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The Alaska House Education Committee voted 5-2 Wednesday morning to raise the amount Alaska pays K-12 schools per student, a figure known as the base student allocation. The decision followed five hours of public testimony — almost entirely in favor of the idea — Tuesday night in the Capitol. Advocates for public schools say an increase is needed to compensate for inflation-driven increases in the cost to educate Alaska students. Two members of the House’s predominantly Republican coalition majority voted in favor of the increase, a sign that... Full story
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board named a new CEO during its meeting earlier this month while the need for additional generation remained a central talking point according to a report from Vice Mayor Bob Lynn and Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The SEAPA Board selected Robert Siedman as the agency's new CEO, pending contract negotiations. Siedman was appointed as acting CEO at the December board meeting and is set to replace former CEO Trey Acteson who retired from the role at the end of...
Petersburg Lutheran Church invites the community of Petersburg to attend their first service on Sunday, March 26 at 10 a.m. There will be a coffee hour following worship to give everyone an opportunity to meet and welcome Pastors Deborah and Tim....
Dozens of Alaskans testified in the state Capitol on Monday, urging lawmakers to advance a new anti-discrimination measure that would protect Alaskans from being denied housing or access to public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. House Bill 99, from Rep. Jennifer Armstrong, D-Anchorage, is being considered by the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which heard two hours of public testimony, almost entirely in support of the idea. Members of the committee have received more than 1,000 emails... Full story
After putting their dinner theater fundraiser on hold three years ago, the Clausen Museum is looking forward to hosting a song and dance production with a cast of twenty eight local thespians this Friday and Saturday at the Sons of Norway Hall. The Boardwalk, written by Sue Paulsen and Cathy Cronlund, will take diners back to the Roaring Twenties, when the streets of Petersburg were made of wood. "The show highlights the booming economic times that spurred the growth of Petersburg and drove...
Alaska school districts are scrambling to prepare for the new programs and policies outlined under the Alaska Reads Act that are set to go into effect next school year. The act has little funding attached to it and its implementation comes after three years of education interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have left some questioning if districts will be able to meet all that it requires in the short time they have to prepare. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the act in June 2022 in an...
Just eight weeks before the start of the summer timetable on May 1, the Alaska Marine Highway System has released its schedule and opened its online reservations system for bookings. The schedule, which was announced March 7, came later than usual this year as the state continues to wrestle with crew shortages that will keep a couple of ships tied to the dock for the summer. Petersburg will see a weekly ferry stop in each direction May through September. “The Kennicott and Tazlina will be off-line for the time being due to skilled crew s...
Bills under consideration in the Legislature to cap state spending are not addressing the main challenges Alaska is facing, said Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “We don’t have a spending-side problem; we have a revenue-side problem,” said Stedman, who represents Petersburg, Sitka and the rest of Southeast except for Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Gustavus. He is in his 20th year in the Legislature. The senator pointed out that the latest spending-cap proposal advanced by an Anchorage Republican would exclu...
After meeting with representatives of the British Columbia mining and environmental ministries in Juneau last week, state legislators, Alaska Native leaders and environmentalists urged the federal government to intervene against the development of new B.C. mines that could pollute transboundary salmon runs. In a press conference March 8, stakeholders called on the federal government to use its powers under the U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to place an immediate temporary pause on the exploration, development and expansion of B.C....
Mary Clemens and Bill Moulton have teamed up for the fourth time to share their love of country swing dance and the two-step by teaching a recent class at the Mitkof Dance Troupe's studio. Clemens explains, "Two-step is slow and swing is fast. It's different steps. Bill makes it look easy because he's a good lead. It really makes a difference if the guy knows how to get you to do what they want you to do." Moulton says, "There are five basic moves to learn, then you build on those to learn the...
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...
Anchorage Democratic Rep. Jennie Armstrong, one of three newly elected LGBTQ members of the Alaska Legislature, has introduced a new proposal to ban housing discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation. House Bill 99 was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the House Labor and Commerce Committee. The bill’s introduction on Wednesday came days after the Anchorage Daily News published an article noting that the state of Alaska had dropped a policy that banned most forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people here. Armstrong said this week t... Full story
WRANGELL — One of the U.S. Forest Service’s most popular recreational cabins in the area has met an untimely demise. The cabin at Anan Bay was demolished sometime before Feb. 18 by a fallen tree which was most likely toppled by high winds, said Tory Houser, acting Wrangell District ranger. “It’s total destruction. It’s pretty awful,” Houser said Feb. 23. “It’s really sad because it was a new cabin and beautiful.” Built in 2012 of yellow cedar, the 15-foot by 17-foot structure could accommodate seven people. It was two stories and had a full lo...
