Sorted by date Results 4 - 28 of 6022
Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor will ask the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Monday to begin work on a borough-wide moratorium to prevent data centers that would use on-site power generation. The proposal would leave room for a smaller, grid-connected project like the one Mazzella Alaska has proposed for the former Ocean Beauty plant. At their meeting on Sept. 21, the assembly deadlocked 3-3 on a Planning Commission recommendation that was broader in one way and narrower in another. The commission had asked the assembly to start a one-year...
For the second year in a row, the Wrangell-Petersburg area has the lowest rental housing vacancy rate among 11 areas covered in the state’s annual survey. The combined vacancy rate for single-family rental homes and apartments in the two communities in March 2026 was 1.1%. That is far below the statewide median of 5.4%, and a lot lower than the 4.1% in Juneau, which is chronically short of housing. Fairbanks had the highest vacancy rate at 10.1%, followed by Ketchikan at 8.4%. This year’s Wrangell-Petersburg vacancy rate was much tighter tha...
Sarah Fine-Walsh Sarah Fine-Walsh moved to Petersburg six years ago, to her husband's hometown, and said she still feels lucky to live here. "I pinch myself a lot, especially on a beautiful sunny day when it's flat calm," she said at the candidates forum. That feeling is why she is running for one of two three-year seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly. "When you feel really, really lucky to live somewhere, the least you can do is give back using the skills that you have to contribute and mak...
Jeigh Stanton Gregor Jeigh Stanton Gregor is seeking another three-year term on the Petersburg Borough Assembly, where he said he has served "a little over a decade now, in total." "I think I'm easy to work with. I'm approachable," he said at the assembly candidates forum. "If re-elected, I will work hard for everyone, whether they vote for me or not." He and his wife, Lea, have been married 19 years and own True North Counseling and Consultation, a private counseling practice. They have two...
A recommendation from the Petersburg Borough Planning Commission to place a one-year moratorium on data center development failed on a split vote at Monday’s Borough Assembly meeting. Assembly Members Scott Newman, Rob Schwartz and Jeff Meucci voted in favor of the moratorium; Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Member Bob Martin and Mayor Bob Lynn voted against. Member James Valentine was traveling and excused. Without a majority approval, the motion failed. The Planning Commission asked the assembly to initiate an ordinance establishing a t...
Alaska Marine Lines is increasing its fuel surcharge to 22.5% on Sunday, up from the current rate of 16% and a rate of 9.5% in June 2025. The rate increased to 12% late that month, then dropped to 11% in November before spiking to 18.5% in early April — mirroring a large increase in global fuel prices due to the Iran war that started in late February. Fuel prices would subsequently drop — as did AML’s surcharge to 14.5% in late June before rising to 16% in late August — but are again surging, with some predictions they could go much higher....
The Petersburg Borough Assembly on Monday amended and advanced Ordinance 2026-21, the adjustment to the borough’s annual budget for “known changes,” adding $150,000 to replace a failing sewer line on Gjoa Street before passing the package on a unanimous second reading. Monday’s amendment increases the Wastewater Fund by $150,000 to pay for the Gjoa Street Sewer Line Replacement Project. Asked by Member Bob Martin where the money would come from, Public Works Director Aaron Marohl said the borough plans to draw it from wastewater reserve...
Don and Karen Cornelius are a family of local artists, and this summer the Petersburg Public Library hosted back-to-back retrospectives for the two. Don Cornelius walked through the exhibition this week with the Pilot and reflected on decades of art – wildlife and landscape oil paintings from across Alaska, portraits of his children, a humorous and distinctive series of gnome paintings, and his two newest paintings completed this summer – all on display through the end of the month. Cor...
A controversial subdivision request will once again go in front of the Petersburg Borough Assembly acting as the Board of Adjustment in October. That's after Petersburg's Planning Commission rejected the request for a second time on Sept. 8. The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska's broadband company, Tidal Network, wants to build a tower on borough land near Petersburg's fire hall. The company has already constructed a tower at Mill Road and is in the process of...
Students at the Petersburg School District have seen strong results in last spring’s Alaska System of Academic Readiness statewide standardized test, also known as AK STAR. Students third through ninth grade were tested in English language arts and math. Every tested grade level arrived above the state’s median score in both tests. Districtwide, the amount of Petersburg students who scored “advanced” and “proficient” on both tests was 10% higher than the state average. Superintendent Robyn Taylor said those numbers are great, but she’s focused... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly on Sept. 8 cleared the way for the sale of two more borough-owned lots to Skylark Park LLC, expanding the soon-to-be-developed housing subdivision off Skylark Way. The assembly voted unanimously to advance the application and exempt the sale from public auction, authorizing the borough manager to negotiate a direct sale at appraised value. Any final terms will return to the assembly for approval. The two parcels — Government Lots 26 and 27 in Section 33 — are each about 3.7 acres and are assessed at $82,400 and $...
Five of the six candidates for Petersburg Borough Assembly (left to right) Donna Marsh, Sarah Fine-Walsh, Tom Kowalske, Jeigh Stanton Gregor, and Scott Newman participated in the live assembly candidates forum on Tues., Sept 15 in Assembly Chambers. Don Koenigs was out of town and unable to attend virtually. A recording of the forum can be found in the 2026 Voter Guide at kfsk.org....
