Wrangell Sentinel -

The amount of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend was uncertain as of the Sentinel’s printing deadline Monday evening, but it is certain that the payments will total more than $1 billion above last year’s checks, maybe a lot more,...

The community’s future depends on adequate, affordable housing, and the same for child care services. Without both, Wrangell will find it difficult to keep the businesses, jobs, school enrollment and services it has, much less grow. You could say...

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dreams almost came true. Over the past few years, the Russian government has promoted development of the vast natural gas resources of the Russian high Arctic to Germany, Poland, and other eastern European...

A heartfelt thank you to the highly professional volunteer ambulance crew and EMTs for their quick response to our call and for caringly and safely carrying me down our 27 steps for my recent trip to the hospital. And thank you soooooo much for your...

It’s looking increasingly hopeful that Wrangell will receive $4.1 million as a state grant toward a new water treatment plant. While not exactly a gift from heaven, it feels like a blessing nonetheless. Without the state funding for the...

The Legislature is working toward the largest capital budget in a long time. Municipalities are hearing “yes” instead of years of “no” to some of their public works funding requests. In addition, more state money is headed to schools. And Ala...

The Permanent Fund dividend ranks among the most divisive issues in Alaska politics, along with such longstanding battles as oil taxes, salmon fisheries catch allocations and subsistence rights. Sadly, the dividend has grown in political importance...

Probably nothing is more important to the community than its school. Not just for educating students, but as a point of pride and center of activities, and a source of future workers needed to keep the town in business. Good schools also are an attra...

With just a few weeks left in the legislative session, House and Senate budget writers appear to agree that $2,600 is a good number to put into the hands of Alaskans this fall. But how they get there is different. The House-passed version of the...

This isn’t about a time-out for misbehaving children; it’s about adults who behave as children, or worse. The federal law requiring face masks on airplanes is no longer in effect. That means big changes for flyers. For travelers who had grown tir...

The State House finished its work April 9 on the operating budget, which has been passed to the Senate for further work and debate. While there is still work to be done, this year’s budget has the potential for some great investments for the needs...

Paula Rak and the WCA IGAP program would like to thank LNM Services, Wrangell IGA, City Market, First Bank, the city and borough of Wrangell and the Wrangell Cooperative Association for their donations and continued support for the Wrangell...

Just when we thought Alaska politics couldn’t get any sillier, we now have so many candidates running for Congress that debate organizers will need to borrow the microphones from all the karaoke bars in the state to accommodate everyone on the...

Amid all the legislative debate over the size of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend, the amount of state support for schools and loud pleas from communities across Alaska for more money for docks, sewage treatment plants, roads and building repair...

I would like to thank everyone who wrote a letter on my behalf to the chamber of commerce. I am deeply touched and humbled by the award I received at the April 9 dinner. There are so many people in the community who are more deserving, and I am...

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Whipping up a dessert to donate for a fundraiser should be a fun experience, but like every creative endeavor, I end up being too hard on myself, cooking the joy out of baking. A few months back, Amber...

A big part of a well-functioning democracy is running for office or, if you don’t want your name on the ballot, backing a candidate, taking a position on a ballot issue, and writing checks for the campaigns you support. Writing those checks to...

Awards are always appreciated, and thank you to the chamber members who honored the Sentinel as the business of the year, announced at the annual dinner last Saturday. I’d like to dream that the award means everyone agrees with every opinion I have...

Maybe Alaskans were tired of hearing the all-too-familiar refrains: Good candidates don’t run for public office anymore; it’s too expensive; ill-mannered social media posts go after their families and disrupt their lives; voters are too easily...

I’m not anti-Facebook. Well, maybe a little, but more agnostic than antagonistic. I see its purpose and its benefits to connect people, providing something akin to a community bulletin board, a soapbox for ideas, a scrapbook for the town. Just beca...

Wrangell schools are not short of dedicated staff, engaged students or supportive parents. But what the district is short of — and getting shorter — are students and funding. That is a bad combination, putting stress on the schools as management...

This year’s switch to ranked-choice voting in Alaska is something new, maybe even surprisingly new for those who missed or forgot about the 2020 statewide ballot initiative that put forth the change. But new, while exciting for some people, can be...

The family of David and Sue Jack would like to thank the staff at Wrangell Medical Center, especially the nursing staff, who attended to the needs of our parents while they were in the hospital. They were professional in every way, and made the best...

No, this column is not directed at oil producers. They are not the guilty party in this tale of cost escalation. Nor is this column about the many businesses around the world stressed by energy prices that have shot up faster and higher than...

Challenging the U.S. Census undercount for Wrangell would not change the numbers, but presenting the case to the state could be a profitable use of borough time. While the census count showed Wrangell dropped from 2,369 residents in 2010 to 2,127 in...