Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka
Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
Save the gravy! Team postpones Thanksgiving to free entangled whale
A humpback whale is swimming free after being untangled from mooring lines near Prince of Wales Island on Thanksgiving Day.
Naming ‘Luna Lake’ is a story of survival, loss
A 10-year-old border collie named Luna died when a massive slide wiped out a Forest Service cabin at the headwaters of Redoubt Lake in 2013. Now her former owner hopes to officially name the small lake created by slide in honor of his longtime friend.
Sitka electric utility installs GCI cell towers
The deal could help shave Sitkans’ electric bills by around $2 million over the next 20 years.
Troller rolls, sinks in high winds outside of Sitka Harbor
The Safari reportedly became unstable and took on water after encountering high wind gusts near Kasiana Island.
After power surge, Sitka assists electric customers with insurance claims
At least 50 homes experienced appliance failures — mostly heat pumps — after a utility contractor snapped a guy wire over a week ago, creating a short between high voltage and lower-voltage power lines. Listen now
Officials suspend search for Kake resident who likely fell from pier
The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers Thursday night called off the search for a Kake resident who is believed to have fallen off the town pier and drowned.
Former Sitka paralegal sentenced for 2017 murder of his girlfriend
A Sitka man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for second-degree murder for shooting his girlfriend during an altercation last year. Listen now
Yakutat sockeye fishery blindsided by historic low return
Commercial sockeye fishing in Yakutat has been closed due to historic low returns, leaving set-netters in a bind until coho and chum season later in the summer. Unlike other salmon fisheries around the Southeast, biologists never saw this coming.
Sitka man takes plea deal in murder of girlfriend; will serve 45 years
A Sitka man accused of killing his girlfriend last year has taken a plea deal, and now could face up to 45 years in prison. Listen now
‘Small’ king has big lead in 63rd Sitka Salmon Derby
After three days of fishing, a 31-pound 6-ounce chinook leads the Sitka Salmon Derby. Listen now
For this expat mom, raising healthy girls means going to prison
After fleeing an abusive relationship with her two girls, a Sitka woman is in prison, pending extradition to the United Kingdom, to face charges that she abducted her children to the United States. Listen now
Air Station Sitka: An airborne mission over Alaska’s maritime landscape
Air Station Sitka commander Capt. Chip Lewin discussed the capabilities of his crews and their equipment in a presentation to the Sitka Chamber of Commerce. Listen now
As speculation continues, Sitka finds wealth in water rights
Although Sitka’s dreams of selling bulk water on the world market haven’t amounted to anything, the community has made quite a bit of cash not selling water. Listen now
Chinook action plan a ‘question mark’ for conservation and economics
There will be a lot less fishing for king salmon in Southeast in the coming season, after the Alaska Board of Fisheries took dramatic steps to protect dwindling chinook returns to the region’s major river systems.
Listen now
Outcome of Board of Fisheries decisions on Southeast salmon, herring
Southeast Alaska’s marathon Board of Fisheries meeting Tuesday night came to a close in Sitka. A handful of regulations for fishing have changed, while others did not pass muster.
Trollers call for chinook management ‘with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer’
Fishermen in Sitka are pushing back against a proposed king salmon conservation plan that could impose deep restrictions on fishing seasons in 2018. Listen now
Test results point to achievement gaps among Sitka’s students
Based on the latest test scores, Sitka’s school district is performing above the state average — but the numbers are not necessarily something to brag about. Instead, Sitka’s educators hope the new test results help them focus their efforts on under-performing populations in the schools. Listen now
Herb Didrickson 1926-2017: Alaska’s ‘Jim Thorpe’ put family before fame
Sitkan Herb Didrickson died on September 25. In 2012 the 91-year-old Tlingit elder was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, which called him the “Jim Thorpe” of Alaska, and the greatest athlete ever produced in the state. Listen now
No injuries in Sitka Labor Day landslide
A landslide in Sitka early Monday afternoon stranded people on either end of the road system for about eight hours, but otherwise there no reports of damage or injuries. Listen now
Never mind the rain, Sitkans take to the skies to view eclipse
While millions of Americans went out of their way to travel somewhere to watch Monday’s eclipse for a few minutes, a few people took to the skies to watch it for hours. Listen now