Wrangell Sentinel -

The Permanent Fund dividend is important to a lot of Alaska households, but so is education, public safety, ports and harbors, roads and more. The state House did the right thing last week in rejecting a proposed constitutional amendment that would h...

The Alaska House has sent to the Senate a state operating budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 with an almost $2,300 Permanent Fund dividend that would be the single largest expenditure in the spending plan. The budget also includes $175...

Society can learn from its mistakes. The more we know, the more likely we will get it right the next time. Learning about what society did wrong in the past is part of making for a better future. There are a couple such lessons in the Sentinel this m...

Few Republicans are willing to publicly stand in front of the Donald Trump bandwagon as it speeds along toward the party’s nomination for a third run at the presidency. Many are too afraid of angering his passionate supporters and losing their n...

Wrangell has a lot to offer people who live here and those who visit. Certainly the river, Native history and culture, Petroglyph Beach, the museum and fishing are on the list. So, too, is an attractive downtown. It’s spring, which means it’s time fo...

Just as the snow and ice have melted away from the bushes and shrubs in downtown garden beds, so too have they disappeared from the parks, trails and ballfields in town — exposing the winter deposits left by dogs. Or, more accurately, left by dog o...

Gov. Mike Dunleavy sank to a new low last week when he vetoed a bipartisan, long-needed comprehensive education funding package that had passed the House and Senate by a combined 56-3 vote. Yet he reached for new heights in explaining his low...

No question last year was pretty miserable for Alaska’s commercial fishing industry — the people who catch and clean salmon; the processors that buy, prep and ship the fish; the communities that depend on the summer jobs and tax revenues. And no ques...

Don’t think of it as selling the borough-owned former hospital building and it’s almost two acres of land for a steep discount to its appraised value. Think of it as potentially getting an immense amount of future value from an unused liability that...

It’s nothing personal, just business. But it still hurts. Wrangell has lost three cruise ship stops this summer to Klawock, where a partnership of Native corporations is developing a visitor destination complete with a deepwater dock, retail s...

A state Senate committee has advanced a measure that would block an executive order giving the governor total appointment authority over the entire Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. State statute currently provides that House and Senate...

Assembly members, the mayor and borough staff are right: It’s time to pay elected officials a reasonable amount for all the hours they put into the job. Yes, it’s a public service, but it’s still a job. The assembly meetings, the homework, readi...

It’s a good time to take a break from distressing international conflicts and too many deaths, depressing national politics of too much dishonesty and too little compromise, and the difficult state politics of short-funded schools and public s...

Alaskans often like to complain — a lot, and loudly — about national groups sticking their noses and opinions into the workings of the 49th state. So, it’s only fair to extend a “thank you” when a national group puts up its money and time into doin...

It seems the governor’s office must like country music. Can’t argue with that choice. The lyrics speak of American dreams and heartbreaks. What makes the songs so popular is that they tell stories, believable or not, such as the famous line: “Th...

Pick your cliché: Push comes to shove; between a rock and a hard place; money is tight; living within your means; don’t spend more than you can afford. Children need a quality education to succeed in life. Just because the cliches flow easily, don’t...

It’s becoming an increasingly common tactic for election losers to blame anyone but themselves. In Alaska, that means several of the recent losers and their supporters blame their defeat on ranked-choice voting, which took effect for the 2022 e...

It’s certainly welcome news that analysts at the state Department of Labor forecast strong job growth in Alaska this year. They expect to see about 5,400 new jobs, a solid increase of almost 2% over last year. If the numbers come true, it would f...

Wrangell could get off to a good start for 2024 if one of the three interested parties makes a reasonable offer to buy the borough-owned former hospital building, which has sat vacant for almost three years. Most any offer would be reasonable,...

Even though Trident Seafoods reopened its Wrangell plant this summer after a three-year closure, many in town were nervous about the long-term prospects. Salmon prices were miserably low due to an oversupplied market from last year and foreign...

The director of the state agency that manages the food stamp program for tens of thousands of Alaskans says the staff is again overwhelmed with work, delaying benefits for thousands of households by months. That’s months without the food a...

Wrangell has proven its boundless resilience, compassion and generosity the past two weeks. Individuals have donated, volunteered, hauled, organized and pitched in seemingly 24 hours a day since the deadly landslide tested the community’s faith a...

Friendship and community support can comfort. Volunteers can collect food and money, provide housing, transportation and fuel. Relief and counseling organizations like churches, SEARHC, the Red Cross and state and federal agencies can help people...

Often, the best decisions are a compromise. Which is exactly what borough staff is proposing for the sale of 20 lots next year at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision at the site of the former Wrangell Institute boarding school. S...

Certainly, people enjoy reminiscing about happy moments, inspiring stories, proud accomplishments and successful endeavors. History can be heartwarming and motivating. It can be exciting and fun. It also can be educational, particularly when the past...