Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 718
Dredging is expected to resume at South Harbor this October to finish the maintenance project that was suspended earlier this year. Harbormaster Glo Wollen says Western Marine, who has undertaken the South Harbor dredge project, is "here, poised, ready to go" but must wait to resume in-water work due to environmental regulations. "Because of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, we can't do any in-water work until October 1," she said. "We'll see them start to fire up and get things ready, and then...
The town's most notorious seasonal visitors are back, and effort is needed to prevent their behavior from getting dangerously trashy. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins says bears coming to town is "always going to be an issue. We live in the middle of bear habitat ... It's very easy for a bear to follow a shrub area or a muskeg and waltz right into town, and they're more apt to do that if there's readily available food." The annual return of bears to Petersburg can be credited to their...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution at its July 17 meeting to extend utility connections to three residentially-zoned borough-owned lots. The decision comes as the borough continues to address the ongoing housing crisis in Petersburg in a bid to make the lots more affordable for a possible future sale. The three parcels that will see the utility connection stubs installed include 1200 Lake Street, 200 Aaslaug Street, and a 8,862 square foot lot near Hungry Point. The assembly approved the use of up to $100,000 from...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously on Monday to renew its contract with Republic Services for solid waste transportation and disposal, which includes new terms that significantly raise service fees and could require the borough to secure its own fleet of shipping containers down the road. The new agreement, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, will increase the borough’s base rate for transport and disposal of municipal solid waste from $128.76 to $172.86 per ton, an approximately 34% bump. Public Works Director Chris Cotta w...
Opponents of ranked-choice voting in Alaska want to put an initiative on the ballot so that voters can overturn the law in the 2024 election. To do that, they need to collect signatures from about 26,000 registered voters to win a spot on the statewide ballot. To do that, and then run a statewide campaign to convince a majority of voters to dump the new voting system, they will need money. Six-figure money. Which means fundraising. But the laws around soliciting and accepting campaign donations are a problem for people who want to remain...
A private dump truck hit a guy-wire supporting a power pole on the dump hill Wednesday, cutting power to the baler facility and water treatment plant, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The outage also affected Sandy Beach Road, North Nordic Drive, Wrangell Avenue, Petersburg High School, OBI, and Petersburg IGA. Petersburg Municipal Power and Light was alerted to the incident near Reservoir Road around 10:10 a.m. and responded. According to Hagerman, the guy-pole that was attached to...
July 6, 1923 – Two youthful “Penrods” weary of the humdrum routine of life in their hometown of Wrangell and determining to strike out boldly in search of adventure, boarded the Jefferson as stowaways on the last trip south of that boat, bound for the great outside world. By playing a skillful game of hide-and-seek, they managed to dodge the officers and members of the crew for a time, but finally an unkind fate brought the culprits to the attention of Captain Livingstone who, in spite of their boyish pleadings, wired Mrs. Jack Cool to meet the...
The Petersburg Borough's annual Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Event is returning at the end of this month after a three-year hiatus. The borough invites the public to deliver their materials to the baling facility on June 24-25 at no cost, encouraging community members to get hazardous substances out of their homes and disposed of in a safe manner. "COVID kind of interrupted our stride, and-you know-it's taken us a couple years to get back to where we need to be, so we fully intend to make...
Elected officials, ballot initiative supporters and opponents, campaign managers and anyone else who writes, texts or tweets outlandish claims and promises should be required to stay after the election and write on the blackboard (remember those) 100 times: “I will not make stuff up.” After they have a chance to rest their arm, they need to go back to the board — OK, a whiteboard and a Sharpie works, too — and write 100 more times: “I am sorry for promising too much.” It’s gotten way too easy for anyone trying to win over the public to pro...
Alaska legislators, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and the commissioners in charge of state agencies will see pay raises after the Legislature missed the final deadline for a bill needed to block the increases. Starting July 1, Alaska’s governor will be paid approximately $176,000 per year, the lieutenant governor about $140,000, and commissioners will receive about $168,000 per year. Legislators will be paid $84,000 per year, up from $50,400, starting next January. The increases are the result of a convoluted series of events t... Full story
Ground deformation beneath the Mt. Edgecumbe volcano continued in 2023, but no eruption is imminent, a team of experts said at a Sitka public meeting Monday night. But the experts, volcanologists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said they plan additional research this summer around the Kruzof Island landmark. Activity beneath the volcanic cone came to the observatory’s attention in April 2022 after an earthquake “swarm” was detected there. Follow-up analysis of satellite data showed the mountain deforming at a rate of 8.7 centimeters annua...
May 3 – An officer provided a courtesy transport to a person in need of assistance A driver on North 12th Street was issued a warning for an inoperable headlight. An officer spoke with a complainant. A driver at six-mile on Mitkof Highway was issued a warning for passing in a restricted zone. A burglar alarm activated on Mitkof Highway, the responding officer determined it was a false alarm. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a complaint from a citizen concerned about odd pipes on the ground in front of a business. No criminal a... Full story
Athletes earn awards through excellence in competition. Athletes of distinction are feted for that excellence, but it is secondary to the character and compassion they exhibit and nurture as lives off the podium continue. Heralded for such achievements on the track, in the pool and beyond, Petersburg High School 2017 graduate Izabelle Ith was honored Sunday at the 2023 Alaska School Activities Association Alaska High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Anchorage's Lakefront Hotel. "It's...
