Alaska news

• PSP levels in Haines area at all-time high, report says

  18-11-2015 22:04
  (Photo by Jillian Rogers/KHNS)
  A new study says the levels of toxins responsible for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning taken from samples around Haines this summer are all well above the Food and Drug Administration’s limit.
  Senior scientist Bruce Wright with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association says the PSP situation has been dire in Alaska for years, but new findings suggest it’s getting worse.
  Wright says in a recent study that the levels of the toxin that causes PSP are hig
  
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• ‘Companion’ Christmas trees from Tongass en route to DC

  18-11-2015 22:00
  
  Aaron Steuerwald and Steve Hollis found the best available Shore Pine were on the Shoal Cove road system on Revillagigedo island in Southeast Alaska. (USFS photo)
  This year’s National Christmas Tree is a 74-foot spruce from Alaska’s Chugach National Forest. The tree is traveling across the U.S. on its way to Washington, D.C. — and as of Sunday, was in Indiana.
  In addition to the spruce, which will be placed on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, seven smaller “companion&rd
  
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• ‘Companion’ Christmas trees from Tongass

  18-11-2015 22:00
  Aaron Steuerwald and Steve Hollis found the best available Shore Pine were on the Shoal Cove road system on Revillagigedo island in Southeast Alaska. (USFS photo)
  This year’s National Christmas Tree is a 74-foot spruce from Alaska’s Chugach National Forest. The tree is traveling across the U.S. on its way to Washington, D.C., and as of Sunday, was in Indiana.
  In addition to the spruce, which will be placed on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, seven smaller “companion” tr
  
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• Talkeetna Airport sees busy tourist season, but short of past projections

  18-11-2015 21:55
  After a busy summer, the Talkeetna State Airport has returned to its quiet, off-season state. Local air services say they saw increases in traffic this summer.
  Talkeetna Air Taxi claims an 11% increase over last season for the busy months of May to September.
  K2 Aviation also had a busy summer, and owner Suzanne Rust attributes some of her company’s increase in business to the good flying weather. She says every day felt like the Fourth of July.
  Comparing total aviation numbers between 201
  
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• Strong Upper Cook Inlet sockeye run expected In 2016

  18-11-2015 21:52
  Sockeye on ice. (Credit Mike Mason/KDLG)
  Managers with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are expecting a bigger year in 2016 than 2015 for parts of Upper Cook Inlet. Area commercial fisheries manager Pat Shields says sockeye runs on the Kenai river will be up slightly, while the Kasilof run is expected to be down just a tick.
  “The overall run is a little above average, 7.1 million (sockeye), Kenai will be above average, not significantly above, but above average and Kasilof a little b
  
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• Unalaska hears on community-driven brownfield reclamation

  18-11-2015 21:47
  
  Joy Britt wants Unalaskans to envision contaminated sites transformed. (Photo by Greta Mart/KUCB)
  Out of over 7,400 contaminated sites around Alaska, a hundred are in Unalaska and Dutch Harbor. That’s among the highest concentration of contaminated sites in the state, besides Adak.
  The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) runs the state’s contaminated sites program. The program is aimed at managing the cleanup of places where the soil and groundwater are polluted, an
  
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• Community group envisions transformation of contaminated lands

  18-11-2015 21:47
  Joy Britt wants Unalaskans to envision contaminated sites transformed. (Photo by Greta Mart/KUCB)
  Out of over 7,400 contaminated sites around Alaska, a hundred are in Unalaska and Dutch Harbor. That’s among the highest concentration of contaminated sites in the state, besides Adak.
  The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) runs the state’s contaminated sites program. The program is aimed at managing the cleanup of places where the soil and groundwater are polluted, an
  
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• Inupiaq school rallies support for Yup’ik sister school

