Alaska news

• 'Unorthodox' Alaska candidate teases opponent by buying up websites - KTUU.com

  05-04-2016 23:20
  'Unorthodox' Alaska candidate teases opponent by buying up websites
  KTUU.com
  JUNEAU -- If you visited RasmusonFoundation.org Friday, you did not end up on the website of the foundation that has a $650 million endowment and supports Alaska nonprofits with tens of millions of dollars in grants every year. Instead, the campaign ...
  

• Alaska Airlines' purchase of Virgin America could start a new wave of consolidation - The Economist

  05-04-2016 20:39
  The Economist
  Alaska Airlines' purchase of Virgin America could start a new wave of consolidation
  The Economist
  SIR RICHARD Branson says he is sorry to bid farewell to Virgin America, an airline that he helped found in 2004. But as a shareholder with a 18% voting stake in the firm, he will not really be maudlin. Alaska Airlines is paying $2.6 billion to buy 100 ...
  Alaska Air's Premium Deal for Virgin AmericaNew York Times
  To Alaska Airlines, Rival Virgin America Is Worth A Lot More Dead Than A
  

• Internet Trouble Delays Kansas Testing, Causes Alaska to Scrap Assessments - Education Week (subscription) (blog)

  05-04-2016 20:24
  Internet Trouble Delays Kansas Testing, Causes Alaska to Scrap Assessments
  Education Week (subscription) (blog)
  A disruption to Internet access at the site of a Kansas-based assessment provider delayed testing of students across the country and caused Alaska to cancel state assessments altogether this school year. A backhoe used in construction work at the ...and more »
  

• Rep. Young calls on Juneau Republicans to support Sturgeon case

  05-04-2016 17:51
  
  
  U.S Rep. Don Young speaks to the Capital City Republicans and Capital City Republican Women at the Prospector Hotel April 4, 2016. (Photo by Jennifer Canfield/KTOO)Congressman Don Young called on Juneau Republicans to support legislative funding for John Sturgeon’s legal fight over operating a hovercraft in a national preserve.
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  Young also says that while he’s running for re-election, when the time comes for a successor, Alaskans should choose someone who’s young.
  
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• Lawmakers tweak Alaska's criminal justice overhaul bill

  05-04-2016 17:00
  
  Lawmakers tweak Alaska's criminal justice overhaul bill A state Senate committee has made changes to a sweeping criminal justice bill, including capping the amount of time that could be taken off of a prison sentence for good behavior and eliminating a drug-testing requirement for ex-convicts to receive welfare benefits.April 5, 2016
  
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• Alaska Air's Premium Deal for Virgin America - New York Times

  05-04-2016 07:26
  New York Times
  Alaska Air's Premium Deal for Virgin America
  New York Times
  David Cush, Virgin America's chief, and Brad Tilden, Alaska Air Group's chief, discuss the latest airline merger in an consolidating industry. By CNBC on Publish Date April 4, 2016. Photo by CNBC. Watch in Times Video ». embed. In agreeing to buy ...
  Alaska Airlines' purchase of Virgin America could start a new wave of consolidationThe Economist
  To Alaska Airlines, Rival Virgin America Is Worth A Lot More Dead Than
  

• 'Exciting time for Pacific airpower': Alaska Air Force base to get F-35 fighter jets - RT

  05-04-2016 06:14
  RT
  'Exciting time for Pacific airpower': Alaska Air Force base to get F-35 fighter jets
  RT
  The secretary of the US Air Force has approved a plan to deploy two new squadrons of F-35 fighter jets along with thousands of military personnel at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska by 2020. “Alaska combines a strategically important location with a ...
  Alaska Air Force Base To Get F-35s in 2020DefenseNews.com
  Alaska base selected to house F-35 squadronsFlightglobal
  Final decision: F-35s to bed
  

• Mexico's 'Consulate on Wheels' coming to Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-04-2016 05:15
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Mexico's 'Consulate on Wheels' coming to Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The Consulate of Mexico in Seattle will send officials to Alaska for two days in late April to provide services through its Consulate on Wheels service. The consulate will provide help associated with Mexican passports, consular identifications and ...and more »
  

