Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

Voters in Petersburg this fall may decide on whether the borough should continue with repairs and replacements for the local water and sewer systems. State loans for up to eight million dollars would be repaid by utility customers and could lead to another increase in rates.

Petersburg’s borough assembly voted against filling two vacant public safety jobs last night. The positions in the police and fire department are in the budget for the borough this year. But concerns linger over future state funding cuts and their impact on the municipality’s ability to pay for these positions.

A young film maker sounding the alarm about global climate change is visiting Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest this summer.

The U.S. Forest Service in Southeast Alaska is recording more wide-spread tree damage from a bug called a hemlock sawfly on the Tongass National Forest. For the second summer, these native, defoliating insects are leaving behind reddish brown tree tops, this year stretching from Prince of Wales Island to Juneau.