March 2014 - Page 13 of 13

Oceanographers Grebmeier, Cooper begin month-long Sitka residency

Oceanographers Jackie Grebmeier and Lee Cooper, and Sitka Sound Science Center residency director Tory O'Connell, discuss the couple's research, and their plans for their month-long residency in Sitka. Cooper is a chemical oceanographer; Grebmeier is a biological oceanographer who studies systems. They've been working in Alaska for nearly three decades. For more information about the Scientist in Residency Fellowship, visit the Sitka Sound Science Center online.

Tue Mar 4, 2014

Schmidt to Chamber: Arts can shape Sitka's economic future. State officials propose removing humpback whales from Endangered list; biologists disagree. Transportation infrastructure fund gains some traction in state house.

Arts and crafts

Participants in Sitka's sixth annual Wearable Arts show flaunted their homemade haute couture before a sold-out crowd at Harrigan Centennial Hall on Saturday night. Local artists made outfits out of plastic bags, old jeans, and rubber tubing -- plus one set of chain-mail armor constructed from more than 4,000 soda can pull-tabs. Click through to see the full slideshow.

Schmidt: The arts help shape Sitka’s economic future

The Sitka Fine Arts Camp has broken the $2-million mark in annual revenues. Director Roger Schmidt told the Sitka Chamber of Commerce last week that business at the camp had grown by a factor of 32, since he was named to the post in 2000. The budget that year, Schmidt said, was $70,000.

Quilt auction Tuesday to raise money for scholarships

Jan Lovett and Annette Blankenship of Ocean Wave Quilters' Guild preview their 16th annual scholarship auction. The guild will give two scholarships this year to graduating seniors from Sitka High School and Mount Edgecumbe High School, and will also donate money to the Sitka Fine Arts Camp scholarship fund.

Mon Mar 3, 2014

White House nominates Pacific Area Commander Paul Zukunft to be next Coast Guard commandant. Sitka golf course groundskeeper will serve jail time for attempting to poison brown bears. City administrators past and present debate Sitka's future at public town hall meeting. The unlikely path traveled by Alaska's new Orthodox bishop.

Groundskeeper gets jail time for attempting to poison bears

The investigation began in October of last year after two dogs died from consuming a toxic substance in the vicinity of Sitka’s Sea Mountain Golf Course. 31-year old Kevin Taranoff was sentenced to one month in jail, to pay $1,000 in fines, and to serve two years of probation.

The unlikely path of Alaska’s new Orthodox bishop

The Orthodox Dioceses of Sitka and Alaska installed David Mahaffey as its 16th Bishop, early this month (2-23-14). A historic and ornate ceremony ensued in Sitka, attracting Orthodox Bishops from New York to Quebec. On the steps of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Native elders welcomed Metropolitan Tikhon, the head of the Orthodox Church in America with the traditional bread and salt.

Should humpbacks lose endangered status?

State officials want the federal government to remove some protections for Southeast and Southcentral humpback whales. But a noted researcher says it’s too early.

Top officials past and present debate Sitka’s future

Last week, Sitka’s current City Administrator, Mark Gorman, invited three of his predecessors – Gary Paxton, Hugh Bevan, and John Stein – to join him for a live, public town hall meeting to discuss how to tackle some of the major challenges ahead for the city. The event was broadcast live on Raven Radio.