Alaska news

• Alaskans opt out of insurance, turn to health care sharing ministries

  09-11-2015 23:57
  As health insurance rates rise out of reach for many Alaskans, some residents are turning to an alternative — Christian Health Care Sharing Ministries. The religiously affiliated organizations are legal under the Affordable Care Act. Members pay a monthly fee and are eligible to have medical expenses over a certain amount reimbursed. It’s not insurance, but it’s an appealing option for Alaskans priced out of the individual insurance market.
  When Lane Chesley first heard about h
  
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• Ferry system missing 30 prints from Ketchikan office

  09-11-2015 23:45
  Alaska State Troopers are investigating the theft of signed art prints from the state ferry office building in Ketchikan.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports officials at the Alaska Marine Highway System reported the art theft late last week.
  Troopers say their investigation found 30 prints commemorating the ferry system’s 25th anniversary were taken between late July and late October. The prints were signed by the artist, Bill C. Ray.
  Troopers estimate the value of the stolen artwork at
  
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• Reading the North: Lonely Planet, Alaska sampler - Alaska Dispatch News

  09-11-2015 22:53
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Reading the North: Lonely Planet, Alaska sampler
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Blurb: Lonely Planet Alaska offers up-to-date advice on what to see and skip on your trip to the 49th state. Watch playful bears and breaching whales, catch a ferry to remote islands, explore the nightlife of Anchorage or fill up at a salmon bake ...
  

• Federal dollars to help tribes combat meth use, suicide

  09-11-2015 22:36
  Alaska tribes and health providers are using federal dollars to combat methamphetamine use and suicide.
  KTUU-TV reports the federal Indian Health Service awarded Alaska Native Tribal Health Corp. $200,000 out of the $1.6 million that was set aside in September for suicide and meth use prevention efforts.
  The corporation hosted one of two recent conferences in Anchorage that sought to educate officials about warning signs of meth use as well as spotting labs where the drug is being cooked.
  Yukon-
  
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• Ketchikan marijuana committee to consider pot tax proposal

  09-11-2015 22:35
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports the city’s Marijuana Advisory Committee will meet Monday to consider the $10-per-ounce excise tax on marijuana.
  Under the proposal brought forward by Ralph Mirsky, marijuana tax revenue in Ketchikan would fund travel for student extracurricular activities as well as substance abuse education. The proposal would also have state marijuana tax revenue put to similar uses.
  Voters approved a $50 state excise tax to legalize marijuana in 2014. Marijuana will be s
  
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• Buccaneer Oil trustees agree to reduced payments

  09-11-2015 22:34
  The city of Homer will return some of the payments received in the 90 days before Buccaneer Oil filed for bankruptcy in May 2014.
  The Homer News reports the city is agreeing to repay $8,730 rather than the nearly $17,500 demanded by the law firm representing the oil company’s liquidating trust.
  City attorney Thomas Klinkner negotiated the reduced amount. In an Oct. 26 report, City Manager Katie Koester said it gives her heartburn to agree to the repayment, but that the move saves money on
  
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• Recovered pups find comfort in Sitka

  09-11-2015 22:33
  Meet Brandi, Peaches, Bamboo, Hunter, Chuckles, and Boomer.
  There’s also Taffy, James, Bearhood, Chip and Spot. The fluffy cargo safely arrived at the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport on Thursday and were promptly whisked away to the animal shelter.
  Eleven homeless pups landed in Sitka on Thursday (11-5-13). The dogs, recovered from Ketchikan, will be ready to adopt shortly. (Brielle Schaeffer/KCAW photo)
  The dogs are a long way from home. They are a part of a larger group rescued from a resi
  
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• A look back as Juneau Assembly considers Gastineau reboot

  09-11-2015 22:30
  Will Muldoon lost almost everything in the fire. He escaped with just his dog and a pair of EXTRATUFS. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins)
  The burned out Gastineau Apartments are supposed to be demolished in April, but a last-minute deal could restore the downtown dwelling. Three years after the fire, the owner has a purchase agreement with a Seattle developer. It’s on Monday’s Assembly agenda.
  Will Muldoon lived at the Gastineau Apartments for about five years. He says the street was alway
  
