Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 48
To say I am resistant to change is an understatement. I acknowledge that it happens in life — after all, I am about to turn 73 — but that doesn’t mean I embrace or enjoy it. Rather, I quietly accept change, though not happily, just like I accept that rainy fall comes after summer, and that my 20-year-old spices don’t seem to smell like anything anymore and it is time to buy new jars. My resistance to change in life was obvious when I was getting coffee with a friend recently and pulled actual change out of my pocket, just as I’ve done sinc...
In early August an ad hoc meeting was held in Ketchikan by a group consisting of knowledgeable residents who had followed the Alaska Marine Highway Service since its inception in the early 1960s. The purpose of was to discuss how to revise the system. We addressed AMHS maintenance. We discussed using money made available to AMHS through the federal infrastructure legislation to restructure the system. Finally, we discussed the need to reestablish the run to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Operationally, we currently have only one vessel, the...
On July 26, KSM Mining ULC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seabridge Gold, received its “substantially started” determination from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office for its Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project. KSM is a huge proposed open-pit and underground gold-copper-silver mine targeting coastal mountains of northwestern B.C., within the headwaters of both the Nass River, which lies entirely within B.C., and the transboundary Unuk River, which flows into Southeast Alaska near Ketchikan. Why does this matter? Acc...
I became a senator one month after President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980, and over the next three decades I was involved in the law’s implementation, both as a senator and later as Alaska’s governor. As I write this now, nearly 45 years after ANILCA became law, I am discouraged that we are still fighting battles that should have been resolved as soon as the ink dried on this law. A case in point is the Ambler Road, which is unambiguously authorized by the law: “Congress finds that...
Changes are happening at the paper. As a result, I will no longer be working full-time at the Sentinel. It’s nobody’s fault; it’s the nature of this business. Since my arrival last October, people asked me now and then if I thought I might stick around, but I knew better than to commit to anything. Residents have seen a lot of reporters come and go through this newspaper, and my plan was to take this unique adventure one day at a time. Newfound friends expressed their sadness when I told them last month I would likely be leaving. And I was g...
We have a great opportunity before us. Let’s change our visitors’ first impression of Wrangell. Currently, the view is of old containers piled high. Not only do they block the visitors’ view of the downtown area, but the vans are surrounded with muddy water, which is very unattractive. I don’t believe the current container location fits in with the welcome intended by the community, evident by the children selling garnets and other trinkets on the pier. The borough has been successful in acquiring the former 6-Mile mill site. This location has...
On beautiful Wrangell Island, where my family has deep roots spanning generations, hard work is not just a way of life, it’s ingrained in our very existence. As a caregiver in this tight-knit community, I’ve always embraced the notion that our work is critical to the well-being of our elders and those in need of extra support. It’s a labor of love, despite its backbreaking nature, because it brings a profound sense of satisfaction to know that I’m making a difference in the lives of my neighbors, friends and family. But lately, the work of...
By Frank Rue It’s hard to believe that the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine, just across the Alaska border in Canada, has been discharging toxic, acidic and metals-laden waste water into the Taku River watershed for almost 70 years. A kaleidoscope of Canadian excuses, corporate bankruptcies, and hollow promises have meant no meaningful, on-the-ground effort has been made to clean up this mess in Southeast Alaska’s top salmon-producing river system. The mine site is about 40 air miles northeast of Juneau. Alaskans have been pressing to have the pr...
I often wonder about the ever-moving changes that are taking place in our society. The increase in homelessness is evident on the sidewalks of our major regions as well as here in our own state. The extent to which cultural issues divide us. The dialogue coming from many of our leading universities that the constitutional right to freedom of speech justifies the growing attitude that anything goes. The reappearance of isolationism which negates America’s leadership role in projecting democracy and protecting peace. Our own border problem — on o...
As we wrapped up the Senate session in late December, I was anxious to leave Washington, D.C., to return home to Anchorage, with a stop in Wrangell, a place I still call home. I wanted to share my condolences, see for myself the damage from the Nov. 20 landslide, and determine what resources I could assist with. I also wanted to thank the community members and assure them that they are not forgotten once the destruction is cleaned up and the road repaired. Seeing the open scar on the mountain scraped raw by the slide, massive trees littered...
By the time this paper hits the stores, I’ll be on a plane to my family home in Salt Lake City for the holidays. But unlike last year, I won’t be coming back to Wrangell in January. Instead, I’ll be making a leap from the oldest continuously published newspaper in Alaska to the oldest continuously published periodical in the United States — Harper’s Magazine, in New York City. According to Marilynne Robinson, one of my favorite authors, “a character or a place is inexhaustible and will always reward further attention.” For the past year and...
Growing up in central Virginia and later moving to the Washington, D.C., area, natural disasters took the form of thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, snowfalls and ice storms. I even experienced an earthquake in Silver Spring, Maryland in the summer of 2011. But until last Monday, my only personal experience with the word “landslide” was when I first heard it on Nov. 7, 1973, when reporters and political pundits used that same word over and over to describe Republican Richard Nixon’s overwhelming victory in the presidential election again...
In my 20s and 30s, in addition to relying on public transportation to get around, I did a lot of walking. I briefly owned a couple of cars at different times, but they were, for the most part, older and often in disrepair. Plus, I mostly worked in retail back then, so I was on my feet most of the day. Then in 2001, two events happened that changed my life: I moved from retail work to a desk job, and I got a reliable car that was only five years old. Thus began my shift to the sedentary lifestyle. While my ability to travel expanded and I could...
