Alaska News Nightly: March 11, 2015

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Legislators Hear Hours Of Disapproval Over Sweeping Changes To Marijuana Bill

Zachariah Hughes, KSKA-Anchorage
An outpouring of public disapproval greeted an unexpected overhaul to the Legislative bill dealing with legal marijuana in Alaska. For two hours, public testimony to the Senate Finance committee criticized a redrafted version of Senate Bill 30.

Senate Approves Dropping Daylight Savings Time

Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN-Juneau
The Alaska State Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate daylight saving time.

Lance Mackey on 2014 Iditarod: “This Is It For Me.”

Emily Schwing, APRN Contributor
The Mackey family has long been known as a mushing dynasty. Patriarch Dick Mackey won the race in 1978.  Three decades later, Lance Mackey claimed four championships in a row. This year after a series of setbacks, Jason and Lance Mackey are planning to travel to Nome together.

Supreme Court Grants Stay in Education Funding Case

Leila Kheiry, KRBD-Ketchikan
The Alaska Supreme Court has granted the state’s motion for a stay pending appeal in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough’s lawsuit regarding education funding. In a brief one-page ruling, the order simply stated: “The motion is granted. The superior court’s judgment is stayed pending appeal.”

Native Nonprofits Want State to Change on Adoption Case

Joaqlin Estus, KNBA-Anchorage
All the regional Native nonprofits in the state, which represent most of the tribes in Alaska, have issued a joint statement asking Governor Bill Walker to change his position in the court case Tununuk II vs. the state of Alaska. They say Walker’s position will make it very difficult for tribal members to adopt Native children. The state says it’s only arguing for compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Skier Injured in Avalanche Near Haines

Margaret Friedenauer, KHNS-Haines
A skier who was testing slopes near Haines for an international ski competition this weekend was injured in an avalanche Wednesday morning, according to state troopers.

Fish and Game Transporting Wood Bison to Interior

Dan Bross, KUAC-Fairbanks
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is planning to transport Wood Bison to the village of Shageluk later this month. Wood Bison have been extinct in Alaska for over a century, but animals transplanted here from Canada’s Yukon could re-populate interior Alaska with the species, and offer an alternative subsistence food source.

Re-entry Program Gives Inmates Hope to Succeed Inside and Out

Lisa Phu, KTOO-Juneau
Last Saturday, 43 people in Juneau rotated through tutorials in a basketball gym on topics like finding employment, how to open a bank account and reconnecting to family. All the participants were wearing yellow jumpsuits. It’s Lemon Creek Correctional Center’s eighth annual Success Inside and Out event, which offers soon-to-be-released inmates resources for when they’re released.

 

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