Alaska news

• Public testimony tilts against oil and gas tax overhaul

  02-03-2017 23:54
  
  Members of the House Resources Committee listen to public testimony on a bill to overhaul the state’s oil and gas taxes and tax credits. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO and Alaska Public Media)Most Alaskans who offered public testimony Wednesday on a proposed overhaul of the state’s oil and gas taxes and tax credits opposed the measure.
  Fairbanks resident Cynthia Henry urged House Resources Committee members to vote against House Bill 111, a bill that would lower oil and gas ta
  
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• Iditapod: The 2017 Iditarod

  02-03-2017 22:17
  
  In Episode 4, we take a look at the 2017 Iditarod, including: The race route from Fairbanks to Nome, big rule changes, mushers to watch, the ceremonial start, and we answer a few questions from our listeners.
  
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• Dalton Highway reopens after avalanche buried trucks - Alaska ... - Alaska Dispatch News

  02-03-2017 18:56
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Dalton Highway reopens after avalanche buried trucks - Alaska ...
  Alaska Dispatch News
  One lane of the highway through Atigun Pass was reopened overnight Wednesday, as crews cleared snow that buried two vehicles Monday.
  Work Begins to Clear Avalanches From Northern Alaska Highway ...U.S. News & World Reportall 5 news articles »
  
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• Quest For Solace - ESPN

  02-03-2017 17:58
  
  ESPN
  Quest For Solace
  ESPN
  Katherine Keith has had to deal with more tragedy than anyone should. How she's kept going -- with Ironman competitions and elite dog-mushing races -- shows the extreme lengths she's gone to to handle the pain. espnW.com. by Matt CrossmanPhotograph ...
  
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• Should foster kids know when the state uses their benefits?

  02-03-2017 16:00
  
  The Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage.Some foster kids are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, but the kids and their families don’t always know the money is available. Instead, the state applies for the benefits and puts the funds toward paying for foster care services. Now a lawsuit is asking if the state needs to notify families and guardians before it starts taking the money.
  About 160 foster kids in Alaska are entitled to social security benefits because they have a d
  
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• New plan from Alaska House majority would wipe out GOP budget leverage - Alaska Dispatch News

  02-03-2017 06:50
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  New plan from Alaska House majority would wipe out GOP budget leverage
  Alaska Dispatch News
  JUNEAU — A big roadblock for Alaska lawmakers could disappear under a new budget proposal from a House leader that would wipe out the Republican minority's leverage in the final days of the legislative session. Rep. Paul Seaton, the veteran ...
  Alaska House passes bill to legalize ballot selfiesFairbanks Daily News-Minerall 7 news articles »
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, March 1, 2017

  02-03-2017 03:58
  
  
  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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  Alaska delegation gives Trump speech good reviews
  Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.
  President Trump gave a restrained speech to Congress Tuesday night. He said little about energy or the environment. But Alaska’s congressman and U.S. senators liked a lot of what they heard.
  EPA funds
  
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• 5 things from Trump's big speech that could affect Alaskans - Alaska Dispatch News

  02-03-2017 03:48
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  5 things from Trump's big speech that could affect Alaskans
  Alaska Dispatch News
  President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. (Stephen Crowley / The New York Times). WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered broad plans for his American vision in an hourlong ...
  Alaska delegation gives Trump speech good reviewsAlaska Public Radio Networkall 4 news articles »
  
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• EPA funds for Native water projects could disappear under Trump administration

  02-03-2017 03:47
  
  
  (EPA logo courtesy of the Environemntal Protection Agency)The White House wants to eliminate Environmental Protection Agency funds for water projects in Alaska Native villages. That’s according to a story in the Washington Post Wednesday (March. 1). It said the Trump administration’s plans for the EPA budget also include trimming grants to states by 30 percent and eliminating climate-change initiatives.
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  Alaska receives about $78 million a year in grants and contracts from
  
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• Anchorage Assembly passes measure to make healthcare pricing more transparent

  02-03-2017 03:33
  
  
  The Anchorage Assembly passed a measure that could have an impact on healthcare for anyone getting care in Alaska’s largest city.
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  The ordinance from the mayor’s administration aims to make pricing more transparent.
  It requires that providers give a “non-binding estimate” for how much services cost, though it doesn’t mandate that they report that data to government agencies.
  The cost estimates only have to be offered if a patient requests it.
  The measure p
  
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• Rabbi of threatened Jewish Center thankful for community support

  02-03-2017 03:28
  
  
  An Anchorage Jewish community center is among those targeted in a wave of bomb threats around the country. Founded 25 years ago by Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, the Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska evacuated about 40 children after it received a phone call making the threat Monday (Feb. 27) afternoon. Greenberg said a recorded male voice announced there was a bomb in the building and that people had 20 minutes to clear out.
  Greenberg said police arrived within minutes, and the FBI also responded.
  
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• Alaska lawmakers seek balance between public outcry over crime and national evidence

  02-03-2017 03:26
  
  Quinlan Steiner of the Public Defender Agency presents testimony relating to Senate Bill 54 on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)Lawmakers looking to tighten penalties for some felonies and thefts are weighing two factors.
  On one hand, they’ve heard from members of the public and law enforcement that last year’s criminal-justice overhaul went too far in letting offenders go without jail time.
  On the other, social science research that shap
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Models hint at El Niño resurgence

  02-03-2017 02:50
  
  (Graphic courtesy of NOAA)The weather phenomenon El Niño may be on its way back. That’s after a weak La Niña system faded out a few months ago. Climatologist Brian Brettschneider said computer models are hinting at El Niño returning in the second half of this year.
  “The models right now are predicting a 50 percent chance of an El Niño by this fall,” Brettschneider said.
  But that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal, he says, but it’s
  
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• Bill would change state arts council to a corporation

  02-03-2017 02:16
  
  Lawmakers take their first look Friday at a bill changing the Alaska State Council on the Arts from an agency to a public corporation.
  The council distributes funds to artists and art organizations around the state.
  Executive Director Andrea Noble-Pelant said it would allow for more partnerships and funding opportunities.
  “Our choice is we can stay the same and watch our organization dwindle, or be less effective,” Noble-Pelant said. “Or we can take a step to become m
  
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• Peer teachers make big difference in Service High School special needs classes

  02-03-2017 02:03
  
  Molly McCarthy (left) and her daughter, Kelsey McCarthy-Keeler (right), sit on the steps in their family’s hillside home. (Photo by Josh Edge/Alaska Public Media)Public education plays a pivotal role in the lives of special needs students throughout the state.
  And a lot of their success is determined by confidence.
  Kelsey McCarthy-Keeler is a senior at Service High School in Anchorage.
  Kelsey has Down syndrome and is a part of the school’s special education and life skills program &n
  
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• House Fisheries Comittee holds hearing regarding genetically engineered salmon

  02-03-2017 02:03
  
  Anchorage Representative Geran Tarr speaks to the House Fisheries Committee about HJR 12, which opposes the FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon. (Photo: AlaskaLegislature.tv/ Legislative Affairs Agency)The House Fisheries Committee held a hearing Tuesday (Feb. 28), regarding a house joint resolution that opposes the FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon.
  In November of 2015, the FDA approved AquaBounty AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon. It is the first
  
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