Katherine Rose, Author at KCAW

As oil spill cleanup continues, ADF&G looks at impact on nearby herring fishery

State biologists are looking into how a recent oil spill around 15 miles northwest of Sitka will affect the sac roe herring fishery and subsistence harvest.

March 22, 2022: What’s on the agenda when the Sitka Assembly meets tonight?

When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (3-22-22) it will consider amending recently-adopted rules allowing all-terrain vehicles on local streets.

Tugboat towing container barge runs aground in Neva Strait

Salvagers are attempting to contain a diesel fuel spill, after an 83-foot tug boat ran aground in Neva Strait, about 15 miles northwest of Sitka, early Monday morning (3-21-22), while towing an Alaska Marine Lines barge.

State herring survey data available on virtual mapping tool

The seine fleet has started to trickle into Sitka’s harbors, but the herring still aren’t showing themselves in large numbers.

Following an unprecedented bear year, Sitka’s bear task force reconvenes

The first brown bears of the spring have been spotted in Sitka. Not a moment too soon, the assembly is reviving a bear task force to address increasing conflict between bears and humans within the community.

Assembly considers capping short-term-rental permits for one year

The Sitka Assembly is considering capping the number of short-term rentals in Sitka, at least temporarily. When it met on March 8, it greenlit a moratorium on conditional use permits for short-term rentals for one year. But it won’t be enacted until it comes before the Assembly for a second reading.

March 8, 2022: What’s happening at tonight’s Sitka Assembly meeting?

When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (3-8-22), it will consider a temporary moratorium on new short-term rental permits in residential zones for one year.

Three indicted on six felony drug charges in February

A Sitka Grand Jury indicted three people last week (2-24-22) on six felony drug charges, after police seized an estimated $40,000 worth of heroine, meth and opioids during a home search.

Sitka adopts new CDC community risk levels, triggering mask mandate expiration

Sitka is shifting its community alert levels to align with new Centers for Disease Control guidelines beginning today (3-1-22).

With inflation at historic levels, Assembly braces for rate increases

Rates for public utilities could increase more than usual this year. When the Sitka Assembly met on Thursday, it reviewed the budgets for the city’s enterprise funds – like electricity and water that users pay for – and found that inflation was pushing expenses above the increases already built into the regular rate structure.