Wrangell Sentinel -

The borough has scheduled a public forum for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Nolan Center to discuss a $2.5 million question: What would the community like to see done with the 6-Mile sawmill property which the borough purchased this summer? Sell the 39...

Wrangell wants more visitors and the money they bring to town. But to compete against all the other Southeast ports that also want more tourism dollars to flow into their economy, Wrangell needs to provide accommodations and activities to help make...

The borough assembly said it was willing to discuss the issue when the Petersburg assembly suggested it’s time for the two communities to consider helping pay for restoring the Inter-Island Ferry Authority for runs between the towns. But there is a...

When you’re trying to sell an unlivable house that needs an awful lot of expensive work — a fixer-upper, as it’s politely called — you keep dropping the price until someone comes along who wants the property and can afford to completely rebuild...

The almost-four-decade-old Wrangell Public Safety Building still needs millions of dollars of repairs due to water damage, rot and aging equipment. The fact that voters defeated a municipal bond issue last month to pay for those repairs doesn’t in a...

The election is over, thankfully. No more campaign calls, tweets, texts or flyers in the mail. The polls closed around the state at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and now all that remains is to wait for the count. Which will require patience. That doesn’t mean a...

Gov. Mike Dunleavy cares about Alaska and wants good things for its citizens. But that doesn’t change the fact that he has done serious and likely permanent damage to the state ferry system; that he has not supported adequate school funding; that h...

Four-term state House member Dan Ortiz deserves another two years representing Wrangell, Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island communities. He knows the district, knows the issues and has been persistent in his work in Juneau to ensure that his...

Alaska’s constitution doesn’t need an overhaul, a new transmission or rewiring. It could use a tune-up to restrict campaign contributions from rich people, corporations and political action committees, and a new set of mud flaps to protect the Per...

Lisa Murkowski has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate since December 2002. She has done it well and deserves another term. The fact that Murkowski, a lifelong Republican, has disagreed with her party at times, been at odds with former President...

The Wrangell School District could face a financial squeeze in the next several years, forcing hard decisions over which programs get cut, what classes go away and how much staff is left. It’s not that the administration or staff did anything w...

Wrangell voters last week defeated a proposed $8.5 million bond issue that would have paid for needed repairs at the almost 40-year-old Public Safety Building, which suffers from water damage, rot and other problems. Despite general grumpiness...

It’s been almost three years since SEARHC started its move out of the borough-owned hospital building on Bennett Street into new quarters. It’s been almost five months since the borough embarked on multiple efforts to sell the unused property. Since...

Time may heal all wounds — but that doesn’t apply to old buildings. Time just makes them worse and more expensive. That’s the case with Wrangell’s school buildings and Public Safety Building, which are all three or four decades old. All are showing...

Voters will go to the polls next week with only two contested races on the ballot — mayor and two borough assembly seats. Choosing elected officials is an important decision for the community, and voters deserve to know where candidates stand on k...

Wrangell should vote yes on Oct. 4, giving the borough permission to sell or lease the former 6-Mile sawmill property — if a private developer steps forward. This isn’t a final vote on a development plan, and any sale or lease would require bor...

The Sentinel often criticizes state ferry system management for bad decisions. But now it’s time to praise them for a good decision. Dropping the “dynamic pricing” structure for ferry service this fall and winter, October through April, is the right...

Alaskans this week will start receiving their $3,284 payout from the state treasury, a combination of a large Permanent Fund dividend ($2,622) and a one-time bonus ($662) to help people pay higher energy costs. The payment is almost triple the size o...

The port commission last week declined to recommend that the borough lease a portion of its newly purchased property at the former 6-Mile sawmill site for use as a scrap metal recycling yard. It was nothing against the recycling business — Channel C...

The borough assembly and staff spent a fair amount of time at last week’s assembly meeting, explaining the intent of a contract with an appraisal firm to reassess the value of all the property in town. Homes, businesses, industrial properties, e...

The 2020 presidential election is over. Multiple judges in multiple federal and state courts have ruled multiple times against frivolous claims of voter fraud, conspiracy, computer hacking and criminal intent. Courts, prosecutors, most members of...

Wrangell residents, particularly new and would-be residents, are well familiar with the lack of housing options in town. Few homes for sale, few apartments for rent, and even fewer lots to build on. Sometimes, it feels like people would have better l...

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...

The process will stretch over the next couple of months, with a public hearing and a lot of public information, but it looks like the borough assembly will ask voters in the Oct. 4 municipal election to approve borrowing as much as $15 million for lo...

Few would dispute that Wrangell needs affordable, dependable child care services. The lack of child care keeps parents away from filling the long list of job vacancies around town and, when their kids are sick, can keep them away from the jobs they...