The governor or Legislature, or both, need to conduct an audit available to the public or engage in serious oversight of the Permanent Fund’s recent erratic decisions. There is a growing threat to the Permanent Fund, and it is coming from the trustees themselves. Their plan included opening satellite offices to expand the fund’s national and international presence. The trustees moved ahead this summer with an Anchorage office, spending money the Legislature approved for other purposes, despite being unable to show any benefit to the fund from d...
Thanks to plenty of time spent in libraries and bookstores, both as a customer and staff member, along with my own collection of reading material, I’ve grown very comfortable in the world of books. In the fall of 1996, I had been working for a few years at Borders Books and Music in Kensington, Maryland, and that’s when I got the idea to start a mystery novel discussion group. It did very well, and while several members have since passed on, the group is still going strong, outlasting the bookstore franchise where it started by over a dec...
I want to share my thoughts about the development of Wrangell’s waterfront properties. My opinions are based on the unique experience our family has enjoyed from residing in many Southeast communities. Raised and schooled in Ketchikan, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard in Sitka, banking and serving in my first elective office on the school board in Wrangell and living in Juneau as commissioner of the state Department of Economic Development and then later as governor have given us a terrific opportunity to see change throughout Southeast. F...
"Why would you want to move to a small town in Alaska?" That was the question put to me by the Sentinel's publisher, Larry Persily, when I applied for the position of editor. My answer? I was looking for an adventure. Before coming here, I had never been near the state of Alaska. I did live in Fargo, North Dakota, from 2004 to 2006, which is a lot colder. But it's a dry cold; I heard that phrase a lot while I was there - that and "uff da". I was born in Richmond, Virginia, and spent my...
We’re all happy to have the administration’s winter schedule for the Southeast ferry system. However, there are a few downsides. The first is the exception noted in the Columbia’s schedule, which leaves several communities without service in November and December. It’s clear that the Alaska Marine Highway System has had a difficult time weathering the storms of the pandemic which resulted in a substantial decline in revenue as well as adequate crew availability. It’s unfortunate that the ferry system does not have an operational vessel in...
When I arrived almost exactly two years ago, Jeff and Kay Jabusch told me people in Wrangell aren’t necessarily wary of newcomers. Rather, they pointed out, they’re hesitant to get attached since they never know who’s going to stay. I fully intended to stay. As you read this, I’m on the Columbia with my three cats, headed for Bellingham, Washington. From there, I’ll disembark and head for my new home in Idaho. A lot changed in two years. When I arrived here, I was married and had four cats and was quite healthy. The marriage ended after bei...
By Brenda Schwartz-Yeager Two years ago this fall, I testified at a Wrangell borough assembly meeting in support of yet another resolution calling on the U.S. government to be firm with British Columbia and Canada in protecting the Stikine River, as well as the Taku and Unuk rivers. These transboundary rivers, the lifeblood of Southeast Alaska, are threatened by the more than 30 British Columbia gold mines in some phase of development. Over a dozen of them are located within the Stikine-Iskut watershed. As I looked around the assembly...
The job of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. trustees is to focus on pursuing, maintaining and growing our fund. Instead, they are being sidetracked by their plan to open a satellite office in Anchorage by the end of the year. This is the first step in what will end up being a multi-year, disruptive, unnecessary and expensive move to Anchorage. The plan to set up an office in Anchorage is analyzed in a May 10 memo to Board Chair Ethan Schutt, from Mike Barnhill, the Permanent Fund’s chief operations officer. It lays out options and costs (...
I congratulate the Permanent Fund trustees for adopting Resolution 23-01 at their April 12 meeting to limit additional investment in the in-state investment program in which Barings and McKinley Capital Management have each been given $100 million to place in Alaska investments. The decision appears to have been made in part because of the dismal rate of return received from the in-state investments by the two managers. The decision was also made to see whether the poor performance improves over time. I fully support the trustees’ decisions not...
On a recent Sunday, as I was heading to the store, my phone rang. I don’t get many calls these days unless it’s somebody trying to sell me something. To my surprise, the caller ID showed the name of someone I hadn’t seen in years. Was it coincidence and this was just a spam call? I took a risk and answered, and I’m glad I did. “Hey, is this Marc? It’s Darryl.” At first, I was worried something happened to his older brother or younger sister, who I call my adopted older brother and younger sister. But, as it turns out, Darryl was calling to ca...
For 41 years, Alaskans have benefitted from Permanent Fund dividends. More recently, the fund also has been the biggest source of money to pay for state public services. Permanent Fund managers have long known it could one day have less available to spend than is needed. They now say that day could be coming uncomfortably soon, in perhaps just three years. Since last July, it’s been a bad year for fund income as it’s defined by state law. And that’s raising the possibility that the amount the state can spend from the fund could hit zero witho...
There are large calendar pages tacked to a wall in the Sentinel office. May through September list the cruise ships scheduled to stop in Wrangell on specified days. We keep them there for easy reference. However, we don’t really need the pages to know when there’s a cruise ship in town. Remember that scene in Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” where the horrible little kid comes up to the fishbowl and starts tapping violently on the glass? Many businesses along Front Street may have had that same feeling when cruise ship passengers disembark and start fil...