KCAW Staff, Author at KCAW - Page 242 of 584

Keep on buzzin’

This week KCAW says goodbye to Greta Mart, our 2014 summer news intern, Greta Mart. Greta worked for 8 years as a professional print reporter in the Bay Area before applying to the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and making the leap into broadcasting. Greta filed stories for the KCAW News Department on her first AND last days of work (and many in between). A letter-writer to her newspaper in Martinez, CA, once wrote that "Greta covers the county like a buzzsaw." We made that nickname stick: Thanks for the hard work, Buzz! Good luck in your career, whether it leads you back to the Bay, or to Infinity and Beyond!

Artchange interns focus lenses on Sitka

A local Sitka non-profit called Artchange expanded its reach this summer, thanks to the addition of three Yale University interns. ArtChange is a project of a local filmmaker, who asked each student to put a lens on a different aspect of the community -- tourism, transportation and food. But they all shared a common goal: To get to know the people and places of Southeast Alaska.

‘Live Fit’ month builds good habits at an early age

Patrick Williams, injury prevention coordinator at Sitka Community Hospital, and Makai Saline discuss the importance of forming early exercise habits as part of "Live Fit" month this August. Saline swims and runs, both competitively and for fun. Only 11 years old, Saline won the under-18 division in the 1K Change Your Latitude Open Water Swim two weeks ago.

New ballfield prompts Title IX complaint against Sitka Schools

A multi-million dollar baseball field in Sitka has opened the door to a possible civil rights investigation based on gender discrimination. The US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights notified the Sitka School District in July that it had received a complaint about the new field, and the district’s alleged failure to provide comparable practice and competition facilities for girls’ softball.

Raven Radio is back up and running!

Raven Radio experienced some technical difficulties this afternoon, and was temporarily off the air. We are were able to troubleshoot the problem, thanks to the help of Coast Alaska Engineer, Rich Parker, and we're back up and running.Thanks so much for your patience, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Fairweather returns to service Thursday

The fast vehicle ferry Fairweather canceled its voyage to Sitka today (Wed 8-13-14) after a mechanical problem was discovered shortly after its departure from Juneau. Spokesman Jeremy Woodrow says the Fairweather was not far along on its trip to Sitka when the crew detected trouble with the exhaust systems in the ship’s two starboard engines. AMHS engineers spent the day making repairs, and the ship will return to its scheduled run on Thursday (8-14-14).

SEARCH drops facility fees, opens doors to all

Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital administrator Noel Rea discusses SEARHC's decision to drop facility fees, and to make healthcare services available to all in the community -- even without a referral. The hospital now offers tele-radiology on nights and weekends, a new mammography machine, and other services intended to keep SEARHC viable into the future. Rea also says that, contrary to urban myth, there is no danger of Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital closing.

MJ Robinson: Comics an ‘image-based way of thinking’

Artist and graphic novelist MJ Robinson is surprised by the diverse culture in Sitka. At Oberlin, MJ became frustrated with the limits of studio art and creative writing, and began to merge the two in an "image-based way of thinking." MJ will teach a free workshop on creative writing for all abilities in the Yaw Art Building (7:30 PM Wed Aug 12, free).

Trail crew

Repair work to the Herring Cove Trail performed by USFS crews this spring and summer held up well during last weekend's (Aug 9-11, 2014) deluge. The unseasonably wet storm dumped nearly six inches of rain, sending torrents of water down the falls alongside the trail. And thanks to the efforts of spontaneous volunteer workers like Cassidy Foster and Skyler Walk, the rebuilt trail is a little more scenic than the old. The pair lined a short section of trail with a beautiful stone curb.

Court orders a second look at controversial fish observer program

A US District Court judge has ruled that a newly-implemented fisheries observer program in the Gulf of Alaska may have become unreliable, and is sending federal managers back to the drawing board to fix it. The decision by Judge H. Russel Holland is being hailed as a victory by Southeast Alaska’s longline fleet, who have chafed under the new system, which requires them to carry human observers on their relatively small vessels. But federal fisheries managers see it as a win as well.