LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
Federal officials on Wednesday approved most of Alaska’s four-y [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
At an hour-long work session with the Assembly Tuesda [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
The story behind a classic, though often misunderstoo [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
The state government risks losing millions of dollars in feder [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday signed a bill that promise [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, known for its steep mountains [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
Playing Wednesday in competitive division City League volleyball matches, Ca [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 27
At 2:36 p.m. a dead [ ... ]
This Week in Girls on the Run
By Sitkans Against Family Violence
and The Pathways Coalition
During th [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The future of management and operations at the Perform [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
After storming into the state 3A boys basketball brac [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The Queen Bees’ spotless season record ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss [ ... ]
By SHIRLEY SNEVE
Indian Country Today
A major renovation at an Alaska museum to attract tourist [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A presentation about a jump in the number of inmate deaths in [ ... ]
By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
Tribal and environmental advocates calling for a crackdown o [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]
Big Rigs Sought
For April 13
The 3 to 5 Preschool’s spring fundraiser and Big Rig event is happening [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The third opening in this year’s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery was held Mon [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Sitka High’s Lady Wolves bounced back from an openi [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel ports Editor
Competing in the state 3A basketball tournament in Anc [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
Playing in a competitive division City League volleyball game Monday evening [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
A bill that passed the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
2020 Census to Set Off from Alaska Village
By MARK THIESSEN and
MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The 2020 Census kicks off Tuesday in remote Alaska. U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham will be there to conduct the first count in the Bering Sea community of Toksook Bay. Dillingham planned to spend time today at the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School in Anchorage, giving students a lesson on statistics. Additional outreach is planned throughout the weekend.
WHY IS THE 2020 CENSUS STARTING IN ALASKA?
With its sparse population and subzero temperature, rural Alaska can be hard to reach, and some of its villages are accessible only when the ground is frozen. So, the Census Bureau starts the head count in The Last Frontier state by going door-to-door in January — more than two months before the rest of the nation — so it can make sure it reaches villages before the spring thaw, when residents head out to fish and hunt. The state’s heritage is traditionally on display during these first counts. In 2000, then-U.S. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt arrived for the first count in the village of Unalakleet as a passenger in a dog sled. This year, Alaska Native dancers from Toksook Bay will perform for Dillingham.
WHEN DOES IT START ELSEWHERE?
Residents in the rest of the U.S., as well as the rest of Alaska, can start responding online and by telephone in mid-March. The Census Bureau plans to send out a first round of notices explaining how to participate during the second week of March. It will send up to four more rounds of mailings, including a paper questionnaire, in March and April to households that haven’t responded.
WILL SOMEONE BE KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?
Only if you fail to reply online, by mail or by telephone. This is the first census in which the Census Bureau is encouraging most people to answer the questions via the internet. Around three-quarters of households will initially get invitations to respond to the questionnaire online. However, the Census Bureau realizes some communities don’t have easy access to the internet, and about a quarter of households will initially receive paper questionnaires that can be mailed back. By May, the Census Bureau will be sending out workers to knock on the doors of households it hasn’t heard back from.
WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS?
The form asks how many people live in the household as of April 1, whether the home is owned or rented, and the form-filler’s age, race and sex. It also asks if the form-filler is Latino, and if so, their country of origin. In the race question, the form-filler also can specify country of origin. All other residents in the household must answer, or have the first form-filler answer for them, the same questions on age, sex and race. They must specify their relationship to the form-filler and if they live elsewhere, like away at college. For the first time, same-sex couples will be able to identify as such, either as spouses or unmarried partners.
IS THERE A CITIZENSHIP QUESTION?
No. The Trump administration tried to add the question, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked it.
WHO GETS COUNTED?
Everyone residing in the United States and the five U.S. territories, including non-citizens and immigrants living in the country illegally. Also included are military personnel temporarily deployed overseas, who are counted at their home addresses in the U.S.
WILL MY INFORMATION BE SHARED?
No. Under federal law, all responses are kept completely confidential, and they can be used only to produce statistics.
WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE CENSUS?
Because it is used to determine who your representative in Congress is, where new businesses can build, how crowded your local schools will get over the next decade, and whether highways in your community get money for repairs. The results of the 2020 Census help determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending, as well as how many congressional seats each state gets.
Login Form
20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.