Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka
Robert Woolsey is a reporter at KCAW in Sitka.
Well-known white-eared bear found dead of gunshot wound in Sitka neighborhood
The sow was recognizable to many Sitkans for her white-tipped ears. Recently, she had been featured as the cover image on the Sitka Bear Report social media page. (Sitka Bear Report/Sam Schenck)
Sitka committee wants to bring back bear task force after deadly season for brown bears
Thirteen brown bears have been killed in Sitka — 12 by wildlife authorities and one by a car.
An invasive parasite is taking over Alaska blue mud shrimp. Researchers want to kill it.
Orthione griffenis, or O. griffenis, eventually kills its host shrimp, and soon the remaining shrimp can’t find each other to reproduce, rendering a blue mud shrimp population extinct.
Arrival of Alaska’s first cruise ship of 2021 coincided with a major coronavirus outbreak in Sitka
Serenade of the Seas’ arrival coincided with a major coronavirus outbreak in Sitka, but that didn’t seem to affect the number of passengers visiting town — all of whom were vaccinated, except for children. There simply weren’t that many of them.
Sitka should prepare for a deluge of cruise passengers in 2022, dock owner says
Industry insiders say despite the potential loss of the 2021 season, 2022 could be the biggest cruise season ever.
Sitka looks to rename Baranof Elementary School after Native educator
The Sitka School Board recently decided to send the question of the name change to the Sitka Tribe, in hopes of identifying a “significant local cultural educator.”
Trump’s defense veto could sink Sitka’s Coast Guard dock
President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act has put Sitka’s plans for a new Coast Guard fast-response cutter on the rocks.
Search underway for bear following ‘predatory’ attack on a neighborhood dog in Sitka
Although the dog’s body was recovered, officials believe the attack was predatory, and they intend to destroy the bear when it’s found.
A pair of stranded killer whales (and a sick sea lion) has biologists looking for answers
Dead orcas are extremely rare to find most years.
LISTEN: Richard Bingham was acquitted in murder cold case, but accusation clouded his life – until now
Bingham confessed to the crime, despite evidence that he didn't commit the murder of 17-year-old Baggen. But even after he was acquitted, his life wasn't the same.
With six new cases in one day, Angoon goes into lockdown
The new cases take Angoon’s total to eight, prompting Mayor Joshua Bowen to issue an emergency order requiring all travelers to the community to self-isolate for two weeks on arrival.
24 years after her death on a Sitka bike path, genetic evidence leads to Jessica Baggen’s killer
DNA evidence led investigators to a 66-year old man living in Arkansas, who took his own life last week, shortly after Alaska investigators arrived to question him.
Rocket’s red glare injures three in Sitka fireworks mishap
A pyrotechnician said that there was a malfunction during the finale, which “for reasons unknown” launched more quickly than planned.
Federal court opinion a win for Southeast Alaska’s summer king season
An environmental group fought for an injunction that would stop king salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska in order to protect orcas.
Federal judge questions venue for king salmon injunction in orca case
While the Wild Fish Conservancy has asked for an injunction that would stop all chinook salmon fisihing in Alaska, Alaska trollers say that there is more than just fish at stake.
NOAA Fisheries: Alaska chinook harvest not to blame for killer whale decline
A Washington state conservation group is suing to stop the summer troll and sportfishing seasons, which it says will protect the orca populations.
Nothing ‘false’ about it: Sitka’s first coronavirus remains a positive case
In subsequent tests, the patient, a resident of a long-term care facility who had been in lockdown for six weeks, tested negative in a subsequent test.
Bob Allen, Alaska maritime entrepreneur, boat builder and storyteller, dies at 83
The founder of one of Alaska’s largest homegrown marine tourism companies has died. Bob Allen, of Sitka’s Allen Marine, passed away Monday morning, March 2. He was 83 years old.
Murkowski: Ready to move beyond the ‘ugly’ politics of impeachment
In public remarks during this latest congressional recess, Sen. Murkowski has openly acknowledged that the past few months have not been among her best as a lawmaker.
Sitka Tribe and state exchange legal barbs over management of subsistence herring egg harvest
Commercial harvesters seek herring roe while it’s still inside the fish; subsistence harvesters collect the eggs on hemlock branches (pictured above) after the fish have spawned. This one-after-the-other paradigm is at the heart of the conflict over Sitka herring. “The essence of this claim,” argued Tribal attorney Andy Erickson, “is that (the state) is subjugating the subsistence priority to the needs of the commercial fishery.”