Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska

It’s been a hard year for some Alaskans. Salvation Army’s Petersburg branch is among those around the state reporting significantly more requests for holiday assistance than last year.

Budget cuts have already dramatically reduced marine highway sailings. The governor’s proposed budget will make it worse, and the legislature is likely to make further cuts.

Petersburg spent close to $70,000 fighting to keep its borough boundaries, after Juneau contested them in court. Petersburg won, but it’s not getting much of its money back.

The Kake Access Project calls for 27 miles of unpaved, single-lane road and improvements to another 26 miles of logging roads. A shuttle ferry would complete the route to Petersburg.

British Columbia’s Mount Polley Mine, which became a poster child for environmental disasters, will soon begin discharging wastewater.

The Rev. Thomas Weise, a Catholic priest who serves parishes in Petersburg and Wrangell, has suffered a life-threatening heart attack while visiting family in California.