Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg officials will address questions and concerns over the town’s borough petition in a public forum tonight (4/16). The borough would incorporate 43 hundred square miles of land and water. Supporters say the plan would broaden the tax base for local education, maintain or increase several sources of state and federal funding, and help ensure more local control over planning and development in the area. Borough opponents have raised concerns that outlying residences and communities will have to pay taxes for services they don’t receive….and they worry about losing their local autonomy under a new layer of government. The city council finalized the proposal in February after two years of work by consultants, staff and a commission of area residents. However, it’s still short of the signatures the city needs for submission to the state’s local boundary commission. Tonight’s forum will be the city’s first effort to discuss the finished proposal with the public…..many of the questions will go to Jim Brennan, who serves as the borough attorney in both Petersburg and Wrangell. Matt Lichtenstein asked Brennan about tonight’s forum and a couple of the issues that are likely to come up.

Southeast gillnetters may soon fish for herring at Seymour Canal off Admirality Island. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is putting the sac roe fishery on two-hour notice as of six Tuesday night (4/26). Any time after that, the opening could happen with a minimum of two-hour notice but uncertain market conditions could mean a lot less participation than usual.

Petersburg lost a piece of its history in April, when the fishing vessel Charles W slipped quietly beneath the calm waters of Frederick Sound. The 108-year old schooner was listed on the national register of historic places but without enough funding for restoration, she had to be scuttled. For those who knew her, the Charles W was an icon of Petersburg’s past. Once a mainstay of the local economy, she represented a way of life and livelihood for several generations of fishermen and seafood processors.
Matt Lichtenstein produced this story: