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Life is returning toward normal, but it isn't normal yet. COVID-19 is still infecting people, putting some in the hospital and killing Alaskans. The state reported four more deaths Thursday through Sunday last week, bringing the number of Alaskans killed by the virus to at least 374. Last Friday, Sitka reported its worst COVID-19 outbreak since December, with five new infections, making a dozen new cases in just two days. And then 11 more were reported on Monday. Nearly all of Sitka's recent cas...
Though the library is not completely closing the book on pandemic protocols, the numbers are up and “the kids are coming in,” with 153 registered for the summer reading program, said Margaret Villarma, director at the Irene Ingle Public Library. That’s just a small drop from the roughly 170 summer readers of 2019, pre-pandemic. “It feels like we’re pretty much back,” she said. The summer reading program will end July 31, with an in-person pool party planned for Aug. 7. “We’ve always had this pool pizza party,” Villarma said. Always, that is, ex...
“Unprecedented” is how fishery managers are describing sockeye catches at Bristol Bay, which topped one million fish for seven days straight at the Nushagak district last week and neared the two million mark on several days. By July 9, Alaska’s statewide sockeye salmon catch was approaching 32 million, of which more than 25 million came from Bristol Bay. The only other region getting good sockeye catches was the Alaska Peninsula, where nearly 4.6 million reds were landed so far. Statewide, the big numbers will be pinks, which run in distinct tw...
Borough officials late Friday afternoon reported Wrangell's second COVID-19 case since the Fourth of July celebration. The individual is a Wrangell resident who had not recently traveled out of town, but is linked to the other case reported earlier this week. "The individual is symptomatic and is isolating. No additional information is known at this time," the borough said in its prepared statement. This week's two cases are the first confirmed COVID-19 infections reported in Wrangell since June 17. The Parks and Recreation Department on...
After a long year of empty boat stalls and a diminished tourism industry, 2021 is motoring in the direction of normalcy for many Southeast communities, with several towns - Wrangell included - reporting an increase in yacht traffic. Wrangell saw only a dozen yachts in 2020, estimated Harbormaster Steve Miller, but already this year 18 or 19 have called on town as of July 2. Looking ahead, the months of July and August are the busiest for bear viewing at Anan Creek, the community's prime summer attraction. It is also a busy time of year for trip...
As of last week, employees, contractors and volunteers with the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which operates in Wrangell and 18 other communities, must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs or access to the facilities. Exceptions will be allowed for staff who are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a history of anaphylaxis or allergy to the vaccine, or “persons whose sincere religious observances and practices related to life, purpose or death oppose vaccines,” according to the policy. “Do...
“Last year, we went Bearfest Lite,” said Sylvia Ettefagh, organizer of Wrangell’s annual summer festival. “It is back to Bearfest Full,” she said of this year’s event, which is less three weeks away. Bearfest 2021 opens July 28 and runs through Aug. 1, with almost two dozen activities already listed on the website last week. “We’ll be adding more,” Ettefagh said. With the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, organizers hope to return to the 300 or so participants who joined in, signed up, listened, watched, learned, danced, ate and golfed in...
Just like so many other events returned to Wrangell’s Fourth of July this year, the Chuck Oliver Logging Show was back after taking a COVID-19 year off. Oliver started the show in 1975, and he and his family members ran the event off and on for many years, featuring logging skills and tools common in the timber industry, a callback to the days when Wrangell was a logging town. Randy Oliver, Chuck’s son, retired in 2019 after the 45th logging show, and Tom Roland and his crew of volunteers too...
It’s not like old times of 1.3 million cruise ship visitors to Southeast Alaska, but it’s the start of the best it’s going to be this summer. The first large cruise ship to stop at an Alaska port since 2019 is scheduled to tie up in Ketchikan on Friday, though Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas will not be anywhere close to its 2,476-passenger capacity. It’s a trial voyage, at a roughly 10% passenger load, intended to test out COVID-19 protocols and show federal health regulators that the company can deal with any infections should th...
HONOLULU (AP) — For nearly a year, Maui residents had their tropical oasis virtually to themselves. Then the visitors all came flooding back. “Over-tourism” has long been a complaint of locals on the Hawaiian island that is among the world’s most popular getaways: congested roads, crowded beaches, packed restaurants. But as the U.S. begins to emerge from the pandemic, Maui is reeling from some of the same strains seen on the mainland, like a shortage of hospitality workers. And its restaurants, still operating at limited capacity, are struggl...
After a rough pandemic-closed year for the tourism industry nationwide, especially in visitor-dependent Alaska, businesses are starting to show signs of recovery. And that means guests filling up overnight accommodations in Wrangell after a dismal 2020 visitor season. “In my estimation, this is my best year ever!” said Leslie Cummings. “My B&B muscles, my breakfast-cooking muscles are way out of shape. I feel like I had a year off, almost. It’s been kind of a challenge,” she said Monday. Leslie and her husband Alan run Grand View Bed & Breakfa...
Wrangell businesses did better than those in Skagway but worse than their counterparts in the larger and more diversified economies of Juneau and Sitka during the economic shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an online survey of business owners and managers throughout the region. “On average, reporting businesses in the region lost 42% of their revenue due to COVID-19, while Wrangell businesses were down 48% overall,” the third highest for any community in the area, said the report issued by the Southeast Conference, com...
