In this newscast:
- State ferries won’t stop sailing April 16, after all: The Alaska Marine Highway System will not have to shut down in April. Gov. Bill Walker signed a supplemental appropriations bill Tuesday funding the ferry system through the end of the current fiscal year in June.
- Sac roe herring fishery stands down for aerial surveys: The Sitka sac roe herring fishery stood down Tuesday, as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game carried out aerial surveys of Sitka Sound. The department opened the fishery twice this week. The fleet landed approximately 2,400 tons of herring on March 25 and 400 tons of herring on March 26.
You can hear these stories and more at ktoo.sandbox.5mts.com/listen.
In other news:
School board approves budget as questions over state funding loom
The Juneau School Board passed its annual budget Tuesday night, approving an estimated $85 million to $86 million for next school year.
The board proposed some cuts but ultimately added to the budget during the four-hour special meeting. Director of Administrative Services David Means said he did not immediately have the final budget amount available, but would know Wednesday once he had a chance to run the numbers.
Investigation stalls in Penny Cotten hotel death case
Juneau police have suspended their investigation of a Juneau woman found dead under suspicious circumstances in a downtown hotel six months ago. Penny Ann Cotten, 48, was found dead in a room at the Breakwater Inn on the evening of Sept. 27, 2017. She had a gunshot wound to the head.
Cotten’s family in Arkansas said they received a death certificate listing the cause of death as suicide by a handgun. Cotten’s sister, Veronica Crumley, told WMC Action News 5 that she doesn’t believe it.
