Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka
Robert Woolsey is a reporter at KCAW in Sitka.
In Sitka: A mobile plant built to chill out the Bristol Bay fishery
Alaska’s Bristol Bay sockeye fishery is intense, lucrative — and also remote. Much of the fish landed there is frozen whole and shipped long distances for secondary processing. Although the product is famous, there are some who think the quality could be improved. In Sitka, a pair of entrepreneurs is betting $2 million that they can deliver a better Bristol Bay sockeye. Meet Northline Seafoods. Listen now
A ‘funnybug’ holds a serious clue to Ice Age ecology
Late last month a retired scientist from Oregon stepped off the ferry in Sitka, and on a hunch decided to look around the woods for an old friend. And while his discovery sheds light on one of the more obscure corners of entomology, it also is a clue to how humans may have survived the Ice Age in North America. Listen now
SEARHC land transfer advances in congressional committees
A bill transferring over 19 acres of federal land in Sitka to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium — or SEARHC — has passed preliminary committees in both the US House and Senate. Listen now
‘Woman with small shovel’ finds a clue to Sitka’s paleo past
A sewer replacement project in Sitka has turned up more evidence that one of Alaska’s oldest cities has been inhabited for a long, long time.
CEO: Possible Sitka Community Hospital merger raises ‘complexity’ of hospital’s challenges
Sitka Community Hospital is operating in the black for the first time in several years, but its future is far from certain. Listen now
Sitka man indicted on three counts of murder in girlfriend’s death
A Juneau grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Sitka man on three counts of murder, in the shooting death of his girlfriend last weekend. Listen now
Mariculture poised to come of age in Alaska
Alaska’s mariculture industry is in its infancy, compared to other regions of the world, but it has the potential to be much larger — maybe worth as much as $1 billion within three decades. Listen now
King salmon trollers to have lower harvests this year
King salmon fishermen in Southeast Alaska will see a significant reduction in their harvest this season. Listen now
Forecasting Sitka’s herring biomass is a thorough but imperfect science
As seiners converge in Sitka for the annual sac roe herring fishery, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is holding firm on its harvest target of 14,649 tons. This is despite having fallen short of that target in three of the last five years. Listen now
Four mariners rescued from Gulf of Alaska
Four mariners were rescued from their stricken fishing vessel in the Gulf of Alaska on Friday, Jan. 6 -- in a mission coordinated by Air Station Kodiak, and executed by Air Station Sitka. Listen now
Orthodox Christmas in Sitka
January 6, 2017 is Christmas Eve in Orthodox Christian parishes across Alaska. Orthodox faithful will go from house to house on foot, in cars or on snow machines, singing carols and sharing food behind a shiny, spinning pinwheel which represents the Star of Bethlehem. Listen now
Alaska Air flight grounded after e-cig batteries ingnite
Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage on Sunday were delayed over 5 hours after a passenger’s backpack started burning. Batteries for an e-cigarette are the likely culprit. Listen Now
Charging bear killed near Sitka
pair of Forest Service workers killed a charging brown bear near Sitka at the end of August. It was the third dangerous bear encounter in the Sitka Ranger District in less than a month.
Rediscovering America’s link to Chinese exploration
This August in Sitka, scholars and researchers met to consider the China question — and other ideas in alternative Anthropology — in the ninth annual Paths Across the Pacific Conference.
Sitka brown bear mauling victim medevaced to Sitkoh Bay
A helicopter from Air Station Sitka medevaced a woman from Sitkoh Bay Thursday afternoon, after she was mauled by a brown bear. Listen now
A city responds to a landslide: ‘It was a loss of innocence’
For much of Sitka, the August 18, 2015 landslide was a wake-up call that even the most settled parts of Alaska remain dynamic — and sometimes dangerous — places. Local leadership found itself in an unprecedented situation, offering comfort to the community while processing the catastrophe themselves.
A weather forecaster returns to Sitka’s slide: ‘We were snakebit’
In part 1 of a 5-part series looking back on the Sitka landslide, National Weather Service meteorologist Joel Curtis returns to the scene of “one of the major events” of his professional life. Listen now
Small earthquake adds to Sitka’s holiday blast
A small earthquake rattled dishes along the outer coast of Southeast Alaska Monday evening. The US Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 3.6 quake occurred about 20 miles west of Whale Bay off the coast of Baranof Island, at 7:20 PM. The epicenter was located at a depth of about 21 miles below the surface of the earth.
Linda Behnken to represent Alaska on halibut commission
Longtime Sitka resident Linda Behnken has been appointed to the six-member International Pacific Halibut Commission. Listen now
In a flash, Girl Scouts resolve HPR crosswalk issue
If you want to get something done, ask the Girl Scouts. After years of government inertia, the Girls Scouts of Troop 4140 in Sitka have spearheaded the installation of flashing crosswalk signs along some of the busiest state road in town.