Sorted by date Results 926 - 950 of 999
The borough assembly approved two health mandates at their assembly meeting on Monday regarding the use of the borough's harbor facilities by cruise ships and the submission of essential workers' travel plans in the borough. Public health mandate #5 prevents cruise ships from using the borough's harbor facilities and passengers and crew members from disembarking onto borough docks or floats without prior written approval of Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo. Approval will be given to...
This week with the Petersburg Borough announced Public Health Mandate #4; All community member are required to wear homemade masks, scarfs, buffs, bandanas, or handkerchiefs when inside buildings and even outside of any building in situations where social distancing requirements cannot be met. Masks have become even more important in our community then they were even last week. Liz Bacom's title with the Petersburg Medical Center is Infection Prevention and Quality Manager, with her work on the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Initial unemployment claims in Alaska are down slightly from a historic high, but they are about 12 times what is typical for this time of year amid the economic fallout from coronavirus concerns, according to a state official and government figures Thursday. Initial claims for the most recent reporting week totaled 12,007, said Lennon Weller, actuary for the state’s unemployment insurance system. That compares with 14,590 claims the prior week, which the state labor department said far exceeded anything in Alaska’s histor...
Alaska’s total salmon catch for 2020 is projected to be down 36 percent from last year’s haul of 207 million fish, the eighth largest on record that was valued at nearly $658 million at the docks. In the Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections and Review of the 2019 Season just released by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, managers are calling for a harvest of just under 133 million salmon across Alaska. The decline is driven by a much lower forecast for those hard to predict pink salmon of just over 60 million fish, down nearly 53 percent. Her...
Mission of court system hasn't changed To the Editor: On behalf of the Alaska Court System, and particularly those of us working in the First Judicial District (Southeast), I want to extend to the people of Petersburg, Kake and the surrounding area our appreciation for your patience and consideration as we work through the challenges to our judicial process brought on by the current pandemic. As most of you are aware, we have had to suspend jury trials and most other in-person court... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center has sent out a total of 71 samples to be tested for COVID-19 at state and commercial laboratories as of April 15, said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 community update. Sixty-three tests have returned negative, seven are still pending and one test has returned positive, but the individual has since recovered. On Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services reported 293 cases of COVID-19 in the state. Of the positive cases, 106...
There was a time when masks were associated with Halloween, horror movies, dances, and merrymaking. In today's current environment they've been elevated to a new status; as a way to protect and stop the spread of COVID-19. In Petersburg specifically the making of masks has become a cottage industry, helping to encourage good mental health and as a way to reach out and help others, while practicing social distancing. Back in mid-March Erica Kludt-Painter, School Superintendent and Heather Conn,...
During a virtual Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter recommended that the board postpone talks on the Alaska Reads Act, which is a senate bill being put forth by Alaska legislators to address early childhood education. If passed, Senate Bill 6 would mandate school districts offer a preschool program and ensure students are reading proficiently by third grade. Kludt-Painter recommended further discussions on the topic be postponed because of local and...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman and Public Works Director Chris Cotta submitted a letter to the borough assembly at their meeting last week recommending the borough postpone discussions on rate increases and bond issuances due to financial uncertainties in the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We were attempting to answer a question that hadn't been asked yet and to put the community at ease that rates are still under consideration for projects that need to be completed, but that rate increa...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state forecast released Monday shows projected revenues down sharply from an estimate issued several months ago, with low oil prices and economic impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak cited as factors. The state Revenue Department projects unrestricted general fund revenue of $1.6 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, and $1.2 billion for the year starting July 1, excluding scheduled transfers from earnings of the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. That is down from projections of $2.1 billion and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will work with communities, industry leaders and others as it makes decisions on how to proceed in reopening sectors of the economy impacted by the coronavirus. Dunleavy said key to this will be monitoring case numbers. As of Tuesday, Alaska had reported 285 total cases of COVID-19, and nine deaths related to the coronavirus. The health of Alaskans will be a top consideration, Dunleavy said, adding he doesn’t “want anyone to get the wrong idea that we’re going to put the economy ahe...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Four employees at a state-run prison in Juneau have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Monday. No staff at other Department of Corrections facilities have tested positive, and no inmates within the system have tested positive, department spokeswoman Sarah Gallagher said by email. Three recent cases in Juneau have involved staff from the Lemon Creek Correctional Center. Results from a fourth case came in as positive but given reporting protocols will show up in the state’s count Tuesday, according to the state hea...
