Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Lori Townsend is the chief editor, senior vice president of journalism and senior host for Alaska Public Media. You can send her news tips and program ideas for Talk of Alaska and Alaska Insight at ltownsend@alaskapublic.org or call 907-550-8452. Read more about Lori here.
Firework Displays Banned in Anchorage
There are places in Alaska where you can blow off fireworks on New Year’s Eve, but not within the city limits of Anchorage.
Part 1: Lt. General Russell Handy On Arctic Strategy
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.
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How Do The Lower 48s Same-Sex Marriage Rulings Affect Alaska?
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.
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17,000 Alaskans Fall Into Health Care Gap
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.”
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Frog Abnormality Research Finds Location is a Key Factor
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.
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Department of Defense Releases Arctic Strategy Document
The Department of Defense released a 16 page Arctic Strategy document on Friday. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel talked about it at an event in Nova Scotia. The report states the arctic is at a "strategic inflection point," transforming from a region of relative isolation to one of increasing access to resource extraction, fishing and tourism as sea ice recedes faster than projected.
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JBER Soldier Receives Soldier’s Medal
A JBER soldier was awarded the highest military honor for an act of heroism in a non-war setting today. Sergeant 1st Class John Kerns recieved the Soldier's Medal for pulling a man from a burning car after it crashed and before it exploded a few moments later.
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New Book Celebrates 25 Years of Collaborative Science
A new book celebrates 25 years of collaborative research and science between the Cup'ik people of Chevak, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The title, Banding Together to learn and Preserve, 25 years of goose banding at old Chevak lays out the premise of this year book style collection of pictures and science information gathered during the decades of bird banding.
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Storms Appear To Subside In Western Alaska
The worst appears to be over for coastal villages in Western Alaska. State Emergency incident Commander Mark Roberts says a return to a more normal weather pattern with clear, cold conditions is forecast.
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New Report Investigates Alaska’s Suicide Rates
A new report on suicide in Alaska from the State Division of Public Health's epidemiology section, found rates are higher in more northern regions. Erik Woelber is a graduate student intern with the epidemiology section. Woelber says the study breaks communities into three categories by size and road access and looks at factors that may have contributed to the suicide rate. Woelber says the rates of suicide at higher latitudes merits more research.
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Fairview Residents Work To Re-Image Neighborhood
When I accepted a job in Anchorage more than a dozen years ago, my new boss told me the neighborhood I'd be working in was sketchy. She said signs of illicit sex and drug use, along with alcohol debris would be common in the parking lot. And that homeless people would sleep on the porch. It was all true. That was my introduction to Fairview. But last Saturday I glimpsed a very different version of the neighborhood through the stories of smiling residents who love Fairview, faults and all.
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State Offers Free Flu Vaccines
The administrative fee for vaccines through the state's public health system is being waived in an effort to get more low income people protected from flu this season.
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UAA Engagement Week Highlights Community
The University of Alaska Anchorage is hosting community engagement events this week. The focus is on being urban in Alaska. Bree Kessler is an assistant professor for Health Sciences at the center for community engagement and learning. She says on Saturday a pop up museum will appear for a few hours in a downtown neighborhood.
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AFN Officials Revisit Subsistence Issues
Officials with the Alaska Federation of Natives gathered today in Anchorage, Juneau and Bethel on a teleconference to denounce the state's lawsuit.
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Book Makes Case For US, Canada Merger
The United States and Canada are friendly neighbors with many common cultural and business interests. A new book suggests that partnership should be formalized. The title: Merger of the Century - Why Canada and America Should Become One Country, succinctly defines the premise. Author and dual citizen Diane Francis says because Canada has vast, undeveloped resources but scant population and military, it needs the U.S. to help develop and protect what America also needs.
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Seismic Activity And Tsunamis In Alaska
Alaska is the most seismically active place in America and one of the most earthquake prone areas on the planet. There were numerous large earthquakes in the 1960s followed by a few decades of relative calm, but that's changed in recent years. It's not a matter of if, but when for the next big earthquake in Alaska.
APRN: Tuesday, 11/5 at 10:00am
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Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Top AFN Conversations
The issues of substance abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault garner a lot of attention at the Alaska Federation of Native Conference in Fairbanks. Calls to strengthen tribal control over subsistence matters were highlighted by a round-table discussion with Senator Mark Begich and an address by Senator Lisa Murkowski where she deemed certain Federal Subsistence Board rules “ridiculous.”
KSKA: Friday, 11/1 at 2:00pm & Saturday, 11/2 at 6:00pm
TV: Friday, 11/1 at 7:30pm & Saturday, 11/2 at 5:00pm
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AFN Youth Speak Out On Abuse
The Alaska Federation of Natives convention that just concluded in Fairbanks had a theme of traditional values this year. Protection became a big component of that. The perennial call to ensure that subsistence rights are not diminished was strong, but even stronger this year was the outpouring of support for young people, who opened up with gut wrenching stories of pain from the fall out of addiction, suicide and abuse.
New AFN Co-Chairs Elected
The annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention wrapped up Saturday in Fairbanks. AFN board co-chairs were elected in the morning. Ana Hoffman garnered the most votes. Hoffman is the President and CEO of the Bethel Native Corporation.
Alaska Native Communities Investing In Immigration Reform
The Alaska Federation of Natives Convention entered second day today. On the agenda: Affordable Care Act opportunities, arctic policy and suicide prevention.
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