Steve Heimel, APRN Contributor

The Interior Department says a test of an offshore well capping system in the Gulf of Mexico was successful. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement says Noble Energy and the Helix Well Containment Group have shown the device could contain a deep-water blowout.

There is a state oil and gas lease sale for tracts in the Cook Inlet area on Wednesday. The state Oil and Gas division opens bids at the Convention Center at 9 this morning.

Early Tuesday, a woman flipped her four wheeler in Alakanuk and died in the crash. State Troopers say it looks like alcohol was involved. Lois Chikigak was 30. The crash was reported at 1:43 Tuesday morning.

Shell has named a replacement for its outgoing head of Arctic operations, David Lawrence, who is leaving by mutual consent after numerous problems with the company's Chukchi and Beaufort Sea exploratory operations and a federal report that blamed the company for poor oversight of its contractors.

The state Supreme Court gave the state Redistricting Board the clarification it was looking for last week. It said its order requiring the Board to draft a map of legislative districts based on the criteria of the state Constitution should involve all districts, not the few in which there is a federal concern to preserve Native voting power. Download Audio

Next year’s election season is already heating up, with Republican Bill Walker announcing today that he will again run for Governor, as he did in 2010. Download Audio

The Spanish oil company, Repsol is reporting it has found oil on state leases in the Colville Delta at three of its wells on the North Slope. In a short press release the company calls the prospects "promising" and says changes in the state's oil tax will improve development prospects.

Sponsors of a petition to repeal the changes the Anchorage Assembly made to labor laws say they have repaired technical flaws in their ballot measure and resubmitted it. The previous version was rejected by the Municipal Clerk because of those technical flaws, but also because of an opinion by the Municipal Attorney that it was, "administrative," and would encroach on the authority of the mayor. Download Audio

Sunday, furloughs of Federal Aviation Administration employees due to the Congress's sequestration process began to hit. All air traffic controllers are required to take one unpaid day off per pay period. If you are an air traveler be prepared for delays, because the furloughs will reduce the number of landings per hour at hub airports. It's not known yet exactly how this will affect the airports in Alaska. Download Audio

The state Fish and Game department slapped restrictions on sports-fishing for King Salmon on many rivers that pour into Cook Inlet on Thursday. Their press releases say the fisheries will be, “conservatively managed” this year. Download Audio

There will likely be a petition drive to reverse the new oil tax bill passed by the legislature Sunday night. A number of the people who campaigned against Senate Bill 21 had a strategy meeting today at Democratic Party Headquarters. Download Audio

It’s time to find out what’s new in renewable Energy in Alaska. From wind farms to DC power-lines, from giant dams to mass produced solar cells, from tidal turbines to super-insulated homes, it comes up at the annual “Business of Clean Energy” conference, and we’ll get a preview on the next Talk of Alaska. KSKA: Tuesday, 4/16 at 10:00am Download Audio

The federal government has released a new “Integrated Management Plan for the Rapidly Changing Arctic,” which emphasizes the integrity of eco-systems, inter-agency co ordination, and working more closely with Native tribes and corporations. Science and Alaska Natives is the subject of the next Talk of Alaska. KSKA: Tuesday 4/9 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Federal regulators said today that ConocoPhillips will need to meet the same standards they set for Shell for drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea. At an Anchorage field hearing of Senator Mark Begich’s Oceans Subcommittee today, Tommy Boudreau, head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, was asked if that means a containment dome for blowouts, such as the one BP used at the Macondo Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Speaking by teleconference due to federal budget constraints, Boudreau told Begich the same standard would be used. Download Audio

The Alaska Legislature has passed a resolution about genetically modified salmon. The resolution, which passed the House last month and the Senate unanimously on Monday, asks the FDA to take another look at the potential risks of allowing the so-called "franken-fish" on the market.