There are many reasons people are drawn to serve on the borough assembly, but the pay is not one of them. With just a small stipend, it’s generally understood the position is public service, and not a job with a living wage. However, it’s possible assembly members are entitled to more than they are currently […]
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Posted inHaines Herring
Canada Takes First Step to Annex Alaska
Canadian Prime Minister Carney, sporting a MATA (Make Alaska Territorial Again©) hat, opened multiple border crossings on April 1 and offered instant citizenship to Alaskans who want to trade in their stars and stripes for the maple leaf. According to an unnamed source: “We could take Alaska by force, but that wouldn’t be very Canadian, […]
Posted inLocal News, Haines Borough
Budget nuggets: From payroll to heated showers, Assembly looks for places to cut
It’s budget season for the Haines borough, kicked off by an assembly discussion Thursday night to go line-by-line through its areawide general fund. The budget determines taxation – who gets taxed and by how much – and spending, on services like education, the pool, public safety and economic development. Balancing this year’s budget has been […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly briefs: Property tax exemptions, road improvements, taxes, and mining
Community Purpose (Property Tax) Exemptions It’s been a contentious start to budget season already, with back and forth debate on non-profit funding spread across many of the last few assembly meetings. That debate was, at least in part, renewed Tuesday night, this time on the issue of Community Purpose Tax Exemptions. That property tax exemption, […]
Posted inLocal News, Housing
Assembly and planning commission consider allowing ‘granny flats’ to address housing shortage
Faced with a housing shortage, the borough assembly and planning commission will consider whether to allow adding small apartments, sometimes called “granny flats,” to single-family-zoned lots. The secondary units are often called accessory dwelling units or ADUs. The housing shortage is an issue that has been under discussion at the borough level for several years. […]
Posted inLocal News
Planning commissioners register concerns over assembly settlement
Planning commissioners clashed with borough assembly representatives at last week’s planning commission meeting over the assembly’s recent settlement deal with Southeast Roadbuilders. The settlement deal ended a years-long appeals process with Southeast Roadbuilders (SERB) by granting a conditional use permit that had first been approved by a planning commission in 2023, then denied by a […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: Chance encounters, culinary updates, puzzles, bike rides, and a retirement
Chilkat Valley News alumni Francisco Martínezcuello and Lex Treinen had a chance encounter in Weaverville, California, on March 29. Treinen was on a road trip through northern California. He stopped at the Lava Beds National Monument, Lassen National Park (which was closed due to snow) and looked for morel mushrooms, unsuccessfully, near Red Bluffs California. […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: New Chilkoot tours, a settlement with SERB, the Mosquito Lake community center, heli-skiing support
More Chilkoot Tour Permits The assembly approved two more tour permits for operations in the Chilkoot Lake area The applications, from Cyclops Cycles and Sue Rakes Photography, come during renewed scrutiny on overcrowding and tourist behavior in the bear-heavy area. Rakes, and Cyclops owners Andrew and Natassja Letchworth, both submitted applications cognizant of this controversy, […]
Posted inLocal News
Borough manager to close pool early, proposes extended closure next year
Interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton is closing the pool two weeks earlier than was originally planned this year citing cost overruns. According to a Monday email, Fullerton said she decided to close the pool by May 15 to avoid having to bring a budget amendment — that is, asking for more money to cover costs […]
Posted inThis Week in History
This Week in History: Smithsonian exhibit, Steve Earle, ambulance fees, Pyramid Island condos?
10 years ago What types of food traditions make Haines distinct compared to other small towns in the United States? A new exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food,” opening April at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, sets out to explore the question. The exhibit is only the museum’s second from the Smithsonian Institution, and […]