In internet-less Sitka, it’s both ‘mayhem’ and a ‘golden moment’

A visitor relaxes at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. (Jeb Sharp/KCAW)
In the Southeast Alaska town of Sitka, some hospital surgeries are on hold.
Many shops and restaurants are operating on a cash-only basis. Contact with the outside world comes mostly through satellites.
For the past week, a break in the sole cable that provides Sitka’s internet and phone service has wreaked havoc on residents and businesses — and, at the same time, effectively launched a massive social and ec