Robert Woolsey, KCAW - Sitka

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Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.

Heat Pumps Tap Ocean’s Thermal Energy

Using seawater to heat large buildings in Alaska is no longer a pipe dream. Andy Baker, an engineer with YourCleanEnergy LLC, helped design an ocean-sourced heat pump system for the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward which will pay back the community’s investment in less than nine years — just in fuel savings.

King Salmon Trolling Ends On Slow Note

After an unprecedented two extensions, the summer king salmon season for trollers in Southeast is over. Download Audio

Court Orders Review of A Controversial Fisheries Observer Program

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that a newly-implemented fisheries observer program in the Gulf of Alaska may have become unreliable, and is sending federal managers back to the drawing board to fix it.

Dee Daniels Vocal Jazz Workshop Gets Underway

The Dee Daniels Vocal Jazz Workshop is underway this week in Sitka. For the last two years, Daniels has interrupted her touring and teaching schedule to live at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, and coach a half-dozen students of widely-ranging ages and ability.

Former Sitka Principal Found Not Guilty On All Counts

Joe Robidou has been found not guilty on all counts. A Sitka jury of seven women and five men delivered its verdict in favor of the former school administrator at about 6 p.m. Monday evening. Download Audio

Online Realtor Says Sitka Tops State In Livability

Sitka has won a spot on top of yet another list. The online realtor Movoto says Sitka is the most liveable community in Alaska. Just ahead of Anchorage and Juneau. Download Audio

How Can We Improve Our Food Security?

The reliability of the food supply is not something most communities devote much thought to. Agriculture, transportation, and grocery stores all work pretty well – even in relatively isolated parts of Alaska like Sitka. And depending on where you live, there can be abundant wild foods. But a recent report called “The Sitka Community Food Assessment” reveals that our food system is vulnerable – especially to the unpredictable costs of fuel. Lisa Sadleir-Hart coordinated the assessment about what Sitka – and communities like it – can do to become more food-secure. Download Audio

Two Rescued As Troller Goes Aground In Heavy Surf

Two crewmen were rescued safely after their troller ran aground in heavy seas in Sitka Sound early Monday morning. The 52-foot steel-hulled troller Mirage radioed a distress call at about 3:30 AM. The boat had gone aground on the southern shore of Low Island, in surf and strong winds.

Gasline Official Says In-State Project Is No Pipedream

With an oversupply of natural gas in the country, Alaska is exploring the construction of a relatively small, low-pressure gasline within the state’s borders – while still holding out hope for a much larger project should prices improve. Download Audio

Where No Shop Class Has Gone Before

This is not your grandfather’s shop class. Late last month a group of high school and college shop teachers and a few of their students gathered for a three-day workshop in Sitka’s state-of-the-art Design and Fabrication Lab. The use of 3D printers and other computer-controlled equipment has revolutionized shop, and turned one of the most remote classrooms in the building into the coolest place in school. Download Audio

Herring Seiners Hit Target – And Then Some – In Quick Saturday Opener

The 2014 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is over. The 48 permit holders caught the last remaining fish in this year’s harvest limit – and then some – in a wild 45-minute opener Saturday afternoon right in front of downtown Sitka. Download Audio

AK: Machine Shop

Manufacturing – like everything else – is becoming more computerized, but instead of replacing craftsmanship, digital technology is opening up possibilities for students to create things in ways that simply weren’t practical five or ten years ago. Three kids at Sitka High School are building a tool – really just a customized piece of metal – to do an unsung, but important, job in the community. And their collaboration points toward a future where we’ll make stuff differently. Download Audio

Glacier Bay’s Bears A Remnant Of The Ice Age

Brown bears are one of the most intensively-studied species in Southeast Alaska. Much of the focus is on population management for hunting. But one scientist studies bears for their sake and not ours. Tania Lewis is the terrestrial wildlife biologist at Glacier Bay National Park. She’s made some breakthroughs in both behavior and genetics, and she can’t help but sing about it. Download Audio

Sitka Teacher Wins White House Award

A Sitka educator has won a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science. Rebecca Himschoot teaches science at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary. She’s one of two Alaskan teachers honored by the White House this year, and one of only 102 teachers nationwide who receive the recognition, which includes a $10,000 cash prize from the National Science Foundation. Amy Laufer, a math teacher at Kasuun Elementary in Anchorage, also won the award.

Sitka Moorage Fee Hike Takes Effect Jan. 1

Moorage rates in Sitka’s harbors are going up next week. The Sitka assembly last night approved the rate hike on second reading, bumping the per-foot monthly charge for permanent berths from $2.64 to $2.80, an increase of a little over 6 percent effective New Year’s Day. Download Audio

Two Sitka Hunters Injured As Boat Strikes Cliff

Two Sitka hunters sustained serious injuries Tuesday evening, after their boat struck a cliff in Kakul Narrows, about 25 miles north of town. Both men have been hospitalized, one in Seattle.

AK: Banding Birds

Alaska has its share of big science projects, to be sure. But to get results, science doesn’t always have to be huge. Download Audio

Sitka Urges Governor To Accept Obama’s Medicaid Plan

Several organizations around the state have recently asked Governor Parnell to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, including the Anchorage NAACP, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Chamber. Download Audio

Sitka Fish Processor Recalls Two Years’ Worth Of Product

A Sitka seafood processor has recalled two-year’s worth of product, after a state inspection revealed that monitoring equipment had failed.

SAFV Tackles Domestic Violence Crisis With Community Training

The domestic violence shelter in Sitka is stepping up its community training program following the release of new survey data last year. SAFV, or Sitkans Against Family Violence, has routinely offered volunteer advocate training, but now the organization is hoping to involve more of the community in how to recognize – and address – Sitka’s incredibly high rate of intimate partner violence. Download Audio