Alaska news

• Spice conference convenes as overdoses in Anchorage persist

  27-01-2016 22:32
  Medical emergencies connected with synthetic cannabinoids remain stubbornly high in Anchorage — 6 to 8 percent of daily calls for hospital transport, according to Fire Department officials.
  Thursday morning, city officials, first responders, and social service providers are coming together for two days of meetings as part of a Municipal Synthetic Cannabinoid Working Group.
  Though not as high as this past fall, calls for medical emergencies related to Spice have persisted this (Co
  
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• Regents endorse UA President’s plan to streamline university system

  27-01-2016 21:37
  
  University of Alaska Southeast (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  The University of Alaska Board of Regents has endorsed UA President Jim Johnsen’s plan to restructure the university system, as it faces continuing declines in state funding.
  UA President Jim Johnsen presented the framework for the plan at a 2-day work session last week. He says it will streamline and increase efficiency across the university system.
  “Focusing each one of our major campuses, our universities, UAS in Southeast, U
  
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• Public Works catches up on services, still lacks workers

  27-01-2016 21:23
  
  After a month of backlogs and overtime, Bethel’s water tanks are filled and sewer pipes emptied. Public Works caught up on water deliveries Wednesday and on sewer Saturday after a month of delayed service.
  Bethel water truck (Photo by Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK)
  The gridlock began on December 23, two days before Christmas, when a water truck rolled off the road. City Manager Ann Capela says the accident started a cascade effect that spread throughout the Public Works Department.
  “What
  
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• Photos: Alaska's Future - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 21:07
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Photos: Alaska's Future
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Ron Duncan, president and CEO of GCI, left, stands together with Alaska AFL-CIO president Vince Beltrami as they launched a statewide campaign Alaska's Future to promote a long-term solution to solve the state's budget challenge on Tuesday, Jan.
  

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• Faulty pump adds higher arsenic levels in Talkeetna water

  27-01-2016 21:06
  
  Talkeetna water system customers will soon receive a notice about slightly elevated arsenic levels in the water in December and January.
  The Environmental Protection Agency requires that arsenic levels are no higher than ten micrograms per liter. In December, the water tested at just below fifteen micrograms, and in January it tested around thirteen.
  Mat-Su Borough Public Works Director Terry Dolan says that a malfunctioning pump that was not feeding a chemical into the water that removes arseni
  
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• Buccaneer’s Impact Regretful But Not All Bad

  27-01-2016 21:01
  
  The City of Homer and local businesses were shocked last summer when the trustee of a bankrupt oil and gas exploration company’s assets demanded they give back money they were paid over a year ago. There are a lot of regrets over contracting with Buccaneer Energy. But a city official says he would do it again.
  Endeavour Spirit of Independence jack up rig leaving Kachemak Bay (Photo by Terry Rensel, KBBI)
  Buccaneer left Alaska owing a lot of people money. The company listed dozens of credit
  
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• Buccaneer asks creditors for money back

  27-01-2016 21:01
  
  The City of Homer and local businesses were shocked last summer when the trustee of a bankrupt oil and gas exploration company’s assets demanded they give back money they were paid over a year ago. There are a lot of regrets over contracting with Buccaneer Energy. But a city official says he would do it again.
  Endeavour Spirit of Independence jack up rig leaving Kachemak Bay (Photo by Terry Rensel, KBBI)
  Buccaneer left Alaska owing a lot of people money. The company listed dozens of credit
  
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• Alaska Troopers: Palmer man uses ID of dead brother to avoid paying child support - KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather

  27-01-2016 20:52
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska Troopers: Palmer man uses ID of dead brother to avoid paying child support
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  A man in Palmer, accused of two counts of sexual assault of a minor, has also been accused of using the identity of his deceased brother, Alaska State Troopers say. On Dec. 15, the Alaska Bureau of Investigations received a report from a mother that ...
  Troopers: Palmer man sexually abused girls, stole deceased brother's identityAlaska Dispatch
  

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• First graders take look at life in Alaska - The Edwardsville Intelligencer

  27-01-2016 19:07
  The Edwardsville Intelligencer
  First graders take look at life in Alaska
  The Edwardsville Intelligencer
  Using Ellie Thomas as a model, Goshen Elementary School first-grade teacher Brandy Marsh gives her students an idea of how much clothing an Alaskan student wears to go outside for recess in 20 below weather. Snow science. Julia Biggs/Intelligencer ...
  