A bill advancing in the Alaska Legislature would dramatically shorten the time needed to approve the logging of some state-owned lands, shrinking approval time from years to days in the most extreme cases. Proponents say the bill will alleviate fire danger and revitalize the state’s dwindling logging industry by expanding the amount of timber that can be sold from public land, but legislative and public critics have noted that the bill’s lack of specificity gives the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources almost unlimited dis... Full story
With its comprehensive slate of services and robust programming, the Petersburg Public Library is a shining example of this year's National Library Week theme, "There's More to the Story." From April 23rd through the 29th Americans are encouraged to support libraries, library workers' contributions, and the fact that today's libraries offer much more than books. The things available for check-out from the Petersburg Public Library may surprise even frequent library patrons. Game lovers can...
Rock-N-Road Construction has spent the last week scooping mud from Middle Harbor as part of the ongoing dredge project. The Middle Harbor dredge project is separate from the dredge project being completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Western Marine, which is on hold for the summer. The Middle Harbor project aims to clear out built-up silt causing damage to the harbor and was included in the borough's latest supplemental budget, which will have its third and final reading at the April...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that would adjust the FY23 budget in its first reading during its meeting on March 20. The sizable supplemental budget includes 12 changes that cover a range of items including harbor dredging, attorney fees, vehicles, and more. The ordinance looks to increase the South Harbor dredge project budget by $635,000. The FY23 budget for the project was initially $1.1 million so the addition will bring the borough's budgeted cont...
An interactive workshop focused on equipping community members with the skills to get involved in the Federal Subsistence Board process will be held this Saturday, March 25 at John Hanson Hall. The community workshop will be put on by Ashley Bolwerk, a subsistence fish biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, and Heather Bauscher with the Sitka Conservation Society. Bolwerk and Bauscher developed the workshop in order to help residents better understand the Federal Subsistence Board process and...
After years of legislative debate over the size of the Permanent Fund dividend, reasonable voices are starting to grow louder, maybe even hopefully strong enough to outvote the irresponsible catcalls for an unaffordable dividend. It’s a welcome change. A bill in the House would restore dividend sanity by setting the free-money check at a percentage of the annual draw of Permanent Fund earnings, producing about a $1,300 PFD this year and growing from there. That would be about equal to the average dividend of the past decade, before the e...
Ketchikan artist and master basket weaver Kathryn Rousso is coming to the Petersburg Public Library to present a slide show, "A Sense of Place: Exploring Mexico to Colombia & the Plant Material Textiles Within," Thursday night, March 23, followed by a three-day basket weaving class. Several of her works are on display at the library through March 31. In her presentation Rousso will share her fascination with traditional textiles, some of the historical and cultural context through which woven...
The South Harbor dredge project has been suspended until this fall as the end of the environmental window approaches. An estimated 29,351 cubic yards of material have been dug out of the harbor-about half of what the project intends to remove. The last dumping of material in Frederick Sound was on Feb. 23. According to Harbormaster Glo Wollen, the project has seen hard digging, causing the project to take more time and energy than anticipated even with the equipment they have on hand. So far...
March 1 – An officer and an Alaska State Trooper assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with an individual experiencing a breathing problem at Papke’s Landing. An officer assisted a citizen on Chief John Lott Street. An officer responded to a report of a parking accident on Howkan Street. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a vehicle damaged on South 3rd Street. March 2 – An officer assisted the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) at a structure fire on Mitkof Highway. Breiland Willis was issued a summons for a...
March 2, 1923 – Our small but busy little town is some burg. We own our own water works and light plant. We have one of the largest salmon canneries in Southeastern Alaska. This cannery has for the past five years had an average pack of 100,000 cases. We also have two shrimp canneries, employing six boats and 120 people. We have one crab cannery employing six boats and about 20 people. We have three machine shops and two public docks. The Standard Oil Company has one of its largest stations here with a dock of their own. We have three large m...
February 23, 1923 – Once heroine of the Polar seas whose daring exploits thrilled an applauding world, the Seattle pilot boat, King and Winge, brave rescuer of the ill-fated Steffansson Artic exploration expedition of 1914, has been sold again and has, it is reported, fallen into the hands of rum runners. Her new owners, former Lieutenant Roy Olmstead and former Sargent Thomas J. Clark, reputed whiskey smugglers extraordinaire, like their sturdy ship were one time famed for valor. Both were then officers in the Seattle police department. The K...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht received mostly positive marks as part of his 2022 Performance Evaluation, which was approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly during its Feb. 6 meeting. The evaluation was filled out by assembly members who judged Giesbrecht in various categories. Giesbrecht scored highly-mostly receiving scores of meeting expectations or exceeding expectations-in communication, planning, and managing resources. Assembly Member Donna Marsh wrote that she appreciates the manage...
