By HENRY COLT and
SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writers
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be in Sitka Wednesday, addressing the Chamber of Commerce, visiting with students at Pacific High School and meeting with city leaders and federal officials.
The Chamber meeting will be held at Harrigan Centennial Hall, with doors opening at 11 a.m. The meeting, which starts at noon, is free and open to the public, with lunch and beverage available for a fee.
Murkowski will be at Pacific High at 1:30 p.m. to meet with a group of students to discuss alternative education, and will take part in a roundtable discussion with community leaders, 2:30-4 p.m., also at Pacific High.
The roundtable with the senator will have representatives from the city, Chamber of Commerce and Visit Sitka, Sitka Conservation Society, Citizens Climate Lobby, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the Sitka Sound Science Center, National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.
Interim City Administrator Hugh Bevan said he didn’t know precisely what he will talk about with the senator but hopes to make her aware of some of the Assembly’s legislative priorities, in particular the top local priority: federal funding help for the renovation of the Green Lake hydroelectric plant.
Other priorities involving state and federal agencies include funding for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and a new seaplane base and marine haulout for Sitka.
Sitka Conservation Society Executive Director Andrew Thoms said he sees the roundtable discussion as an opportunity for “key people in the community to get together and share what we’re dealing with in Sitka and how we can all work together.”
Asked to elaborate, Thoms said, “the challenges of rural America: climate change, fisheries, providing a good business environment, insuring that our businesses here in Sitka are innovative, competitive and provide good jobs and opportunities for people, how we maintain and invest in our infrastructure, and how we deal with health and substance abuse issues.”
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Chair KathyHope Erickson said, “One of (Murkowski’s) staff is in fisheries and resources, and she’s totally interested in hearing about our herring suit, so we will be in communication on herring and our battle for their survival – it’s in Alaska court right now.” Hope recently returned from a week-long trip to Capitol Hill, where she spoke with Murkowski and other politicians about the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s legislative priorities.
Murkowski addressed the Legislature this morning in Juneau.
Those planning to eat lunch at the Chamber meeting should register at Sitkachamber.com.
