Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka

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Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
dancers

National experts to discuss Indigenous tourism in Sitka this spring

The annual conference started about 20 years ago, paused briefly, and then resumed as demand grew for authentic and meaningful cultural experiences.
salmon

Southeast Alaska chinook stocks expected to be low again in 2024

Of the 11 chinook salmon stocks in the region, only the Chilkat River is expected to have an adequate number of chinook returning to spawn.
a construction site

Alaska’s ‘upside down economics’ keep supply low, demand high for new homes

Researcher Nolan Klouda says Alaska ranks 45th among states in per capita new housing, building about two new units per thousand people.
Japanese knotweed

Alaska experts try to untangle invasive Japanese knotweed

Japanese knotweed can survive being hacked into pieces and thrown into the ocean — and scientists say it has a growing hold in Southeast Alaska.
a helicopter

First responders to Coast Guard helicopter’s crash were the Southeast Alaska fishing crew it came to rescue

The crew of the Lydia Marie say they heard the rescue helicopter's rotors, as their vessel was taking on water late Monday night — then silence.
white-haired man with blue shirt smiles

A co-creator of Alaska’s PFD program calls for reinstating a personal income tax

Rep. Cliff Groh wants Alaskans earning over $200,000 a year to pay a 2% income tax, with other residents asked to "chip in" $20 to fund state services.
a state ferry

Southeast Conference panel optimistic about region’s transportation outlook

An infusion of federal transportation dollars into the state ferry system is helping Southeast Alaska regional administrators see better times ahead.
cigarette buts in a blue bucket

Sitka’s tourism boom has brought a staggering increase in cigarette butts

What started as a community cleanup has become a legitimate scientific study.
Bert Stedman

Stedman warns against overdrawing Alaska Permanent Fund to pay dividends

Senate Finance Committee co-chair Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, says state lawmakers must make tough decisions to keep the Permanent Fund healthy.
Thayer Creek

A long-awaited hydro project in Angoon can proceed, if funding can be found

The local Alaska Native corporation is seeking construction funds for the project, which is expected to fully replace costly diesel power.
a troller

Fish were plentiful, but fishermen scarce for Southeast Alaska’s first summer king opening

Southeast trollers brought in about 85,000 king salmon from July 1 to July 12, around 8,000 fish over the target for the first opener of the season.
a woman and two children pose with a salmon

Sitka’s seafood donation network connects abundance with scarcity in Western Alaska

The Seafood Distribution Network is supplying sockeye to families on the Yukon and Chignik rivers, whose traditional salmon runs have crashed.
infested trees

Scientists say Tongass trees could bounce back from budworm infestation

Scientists with the U.S. Forest Service believe that the blackheaded budworm, whose numbers surged over the past three years, is now in decline.
proposed Sitka airport expansion

Sitka’s airport expansion set for takeoff this fall

Sitka’s airport terminal is overdue for an expansion, and the city anticipates that federal funding will help get the project off the ground this fall.
Sitka cruise ship passengers

Sitka’s 13,000-visitor day was ‘far too many,’ mayor says

Three cruise ships brought more than 13,000 passengers and crew to Sitka on June 21, choking streets and prompting concerns about overcrowding.
a group of fishermen

NOAA says revised analysis could allow Southeast king salmon troll fishing, despite ruling

A fisheries official says a summer troll season for king salmon in Southeast Alaska is possible, despite a federal judge’s recent ruling to the contrary.
a troller

3 Alaska trollers contemplate a summer without chinook

Barring last-minute legal action, there will be no king salmon troll fishery in Southeast Alaska this summer or winter. Three trollers discuss what that means.
Tim Fulton

Sitka’s airplane equipment maker moves from prototype to production

Former Alaska Airlines "ramper" Tim Fulton's invention, designed to ease loading luggage into airliners, has just been bought by Malaysian Airlines.
a lingcod

What’s the best way to monitor for mercury in Alaska seafoods? Test human hair, says these researchers

Two researchers say the best way to track mercury levels in Alaska seafood isn't testing fish coming over the docks, but testing human hair.
two men

Moments before his sexual-assault trial, a former Sitka doctor takes a plea deal

On the first day of what was expected to be a lengthy trial, 79-year old Richard McGrath made a surprise plea deal for a two-year prison term.