Alaska News Nightly: July 29, 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)Suit Filed to Challenge Pebble Permits Lori Townsend, APRN - AnchorageTrustees for Alaska filed a lawsuit in Anchorage Superior court this morning challenging all of the state's permits that allow exploration of the proposed pebble mine in the Bristol Bay region.Kenai Flooding, Some Residents Evacuating Ben Stanton, KDLL - KenaiParts of the Kenai Peninsula are experiencing flooding rivers and waterways as seasonal snow and glacier melt combines with a couple days of consistent rainfall.  Residents in one area are being asked to prepare for evacuation, which some have already done.  An incident command has assembled.State's Largest Wildfire Getting Bigger Dan Bross, KUAC - FairbanksThe country's biggest wildfire is getting larger by the day.  The Minto South Flats blaze, west of Nenana has burned 337 thousand acres.Murkowski Asks Feds to Help with Troubled Senior Program Dave Donaldson, APRN - JuneauUS Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on Wednesday asked the federal government to send its own staff to help seniors and disabled people who were shut out of the Personal Care and Medicaid Waiver assistance programs.Senate Indian Affairs Committee May Explore Native Contracts Libby Casey, APRN - Washington DCSenator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) wants the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to hold a hearing this fall on the Native American 8 - A program.  It gives Alaska Native Corporations extra advantages so they can net high-value government contracts.Canada and US to Explore Arctic Together Libby Casey, APRN - Washington DCThe US and Canada are gearing up for a joint mission into ice filled Arctic waters.  Next week both nations will send an icebreaker ship into the Beaufort Sea, where they'll meet up and map the Arctic. The data they collect may eventually help each nation lay competing claims to the resource-rich sea bed.Alaska to Get $5 Million in Stimulus Funds for Police Ellen Lockyer, APRN - AnchorageAlaska villages and cities are receiving more than $5 million in federal stimulus money for police services.FEMA Distributes Millions to Alaska Flood Victims The Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed $3 million to Alaskans who lost their houses and other property in the devastating spring floods. In all, families in 22 villages on the Yukon and Kuskokwim were impacted. The deadline for applying for federal assistance is August 10th. The maximum grant is $30,300.Biologists Say Fishing Restrictions Working Dan Bross, KUAC - FairbanksState biologists say fishing restrictions on the Yukon River appear to be working, and expect that enough Canada bound King salmon will make it to their spawning grounds. Canadian stocks account for about 50 percent of the Yukon River Chinook, and their numbers are low.