The ferry system’s 30 percent winter roundtrip discount is gone and come next summer, the “driver go free” option will disappear, too. Cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) have been widespread and show no signs of slowing or reversing: Naturalist interpreters aboard vessels were eliminated earlier this year. Printed schedules will be discontinued […]
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Posted inNews
Lapp seeks meeting time limits
Haines Borough Assembly member Jerry Lapp wants to outlaw long meetings. Lapp introduced an ordinance last week that, if passed, would end regular and special assembly meetings at 9:45 p.m. If the assembly wanted to allow the meeting to carry on into the night, four members would have to vote to continue. Mayor Stephanie Scott said she has no […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly approves pay hikes
The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved raises and benefits for employees that will cost, on average, at least an additional $165,000 annually during the next three years. The assembly unanimously approved the contract negotiated by workers’ union Local 71 and a negotiating team of borough leaders. The borough’s negotiating team included chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart, mayor Stephanie […]
Posted inElections, News
Redistrict plan would link Haines, Juneau
The Alaska Redistricting Board approved a new political map Sunday, placing Haines in a state House district with downtown Juneau, Douglas Island, Skagway, Klukwan and Gustavus. The map will be submitted to a judge for review. The board redrew the boundaries after the Alaska Supreme Court ruled last year the board hadn’t followed the correct process in […]
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Borough adds $210K to Front Street work
The Haines Borough has agreed to chip in up to $210,000 toward state-funded Front Street improvements, bringing the project total to about $5 million. The assembly voted July 9 to use $110,000 of cruise ship head tax funds to ensure that existing Front Street sidewalks are replaced. It also voted to appropriate up to $100,000 from the […]
Posted inNews
‘Corporate personhood’ on agenda
The Haines contingent of “We the People” is pushing the Haines Borough Assembly to pass an ordinance rejecting corporate personhood and restricting the definition of “person” in borough code to human beings. Under Haines Borough code, “person” is defined as “a corporation, partnership, joint venture, the borough and any other public agency, as well as an individual or individuals.” […]
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Assembly to mull $5 million bond
The Haines Borough Assembly will consider asking voters to approve a $5 million bond for districtwide school improvements. The borough’s hopes for approval hinge on the package of projects qualifying for reimbursement through a state program that covers up to 70 percent of costs. The bond would finance six projects: mechanical upgrades to the vocational education building […]
Posted inNews
Telephone poles, wires to stay
Borough officials this week said recent efforts to bury view-obstructing utility lines at the intersection of Front Street and Old Haines Highway are “dead.” The state Department of Transportation’s reluctance to work with the borough on burying the lines this far into the project plus the expense involved have effectively “squashed” the idea, said public […]
Posted inNews
Assembly to decide on employee raises
The Haines Borough Assembly will decide July 23 whether to approve a package of raises and health insurance compensation for unionized borough workers which would increase the budget by about $151,000 in the current fiscal year. The cost of the contract would increase over each of the following two years. The Local 71 Union ratified the three-year […]
Posted inNews
Neighbors’ dispute stumps borough
Haines Borough officials this week said they have no legal recourse to remove seven large overturned stumps lining the roadway near the intersection of Lutak Road and First Avenue. The stumps, placed there by property owner Carol Waldo following a dispute with neighbors Keith and Irene Stigen, have been called “unattractive,” “unappealing,” and flat-out “ugly” by residents […]