News

Jay Barrett/KMXT Kodiak’s new long-term care facility has been open a little over a month now, and in a brief report to the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly, administrator Robert Rang said it’s already getting full. “The current residents have settled in a lot better than expected, staff has picked up on new workflows better than expected and we took our …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The Alaska Senate has released its version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Capital Budget, and it includes millions of dollars more for Kodiak and House District 35 projects. The big ticket items include: • $3-million for the next phase of water and sewer replacements in Aleutian Homes and $2.6-million for replacement of the Kenai Pump House; • $2.4-million …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT A new plaque down at the spit honors those who died during the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and Tsuanmi. In honor of the 50th anniversary of those events, the Kodiak Lions Club donated plaque, which is mounted on a rock from the granite quarry on Afognak Island. During those tragic events more than half a century ago the …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The celebration of life service for Kodiak elder Robert “Bob” Hatcher will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at the Kodiak Harbor Convention Center at 4 p.m. A potluck repast will follow at the Kodiak Elks Club. Terrie Johnson, who is organizing the repast, let KMXT know that anyone who would like to bring a dish to share with …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The amount Alaskans give to charity each year through the PFD donation program “Pick Click Give,” continues to grow. Final figures were released by the organization last week after the Permanent Fund Dividend deadline passed last Monday, and Alaskans donated nearly $2.8-million, up $326,000, or 13-percent, from last year. The announcement showed average individual giving also increased from …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Responding to direction from the Board of Fisheries, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has moved forward with a new pollock test fishery in Kodiak waters, using seine gear. At January’s Fish Board meeting here in Kodiak, board members and fishermen expressed interest in a walleye pollock test fishery with seine gear. In an announcement last week, …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The University of Alaska Board of Regents met here in Kodiak last week, and agreed on two recommendations designed to help students who take classes from more than one campus at a time. One would create a common academic calendar for all campuses in the state, and the other would make math and English requirements the same across …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The U.S. Coast Guard yesterday released its report on Royal Dutch Shell’s arctic drilling efforts in 2012, which led to the grounding of the mobile drilling rig Kulluk on New Year’s Eve. The 152-page report was released 10-months after a hearing in Anchorage in the aftermath of the grounding. The investigation was done by Commander Joshua McTaggart of …

Robert Hatcher at a Pioneers of Alaska Halloween Party in 2012. Jay Barrett/KMXT photo Jay Barrett/KMXT Kodiak lost a longtime community leader on Wednesday. Robert “Bob” Hatcher died of cancer. He was 87. Mr. Hatcher originally came to Kodiak during World War II. During patriotic holidays, or during visits to classrooms to speak to children, he enjoyed wearing his U.S. …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A former state medical examiner says the two men killed in 2012 at the Coast Guard’s Kodiak Island Communication Station each suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Dr. Meredith Lann testified Thursday in the trial of 62-year-old James Wells, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Petty Officer James Hopkins and retired …