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• Katmai bear-cam viewers witness strange, unexplained death of two brown bears

  09-11-2015 22:27
  
  Katmai wildlife technicians prepare to conduct a field autopsy on an adult male that died of unknown causes in late October. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)
  Last month at Katmai National Park, the final hours of two brown bears played out in front of an online audience of thousands. The two animals laid down and died within days of each other.
  Bear-cam viewers are acting as both eye-witnesses and detectives in this curious case.
  Oct. 21 started as a normal fall day at Brooks C
  
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• Alaska gets high marks in integrity investigation but F for records laws - KTUU.com

  09-11-2015 22:14
  Alaska gets high marks in integrity investigation but F for records laws
  KTUU.com
  On a sunny, warm August morning, a state senator and a legislative staffer sat in leather armchairs near a fireplace as an espresso machine hissed over shouted orders at SteamDot Coffee. A lobbyist, among the state's top-earning, sat next to a window, ...
  

• Potential legislation could close small schools in Diomede, Nome, and other western communities

  09-11-2015 21:37
  to receive state funding, Alaska schools must have a minimum of 10 students. At least, that’s the rule right now. But some lawmakers are looking at raising the number to 20 students — or even 25 — in an effort to slash state spending. If passed, the legislation could close around 60 schools statewide, including several in western Alaska.
  On the chopping block are small schools in Nome, Bethel, Kaltag, and Koyukuk. But perhaps the biggest impact would come in Diomede, where
  
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• SOL Examines High Rate of Suicide in Canada’s North Region

  09-11-2015 21:00
  
  SOL explores the death of a young Inuk man, Solomon Tapatiaq Uyarasuk. He is found dead in an RCMP detachment in a remote Inuit community and the locals suspect murder but the police suggest suicide.
  As the documentary investigates the truth to Solomon’s death it sheds light on the underlying social issues of Canada’s North that has resulted in this region claiming one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world.
  The film explores how the pain of suicide has affected the people i
  
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• Anchorage school canceled due to Southcentral Alaska snowfall - Alaska Dispatch News

  09-11-2015 19:55
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Anchorage school canceled due to Southcentral Alaska snowfall
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Northbound traffic passes under the 23rd Avenue bridge on the icy A Street downhill on Monday morning. Scott Jensen. School in Anchorage has been canceled Monday, as the city recovers from a dump of snow that also hit parts of the Mat-Su overnight ...and more »
  

• Magnitude-6.2 earthquake hits off Alaska's Aleutian Islands - Fox News

  09-11-2015 17:52
  BNO News
  Magnitude-6.2 earthquake hits off Alaska's Aleutian Islands
  Fox News
  The temblor hit just after 7 a.m. Alaska time and was centered 58 miles southeast of Atka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 10 kilometers deep, which could potentially lead to more problems due to how shallow it occurred.
  Strong earthquake strikes off Atka in Alaska's Andreanof IslandsBNO Newsall 53 news articles »
  

• Bethel visit humanizes Kilbuck fire to Gov. Walker

  09-11-2015 17:50
  
  Gov. Bill Walker visiting the Kilbuck fire site along with LKSD Superintendent Dan Walker and Rep. Bob Herron. (Photo by Dean Swope/KYUK)
  Gov. Bill Walker visited Bethel Friday to meet with city and school officials as well as teachers and students displaced by Tuesday’s fire that incinerated the Kilbuck campus, housing two schools and residential dorms.
  Mayor Rick Robb presented the governor with the city’s disaster proclamation, asking the governor to declare an emergency
  
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• Cruise and Air Travel News: Mekong Cruises, Caribbean Flights

  09-11-2015 06:00 via nytimes.com
  What you need to know if you’re on a trip or planning one soon, including a new Norwegian Cruise Line ship and a sailing that traces the travels of John Muir.
  
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