Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska's Energy Desk - Juneau
Prenatal Pot Use on the Rise in Alaska
About 1 in 14 Alaska women are using marijuana while pregnant, and that ratio appears to be going up, according to the results of a statewide survey.
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Tidal Echoes: Capturing Southeast culture in print
The latest edition of the University of Alaska Southeast literary journal Tidal Echoes was recently released. It takes a year to curate all of the work that goes into the book, which showcases poets, fiction writers, and artists. There’s only one requirement for submission: you have to be a full-time resident of Southeast.
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Governor’s Revised Budget Restores Some Funding For Sexual Assault Prevention
Alaska tops a lot of lists, like best whale watching and cleanest air quality. But the state also ranks highly in something else. Sexual assault and domestic violence.
Law and Rover: HB 147 Would Give Pets Special Legal Considerations
Most people don’t want to think of their pets as property. But in court, they are. A bill by Rep. Liz Vazquez likely be back in next year’s legislative session aims to give pets special considerations in the law when it comes to divorce, protective orders and animal seizures.
Gov. Bill Walker Adopted Into Tlingit Clan
Gov. Bill Walker was recently adopted into the Tlingit Kaagwaantaan Clan. The ceremony happened during the 80th Assembly of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, where Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott was also given a lifetime achievement award.
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How Russian Easter Bread Became An Alaska Native Tradition
Easter was last weekend but some Russian Orthodox Christians will observe it this Sunday. That’s where Easter, or what they call Pascha, lands on the Julian calendar. There’s a special treat that goes along with the celebration. It’s not a chocolate bunny. It’s called kulich.
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Tlingit Language To Be Officially Recognized In Federal Maps Database
For the first time, a Tlingit name for a peak in Juneau will be included in the Geographic Names Information System or GNIS. This makes it possible for that name to be printed on federal maps and publications. Getting the indigenous name for a Juneau peak officially recognized actually began as an attempt to give the point a Western moniker.
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Historic Auk Totem Pole Being Restored
A 74-year-old totem pole that once stood at the Auke Recreation Area in Juneau is being restored for a second time. The Yax té pole had to be taken down in 2010 after it was damaged by woodpeckers and heavy rains. Now after being in storage for five years, it’s getting a new life.
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Southeast ‘Trashwood’ Finds New Markets
Southeast residents will be able to buy locally milled lumber in the future—as small scale timber sales begin on Mitkof Island. The trees are mostly from young growth stands, comprised of what some would call “trashwood.”
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DOT To Commence Herbicide Spraying In Southeast
The Alaska Department of Transportation plans to spray herbicides on Prince of Wales Island. It will be the first time the DOT has applied herbicides in southeast Alaska since the state eliminated public review requirements in 2013. This has some community members and environmental groups worried about chemicals leaching into nearby habitat.
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Ice Bucket Challenge Splashes Into Petersburg
If you’ve spent any time on social media this summer, you’ve probably come across Youtube videos of the Ice Bucket Challenge. It’s a fundraising effort for ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Now, the viral sensation is popping up in communities around Alaska. In Petersburg, the term “ice bucket” is taken very literally.
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Bluegrass Camp For Kids Goes Busking
Kids hit the streets of Petersburg recently to showcase their music skills and raise money for Bluegrass Camp. It’s a program that runs throughout the United States, taught by a group of traveling folk musicians.
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Stream restoration on Kuiu Island nears completion
On a remote corner of the Tongass National Forest, a six-year-long stream restoration project is wrapping up. The cost: an estimated $1.2 million, funded largely from grants obtained by the Nature Conservancy. The project is intended to restore salmon streams damaged over 40 years ago on Kuiu Island.
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AK: Farming off the Grid.
It’s peak season for farmer’s markets across the country right now. Food is typically grown in a rural setting. But one Southeast Alaskan couple is taking that to the extreme. They live in a completely off-the-grid location in a place without cell phone coverage or roads. And they have to be inventive to get the produce to market.
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The Alaska Marine Advisory Tracks The Effectiveness Of Whale Pingers
As commercial fishing fleets head out on the water in Southeast Alaska this summer, some could run into problems with an expanding whale population. Whales can destroy nets and even become entangled in them. But a device being used regionally aims to prevent that. Marine mammal specialists are trying to determine its effectiveness and troubleshoot problems.
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