Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media

Quiet after the frenzy of the holidays is a welcome change for many Alaskans, but for those who live from paycheck to paycheck or are homeless, the quiet can mean less. Less public attention to donations of clothing, food and money during the coldest part of the year. In December, Lisa Aquino took the helm as executive director for Catholic Social Services, the organization that runs Brother Francis Shelter, Clare House and other assistance programs in Anchorage. Download Audio

Fish and Game resources are important to nearly every Alaskan and the state's new acting commissioner of Fish and Game says he'll take that to heart as he makes decisions. Sam Cotten is a former Democratic state lawmaker. More recently, he's been a commercial fishermen and a member of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

OMB's new director Pat Pitney says she wants Alaskans to be involved in the conversation on how to trim the state budget as the price of oil falls. Pitney is a former vice chancellor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She says budget cuts are necessary, but the Walker administration wants to be strategic about where they happen. Download Audio

Alaska lawmakers sent a letter to Governor Bill Walker this week urging measures to rein in budget items. Incoming Senate President Kevin Meyer, a Republican from Anchorage and House Speaker Republican Mike Chenault of Nikiski signed the letter, along with the chairs of the finance committees for both chambers. The letter lays out suggestions such as a hiring freeze for all state departments, limiting agency travel and requesting department budgets for the first six months of 2015. Download Audio

Mark Myers is preparing to become Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources on January 16th. He is currently Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Myers has also worked for the oil industry as a petroleum geologist and for the federal government- leading the United States Geological Survey. And he was the director of the division of oil and gas when Frank Murkowski was Governor. Myers says he made a difficult decision to resign from that job. Download Audio

Tribes in Alaska are celebrating a decision that allows them to apply for lands to be placed into trust status with the federal government. Download Audio

A state attorney was shot and killed in Barrow last night. Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Law's Criminal Division Rick Svobodny says Brian Sullivan was killed some time before midnight. Barrow police are leading the investigation. Download Audio

Alaska's top military commander, Lieutenant General Russell Handy has been on the job here for more than a year. He's overseeing ALCOM here at a time when the U.S relationship with Russia has grown frosty. In September, Russian military flights that were within 50 miles of the Alaskan and Canadian coast lines caused enough concern that F22s were sent from JBER to intercept them. Lt. General Handy says the Russian flights did not cross into the 12 mile international boundary zone and were not considered hostile. Download Audio

The Alaska Ocean Observing System is celebrating it's 10th anniversary of aggregating information about ocean conditions and sharing that data with a wide range of partner organizations and other ocean users. Molly McCammon is the executive director of AOOS. A former director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill trustee council, she was asked to head up a new ocean observing organization in 2003. McCammon says Congress wanted a better system to integrate ocean research and in 2004, AOOS was launched. She says traditional research looks at what needs to be learned, but AOOS starts with who the users are and what they need to know to make decisions. Download Audio

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey are reporting a steep decline in the number of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea. In a study published on Monday, they show the population dropped 40 percent in the first 10 years of this century.

Tonight in Anchorage the YWCA will present the 25th annual Women of Achievement award to 10 Alaskan women who have helped others. Some as well known news makers and others, who have quietly gone about the tasks of improving the lives of those around them, without much attention. Hilary Morgan is the YWCA's CEO. She says the women's advocacy organization has a theme for this year's event of honoring the past, inspiring the future. Download Audio

Local filmmaker Mary Katzke of Affinity Films, has taken on the subject of family members caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's Disease. Katzke says she started out documenting friends in the sandwich generation: Those with careers, children at home and also caring for aging parents but she focused in on five families dealing with Alzheimer's because of the emotional toll of caring for a family member who may not recognize you. One of those caregivers is Janet Burts, who has been caring for her mother since her father passed away in 2010. Katzke says in a state with the fastest growing elder population per capita of any other, exploring the individual decisions that each family has to make is timely. Download Audio

Voters approved ballot measure two last night. The measure makes legal the production, sale and use of marijuana for Alaskans over 21 years old. Washington DC and Oregon approved similar measures. Download Audio

The Alaska Attorney General’s office released a fourth set of documents concerning the Alaska National Guard on Saturday. The 171-page packet contained mostly press releases and official photographs.