Dan Bross, KUAC - Fairbanks

Over 50 Alaska teachers are among 10,000 delegates assembled in Washington, D.C. this week for the annual National Education Association representative assembly. The NEA is the union that represents teachers across the country. NEA Alaska president Barb Angaiak says the convention, which wraps up Thursday, is used to decide on the organization’s direction for the coming year, including endorsement of a candidate for U.S. president.

About 100 village-based emergency fire fighters deployed Wednesday to work a wildfire in the Lower 48. State Division of Forestry spokeswoman Maggie Rogers says the crews from the communities of Shageluk, St. Michael, Koyuk, Selawik and Scammon Bay are the second group sent out to fight fires in western states this month.

The state’s largest caribou herd continues to decline. The latest population survey estimates the western Arctic herd at 325,000 animals. State Fish and Game biologist Jim Dau in Kotzebue says the latest number shows continuation of a decline which began in 2003, when the herd numbered 500,000. Dau says given the size and massive range of western Arctic caribou, it’s hard to know what’s driving the reduction, but he has some ideas, including winter rain.

The Air Force’s decision to delay relocation of Eielson’s F-16’s does not end Alaska’s concerns about military downsizing. The head of a consulting team hired by the state to develop a strategy for protecting Alaska installations, says financial pressure remains on the military.

There’s a new plan for managing bus and other traffic on the road into Denali National Park. The Park Service has released the plan and an environmental impact statement following 4 years of studies and meetings. The process looked at numbers and schedules for the buses that move visitors along the 92 mile Denali road. Park Service spokeswoman Kris Fister says the preferred alternative allows for some increase in traffic.

Yukon River communities are getting creative in coping with another poor king salmon return. A fish sharing arrangement between Yukon River fishermen is aimed at protecting the king stock, while still providing some of the prized fish for subsistence.

University of Alaska president Pat Gamble is proposing a two percent tuition hike for the 2013-2014 school year. The increase, if approved by regents, would be the smallest at UA in over a decade. Associate Vice President for student and enrollment Saichi Oba says the hike reflects increased fixed and labor costs, and the burden of higher tuition. Download Audio

A wildfire in the Northern Interior is drawing a major response.

A legal dispute between the Fairbanks North Star Borough and 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller has been resolved. The borough and former Mayor Jim Whitaker have submitted to a judgment against them, and agreed to pay Miller $5,000. The case revolves around Miller’s past employment as a part time borough attorney.

A past member of the Alaska Peacemaker’s Militia says this week’s conviction of leader Schaeffer Cox and two group members is a sign of eroding freedom. Cox and Lonnie Vernon were found guilty Tuesday of plotting to kill government officials and having illegal weapons. A 3rdmilitaman, Coleman Barney was solely convicted of weapons violations. Former Fairbanks militia sergeant Gary Brockman says the guilty verdicts confirm government overreach.

A state contractor demolished an historic cabin along the Dalton Highway near Wiseman. Alaska Department of Transportation northern region environmental manager Bruce Campbell says the state had record of the small trapper style cabin, but the information didn’t transfer to the road reconstruction project.

A slug of red salmon that moved into the Copper River at the end of May has so far largely eluded dip netters at Chitina. State biologist Mark Somerville attributes poor fishing over the last week to river conditions.

The University of Alaska Board of Regents meets in Anchorage tomorrow and Friday. The agenda includes acceptance of the fiscal 2013 budget. The $925 million spending plan is up 4 percent over the current year’s budget. UA spokeswoman Kate Wattum says the $363.7 million operating component includes increased support from the state legislature for Regent’s priority programs.

A new housing program for chronic inebriates in Fairbanks is slowly getting up to speed. The Tanana Chiefs Conference runs the 47 room facility out of a renovated hotel on South Cushman Street. T.C.C. has been working toward bringing in the first tenants since December.

Fairbanks area residents are weighing cost and environmental impacts, as Golden Valley Electric Association pursues start up of the Healy Clean Coal Plant. GVEA members from Delta Junction to Fairbanks and Healy have seen power rates escalate with the price of oil – the fuel more Healy coal could replace. Area residents staged dueling rallies on the issue in Fairbanks yesterday.

Golden Valley Electric Association is trying a new avenue to secure an air quality permit for the Healy Clean Coal Plant. GVEA vice president of Resource Development Gene Therriault says the utility is working directly with the federal government to appease environmental concerns.

In the middle of the night Monday a North Pole woman died when a building full of people caught on fire. North Star Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeff Tucker says the fire called in at 3:36 a.m.yesterday consumed a large residential and shop building on Rozak Road, near mile 10 of the Richardson Highway.

A new book tells the story of a Fairbanks woman who’s set a standard for adventure and conservation activism. “Boots, Bikes and Bombers” is a compilation of Ginny Wood’s stories and photos. The book put together by University of Alaska Fairbanks oral history researcher Karen Brewster, recounts Wood’s unique adventures, like bike touring Europe and sailing the northwest coast back in the 1930’s and 40’s. Wood also flew in the Women’s Air Force Service Pilot program during World War 2. After the war, Brewster says Wood and friend and fellow pilot Celia Hunter, flew surplus planes from Washington to Fairbanks.

Significant rain over the weekend in the Fairbanks area is prompting flood advisories for several rivers and streams. National Weather service meteorologist Corey Bogel says around two inches of rain has fallen, and there’s concern about recreational boaters. Bogel says water levels have been high on the Chena, Goodpaster and Salcha Rivers, and even the Tanana.

A waste heat powered generator could save costly fuel in rural villages. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Center for Energy and Power recently completed testing of a unit called “The Green Machine." Center rural energy specialist Ross Coen says it converts heat into electricity.