Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska - Juneau
Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director in Juneau.
A docking mishap in Ketchikan damages 2 state ferries
One Alaska state ferry collided with another while docking in Ketchikan last Friday, causing some damage but no reported injuries. The collision happened around 4:25 a.m.
State says it’s prepping Tazlina, hiring catamarans to bolster Southeast Alaska’s winter ferry schedule
Alaska Department of Transportation recently signed contracts with at least two vendors to run catamarans to Southeast villages. But officials in coastal communities aren’t sure the passenger-only vessels will be able to meet residents’ immediate needs.
Winter storms stress Hydaburg Dam, imperiling Southeast Alaska city’s water supply
An eight-foot dam on Prince of Wales Island is at risk of failing. Officials said Thursday there’s minimal risk to life and property but a breach could knock out the city of Hydaburg’s water supply.
Indigenous-led conservation and development effort gets $2M boost from foundations
Sealaska announced earlier this year that it’s transitioning away from large-scale logging. The Seacoast Trust is one of the initiatives it says it hopes to expand economic opportunities in Southeast Alaska’s communities.
Dunleavy administration loses lawsuit over Kake subsistence hunt
A federal judge has rejected the Dunleavy administration’s legal challenge to a special rural subsistence hunt for the Southeast community of Kake during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alaska seeks private operators to fill gaps in winter ferry schedule
The state of Alaska is looking to the private sector to offer ferry service between Juneau and four Southeast villages facing months-long gaps this winter from January to March.
Public comment period opens as Biden moves to restore Roadless Rule protections to Tongass
The Biden administration on Tuesday formally began the process of restoring ‘Roadless Rule’ protections to millions of acres of Southeast Alaska’s federal forestlands.
Biden administration begins Roadless Rule do-over for Tongass
The Biden administration is expected to roll out its plan for bringing back the Roadless Rule on Tuesday.
Federal investigators probing ‘loss of control’ in Alaska Seaplanes crash on Juneau runway
Federal investigators have released more information about a commercial passenger plane that crashed at Juneau’s airport during takeoff late October. But they have yet to determine what caused the small passenger aircraft to lose control as it picked up speed on the runway, forcing the pilot to crash land.
Man arrested after reports of an active shooter sent Kake into lockdown
The community of Kake was on lockdown Tuesday morning following reports of an active shooter who began firing a weapon in the early hours of the morning. Now authorities confirm that a suspect, 48-year-old Keith Nelson of Kake, has been arrested and flown off the island.
Rifts widen over Yakutat village corporation’s expanded logging
Recently logging has concerned elected officials in both the city and tribal governments, who have called for a halt to cuts in areas they say are ecologically sensitive and culturally sacred to Yakutat’s inhabitants.
No injuries reported after Alaska Seaplanes flight crashes on takeoff in Juneau
Flights across Southeast Alaska have been diverted or delayed after a small commercial plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Friday morning at Juneau’s airport.
A brown bear hunt in Southeast Alaska ends more than 2 months early
Around half of the dead brown bears were killed by agency officials or residents in defense of life and property: hungry bears shot while breaking into homes and vehicles looking for food, mostly around Haines.
Keeping the Malaspina ferry idled costs nearly twice what the state has disclosed, emails show
Internal emails show officials were surprised and frustrated with the expense of keeping the idled Alaska ferry.
Costco contractor agrees to pay $50K to Juneau employee who was denied extra bathroom breaks
“We saw here an employee who really suffered unnecessarily,” EEOC attorney Amos Blackman told CoastAlaska. “This refusal to accommodate additional bathroom breaks had the likelihood of impacting any number of workers.”
To pay oil tax credits, Alaska eyes selling carbon offsets on state forests
The Dunleavy administration is eyeing a carbon credit program on state forestlands. It’s requested proposals from prospective consultants “to investigate the potential for a carbon offset credit program based on carbon sequestration on state lands,” according to a document that went up this month on a state website.
Mining company samples historic claims near Pelican
A Canadian mining company is exploring claims near the small town of Pelican on Chichagof Island.
Environmentalists threaten lawsuit over Southeast Alaska wolf population
A coalition of conservationists warn they’re preparing to sue for federal protections of Southeast Alaska’s wolves if the Biden administration doesn’t take concrete action soon.
CARES Act data reveals disparities in payouts to Native corporations
Some of the village corporations got large payouts while Juneau-based Sealaska, the corporation with the most shareholders, got the least of the 13 regional corporations. Corporation executives say they’re still trying to understand the wide disparities in disbursements.
Sunken scallop boat off Kodiak remains pollution hazard decades later
The wreckage of the Saint Patrick is a testament to one of Alaska’s deadliest fishing disasters. And it remains an environmental hazard today.