Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media

The annual Alaska Forum on the Environment is underway at the Dena'ina Convention center in Anchorage. On Thursday, federal project managers gave updates on cleanup projects across the state within national parks, on Federal Aviation property and at defense sites. The Defense Department has 537 formerly used defense sites or FUDS. Of those 70, remain active for cleanup.

State Department of Transportation crews will be working for days to get the Richardson highway completely opened. Download Audio

Shell may be abandoning their plans for drilling in Alaska’s Arctic waters in 2014, but vessel traffic, tourism and other activity will continue to advance. As part of our ongoing look at future plans for port development and military oversight of Arctic safety and security, APRN’s Lori Townsend recently spoke with Daniel Chiu the undersecretary for strategy at the Department of Defense. Chiu says the Pentagon expects large increases in defense activity is likely decades out, but he says DOD is closely following climate science to ensure they have the lead time to adjust if necessary. Download Audio

Two of the Republican candidates vying for U.S. Senator Mark Begich’s job, presented their records and thoughts on a range of issues for the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd today. Download Audio

A recent editorial in the Anchorage Daily News proposes addressing chronic inebriation and the moribund area of east 4th avenue as the way forward for a more vibrant downtown. These ideas have been on the table before, but not from the person charged with championing the city as a great place to visit and do business. Andrew Halcro is a former state lawmaker and the current President of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Rather than glossing over the city's ongoing problems, he proposes a health campus to deal head on with homeless people and chronic drunks. Download Audio

Sunday marked the final day of the Dena’ina Athabascan exhibit at the Anchorage Museum. A culmination of seven years of work, the exhibit reveals the art, history, culture and science of the lives of the people whose territory Anchorage now encompasses. Aaron Leggett is one of the curators and a Dena’ina tribal member. We walked through the exhibit one last time on Sunday. Leggett says thousands of Anchorage school children, residents and tourists visited during the four month run. The exhibit starts with a contemporary fish camp scene. One of Leggett’s favorite parts of the exhibit is a slide show of the Dena’ina people. Download Audio

Alaska will lose less than 400 soldiers from U.S. Army Alaska operations and the announcement is being portrayed as good news from military officials in the state. Download Audio

An effort to coax more Alaskans into getting a flu shot has prompted the State Division of Public Health to continue its fee waiver for flu vaccines. Free vaccines will be available at all state public health centers in Alaska for certain Alaskans.

There are places in Alaska where you can blow off fireworks on New Year’s Eve, but not within the city limits of Anchorage.

Last month, the Department of Defense released an eight-point Arctic Strategy. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel presented the document at the Halifax international security forum in Nova Scotia. It is a military blueprint for managing the future of international shipping, territorial sovereignty, tourism and security in a rapidly changing Arctic. In the first of a two part interview, Alaska’s top military official, Lt General Russell Handy says what stands out from the plan is how much is yet unknown. Download Audio

Leaders in the state of Utah announced today they will challenge an appeals court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involves a Utah state constitutional amendment that outlawed same sex marriage. A federal judge threw out the amendment saying it violated the U.S. constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses. The decision does not have a direct impact on Alaska’s amendment banning same sex marriage, but ACLU Alaska executive Director Joshua Decker says a Nevada case currently in the 9th circuit court of appeals will. Download Audio

Alaskans who earn less than $14,350 a year will not qualify for subsidies to buy insurance on healthcare.gov. They won’t qualify for Medicaid either, as the Affordable Care Act intended. That’s because Governor Sean Parnell decided not to expand Medicaid in Alaska, even though the federal government would pay most of the cost. A new report from the Kasier Family Foundation shows 17,000 Alaskans fall into that “gap.” Download Audio

Increasing reports of deformed frogs and toads in the mid 90s, prompted Congress to mandate studies to look into the problem. Amphibians are sort of the canary in the coal mine for gauging the environmental health of land and surface water. The study was released in November, and looks at amphibian abnormalities on 152 wildlife refuges across the country, including five in Alaska. Download Audio