Josh Edge, Alaska Public Media

The stories up for discussion this week are: the lawsuit against the Knik Arm bridge on hold; a big Pebble Mine story in the Press; civil suit against Anthony Rollins; the road to Juneau; Mayor Dan Sullivan; Homer News sued for libel; Schaeffer Cox; food stamps; Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival; and Senator Bert Stedman.

Alaska Has Fastest Growing Senior Population in US, Senate Receives Update on State Employee Retirement System, Arctic Ice Melts to Second Lowest Recorded Level, Klukwan, Inc. Closes Haines Office, Murkowski, Parnell Among Those to Discuss Plan for State’s Minerals, Proposed Halibut Catch Sharing Plan Causing Rift Between Commercial, Charter Industries, Text Giving Program Comes to Anchorage, Over $118 Million Will Be Given to American Indian, Alaska Native Tribes, Organizations

Native Organization Seeks Supreme Court Review on Contract Payment Disputes, Walruses Hauling Out Near Point Lay Again, Fort Wainwright Expresses Condolences For Soldiers Killed, Injured in Afghanistan, Over 90,000 Alaskans Seek Assistance from Food Pantries, Metlakatla Fisheries Certified as Sustainable, Exploratory Drilling Underway to Map Out Gold at Herbert Glacier, ‘Climate Change Reality Project’ Heading to Kotzebue, Family Embarking on Odyssey Across Malaspina Glacier

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) Advisory Panel Releases Recommendations for Shipping Safety in Aleutians Alexandra...

Pebble Mine Battle Extends to Lower 48, Fuel Spilled After Vessel Loses Power, Drifts into Channel Rocks, Second Controller Speaks About Korean Airliner Incident on 9/11, Committee Considers Issues Raised By Recent Court Cases, Destination of Nearly Complete Ferry Remains Unclear, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Enrollment Lower Than Expected , Section of Kensington Mine Remains Closed After Accident, Mining Company Finds Promising Deposits Near Tok, La Nina Likely to Persist into Winter

Air Traffic Controller Talks About Korean Airliner Incident on 9-11 , Grounded Vessel Refloated And All Safe, No Damage, Volunteers Hope to ID Most At Risk Homeless, Beringia Celebration Kicks Off in Nome, ANSCA at 40 Panel Meeting at UAA, AK: Despite Recent Troubles, Daycare Remains Strong, 300 Villages: Wales and Metlakatla

And now it’s time for our weekly trip around the state in the segment we call 300 villages. First we’ll head to the Northwest community of Wales, on the Bering Strait, and then to Metlakatla, south of Ketchikan.

Some of the topics up for discussion this week include: response to President Obama’s jobs speech; taxi drivers; Mayor Dan Sullivan versus the unions; the US Postal Service; school vandalism; employment on the North Slope; vehicle emissions program; the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The play is set three days before Christmas. In the Doctor's Common Room of St. Andrew's Hospital in London, David Mortimore is composing the speech he will give to a distinguished gathering of neurologists, a speech which may well make or break his career.

Obama’s Job Speech Receives Mixed Reviews, SBA Encourages Small Businesses to Export Goods, Services, Cost to Build Donlin Mine Increases, Residents Urge Postal Service to Spare Douglas Post Office, Tannery Means Business, Culture for Sitka Tribe, NPS Ups Denali, Foraker Climbing Fees, Southeast Cruise Line Plans 2012 Expansion

Congress Reconvenes After Five-Week Recess, Highways, Bridges and Ferries Top STIP Priority List, Arctic Ocean Sea Ice Withdrawing at Record Pace, Miner Dies in Kensington Gold Mine Accident, Home Owners Voice Concerns Over Usibelli Mining Project, Numbers Promising for Proposed Livengood Gold Mine, NOAA Releases 2010 Seafood Landing Port Rankings, Coast Guard Shows Off New Station Juneau Response Boat, Petersburg Landslide Repaired

A Ft. Wainwright based soldier has died of injuries suffered in an IED. attack in Afghanistan. An Army statement says Specialist Christopher J. Marquis of Tampa Florida was guarding an entry when a vehicle carrying an improvised explosive device blew up.

Legislators Investigate North Slope Employment Report Discrepancy, Bokan Part 1: UCore Eyes Mine on Prince of Wales, Postal Service Might Lose $10 Billion This Fiscal Year, New Autism School Slated to Open Next Year, Fort Wainwright Soldier Dies in IED Attack, Military Revises Training Airspace Proposals, OCS Says No Plan to Cut Petersburg Social Worker

Man in Jail After Biting Airplane Crew Member, One Pilot Dies in Midair Crash Near Nightmute, State Looks to Expand Information Gathering on Firearm Injuries, Lawmakers Hear About Halibut Allocation, Revered Alaska Artist Passes Away at 91, Judge Gives Prosecution Time to Make Decision on Key Figure in Corruption Case, Early Numbers Indicate Slight Rise in UAF Enrollment, Juneau Nonprofit Aims to Help Sitka Startups, Fairbanks Girl Treated for Gunshot Sound, Blessing Ceremony Held for Totem Poles on Chief Shakes Island, Art Exhibit Showcases Indigenous Experiences with Climate Change

Legislators’ Norway Trip Focusing on Economic, Natural Resource Issues, State Appealing Federal Protection for Polar Bears, Officials Search for Cost of Endangered Species Act Listings, Northern Waters Task Force Meets in Unalaska, Former Anchorage Teachers Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison, New Bethel Dog Law Authorizes Volunteer Animal Force, Ilisagvik College Offers Opportunity on the North Slope, SEACAD Receives Federal Honors, AK: Letters - The Old Fashioned Kind, 300 Villages: The Barrow Whalers

The International Geophysical Year changed the face of science for the world. Even though it was not yet a state, Alaska was a big part of that change. 50 years later it was time for the International Polar Year, and we’re just starting to learn its results.

With the university's semester starting up next week, they will talk about some of the great programs that the department has coming up this season.

This week, some of the topics include: lawmakers’ travel expenses; legislative conference in Hawaii; Murkowski warns of reduction in federal spending; the Knik Arm crossing; Wasilla Councilman Steve Menard; Exxon’s dispute over Point Thompson; Anchorage cap driver arrested for rape; the East Coast Earthquake; and a possible Palin Presidential run.