Alaska News Nightly: June 17, 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)Freed Legislators Face Sentencing Judge Steve Heimel, APRN - AnchorageFormer state lawmakers Pete Kott and Vic Kohring are free to travel without asking for permission from a judge. The two were released from federal prison earlier because the Justice Department says their trials were tainted. On Wednesday, they were in the same courtroom, facing the same judge who sentenced them.New Report Out on Global Warming Annie Feidt, APRN - AnchorageA new report from the federal government takes a stark look at the current impacts of global warming in the United States. Violent storms, drought and flooding are just a few climate change affects already documented across the country.Biologists Return to Rat Island to Find Dead Gulls and Eagles Anne Hillman, KUCB - UnalaskaRat Island, in the Aluetians, may almost be considered rat-free, but spreading poison there might have had unintended consequences. When biologists returned to the area this summer they didn't find any live rats, but they did find 186 gulls and 41 dead bald eagles.Begich Protesting Cuts to Missile Defense Program Libby Casey, APRN - Washington, DCSenator Mark Begich (D) is continuing to press his case for blocking cuts to the missile defense program at Fort Greely in Delta Junction. He questioned top defense officials on Tuesday, including the head of the Missile Defense program at an Armed Services Committee hearing.Elders Press for Help with Beth Senior Center Shane Iverson, KYUK - BethelElders in Bethel arrived in force to the city council's last meeting to ask the community for help funding the Bethel Senior Center. Bethel's Native Tribe says high energy costs are eroding services to the area's oldest population.Anchorage's Sexual Orientation Proposal Draws Spirited Debate Len Anderson, KSKA - AnchorageThe proposed ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation once again drew hundreds to the Anchorage Assembly and a second night of public testimony.Ground Broken for New Correctional Center Ellen Lockyer, APRN - AnchorageThe state broke ground on Wednesday for the new prison at Point MacKenzie.  The Goose Creek Correctional Center is a $240 million project backed by both the state of Alaska and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.Anchorage Hosts Special Summer School Program Suzanna Caldwell, APRN - AnchorageFor the sixth year in a row, the Anchorage School District is hosting a five-week summer school. But it's not just any summer school; it's an Indian Education Enrichment Program. Students entering first through eighth grade are taught math, science and reading, but all with a cultural emphasis.