The Chilkat Valley News and KHNS hosted a live candidate forum at the Chilkat Center on Friday. Moderators Rashah McChesney and Avery Ellfeldt questioned four candidates for two open positions on the assembly and two candidates vying for the mayor’s seat. Assembly candidates are Lee Robinson, Anne Marie Palmieri, Beau Bradley and Diana Lapham. Candidates […]
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Posted inLocal News, 2026 Haines Borough Election
Haines voters to decide if planning commissioners should be elected, or appointed by mayor
Haines voters will soon decide if Planning Commission seats should go back to being appointed by the mayor. The resident initiative asks voters to reverse what’s been in place for three years – voters electing commissioners. Haines voters, in 2023, decided to change how seats were filled on the Planning Commission. Tom Morphet, who is […]
Posted in2026 Haines Borough Election, Local News
Watch: An interview with Douglas Olerud, candidate for Haines Mayor
Editor’s note: This year the Chilkat Valley News partnered with KHNS on its election coverage in addition to hosting two candidate forums. A playlist of these profiles, as they are posted, can be found here. This interview transcript has been edited for clarity and grammar. Will Steinfeld: Doug Olerud, thanks for joining me. You’re running for […]
Posted in2026 Haines Borough Election
Watch: An interview with Jan Hill, candidate Haines Mayor
Editor’s note: This year the Chilkat Valley News partnered with KHNS on its election coverage in addition to hosting two candidate forums. Due to scheduling conflicts, the candidates for the mayor’s seat could not meet on stage at either of those forums, a Q&A with them will be published at a later date. This interview […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: Mayor joins MARAD meeting, H-1B visa and Episcopal Church’s land
Mayor joining MARAD meeting over Lutak dock During this week’s report from borough manager Alekka Fullerton, she said the Lutak Dock Liaison committee will be meeting with the Maritime Administration on Wednesday. Committee members are borough staff: clerk Mike Denker, Fullerton, facilities director Brad Jensen, planner Chen Wu, and harbormaster Henry Pollan. Fullerton told assembly […]
Posted inLocal News
Trumpet student assists mayor in time of need
Haines High senior JC Davis got a knock on his front door last week. When he answered it, he found a high-profile visitor. It was the mayor, Tom Morphet, come on “bended knee,” as Morphet later described it, with $100 in hand. He needed the young Davis’ help. The trouble had started a few weeks […]
Posted inNews
Alaska mayors say governor’s proposed tax break for $46B gas line ‘needs a lot of work’
Five Alaska mayors voiced concerns about how a proposed tax break for the Alaska LNG gas line project would impact their communities. Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed eliminating property taxes and other local taxes for the $46 billion megaproject. Instead, his bill would impose a volume-based tax when substantial quantities of gas are delivered from […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Mayor and others misleading on dock
The revisionist history has begun. While discussing a contract for an owner advisor on the dock project, Mayor Tom Morphet and Eben Sargent characterize our relationship with the previous contractors as full of “complications and distrust” or claiming R&M was “working for Turnagain,” not for us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Last year […]
Posted inLocal News
Mayor proposes transferring Tlingit Park to Chilkoot Indian Association
Mayor Tom Morphet is proposing transferring the borough’s Tlingit Park property to the Chilkoot Indian Association. Morphet, who has discussed the idea with CIA tribal administrator Harriet Brouillette, is pitching the transfer as both a return of the land to its rightful owners and also a move to save the borough money. Critics have raised […]
Posted inLocal News, Haines Borough
Assembly Briefs: 5G, sales tax, muzzling the Mayor, assembly pay, and a complication for the new police chief
Cell Towers There’s no immediate end in sight for 5G cell-tower discussion, though the topic will start getting its own dedicated meeting time. The planning commission has scheduled a special meeting for July 10 to discuss two conditional use permit applications for new towers in the borough. One tower has been proposed for Main Street, […]