Emily Kwong, KCAW, Author at KCAW

Sitka High mock election closely mirrors municipal election

Voting may be old hat for some of our listeners. But for three classes at Sitka High School, last week was their first time at the polls. KCAW stopped by a mock election to see how student preferences lined up with the Sitka electorate-at-large.

BREAKING: Sitka favors Paxton for Mayor, reinstating senior sales tax exemption

The unofficial results for Sitka’s municipal election are in. Gary Paxton is Sitka’s mayor-elect. Kevin Mosher and Valorie Nelson are the top vote-getters for two seats on the Sitka Assembly. Eric Van Cise and Amy Morrison are the top vote-getters for two seats on the Sitka School Board.

Marijuana business dispute involves Assembly candidates

A Sitka businessman has filed multiple lawsuit against Assembly member Aaron Bean, who is currently running for mayor. Conor Nelson is seeking repayments for loans and eviction of Green Leaf Inc., a marijuana business Bean has operated since 2016.

Hospital negotiations to begin: Assembly signs Letter of Intent (LOI) with SEARHC

The City of Sitka is preparing to negotiate with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium over the future of Sitka Community Hospital. Some of the biggest unknowns were answered this week, such as the negotiation team from the city. Other questions questions hang in the balance.

“We can do better”: Plastic bag fee postponed by Sitka Assembly

Sitka Assembly indefinitely postponed voting on a single-use carryout bag fee on Tuesday night (09-25-18). They also approved issuing state revenue bonds to finance renovations at Crescent Harbor and the Rocky Gutierrez Airport.

Another Sitka outage as crews resolve equipment issues

The impacts of Saturday’s system-wide power outage continue in Sitka. While repairing equipment that was damaged during that outage, the Electric Department encountered a technical issue at Green Lake. This caused another another system-wide outage today for approximately forty minutes.

High voltage surge shuts off power, damages equipment in Sitka

Sitka lost all electric power on Saturday evening (09-16-18) for approximately four hours. The city is now advising citizens to check all life-saving electronic equipment to ensure it still works. The city is also planning a power outage from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday, September 21st to replace damaged equipment at the Marine Street substation.

Cost of childcare an added financial stress for Sitka’s families

Working parents looking for childcare can find themselves without many options in Sitka. There are only three licensed care providers for children and rates can exceed $1000 a month. As part of our series "The Cost of Living in Sitka," we spoke with Erica Whipkey, the Board President of the Betty Eliason Child Care Center.

Assembly moves to hire legal counsel for pending hospital negotiations

As the city comes to the table with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium over their proposal to buy Sitka Community Hospital, the Assembly wants to hire outside legal counsel.

Sitka considers a plastic bag fee to reduce pollution

Sitka has taken the first step towards passing policy to reduce plastics in the environment, joining the ranks of other communities around the state. The ordinance - passed by a 4-2 vote on first reading by the Sitka Assembly Tuesday night (09-11-18) - would require vendors to charge customers 15 cents for every plastic bag and 10 cents for every paper bag.