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Today's top stories

Cello Stars to Be Front and Center at Cellobration

Resident bears at the Fortress of the Bear listen to live cello music this morning. Seven cellists attending the Sitka International Cello Seminar performed for the bears, toursists and staff at the bear sanctuary. On Saturday the cellists will present the Cellobration! concert, the culminating event of the seminar, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
A group of up and coming cellists have spent the last few weeks practicing, performing and drawing inspiration from the Sitka landscape, mentors and each other. And at the Cellobration! concert Saturday, the seven musicians plan to showcase some...
Hayden Raasch, right, working at the information desk, answers questions posed by tourists at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Ordinance to Keep Visit Sitka Running

The Assembly at its meeting Tuesday agreed that the city would prepare a Request for Qualifications soliciting offers to provide visitor marketing, and visitor services starting next year. The Chamber of Commerce, which held the Visit Sitka...

STA to Hold Annual Picnic On Saturday

Public buses will carry Sitkans to and from Keet Gooshi Heen elementary Saturday for the annual Sheet'ká Ḵwáan Tribe/Sitka Tribe of Alaska picnic event featuring food, friendly competitions and community fun. The picnic draws many community...

Fishing Effort, Catch Low in King Fishery

Four hundred and sixty participating salmon trollers harvested some 44,000 total chinook in the July 1 summer king opener, marking record-low effort and harvest in the annual chinook retention period that lasted just four days this year. Alaska...
Christi Henthorn holds a honey comb. A former Sitkan who now runs an apiary called Wuerker Bee in North Carolina, Henthorn will present the first in a series of beekeeping seminars in Sitka this summer.

Bee Keepers Busy with Summer Workshops

With flowers in bloom and insects buzzing in Alaska’s brief summer season, a series of presentations on beekeeping will teach Sitkans the basics of bee care and pollination, as well as more advanced items around as bee products like honey and wax,...

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Community news
Andrew Winkel, 17, at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp ceramics studio. (Photo by Allison Graupman, Rochester, N.Y.)
Ceramics an Attitude Builder
Ceramics in Sitka By Bruno Bookman (Photos to come) Clouds loomed overhead, and a light sprinkling of rain signaled a turn in the weather as I walked into the ceramics building at Sitka Fine Arts Camp. The converted bakery that now houses...
Greta Brown working on her weaving. (Rienzi Witmer, Anchorage)
Teachers' Skill Matters
Teachers Matter By Emma Haney Stepping outside her comfort zone, Greta Brown, a 17-year-old SFAC student, decided to take weaving this summer. "I just wanted to try something new," she told me. Usually, she likes to sew and embroider, but as...
McKay Loan, Tacoma, Washington, whispers to Clare Knudson, 17, Tacoma. (Photo by Rhys James, Anchorage)
Grapevine Well-Grounded
Through The Grapevine: Opinions of Gossip at Sitka Fine Arts Camp By McKay Loan and Rhys James “This poem is about Micah’s dead mom. Micah’s mom is alive and well,” said sixteen year old SFAC camper Cooper Gregg when asked about the funniest...
Sitka White Elephant Shop donated $12,000 towards the construction of the Hitx’i Saani Community. Pictured on the construction site recently from left are: Marta Martinsen, White Elephant Board vice-president; Chris Balovich, CBC Construction; Sue Fleming, White E Board charitable treasurer; and Andrew Hinton, Sitka Homeless Coalition executive director. (Photo provided to the Sentinel)
White E Donation
CG Medevacs 3
The Coast Guard Air Station Sitka performed three medevacks since Thursday morning: - Thursday morning, outside of Yakutat the Coast Guard helicopter hoisted a crew member off a commercial fishing vessel Northern Star after he was struck on the...
Community Calendar
July 11-14, 2025
FRIDAY 10 a.m.-3 p.m. STA Fish Distribution, Seafood Producers Cooperative  Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA hotline 907-747-8866 for information  5:30 p.m. STA Zumba, Blatchley Middle School 5:30 p.m. NA Meeting, St. Peter’s...
Climate Connection: Policies Frustrating the Popular Will
Recently, Yale and Georgia Mason University Climate Change Communication Programs  conducted a national survey that found that the great majority of U.S. voters, 79%, oppose eliminating government programs on global warming. That includes the...
Life Celebration Set For Bill Fredrickson
he family of William (Bill) Fredrickson is inviting those who can attend to a  celebration of his life at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, at the Sitka Elks Lodge. Come and enjoy and share stories, his family said.
Geologists Sample Swan Lake Sat.
A team of geologists from the University at Buffalo, New York, will be taking samples at Swan Lake 1 p.m. Saturday in a hunt for ancient sea levels at Swan Lake. Attendees can meet lake sediment scientists, help open a core from the bottom of...
Unitarians Hold Service on Sunday
Sitka Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship will hold a short service followed by house cleaning on Sunday. All are invited to join the group for coffee and conversation at 10:30 a.m., with service at 10:45 a.m.  SUUF is an inclusive...

