The senator representing Alaska’s largest legislative district is suggesting major changes to the state’s Permanent Fund and the governor’s scholarship… more

The Juneau School District budget committee will forward its budget recommendations to the school board Tuesday night. more

Difficult changes are on the way, says new SEARHC Chief Executive Charles Clement. But he also says he's "incredibly optimistic" about the long-term future of the nonprofit healthcare organization, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Southeast Alaska. Continue

Backers of biomass energy pitched wood-pellet heat as a money-saver during a legislative hearing today (Feb. 22nd). Alaska Energy Authority staff and others talked to the House Committee on Economic Development about the Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan. more

The state is negotiating a new lease for the Department of Labor building in Juneau, even as employees who work there continue to suffer ill health effects. more

HB 325 is nearly identical to a citizen’s initiative on track for a statewide vote later this year. But House Majority Leader Alan Austerman - the bill's primary sponsor - says he's open to changes. Lawmakers can preempt the ballot measure by adopting substantially similar legislation. more

Governor Sean Parnell has signed a bill easing the state’s requirement for certain political candidates to file electronic disclosure information electronically. more

House Bill 325 closely mirrors a citizen’s initiative that’s on track for a statewide vote later this year. Lawmakers can pre-empt the measure by passing substantially similar legislation. more

If you’ve spent any time in Sitka, you’ve probably seen Mount Edgecumbe. It’s one of Southeast Alaska’s most-viewed volcanoes, rising 3,000 feet from the ocean, only 10 miles from the former Russian capital. It last erupted about 4,500 years ago, which is recent in the world of geology. But other volcanic sites in the region have seen more recent action. more

Lt. Lance Leone’s attorney says comments Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo made on a Juneau radio station compromise his ability to be fair in the Coast Guard's case against his client. Ostebo appeared on KJNO’s Action Line program on Feb. 10. Continue

The Senate State Affairs Committee has advanced a bill giving Alaska’s public employees a choice of retirement systems, despite objections from the Parnell administration. more

Alaska First Lady Sandy Parnell dished up ice cream sundaes for Petersburg High School Wednesday. It was a lighthearted event that was meant to promote a very serious endeavor in… more

Members of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood celebrated Elizabeth Peratrovich Day Thursday with a parade down main street in Petersburg. Native elders from Petersburg and elsewhere in… more

A newly-formed company has applied for a federal permit to study a controversial hydro power project in Thomas Bay near Petersburg. That follows the denial last month for another company… more

Kokayi Nosakhere says House Finance Committee members are playing politics with school meals bill. more

February 16th is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in Alaska, commemorating the life of the civil rights leader, born in Petersburg. Peratrovich and her husband Roy lobbied the Territorial Legislature for the… more

A draft plan for Southeast’s energy future is running into opposition from businesses and Southeast community leaders. Residents and business representatives told the House Energy Committee last week that the… more

Southeast Alaska deer hunters have to file deer harvest reports in less than a week. It’s a new state requirement aimed at getting a better estimate of hunter effort… more

Southeast Alaska salmon seiners could vote on a reduction to the fleet this year. The federal government is reviewing a proposed buyback program that could remove 64 permits from the… more

Thousands of miles of low-level aerial photos from Southeast Alaska’s coastline are now available to the public. The government-sponsored ShoreZone project is complete for the Panhandle. It was originally developed… more

Petersburg’s police officers and dispatchers have lost a bid to form their own union and negotiate their own employment contract. The Alaska Labor Relations Agency late last month denied… more

A Portland, Oregon-based ship building company is purchasing Alaska Ship and Drydock, which operates the Ketchikan Shipyard. As Deanna Garrison reports, Vigor Industrial is planning to finalize its purchase of ASD on or before March 1^st. The sale must first… more

A regional Native corporation from Barrow is making inroads into Southeast Alaska. The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation purchased the business of McGraw Custom Construction, which has been in Sitka for 30 years. Continue

Two Southeast commercial crab fisheries that start up later this month will keep a flexible start date in future years. The state’s Board of Fish last month voted down proposals… more

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation awarded $225,000 to the Anchorage-based Alaska Conservation Foundation. But the money will be spent in Sitka, Kake, Hoonah, Hydaburg and Wrangell. Continue

The PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center is hoping a $74 million addition and renovation that it hopes will help it keep pace with the wants and needs of its patients. As Deanna Garrison reports, PeaceHealth representatives discussed the proposed project as… more

Under a deal signed Tuesday, the state’s Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums will take control of thousands of pieces of material once belonging to Sheldon Jackson College – everything from historic documents to a mammoth tusk presented to the college as a gift. Continue

Horton died Friday after falling through the ceiling of his home while working in the attic. Horton was hired as Sitka’s magistrate in 1990, and was remembered by colleagues and friends for his talented legal mind and his devotion to family. Continue

19-year-old Devin Rossiter was found guilty in Ketchikan Superior Court Tuesday afternoon of second degree murder in the stabbing death of 45-year old Nick Stachelrodt .  Rossiter was also found guilty of tampering with evidence.

The jury of six… more

Life is slowly returning to normal in the community of Cordova after more than 18 feet of snowfall brought the town to a standstill earlier this month. The Alaska National Guard was activated to help the town dig out. One of its members, 24-year-old Pfc. Charles Rusk, is from Sitka. Continue

The TLC network first aired “Hook, Line and Sisters” on Dec. 29. The show follows the Anderson family as they participate in Alaska fisheries aboard their vessel the Memry Anne. Much of it was filmed during last year’s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. Continue

As the Alaska Legislature prepares to gavel into session on Jan. 17, KCAW and other CoastAlaska public radio stations are conducting interviews with local lawmakers about their priorities and goals. KCAW spoke with state Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka. Continue

An investigating officer has recommended dropping the charges against the sole survivor of a 2010 Coast Guard helicopter crash that killed three crewmen from Air Station Sitka. Continue

The State of Alaska is projecting modest gains for Southeast Alaska’s economy this year. As Deanna Garrison reports, the Department of Labor’s economic forecast estimates the region will add 150 jobs in 2012. The full report is available on the… more

Ketchikan-based Alaska Ship and Dry Dock has landed a contract with Petersburg-based Alaska Longline Company to construct a new 136-foot factory longliner. As Deanna Garrison reports, this will be shipyard’s first time building a commercial fishing vessel.

A Ketchikan company has purchased the borough’s remaining property in Ward Cove for $2.1 million. As Deanna Garrison reports, Ward Cove Industries is hoping the former Ketchikan Pulp Mill site will become a new hub for Southern Southeast Alaska’s maritime,… more

The Transportation Security Administration is slated to deploy full-body scanners at the Ketchikan and Juneau airports next month. TSA says the scanners no longer produce revealing images of travelers. Individuals uncomfortable with the scanners will be given an opportunity to… more

A Ketchikan mill is slated to begin producing wood pellets this winter. As Deanna Garrison reports, Tongass Forest Enterprises is hoping to capitalize on a recent surge in interest in processed wood heating products in Southeast Alaska.

The State Department of Fish and Game announced on Thursday that it plans to proceed with another sac roe herring fishery in West Behm Canal this spring. As Deanna Garrison reports, this would be the second commercial sac roe herring… more

Debris from the Japan tsunami is beginning to wash up on West Coast beaches. So far there are no reported discoveries of tsunami-related debris in Alaska, but experts say it is only a matter of time. And, as Deanna Garrison… more