On Jan. 9, the day before last Tuesday’s assembly meeting, Haines Borough Planning Commissioner Don Turner Jr. submitted the following letter, in writing, to the Haines Borough. I’m printing the letter here exactly as Turner wrote it. (“Miss Huling” refers to assembly member Tyler Huling and “LCC” to Lynn Canal Conservation, apparently.) “Manager, Mayor, Assembly Members: …
The Chilkat Indian Village doesn’t strike out in local politics. It bats one thousand. The tribe doesn’t play against minor league teams like the Haines Borough, so residents and borough officials witnessed a rare occasion when the village’s big guns put on a batting clinic at Tuesday’s assembly meeting. Jones Hotch Jr., the village council vice-president, came with a kind…
Nothing in politics gets attention like a pile of money not vigorously defended. So explains yet another attempt to part out the Haines Borough’s tourism program and the 1 percent sales tax revenues that make it work. The latest is a pitch by borough manager Annette Kreitzer to eliminate the town’s tourism director job and to contract out the duties…
Over time, the Haines Borough Assembly’s mistaken decision in 2011 to demolish the former elementary school gym becomes more egregious. As our weather becomes more extreme, as our device-obsessed children fall into obesity, as we learn more about the importance of regular, strenuous exercise, it’s clear that we need more opportunities for year-round physical recreation. The historic closure of our…
We just returned from a night at Chilkat State Park public use cabin. Here are some tips: RENTING THE CABIN The cabin, officially “Glacier View Cabin,” can be rented online only. The rate is $60 per night. Rentals are limited to three consecutive nights. Go online to dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspcabins/glacierviewcabin.htm. At the bottom of the page, click on “Check Availability on Reserve…
It’s virtually never that the town of Haines gets ahead of major, European nations on enlightened social policy, so this bears reporting: France made news this week in announcing free condoms for citizens aged 18 to 25. Haines has offered free condoms for more than 25 years – to anyone. There’s a grab-box of complimentary rubbers mounted on the outside…
Where is Joe Price when you need him? Joe was a Haines kid with a sharp mind and enough backbone to challenge the Haines Borough’s school administration – and win. The issue was a proposal from then principal Gary Matthews to use a breathalyzer at high school dances to see if students might be nipping at a flask of firewater.…
At a meeting on Aug. 17, Haines-area state forester Greg Palmieri tried to bring Mosquito Lake Road residents around to accepting some small timber sales in their neighborhood. It shouldn’t have been a hard sell. Clearcuts would be small – no larger than 10 acres – and restoration of old logging roads there might open some areas to recreation, including…
The recent Haines Borough election was a disappointment to some of my liberal friends, but they ought not fret much. It’s unlikely this assembly will do much because they’re like most assemblies – spoon fed by an administration and a staff that’s not interested in changing much. That’s unfortunate because the world around us changes every day and success goes…
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski was in town early last month and again she went on about how much she likes Haines and how she’d like to have a cabin here some day. We should take her up on it. Murkowski coos over Haines every time she visits and she visits a whole lot compared to Alaska’s other U.S. senator, Dan…