Sorted by date Results 3077 - 3101 of 6972
On July 12, the cruise ship Safari Quest discharged their wastewater into Petersburg Harbor due to a malfunctioning fan. The fan impeded the normal processing of wastewater and a small amount of poorly processed material was released into the harbor before the mistake was noticed and the valve was shut off, according to Dan Blanchard, CEO of UnCruise Adventures, in a prepared statement. "We sincerely regret the incident and want to assure the community this is not our usual practice," said...
Last week, Petersburg Medical Center Controller Rocio Tereja presented the board of directors with a review of the hospitals financial standing at the end of the 2019 fiscal year that ended on June 30. PMC was ahead in operating revenue and total operating expenses by five and seven percent respectively, and has seven more days of operating cash on hand than at the start of the 2019 fiscal year. Additionally, PMC's total cash increased to $8,047,677 from $6,992,066 since the start of the year....
A group of about 10 individuals have banded together to secure funding for an outdoor covered deck at Mountain View Manor so its residents have a place to sit outside in the sun. While there is a deck on the backside of the manor, that area can get too cold for the residents since the sun doesn't shine there during the day. Residents have begun sitting in front of the building by one of the entrances in an effort to enjoy some fresh air in the sunlight, but there is not a designated sitting...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors approved the hospital's 2020 fiscal year capital budget for a total of $769,785 last week. The most expensive capital item in the budget is a $387,000 new drug room for the pharmacy, followed by $139,980 in upgrades in the information technology department. The rest of the departments have a combined total of $142,805 in capital items. When the budget was first presented to the board of directors in June, PMC Controller Rocio Tereja said the...
Adam Pack, a professor and marine mammal scientist with the University of Hawaii Hilo, gave a presentation at the Petersburg Library on Tuesday on the data he has collected on humpback whales this summer and over the course of his research. Humpback whales are season breeders with separate feeding and breeding grounds. The humpback whales that can be seen throughout Southeast Alaska during the summer are feeding in the region before returning back to their breeding grounds in Hawaii, near Maui....
WRANGELL - A bear safety workshop was held at the gun range on Spur Road last Wednesday, July 24, as one of the first events scheduled for Wrangell's annual Bearfest. Wrangell resident Robert Johnson led the workshop. He has had a lot of experiences with bears over the years, he said, and told everyone early in the workshop that having respect for bears was an important part of staying safe around them. "You just have to be in awe of these animals and show them the utmost respect," he said. "As...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislature on Monday approved a roughly $1,600 oil-wealth fund dividend to residents this year as part of a measure that also seeks to reverse many of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s operating budget vetoes. The legislation now goes to Dunleavy, who called it “a dark day for the PFD and for Alaskans who support the PFD and for those that are looking at a sustainable budget. These add-backs take us in the other direction.” PFD refers to the Permanent Fund dividend, which is traditionally paid annually with earnings of the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn proposed Obama-era restrictions on mining activity in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, angering opponents of the Pebble Mine project. EPA says the proposed restrictions were based on hypothetical scenarios and are outdated now that the Pebble Limited Partnership has submitted project plans. The agency says other processes are better suited for working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the corps seeks to finalize an environmental review of the project. A reg...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The University of Alaska has taken its first steps toward consolidating its three accredited campuses into a single entity. Facing severe budget cuts as a result of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto pen, the UA Board of Regents voted Tuesday to authorize President Jim Johnsen to immediately reduce administrative costs and prepare a plan for a transition to a single institution. Johnsen painted a dire financial picture for the university and said delaying a decision would compound the size of the cuts to be made later this yea...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) —Alaska’s Head Start early childhood education program is preparing to close pre-K classrooms and cut jobs after budget vetoes, officials said. The program lost its $6.8 million in state funding, which is used to unlock federal funds, when Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month vetoed line items equaling $444 million in cuts to the state operating budget, The Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. The federal program is Alaska’s largest provider of early childhood services, offering free pre-K, meals, medical care and o...
The State and the Inland Boatmens Union have reached a tentative agreement. AMHS is resuming service, to see the new schedule click link below: https://www.dot.state.ak.us/oars/reservations/CalendarFM.amhsf?selectMonth=August+2019&selectPort=Petersburg&selectVessel=All+Vessels&action=Get+Schedule Call 1-800-642-0066 with questions. Due to the high volume of calls, it may take time to connect with a customer service representative. AMHS staff will never request credit card information from... Full story
An investigation by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation revealed that the Le Soléal did not dump sewage into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay earlier this month after a report of "brown sludge" being seen near the cruise ship's anchorage. The DEC conducted an onboard inspection, reviewed the electronic monitoring records for the ship's pumps, observed samples taken of the ship's treated water and talked to crew members of the Le Soléal, said Ed White of the commercial p...
