Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka
2 Alaska health care providers sue feds over millions in unpaid costs
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. and Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium are seeking about $34 million in contract support costs.
National experts to discuss Indigenous tourism in Sitka this spring
The annual conference started about 20 years ago, paused briefly, and then resumed as demand grew for authentic and meaningful cultural experiences.
Southeast Alaska chinook stocks expected to be low again in 2024
Of the 11 chinook salmon stocks in the region, only the Chilkat River is expected to have an adequate number of chinook returning to spawn.
Alaska’s ‘upside down economics’ keep supply low, demand high for new homes
Researcher Nolan Klouda says Alaska ranks 45th among states in per capita new housing, building about two new units per thousand people.
Alaska experts try to untangle invasive Japanese knotweed
Japanese knotweed can survive being hacked into pieces and thrown into the ocean — and scientists say it has a growing hold in Southeast Alaska.
First responders to Coast Guard helicopter’s crash were the Southeast Alaska fishing crew it came to rescue
The crew of the Lydia Marie say they heard the rescue helicopter's rotors, as their vessel was taking on water late Monday night — then silence.
A co-creator of Alaska’s PFD program calls for reinstating a personal income tax
Rep. Cliff Groh wants Alaskans earning over $200,000 a year to pay a 2% income tax, with other residents asked to "chip in" $20 to fund state services.
Southeast Conference panel optimistic about region’s transportation outlook
An infusion of federal transportation dollars into the state ferry system is helping Southeast Alaska regional administrators see better times ahead.
Sitka’s tourism boom has brought a staggering increase in cigarette butts
What started as a community cleanup has become a legitimate scientific study.
Stedman warns against overdrawing Alaska Permanent Fund to pay dividends
Senate Finance Committee co-chair Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, says state lawmakers must make tough decisions to keep the Permanent Fund healthy.
A long-awaited hydro project in Angoon can proceed, if funding can be found
The local Alaska Native corporation is seeking construction funds for the project, which is expected to fully replace costly diesel power.
Fish were plentiful, but fishermen scarce for Southeast Alaska’s first summer king opening
Southeast trollers brought in about 85,000 king salmon from July 1 to July 12, around 8,000 fish over the target for the first opener of the season.
Sitka’s seafood donation network connects abundance with scarcity in Western Alaska
The Seafood Distribution Network is supplying sockeye to families on the Yukon and Chignik rivers, whose traditional salmon runs have crashed.
Scientists say Tongass trees could bounce back from budworm infestation
Scientists with the U.S. Forest Service believe that the blackheaded budworm, whose numbers surged over the past three years, is now in decline.
Sitka’s airport expansion set for takeoff this fall
Sitka’s airport terminal is overdue for an expansion, and the city anticipates that federal funding will help get the project off the ground this fall.
Sitka’s 13,000-visitor day was ‘far too many,’ mayor says
Three cruise ships brought more than 13,000 passengers and crew to Sitka on June 21, choking streets and prompting concerns about overcrowding.
NOAA says revised analysis could allow Southeast king salmon troll fishing, despite ruling
A fisheries official says a summer troll season for king salmon in Southeast Alaska is possible, despite a federal judge’s recent ruling to the contrary.
3 Alaska trollers contemplate a summer without chinook
Barring last-minute legal action, there will be no king salmon troll fishery in Southeast Alaska this summer or winter. Three trollers discuss what that means.
Sitka’s airplane equipment maker moves from prototype to production
Former Alaska Airlines "ramper" Tim Fulton's invention, designed to ease loading luggage into airliners, has just been bought by Malaysian Airlines.
What’s the best way to monitor for mercury in Alaska seafoods? Test human hair, says these researchers
Two researchers say the best way to track mercury levels in Alaska seafood isn't testing fish coming over the docks, but testing human hair.