Petersburg's Rainforest Festival added a new event last Saturday - a Bear Mini Fair - which drew Fish and Game wildlife education and outreach coordinator Abby McAllister from Juneau to talk with residents about living in bear country. In a follow-up interview, McAllister told the Pilot that her central message for Petersburg is that conflicts with bears are almost entirely avoidable. "All of the interactions that can be perceived as negative - whether it's a bear dumping trash out on the sidewa...
Last weekend, a nine-person team from Petersburg - all of them Medical Center employees or relatives of employees - ran the 175-kilometer Klondike Road Relay from Skagway, Alaska, into Whitehorse, Yukon. And did it dressed, more or less, as pickles. The team called itself "The Big Dills," and "oh my gosh, we had so much fun," said team captain Megan Litster. The Klondike Road Relay is an overnight, 175-kilometer (roughly 110-mile) race that is broken into 10 legs of varying length, from about... Full story
The S.H.A.R.E. Coalition will host its second annual Mocktails and Mingle from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the John Hanson Sr. Hall, a free, all-ages event built around sober socializing, games and community connection. The gathering is open to the entire community and organized with several community partners, said Ashley Kawashima, a member of the coalition. Food and snacks will be provided, along with a cookie-decorating station for dessert. "Everybody gets to decorate their own cookies," Kawashima said. Activities will include giant Jenga, an ove...
Leaders of Petersburg's Native community were on hand as the specially crafted box transporting the baby Tlingit girl's remains was unloaded from the Alaska Airlines jet and a procession followed it off the tarmac at Petersburg's James A. Johnson Airport on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Petersburg's Séet Ká Kwáan Dancers sang during the welcome ceremony. Dozens of community members gathered at the airport to bear witness to the historic return of the repatriated remains. Stephanie Aikins of Pe...
Until now there have been no uniform borough road standards beyond the old Petersburg city limits, but on Tuesday the Petersburg Borough adopted its first road-construction standards for public roads and subdivisions outside Service Area One. The Borough Assembly unanimously approved Resolution 2026-23 on Sept. 8. It adopts the 2026 Petersburg Borough Standard Specifications, replacing the City of Petersburg’s 2012 specifications, and for the first time sets minimum road standards for public road improvements and subdivisions outside Service A...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly on Sept. 8 formally accepted nearly $8.9 million in federal grant funding for a new small-vessel haul-out at Scow Bay, clearing another hurdle before the long-planned project goes out to bid hopefully by the end of this month. Assembly members voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2026-26, accepting an $8,880,791 BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. The resolution authorizes Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht to countersign and accept the grant agreement once the federal...
The Mitkof Mummers are back with another fall show in the works — and they are looking for townspeople to help fill out the cast of a fall comedy in which a giant egg walks into a police station insisting he was pushed. The community theater group gathered for a casting call and first read-through last week to launch their fall production: “Hard Boiled: A Nursery Crime,” a one-act children’s comedy by Tracey Wells, published by Pioneer Drama Service. As is tradition for the Mummers’ fall shows, it’s geared toward young audiences. The play is pu...
September 2 – There was a post-event report of a bear attempting to access garbage on Skylark Way. An officer was unable to substantiate a reported dangerous driver at South Nordic Drive and Dock Street. An officer responded to a report of an aggressive dog on Birch Street and spoke with its owner. An older, orange colored mountain bike was reported stolen from the North Harbor. An officer provided a courtesy transport. A complainant reported sewage backing up from the main lines into their residence. Water Wastewater (WWW) was notified and r...
Delays at Petersburg's only post office have been a common occurrence in recent weeks. The post office had been limiting its front desk operations to four and a half hours per day. Petersburg has no mail delivery service, so at times the wait for packages stretched through the building and out the door. Now, those hours are nearly back to normal. The post office is now open 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., with a lunch break from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. In an email, U.S. Postal Service spokesperson James Box... Full story
A retrospective of paintings, carvings and jewelry by Petersburg artist Karen Cornelius closed at the Petersburg Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 1, and on its last day the artist walked through the exhibition with the Pilot, reflecting on her lifetime of art making. Cornelius kept returning to one idea: that she makes art to get people to look harder at the world around them. "I am so in love with colors and nature and the creation that we have," she said. She wants viewers to "look more...
On 10-year-old Carmela Ford's first day of work selling the local newspaper, she left the Pilot with 25 hot-off-the-press newspapers, walked across the street to Lee's clothing, entered the store with her bag of papers and the sight of her thrilled Heidi Lee. Lee, who was a newspaper girl in 1969, said, "I loved seeing Carmella come into the store with her newspaper bag and her bright smile asking, 'want to buy a paper?' I remember the courage it took to do that when I was ten." In fact,...
The Rainforest Festival returns to Petersburg Sept. 10-13 for its 19th year, with a lineup organized around island biogeography — the study of how wildlife reaches, adapts to and lives on island systems like the ones that define Southeast Alaska. “We have this really unique system of islands that we live on in Southeast Alaska,” festival volunteer Sunny Rice said. She pointed to the Coast Range walling the region off from the rest of the continent, and to the rivers that thread the mainland to the islands — “big rivers … that serve as corridor...
Petersburg homeowners who are tribal citizens may be able to get help paying their mortgage, property taxes, home insurance or utility bills through a federal program that closes at the end of September — but completed applications are due Wednesday, Sept. 10. The Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority is working to fully spend the money remaining in its Homeowner Assistance Fund, a U.S. Treasury program THRHA has run across Southeast Alaska since 2023. Petersburg is one of 13 eligible communities, along with Angoon, Craig, Douglas, J...