The borough assembly denied Police Chief Jim Kerr's request to advertise and fill a vacant police sergeant position at an assembly meeting last week. While the borough's 2020 operating budget does allocate funds for the position, assembly members decided not to fill the position, citing uncertainty in the ability to continue funding the $127,224 position in the future. The assembly increased the millage rate in service area one to 12.3 mills earlier this month as a response to Gov. Mike...
The borough assembly voted against filling a vacant EMS coordinator position last week that would free up Fire/EMS Director Sandy Dixson's time to apply for grants, while designating an individual that could train more EMS volunteers. "If people don't think that this is a big deal, you will come this winter or some late night when something is going haywire out at your house or there's a car accident and you don't have enough people, then people are going to get really upset at why we don't have...
From Oct. 31, 2018 through July 6, the United States Coast Guard Cutter ELDERBERRY, home ported in Petersburg, was dry docked in Ketchikan for routine maintenance. Coast Guard civilian employees performed most of the work, which included a complete overhaul the ship's engines and the replacement of the fire main piping and potable water piping, according to Andrew Tetrault, executive petty officer of the ELDERBERRY. A large portion of the ship's steel and deck was also replaced. The ELDERBERRY...
Southeast Alaska is currently going through its second year of increased hemlock sawfly activity, but an entomologist with the United States Forest Service said the trees that the insects feed off of should make a full recovery after the ecosystem regulates itself. "We have experienced these kinds of outbreaks in the past," said Elizabeth Graham, an entomologist with the State & Private Forestry, which is a branch of the USFS that focuses on forest health protection. "Usually we have a big...
Sea otters are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a federal law that prohibits the harvesting of marine mammals. However, this law does allow for some exceptions. Under section 101 of the act, on page 16, it reads that "... the provisions of this Act shall not apply with respect to the taking of any marine mammal by any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who resides in Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean if such taking-(1) is for subsistence...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance last week in its first reading that would give voters the opportunity to decide whether or not to allow the water and wastewater departments to take out loans not to exceed a total of $8 million for capital improvement projects. The responsibility of the repayment of the loans would fall on water and wastewater rate payers. The loans will be through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and will be paid back over a 20-year period at 1.5...
Juneau, Alaska (AP) - A spokesman for a union representing workers for the Alaska ferry system says the union has gone on strike. Hundreds of ferry workers went on strike Wednesday after failing to reach agreement on a contract with state negotiators. Robb Arnold, a spokesman for Alaska's Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, said the strike began Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with state officials did not yield an agreement. He said the union remains open to a deal. "Unfortunately, we had...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House failed by one vote Monday to win sufficient support to use reserve funds to help pay for a state infrastructure budget. The vote came on reconsideration, after a similar vote failed Sunday. Lawmakers still could try to revive the measure for another vote later. The measure previously passed the Senate. “We are not giving up hope,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said in a statement. “We thank everyone who voted for the capital budget and for the growing commitment to find compromise on this issue and the man...
Wrangell District Ranger Clint Kolarich, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, is closing the June 21 – July 31, 2019 Federal subsistence Sockeye Salmon fishery in the Stikine River. The closure will be effective Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in effect through the rest of the 2019 season which ends July 31. The 2019 preseason forecast for the Stikine River is 90,000 Sockeye Salmon which is below the average 153,000 fish. The forecast includes 66,000 T...
A fisherman reported raw sewage had been dumped into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay on the morning of July 10, but the cruise ship Le Soléal's captain, Erwan Le Rouzic, said any sewage found in the bay could not have been from them. "This cannot be us," wrote Le Rouzic in a statement to Dave Berg of Viking Travel. "It is impossible. We are strictly following the most stringent rules in Alaska waters." Berg first contacted Le Rouzic after some fishermen noticed a presence of "long brown...
Sea otters are considered by many people to be an adorable animal, an important part of the ecosystem, and also a nuisance that is threatening other marine life populations in Southeast Alaska. In Wrangell, many people have talked about the need for better population control when it comes to otters. The Wrangell Borough Assembly talked about loosening restrictions on hunting the creatures last September with Sebastian O'Kelly, a federal lobbyist. Back in May, fifth-grade student Brody Knecht...
The authority and accountability of the United States Coast Guard Cutter ANACAPA transferred from Lt. Rachel Kent to Lt. Curtis Gookin in a change of command ceremony last Friday. Capt. Stephen White, USCG commander for sector Juneau, was in attendance and conducted the relief of command. In his remarks, White spoke of the hardships of sailing in Southeast Alaska. From 2001-2003, White serviced on the USCGC ANACAPA and knows the importance of the vessel's presence in Petersburg and throughout...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will hold their second meeting of July this evening, July 18, at 6 P.M. and will discuss the vacant police sergeant and EMS coordinator positions, as well as two ordinances. The borough's 2020 fiscal year operating budget funds both the police sergeant and EMS coordinator position, but an amendment was made to the budget to not fill either of the positions until the borough was sure it had the funding. Police Chief Jim Kerr will request authorization to advertise...
