Alaska news

• Feds release plan to stem decline of Cook Inlet belugas

  05-01-2017 20:07
  
  
  A beluga whale fluke in Cook Inlet. NOAA Fisheries has included belugas on their list of the eight most threatened species the agency monitors. (Photo courtesy of LGL Alaska Research Associates)The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its final plan to increase the population of Cook Inlet’s beluga whales and get them off the endangered species list.
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  Biologists estimate there are now about 340 belugas in Cook Inlet, down from more than a thousand in the 1
  
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• From Seattle to L.A. to Havana with love: Alaska Air makes a historic flight to Cuba - GeekWire

  05-01-2017 20:05
  
  GeekWire
  From Seattle to L.A. to Havana with love: Alaska Air makes a historic flight to Cuba
  GeekWire
  Cuban flag in Alaska Airlines jet A Cuban flag is propped up on an seat in Alaska Airlines' jet for the carrier's inaugural flight to Havana. (Alaska Airlines Photo via Twitter). For the first time in decades, passengers got on a jet at Seattle-Tacoma ...
  Alaska Airlines jet heads to Cuba for first flight from West CoastKOMO News
  Alaska Airlines' first daily flight to Cuba takes offKING5.com
  A
  
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• Legal weed is hard to come by in Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-01-2017 04:41
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Legal weed is hard to come by in Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  A customer pays for a purchase at Valdez marijuana shop Herbal Outfitters on opening day, Oct. 29, 2016. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News). There's no legal marijuana for sale in Fairbanks. All three stores – Pakalolo Supply Co., Frozen Budz, and ...
  
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• Eklutna reaches deal with Anchorage over trash gas and new housing

  05-01-2017 04:14
  
  
  From right to left, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz stands next to Eklutna Inc. CEO Curtis McQueen, and board members Maria Coleman and Michael Curry at a press conference in Eagle River on January 4th, 2017 (Photo: Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)The Municipality of Anchorage has reached an agreement with a local Native corporation in a deal that will avoid years of costly litigation for both sides. During a press conference Jan. 4, leaders from both the city and Ek
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2016

  05-01-2017 03:59
  
  
  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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  State officials not thrilled about new federal beluga plan
  Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its final plan to increase the population of Cook Inlet’s beluga whales and get them off the endangered species list.
  Ke
  
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• Fairbanks Interior Gas utility close to merging with Fairbanks Natural Gas

  05-01-2017 03:13
  
  
  Fairbanks’ Interior Gas Utility is moving closer to inking a memorandum of understanding with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to acquire and merge operations with Fairbanks Natural Gas. The North Star Borough-formed IGU is gathering public feedback on the deal, which would also expand the local distribution network.
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  Interior Gas Utility’ chairman Mike Meeks said the utility and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority are so close to fi
  
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• Kenai Borough Assembly upholds invocation policy

  05-01-2017 02:58
  
  
  The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly is standing behind their controversial invocation policy.
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  At their Jan. 3 meeting, Assembly President Kelly Cooper introduced an amendment to the policy that would have allowed individuals who share a common “interest or belief” to be able to give the invocation.
  That amendment failed in a 6 to 3 vote.
  The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Dec. 14 over the invocation policy.
  
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• Counterfeit prescription drug found in Alaska contained fentanyl

  05-01-2017 02:56
  
  
  The counterfeit oxycodone tablet actually contained fentanyl. (Courtesy of Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services.)Late last month the state’s crime lab confirmed that a counterfeit prescription opioid tablet was found in Alaska. The small blue pill looked like a generic oxycodone tablet but was actually made of the much stronger drug fentanyl. This is the first such pill found in the state, but they’ve been circulating in the Lower 48 for over a year.
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  People who buy d
  
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• The making of an Alaska fat-tire fanatic - Alaska Dispatch News

  05-01-2017 02:45
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The making of an Alaska fat-tire fanatic
  Alaska Dispatch News
  A fat tire biker enjoys a quiet ride near Goose Lake on Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). The first time I tried fat-tire biking, it was a pretty big flop. The scenery couldn't have been better. I was in Talkeetna at a cabin ...and more »
  
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• While GOP runs from House ethics flap, Young argues watchdog needs tighter rules

