heliport at .6 Mile Chilkat Lake Road. SEABA appealed the decision to the assembly […]

Commercial fishermen are hoping to enlist broad community support in an effort to reverse a perceived decline in the area’s wild salmon runs, starting with an upcoming meeting with Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials from Juneau. Haines Borough leaders, who sought the meeting and have designated money for research, have joined what area gillnetters […]

An attorney for Community Waste Solutions this week said that state law doesn’t allow the Haines Borough to offer an exclusive contract for trash collection in the townsite to any other company. Because the local garbage company is the only state-certified provider for the townsite, it’s the only company that can have an exclusive arrangement, attorney Paul […]

The state Board of Fisheries rejected proposals aimed at curtailing commercial shellfish harvest at subsistence areas near Skagway and Excursion Inlet, during meetings earlier this year. At the request of residents there, the Haines Borough made proposal #163, which would have closed Dungeness crab fishing in a near-shore section of Excursion Inlet, creating a personal use and […]

Mosquito Lake School faces the prospect of dropping below required enrollment this fall, forcing the school to close the doors on the students and teachers who rely on their close-knit school community. Haines Borough School District Superintendent Michael Byer held a meeting with Mosquito Lake School parents on Feb. 16. Discussion included whether the school will […]