Dear Haines Community, Including Mayor Morphet, Borough Assembly Members, and Borough Administration: Please choose a scaled-down Lutak Dock alternative 3B that will provide continued freight and fuel service to Haines, without throwing open the door for large-scale ore export. We are tired of over-built infrastructure projects based on predetermined designs in search of after-the-fact justifications. […]
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Posted inSports, Local News
Heliskiers hope for stable conditions — and stable future — in Haines
On a recent weekday at the Powdah Mountain Lodge, a handful of out-of-state visitors are getting antsy. There’s thick, wet snow falling outside and low clouds, meaning no helicopter flying today for Alaska Heliskiing. Guests here have to find their own entertainment. “I hate it,” said Ed Irons, a 60-year-old electrical engineer from Las Vegas […]
Posted inNews, Local News
Deadline for Lutak Dock project pushed back three years
This story has been updated. A looming deadline to sign a grant agreement for the controversial Lutak Dock project has been pushed back by three years. The news could upend debates about the need to make a quick decision to approve the $25 million project to shore up the aging dock that is the entry […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly noted: Leap Day birthdays, firefighting award, Ripinsky Rippers
Libby Kurz, Edith Fuzzy von Stauffenberg and Janine Allen celebrated their Leap Day birthdays on Feb. 29. Allen had a silent reading party, followed by dinner and then dancing and hula hooping at Harriett Hall. Former Haines residents Renee Staska and Eric Kocher are also Leap Day babies. Rodney Williamson was awarded a special commendation […]
Posted inHaines Borough, News, Local News
March 12 assembly briefs: cell tower, jake brakes, illegal trash and tax assessments
Illegal trash dumpingThe mayor and borough manager said a spot off Lutak Road has once again become the site of illegal trash dumping. The spot — the first pullout past Picture Point — was previously known as an illegal dumping site, and borough staff said they found trash there again. Morphet said he hoped to […]
Posted inLocal News, Alaska Legislature
Legislature overturns order to dissolve Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve council
The legislature overturned most of the governor’s 12 executive orders Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued earlier this year.
Posted inNews, Local News
Southeast Road Builders appeals permit remand for Lutak Road project
Southeast Road Builders is appealing a November assembly decision to add more requirements to a permit to extract and store gravel on Lutak Road. In its appeal, the company argues the assembly overstepped its authority by sending a permit back to the planning commission to rehear. Among other points, the company says the assembly didn’t […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Assembly, scale back the Lutak mega-dock
In Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 silent film Modern Times, he is sucked through the conveyor belt and giant gears of industry. 25 years later Republican President Eisenhower issued the same warning about the military-industrial complex. Today in Haines, public funds still feed gigantic gears of private extractive industry — the Haines Highway, Porcupine/Constantine Road upgrades, Palmer […]
Posted inLocal News, News
Planner to step down after less than a year
Andrew Conrad didn’t comment on his departure, but city manager Annette Kreitzer said “personal insults” and “disrespect” towards the planner by certain Haines residents was a big issue in the borough.
Posted inLetters to the Editor
New assembly should be in charge, not manager
The community voted overwhelmingly for change when they elected three new assembly members and the mayor in 2023. Transparency was promised and the assembly began delving into details of issues to keep the public informed. This assembly intended to drive the bus. However, the failure of the manager to provide them critical information has hamstrung […]