Alaska news

• Scandinavian duo plays cheeky game of cat and mouse along Yukon Quest trail

  17-02-2016 22:34
  
  Yukon Quest mushers continue to come across the finish line, and competition in is not confined to winning when it comes to the thousand-mile sled dog race.
  The story of the battle between two Quest mushers who finished nearly a day behind the winner.
  Tom Frode Johansen arrived in Whitehorse Tuesday afternoon. He was the first rookie to finish, but not the first Scandinavian.
  While the first mushers were chasing one another over the past week, there were antics playing out behind them. The two m
  
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• Southeast Alaska crabbing seasons start Wednesday - Alaska Public Radio Network

  17-02-2016 22:23
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  Southeast Alaska crabbing seasons start Wednesday
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  Two crab fisheries in Southeast Alaska started up Wednesday, February 17. Fishing for Tanner crab and golden king crab opened at noon. Last year's Tanner catch was the best in 15 seasons, coming in at 1,421,863 pounds. With an average price of $1.93 a ...and more »
  

• Southeast Alaska crabbing seasons start Wednesday

  17-02-2016 22:22
  
  Tanner crab (Photo courtesy ADF&G)
  Two crab fisheries in Southeast Alaska started up Wednesday, February 17. Fishing for Tanner crab and golden king crab opened at noon.
  Last year’s Tanner catch was the best in 15 seasons, coming in at 1,421,863 pounds. With an average price of $1.93 a pound that was worth over $2.7 million at the docks.
  In recent years, more than 50 boats have fished for Tanner crab, using pots. This year there are 61 boats registered. The Alaska Department of Fish an
  
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• Million dollar pot operation raided

  17-02-2016 22:20
  
  Marijuana plants seized by police. (Photo courtesy Homer Police Department)
  Police took a Homer resident into custody for growing a large crop of marijuana with the intent to sell it. The arrest comes just one week before the state is slated to introduce its brand new commercial cannabis regulations.
  Police arrested a Homer man last week for running an illegal marijuana grow operation worth between $1 and $1.5 million. 32-year-old Joseph Gabryszak of Homer, arrived at the scene during the r
  
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• Alaska's Bieber: Yup'ik Eskimo singer gains online following - WTOP

  17-02-2016 22:11
  WTOP
  Alaska's Bieber: Yup'ik Eskimo singer gains online following
  WTOP
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — He could be considered the Justin Bieber of Alaska. Teen Internet sensation Byron Nicholai is a Yup'ik Eskimo from Toksook (TUCK'-sook) Bay, a tiny island just off Alaska's mainland in the… Alaska Native Singer In this Feb. 12 ...and more »
  

• Bering Sea winter fisheries underway

  17-02-2016 22:09
  
  A tow of pollock is unloaded on the deck of the Sea Prince to be sorted January 11, 2015.
  Alaska’s winter fisheries are underway, with trawlers getting in the water January 20.
  Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation has boats out in a handful of fisheries said quota manager Anne Vanderhoeven.
  “We have about a third of our A season Pollock harvested, so that’s a good sign at this point in the process,” she said February 11. “Hook and line cod has been about nor
  
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• 6 U.S. Senators and 1 U.S. Secretary head to Oscarville

  17-02-2016 22:05
  
  Six U.S. senators and the U.S. Secretary of Energy traveled to Bethel Monday to hold a hearing on Alaska’s energy challenges and innovations. The team included the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, lead by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
  But before the hearing, the group went on a field trip to see where those challenges and innovations intersect.
  The group, joined by Gov. Bill Walker and others, loaded in vehicles and drove five miles up the frozen Kuskokwim River to Osc
  
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• Smithsonian Salutes: Ray Charles

  17-02-2016 21:47
  
   
  Hear interpretations of the music of Ray Charles, using his own big-band musical arrangements, by renowned as well as up-and-coming artists in IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE – RAY CHARLES.
  Friday, February 26. 8:00 pm
   
  
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• Princess Cruises Debuts Exclusive Culinary Experience Cook My Catch on Alaska Cruise Vacations - PR Newswire (press release)

  17-02-2016 21:26
  PR Newswire (press release)
  Princess Cruises Debuts Exclusive Culinary Experience Cook My Catch on Alaska Cruise Vacations
  PR Newswire (press release)
  Cook My Catch, a new program offered by Princess Cruises, allows guests to enjoy their very own catch of the day while in Alaska. Facebook · Twitter · Pinterest. ×. Cook My Catch, a new program offered by Princess Cruises, allows guests to enjoy their ...
  Princess Cruises creates Cook My Catch for Alaska-bound anglersExaminer.
  

