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Sequester Would Cut NPS Budget By 5 Percent
Peter Granitz, APRN – Washington DC
Eighty five billion dollars in federal budget cuts are set to begin Friday.
The U.S. Senate will debate competing measures to replace the cuts on Wednesday, but neither will become law.
The National Park Service is slated to lose 5 percent of its budget, and that would trickle down to every park in Alaska.
JKT: Representing District Is ‘Deeply Personal’
Ed Ronco, KCAW – Sitka
When he ran for the Alaska House last year, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins visited each community in his district, knocking on almost every door. The strategy paid off. The 24-year-old Democrat won a seat in the Legislature by just 32 votes.
And now that he’s been on the job six weeks, it’s becoming clear that Kreiss-Tomkins’ busy campaign schedule wasn’t a sprint, so much as the start of a marathon.
Legislature Considering Chinook Research Fund
Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN – Juneau
Last year, Chinook salmon runs were so weak that the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, along with Cook Inlet, were designated federal disaster zones. Now, a group of legislators from those regions want to create a permanent endowment that would fund research on the fish.
Rising Number Of Alaskans Predicted To Be Affected By Future Flooding
Joaqlin Estus, KNBA – Anchorage
Studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Government Accounting Office show increasing numbers of Alaskans will be affected by floods and erosion in coming years due to rising waters and extreme weather events. And the studies predict some communities are likely to be destroyed by 2017.
Of those, Newtok is the furthest along in relocating. But an Anchorage human rights attorney says changes are needed so agencies can more effectively help people being dislocated due to the impacts of climate change.
727 Lands At Merrill Field In Anchorage
Alex Duerre, APRN – Anchorage
A 727 Fed Ex plane landed at Merrill Field near downtown Anchorage at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. The cargo company donated the plane to the University of Alaska Anchorage’s aviation maintenance program. It will be housed at Merrill Field.
The spectacle of seeing such a big jet land at a small plane airport in the middle of the city drew dozens of people to the nearby Northway Mall. The mall parking lot was directly under the flight path of the approaching jet.
Nick Golodoff, Author Of “Attu Boy,” Dies At 77
Stephanie Joyce, KUCB – Unalaska
Nick Golodoff, author of the book “Attu Boy,” passed away earlier this month at the age of 77. His memoir about the World War II internment of the Aleut village by the Japanese brought attention to one of the most obscure corners of American history. KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce interviewed him last year, and has this remembrance.
