Author: Ed Ronco

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.

A clean energy consultant believes a groundbreaking heating system in Seward using seawater may have applications in Sitka and other coastal communities. Anchorage-based engineer Andy Baker has been assisting the Seward Sea Life Center to design and install the seawater system, which uses a heat exchanger in conjunction with a fairly conventional heat pump system to extract BTUs from the chilly waters of Resurrection Bay.

Sitka WhaleFest gets underway this weekend, but already scientists in town for the event have been combing the city’s schools, lending their expertise to science students. Reporter Ed Ronco spent Thursday morning with some Blatchley Middle School students, provoking sea urchins.

A busy year for bear sightings is coming to a close as the weather turns cooler. Authorities say there were at least five different sows and 14 different cubs spotted in heavily populated areas in Sitka this year.

Sitka’s Assembly met on Friday night to approve the terms of a new lease on Hames Wellness Center. The vote came one day shy of the expiration of the current lease. There’s still one more step in the process to finalize the deal.

A film telling the story of Alaska civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich will be screened Sunday (11-1-09) at the performing arts center at Sitka High School. “For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska,” is set to air on public television stations around the country this fall.

The lights at Hames Wellness Center most likely are staying on. With an Oct. 31 deadline looming, the Assembly asked city officials on Tuesday (10-27-09) to negotiate a new lease on the center.

Plans for repairs and renovations to Mt. Edgecumbe High School were approved by the state Board of Education & Early Development today (10-26-09). The school is seeking about $15 million from the legislature. Ed Ronco has details on the project.

Young people who get in trouble in Sitka might just find themselves in an entirely different kind of court: the Sitka Youth Court. The program has been around for about 10 years and this week (10-20-09), 15 new attorneys were sworn in.