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Anvik tribal courts given more jurisdiction in lower level cases
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
The state of Alaska and the Anvik Tribe have signed an historic justice agreement. The government to government pact provides a template for tribal courts to administer restorative sentences in certain lower level cases, as an alternative to the state criminal justice system.
Murkowski says repeal, replace should coincide
Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.
President-elect Donald Trump today leaned on Congress to quickly get rid of President Obama’s signature heath care law, which he called a catastrophe. Lisa Murkowski, though, is among five Republicans in the U.S. Senate sponsoring an amendment that would slow the law’s repeal.
School districts cope with flat state funding as costs continue to rise
Josh Edge, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
Education funding in Gov. Bill Walker’s proposed budget remains relatively flat for the upcoming fiscal year. And even though big cuts to education are not yet proposed, districts are finding ways to cope with funding that doesn’t necessarily keep up with the natural year-to-year rises in costs.
DOC inmate dies by suicide
Anne Hillman, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
An inmate at Highland Correctional Center died by suicide Tuesday. Twenty-two-year-old Nina Amigale Alexie was found unresponsive in her cell during a routine check last Friday. She was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital and passed away four days later. Department of Corrections spokesperson Corey Allen-Young said there’s no indication she was on suicide watch.
Fukushima radiation yet, and unlikely, to affect Alaska seafood
Avery Lill, KDLG – Dillingham
Alaskan seafood remains free of detectable Fukushima-related radiation. That’s according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The department along with other state, federal, and international agencies has been testing Alaskan seafood since 2013.
US announces polar bear plan; critics call it toothless
Associated Press
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday announced its recovery plan for threatened polar bears, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough.
Whale freed from anchor line in Ketchican
Leila Kheiry, KRBD – Ketchikan
A group of Ketchikan good Samaritans banded together last week to help a humpback whale that had become tangled in a barge anchor cable off Prince of Wales Island.
Stories of Coming into the Country: Arliss Sturgulewski
Annie Feidt, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
In John McPhee’s book Coming into the Country, Arliss Sturgulewski stands in a field of berries, with a view of Denali in the distance, contemplating the potential site of a new state capital. She’s one of the dozens of Alaskans who make an appearance in the famous book, published 40 years ago. Alaska’s Energy Desk is catching up with many of them to celebrate the book’s anniversary.
Four mariners rescued from Gulf of Alaska
Roert Woolsey, KCAW – Sitka
Four mariners were rescued from their stricken fishing vessel in the Gulf of Alaska on Friday, Jan. 6 — in a mission coordinated by Air Station Kodiak, and executed by Air Station Sitka.
Experts say 2016 smashed previous records for Alaska’s hottest year on record
Tim Ellis, KUAC – Fairbanks
2016 was the warmest year in Alaska since the National Weather Service began keeping records in the state more than a century ago. Two weather-service climate specialists say that’s mainly because of extraordinarily warm ocean water, which in turn helped generate above-normal precipitation – especially in the Interior.
Two actors adapt the Narnia world to the Kodiak stage
Kayla Desroches, KMXT – Kodiak
The world of Narnia has come to the Kodiak stage. San-Francisco based actor Stephanie Ann Foster adapted one of the novels in C.S. Lewis’ famous series. And two actors portray all the characters.
