The Haines Borough Planning Commission recommended to the borough assembly that commercial events be allowed as a permitted activity in the Mud Bay zone—a decision made after more than 100 Mud Bay residents signed a petition submitted in October asking commercial events to be prohibited in their rural residential neighborhood. In March, the commission was united in […]
Search results
Posted inNews
Code review commission recommends changing authority to suspend officers
The Code Review Commission on April 14 recommended to the Haines Borough Assembly a code change that would shift the power to suspend borough officers from the borough manager to the assembly. Currently code says the borough manager can suspend officers — the borough clerk, chief fiscal officer and attorney. But only the assembly can permanently remove officers. […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly approves phase 3 concept for Lutak Dock
Officials attempt to assuage ore transfer concerns The Haines Borough Assembly voted 5-1 to approve conceptual plans for Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the Lutak Dock—a controversial vote for many residents who opposed phase 3 because they thought the designs were catered toward Canadian mining interests, though borough officials and an engineer deny the charge. Some residents worried […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Possible human remains found during Haines Highway construction
Work at a small section of the Haines Highway reconstruction project was stopped Monday — and will remain suspended indefinitely — after possible human remains were unearthed. “Some remains were located. We don’t have any details to share on the location just because that’s confidential information. We don’t want people to go out to those […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted
Two seats are open on the Chilkoot Indian Association tribal council. The deadline for declarations of candidacy and the nominations meeting is 5:30 p.m. on April 11. Stop by the tribal office on Third Avenue across from the library to get a declaration of candidacy form and nomination petition. The election will be held at […]
Posted inThank You Letters
Clean up your dog’s poop
Throughout the year in Haines, you have to watch where you’re walking due to all the dog poop left on both private and public properties. More than a visual, smelly mess, dog poop is a pollutant and human health hazard. As it breaks down it enters our air pathways and leaches into the ground, washing […]
Posted inNews
Employment rose in February but labor shortage persists
Unemployment in the Haines Borough was at 12% in February — the lowest recorded in February since 1991, according to state data. Haines’ employed workforce grew from 781 in February 2019 to 839 in 2022. The number of people working in the borough in February hadn’t eclipsed 800 since 2013. (Each year the workforce swells, and unemployment falls, […]
Posted inNews
Resignations, hiring delay leave local State Parks understaffed
Division to go months without ranger in Haines The Haines Borough has gone several months without a park ranger, and Alaska State Parks’ other full-time employee in Haines — a natural resource technician — recently resigned, leaving the division currently unstaffed. The ranger position, which has been vacant since November, might stay so until July, said Preston […]
Posted inNews
GASC to discuss Porcupine road service area
Borough leaders refined a nonprofit application for borough funding and discussed broadening which nonprofits would be eligible to apply for money from the general fund. The committee also discussed sending to voters the option to amend borough charter to create a road maintenance service area for Porcupine and Chilkat Lake roads. Government affairs and services […]
Posted inNews
Firm holds second town hall about landslide findings
Further monitoring is needed to predict when future slides are most likely to occur in the December 2020 Beach Road landslide, representatives of geotechnical firm Landslide Technology told community members at a town hall on Tuesday. George Machan, senior engineer at the firm, gave an abridged presentation similar to the one he gave at a […]