When the Alaska Senate passed House Bill 216 just after 3 a.m. Monday, nobody was more thrilled than its primary sponsor: Sitka Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Kreiss-Tomkins introduced the bill, which makes 20 Alaska Native languages official state languages. On Easter Sunday, supporters staged a 15-hour sit-in at the Capitol to demand it get a vote.
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As state lawmakers extended their session past its Sunday deadline, one issue of particular importance to Sitka remained in limbo: a loan to complete the Blue Lake dam expansion.
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Coast Guard confirms F/V Mirage grounded on Low Island, with no reported injuries or fuel leaks. The "bird blaster" of Sitka's Rocky Gutierrez airport. Delta Airlines performs test flights in preparation for adding Juneau -Seattle route.
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Sitka’s last chance to avoid another electric rate hike is in the hands of the Alaska House of Representatives this weekend. The city wants access to a low-cost loan to finance the final portion of the Blue Lake hydroelectric project. But first it needs the approval of the state legislature.
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As Mark Twain would say, reports of the demise of seaweed collecting at Halibut Point Rec have been greatly exaggerated. It turns out that gathering this much-favored garden fertilizer does not require a special use permit. Under a new policy, however, permits are required for anyone who wants to drive a vehicle into the park, for any reason.
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City Administrator Mark Gorman and City Attorney Robin Koutchak each received their annual evaluations. Koutchak’s evaluation took place in private executive session; Gorman elected to have his evaluation done in public.
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Sullivan, the former Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, is hoping to challenge incumbent Democrat Mark Begich, who is up for reelection this fall. He talked about his role in challenging the President’s healthcare law, the perils of over-regulation – and that time he swam against the Navy’s military dolphins.
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Juneau artist MK MacNaughton asks people about secrets -- and then uses their stories to guide her in drawing giant charcoal portraits that express those feelings. About ten of those portraits are now hanging at Rio’s Wine Bar in Sitka.
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Lawrence SpottedBird will start work on Monday. SpottedBird, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, told KCAW he has spent the last 34 years working with tribes and Native American entrepreneurs on business and economic development.
Whale biologist Dr. Alex Werth, a professor at Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College, is the April scientist-in-residence at the Sitka Sound Science Center. Werth hopes to talk to as many Sitkans as possible over the course of the month about how they relate to the ocean, and is offering to speak with school and community groups, with a special emphasis on the human genome project, evolution, and marine conservation.
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