Alaska news

• House subcommittee proposes changes for ASMI

  26-02-2016 23:37
  
  The budget process continues in Juneau, with House subcommittees drilling down into parts of each departments’ budget. This week, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute was up for consideration.
  This photo won ASMI’s 2013 photo competition for Best Fish Photo. (Photo courtesy of ASMI/Joseph E.)
   On Wednesday, a House subcommittee proposed cuts for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute – and revamping how the organization is funded.
  Language proposed for the budget would d
  
  Read more

• AK: Escape the room and save Talkeetna

  26-02-2016 23:34
  
  The escape room team, after escaping and saving Talkeetna. (Photo courtesy Phillip Manning/KTNA)
  Under most circumstances, being trapped in a small room with a countdown clock would be a bit nerve-wracking, but a new business in Talkeetna aims to make it fun. Trapped in Talkeetna is a live escape room experience, where a team of players has one hour to solve a puzzle in order to escape.
  KTNA’s Phillip Manning and his team tried their hand at solving the puzzle – and talked with the o
  
  Read more

• AVCP Allanivik Hotel and Mud Hut Shutting Down

  26-02-2016 23:30
  
  The Allanivik Hotel and adjoining Mud Hut restaurant will close their doors April 15. The Association of Village Council Presidents operates the establishment and announced the shutdown Wednesday.
  Executive council of the Association of Village Council President’s 51st annual conference, Oct. 2015. (Photo by Dean Swope/ KYUK)
  When the hotel closes, its laundry facilities used by the public will close as well. And under the executive board’s directive, the hotel has stopped accepting
  
  Read more

• New life raft regulations for fishing boats no longer required

  26-02-2016 23:26
  
  Commercial fishermen scrambling to buy life rafts for their boats this winter can rest a little easier. Congress has changed a new law that would have required life rafts for fishing boats traveling at least three miles off shore.
  Less than two weeks ago, U.S. Coast Guard officials were in Petersburg explaining new safety requirements announced in January: that fishing boats under 36 feet would have to carry life rafts if traveling more than three miles off shore. The law was supposed to take ef
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Alaska Marine Highway System wary of possible future cuts

  26-02-2016 23:18
  
  The Alaska Marine Highway System made it through one step in the legislative budget process without further cuts. But those could come later.
  Rep. Sam Kito III addresses the Alaska House of Representatives in 2014. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The House Finance Subcommittee on the state Department of Transportation budget did remove $2 million in general funds. That’s the pot of money that pays for most state operations.
  But the committee replaced it with the same amount from a
  
  Read more

• Wisdom and voices

  26-02-2016 23:07
  
  Whenever we open the phone lines and invite listeners to tell us about programming they’d like on Hometown Alaska, we hear a few common themes. One of them is to pay tribute to people who do good work in Alaska. Another is to share the stories of long-time Alaskans. In today’s episode, we get to do both.
  Today, we’ll hear stories from women who have helped shape, and are still shaping, the great state of Alaska.
  On March 3, the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame will induct its
  
  Read more

• 49 Voices: Robert Johnson of Anchorage

  26-02-2016 23:03
  
  This week we’re hearing from Robert Johnson who’s lived in Alaska since the mid ‘80s.
  Robert Johnson (Photo by Wesley Early, APRN – Anchorage)
  JOHNSON: I was like 15 when we moved up here. Kinda had to drag me up here ‘cause I hated the idea. I was going on, “Alaska?! Oh my god! No! Nooo!” I tried to leave a couple of times. I did. I hated it. “As soon as I got out of high school, I’m gone.” I didn’t want to be in this northern, f
  
  Read more

• Create, Memory: a new exhibit at Sitka Fine Arts Camp

  26-02-2016 23:01
  
  The Sitka Fine Arts Camp opened a permanent art installation at a Wednesday night. “Create, Memory” showcases pieces from local Alaska Native artists. The exhibit is a nod to the history of the original Sheldon Jackson Training School and later, college, which was influential in the lives of many Alaska Natives.
  Strength. Loss. Healing. Transformation. Those are themes present in the art adorning new gallery space in Allen Hall.
  A trio of Robert Davis Hoffman’s graphic painting
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• What’s going on with Alaska’s weather?

  26-02-2016 22:00
  
  February rain in Fairbanks, breaking a no snow record in Anchorage and off the charts warmth in the Arctic. Alaska is blowing its reputation as the land of ice and snow.
  HOST: Lori Townsend
  GUESTS:
  Brian Brettschneider, climatologist
  Rick Thoman, climate expert, National Weather Service
  Statewide callers
  Participate:
  Call 550-8422 (Anchorage) or 1-800-478-8255 (statewide) during the live broadcast
  Post your comment before, during or after the live broadcast (comments may be read on air
  
  Read more

• Alaska's long history with 'combi' aircraft - Alaska Dispatch News

  26-02-2016 21:28
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska's long history with 'combi' aircraft
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Four large shipping containers will fit in the new Boeing 737-400 "combi" aircraft joining the Alaska Airlines fleet Thursday morning February 1, 2007 at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The new passenger-cargo aircraft have more cargo ...
  

