Author: Robert Woolsey

Mark Gorman's last day of work for SEARCH was September 30. About a week later, the former vice president of Community Health was working in Padang, Sumatra providing relief to earthquake victims. Gorman talks with KCAW's Robert Woolsey about his rapid transition to a new career in global relief work (extended interview).

"Sitka: A Home in the Wild" is photographer Dan Evans' third book, and first collaboration with writer Carolyn Servid. The pair discussed their work during the Morning Edition interview with KCAW's Robert Woolsey:

The state of Alaska is urging residents to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, when it becomes more widely available. Dr. Joe McLaughlin is the chief of the Alaska Section of Epidemiology. He is the sharp-end of the state’s media campaign to inform Alaskans about how to handle the H1N1 pandemic. The state is publishing a two-page insert in newspapers across the state this week, including the Daily Sitka Sentinel tomorrow (Thursday 11-19-09). McLaughlin says a consistent theme in the concerns of residents across the state is the safety of the vaccine. KCAW’s Robert Woolsey spoke with Dr. McLaughlin by phone from Anchorage about the H1N1 vaccine, and other issues surrounding the swine flu pandemic (extended interview):

Some restoration has long been part of the program in the Tongass – but it’s never been the mandate. Unlike other lower 48 forests, much of the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s vision for economic opportunity in the Tongass remains just that: vision. As a result, a restoration project for Ocean Boulevard near Sitka has been criticized for its high cost ($677-thousand dollars), its small size (238 acres), and the fact that there is no market for the young trees and slash it will produce. Ken Coffin is the former supervisory biologist for the Sitka Ranger District. He spoke with KCAW’s Robert Woolsey about how so-called “stewardship sales” like Ocean Boulevard mark an important turning point for the Forest Service and the forest:

An expert on forest restoration says a controversial thinning project near Sitka is an important first step toward developing a timber industry based on second-growth. Nick Goulette, the deputy director of the Watershed Research Center in Hayfork, California, believes that “stewardship” sales like Ocean Boulevard have great potential on the Tongass, despite their high cost (an estimated $2,300 per acre). He was in Sitka in September to meet with the Forest Service about stewardship contracting, which is already at work in lower 48 forests. Afterwards, he stopped by to discuss the issue with KCAW’s Robert Woolsey

At a special presentation commemorating Veterans Day at the Sitka Chamber of Commerce, members were asked if they knew the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, to commemorate the end of World War I – the “war to end all wars.” Veterans Day may seem like a strange mid-week holiday to many people, but to one man it has a powerful meaning.

In the first part of our series on homelessness, a local pastor said there's no cohesive network of help for those without permanent shelter. He called it a "patchwork." In this, the third and final installment, Raven News looks at the different resources for Sitka's homeless.

Homelessness doesn't discriminate based on demographics. It affects men and women, families and children. And as we learn in this, the second of our three-part series on homelessness in Sitka, when youth find themselves without shelter, the problems in their lives can multiply quickly.

A coalition of community leaders held a summit in Sitka recently to decide how they can address the issue of homelessness. Service providers reviewed what they offer, the police and fire chiefs addressed public safety issues, and nearly everyone made some mention of how homelessness is isn’t always visible in Sitka, and therefore not on the minds of many who live here. In the first of a three-part series, Raven News profiles one man for whom finding a safe place sleep is a daily struggle.

For the second year in a row a Sitka fisherman will appear on the cover of the December issue of National Fisherman, as one of that magazine’s “Highliners of the Year.” Except this year’s honoree is a woman, and only the third female ever to be named to the prestigious roster. Linda Behnken is a salmon troller, and a longliner for halibut and black cod. She’s currently the director of ALFA, the Alaska Longline Fisherman’s Association. She stopped by KCAW to speak with Robert Woolsey about her interest in fisheries management, her years on the North Pacific Council, IFQs, the Southeast trawl ban, and the charter halibut conflict.