Many Sitkans returned to work the day after Christmas, except for civilian federal employees, who remain on indefinite furlough following last weekend’s government shutdown. The US Forest Service and National Park Service will both be largely unstaffed during the shutdown. The Post Office and uniformed members of the Coast Guard will function as usual.
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The utility dock at Sitka’s industrial park is going up for sale. By putting the dock out to bid, the park hopes to avoid controversy surrounding a similar transaction ten years ago that cast shade over the founding of one of the state’s largest seafood processors.
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2018 was the worst season for pink salmon in Southeast Alaska in 44 years -- but it wasn’t the worst season for the salmon fleet, thanks in part to the region’s non-profit hatcheries, according to Steve Reifenstuhl, the general manager of the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association. He outlined for the Sitka Chamber of Commerce how hatcheries are a four-decade old bet that has paid off.
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A bill transferring 19 acres of federal land on Japonski Island in Sitka to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has passed the US House of Representatives, and is on its way to the White House for the President’s signature.
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After an unanticipated enrollment drop this school year, the Sitka School Board will be forced to make a significant budget adjustment in January -- at a time when it usually begins to look ahead to next year’s budget.
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Despite a poor season last spring, the forecast for the 2019 Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery is up. Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game expect a spawning biomass of just over 64,000 tons of herring in Sitka Sound next March, about 9,000 tons greater than was forecast for this year. That means the state will allow more herring to be taken next year. In light of this news, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska announced they would take “drastic action” to protect the herring population from their fear of overfishing.
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The job of loading baggage on airplanes is hard, but it doesn’t have to be harmful. In Sitka, a baggage handler -- or “ramper” -- has designed and built a piece of equipment he hopes revolutionizes the way luggage moves inside an airplane, and spares the people who move it a lifetime of pain.
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A Sitka-based marine salvage contractor is offering to buy the utility dock at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park for the cost of repairs. Hanson Maritime Co. has submitted a proposal to purchase the dock for $100,000 in estimated repair expenses.
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A woman from California is recovering from mild hypothermia after being rescued by the Coast Guard from the Inian Islands near Elfin Cove in Cross Sound late Tuesday night (11-27-18). According to the Alaska State Troopers, 20-year old Darcie Nicholson left her cabin at 9 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday for a walk expected to last an hour.
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The humpback whale which was successfully disentangled on Thanksgiving Day in Southeast Alaska was caught in heavy mooring lines, and was anchored to the bottom -- making the rescue especially challenging.
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