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Police blotter

Police Blotter
July 11, 2025

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department received the following calls Thursday. July 10 A caller on Highland Street complained feral rabbits are getting into the garden. The animal control officer was to follow up on the call. At 9:38 a.m. a man...

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Obituaries
 Service Set July 25 For Morris "Buzz" Brown Jr.
Morris Otto Brown, Jr. affectionately known as Buzz, passed away on May 12th, 2025, surrounded by love.  He was 77 years old. A lifelong Sitkan, Buzz was a man whose presence touched many.  Known for his steady kindness, his willingness...
Kay McCarthy Dies at 82; Services to Be On Monday
Kay Corliss McCarthy (Howe), a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away in Palm Springs, California, on July 1st at the age of 82. Born June 20, 1943, in Hettinger, North Dakota, to Otto and Leona Howe, Kay was the youngest...
Barbara Ann Rands Hames
Barbara Rands Hames Dies at 95
Barbara Ann Rands Hames, beloved Mother, Grandmother,...
Sheila Dianne Lawson Dies; 43-Year Resident Was 78
The following information was submitted to the obituary form on the website: deceased name: Sheila Dianne Lawson obituary: In Loving Memory of Sheila Dianne Lawson 1946 – 2025 Sheila Dianne Lawson, a beloved mother, grandmother, and friend,...

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Sports

Mullin Earns National Sports Accolade

Sitka seniors Clare Mullin, right, and Marina Dill lead the pack in the girls 1600 meters during the 2025 ASAA/First Bank Alaska State Track & Field Championships in May in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
For the second consecutive year, Sitka High running ace Clare Mullin has been named Gatorade Player of the Year in recognition of her athletic, academic and community achievements.  Mullin has won numerous long distance track races at state...
More than 100 runners start the Medvejie Solstice Run Saturday at Herring Cove.

Medvejie Race Draws Out-of-Town Runners

More than a hundred runners made their way across Green Lake Road on Saturday’s 18th annual Medvejie Solstice Run, a fundraiser for Sitka High School’s track and cross country programs. KK Prussian, a co-organizer of the run, said she met at...

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Sitka Yesterday
July 11, 2025

20 YEARS AGO

July 2005

Salmon and Dolly Varden are going to have an easier time getting up a drainage near Herring Cove this summer thanks to a new culvert installed as part of a mitigation project involving four agencies. The City of Sitka, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Army Corps of Engineers and Alaska Department of Transportation all had a role in replacing a 48-inch culvert with a 72-inch culvert.

50 YEARS AGO

July 1975

Classified Rentals: 3-bdrm, 2-bath house $1,500 mo. 3-bdrm, 1 1/2 bath, large ocean view $1,150. Spacious 2-bdrm duplex, beautiful view $900. ** 3-bdrm, 1 1/2 bath apt. $1,150.

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Around Alaska

Bowhead whales are ingesting toxins driven by warming in Arctic, study finds

A long-term study of bowhead whales in Alaska published this week points to a direct correlation between ocean warming and threats to the Arctic food web.   An interdisciplinary team of scientists, collaborating with Alaska Native whale hunters and other North Slope residents, studied bowel samples taken over nearly two decades from 205 subsistence-harvested bowheads, looking […]

Court affirms split federal-state salmon management system for Alaska’s Cook Inlet

A federal judge has upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service’s new system to manage commercial harvests in federal waters of Cook Inlet, concluding that the agency has no obligation to extend that management to state waters. The July 1 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason lets stand a split federal-state management regime for […]

Alaska’s ‘Nazi Creek’ is no more, as federal geographic names board approves traditional alternative

A small creek on Alaska’s Little Kiska Island has been renamed, more than 80 years after it was named after Germany’s Nazi Party by World War II soldiers fighting in the Aleutians. Nazi Creek was the last landmark in the United States to bear the Nazi name. Its new name is “Kaxchim Chiĝanaa,” meaning either […]
The Missouri Capitol is shown on June 30, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo., as decorated for Independence Day celebrations. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Missouri governor repeals paid sick leave law approved last year by voters

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed a repeal of a law guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers and inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage. The repeal will take effect Aug. 28. Workers' rights …

Compensation program for health damage from Alaska weapons tests is extended

People who might have been exposed to radiation from atomic weapons tests conducted in the Aleutians half a century ago have extra time to apply for compensation from a federal program, under the sweeping tax and budget bill passed by Congress and signed into law last week. The bill, which was signed by President Donald […]

‘Big’ bill shifts SNAP costs to states, saving federal dollars but causing fewer to get food aid

The legislative package that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, has several provisions that will shrink the safety net, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, long known as food stamps. SNAP spending will decline by an estimated US$186 billion through 2034 as a result of several changes Congress made to the […]

Under bankruptcy settlement, Alaskans can request 23andMe immediately delete their DNA data

Alaskans can request that their DNA and personal genetic information be deleted immediately by bankrupt genetic testing company 23andMe, under the terms of a recent legal settlement.  State Attorney General Treg Taylor announced the option in a news release on the settlement on June 30. “I know there are a lot of people out there […]

To keep Medicaid, mom caring for disabled adult son faces prospect of proving she works