• Wasilla bans all retail marijuana businesses - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 18:55
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Wasilla bans all retail marijuana businesses
  Alaska Dispatch News
  WASILLA -- Growing marijuana commercially or selling it in stores is now illegal in Wasilla despite fears that banning legitimate operations will fuel the city's already thriving black market. The city council ended a marathon meeting Monday night with ...and more »
  

• Marine Science Symposium – LIVEBLOG – Wednesday

  27-01-2016 18:25
  
  7:45 a.m. Signs are that it will be a technology morning at the Marine Science Symposium.  Two different teams, one at UAA and the other at Notre Dame, will present computer models for forecasting what will be happening on the Yukon Kuskokwim flats as sea level rises and storm surges intensify with climate warming.
  We’ll also see what they call a “four dimensional” depiction of the ocean currents in a part of the Bering Sea, and get an update on a new type of drone th
  
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• New subcommittee focusing on Medicaid reform

  27-01-2016 17:56
  
  Sen. Anna MacKinnon participates in a discussion during a Senate Resources Committee meeting, Feb. 5, 2014. (Photo by Skip Gray/Gavel Alaska)
  The Senate Fiance Committee is creating a new subcommittee to look at Medicaid reform. Senator Anna MacKinnon, a Republican from Eagle River, will chair the subcommittee. She says the other members will be announced Wednesday morning.
  MacKinnnon says the subcommittee will review Medicaid reform bills from Senator Pete Kelly, a Republican from Fairbanks and
  
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• Pot testing rules difficult to meet for island communities

  27-01-2016 17:51
  
  Cannabis Plant. (Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
  Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has turned down a proposed change to marijuana regulations that would have made it easier for southeast and rural Alaska communities to comply with testing requirements.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports Mallott signed testing regulations drafted by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board Friday. The rules were approved without a provision that would have allowed alternative testing requirements for communities off the ro
  
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• More flood protection planned for Dalton Highway

  27-01-2016 17:49
  
  Dalton Highway. (Credit Alaska DOT)
  The Alaska Department of Transportation is taking additional steps to protect the northern section of the highway that leads to North Slope oil fields.
  Highway officials will build a gravel berm next to the Dalton Highway to protect it from overflow from the Sagavanirktok River, generally referred to as the Sag River.
  The berm is planned east of the highway from Miles 394 to 397. Construction is expected to begin by mid-February.
  The Dalton Highway begins nort
  
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• Men gets 6 years for 2014 fatal Kodiak stabbing

  27-01-2016 17:31
  
  A Kodiak man has been sentenced to six years in jail with four suspended for fatally stabbing another man while demonstrating his martial arts moves.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that 45-year-old Teila Tofelogo was sentenced Monday and will be credited for time served since the Nov. 16, 2014 stabbing.
  Tofelogo pleaded guilty in July to criminally negligent homicide.
  According to court documents, Tofelogo was showing 59-year-old Dennis Fathke his “ninja moves” with a 12-inch knife
  
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• Reality Check: Caribou antler vodka and other odd concoctions on 'Alaska Proof' - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 17:15
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Reality Check: Caribou antler vodka and other odd concoctions on 'Alaska Proof'
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Toby, the owner of Alaska Distillery, checks out the new devil's club vodka formula. Screen capture via Animal Planet. "Alaska Proof" is getting weird. Straight up. Episode one eased us in with the harvesting of glacial ice and honey to make vodka at ...
  

• Alaska senator: Only women showed up for work after blizzard - Sun Times National

  27-01-2016 15:00
  Sun Times National
  Alaska senator: Only women showed up for work after blizzard
  Sun Times National
  A lot has been made about the gender pay gap in America where on average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man and on Tuesday on the Senate floor, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski couldn't help but notice one thing missing from the ...
  Alaska Senator Says Only Women Showed Up To Run Congress Post-BlizzardHuffington Postall 68 news articles »
  

• Skier tumbles 1000 down Alaska mountain, wasn't injured - KETV Omaha

  27-01-2016 14:44
  KETV Omaha
  Skier tumbles 1000 down Alaska mountain, wasn't injured
  KETV Omaha
  A skier tumbled down an Alaskan mountainside for what seems like forever before coming to a stop, and was somehow able to escape with no major injuries. Angel Collinson told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she only suffered bruises and hurt two of ...and more »
  