When Jan Kanitz of Juneau and Antonia Lenard of Eagle River testified before a legislative committee last Saturday about personal responsibility and the Permanent Fund dividend, they spoke from completely different perspectives. For Kanitz, it was about acknowledging that current state spending on schools, health care and the ferry system is woefully inadequate, with too much emphasis on paying out large dividends. “I think a fixed, limited PFD as a symbolic thing helps people have buy-in to the state … I support that, but it should not ban...
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...
The Petersburg School District board held a discussion during its meeting on Tuesday covering where the district currently stands financially and its need for additional revenue to prevent a negative fund balance in FY24. During the discussion, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison gave a presentation detailing how funding has declined in recent years while costs have spiked. According to their presentation, the true value of Alaska's school funding has...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department is welcoming a new batch of ETT certified volunteer responders who recently completed an ETT certification course and can now provide more assistance on calls and help respond better to emergencies. EMS Coordinator Josh Rathmann said the newly certified responders will be a huge help to the department as they continue bouncing back from a drop off in participation during the pandemic. The ETT course was developed for smaller communities that are not able...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading on Monday that would amend the charter to allow borough employees, including those at the school and the hospital, to serve on certain borough boards. The ordinance proposes allowing borough staff to serve on boards and commissions except for those that directly administer their employment. For instance, under the new ordinance a Petersburg Medical Center employee could run for the borough assembly or the school board...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced a bill Tuesday that would increase the amount of parental permission needed to teach sex education and change students’ names or pronouns in school. If passed by the Legislature, students would need their parents’ permission before taking a sex education class or joining a program or club related to gender and sexuality. “There should never be a case where a parent sends their kids to school, and the child comes back having discussions about things they’ve learned in school that may be a sensitive issue or an affr... Full story
Icicles bristled from the eaves outside the Elks Lodge on Saturday night, but the atmosphere in the ballroom was balmy, tropical, even. The walls sprouted jungle vines, leaves, and bright flowers, and the dancers sprouted bright feathers, leis, and sunglasses. Even the elk heads on the wall wore sunglasses. Over 200 people bore witness as bodies bounced to Latin rhythms, and whiffs of salt and lime and street tacos wafted. That was Hannah Flor's vision, "A transition from one world to another,...
The Alaska Marine Highway System is working faster to hire more crew, trying to fix problems that slowed the process so much the past four years that the state failed to keep up with retirements and resignations. The hiring process was so cumbersome and excessively choosy that the state brought aboard just a few new workers out of 250 applicants forwarded by a search agency over the past year, according to a January report from the recruitment contractor. “Since 2019, AMHS has lost more staff annually than recruitment efforts can replace. F...
A state House committee last week held its first hearing on a bill intended to settle the Legislature’s biggest annual political battle: The amount of the Permanent Fund dividend. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Ortiz, who represents Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla, would amend state law so that 75% of the annual draw on Permanent Fund earnings goes toward paying for schools and other public services, with 25% designated for the PFD. “Tonight, we’re going to open a can of worms,” Chairman Ben Carpenter, of Nikiski, said at the March 1 meeti...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board voted unanimously to pursue a final site plan for the new hospital facility based on the Knob Hill and Creek View conceptual designs during its meeting last Thursday. The Knob Hill and Creek View concepts are both located at a site along Haugen Drive and behind the Elizabeth Peratrovich building. The decision to continue designing the new facility based on the Knob Hill and Creek View concepts was also unanimously recommended by the project's steering... Full story
In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Petersburg each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of su...
COVID-19 cases have dropped at the Petersburg Medical Center's Long-Term Care facility after it faced its biggest outbreak of the pandemic last week. During the PMC Board meeting on Feb. 23, LTC Manager Helen Boggs reported that the facility had seen eight positive cases among residents as well as a few staff members. She also said residents had all been treated prophylactically with either Paxlovid or Remdesivir and were doing fairly well. On Wednesday, Boggs wrote that all of the COVID...
