Author: Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock/Matt Lichtenstein

Last week's meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Vancouver, British Columbia set the total halibut quota at 54.1 million pounds. In Southeast Alaska the cut is not quite as much as was expected, but still down by 19%.

Southeast Alaska residents may recognize some of the fast ferries involved in rescuing passengers of US Airways Flight 1549, which crash landed onto the Hudson River in New York yesterday. (1-15-09) Allen Marine of Sitka is the manufacturer of nineteen boats that are now owned and operated by New York Waterways.

The Sitka city administrator has the go ahead from the Sitka Assembly to continue to negotiate a lease with Pacific Tower Properties for the Hames Wellness Center and the SJ Redevelopment Task Force will get $150,000 in grant money from the economic development fund once there is a commitment that the core campus of SJ will be conveyed to another entity.

Only one resolution failed to pass at last night’s (1-13-08) Sitka City and Borough Assembly meeting, but it didn’t completely die. Whether or not to certify termination of the TAB bulk water lease contract, was tabled until the next assembly meeting, but not before it garnered serious discussion.

The collapse of the market for recycled materials late last year has lowered income for the Sitka recycling program, but has not made recycling any more expensive than handling regular trash. Local officials want to maintain the growing recycling program in its current form until the global commodities market rebounds.

Sitka’s historic Japonski-Island boathouse is moving into the architectural phase of its planned restoration. The garage-like structure at the foot of the O’Connell bridge is one of the dwindling number of small, utilitarian buildings that comprised the Sitka Naval Air Station during World War II.

Thirteen days after “western” Christmas on the 25th of December, Orthodox Christians around the world – and in Alaska - celebrate the nativity on January 7th. St. Michael’s Cathedral in Sitka is the traditional seat of the Alaskan Orthodox Diocese. Two years ago, KCAW’s Melissa Marconi-Wentzel was invited to accompany the congregation of St. Michael’s as they went “starring” to Orthodox homes throughout the community. This is an encore presentation of her story:

Sitkan Bill De Armond was born here 70 years ago in 1938, grew up and went to school in Sitka as well as Pelican, Ketchikan, and Juneau, where he finished high school. He is the son of historian and journalist R. N. De Armond and the late Dale De Armond, a noted artist who worked in woodcut and wood engraving, among other media, and was well-known as an illustrator. KCAW's Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock spoke with Bill De Armond about his recollections of the heady days a half-century ago when Alaska went from U.S. Territory to State of the Union.

Sitka High Junior Hannah Hamberg won the grand prize in the Alaska Airlines "Paint the Plane" competition, open to all Alaskans in grades K-12. Hamberg's winning design was unveiled Saturday (1-3-09) as part of the Alaska's statehood celebration in Anchorage, and will adorn an Alaska Airlines 737 later this year. See Hannah's design at www.painttheplane.com

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced the state hunting season for Sitka black tailed deer will close on December 31, 2008