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Orin Pierson Olivia Rose, Pilot writer and KFSK Radio
Bob Lynn decisively won Petersburg's mayoral race in the October 7 municipal election, defeating fellow assembly member Scott Newman 807 to 443 votes, while Proposition 1 - limiting the senior sales tax exemption to only low-income seniors - squeaked by with a nine-vote margin. The unofficial results showed strong voter participation, with a record-breaking number of early and absentee ballots cast before election day (647) and the highest local voter turnout (1279) since the borough formation...
During Monday's meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a $768,330 design-build contract, for the Scow Bay standby diesel generator project, marking the next step forward on a voter-approved bond-supported capital project that has been in development for more than four years. The contract, awarded to Dawson Construction LLC of Juneau, covers engineering design, heavy equipment moving tasks and project commissioning for the new generator facility. "It is important to note that the...
Petersburg’s borough assembly is taking up U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s offer to talk about H.R. 1, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). H.R. 1 is a wide-ranging spending and tax bill that was signed into law in July. The bill includes much of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, including changes to Medicaid, tax cuts, and phasing out clean energy tax incentives. In Alaska, the bill directs more oil and gas leases in Southcentral’s Cook Inlet, and offers tax cuts for whaling captains. Many impacts of the bill in...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard from Tidal Network representatives during Monday's assembly meeting, as the organization's proposed communication tower has raised some concerns in the community. On September 2, the assembly voted unanimously to proceed with direct negotiations for the sale of a small piece of borough-owned land, 10,040 square feet of adjacent to the fire hall, to the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for its broadband enterprise, Tidal...
The Wrangell port commission has started work on a proposed ordinance intended to solve the problem of inactive vessels taking up moorage space while a growing waitlist strains harbor capacity. Commissioners discussed the idea at their Sept. 4 meeting. Harbormaster Steve Miller said there are about 25 to 30 boats waiting for moorage space, prompting the look at new rules. Inactive vessels taking up space is an ongoing problem, Miller reported to the commission. Harbor staff “have been working diligently to address vessels that have been...
It took Jack Galaktionoff, part of Petersburg Indian Association's Tribal Transportion crew, a few days to rebuild the roughly twenty-foot section of boardwalk trail that was smashed by falling trees in last week's wind storm. But, as of early this week, the trail is looking good as...
Dungeness crab fishing is back on for a full fall season that began Wednesday and extends through Nov. 30, although Alaska Department of Fish and Game harvest projections show that Southeast Alaska fishermen might not achieve the harvest threshold for a full season. The commercial Dungeness fishery opened for 55 days this summer, beginning June 15 and closing Aug. 9, six days earlier than usual. Across Southeast, 162 Dungeness fishery permit-holders this summer harvested 567,839 crab totaling 1,180,494 pounds. Participation and harvest were...
The commercial salmon harvest in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, site of the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs, held a mixture of good news and bad news this year. The run of sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon, exceeded preseason expectations and totaled 56.7 million fish, the seventh highest since 2005, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported in its preliminary summary of the summer harvest. The commercial sockeye harvest was also bigger than expected, totaling 41.2 million fish. That was 18% above the preseason forecast and 23%...
Most teams can hit a wall after winning a title, also known as a championship hangover. Throughout this season, the Petersburg High School Boys Cross Country team found another gear, surging to their second consecutive state title. For the first time in program history, the boys team claimed back-to-back titles. The boys squad also became the first team in Petersburg to go back-to-back since the boys basketball team did in 2016 and 2017. During last season's championship run, the Wrangell...
The Petersburg High School Swim and Dive team are rounding into form with their second-to-last meet of the regular season. The main focus for the team at the Sitka meet were strong finishes. “This last weekend, they finished real well. Their splits between the first and second half was really good,” said head coach Andy Carlisle. “They held on really well, so I was pretty happy overall.” Petersburg senior swimmer Logan Tow continued his strong season, finishing first in the 200...
Homer is a fishing and tourism town of about 6,000 people at the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula. It’s more politically diverse than most cities in Alaska, with a strong liberal side, an equally strong conservative side, and some who just want to tend their gardens, smoke their fish, hope the Safeway is stocked and that they have regular air service to Anchorage. Unfortunately, Homer last week was dumped and lumped into the nationwide fight over freedom of the press, waged by conservatives who don’t like or trust or respect the news...
Otis Milton Marsh, Junior, was born on November 23, 1940, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Audrey Elaine Olson and Otis Milton Marsh, Sr. He grew up with his younger brother, John Edward. At the age of four, Otis lost his father, who died in service to his country in Hawaii during World War II. In 1960, Otis met the love of his life, Diane Faye Carlson. They were married on March 31, 1962, and shared more than 63 years together. They raised eight children: Kirt Otis, Sammy Alan, Chris Dale, Tommy... Full story
Kelly Thomas was born on November 29, 1957, in Petersburg, Alaska, to Samuel and Arliss (Littleton) Thomas, both of whose families were long-time Petersburg residents. Growing up on the corner of Second and Fram, where the Clausen Museum now stands, and surrounded by family, he was a happy, 'giggle pot' of a kid. After graduating from Petersburg High School – where, at 6' 3" he starred as a formidable force on the wrestling team – Kelly spent some time commercial fishing out of Petersburg... Full story
October 1 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report that a deer struck by a vehicle on South Nordic Drive and Surf Street ran away from the scene. PPD received a report of fraud. An officer responded to a parking complaint on Charles W Street. Papers were served. A motor vehicle accident on Haugen Drive was reported. PPD received a report of fraudulent use of a credit card. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services on Haugen Drive. October 2 – A dead deer was reported along Haugen Drive. The PPD is investigating a death....
