Alaska state ferry service is getting closer to normal, even though passenger loads are far from normal. Even the Matanuska, the oldest operating vessel in the fleet, has come back to service. Engine problems forced the ferry out of service in January, stranding travelers throughout Southeast and, due to the unavailability of any other working […]
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Posted inNews
July 10 deadline for borough grants to businesses, nonprofits
The application period for the Haines Borough’s small business and nonprofit COVID-19 relief grants opened on June 25 and will remain open until 5 p.m. July 10. As of Tuesday, the borough had received 24 applications, chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart said. She said so far, nearly all applications have come from businesses rather than […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted
Doris Ward missed “Oklahoma!” in Haines because she was in Oklahoma with relatives, but she did catch a dress rehearsal of the play. On her way to Oklahoma she visited Carol Davidson in Salem, Ore., and Jean Scarrott in nearby Hillsboro. In Tulsa she and sister-in-law Janie Owen had lunch with Detta Butler, and saw Russ and Teresa Simpson, who are serving All Nations […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
I’ve never had issues with bears
In over 50 years of living in Haines and operating a garbage company for 17 years in Haines, I have never had a bear damage property or return to my property for food. How is this possible? Bears do not return to a place where there is no food. By proper handling and disposal of […]
Posted inAlaska Marine Highway System, News
New traveler recommendation creates testing gap in Haines
On Tuesday, the Haines Borough Assembly updated its 14-day quarantine recommendation to mirror the state’s new mandate for travelers entering Alaska. Under current state mandates, travelers are able to avoid quarantining for 14 days through a two-tiered testing system—once before departure and again seven to 14 days after entering Alaska. A traveler who took a test within […]
Posted inNews
$850,000 will fund first round of CARES Act business grants
On Tuesday, the Haines Borough Assembly passed a spending plan for $2.1 million in federal COVID-19 relief, the first of three installments the borough is scheduled to receive through the CARES Act. The CARES Act requires the money be used exclusively to cover “necessary expenditures incurred due to…COVID-19” between March 1 and Dec. 30 of this year, […]
Posted inNews
Marijuana businesses have been shut out from COVID-19 relief
Marijuana businesses are falling through the cracks when it comes to economic assistance for COVID-19. Although pot businesses were deemed essential and allowed to remain open throughout the pandemic, they haven’t been immune to its economic impacts. Upper valley resident Erika Merklin runs Resurrected Dreams, a state-licensed cannabis cultivation business. She said her business, like […]
Posted inNews
Without borough funding, HEDC faces uncertain future
Since losing borough funding, the Haines Economic Development Corporation faces an uncertain future. The uncertainty is making it difficult for the organization to commit to new projects. The Haines Borough Assembly eliminated all funding for HEDC in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. In past years, borough funding has made up almost all of […]
Posted inNews
CARES Act distribution still a work in progress
In the next six months, Alaska municipalities will need to figure out how to distribute a total of $569 million in federal CARES Act coronavirus relief in a quick, effective and legal manner. There is little uniformity in the way local governments are tackling this challenge. “It feels like someone passed away and there’s a […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Police authorized to kill sow, cubs damaging property
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has given the Haines Borough Police Department permission to kill a sow and two cubs after reports of property damage, but other residents say they’re having similar issues with a young male bear. Fish and Game wildlife biologist Carl Koch came to town this weekend and stayed through Wednesday morning […]