(266) stories found containing 'The Marine Service Center'
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 266
Federal spending bill includes multiple provisions for Alaska
WASHINGTON — The $1.7 trillion federal spending package includes hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations for projects specific to Alaska and enacts legislation that will directly affect the state. “There is literally no part of our state th...
Economic report says Wrangell's future could go either way
Readers can find both an optimistic view and gloomy numbers in the borough’s annual economic conditions report, issued last month. “With some of the lowest electrical rates in Alaska, the highest school district test scores, the potential to gro...
Rushmore to retire as borough economic development director
Soon after Carol Rushmore stepped into her role as economic development director in 1993, Wrangell’s economic landscape changed forever. The sawmill, which had been the borough’s economic mainstay since the mid-1950s, shut down, setting off a cha...
Survey data shows Wrangell businesses more upbeat in 2022
After a dismal 2020 and cautiously optimistic 2021, the economic outlook in Wrangell is improving, according to survey data collected by the Southeast Conference. Economic director Carol Rushmore presented the data at the chamber of commerce’s e...
Davies wants to encourage more boaters to home base in Wrangell
Winston Davies is running for an uncontested three-year term on the port commission to give back to his community and support Wrangell's commercial fishing industry. He has no previous experience in...
Yeager wants to help promote Wrangell's marine services
John Yeager, sport fishing guide and commercial halibut fisherman, plans to keep promoting sustainable growth in Wrangell during his upcoming three-year term on the port commission. "Fortunately, I...
To encourage more young fishermen, look to farm programs as models, new study argues
Young Alaskans seeking to break into commercial fishing face a lot of the same barriers that confront young farmers in the Lower 48 states, but they have far fewer resources to help overcome those...
Harbor Department takes apart and sends 5 derelict boats to landfill
It only took one week in mid-August to demolish five vessels that were impounded by the harbormaster over the course of 10 years. Typically, the number of impounded vessels to be destroyed and shipped out isn’t so high, but the demolition funds w...
Most marine mammal deaths due to fishing gear, marine debris
Over a five-year period, 867 Alaska sea lions, seals, whales and small marine mammals like dolphins died or were gravely injured from interactions with humans, according to a report newly released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Candidates needed for municipal offices
August is a time for fishing, the last of any gardening work and the enjoyment of harvesting the fruits (and vegetables) of that effort. It’s a time for home repairs, while there is still a plausible chance of dry weather to patch the roof, r...
Sitka will vote on spending $8 million to build boat haul-out
A proposal to build a boat haul-out facility in Sitka with the money the city received from selling its community hospital property will be on the Oct. 4 city election ballot. On a 6-0 vote July 26, the assembly gave final approval to an ordinance...
Borough signs design contract for port and harbor surveillance cameras
The plan is to have surveillance cameras in operation at City Dock and the harbors sometime next year. The borough assembly last week approved a $90,983 design contract with Juneau-based RESPEC to prepare plans for the cameras, wiring and server...
Report finds increase in whale entanglements in fishing gear
Alaska was the only U.S. coastal region to have an increase in the confirmed cases of large whales entangled in fishing gear in 2020, a contrast to a national trend of declining cases over the past six to eight years, according to a report issued...
Arrival of credit card readers for dock hoists delayed
An order for cashless machines for the public to pay for use of the four dock hoists at the Port and Harbors Department is delayed — the manufacturer is still waiting on parts. Port Director Steve Miller said they ordered four credit card readers for...
Back at work
Port Director Steve Miller pulls newly repaired float tanks from the Marine Service Center to the barge ramp near the City Dock on the morning of May 10. Workers at Dave's Welding and Repair patched...
Rising costs force developer to cancel new boat haul-out in Sitka
A developer has notified Sitka that high construction costs have caused the partnership to withdraw its proposal to build a new boatyard and haul-out. Sitka's last haul-out operator, Halibut Point...
COVID cases on the rise; Alaska fourth-highest rate in nation
Just as other communities, Wrangell is enduring a springtime bloom of COVID-19 cases. As of April 20, the state health department reported 79 new cases in the community in the past 30 days. Most of those were reported to the state in late March and...
Sitka boatyard closure leads to more work in Wrangell
Wrangell’s Marine Service Center has seen a 20% to 30% increase in haul-out requests after Sitka’s boatyard closed April 1. “We’ve been getting overflow from Sitka since February,” Port Director Steve Miller said April 13. Normally the busy time...
Assembly rejects proposal to remove cap on taxable sales
The borough assembly has rejected a staff proposal to remove the cap on sales taxes payable on individual purchases. Dropping the limitation, which shuts off Wrangell’s 7% sales tax on the purchase price above $3,000, could have generated an estimate...
Winning plan for Malaspina would operate it as maritime museum
The state has started negotiations to sell the Malaspina to a company owned by a business that operates a new multimillion-dollar cruise ship terminal at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. M/V Malaspina LLC and the Alaska Department of Transportation “have a...
Assembly approves $211,220 to repair barge ramp flotation tank
The cost to cap a hole and rebuild the flotation tanks at the barge ramp has escalated since the problem was discovered last fall. The borough assembly on Feb. 22 approved a $211,220 contract with the only bidder for the job — Dave Miller, of D...
Port commission approves rate hikes; issue goes to assembly
The port commission has voted to increase most of Wrangell’s port and harbors rates, generally about 2% per year for the next five years, sending the new fee schedule to the borough assembly for consideration. The new rates would take effect this J...
Harbors to install 24/7 credit card readers at dock hoists
The port and harbors department will purchase and install cashless meters that accept credit cards at dock hoists in Wrangell that will allow people to use them around-the-clock. The department is buying four credit card readers at a total cost of...
State has money left over to help businesses hurt by pandemic
The state is working through a couple of challenges in its plan to distribute tens of millions of dollars of federal relief funds to municipalities and businesses. Applications for grants to local governments far exceeded the available funds, while...
Finance director proposes beefing up borough savings account
Finance Director Mason Villarma has been on the job for about five months and is proposing changes to the borough assembly that he believes could bolster Wrangell’s financial health. At a work session Jan. 25, Villarma said the borough’s assets tot...