  05-01-2017 02:42
  
  
  Congressman Don Young (Photo by Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)In the U.S. House, Republicans started the new year with an awkward lurch. First they proposed to weaken their ethics watchdog. Then, after a flood of angry phone calls and a tweet from Donald Trump questioning their priorities, they abandoned the plan. But not everyone agrees the House majority should have backed down. Alaska Congressman Don Young is among those who want the ethics office reined in.
  Li
  
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• Legal haze clouds cannabis for pets

  05-01-2017 02:31
  
  Dr. Cornelia Wagner shows several hemp-based supplements for pets stocked by the Hawthorne Veterinary Clinic. (Tom Banse/ Northwest News Network)After the results of the November election, more than half of U.S. states have now authorized medical marijuana. And eight of those states also allow recreational marijuana.
  So if pot helps some humans feel better, then how about people’s best friends?
  Northwest veterinarians are being asked about treating pets with cannabis and that puts these ve
  
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• Judge gives EPA, mine group time to try to resolve lawsuit - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  05-01-2017 02:17
  
  KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska
  Judge gives EPA, mine group time to try to resolve lawsuit
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Welcome! We hope you enjoy our content and decide to subscribe for full access. Visit newsminer.com/subscribe or call 907-456-6661. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge has agreed to temporarily halt proceedings in a lawsuit brought against the U.S. ...
  Alaska mine proponents and EPA agree to pause lawsuitUndercurrent Newsall 6 news articles »
  
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• British Columbia will clean up mine near Juneau - Alaska Public Radio Network

  05-01-2017 01:57
  
  British Columbia will clean up mine near Juneau
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  A Tulsequah Chief Mine settling pond overflows at the site about 40 miles northeast of Juneau Sept. 26, 2016. (Photo courtesy of British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines). Canadian officials say they'll stop polluted mine water from entering a ...and more »
  
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• British Columbia will clean up mine near Juneau

  05-01-2017 01:54
  
  
  A Tulsequah Chief Mine settling pond overflows at the site about 40 miles northeast of Juneau Sept. 26, 2016. (Photo courtesy of British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines)Canadian officials say they’ll stop polluted mine water from entering a salmon-rich river that flows into Southeast Alaska near Juneau. The work could include plugging up tunnels from British Columbia’s decades-old Tulsequah Chief Mine.
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  The Tulsequah Chief hasn’t operated since 1957. Two compani
  
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• Study finds disturbing trend in mortality rate in Kusilvak Census Area

  05-01-2017 01:53
  
  A graph showing the age standardized mortality rate from self-harm and interpersonal violence for both sexes in 2014 from a University of Washington study. The study showed the rate of suicide and homicide in Alaska’s Kusilvak Census Area more than doubled between 1980 and 2014; a 130 percent increase and the highest rate in the nation. (Graphic by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington)The rate of suicide and homicide in the Kusilvak Census Area, locat
  
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• Juneau mayor meets with pro-road boosters ahead of 2017 legislative session

  05-01-2017 01:47
  
  A sign at the end of Glacier Highway in October 2016. The Juneau Access Improvements Project extension would begin near here. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO)A road to Juneau is all but dead in the water this budget year but Juneau’s mayor and like-minded advocates are determined to keep pushing for the half-billion dollar project.
  Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch met with about a dozen road advocates in municipal offices Wednesday morning in what he called a “brainstorming session” t
  
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• NOAA Releases Plan for Alaska Endangered Beluga Whales - ABC News

  05-01-2017 01:14
  NOAA Releases Plan for Alaska Endangered Beluga Whales
  ABC News
  A federal plan for the recovery of an endangered Alaska beluga whale calls for a reduction in threats of high concern while scientists try to pinpoint what has kept the population from growing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on ...and more »
  
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• What Do Florida and Alaska Have in Common? They're Both ... - The Weather Channel

  05-01-2017 00:08
  
  The Weather Channel
  What Do Florida and Alaska Have in Common? They're Both ...
  The Weather Channel
  January weather couldn't possibly be more different in South Florida versus Alaska's Arctic, but in 2017, it started out weirdly warm in both locations, smashing ...and more »
  
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