Alaska News Nightly: April 20, 2009

Individual news stories are posted in the Alaska News category and you can subscribe to APRN’s news feeds via email, podcast and RSS.Download Audio (MP3)Indigenous Leaders Meet in AnchorageSteve  Heimel, APRN - AnchorageRepresentatives from indigenous peoples all over the world are meeting this week in Anchorage to prepare for this winter's climate treaty talks in Copenhagen.Juneau Has New SenatorRosemarie Alexander, KTOO - JuneauThe capital city finally has a new senator. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell administered the oath of office to Dennis Egan last night, after the Senate had adjourned the regular session for the year.Legislature Adjourns for the YearDave Donaldson, APRN - JuneauThe Legislature adjourned four hours short of its ninety day session limit last night (Sunday) getting the essentials done, and setting up a lot of work for next year.Lawmakers Ease Cruise Ship Discharge RulesEd Schoenfeld, APRN - CoastAlaskaA bill loosening wastewater discharge requirements for cruise ships has passed the legislature.Alaskan Educators Learn Lessons from ColumbineDan Bross, KUAC - FairbanksToday marks 10 years since the Columbine High School massacre.  The 1999 slayings of a teacher and 12 fellow students by 2 classmates in Colorado shocked the world, and ushered in a new era of vigilance in schools.Gun Found on School Grounds in FairbanksDan Bross, KUAC - FairbanksPolice say a man with a gun arrested outside Lathrop High School last week did not have any violent intentions.  Anthony Gay was spotted with in a vehicle on campus last Thursday. Fairbanks Police Sergeant Jeremy Lindhag says the 21 year old, who is not a student at the school, told officers he did not come to Lathrop to cause trouble.Juneau Considers Later High School Start TimeRebecca Sheir, KTOO - JuneauAs early as this fall, Juneau’s high schoolers could grab a few extra Zs in the morning. A proposal is underway to change school start times in the Juneau School District. The administration recommends high school begin at 9:15, 75 minutes later than the current start time. But not everyone in the community is in synch with the change.Scientists Dig into Archeological TreasureChris Harbord, CBC - WhitehorseIn Canada, scientists are hoping a pile of trash left by early Inuit settlers, north of Inuvik, will be full of archeological treasures. A researcher will be studying the table scraps left at an Inuit village almost 800 years ago.Controversy Over Plan to Sell State Fair LandEllen Lockyer, APRN - AnchoragePlans by managers of the Alaska State Fair to sell verdant farm acreage to an industrial skills training school created a fracas in Palmer last month.  The offer by Northern Industrial Training to build a twenty -four million dollar vocational school bordering the fairgrounds  is expected to  create economic opportunities for the area, but as APRN's Ellen Lockyer reports, the deal is encountering more obstacles than a rodeo barrel race.