Katherine Rose, Author at KCAW

April 27, 2021: What’s on tonight’s Sitka Assembly agenda?

An international cruise ship line wants to donate $1 Million to the City of Sitka, with “no strings attached.”

Sitka COVID alert level shifts back to ‘low’

After weeks at “moderate,” Sitka’s coronavirus alert level shifted back to “low” over the weekend.

Juneau judge denies Sitka Tribe’s motion on constitutional grounds

The commercial and subsistence herring seasons in Sitka have drawn to a close. But the legal case between Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the state continues, with a Juneau Superior Court judge recently denying Sitka Tribe’s motion for summary judgement on constitutional grounds.

City administrator, attorney receive ‘satisfactory’ reviews

Both City Administrator John Leach and Municipal Attorney Brian Hanson received satisfactory job performance reviews from the Sitka Assembly when it met on Tuesday (4-20-21).The assembly meets once a year to review the...

Commission to develop plan for predicted tourism boom in 2022

While cruise ships won’t be showing up to Sitka in droves this summer, the 2022 cruise ship season is expected to break records. City officials believe the steep uptick in tourism could put a strain on infrastructure, so last month the assembly directed the local Planning Commission to develop a “Tourism Master Plan.”

Something ‘fishy’ about state’s herring data, argues former Sitkan

The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery closed last week, but not before harvesting around 16,000 tons of herring, the biggest commercial harvest in nearly a decade.Commercial fishermen want the lucrative fishery to continue. And while the state is in the middle of a lawsuit with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska over the management of the fishery, the state maintains that its model is conservative. But the model has its critics. KCAW spoke with Peter Bradley, a former Sitkan who has taken a deep dive into the data and modeling practices used by the state to manage herring.

Assembly wants valuation before selling former Sitka hospital building

The Sitka Assembly is not quite ready to sell the former Sitka Community Hospital building -- not yet, anyway. During a review on Tuesday night (4-13-21) of some draft language to solicit proposals, some assembly members hesitated because no starting price was listed, and others still weren’t convinced that leasing the building wasn’t the better option.