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• Guns & ganja: Alaska asks DoJ to revise regulations for users of guns & medical marijuana - RT

  05-04-2016 05:14
  RT
  Guns & ganja: Alaska asks DoJ to revise regulations for users of guns & medical marijuana
  RT
  As more states legalize marijuana, state and federal agencies are struggling to work together coherently. So, what's a state with lax gun laws and legalized pot to do? US Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is calling upon the US Attorney General to help.and more »
  

• Senator tries to rewrite history about Alaska Safe Children's Act - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-04-2016 04:46
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Senator tries to rewrite history about Alaska Safe Children's Act
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Alaska Sen. Ann MacKinnon tries to paint her colleague, Mike Dunleavy, as a champion of the Alaska Safe Children's Act. That fairy tale defies the truth. Pictured: The author, Cindy Moore, sits with Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, the ...
  

• Lady Chaps claim NCAA Div. II National Title win over Alaska Anchorage - KCBD-TV

  05-04-2016 04:15
  Lady Chaps claim NCAA Div. II National Title win over Alaska Anchorage
  KCBD-TV
  INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April 4, 2016) – Top-ranked Lubbock Christian University became the third team in NCAA Division II Women's Basketball history to cap a perfect season and the first to win a national championship in their first season of eligibility ...and more »
  

• Historian makes the case how Alaska politicans have long used 'federal overreach' as a scapegoat and rallying cry - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-04-2016 03:58
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Historian makes the case how Alaska politicans have long used 'federal overreach' as a scapegoat and rallying cry
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The illusion of federal overreach gives Alaska politicians a boogeyman to cast attention away from their own failures. As a new book establishes with an enormous weight of evidence, the whole idea that the federal government has been Alaska's adversary ...
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Apr. 4, 2016 - Alaska Public Radio Network

  05-04-2016 03:41
  Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Apr. 4, 2016
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  early to say how it might affect service for traveling Alaskans. But if any of the Virgin brand makes it onto Alaska's jets, passengers can expect a flashier ride. Retired EPA ecologist Phil North speaks out. Dave Bendinger, KDLG – Dillingaham. Retired ...and more »
  

• Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Apr. 4, 2016

  05-04-2016 03:36
  
  
  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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  Criminal justice bill amended to reduce benefits to sex offenders
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
  Senators have amended a bill that would overhaul Alaska’s criminal justicesystem, taking steps that make it more difficult for those conv
  
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• Senate Finance puts public employee retirement bill on hold

  05-04-2016 03:10
  
  
  Late last month, the Senate Finance Committee introduced bills to cut back the Community Revenue Sharing grant program, and up the amount schools and municipalities pay towards employee’s pensions. But now at least one of those bills – the one dealing with PERS contributions – has been put on hold. The bills were pulled from Monday’s scheduled hearing with less than a day’s notice.
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  Four bills introduced last week would dramatically increase local
  
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• Senate Finance Committee pulls various bills from hearing

  05-04-2016 03:10
  
  
  Late last month, the Senate Finance Committee introduced bills to cut back the Community Revenue Sharing grant program, and up the amount schools and municipalities pay towards employee’s pensions. But now at least one of those bills – the one dealing with PERS contributions – has been put on hold. The bills were pulled from Monday’s scheduled hearing with less than a day’s notice.
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  Four bills introduced last week would dramatically increase local
  
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• Simulated train wreck brings out Mat Su responders

  05-04-2016 03:05
  
  Hundreds of emergency workers and volunteers joined in a mass casualty exercise in Palmer over the weekend. The simulated train – school bus wreck tested the abilities of all public safety personnel in the Matanuska Susitna Borough.
  Mat Su emergency responders attend to “victims” of a school bus wreck at Alaska shield exercises in Palmer on Saturday (Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage)The simulated emergency call came in at 1:45 pm on a Saturday. An Alaska Railroad
  
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• Criminal justice bill amended to reduce benefits to sex offenders

