KCAW Local News Stories http://kcaw.org 05/14/2008 SITKA, ALASKA (05/14/2008) The Sitka assembly took a first look at some innovative options for development on the benchlands at its regular meeting last night (Tue 5-13-08), but struggled with how to fund them. http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=157 05/14/2008 SITKA, ALASKA (05/13/2008) The Forest Service is opening up a number of small and large timber sales in the Iyouktug (eye-YOU-tug) area on northeast Chichagof Island – about 12 miles east-southeast of the small village of Hoonah. Over the course of about ten years, the agency expects to log close to 42-million board feet of timber, or about 33-hundred acres. The agency released the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the Iyouktug (eye-YOU-tug) timber sales on May 3rd. As Melissa Marconi Wentzel reports, the controversial project is one of the largest the region has seen in recent years, http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=156 05/13/2008 SITKA, ALASKA (05/12/2008) Charlie Rutkowski believes public transit is here to stay in Sitka. Rutkowski is the assistant director of the Community Transportation Association in Washington, DC. He first came to Sitka ten years ago to help establish the “Community Ride”; he was back last week (5-6-08) to help institutionalize it. Rutkowski says that, having added a third fixed route, the Community Ride is beyond the tipping point between experiment and acceptance, and is now looking at sustainability. KCAWs Robert Woolsey spoke with Rutkowski about how small-to-mid-range transit systems like Sitka’s keep themselves going. http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=155 05/12/2008 SITKA, ALASKA (05/07/2008) Alaska kids are walking across Asia. Well, they’re actually walking across a very large map of Asia. National Geographic’s “Traveling Map of Asia” has come to Alaska, and it’s touring the state’s schools. It’s a hands- and feet-on approach to geography, and its visit is just about over. Melissa Marconi Wentzel stopped by Sitka’s Blatchley Middle School, where 7th graders were using the map to explore some complex ideas. http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=154 05/07/2008 SITKA, ALASKA (05/06/2008) The Sheldon Jackson Board of Trustees has set a 90-day deadline to identify a purchaser for the core campus, the college’s most valuable piece of real estate. If no buyer is found, the Board could consider subdividing the property for sale. http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=151 05/06/2008