Four years before Kimberly Gallagher enrolled in Medicaid herself, the public health insurance program’s rules prompted her to make an excruciating choice — to give up guardianship of her son so she could work as his caregiver. Now, another proposed twist in the rules could mean that, even though Missouri pays her to do that […]

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From the Associated Press
National news
Rebecca Torres stands in front of a military vehicle approaching a federal immigration agents raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo, Calif., Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)

Authorities say 200 immigrants arrested in raids on 2 Southern California farms

Federal immigration authorities say they've arrested about 200 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally during raids on two California farm sites. The Department of Homeland Security …
FILE - Paul Njoroge testifies during a House Transportation subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 17, 2019, on aviation safety. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Boeing settles with a man whose family died in a 737 Max crash in Ethiopia

Boeing has reached a settlement with a man whose wife and three children were killed in a deadly 2019 plane crash in Ethiopia. The deal announced Friday comes just days before the scheduled start of …
The White House is pictured, Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Latest: Trump will visit Texas to survey flood damage

President Donald Trump will head to Texas for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people, which the administration has characterized as a …

Mexico says 'no indication' plane carrying drugs came from El Salvador after diplomatic spat

Mexico’s government clarified there was “no indication” that an airplane it intercepted loaded with cocaine had originated from El Salvador, according to a letter posted by Salvadoran President …
International

Colombian authorities arrest alleged leader of Italian mafia in Latin America

Colombian authorities say they have captured an alleged leader of the Italian ’ndrangheta mafia in Latin America. He is accused of overseeing cocaine shipments and managing illegal trafficking …
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 11, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street closes higher and edges to more records

Asian shares are mixed in cautious trading Friday after Wall Street closed at an all-time high with Delta Air Lines kicking off earnings season with a solid outlook for the rest of 2025, spurring an …
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after an Iranian attack at the Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar, June 25, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Satellite photos suggest Iran attack on Qatar air base hit geodesic dome used for US communications

An Iranian attack on an air base in Qatar key to the U.S. military likely hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications. That's according to satellite images …
Rock formations stand in the Sahara desert outside the city center of Djanet, a southeastern Algerian oasis town in the Sahara desert, on July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Audrey Thibert)

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries and are taking an increasing toll on health, economies and the environment. That's according to the U.N. World …
National Sports
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge strikes out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yankees' Aaron Judge makes pair of outstanding catches, robs Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong of home run

Aaron Judge makes two outstanding catches in the New York Yankees' game against the Chicago Cubs. The 6-foot-7 outfielder jumped at the right-field wall to rob Pete Crow-Armstrong of a home run in …

Miami Marlins' Kyle Stowers tosses his bat after being walked by Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 11, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Marlins OF Kyle Stowers returns to Baltimore as an All-Star

A year ago, Kyle Stowers was shuffling back and forth between Triple-A Norfolk and Baltimore while trying to establish himself as an everyday major leaguer. Stowers was forced to continue that quest …
Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson (28) high-fives teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Ronald Acuña Jr. replaced in Home Run Derby by Atlanta teammate and fellow All-Star Matt Olson

Ronald Acuña Jr. won’t participate in the Home Run Derby, replaced by Atlanta teammate and fellow All-Star Matt Olson. Acuña is a starting outfielder for the National League and still expected to …
Entertainment

David Gergen, adviser to four presidents, has died

David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83. Gergen worked in the …

This photo provided by Sarah Jones-Smith shows her wearing a Justin Bieber t-shirt at the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, Sept. 27, 2010. (Sarah Jones-Smith via AP)

How AP journalists reacted to news of Justin Bieber's new album

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Bieber Fever,” the intense adoration of Grammy award-winning artist Justin Bieber, was a phenomenon of the 2010s. After the singer teased his first album in four years, …
FILE - Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney, center, and Ryan Reynolds, second right, celebrate at the end of the English League One soccer match between Wrexham and Charlton Athletic at the Racecourse ground in Wrexham, Wales, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

Wrexham opens its Down Under tour without its Hollywood owners but with a 3-0 win

Welsh soccer side Wrexham has opened a three-match tour of Australia and New Zealand without their high-profile co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney making the trip Down Under. The result was a …
Health
FILE - A sign warning of bubonic plague is displayed at a parking lot near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colo., Aug. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Northern Arizona resident dies from plague

A northern Arizona resident has died from pneumonic plague. Health officials say it's the first recorded death in the area from pneumonic plague since 2007. Plague is rare in humans with about seven …

FILE - Eggs sit in a container in a shopping cart at grocery store, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Windham, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Trump administration sues California over egg prices and blames animal welfare laws

The Trump administration is suing California over its animal welfare laws, claiming they unconstitutionally raised egg prices. The lawsuit challenges voter-approved measures requiring all eggs sold …
Boxes of Kellogg's breakfast cereal are seen at a super market, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Springfield, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Breakfast cereal sales declined for decades before Kellogg's sale to Italian company

Breakfast cereal could use a lucky charm. U.S. sales of the colorfully packaged morning staple have been in a decades-long decline. Now comes news that Italian confectioner Ferrero Group plans to …
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