The Haines Borough Assembly last week hung up on a proposal to refer a discussion of pay phones to a committee. Newspaper editor Tom Morphet, at the request of Mayor Stephanie Scott, prepared a resolution asking Alaska Power and Telephone to reactivate a half-dozen pay phones around town. Morphet took interest in the issue last spring, after AP&T removed […]

The Haines Borough is planning to spend more than $6,000, including $3,650 or more in attorney’s fees, to process a foreign worker visa for Xi “Tracy” Cui, a Chinese national who is the municipality’s choice for planning and zoning technician. Through March, the borough has paid $3,650 to Lane Powell, a nationwide firm specializing in labor law […]

By Tom Morphet Facing a room full of advocates for local non-profit organizations, the Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday backed away from a manager’s recommendation to reduce by 50 percent the municipality’s contributions to community organizations. It appears instead the borough’s total contributions may hold steady to last year’s amount, roughly $155,000. Sixteen groups requested $180,118 this year. […]

Mayor Stephanie Scott on Tuesday broke a tie vote of the Haines Borough Assembly to adopt an ordinance that removes code language mandating the municipality have a department of economic development and an economic development director. Assembly members Debra Schnabel, Norm Smith and Joanne Waterman also voted in support of eliminating the department from code. “I’ve been here long enough to say that this […]

The Haines Borough Assembly is investigating a state-collected municipal motor vehicle registration tax that would help fund local storage and disposal of junk cars, or an annual “junk car clean-up.” The municipality for years has discussed how best to deal with junkers parked around town and abandoned on public property. Its interest sharpened last year when residents […]

By Krista Kielsmeier Haines Borough code mandates the municipality have a department of economic development and a director to lead it. “Despite this code requirement, to my knowledge the department has never been established,” Mayor Stephanie Scott wrote in a memo last month, requesting that section of code be repealed. The Haines Borough Assembly this week advanced to a second public […]

The Haines Borough is sponsoring a work visa for a Chinese national to become the municipality’s next planning and zoning technician. Xi “Tracy” Cui, who holds a master’s degree in planning from the University of Florida, was the administration’s top choice for the job, said manager Mark Earnest, who made the hire with the assistance of clerk Julie […]