The ways Sitka could and is being affected by climate change are numerous: the impact of warming oceans on the fishing industry, landslides, increased pest activity in the Tongass, more intense storms impacting utilities — the list could go on.
Local Government
1,100 appointments for Juneau’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic got booked in 25 minutes
City Manager Rorie Watt apologized for the frustration people had trying to get an appointment. City staff hope to schedule more mass vaccination events.
Juneau Assembly holds off on decisions on local pandemic relief programs after feds act
“We do want to make sure we’re trying to get it into the right hands … quickly, but not so quickly that we rush ourselves into additional mistakes,” Assembly member Michelle Hale said.
Ketchikan seeks safety improvements after driver kills woman in crosswalk
An elderly woman has died of her injuries after a driver hit her with his truck in a crosswalk in Ketchikan on New Year’s Eve. Family members and city officials say they’re frustrated over what they see as a preventable death.
Juneau Assembly considers property tax breaks for new downtown housing
It’s one more strategy local policymakers are considering toward a perennial goal to make housing more affordable in the Capital City.
After months on high alert, Juneau drops to ‘moderate’ COVID-19 community risk level
Overall cases of COVID-19 have dropped in Juneau, but there is still community spread occurring, which means that the source of some people’s infections is unknown.
Protesters follow local Alaska lawmakers in backing Trump’s attacks on election integrity
Claims of voter fraud have been debunked. Over 60 legal challenges to the election outcome from the Trump campaign have failed. But central peninsula House representatives have made the same claims that drove the mob in D.C. — that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Want to root out discrimination and inequality in Juneau? Apply for a seat on the city’s Systemic Racism Review Committee.
The seven-person committee will review proposed laws and advise the assembly if they include a policy or implication that is racist.
Limited reagent supply may bottleneck Juneau’s new COVID-19 testing system
The lab can process almost 400 COVID-19 tests in an 8-hour shift. But the chemicals used for processing tests is proprietary and limited to 940 tests a week.
With some residents still displaced, Haines seeks help from engineers to assess unstable hillside
The unstable hillside above Beach Road led to the suspension of the search and rescue efforts and prevented many residents from returning to their homes.