Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
IRS Gives a Little on Air Taxi Tax
The IRS has given a sliver of ground in how it has applied tax rules to air taxi flights. Sen. Mark Begich is calling it a win for small air carriers, but Joy Journeay, executive director of the Alaska Air Carriers Association, says the concession is less than it appears.
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State Sues Feds Over Arctic Refuge Exploration
The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit last week against the federal government for rejecting Gov. Sean Parnell’s application to explore the geology of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. Interior Department says the window for such oil and gas exploration in the refuge closed in 1987.
Ahtna Goes to Congress For Role in Game Management
Alaska tribes and rural hunters have long complained that the dual federal-state game management system is hard to live by and doesn’t give subsistence users their due. Today, Ahtna Inc., the smallest of Alaska’s Regional Native Corporations, presented a proposal for co-management of game to a Congressional panel.
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While FDA Mulls Genetically Modified Salmon, Supermarkets Back Away
The head of the Federal Drug Administration told a U.S. Senate committee today her agency is still working on its review of an application to produce a genetically modified salmon.
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Arctic is Top Priority for Homeland Security – But One of Many
Sen. Lisa Murkowski today pressed the Secretary of Homeland Security to make the Arctic a priority for the Administration, particularly for the Coast Guard. She got no disagreement.
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Anchorage’s National Archives Office Closing
The government’s top archivist, David Ferriero announced today the Anchorage branch of the National Archives will close this year.
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Sarah Palin, Superstar, Rocks Conservative Faithful
Sarah Palin fired up thousands of conservative activists who came to hear her give the closing speech of the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C. this weekend. Palin hasn’t held elected office since she resigned as Alaska governor in 2009. But at this gathering of 11,000, she was an A-list celebrity.
Sarah Palin Speaks At Conservative Political Action Conference
Former Gov. Sarah Palin whipped up thousands of the faithful this weekend, as the closing speaker of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
Dust-up in U.S. House Hearing over Bypass Mail
Alaska’s Bypass Mail system took some punches in Congress today. The chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee is renewing his attack on the postal system that delivers everything from lettuce to lumber in the Bush. Alaska’s congressional delegation told him, essentially, to butt out.
Bringing Money to Politics: A Job for a Pro
Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be a big-money affair. One hidden asset the campaigns deploy is the professional fundraiser. Sen. Mark Begich and the Republican front-runners hoping to unseat him all list professional fundraisers in their campaign finance reports, but they declined to talk about it. That’s not unusual, says fundraiser Kirsten Borman. She says there’s too much at stake for a campaign to pull back the curtain.
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Pebble Opponents, Proponents React To EPA Decision
The EPA’s announcement today was directly targeted at the Pebble Mine. The developers of that project are understandably not pleased with what they say is a gross overreach of federal authority which should be concerning to all Alaskans.
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Industry Says U.S. Fish Law Works Well in Alaska
The Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 1976 law that governs fishing in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and other federal waters, is up for reauthorization in Congress. In past revisions, sectors of the Alaska industry squared off against each other. This time, the industry is mostly united in praising the law. But some of Alaska’s non-commercial fishermen say their needs aren’t getting enough attention.
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Alaska Gets $21 Million In Federal Disaster Funds
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced it is sending Alaska $21 million in federal disaster funds for poor king salmon returns in three regions.
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Pebble Mine Opponents Urge EPA To Kill Project
About 30 opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine met in Washington today with White House and high-ranking EPA staff. They came armed with a new EPA study that found a mine of Pebble’s size would pose a significant risk to Bristol Bay and its valuable salmon fisheries. Now they’re asking the Environment agency to take the next step and kill the project. They didn’t get a definite answer.
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‘Arctic Ambassador’ Position Draws Mixed Reaction From Alaska Delegation
Secretary of State John Kerry announced last week that he’s creating a new position called Special Representative for the Arctic Region. It’s been referred to as an “Arctic Ambassador” in some reports, but it’s not exactly that, and the reaction of Alaska’s two U.S. senators has been mixed.
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Bush Pilots Hit Hard By New Interpretation Of Tax Law
Alaska air taxi operators say the IRS has re-interpreted tax law for their industry, hitting some Bush pilots with tax bills of up to a million dollars. Alaska’s federal lawmakers are asking the revenue office to back off until they get some answers about what the rules are. The unexpected burden is driving some air carriers into debt or out of business entirely.
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Air Taxi Services Say IRS Overreach is Crushing
Alaska air taxi operators say the IRS has re-interpreted tax law for their industry, hitting some Bush pilots with tax bills of up to a million dollars. Alaska’s federal lawmakers are asking the revenue office to back off until they get some answers about what the rules are. In the meantime, the unexpected burden is driving some air carriers into debt, or out of business entirely.
John Kerry Creating Arctic Position at State
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he is creating a new Arctic position. In a letter to Sen. Mark Begich, Kerry says he will appoint a person of high stature to serve as “Special Representative for the Arctic Region” in order to elevate U.S. attention on the far North.
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U.S. Senate Considers Law Enforcement Gaps in Native Alaska
In Washington, D.C. the Senate Indian Affairs Committee yesterday reviewed a controversial report on Native American law-and-order that portrays the high rates of violence in rural Alaska, particularly against Native women and children, as a national disgrace. While Alaska’s senators agreed the gaps in law enforcement are deplorable, the long-standing dispute over tribal jurisdiction in the state hangs over the search for solutions.
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Senate Considers Treaties to Go After Fish Piracy
The U.S. Senate is considering two international treaties that Sen. Lisa Murkowski says would help crack down on pirate fishing in the North Pacific. Murkowski today told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that illegal high seas fishing is an economic threat to the crab industry.
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