Author: kfskadmin

A federal judge in Washington DC has ruled against the guided sport-fishing industry in a lawsuit about Southeast Alaska halibut catches. A group of charter operators and lodge owners had hoped to overturn a regulation that cut their clients daily bag-limits in half last summer. But the court dismissed their case on Monday.

Petersburg is planning to sue five companies that designed and built the assisted living wing at Mountain View Manor. The City Council voted to go forward with a lawsuit Monday night, after a lengthy, executive session.

It looks like it could be another below average pink salmon season next summer in Southeast Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a region-wide catch of 19 million humpies for next year. That harvest would be just under half of the annual average for the past decade and could mean a similar fishing season to 2008

Petersburg residents last week continued the discussion on building a public boat haul out and marine services facility in the community. The Petersburg Economic Development Council, along with the city’s Harbor Board and Planning Commission are discussing scaled-back plans for vessel hauling, cleaning and storage at three sites on the Petersburg waterfront.

The new shelter at Petersburg’s Sandy Beach Park is ready for use. The parks and recreation department finished work on the three-sided, log building this month. The new structure took a year to complete and it’s very similar to the old one it replaced. It’s about 50 by 20 feet inside and uses the original stone floor. There’s a big new fire place and a larger roof supported by a series of massive log trusses. The shelter is one of two new park additions that were funded by the federal Resource Advisory Committee or RAC for Petersburg and Wrangell. The other project is a bridge spanning the stream at the far end of the park. That’s where several local eagle scouts reconstructed a rustic trail leading to City Creek. The bridge incorporates a unique cantilevered design and a red-cedar gazebo with a moss-covered roof. Designer Dieter Klose calls it a troll booth; some have called it a troll bridge. The bridge cost roughly $10,000 and the new log shelter cost about $60,000. All of the money came from federal RAC funds. On a recent, blustery day, Matt Lichtenstein joined Dieter Klose and parks and recreation director Ryan McFarland for a tour of the park’s new features.