Sitka’s city finance director is stepping down. Finance Director Melissa Haley informed the city of her resignation in early October. When the Sitka Assembly met on Tuesday (11-12-24), it approved the promotion of her replacement, controller Brooke Volschenk.
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The city of Sitka has brokered a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the local cruise dock. And while some assembly members were on board with approving the agreement as-is, they postponed a vote until the next meeting after a number of community members said they needed more time to review the document.
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The last cruise ship of 2024 arrived in Sitka on Monday (10-21-24), on what was arguably one of the nicest days of the “shoulder season.” While cruising is finally winding down, the assembly has two big tourism-related issues on its plate when it meets tonight.
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A dispute over the management of the Sitka Animal Shelter at least two years in the making came to a head this summer, when the police department barred volunteers from the facility. The ousted volunteer group brought its complaints to the Sitka Assembly this week, hoping not just to be allowed back in, but to set a new course for the troubled operation.
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While the rebound in Japanese herring is the result of government investment, management of the fisheries is largely unregulated -- except by the fishermen themselves. Is this sustainable? Many don't think so. Part 5 of "Phantom Fish: The return of Japan's vanished herring fishery."
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While Japan's obsession with seafood may never change, it's tastes are evolving. Alaskan herring roe -- kazunoko -- is finding its way snack foods, and other non-traditional products. But there is strong competition from domestic herring, too. This is Part 4 of "Phantom Fish: The return of Japan's vanished herring industry."
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Japanese consumers are readily adjusting to the improved size and quantity of domestically-produced herring. But Alaska herring has niche in sushi -- and an alluring wild "brand" that still sells. Part 3 of KCAW's "Phantom Fish: The return of Japan's vanished herring industry."
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Alaska’s lucrative herring fisheries were born in the 1950s, when Japan’s domestic herring industry all but died out. But Japanese herring are making a comeback now, thanks to a government-sponsored hatchery program that has rebuilt stocks, and most importantly, changed attitudes about hatchery-produced herring in a country that prizes its seafood above just about everything else. In part two of our series "Phantom Fish: The return of Japan’s vanished herring industry," KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports on how hatchery production in western Hokkaido has remade Japan’s herring industry.
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KCAW's Katherine Rose travels to Japan this to learn firsthand about the market forces and cultural traditions that directly impact Alaska's commercial herring fisheries. This is Part 1 of KCAW's 5-part series "Phantom Fish: The return of Japan's vanished herring industry."
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How much money should the city put back in infrastructure reserves this year? That’s what the Sitka Assembly will consider when it meets tonight (9-24-24).
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