Matt Miller, KTOO - Juneau
Matt Miller is a reporter at KTOO in Juneau.
‘Blob’ of warm water threatens marine mammals in the Pacific
Scientists are increasingly worried about the possibility of more die-offs and other adverse effects on marine mammals and seabirds if the suspected cause, a huge anomaly of warm water in the northeast Pacific Ocean, persists into this summer. KTOO’s Matt Miller has more in the first of a two-part series. Download Audio
Tugboat dismantling winding down in Juneau
The operation to raise and dismantle the old tug Challenger is winding down in Juneau.
Warm water Blob could impact Alaska’s $1 billion pollock fishery
Fisheries biologists are worried that many of last year’s new pollock around Kodiak Island may not have survived recent warm ocean temperatures.
How to salvage a huge tugboat without spilling 9,500 gallons of fuel and oil
Imagine a small, but very busy high school science fair, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what it was like at the Coast Guard’s open house on Tuesday to explain the imminent salvage of the wrecked tug Challenger. The neglected 96-foot World War II era vessel sank last September in Gastineau Channel just across from the Juneau Yacht Club. Download Audio
Former Juneau lawmaker fined $18K for allegedly helping oil companies while seeking oil jobs
Former Juneau Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch has been fined $18,104 for asking for an oil company job while sitting as a state lawmaker who helped draft oil tax legislation. But his attorney said the opinion released by a legislative ethics committee may not be the final word on the matter.
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Grand jury indicts Juneau murder suspect
A former Juneau resident arrested last month in the Palmer area has been indicted on murder charges. A Juneau grand jury handed up an indictment on Friday charging Nora Edith Thomas, 28, with two counts of second degree murder.
Scientists get ‘Blobby’ with it in Seattle
Scientists from up and down the West Coast are gathering in Seattle this week for a conference on a giant mass of warm ocean water that has lingered in the Northeast Pacific.
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Egan worries about political paralysis, procrastination
Juneau Sen. Dennis Egan said he expects that the $3.5 billion budget deficit will dominate the agenda during this legislative session. But will anything be accomplished to fill that gap? That’s a different story.
Alaskans fly south for Arctic symposium
The University of Washington School of Law is hosting policymakers from Alaska and around the country for discussions on Arctic security and politics, development, transportation and shipping, environmental protection, and climate change.
‘The Blob’… on winter vacation or gone for good?
Is 'The Blob' taking a winter breather? Or, is it fizzling out? After over two years, is The Blob finally dead? The giant, persistent mass of warm ocean water seems to have cooled over the last few months, possibly because of another warm ocean phenomenon that is now dominating the Pacific.
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AK: For Tlingit engineer, Juneau bridge connects Alaskans
More than 100 years after the creation of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, a new bridge in Juneau has been named in honor of the Native organization. But it’s not the first. The predecessor to the current bridge was actually designed by a man who has his own unique and interesting ties to the Alaska Native civil rights movement.
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State court employees furloughed Christmas Eve to cost-cut
There’ll be no court in Juneau Thursday, Christmas Eve. In fact, all of the state’s 39 courthouses will be closed on Christmas Eve as a cost saving measure while the state tries to chip away at a multibillion dollar budget deficit.
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Could market squid become a new Southeast fishery?
Southeast Alaska marine scientists got a rare peek this year into the hatching of a certain species of squid.
Skipjack tuna, other warm-water fish turn up in Alaska
It’s unclear whether a developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific is partially responsible for this year’s wayward skipjack.
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Convicted Wrangell doc wants another chance to defend himself
The former Wrangell doctor convicted on child pornography charges wants a new trial. Greg Salard’s new lawyer claims his client’s constitutional rights were denied by the public defender during his trial in U.S. District Court in July. The request has postponed Salard’s sentencing while a judge considers the request.
Language matters: The alleged disappearance of Áak’w Kwáan, T’aaku Kwáan
What happened to the Áak’w Kwáan and T’aaku Kwáan? Did they all die of disease? Become assimilated? Move away? A state researcher challenges the modern day, persistent narrative implying that local Tlingits seemed to have just vanished as soon as non-Native settlers arrived in the area.
New bridge dedicated to Alaska Native Brotherhood
State transportation officials and Juneau Native leaders dedicated a new bridge crossing the Mendenhall River as the Brotherhood Bridge Saturday.
Warm-water fish increasingly spotted in Alaska waters
Scientists and fishermen have reported more unusual species in Alaska waters, likely because of warming sea surface temperatures. Meanwhile, an Alaska research organization has created an online clearinghouse of all the news and research related to the anomaly called The Blob.
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Wrangell doc found guilty of sharing child porn
Former Wrangell doctor Greg Salard has been found guilty of distributing and receiving child pornography. The 12-person jury returned Tuesday with a verdict in U.S. District Court after an hour and a half of deliberations.
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AK: Juneau’s Nimbus Sculpture – An Ugly Duckling Reclaims Its Throne
What’s big and green, weighs 8 tons, and is shaped like a Kleenex half-pulled from the box? Nimbus, of course. The polarizing and controversial sculpture recently returned to the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum that’s under construction in downtown Juneau, after a 38-year history that included the piece’s provocation, banishment and eventual resurrection.
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