Robert Woolsey

SESPA representative Twila Keaveny explains the terms of an agreement her union signed with interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw last year. (KCAW/Woolsey)

REAP funding isn’t just about solar panels: Fishing vessels can apply for funding to improve the size and/or insulating capacity of their holds, for example, or for more efficient lighting. Propulsion upgrades (i.e. repowering), however, are not eligible. (KCAW/Wilber)

RurAL CAP staff can help small businesses navigate applying for REAP grants, which pay up to 50% of many energy upgrades' costs.

Student school board member Francis Myers reported that Starlink is available in school offices, “So the faculty is able to print paper, and so a lot of the students are now doing pencil and paper for a lot of their assignments.” (Flickr photo/Kim Love

Sitka High Freshman Finn Mullin applies for a card at the Sitka Public Library. According to parent-advocate Beth Short-Rhoads, no students were able to check out books from the school district’s library on the first day of school. “That’s unacceptable,” she told the Sitka School Board. Librarian Maite Lorente looks on. (KCAW/Rose)

Mental health counselor Melissa Marconi-Wentzel expected most Sitkans to be suffering withdrawal during the prolonged internet outage. That wasn’t the case, however. Many, she found, were relieved — like waking up to a “snow day” in school. (KCAW/Robert Woolsey)

A documentary examining the impact of cruise tourism's explosive growth in Sitka will debut this weekend on national television.

Summer tourists in Sitka, seen in the documentary “Cruise Boom.” (Courtesy ArtChange, Inc.)

Paul Rioux (second from left) takes his seat after being appointed to the Sitka School Board Thursday night (9-12-24). Other board members (from left) are Tom Williams, Phil Burdick, and acting president Todd Gebler. Member Stephen Morse appeared via Zoom. (KCAW/Woolsey)

Rain Coast’s report is about generally positive numbers, and not an index of Sitka’s well-being. It’s a contrast Melanie Schijvens is aware of. “Yeah, I’m sorry to tell you that your economy is doing great,” she said.