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Sports fans and other television viewers subscribing to General Communication Inc. have likely noticed that its FOX programming has been absent for most of the month. Since November 8 the telecommunications provider has been unable to show FOX in Southeast Alaska due to a contract row with television station KJUD. Based in Juneau, the television station is an ABC affiliate owned by Vision Alaska LLC, and in addition to FOX, carries programming for the CW network. In a media release GCI...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Dispatch News has announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is in the process of transitioning to new ownership. KTVA reports the newspaper’s potential buyers might pay as much as $1 million for the paper. Those buyers included four siblings Ryan Binkley, Wade Binkley, James Binkley and Kai Binkley Sims as well as Alaska Media LLC, publisher of the Arctic Sounder, The Bristol Bay Times and the Dutch Harbor Fisherman. A statement from Dispatch News publisher Alice Rogoff called the decision bit...
Monday, June 12 Caller reported person setting off seal bombs behind residence. Officer made contact. Harry Churchill Sr., 83, arrested on charges of DUI. Domestic Dispute. Tuesday, June 13 Agency Assist: Power: Campers reported power out at Shoemaker campsite: Light and power notified. Wednesday, June 14 Nothing to Report. Thursday, June 15 Agency Assist: Boat sinking: Owner notified called FD. Citizen Assist: Officer unlocked vehicle. Caller requested assistance with fire alarm system that has been beeping for a week. Caterer’s Permit. S...
The next step in a five-year utility improvement process is wrapping up on Church Street. Work on Church Street’s power infrastructure is about one-third of the way through, Wrangell Municipal Light and Power superintendent Clay Hammer reported. “It’s the tough third,” Hammer added, serving the library and post office, as well as feeding much of the residences up the hill from them. Over the weekend the city collaborated with telecoms provider GCI to reroute the last of its cables on the street underground. The weighty cables have built u...
Alaska telecom provider GCI has announced it has reached an agreement with Liberty Interactive Corporation. General Communication, Inc. will be bought out by Liberty Interactive Corporation, an American media conglomerate and venture capital group. GCI's business, assets and liabilities will be combined with that of subsidiary Liberty Ventures Group, forming a company renamed GCI Liberty. "This transaction is a win for our shareholders, customers, and employees," stated Ron Duncan, GCI...
With the first cruise liner set to stop in Wrangell on April 25, returning visitors may notice a few changes along Front Street when stepping off the city dock. Perhaps the first thing they will notice will be a facelift given to the dockside visitor shelter. Maintained by the Chamber of Commerce until its sale to the Stikine Inn last month, its new owners plan to add more rock and fresh materials to the multi-stall structure before the summer season gets underway. The renovation presages a...
Fishery advocates are hoping for the speedy delivery of a letter to state lawmakers that asks them to dust off a law pertaining to fish habitats. Title 16, the statute that outlines the responsibilities of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game when issuing development permits that could impact those resources, has not been updated for nearly 60 years. “The law we have now, in terms of permitting projects in fish habitat, was written the year after statehood and it has not had any substantive updates since then,” said Lindsey Bloom of Juneau, one...
The summer visitor season appears to have improved slightly over the last year for Wrangell, according to data available through the city, state and private businesses. One indication of this has been collections of the city's transient occupancy tax, commonly called the "bed tax," a six-percent levy on room rates for local hotels, lodges and other accommodations. The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce has 17 of these listed, whose primary seasons and target markets vary. While sales tax data could...
Monday, March 14 Suspicious Circumstance. Agency Assist: Person reported a boat in trouble. Boat was towed in. Report of Harassment. Verbal warning for improper parking. Person reported someone using vehicle that should not be. Report of Harassment. Tuesday, March 15 Citizen Assist: Unlocked vehicle. Report of Theft. Wednesday, March 16 Traffic Stop – Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Thursday, March 17 Citations issued to Scott McAuliffe, 45, for Objectionable Animal and Dog license required. Traffic Hazard. Traffic Stop – Verbal war...
The year’s end has been slow for Wrangell Medical Center, with patient volumes declining through October and November. In his report to the hospital board on Dec. 16, chief financial officer Doran Hammett guessed this was likely seasonal as fish processing came to an end and people began heading south for the winter. Figures were still up from last year, but revenue has nonetheless been impacted. “That slow-down is affecting cash flow,” he explained. Reserves have subsequently dropped from just over $800,000 to around $600,000 by last week...
Students are getting a technological edge in the Wrangell Public School District, as emphasis is placed on enhancing or else expanding the use of technology in the classroom. To meet the district's information technology (IT) needs, this year two new full-time positions have been established. Cyni Waddington has been hired as the technology coordinator, and Matt Gore began as the school's technology director. Together they improve technical support for the district, fixing issues in-house and...
Beginning immediately, communications provider GCI will waive all fees associated with all international voice calls and texts to Nepal. The Alaska-based company hopes that this will make it easier and more affordable for Alaskans, whether they are currently in Alaska or roaming in the continental United States or Hawaii, to reach loved ones who have been affected by the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on April 25. “Alaska’s climbing community was devastated about the news of the tragic earthquake near Kat...
