Ellen Lockyer, Alaska Public Media
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
State Bans Importation, Sale Of Certain Elodea Plants
The state has taken steps to ban the importation and sale of some aquatic plants that are commonly found in aquariums. Elodea is a plant used in fishbowls that has become a big problem in Alaska, and is considered an invasive species. Last year, the state began working to eradicate the plant from areas in Fairbanks and in Anchorage.
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Alaska Zoo Polar Bears To Get New Home
The Alaska Zoo in Anchorage has been home to a long line of polar bears over the years, from the infamous sneaker stealing Binky to the fluffy cub Kalli which was shipped to a sister zoo back East last year. Right now, Ahpun a female, and Lyutik, a young male, are the only two residents in the zoo's polar bear enclosure, but that is soon to change, as the Zoo plans a new program that is expected to help Alaska lead the country in polar bear captive breeding and research.
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Adult Learning Center Helps Dropouts Earn Diplomas
As the traditional strains of Pomp and Circumstance rang out of a boombox at Anchorage's Wilda Marston Theater recently, thirty black- robed and square- hatted high school graduates paraded down the aisle. February is not the usual month for such a ceremony, but what makes this graduation really different -- the grads are not teenagers, and they hail from as far away as the Congo.
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Not All Happy With Fish Board Decisions
The state's fisheries board wrapped up two weeks of meetings on Upper Cook Inlet commercial and sports fisheries late last week. This session, management changes were approved for Kenai River early and late king runs, and for the central district sockeye management plan. Supporters of the changes say that the new regulations are expected to allow more salmon to pass through the inlet. But those opposed to the changes say that commercial driftnetters and setnetters will be hurt, and that they have suffered a disproportionate hit in fishing time and area.
Cook Inlet Fishing Rule Changes
The state's fish board has passed some new rules for commercial salmon fishers in Cook Inlet, but will the rules help salmon conservation in times of declining runs?
APRN: Tuesday, 2/18 at 10:00am
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State Picks Direct Route For U-Med Road
State transportation officials have selected a preferred route for a mid-town Anchorage road connecting the University of Alaska and two city hospitals with major traffic arteries. The municipality and the state are partners in the project, along with landholders in what is called the U-Med district.
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Fish Board Restricts Commercial Fleet in Cook Inlet
After spending Sunday listening to stakeholders' committee comments on Northern District proposals, the state's Board of Fisheries this (Monday) morning got down to deliberations on central Cook Inlet management changes. The Board unanimously approved a proposal to ensure escapement goals for the Northern District.
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Winds Whipping Up Dust, Gravel in the Mat-Su
Schools stayed open in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough on Friday, despite high winds raking the area late Thursday night and were expected to continue through Friday afternoon. A low pressure center moving into the Northern Gulf of Alaska, in combination with a high pressure area over the Interior, caused the winds. Palmer, Wasilla, Chickaloon and Sutton were affected by the winds, which reached 60 mph with gusts of up to 80 mph.
Cook Inlet Salmon Changes Could Benefit Mat-Su
Mac Minard, is a fisheries biologist now working as a consultant for the Mat-Su Borough. He says the board’s action today focuses primarily on Kenai River king salmon, but it could be beneficial to the Mat-Su on two fronts.
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Helo 1 Crash Still Under Investigation
The State Department of Public Safety is reviewing its safety procedures following a helicopter crash that took the lives of three men in March of last year. The crash is still under investigation.
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Program Could Loosen Water Pollution Regulations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are joining in a new program that allows water polluters to gain clean water credits without reducing the amount of effluent they produce. The deal is not used in Alaska yet, but it allows a permitted facility to purchase pollutant reduction credits from other users within the same watershed. And clean water advocates in the state say the arrangement is missing the point of the Clean Water Act.
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Palmer Hearing Pinpoints Divisive Legislation
Alaska Natives are spearheading a move to block a divisive piece of legislation. On Tuesday, the Chickaloon Tribe invited the public and state officials out to Palmer to discuss their differences.
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Alaskans Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Alaskans celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior’s birthday with songs and remarks from state and local leaders.
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Alaska’s Population Grows By 3.7 Percent In Three Years
Alaska's population growth is increasing faster than that of the rest of the country. Figures released Friday by the state labor department indicate that the state's population increased 3.7 percent over the past three years, compared with a 2.4 growth rate in the US.
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Railbelt Electric Companies May Undergo Changes
Alaska’s Railbelt electric companies are the sole users of the state’s main transmission lines that carry energy from the Bradley Lake hydropower project in Homer north to Fairbanks. But changes are coming. Managers of the state-owned portion of the line – called the Alaska Intertie – want to give independent power producers access to the system and some power company officials want to bring the entire grid under a single owner – operator model.
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Cook Inlet Fishermen Want Federal Fisheries Oversight
A federal lawsuit filed by a Cook Inlet fishermen's group seeks to overturn state salmon management in some parts of Alaska. The suit targets the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, and, if successful, could bring federal oversight into some of the state's salmon harvests.
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Mat Su Fish Commission, Mayor Don’t See Eye To Eye
What should have been a routine meeting of the Matanuska - Susitna Borough Assembly and the Borough's Fish and Wildlife Commission took a political turn on Tuesday evening. It seems the Borough mayor and the Commission members have a distinct difference of opinion when it comes to devisive state legislation.
Ahtna Traditional First Chief Ben Neeley Dies
Ahtna Traditional First Chief Ben Neeley passed away Saturday at his home in Gulkana. He was 99.
Arctic Port Feasibility Study Expected In March
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to release a feasibility study on an Arctic port in early March, according to Corps spokeswoman Lorraine Cordova.
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New Mat-Su Trooper Unit Gets First Arrests
A new Alaska State Trooper crime unit in the Matanuska Susitna Borough area has already nabbed its first criminals. In mid December, Troopers announced a new property crimes unit, to start work on January first of this year.
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