  18-11-2015 21:39
  Jennifer Howarth (left) and Ida Aanataiyaaq Biesemeier (right) at the Kotzebue bake sale, raising money for Bethel’s Ayaprun school. (Photo by Molly Sheldon)
  When the Nikaitchuat Ilisagviat Inupiaq immersion school opened in Kotzebue, its founders turned to Bethel’s Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Yup’ik immersion school for guidance. With Ayaprun’s building destroyed earlier this month in a fire, its Inupiaq sister school is stepping in to offer support.
  Images of the fire flashed a
  
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• ABC Board to consider two Bethel liquor license applications

  18-11-2015 21:36
  BNC Kipusvik facility, the proposed Bethel Spirits site. (Photo by Myka Kernak / KYUK)
  On Thursday, the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will review two Bethel liquor license applications—one for AC Quickstop and another for Bethel Native Corporation. Bethel has not had a liquor store for over 40 years.
  The meeting will take place in Anchorage, and Bethel residents can call-in to listen and provide public comment.
  Either applicant receiving a license is unlikely.
  An ABC Board i
  
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• Alaska governor says refugee vetting process ‘stringent’

  18-11-2015 21:29
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says refugees seeking to come to the U.S. must go through a “stringent” process.
  His office says Walker was among the governors who participated in a briefing with officials from the White House, FBI and State Department on the refugee process.
  Since Friday’s terror attacks in Paris, some governors have questioned U.S. plans to accept more Syrian refugees, concerned that terrorists might use the refugees as cover to sneak across borders.
  In a release, Wa
  
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• Alaska National Guard calls for new military code

  18-11-2015 21:28
  The Alaska National Guard is asking lawmakers to pass a new version of the state’s code of military justice to help fix a lack of accountability in the guard.
  The Alaska Dispatch News reports Capt. Forrest Dunbar presented the latest version of the proposed code before lawmakers Tuesday.
  Dunbar, who is leading efforts to get the bill approved, says the new code would create a “functioning system of military justice” for Alaska.
  If the new code were to be implemented, it would r
  
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• Alaska drafts transboundary agreement with B.C.

  18-11-2015 21:27
  British Columbia Mines Minister Bill Bennett, left, and Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott talk at a dinner at Juneau’s Walter Soboleff Center in August. (Photo courtesy of the governor’s office)
  Alaska officials have drafted an agreement with British Columbia aimed at protecting transboundary waters. They say it will address concerns about pollution from mines on rivers that flow into Alaska. But critics say it may not make any difference, because it has no teeth.
  Lt. Gov. Byron Mal
  
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• First winter in the wild looms for re-introduced wood bison

  18-11-2015 21:21
  The Innoko Flats wood bison herd is going into its first winter in the wild.
  Wood Bison in Portage game facility.
  Credit: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game transported 130 wood bison to Shageluk by air and barge earlier this year, in an effort to reintroduce the species to Alaska.
  Fish and Game Wood Bison Project Leader Tom Seaton reports that the vast majority of the herd is staying close to where they were originally released.
  “
  
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• Growing chorus of Alaska lawmakers opposes Syrian refugee resettlement; Gov ... - Alaska Dispatch News

  18-11-2015 15:15
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Growing chorus of Alaska lawmakers opposes Syrian refugee resettlement; Gov ...
  Alaska Dispatch News
  In this Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015, file photo, a Syrian refugee child sleeps in his father's arms while waiting at a resting point to board a bus after arriving on a dinghy from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos. Muhammed Muheisen ...
  Governor vows not to block Syrian refugee relocation to AlaskaFairbanks Daily News-Miner
  31 governors don't want Syrian
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015

  18-11-2015 03:44
  
  
  Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn.Download Audio
   
  Statoil will exit Alaska, following ShellRachel Waldholz, APRN – Anchorage
  Another major oil company has announced it will exit Alaska’s Arctic waters.
  Gas line team reshuffle puts scrutiny on high salaries
  Rachel Waldholz, APRN &nda
  
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• Statoil will exit Alaska, following Shell