• Skier tumbles 1000 down Alaska mountain, wasn't injured - KTUU.com

  27-01-2016 14:43
  KTUU.com
  Skier tumbles 1000 down Alaska mountain, wasn't injured
  KTUU.com
  A skier tumbled down an Alaskan mountainside for what seems like forever before coming to a stop, and was somehow able to escape with no major injuries. Angel Collinson told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she only suffered bruises and hurt two of ...
  Skier Takes Terrifying 1000-Foot Tumble Down Alaska MountainESPNall 83 news articles »
  

• ANALYSIS: Alaska Airlines to Replace Q400s with Regional Jets - Airways News (blog)

  27-01-2016 12:53
  Airways News (blog)
  ANALYSIS: Alaska Airlines to Replace Q400s with Regional Jets
  Airways News (blog)
  Alaska Airlines will soon place an order for 30 new large regional jets (RJs) to replace 15 Bombardier Q400 turboprops, according to comments from the carrier's executive team on its fourth quarter and year-end 2015 earnings conference call. Alaska is ...
  

• Alaska Board of Education pauses teacher evaluation changes - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  27-01-2016 09:38
  Alaska Board of Education pauses teacher evaluation changes
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Board of Education advanced a proposal this week that would halt a pilot program requiring student achievement data be used in teacher evaluations. The board voted unanimously to advance the rule change toward public ...
  

• Alaska Railroad rolls out new tour of national parks - Travel Weekly

  27-01-2016 09:06
  Travel Weekly
  Alaska Railroad rolls out new tour of national parks
  Travel Weekly
  Alaska Railroad's national parks tour includes travel along the entire length of the railroad's main line. Photo Credit: Glenn Aronwits. --. --. Alaska Railroad is celebrating the National Park Service's centennial with a new, eight-day tour this ...
  

• Alaska education department will replace new statewide standardized test - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 06:53
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska education department will replace new statewide standardized test
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska's Department of Education announced Tuesday that it will get rid of the new statewide standardized test less than a year after students in grades 3 through 10 took the exam for the first time. Alaska Education Commissioner Mike Hanley said in a ...and more »
  

• Alaska still richest oil economy on earth, even with big budget deficit - KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather

  27-01-2016 06:40
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska still richest oil economy on earth, even with big budget deficit
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska may have a nearly $4 billion budget deficit looming over its head, but a Harvard researcher brought to testify before the Alaska Legislature said we're still better off than most other places. “Alaska is the richest country in the world based on ...
  Alaska's Future campaign urges lawmakers to tap Permanent FundAlaska Public Radio Networkall 3
  

• Video: 'They Said' - Preston Pollard on being a skater from Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 06:29
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Video: 'They Said' - Preston Pollard on being a skater from Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Born in Anchorage in 1988, Pollard pursued his dream of being a professional skateboarder with a single-minded dedication. He was 17 when he moved to California. He's had some success in the wildly competitive world of skateboarding but on a recent ...and more »
  

• Alaska senators offer extreme income tax question to get desired result - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 06:01
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska senators offer extreme income tax question to get desired result
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Ask Alaskans if they will support an income tax based on 6 percent of their federal tax bill, 15 percent of their federal tax bill or 25 percent of their federal tax bill, and the responses will be different. That's obvious. It's also obvious that no ...and more »
  

• Alaska Democrats question state candidacy law - Washington Times

  27-01-2016 05:12
  Clay Center Dispatch
  Alaska Democrats question state candidacy law
  Washington Times
  The chair of the Alaska Democratic party is questioning the constitutionality of a state law requiring that candidates seeking a party's nomination be registered voters of that party. In a letter to state election officials, party chairwoman Casey ...
  Alaska Democrats vote to allow independents in party primaryKFQD
  Alaska Democrats to allow independent candidates to run in party primaryKTUU.comall 29 news articl
  

• Delay continues for Alaska-bound cargo ship - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 05:07
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Delay continues for Alaska-bound cargo ship
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Dockside cranes stand out against the overcast sky as downtown Anchorage sits in the distance on Monday, August 11, 2014, at the Port of Anchorage. Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News. A Tote Maritime Alaska ship that was supposed to depart from Tacoma ...
  