• Gov. Walker says changes are coming for LNG project

  17-02-2016 21:10
  
  Changes are coming to state plans for the liquefied natural gas pipeline.
  But Governor Bill Walker and executives with the state’s three pipeline partners aren’t quite ready to say what those changes are.
  Gov. Bill Walker addresses the media in Anchorage on Feb. 17, 2016. (Photo by Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage)
  At a press conference this morning in Anchorage, leaders with ExxonMobile, BP, and ConocoPhillips joined Walker to announce they are “exploring options” to
  
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• Bering Sea storm lashes Western, Northwest Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 20:00
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Bering Sea storm lashes Western, Northwest Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  A statewide weather map shows winter storm warnings along the coast of Norton Sound in red, with winter weather advisories in yellow for much of northwest and western Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. Courtesy NWS Alaska. Nome and much of ...
  President Obama Authorizes Alaska Disaster Declarationyouralaskalinkall 8 news articles »
  

• Alaska Air adds two routes from its San Jose 'focus city' - USA TODAY

  17-02-2016 19:59
  USA TODAY
  Alaska Air adds two routes from its San Jose 'focus city'
  USA TODAY
  Alaska Airlines continues to grow its footprint along the West Coast, announcing two new routes from San Jose in California's Silicon Valley. Alaska Airlines will add service from San Jose to both San Diego and Orange County. The new intra-California ...
  Former Alaska Airlines Pilot Pleads Not Guilty to Flying DrunkFortune
  Ex-Alaska Airlines pilot pleads not guilty to flying drunkReuters
  Alaska Airlines Grows San
  

• Governor orders reorganization of commercial fisheries commission

  17-02-2016 19:24
  
  Gov. Bill Walker issued an administrative order Tuesday that transfers many functions of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) into the Department of Fish and Game. The reorganization will save the state more than $1.3 million a year, according to the governor’s office.
  The CFEC, an autonomous state agency, is responsible for deciding what commercial fisheries to limit, who gets to participate in them and adjudicating appeal cases. It also issues permits and licenses, which brin
  
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• Obama signs disaster declaration for December storm damage in Pribilof Islands

  17-02-2016 18:40
  
  Obama signs disaster declaration for December storm damage in Pribilof Islands President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a disaster declaration making federal funds available to help recovery efforts from devastating December storms in the Bering Sea region of Alaska. February 17, 2016
  
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• Obama signs disaster declaration for December storm damage in Bering Sea region

  17-02-2016 18:40
  
  Obama signs disaster declaration for December storm damage in Bering Sea regionPresident Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a disaster declaration making federal funds available to help recovery efforts from the devastating December storms in the Bering Sea region of Alaska.February 17, 2016
  
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• Does Valdez Ice Climbing Festival signal a renaissance for an outdoorsy Alaska town? - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 16:35
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Does Valdez Ice Climbing Festival signal a renaissance for an outdoorsy Alaska town?
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Climbers climb frozen Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon near Valdez on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. Levitation 49, a local non-profit sports commission, took over the Valdez Ice Climbing Festival as part of their effort to cultivate Valdez as a multi ...and more »
  

• BRF native talks about research in Alaska - La Crosse Tribune

  17-02-2016 15:42
  BRF native talks about research in Alaska
  La Crosse Tribune
  Even when she was a little girl, Sadie Gearing Ulman liked ducks. That attraction has led the Black River Falls native to learn about wildfowl in the furthest reaches of the North American continent. Ulman gave a program about her work as a research ...
  

• Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock challenging Lisa Murkowski for Senate

  17-02-2016 14:05
  Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock challenging Lisa Murkowski for SenateA retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army Reserves who has spent years arguing that legal immigration bolsters national security said Tuesday she's running as an independent against Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. February 17, 2016
  
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• Measure needed for gas project may not make Alaska ballot this year - FuelFix (blog)

  17-02-2016 13:47
  FuelFix (blog)
  Measure needed for gas project may not make Alaska ballot this year
  FuelFix (blog)
  JUNEAU, Alaska — State Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck said Tuesday it doesn't appear that gas line contracts will be in place in time for the legislature to be able to review them and get a constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall ...
  Alaska governor, oil companies say AKLNG plans must change to remain economically viableKTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Alaska governor, partn
  

• On Facebook, Carson and Sanders lead in Alaska - Juneau Empire (subscription)

  17-02-2016 10:06
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  On Facebook, Carson and Sanders lead in Alaska
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  Facebook “likes” aren't votes, but if they were, Ben Carson would top Alaska's Republican presidential primary and Bernie Sanders would run away with the Democratic Party's pick. That's the conclusion of a new study conducted by FiveThirtyEight, an ...
  

• Two drop out of Anchorage Assembly races; lineup now set

  17-02-2016 06:30
  
  Two drop out of Anchorage Assembly races; lineup now set Two Anchorage Assembly candidates, Don Smith and Blake Merrifield, dropped out of the race on Tuesday, the last day for changes before the April 5 election. February 16, 2016
  
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• Walker administration officials say gas line setback is all but certain

  17-02-2016 06:22
  
  Walker administration officials say gas line setback is all but certain A pair of top officials in Gov. Bill Walker’s administration said Tuesday that a critical step in the state’s proposed natural gas pipeline megaproject could be delayed by as much as two years, possibly stalling the project.February 16, 2016
  
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• Walker administration officials say Alaska gas line setback is all but certain

  17-02-2016 06:22
  
  Walker administration officials say Alaska gas line setback is all but certain A pair of top officials in Gov. Bill Walker’s administration said Tuesday that a critical step in the state’s proposed natural gas pipeline megaproject could be delayed by as much as two years, likely stalling the project.February 16, 2016
  
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• Alaska gas line setback is all but certain, Walker administration officials say

  17-02-2016 06:22
  
  Alaska gas line setback is all but certain, Walker administration officials sayA pair of top officials in Gov. Bill Walker’s administration said Tuesday that a critical step in the state’s proposed natural gas pipeline megaproject could be delayed by as much as two years, likely stalling the project.February 16, 2016
  
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• Bipartisan bowling: Alaska politicians roll off steam - Concord Monitor

  17-02-2016 05:49
  Concord Monitor
  Bipartisan bowling: Alaska politicians roll off steam
  Concord Monitor
  In this Feb. 4, 2016, photo, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker bowls with fellow legislators and staff in Juneau, Alaska. It was his first night of bowling with the legislative bowling leagues. Bipartisan, bicameral bowling has been a staple of Alaska's ...and more »
  

• Proposed alcohol, tobacco tax increases get first Alaska Senate hearings - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 04:47
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Proposed alcohol, tobacco tax increases get first Alaska Senate hearings
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The Alaska Senate Labor and Finance committee held hearings Tuesday on two bills that could double alcohol taxes and increase tobacco taxes. Senate Bill 131 would double the wholesale tax rate of beer, wine and liquor. Senate Bill 133 would increase ...and more »
  

• Proposed alcohol, tobacco tax increases get first Alaska Senate hearings

  17-02-2016 04:41
  
  Proposed alcohol, tobacco tax increases get first Alaska Senate hearings Proposals from the governor's office that would double alcohol taxes and increase tobacco taxes had their first hearings in a Senate committee Tuesday.February 16, 2016
  
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• To find Alaska's voice on the budget, we need to speak -- and listen - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 04:38
  Alaska Dispatch News
  To find Alaska's voice on the budget, we need to speak -- and listen
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: If Alaska is no more than a battleground of competing self-interests, we'll have a bear of a time resolving our fiscal woes with a fair solution. There's a better way. Pictured: Gunnar Knapp of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at ...
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016

  17-02-2016 04:18
  
  
  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
  Myers announces retirement, third Walker cabinet change in three weeks
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – JuneauAlaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Myers announced Tuesday that he’s retiring. Myers wrote in an email to depar
  
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• Our Alaska: Let's make progress now to balance budget, secure the future - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 04:12
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Our Alaska: Let's make progress now to balance budget, secure the future
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Alaska's future depends on what we do now about our budget deficit - and young Alaskans have the most at stake in that future. Pictured: Erin Harrington, center, talks with Ian Laing, left, and Penny Gage at an Anchorage meeting of Our Alaska ...and more »
  

