TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Alaska Beacon
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March 15
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Climate Connection -- Cruise Tourism Choices
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March 14
An Austin Street resident said a c [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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Alaska Beacon
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Alaska Beacon
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March 13
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SFS, Coliseum
To Show 15 Shorts
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Tribe of Alaska told the Assembly Tuesday that [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Among proposals presented to the Assembly Tuesday for [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The public is invited to a discussion Thursday on the [ ... ]
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Outer Coast executive director
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Vigil on Saturday
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Walker Sees Hope For His Tax Plan
By Sentinel Staff
Gov. Bill Walker says he sees the possibility of compromise between the state House and Senate in the upcoming special session on his proposal to fund state government with a 1.5 percent wage tax.
“It’s do-able, he said in an interview with local reporters Tuesday.
Gov. Bill Walker shakes hands with Sitkan Lily Herwald at Beak Restaurant Wednesday afternoon. Walker, his wife, Donna, standing next to him, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, left, held the campaign rally while in town for the Alaska Chamber of Commerce Fall Forum. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
“I’m no fan of taxes,” he said, but added that the failure to raise revenue will be pink slips for state employees and teachers and “the marine highway schedule coming out late because there is no budget.”
“The state has not had a balanced budget since 2012,” he said. “We have now drained $13 billion from our savings accounts while we wait to make these difficult decisions.
“This year we will go through the Constitutional Budget Reserve, and the only thing after that is the earnings of the Permanent Fund.”
The House passed a revenue bill this year, but the Senate failed to take action. Walker said he’s encouraged that a version of his latest tax proposal was suggested by a leader in the Senate’s Republican majority, and that while nobody says they love it, he sees a chance for passage.
Despite the ongoing impasse, he said it has been helpful that he works well with legislators on both sides of the aisle. “I am the only independent governor in all 50 states,” he said.
He said he has called four special sessions so far this year “because we need to get on with the job of achieving budget certainty for this year and the next year – that we’re going to have revenue for the services we provide. Alaskans deserve the comfort of knowing their fiscal house is in order.”
As for SB54, the second item on the special session agenda, Walker said he went against his own rule of taking one issue at a time because “Alaskans are very concerned about their safety.”
SB54 has already been passed by the Senate. If approved by the House “it will give judges and prosecutors more tools they can work with as a deterrent to those who commit crimes,” Walker said.
Asked about his administration’s stance on the EPA’s decision to consider reopening the environmental permitting process for the Pebble Mine, Walker said he has not made an official statement on the issue.
However, he said, he believes that “if we have a renewable resource that is in competition with a non-renewable resource, I am in favor of the renewable.” He added, “I am supportive of mining, very much, but not mining in that location.”
During his two-day visit to Sitka the governor attended the state Chamber of Commerce convention, met with constituent groups and attended a fund-raising event at the Beak Restaurant.
Walker is not a frequent visitor to Sitka, but he and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott will be back next week for the Sesquicentennial Alaska Day celebration.
He and Mallott have already declared as candidates for re-election in 2018. In answer to a reporter’s question, he explained that he is dividing his travel expenses between official business and his re-election campaign for separate accounting.
As in their successful bid for office four years ago, both Walker and Mallott are required to submit petitions signed by 3,000 voters in order to be on the primary ballot as independents in their respective races. Unless either loses in the primary, they will be on the ballot as a team in the general election.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.