Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Lori Townsend is the news director 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.
Dallas Seavey Nearing Iditarod Finish Line
Dallas Seavey is on the final stretch to Nome. The Willow musher is likely to capture his first Iditarod win tonight. If he does, he will be the youngest winner in Iditarod history. He turned 25 while out on the trail. Behind Seavey, Aliy Zirkle and Ramey Smyth are battling for second place. Right now, GPS shows Zirkle about seven miles ahead of Smyth.
Murkowski Questions Amount Of Money Spent Defending Stevens Prosecutors
Senator Lisa Murkowski today questioned Attorney General Eric Holder about money being spent to defend Justice Department prosecutors who are protesting the release of a report detailing mishandling of the prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens.
Suspicious Envelopes Sent to Schools in Alaska
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is instructing school districts across the state to be on the lookout for suspicious envelopes containing white powder.
Shell Requests Declaratory Judgment On Arctic Spill Response Plan
Shell Alaska has taken an unusual step in asking a federal court Wednesday for a declaratory judgment on their Arctic spill response plan that was approved by the department of Interior in February. Shell is seeking this judgment against a number of environmental and conservation groups in an effort to end run the litigation that will likely challenge the process that was used to approve their plan.
Stryker Brigade Soldiers Prepare for Deployment End
Cheryl Hatch, the former University of Alaska Fairbanks Snedden chair of Journalism is in Afghanistan visiting Fort Wainwright Stryker brigade troops. Last week Hatch was in Khenjakak, which is the combat outpost for Charlie Company in the 1st battalion, 5th infantry regiment of the 125th Stryker brigade. Hatch says it’s in the Panjawa’i district, an area she says is in the heart of the Taliban.
State Concerned Over Increasing Numbers of HIV Cases
The state is concerned about a big increase in the number of new HIV cases in Fairbanks. Last year, Fairbanks reported eight new HIV cases and the outbreak is ongoing. In recent years, two or three new cases were more typical. The state is also seeing a syphilis outbreak in Anchorage. Susan Jones is Alaska’s HIV and STD program manager. She says the state first became concerned about the increase in HIV cases in Fairbanks last summer.
Health Care Cost Solutions
What if your insurance company helped you build a healthier grocery list or your work place paid part of your gym membership? Last time on Talk of Alaska we discussed the staggering cost of health care in the state and now we'll talk about solutions.
KSKA: Tuesday, 2/21 @ 10:00am
Federal Government Approves Shell Oil’s Spill Response Plan
The federal government has signed off on Shell Oil Company’s spill response plan for the Chukchi Sea, clearing a major hurdle for the Houston oil giant to begin drilling vast Arctic Ocean reserves off Alaska’s coast during the 2012 summer open water season. Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh says this is a big milestone but there’s still work to be done.
Crews Set to Begin Thawing Out Rig Over Blown Out Test Well
The North Slope exploratory well that experienced a blow out on Wednesday appears to have stopped flowing. Spanish oil company Repsol’s well hit a shallow natural gas patch that kicked mud, gas and water back up through the drill rig.
Legislators Identify Problems, Goals
Wednesday marks the completion of one-third of this year’s legislative session. And so far, legislators have spend most of their time identifying problems and goals – and hoping they are set up to finish work at the end of ninety days.
Health Care Costs in Alaska
Alaska's Health Care costs are among the highest in the world. And the state's Health Care Commission has spent the last year trying to figure out why. Its a complicated problem but the commission has some intriguing findings to report, that may start to get at some answers.
KSKA: Tuesday, 2/14 at 10:00am
‘Northern Justice Project’ Assisting Low-Income People In Court Cases
Navigating the legal system alone can be daunting for average citizens but expensive if you must hire a lawyer, who starts running the meter with the first call. For lower income people it can be impossible to scrape together a retainer, much less pay an hourly fee that can be hundreds per hour.
FAA Reauthorization Passes Senate
By a vote of 75 to 20, the U.S. Senate passed the bill that re-authorizes the Federal Aviation Administration for four years.
ANWR Bill Passes Natural Resources Committee
ANWR legislation is back before U.S. House members. The House Natural Resources committee is offering legislation that, among other things, would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development. The language is part of a larger Republican jobs bill. Congressman Don Young says he’s pleased that it passed out of committee.
Officials Discuss State’s Obesity Problem
State public health workers from across the state came together for three days of discussions in Anchorage this week on all facets of how Alaskans can be healthier.
AK: A Tropical Oasis
It’s been a particularly cold and snowy winter for much of Alaska. And in the middle of January, it’s hard to find a warm, soothing plant filled haven complete with singing birds and blooming tropical plants, unless you fly to Hawaii. But we dug into the AK archives for a story about a secret hot spot in Anchorage APRN’s Lori Townsend is willing to share. Sort of…
Cook Inlet Beluga Population Estimate Lower Than Previous Year
National Marine Fisheries Service scientists released the 2011 population estimate for Cook Inlet Belugas today. The current number is 284 whales, nearly 20% less than last year’s estimate of 340.
Top Oil CEOs Meet With Gov. Parnell In Anchorage
A meeting characterized as historic took place at the Dena’ina center in Anchorage on Thursday, bringing the top CEOs of ConocoPhillips, BP, Exxon and Governor Parnell together for a first ever meeting to discuss a new approach to building a gasline for getting North Slope gas to market.
Marge Baker Obituary
An icon of pioneer aviation in Northwest Arctic Alaska has been laid to rest. Marge Baker of Baker Aviation died while on vacation with her family in Mexico on Dec. 24. She was 79-years old.
Boeing Wins Missile Defense Contract
Boeing Corporation beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said Friday.