• Bill could allow concealed weapons at Alaska's universities - Washington Times

  17-02-2016 04:07
  Bill could allow concealed weapons at Alaska's universities
  Washington Times
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - For some, concealed weapons are a symbol of protection against the outside world. For others, they are a reminder of the danger contained within it. The Senate Education Committee heard testimony from both sides on Tuesday as it ...and more »
  

• How the 'Hands off my PFD' attitude hurts Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  17-02-2016 03:53
  How the 'Hands off my PFD' attitude hurts Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Budget hearings about the Alaska Permanent Fund will never produce a clear-cut directive for state policy, so long as people see the central question as some form of: “Do you want the state to give you less money?” Look at it that way and we already ...
  

• Myers announces retirement, third Walker cabinet change in three weeks

  17-02-2016 03:21
  
  
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  Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Myers announced Tuesday that he’s retiring.
  Mark Myers announced Tuesday he will retire as commissioner of the state Department of Natural Resources. Myers once served as head of the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska. (Public Domain photo from USGS)
  Myers wrote in an email to department staff members that he’s retiring for personal reasons. His resignation is effective March 1.
  Deputy Commissioner Marty Ruthe
  
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• No easy solution for Anchorage detox bed shortage

  17-02-2016 03:03
  
  
  More than 400 people packed into St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on Monday to discuss the community’s lack of detox beds. (Photo by Anne Hillman/KSKA)
  Download Audio
  More than 400 people gathered in Anchorage Monday night to discuss the area’s lack of detox facilities. At least 60 people per day try to access the area’s 14 detox beds, and the municipal government and the state’s Board of Nursing are considering some solutions.
  Cleansing your body of massive amounts of
  
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• Hovercraft case among those Scalia’s death leaves in limbo

  17-02-2016 02:40
  
  
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  The death of Justice Antonin Scalia has shaken up the presidential election and added uncertainty to cases of great national importance. It also may have implications for one Alaska-specific case: Sturgeon v. Frost. It concerns whether the National Park Service can enforce its nationwide ban on hovercraft in Alaska’s federal parks.
  The case is seen by conservatives as another example of federal over-reach. The state of Alaska&nb
  
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• Former doctor sentenced to prison for downloading child pornography

  17-02-2016 02:16
  
  Former Wrangell doctor Greg Salard was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for receipt and distribution of child pornography.
  Greg Sallard (Photo courtesy of KSTK)
  Salard, 54, will also have a lifetime of supervised release after prison and a $25,000 fine. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Juneau.
  A jury found Salard guilty last summer after a forensic examination of his laptop revealed evidence of hundreds of child pornography files.
  At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. Dist
  
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• Damaged cable leaves Sitka and Angoon with shoddy service

  17-02-2016 02:10
  
  
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  Missed connections were hard to avoid this Valentine’s Day in Sitka and Angoon. The fiber optic cable serving both island communities is damaged, leaving customers with spotty to no service.
  The Wave Venture, the GCI repair ship, off the shores of Angoon. (Photo courtesy of Jorgen Eliason)
  Installed in 2008, the cable runs 1,400 feet below the ocean’s surface. Picture a bundle of glass strands, thinner than a human hair, encased in plastic. And surr
  
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• Unalaska residents flock to Museum of the Aleutians open house

  17-02-2016 02:04
  
  
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  Unalaska residents once again filled the galleries of the Museum of the Aleutians Thursday during an open house hosted by the museum’s seven board of directors. The museum remains closed to the public, but behind the scenes, a seasoned interim director has been taking stock and setting a new course for the 17-year-old institution.
  At the open house, MOTA board chair Suzi Golodoff welcomed a crowd of over a hundred. She urged locals to stay involved in museum affairs.
  Golodof
  
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• Cyclist surprises as Yukon Quest winds down and racers reach the finish

  17-02-2016 02:00
  
  
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  Yukon Quest teams continue to make their way to the race’s finish in Whitehorse, but mushers and their dogs aren’t the only athletes on the trail. An ultra-cyclist from Fairbanks peddled the thousand mile trail.
  Jeff Oatley at the finish line (Photo by Molly Rettig – KUAC)
  As fans gathered to cheer on dog mushers on Sunday, a surprising sight came down the trail.
  Jeff Oatley cruised into the Braeburn Lodge on his fat-tired bike ahead of all the mushers. He was we
  
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