• One way or another, state of Alaska should stand by LIO deal - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 04:54
  Alaska Dispatch News
  One way or another, state of Alaska should stand by LIO deal
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Alaska risks long-term harm to its creditworthiness if state tries to walk away from LIO deal. Pictured: The Legislative Office Building shortly before the completion of its remodeling in January 2015. Erik Hill / ADN. I strongly recommend ...
  

• Reality Check: Caribou antler vodka and other concoctions on 'Alaska Proof' - Alaska Dispatch News

  27-01-2016 04:24
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Reality Check: Caribou antler vodka and other concoctions on 'Alaska Proof'
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Toby, the owner of Alaska Distillery, checks out the new devil's club vodka formula. Screen capture via Animal Planet. "Alaska Proof" is getting weird. Straight up. Episode one eased us in with the harvesting of glacial ice and honey to make vodka at ...
  

• Palmer sculptor heats up the art scene

  27-01-2016 04:11
  
  
  Pat Garley in his Palmer studio. Photo: Ellen Lockyer, KSKA-Anchorage
  The technique of bronze casting has been around for thousands of years, but more recently it’s found a foothold in Alaska.  At  Arctic Fires Bronze Sculptureworks in Palmer, a blast of 2000 degree heat from a furnace warms up the studio where Pat Garley melts down  bronze and iron  in the process of creating art.  Garley, a former contractor, has switched to art for his livelihood, and he is now
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016

  27-01-2016 03:40
  
  
  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
   
  Alaska’s Future campaign urges lawmakers to tap Permanent Fund
  Josh Edge, APRN – Anchorage
  An unlikely coalition of Alaskans, ranging from business and union leaders, to Alaska Native Corporations and past politicians, are launching
  
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• Alaska’s Future campaign urges lawmakers to tap Permanent Fund

  27-01-2016 03:36
  
  An unlikely coalition of Alaskans, ranging from business and union leaders, to Alaska Native Corporations and past politicians, are launching the Alaska’s Future campaign. The initiative is promoting long-term solutions to the state’s fiscal crisis, and the group says the Permanent Fund needs to play a crucial role.
  Download Audio
  GCI CEO Ron Duncan (left) and AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami (right) kick off the Alaska’s Future coalition campaign. (Photo by Josh Edge/APRN)
  GCI
  
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• Alaska job forecast holds steady despite plunging oil prices

  27-01-2016 03:35
  
  The most recent forecast from the Alaska Department of Labor predicts only modest job losses in 2016.
  As oil prices have dropped to levels that were unthinkable just a year ago, many Alaskans are wondering whether the state is facing economic calamity.
  The short answer is: not yet. Last year, the state added jobs, despite plunging oil prices. In fact, oil and gas employment reached a record high in 2015.
  In its annual employment forecast, out this month, the Alaska Department of Labor predicts m
  
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• For one brief day, women run the U.S. Senate

  27-01-2016 03:34
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski posted wintry scenes like this on social media this weekend. Photo via Facebook.
  The East Coast is still digging out from this weekend’s blizzard. In Washington, the side streets of Capitol Hill look suitable for running the Iditarod. But the U.S. Senate did meet this morning.
  Download AudioFor all of 10 minutes. And that included the Pledge of Allegiance and an unhurried opening prayer from the Senate chaplain.
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of two senators to show u
  
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• Proposal to boost min. enrollment makes little headway

  27-01-2016 03:33
  
  
  A controversial proposal to increase minimum school enrollment seems unlikely to pass this session, if such a bill even materializes.
  Download Audio
  This fall, Rep, Lynn Gattis, R-Wasilla, said she wanted to increase the threshold number of students from 10 to 20, or 25, a move that would cut state funding to more than 50 small schools statewide.
  The proposal met with strong resistance from rural schools and superintendents.
  And that opposition seems to have carried over into
  
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• Rash of car thefts unnerves Anchorage

  27-01-2016 03:32
  
  
  Seventeen cars were stolen in a single 24-hour period in Anchorage, starting yesterday (Jan. 25) and running through this morning (Jan. 26).
  Download Audio
  “Majority of them were cases or scenarios where the motorist had left their key in the ignition running so that it could warm up.”
  Jennifer Castro is a spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department. She says 17 stolen cars is an exceptionally high spike, but part of a phenomenon the department is used to seeing. More cars
  
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• Juneau weaver adds to family legacy of Chilkat robes

  27-01-2016 03:31
  
  The Portland Art Museum in Oregon has commissioned a Tlingit Chilkat robe from a Juneau weaver — adding a fourth generation to a lineage of weaving students and teachers.
  Download Audio
  In a shop downtown, Lily Hope is weaving her first Chilkat blanket.
  Keeping with tradition, Lily Hope covers her weaving. She won’t publicly share photos until the blanket is finished. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
  She sits in front of a 5-foot-long wooden loom carved by her father.
  
