FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

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By Sentinel Staff
    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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By Sentinel Staff
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By NATHANIEL HERZ
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March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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Big Rigs Sought
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Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
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By Sentinel Staff
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March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Wein Seeking Office in GOP House Bid

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

Dr. Richard Wein filed Monday as a Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives representing Sitka, Petersburg and a number of smaller Southeast communities.

The House District 35 seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka.

So far, Wein has one opponent in the Aug. 21 primary for the Republican nomination, former Hoonah Mayor Kenny Skaflestad. The filing period closes June 1. 

Wein, 68, was elected to a three-year term on the City and Borough Assembly last October.

He said he is running for state office because he believes it’s important for Kreiss-Tomkins to face a strong challenger in the Nov. 6 general election.

“Debate and discussion are needed in an effort to sharpen your issues and improve them,” Wein said. “I felt I shouldn’t allow an incumbent, who’s been there six years, to run without debate and without discussion. We need discussion in the political process because it improves it.”

He called running for office a “win-win,” whether he wins or loses.

Richard Wein. (Sentinel Photo)

“As an Assemblyman, I can see a nexus between the Assembly and the Legislature. We need a powerful voice in the Legislature; I believe I can supply that powerful voice,” Wein said. “So if I win, I get to represent Sitka and the district in the Legislature. Should I remain on the Assembly, I will have received an education in how the business of the state is done, and I’ll be an even better Assemblyman. It’s going to be an adventure, it’s going to be a learning experience. I’ll do my best for the district, for Sitka and for Alaska, at the end of the day.”

Wein said he has been encouraged to run by Sitkans and others around the district, and from as far away as Anchorage.

“It’s been overwhelming support,” he said. “It’s been very gratifying to hear people support me and how concerned they are about the state of the state, and the state of the district. It’s been very positive.”

Wein moved to Sitka from New Jersey in September 2001 when he was hired as a surgeon at SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. He left SEARHC in 2010 and signed on as a surgeon at Sitka Community Hospital, a position he held until March 2017, when his contract was not renewed. He filed for the Assembly and was elected in last fall’s city election.

Wein said he registered with the Republican Party when he registered to vote in Alaska, but does not believe there is a clear party delineation on issues, and he does not vote down the line for Republicans.

“I’m a Second Amendment guy; I like the Constitution, I like a little less government and a balanced checkbook,” he said. “But I’ve always chosen who was better qualified.”

Wein said he believes he can contribute at the state level, with his experience in the health care system, particularly Medicaid. He said he’s also concerned about funding for education next year, when a greater burden will be placed on local school districts. He said Sitka has seen an uptick in crime as a result of Senate Bill 91 in which the Legislature downgraded certain drug-related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. 

“Why all of a sudden are we seeing MS-13 in places like Sitka?” he said. “... We’re dealing with a lot of local crime issues that aren’t going to be fixed with a stroke of a pen.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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