Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg voters Tuesday will decide on two questions impacting the city’s sales tax. One measure could mean two days a year of shopping tax free at local businesses. Another question seeks to remove the senior citizen and non-profit exemption from sales tax for purchases of alcohol and tobacco. Joe Viechnicki reports.

Petersburg voters will decide whether to spend a million and a half dollars for a new library Tuesday. The bond issue represents about 20 percent of the projects total cost. The State of Alaska and other backers have already committed to provide the rest of the funding. Supporters emphasize that the old library has outgrown its current location and bonding is the key, final piece of the funding puzzle for a new building. Bond measure critics say they are concerned about costs. The issue was the focus of a recent call-in show on KFSK Public Radio in Petersburg. Matt Lichtenstein reports:

Petersburg’s municipal employees could finally have a new, labor contract after more than a year and a half of rocky relations with the city administration. Representatives for the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association and the city have signed a tentative agreement this week. It still needs to be ratified by union members and the City Council. Matt Lichtenstein has more detail

The Alaska Mental Health Trust is changing its approach to a major land exchange with the federal government. A legislative proposal to swap 20 thousand acres of its property in Southeast towns for federal lands it could log or develop has made little headway in an increasingly gridlocked congress. So the agency plans to propose an administrative exchange, which could be approved by the Forest Service instead. Matt Lichtenstein Reports:

City and State crews were busy in Petersburg Friday, cleaning up damage caused by heavy rains and winds. Friday morning, a large landslide blocked Mitkof highway in Petersburg. The storm also caused an extensive power-outage, and downed multiple trees and electrical lines. The Alaska Airlines cargo terminal lost a substantial part of its metal roof to the wind and several vehicles around town were damaged by fallen trees. The slide out Mitkof highway was at least the second in as many years in the same area. Another large slide of rocks, trees and mud blocked the road in late September 2009 as well. And that wasn’t the first time either. Following heavy rains back in December, 1988, yet another big slide blocked the highway around the same spot. There were also major slides at that spot and just to the north in 1986. Matt Lichtenstein has more on this Friday’s storm damage on the highway and elsewhere in town.