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• Alaska job forecast holds steady despite plunging oil prices - Alaska Public Radio Network

  27-01-2016 03:19
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  Alaska job forecast holds steady despite plunging oil prices
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  The most recent forecast from the Alaska Department of Labor predicts only modest job losses in 2016. As oil prices have dropped to levels that were unthinkable just a year ago, many Alaskans are wondering whether the state is facing economic calamity.and more »
  

• New Senate group convened to scrutinize Medicaid reform

  27-01-2016 03:12
  
  The Senate Fiance Committee is creating a new subcommittee to look at Medicaid reform. Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, will lead the subcommittee. She says the other members will be announced Wednesday morning.MacKinnnon says the subcommittee will review Medicaid reform bills from Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, and from the Walker administration. She says members will focus on finding Medicaid cost drivers to bend the curve on spending.“I’m trying to focus right now at least on ho
  
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• Five-year-old Alaska boy fatally shot by 11-year-old child while playing video games - New York Daily News

  27-01-2016 03:01
  New York Daily News
  Five-year-old Alaska boy fatally shot by 11-year-old child while playing video games
  New York Daily News
  A 5-year-old Alaska boy was fatally shot by an 11-year-old child while playing video games at home in his living room, police said. Alaska State Troopers said Kadin Mann died in an Anchorage hospital Sunday, the day after the accidental 6:20 p.m ...
  Troopers: Child killed in Alaska village was shot by 11-year-oldFairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Alaska boy accidentally shot and
  

• Troopers search for owner of Western Alaska home where a man found dead - KTUU.com

  27-01-2016 02:42
  KTUU.com
  Troopers search for owner of Western Alaska home where a man found dead
  KTUU.com
  Alaska State Troopers are trying to find the owner of a home where a man was found dead Sunday in Aniak. Troopers have not publicly identified the deceased. As the body is sent to Anchorage for positive identification and an autopsy, troopers announced ...and more »
  

• Alaska Senator Says Only Women Showed Up To Run Congress Post-Blizzard - Huffington Post

  27-01-2016 00:51
  Huffington Post
  Alaska Senator Says Only Women Showed Up To Run Congress Post-Blizzard
  Huffington Post
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has been impressed with the cold weather survival skills of her female colleagues in the Senate this week. The men, not so much. Murkowski was one of the few lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and she noted on the Senate ...and more »
  

• Talkeetna water tests high for arsenic

  27-01-2016 00:16
  
  Talkeetna water system customers will soon receive a notice about slightly elevated arsenic levels in the water in December and January.
  The Environmental Protection Agency requires that arsenic levels are no higher than 10 micrograms per liter.  In December, the water tested at just below 15 micrograms, and in January it tested around 13.
  Mat-Su Borough Public Works Director Terry Dolan says that a malfunctioning pump that feeds a chemical into the water to remove arsenic caused the p
  
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• Alaska Airlines gets new paint job in re-branding campaign - kgw.com

  27-01-2016 00:01
  kgw.com
  Alaska Airlines gets new paint job in re-branding campaign
  kgw.com
  Alaska announced a re-branding, which includes a new paint job for planes and new flight perks. (Photo: Alaska Airlines). CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN GOOGLE+ PINTEREST. SEATTLE – Alaska Airlines announced Monday it is giving itself a facelift ...
  Alaska Airlines Unveils New Branding And Livery DesignForbes
  Alaska Airlines unveils first new look for planes, brand in 25 yearsQ13 FOX
  Alaska Airlines Unveils Major Bran
  

• Report says fish still big industry in Alaska - KDLG

  27-01-2016 00:00
  KDLG
  Report says fish still big industry in Alaska
  KDLG
  A new report is a reminder of what many Alaskans already know: seafood is a big industry in the state. A seiner is shown in Pavlof Bay in this photo, which won an ASMI photo competition in 2015. Pavlof Bay is on the Alaska Peninsula, part of the Bering ...
  

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