The job shuffle at city hall continued this week with the temporary hire of Phil Benner as harbormaster, and a four-month extension for facilities manager Brian Lemcke. Meanwhile, the Haines Borough Assembly is moving ahead with a transition plan that would give clerk Julie Cozzi responsibilities of the borough manager. Cozzi would be aided in the job […]

The future of the annual, Fourth of July fireworks display was in question this week, following a 4-1 vote by the Haines Borough Assembly March 27 against taking on insurance liability for the display. Member Debra Schnabel voted to provide the coverage. Joanne Waterman was absent. Haines Chamber of Commerce president Ned Rozbicki recently told the assembly the business group is […]

Staff turnover reached the top of the Haines Borough this week, as manager Mark Earnest submitted his resignation, effective June 15. “We’re getting good at changing managers, and I don’t want it to be taken lightly,” said Daymond Hoffman of the Haines Borough Assembly. “I think we really need to find out, from Mark, what we can do better, what we can […]

Confused about all the planning going on at the Haines Borough? The assembly is working on a “strategic plan,” a brief, “to-do list” of upcoming projects for elected leaders, and a “comprehensive plan,” a blueprint that addresses a range of community concerns. The “comp plan” is intended to help steer borough decision-making for the next […]

One week after an avalanche claimed the lives of a heli-ski client and guide, key details of the March 13 accident are missing, including its precise location. Alaska State Trooper Josh Bentz said Wednesday he has asked Alaska Heliskiing four or five times for the coordinates of the accident, information he needs to complete his […]

Are security cameras around Haines waterfront locations a good security measure or an example of Big Brother government infringing on the privacy of residents? The question was zipping around the Internet this week, in advance of a resolution before the Haines Borough Assembly to accept a $233,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for fencing […]

The veterinarian who treated three ailing horses belonging to a Haines Borough police officer said the animals in mid-January were suffering “extreme neglect” and “barely alive.” “I worked many years on neglect cases and I’ve seen lots of starved animals and those were the worst-looking horses I’d ever seen. They were completely emaciated… The first few days […]

Haines Assisted Living is negotiating to buy the Thunderbird Motel as the site of a possible veterans’ home in Haines. Purchase would be funded by a $500,000 legislative appropriation secured by state Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, to HAL last year for a feasibility study of a home. The appropriation also could be used to reduce HAL […]