Alaska News Nightly: November 24, 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) Interior Department Releases Drilling Plans Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DCInterior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today plans for oil and gas leasing on public lands next year – including in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska.Judge OKs Compensation Plan for Sexual Abuse Victims Dan Bross, KUAC – FairbanksA judge has approved a compensation package for victims of sexual abuse by clergy overseen by the Fairbanks Diocese. Anchorage attorney Ken Roosa represents many of the 300 victims, mostly from western Alaska native villages, who sued the diocese, forcing it into bankruptcy last year.Fire Destroys Aniak Community Hall Shane Iverson, KYUK – BethelA Fire destroyed a part of The Aniak Community Hall in the Middle Kuskokwim Area. A volunteer group of teenagers was able to slow the fire down, but smoke has damaged the entire interior.Fairbanks Leads State in Swine Flu Deaths Dan Bross, KUAC – FairbanksFairbanks residents account for most of Alaska’s swine flu related deaths.  Seven of the 10 fatalities in which swine flu has been identified as a factor have been people from Fairbanks.  State Health Department spokesman Greg Wilkinson says the latest death attributed to the H1N1 flu strain was a Fairbanks man in his fifties.Anchorage Postpones Swine Flu Clinics Ellen Lockyer, APRN – AnchorageThe city of Anchorage is postponing additional H1N1 flu vaccination clinics due to limited vaccine supplies.  Vaccine is being allocated to schools and private health careproviders, but some public clinics are being cancelled.Wilson Fills Vacant Fairbanks House Seat Dave Donaldson, APRN – JuneauTammie Wilson on Tuesday was named  to replace John Coghill in the state House District Eleven seat. Coghill resigned earlier this month to fill a vacancy in the Senate.Lawmakers Start Assessing Scholarship Proposal Dave Donalson, APRN – JuneauLegislators on Tuesday began looking at the merit-based scholarship program proposed by Governor Parnell last month. Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux told the House and Senate Education Committees that the Governor’s Performance Scholarship begins the necessary needs of the state by inviting students to pursue excellence.Archaeologists Get New Look at 1901 Sinking Tara Bicknell, KHNS – HainesA discovery north of Skagway is giving archaeologists a flashback to a stormy Klondike winter day in 1901, when the steamship A.J. Goddard sank in Lake Laberge outside of Whitehorse, Yukon.