Robert Woolsey, KCAW, Author at KCAW

Shee Atiká board names a new chairman, turns toward business sustainability

Lifelong Sitkan Rob Allen has been named to chair Shee Atiká's board, and he’s hoping to steer Sitka's urban Native corporation toward sustainability and profitability.

Its federal grant denied, Sitka looks for private capital for public haulout

The City of Sitka is looking for new proposals for the construction of a marine haulout at its industrial park --- which don't rely on public funding.

With winter on the way, Alaskans urged to stay informed about coronavirus — and stay strong

Alaska’s top medical team is urging residents to remain diligent heading into fall and winter, to resist widespread misinformation about the virus, and to hold fast against mounting fatigue over the pandemic.

With a slight drop in enrollment, schools reopen in Sitka with ‘no complaints’

School reopened in Sitka smoothly on August 27, albeit with a dip of about 5-percent in enrollment. Nevertheless, the administration remains vigilant, as communities elsewhere struggle to keep schools open.

Seiner Ginny O refloated after August 24 sinking near Crawfish Inlet

The Ginny O has been refloated after sinking in Crawfish Inlet on August 24. The 58-foot seiner is being towed to Sitka stern-first to protect its heavily damaged bow.

A pair of stranded killer whales (and a sick sea lion) has biologists looking for answers

Biologists are tracking some unusual stranding events around Sitka this summer, and hoping to learn more about what brought about the deaths of two killer whales, and what has made a sea lion gravely ill.

Richard Bingham was acquitted, but never free of suspicion in Alaska’s most notorious cold case murder — until now

Twenty-four years after he faced trial for a murder he did not commit, Richard Bingham feels entitled to compensation. Although he was acquitted in the death of 17-year old Jessica Baggen in 1996, Bingam was never fully exonerated until cold case investigators found the likely killer this summer.

With six new cases in one day, Angoon goes into lockdown

The new cases take Angoon’s total to eight, prompting Mayor Joshua Bowen to issue an emergency order requiring all travelers to the community to self-isolate for two weeks on arrival.

Despite statewide trends, Sitka hopes for strong school enrollment this week

Superintendent John Holst told the Sitka School Board last week (8-19-20) that the district may not have a firm idea of how many students will attend the district’s in-person or remote programs until school opens this Thursday -- and even then numbers could shift over the first few weeks of teaching.

Lentfer’s ‘Raven’s Witness’ a story of the anthropologist who learned to listen

One of Alaska’s most prolific writers and its preeminent naturalist, Richard Nelson never published anything about his own life. Author Hank Lentfer has compiled thousands of pages of journals and audio recordings in a new biography "Raven's Witness: The Alaska Life of Richard K. Nelson."