I hate to disagree with my good friend Rob Goldberg but I think he has missed the point of the rumblings concerning the hiring of a foreign national for the borough’s planning technician position. The people I’ve talked to about this matter are not anti-immigrant nor do they question Ms. Cui’s ethnicity or skills. If she had […]
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Posted inNews, Elections
House district tilts toward Juneau
Haines would be included in a state House of Representatives district dominated by voters from Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley under a new plan adopted Monday by the Alaska Redistricting Board. The news triggered concerns among Haines leaders that the town could lose clout in the Alaska Legislature wielded by state Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, who co-chairs the […]
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Lowe, Brower, Bolen amid 18 manager applicants
Residents John Brower, Gary Lowe and Debra Schnabel and former Haines Borough Manager Tom Bolen are among 18 applicants for the borough’s top job. Applications were due May 10. Borough manager Mark Earnest has resigned effective June 15. Brower is the tribal administrator at Chilkat Indian Village, Lowe is Haines Police chief, and the self-employed Schnabel serves on the Haines Borough Assembly. Bolen was dismissed as […]
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Assembly drops pay phone request
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 […]
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Visa, attorney cost for planner at $6,000
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 […]
Posted inNews, Elections
Assembly: Vote on APOC disclosure rules, again
Undeterred by three defeated attempts in the past seven years, Haines Borough Assembly members again are taking steps to exempt the municipality from the state’s laws requiring candidates for local office to report their financial holdings. Assembly members say the state’s requirements are “too intrusive and rigorous,” and have “created a hardship for keeping and recruiting municipal […]
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Borough grants may stay at 2011 levels
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. […]
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Economic development wording axed
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 […]
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Assembly considers DMV tax to wrangle wrecks
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 […]
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Assembly considers eliminating lobbyist
The Haines Borough Assembly members may eliminate or reduce spending on a Washington, D.C. lobbyist in the coming year. For at least the past four years, the assembly has paid Brad Gilman of Robertson, Monagle and Eastaugh’s Washington office $50,000 per year for representing the borough and advocating federal legislation benefiting the municipality. But with federal spending […]