In association with the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, the Wrangell Lions will be bringing in a plusoptiX vision screener to the borough to mark World Sight Day and National White Cane Day this week. Tomorrow screening will be available to the children of Evergreen Elementary School. Screenings open to all comers Saturday at the Wrangell Children's Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., also at the school. Adults can be screened, though the focus is on children ages six months and up. “It's an awesome tool,” Lions President Janet Strom explained. Th...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A new report finds Alaska’s Internet speeds are among the slowest in the country. Only Arkansas had slower speeds during the second quarter of 2014, according to the report, set for release later this month, from Internet content delivery company Akamai Technologies. Alaska’s Internet speeds are up 33 percent from last year. But they are about half as fast as the three states with the fastest Internet delivery - Virginia, Delaware and Massachusetts. The rankings are based off content, such as websites and videos, del...
Fish guts and good intentions have caused at least one of two short bird-related power outages in the last two weeks, officials with Wrangell Light & Power said. Fishermen with an eye toward offering feathered friends a meal often leave the undesirable part of the fish out for the birds, said superintendent Clay Hammer. The birds, excited at the possibility of a free meal, lose track of their surroundings and inadvertently bridge the gap between two electric lines. The birds are killed instantly...
The Chief Shakes House rededication was easily the biggest event of 2013 in Wrangell. However, the year was filled with events and news stories big and small. On the first edition of 2014, the Sentinel pauses to recollect the stories throughout the year. January An electrical fire damaged the fish tank at the Nolan Center, causing it to be removed. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off of Craig Jan. 4, rattling windows and nerves in town. The quake caused no major damage in town, but... Full story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska’s largest telecommunications company plans to provide Internet speeds in Anchorage that are so fast residential customers will be able to download a high-definition movie in 18 seconds, instead of the 30-minute U.S. average, the company’s top official said Thursday. “It doesn’t even leave you time to make popcorn,” General Communication Inc. President and CEO Ron Duncan said at a news conference where he announced the venture. Duncan said the investment is expected to total well over $100 million. The upcoming...
Shirley Wimberley has no shortage of adults willing to say they’ll volunteer to help re-form the Cub scout troop in Wrangell. “We get people who say ‘Oh yeah, I’d like to help,’ but then you give ‘em the paperwork and never get it back,” she said. Pack sponsorship has always been a delicate proposition. Sponsorship for the pack by a community organization is required by the Boy Scouts of America. Parents have become less involved with the junior scouting organization — which focuses on students from the first to the fifth grade – as students a...
To the Editor: I propose that the extra $200,000.00 that the borough of Wrangell gives annually to the local school district is suspended, if the school performs in an unbusiness, unprofessional manner. Namely if the school district creates corporate malfeasance, by partaking in corporate welfare. Specifically if the school hires any business to perform their duties of feeding our children. There is no way that any corporation can prepare quality hot meals two times a day one hundred and eighty days a year, without a profit. The true nature of...
(ADN) - The Federal Communications Commission has approved plans by GCI and Alaska Communications to combine their wireless holdings in a joint venture, while continuing to compete in retail sales, to better compete against two giants in the industry, AT&T and Verizon. The companies intend to cut capital expenditures by $15 million and operating expenses by an equal amount, according to the FCC review of their application. They would reduce the total number of cell sites from 450 to about 300 and scale back plans for new tower sites. The new...
With news breaking nationally of alleged tapping of Verizon cell phone and data customers by the National Security Agency, a provider of long-distance communications in Alaska is saying they cooperate with Federal subpoenas – but won’t say if a little known process allows the government to get at Alaskan’s private information on their network. The largest independent provider of wireless, land line and Internet service in Alaska, GCI, said this week that while the company works with the government when subpoenas or other warrants are issued by...
(AP) ANCHORAGE – The wireless picture in Alaska entered a new era last week with the long-awaited announcement that Verizon has flipped the switch and entered the market in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau. Verizon, the largest wireless company in the U.S., with nearly 100 million customers, said its Lower 48 prices would apply in Alaska. Data services will be available on its new high-speed 4G LTE network, while voice traffic will temporarily remain on the networks of the companies it partners with in Alaska. The company said its official k...
A specially outfitted ship with facilities to repair underwater fiber optic lines made its way up Zimovia Strait on Thursday, Jan. 10 to assist GCI in repairs to cables damaged during a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday, Jan 4. The vessel, C/L Wave Venture, began its repair operations approximately 8 miles south of downtown with work on the line leading from Ketchikan to Wrangell, which was the first of two cables affected during the quake. The ship later moved north to a point just off Heritag... Full story
Customers of GCI in Wrangell lost Internet, cable television and cell phone coverage in the early hours on Saturday, Jan. 5 after a massive earthquake rattled the coast of Southeast Alaska. The 7.5 magnitude temblor, which was located 110 kilometers west of Craig and was approximately six miles under the earth’s surface, struck just minutes before midnight on Friday, shaking houses across the region – and knocking out the communications provider approximately half-an-hour after the initial sho... Full story
After standing proudly for nearly a century, the historic SNO Building in downtown is getting a facelift. The building, which features apartments, as well as GCI and other tenants, is being renovated as part of the Downtown Revitalization Plan which will rehabilitate and remodel eight units in the building. The Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority now owns the historic structure that was built in 1932 in downtown and originally owned by the Stikine Native Organization. Construction began in...