Alaska news

• Former Alaska Rep. Weyhrauch cited by ethics committee on corruption charges

  18-02-2016 23:43
  
  Former Alaska Rep. Weyhrauch cited by ethics committee on corruption charges The legislative ethics committee this week charged former Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch with violating state ethics law stemming from the FBI’s wide-ranging corruption probe of the Alaska Legislature.February 18, 2016
  
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• Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

  18-02-2016 22:00
  
  Miss Fisher is on another case – in MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES. This time she investigates the puzzling death of a magazine columnist and author of fairy stories.
  To get to the truth, she must unearth the deceptions and rampant rivalries of the magazine’s thoroughly modern working women – and dig into the past of their token male employee.
  Meanwhile, Phryne rekindles her affair with the sensuous Lin Chung – whose arranged marriage has stalled in a mire of family
  
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• Juneau chef a semifinalist for prestigious national award

  18-02-2016 21:45
  
  Beau Schooler makes ricotta gnocchi in the kitchen of Panhandle Provisions. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  A Juneau chef has once again been nominated for one of the food world’s highest honors.
  Beau Schooler, chef at the Rookery Café in downtown Juneau, is one of 30 named by the James Beard Foundation as a semifinalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year.
  Schooler was nominated for the same honor last year, which is given annually by the foundation to young chefs who display “imp
  
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• Several winter bear sightings reported in Anchorage

  18-02-2016 21:38
  
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says more bears have been coming out of hibernation earlier than usual this year, with multiple bear sightings already reported in Anchorage.
  KTUU-TV reports that several bears have been seen this month in the areas of east Anchorage, the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Powerline Pass. Bears typically don’t come out of hibernation until mid-April.
  A biologist with the department, Dave Battle, says bears can be driven out of hibernation early becau
  
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• Mallott rejects Democrats’ proposed primary change

  18-02-2016 21:37
  
  Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has rejected a proposal by Alaska Democrats to allow candidates not affiliated with a political party to run in the Democratic primary.
  In a letter to state party chair Casey Steinau, Mallott noted questions raised by party attorneys about the constitutionality of a state law requiring a candidate seeking a party’s nomination to be a registered voter of that party. Steinau has said the party believes the law is unconstitutional.
  But Mallott said that’s somethin
  
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• NOVA: Snow Chick

  18-02-2016 21:36
  
  Three chicks on their parent’s feet. (Photog Courtesy of Frederique Olivier/© John Downer Productions)
  Enjoy the intimate and incredible journey of a tiny Emperor penguin chick from the moment he emerges from the egg to the moment he begins a life on his own in NOVA: SNOW CHICK. Meet his mom and dad and the rest of the new chick gang in the world’s most extreme nursery.
  Wednesday, February 24. 7:00 pm
  
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• Coast Guard rules make licensing, exam harder for area fishing guides

  18-02-2016 21:35
  
  David Parks Jr. gives some casting tips to his client Sarah Pearl in the Kulik River at the Bristol Bay Guide Academy, June 2015. (Photo by Matt Martin/KDLG)
  An upcoming course at the Southwest Alaska Vocational and Education Center will help prospective fishing guides get ready for a Coast Guard exam required to get a “six-pack” operator’s license.
  But area lodge owners say recent rule changes by the U.S. Coast Guard have made it the process of getting that license more diffic
  
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• Former Juneau lawmaker fined $18K for allegedly helping oil companies while seeking oil jobs

  18-02-2016 21:19
  
  Bruce Weyhrauch represented Juneau in the Alaska House of Representatives for two terms, from 2003 to 2006. (Photo courtesy Alaska Legislature)
  Former Juneau Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch has been fined $18,104 for asking for an oil company job while sitting as a state lawmaker who helped draft oil tax legislation.
  But his attorney said the opinion released by a legislative ethics committee may not be the final word on the matter.
  The House Subcommittee of the Select Committee on Legislative Et
  
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• Governor puts funding for Dillingham DA office back in his budget