  18-11-2015 03:39
  
  
  A map of Norwegian oil company Statoil’s leases in the Chukchi Sea. (Courtesy of Statoil)
  Another major oil company has announced it will exit Alaska’s Arctic waters.
  Download Audio
  Norwegian oil company Statoil said Tuesday (Nov. 17) that it will end exploration efforts in the Chukchi Sea and close its Anchorage office. The decision comes just two months after Shell ended its quest to drill in the Arctic Ocean, citing disappointing results at its first well.
  Statoil Spokesman Peter
  
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• Gas line team reshuffle puts scrutiny on high salaries

  18-11-2015 03:37
  
  
  As the state prepares to take a larger role in the Alaska LNG gas line project, its leadership team is once again in flux.
  Download Audio
  The changes are bringing new attention to the salaries involved — including one negotiator who has been paid about $120,000 a month since June.
  Rigdon Boykin is a South Carolina-based attorney who has been serving as the state’s lead negotiator on the Alaska LNG project. In that role, he has overseen discussions with the state’s three main pa
  
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• Congressional delegation says no to Syrian refugees

  18-11-2015 03:36
  
  
  Photo: Liz Ruskin
  Alaska’s congressman and U.S. senators are among the chorus of political leaders calling on President Obama to suspend his  plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees.  Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she wants a moratorium, a pause to give Congress and the public a chance to evaluate the vetting process. Murkowski says she knows screening a refugee family can take up to two years, but she isn’t clear on what it entails.
  Download Audio
  The White House sa
  
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• AVCP aims to establish tribal court in every YK village

  18-11-2015 03:32
  
  
  An Alaska non-profit wants to do something new—set up courts for about one-fourth of Alaska’s tribes. The Association of Village Council Presidents, or AVCP, is a nonprofit representing 56 villages across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and they want each village to develop its own tribal court. Before they can do that, AVCP has to develop a model for something that has never existed.
  Download Audio
  Monique Vondall-Rieke, AVCP Tribal Justice Center Director, with a map of the YK Delta. Ph
  
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• Warming landscape triggers northward habitat shift

  18-11-2015 03:31
  
  
  For years scientists have documented changes in Alaska’s vegetation due to a warmer climate. Now, researchers are noting animals establishing new habitats on the North Slope in response to the altered landscape.
  Download Audio
  A hare is easily spotted after its color transition in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo: Monica Gokey/KSKA.
  Ken Tape is an Arctic ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He says his research often takes him to the North Slope. And he’s reported on how shrubs i
  
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• Statoil to Depart Chukchi Sea; Latest to Drop Alaska Efforts

  18-11-2015 03:30 via nytimes.com
  The Norwegian oil company Statoil said on Tuesday that it would pull out of the Chukchi Sea off Alaska.
  
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• Budding photographers prep for strong winter aurora

  18-11-2015 03:30
  
  
  The northern lights are bright over Alaska this winter. And those with a little luck, knowledge and patience can keep their views all year long.
  Download Audio
  Phone courtesy UAF Geophysical Institute.
  It’s 10:30 Tuesday night in a parking area below the Warren Ames Memorial Bridge over the Kenai River. The lights of Kenai twinkle to the north, but the only immediate light comes from the occasional passing car and the sporadic burst of a flashlight clicked on to check camera
  
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• DOC report: Juneau inmate denied care before dying of heart attack

  18-11-2015 01:49
  A newly released state report on the state’s prison system details disturbing events related to the death of Juneau resident Joseph Murphy.
  (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  In August, the 49-year-old Iraq veteran died of an apparent heart attack in a holding cell at Lemon Creek Correctional Center. He was being held there on noncriminal charges. At the time, Department of Corrections released scant information about the death.
  Dean Williams calls Joseph Murphy’s death at the Juneau
  
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• Berkowitz unveils new plan to end homelessness in Anchorage

  18-11-2015 00:54
  
  Mayor Ethan Berkowitz announced the basics of his action plan to end homelessness in Anchorage during a press conference at Sitka Place. Hillman/KSKAAnchorage’s mayor announced the city’s new homelessness action plan on Tuesday. It will focus on providing 300 permanent housing units in the next three years for adults who are living on the street and in camps.Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says the first step is coordinating with resource providers, landlords, and people who need housing to fi
  
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