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Negotiators reach deal on excess power program earnings
Associated Press
House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement for use of any excess earnings from a fund set up to help rural areas faced with high electricity costs.
Political intrigue at the Alaska Republican Convention
Liz Ruskin, APRN – Fairbanks
The state Republican Convention started this afternoon in Fairbanks. We sent APRN reporter Liz Ruskin to check it out.
Anchorage narrows its superintendent search to two
Zachariah Hughes, KSKA – Anchorage
The 48 thousand students in the Anchorage School District could have a new superintendent as early as next week. The district is unusually large for a city the size of Anchorage [97th in the country], with a sprawling array of needs that have made it difficult to find a superintendent. AÂ months long search has yielded two candidates–with very different experience across Alaska’s schools.
House science committee grills McLerran on EPA’s effort to block Pebble
Dave Bendinger, KDLG – Dillingham
EPA Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran testified in front of a House
oversight committee Thursday. It was McLerran who decided to move forward with a Clean Water Act 404c determination in the Bristol Bay watershed, following an ecological risk assessment done by EPA. The House committee has been investigating whether or not that was fair to Pebble Mine and proper for EPA.
Former Alaska Senator Gravel to speak at UAA
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
Former Alaska U.S. Senator Mike Gravel is in Alaska this week. The outspoken Democrat is known for being fiercely independent, famously reading the Pentagon papers on the floor of the Senate in 1971 at a time when President Richard Nixon refused to release them to reporters. He also attempted a run for President in 2008.
Federal Board closes caribou hunting to non-locals in the Northwest Arctic
Laura Kraegel, KNOM – Nome
In the Northwest Arctic, caribou hunting has been contentious for years. Alaska’s largest herd continues to decline, while tensions have emerged between rural subsistence users and outside hunters.
Hooligan make strong return to Chilkoot and Chilkat
Emily Files, KHNS – Haines
The hooligan are back. After last year’s disappointing runs in the Chilkoot and Chilkat rivers, Haines and Klukwan subsistence fishermen are excited that this spring’s return has been abundant. Area biologists don’t know why the runs fluctuate so much. But they’re trying to bolster research to understand the traditionally important fish a little better.
