Author: Robert Woolsey

Southeast fishermen disappointed by low rhinook quotas and bag limits in the coming season will be glad to hear this: hatchery returns of king salmon this summer in Southeast Alaska are expected to be among the highest ever.

The State Department of Fish and Game is conducting its annual spring deer surveys in Northern Southeast Alaska. And at this point, large numbers of healthy yearlings indicate the region’s deer population may be bouncing back from a couple of hard winters.

A significant boost in state education funding has breathed new life into the Sitka school district budget. Local school board members who made a second lobbying trip to Juneau in the last week of the session reported back to their colleagues that “we got nearly everything we wanted.”

The Sitka Bear Working Group estimates that the Sitka police department and other agencies spent -- conservatively -- around $35-thousand dollars last year responding to problem bear calls. In the second part of our two-part interview series with the authors of Sitka's bear ordinance, KCAW's Robert Woolsey speaks with attorney Paul Olson about the costs involved in complying with the ordinance.

Sitka's new bear ordinance is causing some residents to worry that the law represents a significant restriction on lifestyle, and not just on gargbage. In the first of a two-part series of interviews with the authors of Sitka's bear ordinance, KCAW's Robert Woolsey speaks with ADF&G biologist Phil Mooney about how Sitka's new law is tailored to address the problem of teenage "grab and run" bears.

If you've seen TV shows like "Miami Ink" and wondered where Sitkans go for permanent body art -- we've got your answer. Scott Gyatso, a licensed professional tattoo artist, has opened Studio 907 Tattoo in Sitka. KCAWs Leah Mann dropped by the studio to talk with Gyatso, and to get a first-hand look at his electric tattooing needle.

The University of Alaska Southeast is up for an accreditation review – for the first time in a decade. It’s also the first time all three campuses in the regional university will be under the gun. Dr. James Everett, Vice Provost of UAS, updated the Sitka Chamber of Commerce Wednesday on the hurdles facing the University as it moves into the self-study phase of the process. UAS has defined itself as a regional university since 1999. Everett said the challenge will be to prove those claims.

An Aleut adaptation of Othello will visit Yakutat this weekend. The play has been touring the state for the past month and a half, with performances in Seward, Cordova, Kodiak, Valdez and Palmer. At left, Allan Hayes and Tamara Rothman Miller as Othello and Desdemona.

The Sitka school district budget will remain more or less flat next year -- despite a boost in per-pupil funding from the state. Declining enrollment continues to be the major strain on the district's finances. The district is planning on around 1320 students next year, about 35 fewer than are currently enrolled in the system. The Sitka school board presented its '09 budget to the assembly on Tuesday (4-8-08). Following the meeting, KCAWs Robert Woolsey spoke with board member Mollie Kabler about some of the assumptions in next year's budget.

Commercial king salmon fishermen in Southeast will see their lowest harvest quota in a decade this season. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has announced that it is slashing the all-gear quota in Southeast by nearly half -- or a decrease of 159-thousand fish.