  18-02-2016 21:17
  
  (KDLG photo)
  Governor Bill Walker announced his intentions Tuesday to keep the Dillingham District Attorney’s office open. Walker’s amended operating budget restores the $340,000 of funding the Department of Law had originally proposed cutting in the December version of the budget.
  The Dillingham DA’s office was slimmed down last summer to just one attorney and one paralegal, and it was understood that the next round of cuts could see the office all the way closed. Still it cam
  
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• Winter storm brings strong winds, blowing snow to Nome, Bering Strait region

  18-02-2016 21:15
  
  A low-pressure system southwest of Saint Lawrence Island is producing snow and strong winds around the region.
  The Southern Seward Peninsula is under a winter storm warning until Wednesday at 6 p.m. In Nome, all schools and state offices are closed. All flights have also been canceled. (Image: National Weather Service)
  Robert Murders is a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Nome. He said the storm is not unusual for this time of year, but it is hitting Nome the hardest
  
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• Mallott rejects Alaska Democrats' plan to let independents run in primary

  18-02-2016 19:23
  Mallott rejects Alaska Democrats' plan to let independents run in primary Alaska law requires a candidate seeking a party's nomination to be a registered voter of that party, but Democrats have said they believe the law is unconstitutional and unenforceable.February 18, 2016
  
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• Pribilof Islands will receive federal disaster aid for December storm

  18-02-2016 18:58
  
  The White House and Federal Emergency Management  on Wednesday announced the Pribilof Islands will be receiving federal disaster aid.
  The funding is intended to help repair widespread damage on St. Paul and St. George Islands from a severe winter storm that blasted across the state in mid-December.
  President Obama signed a major disaster declaration for the state, ordering federal aid be made available to Pribilof local government and tribal agencies on a “cost-sharing basis.”
  A
  
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• Budding cannabis entrepreneur not who you’d expect

  18-02-2016 18:00
  
  
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  As the state readies for the implementation of a legal cannabis industry in the next few months, Alaska Public Media is profiling one business along every step of the way.
  Photo courtesy of Jane Stinson.
  Jane Stinson is is a “green entrepreneur” hoping to open a family-run retail shop in Anchorage. But the last few months of tracking regulations, securing a location, and figuring out how to start a new business that banks won’t lend to has not been easy.
  Stinson
  
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• APD investigating fatal shooting, reported home invasion

  18-02-2016 17:12
  
  Anchorage police are investigating a fatal shooting and reported home invasion in a neighborhood on the city’s west side.
  According to a press release, police received a report of a home invasion just after 4:30 a.m. where one of the home’s occupants reportedly fired multiple shots at one of the home invaders.
  When APD arrived at the scene, officers located a male with gunshot wounds outside the residence.
  He was pronounced dead at the scene.
  
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• Alaska gas line project likely in for big changes as low oil prices persist

  18-02-2016 05:38
  
  Alaska gas line project likely in for big changes as low oil prices persist Gov. Bill Walker on Wednesday announced that the framework for Alaska’s massive proposed natural gas pipeline would likely have to change later this year, as the state’s three corporate partners on the project continue to face low oil prices that challenge their bottom lines.February 17, 2016
  
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• 12 Assembly candidates to appear on Anchorage ballot

  18-02-2016 05:04
  
  A view of the Loussac Library, where the Anchorage Assembly meets.
  The field for five seats on the Anchorage Assembly is now final. Candidates had until Friday to file with the clerk’s office to get their names on the April 5th ballot.
  The seats are spread across every part of the municipality except the Downtown district, which doesn’t come open until 2017. With almost half of the Assembly’s 11 seats hanging in the balance, the election has the potential to reshape the po
  
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• Legislature to pay $2.4M in settlements, judgments against the state

  18-02-2016 04:08
  
  Legislature to pay $2.4M in settlements, judgments against the state The Alaska Department of Law will dole out about $2.4 million next year for civil cases resolved against the state in 2015. The cases involved voting rights, Pebble mine and same-sex marriage.February 17, 2016
  
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• Slow or steady? Lisbet Norris and the great Siberian debate