• Alaska Senate OKs barring 'abortion providers' from schools - Alaska Dispatch News

  26-02-2016 21:11
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska Senate OKs barring 'abortion providers' from schools
  Alaska Dispatch News
  JUNEAU — The Alaska Senate on Friday passed a bill barring “abortion services providers” from contracting with Alaska schools for any purpose, and requiring parental permission before children can take sex-education classes. Senate Bill 89, sponsored ...
  Bill to keep Planned Parenthood out of Alaska schools passes state SenateKTUU.com
  Alaska Senate Bill Bans Planned Parenthood
  

• Alaska Senate OKs barring 'abortion providers' from schools

  26-02-2016 21:07
  
  Alaska Senate OKs barring 'abortion providers' from schools The Alaska Senate on Friday passed a controversial bill barring any "abortion services providers" from contracting with Alaska schools for any purpose, and requiring parental permission before children can take sex-education classes.February 26, 2016
  
  Read more

• Alaska Grown!

  26-02-2016 20:31
  
  
  This week the University of Alaska’s annual sustainable agriculture conference brought together farmers, livestock producers and other major players in the agriculture community to discuss the future of the industry in Alaska. On this week’s Alaska Edition, we’ll look at some of the innovations in agriculture that have taken place in the state over the past few years as well as the opportunity for buying locally and food security throughout the state.
  Listen Now:
  HOST: Ellen Lo
  
  Read more

• Groups opposed to Alaska's proposed Pebble mine press presidential candidates

  26-02-2016 19:59
  
  Groups opposed to Alaska's proposed Pebble mine press presidential candidatesSeveral dozen fishing, hunting and outdoors organizations and companies are hoping to get presidential candidates on the record about the controversial Alaska gold mine. February 26, 2016
  
  Read more

• ​Study examines little-known WWII internment camp in Alaska - CBS News

  26-02-2016 19:03
  CBS News
  ​Study examines little-known WWII internment camp in Alaska
  CBS News
  JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Alice Tanaka Hikido clearly remembers the bewilderment and sense of violation she felt 74 years ago when FBI agents rifled through her family's Juneau home, then arrested her father before he was sent ...and more »
  

• 7 small-ship Alaska cruises in time for national parks' centennial - Los Angeles Times

  26-02-2016 17:15
  Los Angeles Times
  7 small-ship Alaska cruises in time for national parks' centennial
  Los Angeles Times
  Not everyone wants to go car camping when they visit America's national parks. Un-Cruise Adventures offers a different way to create national park memories. In honor of the National Park Service turning 100, Un-Cruise treats passengers on its National ...and more »
  

• How will fixing Alaska’s budget affect the economy?

  26-02-2016 05:41
  
  How will fixing Alaska’s budget affect the economy? A study from the Institute for Social and Economic Research reveals what some of the economic impacts of lawmakers' decisions about what to do with Alaska's budget would be.February 25, 2016
  
  Read more

• Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016

  26-02-2016 04:57
  
  
  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
  Fairbanks strides closer to F-35 answer
  Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington D.C.
  The Air Force plan to station two squadrons of F-35s at Eielson Air Force Base cleared a milestone with the publication of the final environmental impact statement. It say
  
  Read more

• Army general's call to keep troops in Alaska evokes memories of Cold War - Alaska Dispatch News

  26-02-2016 04:52
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Army general's call to keep troops in Alaska evokes memories of Cold War
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: It wasn't so long ago that Alaska was armed for nuclear war as America's first line of defense. Pictured: Skiers travel near the old Site Summit in the Chugach Mountains above Anchorage, where Nike missiles were once part of the U.S. defense ...
  

• At the mouth of the Kusko, a pioneering wind system

  26-02-2016 04:19
  
  In rural Alaska, one problem thwarts a thousand good ideas: the high cost of energy. From generating electricity to heating homes to fueling boats and snowmachines, energy expenses eat into budgets, are a barrier to business and add to the prohibitive cost of water and sewer systems.
  But communities around the state are trying to change that. At the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, the four villages in the Chaninik Wind Group – Kwigillingok, Kongiganak, Tuntutuliak and Kipnuk &mdash
  
  Read more

• Bill would ban commercial pot in unorganized borough, set plant limit

  26-02-2016 04:14
  
  Bill would ban commercial pot in unorganized borough, set plant limit Any unincorporated community in the unorganized borough (like Tok or Glennallen) would need to hold a special election to allow commercial cannabis, should the bill become law.February 25, 2016
  
