Author: Ed Ronco

Sitka National Historical Park officially turns 100 on Tuesday (3-23), but events honoring the milestone got underway this weekend. While the events are being billed as a birthday celebration, the park commemorates some sensitive history. As Ed Ronco reports, things began on Saturday morning with some notes of solemnity.

Federal legislation that would give about 85,000 acres of Tongass National Forest land to Sealaska Corporation has prompted debate across Southeast Alaska in recent weeks. And the bill came up in conversation during Thursday (3-18) night's government-to-government meeting between the Sitka Assembly and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, though not quite in the way you’d expect.

While Canadian fiddle music is closely tied to Celtic traditions, Ottowa Valley fiddler April Verch says every region has distinctive styles. Verch was one of five fiddlers to perform at the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics. The April Verch Band performs tonight (3-18-10) at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. She and bass/banjo player Cody Walters discuss their Southeast tour with KCAW's Robert Woolsey.

The Sitka National Historic Park turns 100 years old on Tuesday (3-23). The 116-acre park is the smallest National Park in Alaska, and is the site of an 1804 battle between Russians and Kiksadi Tlingits. The park is throwing itself a birthday party that begins Saturday with a cruise through Sitka Sound to retrace the 1804 battle, along with a community picnic later that afternoon. KCAW’s Ed Ronco went for a walk in the park with Superintendent Mary Miller, to talk about the 100th birthday and the park itself.

In the first half of the 20th century, T-B was a major epidemic in Alaska, and its effects were particularly harsh on rural Native communities. A presentation Tuesday (3-16) at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall addressed that history, and also honored some of the era’s front-line fighters against T-B. KCAW’s Ed Ronco introduces us to some nurses, whose work in the T-B ward at Sitka’s Mount Edgecumbe Hospital saved lives the lives of others, and forever changed their own.

Peggy Wilson represents District 2 in the Alaska House. This is "Peggy's Corner" for March 17, 2010.

The nation's founders called for coins -- not paper money. Inflation represents an unfair tax on the lower and middle classes. A Commentary from Bob Goad. (Note: the opinions expressed in commentaries are those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions of Raven Radio's board, staff, or volunteers.)

The state’s top small schools DDF student says a tie was a “great way to go out.” Sitka High School senior Berett Wilber was the top-scorer at this year’s state Drama, Debate, and Forensics tournament in Anchorage. Her fifteen-member team shared the overall title with perennial DDF powerhouse Whitestone in their first matchup in the small schools division.

Three unfilled teaching positions are among the factors helping to balance next year’s Sitka School District budget. The School Board voted Monday (3-15) to approve the $17.4-million spending plan.

Below-normal precipitation in January and February is not expected to compromise the Sitka’s ability to generate power in the drier months of April and May. The low rain and snowfall of the mid-winter was also accompanied by warmer temperatures, which lowered demand on the town’s hydro system.