Alaska news

• Data Gaps Hinder Explanation for Alaska Seabird Die-Off - ABC News

  04-02-2016 23:12
  Bend Bulletin
  Data Gaps Hinder Explanation for Alaska Seabird Die-Off
  ABC News
  A preliminary investigation into the massive die-off of common murres, one of the Northern Hemisphere's most abundant seabirds, off Alaska's coast is revealing gaps in basic information on North Pacific waters and the wildlife that inhabit them ...
  Data gaps hindering explanation for massive Alaska seabird die-offBend Bulletinall 53 news articles »
  

• New TV series goes inside the yellow tape with Alaska’s plane crash investigators

  04-02-2016 22:38
  
  A new documentary-style series by the Smithsonian Channel goes behind the scenes with investigators trying to figure out why planes crashed near Juneau, Knik Arm and other Alaska locations.
  A producer of “Alaska Aircrash Investigations” says it’s not another reality show. The TV crew had unprecedented access to information that’s not yet public.
  NTSB investigators Brice Banning and Clint Crookshanks on scene near Ketchikan examining the wreckage of a sightseeing plane tha
  
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• U.S. prosecutors recommend 20 years in prison for Salard

  04-02-2016 22:29
  
  Dr. Greg Salard is escorted by U.S. Marshals as he appears in U.S. District Court in Juneau. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  Federal prosecutors are recommending a 20-year prison term followed by a lifetime of supervised release for former Wrangell doctor Greg Salard ahead of his sentencing hearing next week.
  Salard was convicted last summer on felony charges of distribution and receipt of child pornography.
  The possible sentence for each count is five to 20 years in prison, followed by supervised r
  
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• Mysterious diesel fuel spill at Unalaska boat harbor

  04-02-2016 22:28
  
  Workers with the oil response contractor Chadux skimmed diesel fuel from the waters surrounding the Carl Moses boat harbor on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Greta Mart/KUCB)
  Local Coast Guard personnel are investigating a diesel fuel spill at the Carl E. Moses boat harbor.
  The spill was discovered on Monday afternoon, when the crew of a neighboring vessel noticed it and notified the Coast Guard’s Dutch Harbor office.
  According to Supervisor Lt. Bill Fitzgerald, after an initial investigati
  
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• K300 raises 2017 purse to $150,000

  04-02-2016 22:25
  
  (Photo by Chris Pike/ KYUK)
  The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race Committee has once again raised its purse, maintaining the race’s money pot as the second highest in the state for sled dog racing behind the Iditarod.
  The 2017 purse totals $150,000. That’s $20,000 more than this year’s race and is the fourth time in five years the purse has increased. The committee is also extending payouts from 20th position to 25th.
  Race Manager Zach Fansler says the race has attracted more sp
  
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• Soldotna martial arts teacher indicted on sexual abuse of a minor charges

  04-02-2016 22:20
  
  A martial arts teacher in Soldotna was indicted by a Kenai Grand Jury on Wednesday on one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, one countof second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor.
  Michael Dean Hancock has operated Peninsula Martial Arts for over 17 years, for most of that time at the “Y” intersection in Soldotna, and last yearmoving to a new location on Kalifornsky Beach Road. Hancock was arrested follow
  
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• Education commissioner Mike Hanley stepping down

  04-02-2016 22:12
  
  Mike Hanley. (Photo from state of Alaska)
  Mike Hanley is stepping down as Alaska’s education commissioner. Governor Bill Walker announced the leadership change in a press release Thursday morning.
  Hanley says it was the decision of the Governor and the State Board of Education, who said they want to steer the Department in a new direction.
  “I believe there are some things around the board’s new strategic plan. I worked with them to develop that,” Hanley sai
  
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• Senate takes public testimony on Walker’s Permanent Fund bill

  04-02-2016 22:06
  
  Gov. Bill Walker’s plan to fund state operations with Permanent Fund earnings is up for public comment before the Senate State Affairs Committee. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Alaskans get their first chance today to tell legislators what they think of the centerpiece of Gov. Bill Walker’s fiscal plan for the state.
  The Senate State Affairs Committee will begin hearingpublic testimony at 5:30 p.m. on Senate Bill 128. It would direct $3.3 billion annually in Alaska Permanent Fund
  
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• Sen. Sullivan co-sponsors bill to split 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

  04-02-2016 22:03
  
  The age-old effort to split up the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is back.
  Republican senators Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Steve Daines of Montana have co-sponsored the latest bill.
  The Ninth Circuit is the federal appeals court for Alaska and eight other western states.
  It is by far the biggest of all the circuit courts, serving a population nearly double the second largest. Campaigns to split it up date back to at least the 1940s.
  Many critics say the court is dominated by California judges and
  
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• Alaska Native Arts Foundation and gallery to close - Alaska Dispatch News

  04-02-2016 21:13
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska Native Arts Foundation and gallery to close
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The Alaska Native Arts Foundation has announced it will close this spring. Gallery doors were locked late Thursday morning, February 4, 2016, downtown. Erik Hill / ADN. The Alaska Native Arts Foundation has announced it will close this spring.
  