  Read more

• Yarducopia: a means to spread space for gardening

  26-02-2016 03:49
  
  So you like eating vegetables, but they’re expensive. You’d love to have a garden, but you don’t have any outdoor space. The solution? Yarducopia.Last summer, parts of Patti Saunders’s garden just languished.“I mean beets are like the easiest thing in the universe but not the last two years,” Saunders said. “I’ve gotten plenty of leaf. They look great. Wait til the end of the season, pull them out and you get this pencil stick root. You’re su
  
  Read more

• AHFC to stop accepting Home Energy Rebate applications

  26-02-2016 03:27
  
  
  Download audio
  The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation will stop accepting new applications for the Home Energy Rebate Program waitlist next month. People who are in the process of making their homes more energy efficient are still eligible to receive up to $10 thousand dollars for home improvements. As of January 15, 113 people were on the wait list, and AHFC still has $5 million dollars that aren’t currently obligated for specific homes. But AHFC Governmental Relations Director Stacy Schu
  
  Read more

• AFHC to stop accepting Home Energy Rebate applications

  26-02-2016 03:27
  
  The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation will stop accepting new applications for the Home Energy Rebate Program waitlist next month. People who are in the process of making their homes more energy efficient are still eligible to receive up to $10 thousand dollars for home improvements. As of January 15, 113 people were on the wait list, and AHFC still has $5 million dollars that aren’t currently obligated for specific homes. But AHFC Governmental Relations Director Stacy Schubert says that
  
  Read more

• Lawmakers recommend more cuts to University budget

  26-02-2016 02:34
  
  The House Finance University of Alaska Subcommittee recommends cutting $35 million from the university’s budget for the upcoming year.
  Jim Johnsen, University of Alaska president. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Combined with Governor Bill Walker’s proposed $15 million cut, the university would lose one in seven dollars in state funding.
  The subcommittee also voted to support consolidating the university’s three campus administrations by the end of the year.
  University Presid
  
  Read more

• On day one, state gets 68 marijuana applications

  26-02-2016 02:25
  
  In its first day accepting materials, the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office received 68 applications for commercial cannabis licenses.
  The state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office is asking applicants to review a video ahead of starting permit forms online.
  In a release sent out Thursday, the office said the roll out of its new online application system has gone smoothly, for the most part. However, reports of a wide-spread snag led AMCO to issue a cautionary note
  
  Read more

• Mysterious Sumerian tablet puzzles UAF librarians

  26-02-2016 02:21
  
  The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Rasmuson Library has a mystery on its hands. It doesn’t know when or how, but in its collection lies a Bronze Age clay tablet.
  (Creative Commons photo by Jimmy Emerson)
  Like the Maltese Falcon, the small four thousand-year-old Ancient Sumerian clay tablet is surrounded in mystery. Rasmuson Library’s Curator of Rare Books Katherine Arndt says all they know is it was in their collection in 1982.
  “Marvin Falk, who was hired as the first ra
  
  Read more

• Tribes to get $100 million back pay

  26-02-2016 02:08
  
  A federal court has approved payment of almost a billion dollars by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 700 tribes across the nation. The settlement is for decades of underpayment by the BIA to tribes for education, road construction, and other contracts.
  On Wednesday, New Mexico federal judge James Parker approved negotiated settlement of 940-million dollars. Of that, a little over 100-million dollars will be coming to Alaska Native tribes. Payments to individual Alaska tribes range from 8-thousand
  
  Read more

• Fairbanks strides closer to F-35 answer

  26-02-2016 02:07
  
  An F-35 flies over Florida (U.S. Air Force photo)
  The Air Force plan to station two squadrons of F-35s at Eielson Air Force Base cleared a milestone Thursday with the publication of the final environmental impact statement. The 1,000-page report says the basing decision would not significantly harm the air quality of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.  The report also says no harm to wildlife is expected, other than an increase of about 14 bird strikes per year.
  Fairbanks business
  
  Read more

• A Crowded House

  26-02-2016 01:56
  
  
  Good Men Wanted at Cyrano’s
  Download Audio
  This week on Stage Talk we talk about four theatres, three guests and two shows. Sound complicated? Toss Pot Productions is presenting a workshop production at Cyrano’s Theatre of Kevin Armento’s fascinating play about women disguising themselves as men to join the military during the American Civil War in Good Men Wanted. And then, RKP Productions is presenting one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing plays, The Winter’s Tale
  
  Read more

• Violent crimes against Alaska women trending downward - Alaska Dispatch News

  26-02-2016 01:06
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Violent crimes against Alaska women trending downward
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The most recently released Alaska Victimization Survey, which measures intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women, shows big improvement, though rates remain dangerously high. “The trends are declining ... substantially,” Dr. Andray ...and more »
  

Follow @News_Alaska on Twitter!