Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

Petersburg residents are now being asked to show two forms of identification to renew free post office boxes every year. A U.S. Postal Service official says it’s not a change in regulation; two forms of ID to verify a residential address were always required. But that regulation has not been enforced at the Petersburg post office until this year.

The Alaska Department of Transportation expects to finish up a chip sealing project on Mitkof Highway south of Petersburg by Saturday. The treatment is intended to prolong the life of the mostly paved two-lane state road, which runs about 36 miles from Petersburg to the southeast corner of the island. The work started about 10 miles south of Petersburg just after the July 4th holiday.

Rainy Southeast Alaska is enjoying a long spell of sunny skies and warm weather this summer. But the clear skies this week have been a little obscured by a smoky haze. Turns out the source of the smoke is thousands of miles away. Joe Viechnicki spoke Monday with David Levin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau.

The Petersburg Medical Center board is considering a capital budget for the next year of nearly a million dollars for equipment replacement and some building improvements. The board may seek some reimbursement from the borough for repairs to the borough-owned hospital.