Angela Denning, CoastAlaska, Author at KCAW

Alaska’s draft 20-year ferry plan depends on steady federal funds

The state plans to build new hybrid ferries to replace the aging fleet, hire more workers to run them, and improve infrastructure at the ports. That, plus regular maintenance, is estimated to cost about $3 billion.

Alaska’s winter ferry schedule starts Oct. 1 and looks like last year

“It's our highway within Southeast Alaska, and that's what folks aren't understanding,” said Melissa Wileman with the City and Borough of Sitka.

Sitka’s outage could be from a break in a subsea fiber optic cable

Sitka continued to experience a wide internet and cell service outage Friday. Nearly all Sitkans use GCI for both services, but that went out Thursday shortly after 11 a.m. The company said technicians were working to temporarily reroute Sitka’s internet traffic.

Outage leaves most of Sitka without internet and cell service

Updated: 11:25 a.m.Sitka’s internet outage is impacting local medical services. The regional healthcare provider, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, announced that until internet service is restored, Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center is canceling elective surgeries.

Raven Radio streaming is down and broadcasts to translator communities

KCAW's streaming is temporarily down and broadcasting to KCAW's translator communities as well. “GCI is aware of the outage that is affecting internet and TV service within the O’Malley area in Anchorage and Sitka,” GCI said in a statement.

Study shows “stray” hatchery salmon could change wild runs

A new study on hatchery pink salmon shows that some “stray” fish mingle with wild stocks and could alter the timing of wild runs. And that could lead to less productive runs in the future. The study is part of a decade-long effort to understand the pros and cons of Alaska’s hatchery industry.

Southeast residents ask for more ferry service to outlying communities

“For our elders that struggle to get up climb on and off a plane, sometimes they just, they miss their appointments," said Lloyd David, mayor of Kake. "They miss these trips and whatnot because they're gonna wait for that ferry because they can't get on and off on those planes and the high costs we pay to fly around out of Kake.”

Proposed winter ferry schedule continues service gaps

“It’s pretty similar to last year's winter schedule," said Sam Dapcevich, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. "We're dealing with the same fleet and the same crewing situation.”

Regional working group seeks to set up a landslide warning system in Southeast Alaska

The regional group wants to create a system that will monitor the region’s hazardous weather and warn residents of potential risks of slides. “We're seeing the environment change," said Lisa Busch, who runs the Sitka Sound Science Center. "Why should we have to compete for grants to stay safe or to help our communities stay safe?”

Hoonah gives residents bear-resistant trash cans but most of Southeast Alaska can’t afford them

“I don't foresee realistically a bear spending 10 minutes on one trash can trying to get into it," said ADF&G Wildlife Biologist Stephen Bethune. "They usually just knock over the can, it spills open, and they grab a bag that falls out and run off with it into the woods. So even a very resistant can is going to not provide that immediate food resource and the bear’s eventually going to learn that coming into town isn't paying off for him. It's too big of a risk.”