  05-04-2016 02:54
  
  
  Senators have amended a bill that would overhaul Alaska’s criminal justice system, taking steps that makes it more difficult for those convicted of sex crimes from benefiting from the bill’s provisions.
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  Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, at a Senate Majority press availability, March 21, 2016. (Photo by Skip Gray,360 North)Senate Bill 91 is aimed at reducing recidivism, as well as the state’s prison costs. It would divert people charged with non
  
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• What’s on the ballot? Your guide to bonds, budget battles, and a pot tax

  05-04-2016 02:30
  
  Voters in the Anchorage municipal elections head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots on races for the Assembly, school board, charter ammendments, and bonding propositions. Photo: Rachel Waldholz/KCAWWhen Anchorage voters head to the polls Tuesday, they’ll not only be picking Assembly and School Board candidates, but also weighing in on several significant ballot measures.
  Here are the basics on the $138,230,982 in total debt-service payments for the General Obligation bonds on the l
  
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• Iditarod musher says she was groped during Alaska race - CBS News

  05-04-2016 02:28
  CBS News
  Iditarod musher says she was groped during Alaska race
  CBS News
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Authorities in Alaska were investigating after a female competitor in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race said two men on snowmobiles groped her as her mushing team passed by. Alaska State Troopers were looking into the ...and more »
  

• Senate weighs increasing contributions to retirement plans

  05-04-2016 02:18
  
  A co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee is looking at whether bills that would increase local contributions for two state retirement plans are needed this session given new actuarial estimates.
  Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R- Anchorage on the floor of the Senate during debate about the state operating budget, March 14, 2016. (Photo by Skip Gray, 360 North)Sen. Anna MacKinnon says the initial indications are there’s a significant drop in the state liability. If that’s the case, she says th
  
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• Alaska Air buys Virgin America, and may keep a hint of its bling

  05-04-2016 02:09
  
  
  Photo: Alaska AirlinesAlaska Airlines announced this morning it’s buying 9-year-old Virgin America in a deal worth $2.6 billion. It will turn Alaska into the fifth largest U.S. carrier. It’s too early to say how it might affect service for traveling Alaskans, but if any of the Virgin brand makes it onto Alaska’s jets, passengers can expect a flashier ride.
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  Alaska CEO Brad Tilden says the deal will give Alaska valuable slots at New York airports and Reag
  
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• Avalanche fatality at Summit Lake

  05-04-2016 02:06
  
  
  A North Pole woman was killed in an avalanche near Summit Lake over the weekend. The fatality comes as thousands of Alaskans head to the area for the Arctic Man event.
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  25-year-old Claire Sundgren was snow machining in the Summit Lake area off the Richardson Highway Sunday, when she was buried by a snow slide.  Sarah Carter with the Alaska Avalanche Information Center, says the slide was triggered by Sundgren’s husband.
  ”The man was climbing the slope when he relea
  
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• Seawolves fall to Lubbock Christian in NCAA Division II championship game

  05-04-2016 01:53
  
  
  (Photo courtesy: Sam Wasson/UAA Athletics)The University of Alaska Anchorage women’s basketball team fell 78-73 to Lubbock Christian on Monday in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in Indianapolis.
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  In the week leading up the national title game, UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy said the pressure was on undefeated Lubbock Christian, and the Seawolves only needed to focus on playing their best game of the season.
  After the game, I spoke with Coach McCarthy asking if h
  
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• Bill introduced to allow communities to contribute to Marine Highway

  05-04-2016 01:51
  
  A Southeast lawmaker wants communities to be able to contribute directly to the Alaska Marine Highway System.
  A passenger on the deck of an Alaska Marine Highway ferry. (Flickr Creative Commons – supafly)Rep. Sam Kito III, a Juneau Democrat, authored House Bill 292. It had its first hearing last week in the House Transportation Committee.
  He called it a simple, one-line bill that could help the financially-strapped ferry system.
  “The intent is not that it goes back into a specific co
  
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• Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on PFD - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-04-2016 01:48
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on PFD
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, in a file photo from 2015. Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News. JUNEAU — House Republicans on Monday unveiled the latest revenue-generating idea that could help close Alaska's $4 billion budget deficit: a 35 percent ...and more »
  