"Fly-fishing in general, I think, it's really hard to explain but everybody that I talk to about fly-fishing, that has fly-fished, they get it," Jason Rivers said. "It's really hard to explain to people until they've caught their first fish on a fly rod." Rivers, 47, has enjoyed fly-fishing from a young age, only recently pursuing it as a business. His interest dawned in Washington, when he saw somebody catch a steelhead trout while fly-fishing on the Kalama River. He really learned the "how...
Legislature finishes budget, but more to do The Alaska House of Representative was able to come together Monday for a final-passage vote of the state budget, averting a looming government shutdown. The budget totals $4.5 billion in state unrestricted general funds, which is very similar to previous year budgets, continuing the six-year trend of flat spending. The budget forward funds the Alaska Marine Highway System for 18 months, providing more stability for future seasons’ schedules. The budget also includes an additional $2.5 million for p...
Try telling the competitors who swim 1.2 miles in open water, bike for 56 miles and run for 15 miles that they are “unofficial.” Nicholas Howell organized the inaugural Tongass ToughMan Triathlon in 2019 as an official event, but the COVID-19 pandemic and health protocols knocked down attendance from more than 30 participants that first year to just three last year: Nicholas, his brother, and one other person. “Last year, with COVID happening, it just kind of became unofficial,” Howell said Monday. Unofficial meaning no permits or insuran...
With the arrival of the biggest cruise ship to call on Wrangell this summer a month away, the borough and the cruise company have settled on operating plans to help lessen any risk of spreading COVID-19 among passengers, crew and residents. Silversea Cruises is planning to dock the Silver Muse in town Aug. 1, 22 and Sept. 12. The ship has capacity to carry 600 passengers and a crew of 400. Basically, the cruise line and borough have agreed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Wrangell Economic Development Director...
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled June 25 that Alaska Native corporations should benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in disputed coronavirus relief funds, rather than be denied access and the money instead spread among Native American tribes around the U.S. The justices ruled 6-3 in the case, which involved the massive pandemic relief package passed last year and signed into law by then-President Donald Trump. The $2.2 trillion legislation earmarked $8 billion for “Tribal governments” to cover expenses related to the pandemic. The f...
SEATTLE (AP) - The hottest day of an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave scorched the Pacific Northwest on Monday, with temperatures obliterating records that had been set just the day before. Seattle hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit by evening. Portland reached 116 on Monday after hitting records of 108 on Saturday and 112 on Sunday. The temperatures were unheard of in a region better known for rain, and where June has historically been referred to as “Juneuary” for its cool drizzle. Seattle’s average high temperature in June is around 70, and few...
Actually, the hot dogs will be cold dogs. A new event at this year’s Wrangell Fourth of July celebration will be a wiener toss, planned for 8:30 p.m. July 3 on Front Street. Sponsored by radio station KSTK, the toss will offer prizes for unusual tosses, not necessarily the longest toss or last to drop the dog, said Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber of commerce. “It’s throwing raw hot dogs at each other,”she said. While the long holiday weekend is just a week away and plans are set for most events, the chamber, which organizes...
It’s been more than 15 months since Wrangell’s seniors sat down and enjoyed lunch together at the senior center, but that’s about to end. The building will reopen for in-person lunches on Monday, though only for fully vaccinated individuals. The pandemic-induced switch to exclusively delivered meals started last March. With the high rate of seniors who are fully vaccinated, and low COVID-19 case counts in town, the center is reopening for lunches, while still offering the option of delivered meals. Either way, the staff asks that people call...
Wrangell’s municipal government will operate in the black for another fiscal year, under the budget adopted by the borough assembly Tuesday evening. However, the assembly is prepared to make amendments during the fiscal year, which starts July 1, as new information arises. The budget anticipates general fund revenues of about $6.4 million, which includes taxes, service fees, state and federal funding, and the annual conservative withdrawal of investment earnings from Wrangell’s own permanent fund. Of that total, about 60% is anticipated from sa...
A fun tradition for Wrangell’s grown-ups is returning this Saturday, with the 2021 Adult Prom. The party will start at 8 p.m. at Muskeg Meadows Golf Course. The prom is an opportunity for locals to get out, dress up and dance the night away, said Lucy Moline-Robinson, with KSTK, which is sponsoring the event as a fundraiser for the radio station. “I felt there was a need for that, Wrangell doesn’t have a lot of adult-type dances,”she said. The prom was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinson said. In 2019, it was held at the...
Alaska Power & Telephone has begun preparations for a 214-mile fiber optic cable that will run from Juneau down to Coffman Cove. The SEALink submarine cable project will bring faster broadband internet access to communities like Coffman Cove and Kasaan on Prince of Wales Island. While the project is not expected to affect Wrangell, AP&T Business Development Vice President Jason Custer said Wrangell could be the target of future improvements in the company’s Southeast network. “It’s a major investment in the region, and we’re glad to see it happ...
Crab has been one of the hottest commodities since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people in 2020 to buy and cook seafood at home — and demand is even higher this year. Crab is now perceived as being more affordable when compared to the cost enjoying it at restaurants, said global seafood supplier Tradex, and prices continue to soar. That’s how it’s playing out for Dungeness crab in Kodiak and, hopefully, in Southeast Alaska, where the summer fishery started on June 15. Kodiak’s fishery opened on May 1 and 76,499 pounds were landed by last Friday...
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian border restrictions on nonessential travel to and from the United States will be extended until at least July 21, officials said last Friday, as Canada works to get a higher percentage of its residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the move has been made in coordination with U.S. officials. There are growing calls in the U.S. to open the Canada-U.S. border for tourism and other travel considered nonessential, but less than 20% of Canadians are fully vaccinated. The yearlong b...
