Author: Stanton Glantz

As Sitka's Assembly considers a ban on smoking in bars and private clubs, University of California San Francisco Professor Stanton Glantz that secondhand smoke poses serious risks at even limited levels, and that legislative efforts elsewhere have been effective at curbing those effects.

Mt. Edgecumbe high school students made a strong showing at this year’s Native Youth Olympics. The 40th annual Olympics were held last weekend in Anchorage. As one of the only individual schools competing against larger school districts, the Edgecumbe team put up several impressive individual performances, and fell short of a three-way tie for fourth place by only two points.

The Sitka Conservation Society held its Parade of Species in downtown Sitka on Friday afternoon (4/23). The annual event is timed to be near Earth Day, and invites residents – young and old – to dress up as their favorite animal. KCAW’s Ed Ronco dressed up as the elusive species “broadcastus journalistus” and went roaming among the menagerie.

Alaska is starting to feel the financial pinch of not having Ted Stevens in the U.S. Senate. That’s according to state Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, co-chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee. He says Stevens’ absence had an effect on some capital projects for Sitka.

A charter fishing business in Elfin Cove faces tens of thousands in fines after a state sting operation revealed overfishing.

Former KCAW reporter Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock is among the thousands whose flights have been affected by a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Hitchcock and her daughter are in London, awaiting a flight home to New Zealand.

David Lass's Blatchley 8th grade Art and Choral Exploration students were commissioned to produce the artwork for the 2010 Sitka Summer Music Festival. They unveiled the final product on the Morning Interview with KCAW's Robert Woolsey.

“The Marriage of Figaro” this month will be the first full test of the capabilities of Sitka’s new performing arts center. Juneau’s Opera-to-Go will stage what is arguably one of Mozart’s most popular compositions on two evenings in Sitka, Friday April 30th and Saturday May 1st. Opera-to-Go’s last production in Sitka – Tosca – played to sold-out audiences in the Sheetka-kwan Community House in 2008. In addition to the cast and technical crew, Opera-to-Go will travel to Sitka with a full orchestra for two performances. KCAWs Robert Woolsey recently had a chance to talk with Wade Rogers, the president of Opera-to-Go, Figaro’s producer Kristen Miller, and Figaro’s director, New York opera singer Paul Shipper.

The Alaska Republican Party’s 2010 state convention began today (Thursday) in Juneau. As a result, GOP candidates for office have been touring Southeast, including Sitka. One of them is 47-year-old Sheldon Fisher, a former executive at Alaska Communications Systems, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Don Young for the Republican nomination to Congress. Fisher spoke to KCAW’s Ed Ronco about the Alaska economy, the Sealaska lands selection legislation, and his thoughts on squaring off against Young, who is a 20-term incumbent: