Katherine Rose, Author at KCAW

Fire department aids stranded Goddard Hot Springs visitors

The Sitka Fire Department helped some stranded hot tub soakers get back to Tom Young Cabin on Monday night (5-2-22).

Sitka saw ‘natural decrease’ in population last year, with deaths outnumbering births slightly

Sitka’s community has lost population for the fifth year in a row. Consultants recently (4-21-22) delivered an annual overview of Sitka’s economic trends in 2021.

Assembly calls for ideas to address Sitka’s childcare shortage

The Sitka assembly is looking into the shortage of affordable childcare in Sitka. KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports:

April 26, 2022: What’s on the agenda when the Sitka Assembly meets tonight?

When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (4-26-22), it will consider funding repairs to a section of the Sitka Cross Trail, which was damaged by a landslide earlier this year.

A Sitka high rise apartment’s lone elevator has been out of service for more than a year, and tenants are frustrated

The elevator in Sitka’s only high-rise apartment building has been off intermittently – for over 15 months. The situation – although not necessarily illegal – is at best inconvenient, and at worst discriminatory for tenants who may struggle with seven flights of stairs.

COVID cases increase in Sitka, but hospitalizations stay at zero

Over 75 new coronavirus cases were reported by the state last week in Sitka. Months ago, this jump in cases would put Sitka’s COVID alert level at high, but CDC guidance now weighs hospitalizations more heavily than case counts. So Sitka remains at ‘medium’ because there have been no hospitalizations associated with the recent uptick.

Town hall seeks to gather community input on short-term rentals

The Short Term Rental town-hall will be on Monday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

After 30 minutes in the ocean, Sitka kayaker rescued by good Samaritan walking her dog

A Sitka man who spent a half-hour in the ocean after his kayak capsized last weekend was rescued by a quick-thinking passerby – who swam from shore and pulled him to safety. The Good Samaritan was aware of the risks, however. She’s a five-year veteran of Sitka’s Search and Rescue team.

ATV rental ban fails to muster assembly’s support

A measure to prohibit All-Terrain-Vehicle rentals in Sitka failed at the assembly table on Tuesday (4-12-22). As KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports, the rental ban couldn’t gain assembly’s full support because several members wanted the law to distinguish between smaller four-wheelers, and larger utility task vehicles.

Assembly approves hospital building purchase agreement

When the Sitka Assembly met last night (4-12-22), it approved the sale and purchase agreement of the former Sitka Community Hospital building and land to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium for over $8.2 million.