Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg democrats chose Barrack Obama as their presidential nominee by a two-to-one margin during Tuesdays caucus. Despite a winter storm, turnout was exceptionally high at the Alaska native brotherhood hall with almost 50 democrats taking part….that’s more than quadruple the size of local caucuses in the past according to organizers…. Local republicans say they also had a larger-than-usual turnout for their party’s presidential preference poll at the home of jean Ellis. Mitt Romney took nearly half of the 48 republican votes cast in town…. Followed by Mike Huckabee and John McCain. Matt Lichtenstein stopped by both events in Petersburg and produced this sound portrait.

A statewide group of conservation-minded fishermen is calling on the industry to take action against ocean acidification. The Alaska marine conservation council has been visiting fishing communities around the state to raise awareness about the problem, which is caused by carbon emissions…the same thing that causes global warming. Activists and scientists say acidification poses an impending threat to all Alaska fisheries…..starting with shellfish.

Some Petersburg School Board members are concerned that a potential increase in state funding could prompt the city to reduce its local contribution this year. In a joint work session last week, Petersburg city councilors were not willing to commit to a board request for consistent local funding. Several councilors did pledge to meet the school districts needs but with the budget process not even underway yet, the school board provided the council with few specifics on what that need would be.

This year, Alaskan Democrats and Republicans will get to vote for their favorite presidential candidates earlier than ever. Alaska is one of 24 states with caucuses or primaries scheduled for February fifth. Alaska Democrats are going with a traditional caucus while Republicans will have a somewhat different process known as a presidential preference poll.

Global warming is not only boosting ocean temperatures, but it’s also causing ocean acidification that could hurt Alaska’s fisheries according to the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. The organization is giving a presentation on the issue in Petersburg and will hold a community discussion the following evening. To find out more about ocean acidification, Matt Lichtenstein spoke with AMCC climate change project director Martha Levensaler