• Retired EPA ecologist Phil North speaks out

  05-04-2016 01:44
  
  
  Phil North retired from EPA in 2013, and has been traveling in New Zealand, Australia, and most recently Indonesia with his family. He returned to the US to answer questions about his role in shaping Bristol Bay watershed assessment and EPA 404(c) restrictions to block Pebble, other mines. (Photo courtesy of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)Retired EPA ecologist Phil North resurfaced in the US last month for deposition in a lawsuit filed by the Pebble Mine. Pebble alleges EPA br
  
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• Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on PFD

  05-04-2016 01:38
  
  Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on PFD House Republicans on Monday unveiled the latest revenue-generating idea that could help close Alaska’s $4 billion budget deficit: a 35 percent tax on the Permanent Fund dividend.April 4, 2016
  
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• Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on Permanent Fund dividends

  05-04-2016 01:38
  
  Alaska lawmaker proposes 35 percent tax on Permanent Fund dividends House Republicans on Monday unveiled the latest revenue-generating idea that could help close Alaska’s $4 billion budget deficit: a 35 percent tax on the Permanent Fund dividend.April 4, 2016
  
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• Alaska Air, Virgin America Fly Familiar Skies - Wall Street Journal

  05-04-2016 01:38
  Wall Street Journal
  Alaska Air, Virgin America Fly Familiar Skies
  Wall Street Journal
  Passengers used to the opulent interiors of Virgin America Inc. planes with their recessed mood lighting and white leather seats up front might feel a bit let down to wind up on a less lavish Alaska Airlines plane. But nine-year-old Virgin America, a ...
  Virgin fans may fret, but Alaska Airlines deal will benefit many West Coast travelersThe Seattle Times
  Alaska Airlines is buying Virgin America. Here's why fa
  

• Eielson chosen to base the F-35

  05-04-2016 01:35
  
  
  Today, the decision on where to base the F-35 was made official.
  An F-35 flies over Florida (U.S. Air Force photo)Eielson Air Force Base has been picked for the Air Force’s first operational overseas F-35A Lightning IIs.
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  The Air Force in an announcement says two F-35 squadrons are expected to be assigned to the base 26 miles south of Fairbanks.
  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James says in a statement that Alaska combines a strategically important location with a worl
  
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• Juneau seawater heat pump more than a pipe dream?

  05-04-2016 01:30
  
  
  Recently, the Alaska House passed a bill that could make it easier for one hydro project to get off the ground. If the Juneau Hydropower Inc. plant gets built, the company wants to bring sustainable heat to some residents from an abundant source.
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  At NOAA’s Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, the water in the lab is cycled to the basement where it becomes heat for the building. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins, KTOO – Juneau)It’s been done before but the company say
  
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• State calls off student testing

  05-04-2016 01:05
  
  
  The state of Alaska has canceled standardized testing in schools this year. Upwards of 70,000 students were scheduled to take Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) assessments across a five-week window, but in a press release issued on April 1, Alaska’s Department of Education & Early Development called the whole thing off. The reason? Ongoing problems connecting to an online server – in Kansas.
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  Upwards of 70,000 students were scheduled to take the online Alaska Measur
  
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• Legislators blow off steam at Annual Legislative Team Shoot

  05-04-2016 01:00
  
  Every year, legislators take a break from their work at the Capitol and head to the gun range. Lawmakers, their staff, and members of the Alaska Correctional Officers Association recently participated in the 19th Annual Legislative Team Shoot at the Juneau Gun Club and Juneau Hunter Education Shooting Complex.
  Participants fire arrows in the archery event during the 19th Annual Legislative Team Shoot. (Photo by David Purdy, KTOO – Juneau)“It is an event that brings together the House
  
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• Alaska increases oil production for first time in more than a decade

  05-04-2016 00:47
  
  The Alaska Oil and Gas Association has announced that the state had its first year-over-year increase in oil production in more than a decade.
  KTUU-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1MNhNGe) that the figures provided by the Alaska Department of Revenue show that oil production between April 2015 and March 2016 was nearly one percent higher from the previous year. The state has not seen a yearly increase in oil production since 2002.
  
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