The proposed fee increases for the Lutak Dock will be a disaster for the businesses and residents of Haines, as Alaska Marine Lines will have no choice but to pass the increase along to customers here. Freight costs are already a big part of the cost of nearly everything we buy and sell here. If these increases […]
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Chamber: Dock fees will hurt retail trade
Haines business leaders say they’re afraid that a proposed jump in fees at the borough-owned Lutak Dock would be passed directly to local businesses, forcing up local retail prices and driving shoppers out of town. Haines Chamber of Commerce president Ned Rozbicki said he’d be meeting with borough manager Mark Earnest Thursday to discuss concerns. “For businesses, it’s no […]
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Hike proposed in freight rates
The Haines Borough is considering exponential rate increases for using Lutak Dock, under a proposed ordinance set for a second public hearing Tuesday. “These rates, in general, haven’t been changed in many years,” said borough manager Mark Earnest. “They’ve just been low, and they’ve been low for a long time.” The Haines Borough Assembly on Feb. 22 advanced the ordinance to a […]
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Earnest: Budget will be ‘uncomfortable’
The Haines Borough budget for the coming year will amount to “putting a size 9 foot into a size 8½ shoe,” borough manager Mark Earnest told a joint meeting of the assembly and school board Tuesday. “You won’t get gangrene, but it won’t be comfortable,” Earnest said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we can get through.” The budget, drawn […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Contributors make Bigs’ program go
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a non-profit charity and depends on a wide range of support, much of it local. On Saturday, Feb. 19, our matches enjoyed an excellent sledding group activity at the home of Diz Kistler and Mardell Gunn, as we have for a number of years. The hill was fast and the […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Parnell’s plan is a giveaway for nothing
laska Gov. Sean Parnell has proposed giving a tax break to the oil industry which would cost the state nearly $2 billion a year. The break’s purpose is to stimulate jobs through oil development, yet the oil industry has stated there is no guarantee that they will do any such thing. What’s guaranteed is that […]
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Letnikof users wary of tour using float
Citing concerns expressed by other users, members of the Haines Borough’s Harbor Advisory Committee on Tuesday asked for more details about requested tour boat use of a boat launch float at Letnikof Cove. Committee members also said they would support only north-side use of the float, to avoid conflicts with non-commercial users launching vessels on […]
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Borough accelerates port work for potential bond
In preparation for “an emerging opportunity” to secure Lutak Dock funding, Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest has requested to speed up the timeline for new studies on the dock. “We will be putting together a recommendation here for the assembly, in the form of a budget amendment, to accelerate the programming on the Lutak Dock project,” Earnest said last month. “I look at […]
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Winds up to 61 mph smack town
Three days of high winds wreaked havoc last weekend, falling trees, damaging buildings and cancelling the sailing of the ferry Aurora up Lynn Canal. Sue Libenson was in her office above the bookstore on Main Street about 6:30 p.m. Friday when a six-foot-long plate-glass window shattered a few feet away from her desk, in an […]
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Point acquisition hits questions, criticism
Real estate agent Jim Studley said Picture Point owner Roger Beasley is interested in working with the Haines Borough to acquire two scenic pullouts there, including terms that would provide time for the municipality to use scenic highway funds for a purchase. “We’ve offered a very liberal acquisition process,” Studley said in an interview. Picture Point has […]