Drive out Lutak Road and you will see hundreds of evergreen trees that aren’t so green. Southeast Alaska’s hemlock and spruce trees are fending off an assault by a number of pests and diseases, most notably a caterpillar that causes the conifers to turn reddish-brown. “What we are seeing is multiple insects and some fungal diseases,” Haines […]

Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the state budget Tuesday, vetoing statewide school maintenance funds that would have paid to renovate the Haines School’s outdated locker rooms. The governor vetoed about $400 million in state spending in the budget, which takes effect Friday. He did not veto $3.2 million in funding for the Lutak Dock rebuild or about $2 […]

Unleaded gas surged to nearly $7 a gallon this week at the two stations in Haines — the highest price in recent memory. Prices jumped about a dollar early in the week, rising to $2 above the national average. A gallon of unleaded gas on Wednesday cost $6.96 at Tesoro and $6.94 at Bigfoot Auto. “I […]

The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday adopted a $12.9 million operating budget with amendments to keep the pool open for 11 months and pay for a professional curator at the Haines Sheldon Museum, among other increases. At the final budget hearing, the assembly voted unanimously to spend an extra $35,434 on the pool and $60,000 on the […]

Lynn Canal drift gillnetters will set out Sunday morning for the fishery’s opener expecting slightly better returns than last year and increased landing prices. King salmon management restrictions are unchanged and skyrocketing fuel and gear costs are likely to eat into profits, but fishermen said favorable fish prices could help offset those expenses. Juneau’s Douglas […]

The Port and Harbor Advisory Committee will consider changes to harbor moorage rates, boat-launch fees and the port tariff, among other charges that generate revenue for the borough’s harbor fund, committee members said at a May 26 meeting. The committee didn’t propose specific changes at the meeting but members said they would plan to review […]

The landfill’s drive-and-drop program for household garbage has seen less-than-anticipated use in the two months since it started, according to Community Waste Solutions (CWS) manager Craig Franke. Still, the program, which was designed to increase efficiency and reduce wait times at the landfill, has been running smoothly, Franke said. One hundred and fifty-eight prepaid bags […]