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Budget Negotiators Agree on Per-Pupil School Funding
Associated Press
House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to fully fund the per-student funding formula for the coming year, as work continues to reach an overall budget deal.
Coal Lawsuit Results In Little Change
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
The Sierra Club is claiming a victory for environmentalists opposed to Seward coal shipments.
Coastal Communities Protest Naval Activity in the Gulf of Alaska
Shady Grove Oliver, KBBI – Homer
Several coastal communities, including Kodiak, Cordova, and Homer, have held both land-based and fishing boat flotilla protests over the last few weeks to voice their concerns about planned Navy and joint military training exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
Rep. Don Young Marries on 82nd Birthday
Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington, D.C.
Alaska Congressman Don Young tied the knot today, on his 82nd birthday. Young married 76-year-old Anne Walton, a flight nurse from Fairbanks, this afternoon.
NOAA Survey Ships Depart for Arctic
Francesca Fenzi, KNOM – Nome
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially launched its Arctic survey season in Alaska yesterday. Two research ships – the Ranier and the Fairweather – will set out from Kodiak to chart the underwater and shoreline topography of the Arctic Ocean.
Wood Bison Get Acquainted With Their New Habitat
Tim Bodony, KIYU – Galena
The first load of wood bison bulls has been successfully released into the wild in the Innoko River valley.
Deciphering the Journey of Bristol Bay Smolt
Molly Dischner, KDLG – Dillingham
Every year, millions of sockeye salmon return to Bristol Bay, headed for spawning grounds in area rivers. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has counting projects on several rivers throughout the region to give managers a sense of how many fish enter rivers to spawn, but less is known about what happens to outbound juvenile fish each spring. Research teams on three rivers that flow into Bristol Bay have been studying those baby fish, called smolt, for the past few years.
Budget Woes Hurt Small Spuds
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
The legislative deadlock over next year’s state budget is no small potatoes. In fact, the Alaska Plant Materials Center in Palmer may soon have to look for alternative funding sources to keep it’s seed potato program going.
Kinetic Energy, A Ball and An Unlikely Path to Art
Anne Hillman, KSKA – Anchorage
An Eagle River man started with a pile of junk, a roll of wire, and an obsession, and ten years later, ended up with art.
Odess: ‘Sitka Opened Her Arms To Me’
Vanessa Walker, KCAW – Sitka
Big-ticket philanthropy usually goes like this: Charitable organization makes a pitch; donor writes a check. There might be some reports to write, and maybe the donor is invited to a nice lunch. Or at least this is the way it’s supposed to work. Carol Odess , a major benefactor of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, is an outlier,
