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Walker administration looks to sell billions in bonds to pay for pensions
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
Standard & Poor’s announced Friday it expects to lower Alaska’s credit ratings if the state government sells bonds to pay for public-worker pensions.
Walker to return to S. Korea to pitch gasline plan
Elizabeth Harball, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
Governor Bill Walker is going back to South Korea Saturday for the second time this month to pitch his gasline plan. It’s Walker’s third trip to Asia as governor.
Amb. Balton: Focus grows on Arctic Council
Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.
Representatives of the Arctic Council member nations wrapped up a meeting in Portland, Maine this week. For the first decade of the council’s existence, interest in it did not extend much beyond the Arctic nations. But Amb. David Balton says now the world is paying attention.
Walruses return to Point Lay – but this year, they’re late
Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
About a thousand walrus are hauled out on a barrier island near the village of Point Lay, about 180 miles southwest of Barrow. The haul out is part of an unnerving trend. This year marks the eighth time in a decade that large numbers of walrus have crowded onto land in the area. The animals have been driven to shore as sea ice recedes, limiting access to their usual feeding grounds.
White House honors Sitkan as champion of fisheries
Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
The White House today honored Sitkan Linda Behnken as a “Champion of Change” for her work to improve fishing sustainability.
British Columbia, Alaska sign transboundary mine agreement
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
Alaska and British Columbia officials signed a statement of cooperation Thursday aimed at protecting rivers that flow through the province and the state.
FEMA to fund landslide mapping for Sitka
Emily Kwong, KCAW – Sitka
FEMA will be stepping in to fund landslide mapping in Sitka. The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, who will be leading the research project, announced the news on Tuesday.
Learn & Grow seeks to improve childcare evaluation and quality statewide
Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
Better educational outcomes for kids statewide, is the aim of a new program being offered by Thread, a childcare resource and referral network.
AK: How do you build a swim culture where one’s never existed?
Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK – Bethel
Bethel sits on a river, but many people here don’t know how to swim. People drown in the Kuskokwim every year, and for decades people thought the solution was to build a pool and teach people to swim. Well, two years ago the city got a pool. But how do you build a swim culture where one has never existed? That’s a question Bethel’s first swim team is trying to answer.
49 Voices: Jacqui Lambert of Kotzebue
Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
This week we’re hearing from Jacqui Lambert from Kotzebue. Lambert is a volunteer here at Alaska Public Media and a student at UAA.
