Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka
Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
Kreiss-Tomkins: Using Connections Instead Of Clout
Redistricting has cost Southeast one legislator this session, and voters in District 34 have made things even more interesting by sending a freshman to the House. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins will be 23-years old when he’s sworn in next Tuesday. Here’s a session preview from the state’s youngest legislator.
Eastern Orthodox Christians Celebrate Christmas Today
Monday, Jan. 7, is Christmas Day on the Julian calendar observed by the Eastern Orthodox Christians. Western churches and most secular institutions follow the Gregorian calendar. In both calendars, however, Christmas falls on December 25th.
Marine Highway Head Steps Down
The head of the state’s ferry system is stepping down. Capt. Mike Neussl’s last day of work as the Deputy Commissioner for Marine Operations will be next Friday, January 11.
Sitka Salmon Shares: A Real-Life Lesson In Food Sustainability
A college professor who studies food systems is putting his money where his brain is. Nic Mink has spent the past two summers in Sitka meeting fishermen and learning about the economy salmon trolling. Now, he’s launched a business to connect individual boats with consumers in the Midwest.
Longliners Seek Delegation’s Support For Electronic Monitoring
A major gear group is pushing back against rules set to take effect this January that will put human observers aboard some smaller fishing boats. The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association has enlisted the help of the state’s congressional delegation to try and delay implementation of the observer program for small boats, and to adopt a more efficient electronic monitoring program instead.
Suit Filed Over Fisheries Observer Program
A small cruise line with ties to the conservation community in Southeast Alaska has filed a lawsuit over the federal fisheries observer program, saying that too many Chinook and halibut.
Local Alder Tested In High School Wood Shop
The Sitka High wood shop is involved in an experiment to learn if young-growth timber can be made into high end furniture and other products. One of three class sections is using locally-harvested and milled alder in their projects; the other two are using traditional hardwoods from the lower forty-eight. Their teacher says his students don’t notice any difference.
Rau Offers Lessons In Life, Trolling In ‘As the Gurdy Turns’
A writer and salmon troller has published a new collection of articles written over the course of thirty-five years fishing in Southeast. As the Gurdy Turns is the first book for Ron Rau, who was a frequent contributor to The Alaska Fisherman’s Journal.
Kreiss-Tomkins: Not Alaska’s Youngest Lawmaker
The certification of the House District 34 race this week has put Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in the legislature. At 23-years old, he is almost the youngest person ever elected to state government.
Didrickson Named to Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
Sitka basketball legend Herb Didrickson has been named to the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Didrickson was selected for the honor over the weekend, along with former Eilson football coach Buck Nystrom.
‘Wood Energy Fair’ Reintroducing Sitka Residents To Wood Heat
Wood energy is making a comeback in Sitka. With fuel prices approaching record highs, locals are returning to firewood, and to other forms of wood fuel lumped under the term “biomass.” This Saturday, the community is holding a “Wood Energy Fair” to re-introduce residents to wood heat in the home.
Two Paths To The Political Future Offered In Chamber Forum
The two candidates for the newly-created legislative district that represents Sitka, Haines, Hoonah and Angoon, met in Sitka last week in a forum sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
Historian Discovers Early Cartographer Technique
Every once in a while an historian makes a find that changes everything. Recently, a researcher combing through the National Archives made just such a discovery. In this case, while working on a project to scan some of the very first maps of Alaska, he learned how early cartographers so accurately depicted places they had never been.
‘Glacier Deer’ Spotted in Southeast
Southcentral Alaska has its white moose, now Southeast Alaska has its white deer. Alaska Department of Fish & Game biologist Phil Mooney was tagging mountain goats on Baranof Island outside of Sitka in late August and saw the unusual animal from his helicopter.
Brown Bear Bites Teenage Tourist Near Sitka
An 18-year-old Vancouver, BC, resident suffered minor injuries after being attacked by a brown bear sow on a popular trail near Sitka.
Coast Guard Recovers Drifting Weather Buoy
This time, it’s the story of the buoy that didn’t get away. The US Coast Guard Cutter Maple retrieved the Cape Edgecumbe weather buoy last week, after the errant instrument spent six days adrift in the Gulf of Alaska. The buoy was only about 10 miles off station, dutifully transmitting weather and ocean conditions as it slowly cruised north and west in the balmiest seas of the summer.
Studying a Thriving Bird – The Rhino
A two-year project is underway in Sitka Sound this summer to study the rhinoceros auklet. Unlike much of the biological research in the state, the work on this particular seabird is not about unraveling...
Like Adventure? Siberian Bike Ride Goes To Facebook Vote
A former Alaskan is one of five finalists for the 2012 Outside Magazine Outdoor Adventure grant. Quinn Langbauer is a 2007 Sitka High graduate. If he wins, he and his brother and a friend from college will spend most of next year bicycling over 7,000 miles across Siberia.
Sitka Assembly To Ask NPFMC To Lower Allowable Trawl Bycatch
The city of Sitka has gone on record in support of efforts to reduce the amount of halibut wasted in Alaska’s trawl fisheries. The Sitka assembly last week unanimously approved asking the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to lower the cap on trawl bycatch when it meets in Kodiak in June.
Sitka Residents Testing New Bear-Resistant Trash Cans
Residents in a few select neighborhoods in Sitka will be trying out a new kind of bear-resistant trash can this spring. The local sanitation company is doing a field test of two prospective containers. Both are mostly plastic, and neither is considered “bear-proof.” All the authorities want to do is to frustrate brown bears looking for an easy meal, in the hope that they move on.