  18-02-2016 04:01
  
  
  Musher Lisbet Norris ahead of the 2015 ceremonial start of the Iditarod, with her lead dog Ripp testing his harness. Photo by Zachariah Hughes, APM.
  In competitive mushing, not all sled dogs are created equal.
  As a breed, Alaskan Huskies dominate the top spots in high profile races. But Siberian Huskies have a long and storied tradition in Alaska, stretching back to the Seward Peninsula gold rush and the roots of the Iditarod serum run to Nome.
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  A family in Willow runs a renowned k
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016

  18-02-2016 03:43
  
  
  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.
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  Oil companies “exploring options” to advance LNG pipeline
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO/APRN-JuneauChanges are coming to state plans for the liquefied natural gas pipeline. At a press conference this morning in Anchorage, leaders with ExxonMobile
  
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• Murkowski: Obama’s Supreme Court nominee should get a Senate hearing

  18-02-2016 03:05
  
  Murkowski: Obama’s Supreme Court nominee should get a Senate hearing Whomever President Barack Obama nominates to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Alaska’s senior Senator Lisa Murkowski thinks the nominee deserves to be vetted by the Senate.  February 17, 2016
  
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• Legacy wells due for cleanup

  18-02-2016 03:05
  
  
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  More than one hundred abandoned oil wells dot the tundra on federal land on the North Slope, and efforts to clean them up have been delayed for decades. Now, the Bureau of Land Management has launched an ambitious plan to remediate many of the wells that are the highest priority hazards.
  The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday announced continued efforts to cleanup about fifty of the abandoned wells with federal money secured in 2013.
  Steve Cohn, deputy director of resources fo
  
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• Quest mushers battle even after there is a winner

  18-02-2016 03:00
  
  
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  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. There was a battle between two Quest mushers who finished nearly a day behind the winner.
  
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• Murkowski strikes a certain note

  18-02-2016 02:30
  
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski addresses a joint session of the Legislature (Photo: Skip Gray/360 North)
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  U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski returned to Juneau and delivered her annual address this morning to the Alaska Legislature. Murkowski tucked her Senate accomplishments into a speech that was decidedly homey and reassuring.
  Murkowski walked into the House chamber where she used to serve and added a flower to a vase sitting on Rep. Max Gruenberg’s desk, next to a photo of the Anchorage le
  
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• Workforce Wednesday: Food service and hospitality careers in Alaska - KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather

  18-02-2016 01:33
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  Workforce Wednesday: Food service and hospitality careers in Alaska
  KTVA.com - Alaska News and Weather
  A career in the food service and hospitality industry is perfect for those with a friendly personality that also enjoys serving others. Last year, the sector provided more than 17,000 jobs in Anchorage alone. State-wide, that number was nearly 35,0000.
  

• Olson jumps to GOP caucus for budgetary reasons

  18-02-2016 01:31
  
  The Senate Majority got a little bit bigger last week when Democrat Donny Olson announced his move from the minority. Born in Nome, Senator Olson represents all of northwest Alaska.
  He says concerns about budget cuts convinced him to switch over.
  “I was called by a number of constituents that were concerned about things like education, things like public safety, things likecorrections, things like behavioral health and health and social services,” Olson said.
  Olson said his
  
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• Voyles twins learn from summer in Alaska - Florida Flambeau

  18-02-2016 00:22
  Florida Flambeau
  Voyles twins learn from summer in Alaska
  Florida Flambeau
  Jim and Ed Voyles are set to being their junior seasons at Florida State. (Photo: Jon Cole/FSU Athletics). 1 CONNECTTWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE. When Jim and Ed Voyles were approached about playing summer baseball, they had two ...
  

• Scalia death could affect Alaska case - Juneau Empire (subscription)

  18-02-2016 00:09
  Scalia death could affect Alaska case
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  Nothing is final at the court until it is released publicly, meaning Scalia's view on the case will have no bearing on it. The case now goes before the eight remaining Supreme Court justices in June. If the vote is split, the lower court's decision ...and more »
  

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