Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via emailpodcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn

Listen now

Alaska delegates criticize Trump’s remarks on Gold Star families

Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage

Alaska’s congressman and both U.S. senators are among the Republican lawmakers criticizing remarks Donald Trump made about the family of Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American Army officer killed in Iraq.

Walker sacks industry advocate from Marijuana Control Board

Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage

One of the state’s key regulators on commercial cannabis has been unexpectedly ousted by the governor.

Marijuana Control Board Chair under fire for initiative to ban commercial pot on Peninsula

Jenny Neyman, KBBI – Homer

The chair of the Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Board is gathering signatures to have Kenai Peninsula Borough vote on outlawing commercial cannabis operations in areas of the borough outside cities. That isn’t sitting well with members of cannabis industry on the peninsula.

Military’s $4B moving program keeps climbing — and no one is sure why

Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage

Every year, the US military moves hundreds of thousands of service members and their families all across the globe. And it isn’t cheap. In 2014, the Department of Defense spent more than $4.3 billion on moving costs — and a federal report found those costs are shooting up much faster than inflation. Officials don’t know where all that money is going. And they’re not even tracking enough data to start making reforms.

To prevent Fairbanks flooding, Moose Creek Dam starts regulating the Chena River again

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks

The Chena River Flood control project was built by the Army Corps of Engineers after the devastating 1967 flood in Fairbanks. The project’s main features, a dam and connected spillway, protect the community during heavy rains and reports the facility has gotten heavy use in recent weeks.

Warm water Blob survives as El Niño dies

Matt Miller, KTOO – Juneau

It’s being called a marine heat wave. The combination of the strongest El Niño in recent history and the warm water anomaly known as the Blob generated the greatest amount of warm ocean water that has ever been recorded, possibly affecting marine life up and down the West Coast.

Small dam on slough helps Big Delta man protect his home along Tanana River

Tim Ellis, KUAC – Fairbanks

Big Delta resident Tom Gorman said a small dam he built earlier this year to protect his home from the meandering Tanana River held steady over the past couple of weeks as the river rose to near-flood level, due to recent rains. Gorman now hopes the river falls quickly enough to allow him to finish work on the dam before snow flies.

 

Previous articleWounded bear in Skagway put down over the weekend
Next articleMilitary’s $4B moving program keeps climbing — and no one knows why