• Proposed bill would protect Chilkat River, among others

  04-02-2016 17:00
  
  The Chilkat Indian Village in Klukwan is trying to preserve its main salmon resource – the Chilkat River — with the highest environmental protection available.
  The Chilkat River in 2009. (Photo courtesy of Dave Bezaire/Flickr Creative Commons)
  If the river is named an Outstanding National Resource Water, it would be protected from activities that degrade water quality. But there is no system in place in Alaska to evaluate this kind of water protection request. That could change with
  
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• Alaska tax battle? Lord have mercy, we've seen this movie before - Alaska Dispatch News

  04-02-2016 05:01
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska tax battle? Lord have mercy, we've seen this movie before
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Alaska's territorial history includes a fierce battle over income taxes that Gov. Ernest Gruening eventually won - once an electoral house cleaning provided lawmakers who were more than puppets. Pictured, Gruening, center under flag ...
  

• Anchorage paramedic travels to Greece to help with rescues

  04-02-2016 04:23
  
  
   
  Children from Turkey struggle to make it to shore in Greece after enduring hardships on their journey. (Photo by Teresa Gray)
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  Anchorage resident Teresa Gray just returned from volunteering in a refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece.
  Gray is a retired paramedic who was moved to volunteer for three weeks in January with a relief organization based in Ireland, after she saw the tragic and widely circulated photograph of a small refugee boy who died and washed up on a beach.
  (Photo by
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016

  04-02-2016 03:51
  
  
  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
   
  Three pitches for closing state budget deficit with the Permanent Fund
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO/APRN-JuneauGovernor Bill Walker has proposed using the Permanent Fund earnings  to pay for much of the state’s annual budget. But Walker is
  
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• Mat-Su takes up pot codes

  04-02-2016 03:15
  
  A Matanuska-Susitna Borough marijuana ordinance had its first reading before the Borough Assembly Tuesday night. But even if the ordinance gains approval, it may be overshadowed by a future Borough election.
  A seventeen member Borough committee worked to write the legislation, [ordinance 16-003] which regulates retail marijuana sales in the Borough. The ordinance defines marijuana, marijuana retail and commercial growing operations, standards of operations and permitting.
  The Assembly took no ac
  
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• Summit explores achieving racial equity in Alaska

  04-02-2016 02:58
  
  Panelists from around the world discuss steps toward achieving racial equity. Hillman/KSKA
  The First Alaskans Institute hosted a Racial Equity Summit in Anchorage this week. The event’s dialogues focused on what racial equity is and how we can start to achieve it.
  Racial Equity and racial equality are not the same thing. Equality means everyone is treated the same or given the same resources. It assumes that everyone starts at the same point. Equity means making sure everyone can arrive at
  
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• Low risk of Zika virus in Alaska

  04-02-2016 01:51
  
  The World Health Organization declared Zika virus a global health emergency this week. Experts believe there is a strong link between the virus and a serious birth defect, but that the risk to most Alaskans is low.
  
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• Three pitches for closing state budget deficit with the Permanent Fund

  04-02-2016 01:34
  
  Gov. Bill Walker has proposed using the Permanent Fund earnings to pay for much of the state’s annual budget. But Walker isn’t alone in eyeing the $50 billion account. Lawmakers have introduced two other bills to pay for part of the budget using the fund.
  Sen. Lesil McGuire, an Anchorage Republican, introduced Senate Bill 114 in April.
  Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, in the Senate State affairs committee, Jan. 28, 2016, during discussion of SB 128. (Photo by Skip Gray
  
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• AK House passes military code of justice reforms

  04-02-2016 01:25
  
  The state House today passed a bill designed to strengthen the state’s Military Code of Justice. It passed on a 39-0 vote with one member absent, and now goes to the state Senate. Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, a Republican from Anchorage, says the revisions create a state code which is similar to the federal code.
  The code would apply to military members in Alaska not covered by federal regulations, such as many members of the Alaska National Guard.
  The approval in the House comes 17 mo
  
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• 'Permission slip' offered to use Fund earnings - Alaskajournal.com

  04-02-2016 01:03
  Alaskajournal.com
  'Permission slip' offered to use Fund earnings
  Alaskajournal.com
  Alaska's Future, a coalition being led by GCI founder and CEO Ron Duncan, is asking state residents to sign a 'permission slip' authorizing legislators to use Permanent Fund earnings to help bridge the budget deficit that has grown to more than $3.5 ...
  

• Bill aims to split Ninth Circuit Court

  04-02-2016 00:59
  
  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals includes nine states, plus Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. (Map via Ninth Circuit website.)
  The age-old effort to split up the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is back. Republican senators Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Steve Daines of Montana have co-sponsored the latest bill. The Ninth Circuit is the federal appeals court for Alaska and eight other western states. It is by far the biggest of all the circuit courts, serving a population nearly double the seco
  
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• Domestic risk of Zika virus low in Alaska - KTNA

  04-02-2016 00:53
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Domestic risk of Zika virus low in Alaska
  KTNA
  The World Health Organization declared Zika virus a global health emergency this week. Experts believe there is a strong link between the virus and a serious birth defect, but that the risk to most Alaskans is low. KTNA's Phillip Manning has this report:.
  Zika virus and Alaska: Here's what to knowAlaska Dispatch Newsall 10,518 news articles »
  

• Court will hear oral arguments on Medicaid expansion

  04-02-2016 00:16
  
  The issue of Medicaid expansion will be back before a Superior Court in Anchorage Thursday morning. The Republican led Legislative Council sued last summer to stop Governor Bill Walker from unilaterally expanding Medicaid.
  In late August, Judge Frank Pfiffner ruled against a preliminary injunction that would have blocked Medicaid expansion from starting on Sep. 1st. Now both sides will get a chance to make their full oral arguments in front of the judge. Senate Majority leader John Coghill, a Re
  
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