How can fishermen be sure their vessels are clean of coronavirus contamination? Where can they find out about relief funds that are newly available for fishermen? COVID-19 has Alaska’s seafood industry traveling in uncharted waters as more fisheries continue and get underway, and fishermen and processors prepare for a salmon season that’s just a month away. Information in an upside down world changes daily, making it tough to plot a course. United Fishermen of Alaska has crafted a “one stop shop” for the latest fishing-related COVID-19 updates...
As of April 7, the Petersburg Medical Center has sent out 62 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 at state and commercial laboratories, according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 update. Fifty-one tests have returned negative, ten are still pending and one test has returned positive. The borough was first made aware of the confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community on Sunday. The borough was notified by the hospital and immediately sent out a press release and a code...
Several hand washing stations have been set up throughout town to provide residents with basic hygiene needs at a time when the public is urged to wash their hands regularly to prevent the transmission and contraction of COVID-19. Ashley Kawashima, of the borough's incident command team, said the stations were set up for the growing local population of individuals who don't have access to running water. They would use the Parks and Recreation Center and Petersburg Public Library, for their...
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan held an electronic town hall meeting last week to talk about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and what kind of aid it provides to small businesses. In their town hall meeting, the senators focused on several key provisions. One was the Paycheck Protection Program. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program offers a loan designed to provide an incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll in...
The borough assembly established a local emergency disaster fund in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at their meeting on Monday and moved funds to the Petersburg Economic development Council to help businesses who have been financially affected by the virus. The local emergency disaster fund was created by an emergency ordinance, which requires only one reading to be passed and lasts for 60 days. Because the borough anticipates the local emergency disaster fund being needed past the 60 days,...
Four Petersburg High School basketball players were named to Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches all-state teams. Thomas Durkin made the first team, and Brayden Larson made the second team among the boys 2A schools throughout the state. On the girls side, Ines Larson made the second team, and Kaili Simbahon made the third team. The Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches is an organization that formally connects all the basketball coaches in the state, said Coach Rick Brock, head coach...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)– Alaska government officials and fishing industry professionals are making plans to ensure the state can have a strong summer salmon season amid changes forced by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Alaska’s chief medical officer says the state has a fisheries work group looking at how small communities can handle influxes of fishermen and processing workers while adhering to health guidelines, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. “We know the fish are coming regardless of COVID-19 or not and we can’t ask the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)–An Alaska official trying to promote participation in the national census has urged residents to file their forms online and by phone as the state falls behind the national response average. The push for remote filing comes as efforts by the U.S. Census Bureau to collect residency data have been been hampered by the cornoavirus pandemic, Alaska Public Media reported Monday. The outbreak prompted the agency to close field offices and delay door-to-door interviews. The national response rate stands at nearly 43%, but l...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced wide-ranging budget vetoes Tuesday amid a collapse in oil prices, citing expectations that many of the larger cuts, including aid for schools and local governments, would be offset through use of federal funds tied to COVID-19 relief. Some legislators questioned whether the money can be used that way. “There is no guarantee that the federal government will pick up the tab. This approach is incredibly troubling to me,”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, said in a state...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has launched a new virtual school for Alaska students in partnership with a Florida program, garnering some criticism from educators adjusting their lessons to online teaching amid the coronavirus pandemic. The state of Alaska signed a $525,000 contract through February 2021 with the Florida Virtual School, which had enrolled about 80 Alaska students by Friday, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. “The ‘fourth-quarter solution’ that is suggested through the purchase of this Flo...
Don't feel helpless To the Editor: In this sci-fi "reality" we are immersed in currently, I want to encourage my fellow Alaskans not to feel helpless. There is more we can do to help ourselves stay healthy than just isolate, wash hands, wear masks, and hunker down. My apologies if my comments seem obvious. This is not medical advice, just common sense and deductions from reading peer-reviewed studies found at PubMed and other sites, the same sources our doctors can access if they choose....
The online world has been using humor to deal with the anxiety around COVID-19. Psychologists say it's a healthy response....
The State of Alaska wants input on plans to distribute nearly $24.5 million in federal disaster relief funds for stakeholders and communities hurt by the 2018 Gulf of Alaska cod crash. Better make it quick – the deadline to comment is April 10. Cod is Alaska’s second largest groundfish harvest (after pollock), but the Gulf stock dropped by 80% in 2018 following a three year heatwave that disrupted food webs, fish metabolism and egg survival on the ocean floor. It combined to push down cod catches to just 28.8 million pounds, compared to nea...
