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Rep. Eastman: Some women ‘glad’ to be pregnant for Medicaid-funded travel for abortions
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
State Rep. David Eastman said some Alaskans are glad to become pregnant, so that they can have a Medicaid-funded trip to Anchorage or Seattle to have an abortion. Eastman didn’t provide evidence for this, but said he had been told this by friends and acquaintances.
Young mum on health care bill; Murkowski knocks it
Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.
Alaska Congressman Don Young isn’t staking out any position on the latest proposals by his Republican colleagues to replace the Affordable Care Act. His office says Young has no new comments.
Conoco gives up stake in North Slope project seen as precursor to gas line
Elizabeth Harball, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
ConocoPhillips has confirmed it’s giving up its small stake in the Point Thomson field on the North Slope.
ADN reporter allegedly slapped by legislator in a stairwell
APRN News Staff
The Alaska Dispatch News is reporting one of its reporters was slapped by a state senator.
Enviros challenge legality of Trump’s Arctic order
Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.
As expected, environmental groups have filed a lawsuit over an order President Trump signed last week to reverse a ban on Arctic offshore oil and gas leasing.
Alaska Sea Grant’s funding secure for now
Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Juneau
The White House wanted to cut Sea Grant’s funding for the remainder of this fiscal year. If the request had been approved, several projects in Alaska would have ended as early as this summer.
Effort to ban Valdez pot sales fails in Municipal Election
Tony Gorman, KCHU – Valdez
It looks like Alaska’s first retail marijuana store isn’t going anywhere for a while. Ballot Proposition 1, which would have banned the sales and cultivation of marijuana within Valdez city limits, is on its way of failing following preliminary results from last night’s Municipal Election.
Mat-Su ‘snake watch’ enters Day 2 with no sign of 100-pound python
Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
Animal control officers in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough have entered Day two of “snake watch,” as the borough described an ongoing situation with an enormous pet python still at large in the Meadow Lakes area as of Wednesday.
NTSB says carbon monoxide impaired pilot before fatal crash
Associated Press
The National Transportation Safety Board says a 75-year-old pilot killed last year in a crash in Anchorage was impaired by carbon monoxide.
Study asks why species bounced back – or didn’t – after Exxon Valdez
Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
When the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989, the immediate effects were pretty obvious. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of sea birds and thousands of sea otters died within months, among other impacts.
Nowhere to turn, Wrangell e-waste event dumps electronics properly
Aaron Bolton, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Wrangell
In Wrangell, recycling isn’t as simple as wheeling a plastic container out to the curb each week. That service doesn’t exist in most communities in Southeast Alaska. Not to mention trying to get rid of large items like old TVs, computers and printers. In order to prevent these items from ending up in a landfill, they need to be sorted by hand and shipped off the island.
Ask a Climatologist: April flips the warm switch in Alaska
Annie Feidt, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
After a cold winter, the month of April turned warmer than normal across the state.
