KHNS - Haines

A longtime Skagway Assemblyman who in 2016 was sentenced to a year in prison on federal tax charges will return to the dais. He won by just five votes. And, the city has its first female mayor in two decades.

Some Skagway leaders are growing frustrated with what they see as an unproductive back-and-forth with White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. What started as a hopeful process aimed at a new tidelands lease has now turned into something close to a stalemate.

The Haines Assembly is holding a special meeting this week to discuss what the borough manager has called a “politically motivated” proposed timber sale. The University of Alaska is offering 400 acres of Haines-area land for timber harvest. The land is located on the Chilkat Peninsula and abuts many residential properties.

Earlier this school year, Haines fourth-graders learned about another part of the world from someone their own age. An Italian student visiting a family friend in Haines spent a month in the local school.

As part of that program, the state wants to shift its relationship with 15 communities that operate rural jails. It will mean more money for local police departments, but also more work on the prevention side of things. Haines is the first community to sign the new contract.

For the second time in two years, a Skagway political figure has been ordered to pay a fine for incomplete financial disclosures. Assembly hopeful Dan Henry failed to disclose substantial debt on his candidate paperwork. He will still be able to run for office in the upcoming election.