Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska - Juneau
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
7 Things You May Not Know About Alaska Airlines
We independent Alaskans may think we’re not joiners. But we are.
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Southeast Conference Wants To Change Tongass Management
The Southeast Conference wants to change the way the Tongass National Forest is managed. The regional development-advocacy organization is working on a strategy to grow the timber industry and create jobs, while maintaining environmental protections.
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Southeast Alaska Experiencing Strong Economic Growth
Southeast Alaska has more residents – and more jobs – than ever. That’s according to a report released Tuesday during the Southeast Conference’s annual meeting in Sitka.
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Southeast Leaders Consider Region’s Maritime Industry
About 250 Panhandle business, government and nonprofit leaders will gather in Sitka Sept. 17-19. It’s the annual meeting of the Southeast Conference, one of the region’s larger organizations.
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Huna Totem May Build Own Dock Without City Grant
Hoonah’s village Native corporation may build its own cruise-ship dock, bypassing a city effort funded by the Legislature.
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Carnival Cruise Ships Installing Air Pollution ‘Scrubbers’
The world’s largest cruise corporation will soon install new pollution-control equipment on 32 of its ships. Carnival, Princess and Holland-America vessels sailing Alaska waters are likely to be among those getting the gear.
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Sequestration Cuts Shorten Head Start Year
The Tlingit-Haida Central Council’s Head Start program serves more than 250 Southeast Alaska preschoolers. But they’ll have less time in the classroom this year due to budget cuts tied to sequestration. We took a this look at the program and the impacts of lower funding.
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State Blocks $15 Million Hoonah Dock Grant
State officials say they’ll withdraw funding for a $15 million Hoonah dock unless the Southeast city changes its location. The money was appropriated by the Legislature, in part to support the town’s Icy Strait Point tourist attraction, 40 air miles west of Juneau.
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Medevac Insurer May Get License Back
A popular medevac insurance company says it’s close to resuming business in Alaska. Apollo Medi Trans stopped renewing policies earlier this year, leaving many customers without coverage. But there are other options.
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Alaska Flights Delayed By Computer Breakdown
Flights to and from Alaska were among those affected by a recent international computer system breakdown.
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Alaska, Canada Paddlers Link Two Metlakatlas
ix traditional canoes have retraced a historic Tsimshian route from British Columbia’s northern coast to southern Southeast Alaska.
Competition Tries To Boost Village Businesses
A Southeast Alaska Native corporation and a conservation group are combining forces to try to spur sustainable regional development. They’re funding a $500,000 business-plan contest aimed at, but not limited to, the area’s smaller communities.
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Senate Considers Passenger Rights Bill
Does the cruise industry do enough to keep passengers safe? And how do we know if they don’t? Those were among the questions asked at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee meeting on Wednesday.
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Bill Would Allow Road To Prince of Wales Mines
A bill making it easier to build a road to Prince of Wales Island mines has gotten some attention in the nation’s Capitol.
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Southeast Redistricting Presents Challenges
Southeast Alaska’s new redistricting boundaries eliminate the possibility of at least one House election rematch. But they could lead to some other challenges.
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Inter-Island Ferry Budget Woes Shrink
The financial picture is improving for the Inter-Island Ferry Authority, which connects Prince of Wales Island and Ketchikan. But the southern Southeast system still needs more money to maintain a full schedule all year.
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Southeast Has Its Say on Redistricting
Haines and Skagway should be in the same election district as Juneau. The Capital City’s Mendenhall Valley wants to stay on its own. Petersburg doesn’t want to be split up. And the whole redistricting process has been a boondoggle. That’s some of what Southeast Alaska residents – plus a few others – told the Alaska Redistricting Board during a hearing Tuesday at the Capitol.
Smaller Gold Operations Gain Interest Around Yakutat
An Oklahoma company’s plan to mine gold from a large area around Yakutat is dead and buried. But there’s still interest in smaller operations near the northern Southeast community.
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AK: Paddles
Remember the Tlingit paddlers who lost their canoes on a recent journey through Southeast? High winds and rough seas capsized the watercraft, dumping hand-carved, red cedar paddles into the ocean.
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Sealaska Lands Bill Passes Senate Committee
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski’s version of the Sealaska lands bill has passed out of its only committee of referral. That’s a major step toward a Senate floor vote. But there’s no guarantee it will move any further in Congress. Its best chance is as part of a package of lands legislation.
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