Alaska has upped the ante for travelers arriving from out of state -- literally. As of August 11, non-resident arrivals must present proof of a negative covid test three days prior to entering the state, or pay $250 for a test when they step off the plane.
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State troopers have solved a 24-year old sexual assault and homicide case in Sitka. DNA evidence led investigators to a 66-year old man living in Arkansas, who took his own life last week, shortly after Alaska investigators arrived to question him.
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Although the October holiday is more than two months away, festival organizers are discouraged by the steady increase in coronavirus infections in the state, and decided it was best to stand down for this year.
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As coronavirus cases continue to climb in Alaska, public health officials have a better picture of how the disease is spreading in the state -- and it points to our collective behavior. Simple changes could bring the pandemic under control.
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Schools in Sitka will open in August with a mixture of in-person and online classes, if the state approves the district’s “Smart Start” plan. Two major questions remain: How many students will come back? And how many teachers?
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This summer a pair of fast, 29-footers are patrolling Sitka Sound for the US Coast Guard. The two boats and their eight crew members are on deployment from the Maritime Safety and Security Team in Seattle. They are trained in search and rescue, law enforcement, and federal marine resource authority.
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Free coronavirus testing for anyone -- whether or not you have symptoms -- is arriving this weekend (July 11 & 12) in Sitka and some other communities served by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium.
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At least three people were injured -- one seriously -- when fireworks accidentally detonated in a crowd during Sitka’s Independence Day celebration.
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During the current rash of gray whale strandings in Alaska, collecting data from the expired whales before they decompose is critical. Near Sitka recently, three campers had an unprecedented opportunity to aid the cause of science when they discovered a stranded gray whale and her calf. But the animals -- who were both quite alive -- were no help at all.
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The commercial salmon troll season is likely to open on schedule in Southeast Alaska on July 1, although an injunction petition that would shut it down remains alive in federal court. The Wild Fish Conservancy on June 15 filed an appeal of US Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson's recommendation to deny the injunction; The US Justice Department, NOAA Fisheries, and Alaska Trollers filed a response on June 29 -- just two days before the scheduled opening of the fishery.
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