Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

Petersburg’s planning and zoning commission this month voted to recommend a new development code for the borough. Hundreds of pages long, it covers what’s allowed for land use, buildings and subdivisions. It still needs approval by the borough assembly.

A Senate committee Monday, March 12 heard from supporters and opponents of state involvement in the management of sea otters in Southeast Alaska. The Senate Resources committee held its first hearing on Senate joint resolution 13, which calls on the federal government to allow the state or a Native organization to co-manage the rebounding marine mammals and seek ways to increase harvest of otters.

It looks like Alaskans this year will get a chance to decide a ballot question on legislative pay, conflicts of interest for law makers and gifts from lobbyists.
The state’s Division of Elections has determined The Alaska Government Accountability Act has enough signatures to put question to voters on either the primary or special election ballot this year. More than 32,000 were needed; the Division of Elections this winter verified 40,867 signatures.

Residents in central Southeast Alaska this month learned about a large-scale planning effort for National Forest lands around Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake. It’s a relatively new approach for the U.S. Forest Service on the Tongass and it could result in a wide variety of projects on the 3.6 million acres of National Forest land on the Petersburg and Wrangell ranger districts.

Governor Bill Walker’s proposed capital budget would fund one and half million dollars of upgrades at the state-owned king and coho salmon hatchery at Crystal Lake, about 17 miles south of Petersburg.