Old And Bold Pilots: Warren Polski
Alaska is celebrating a century of aviation. As part of an occasional series, we’ve invited seasoned aviators to tell us about their adventures at the controls. Retired Anchorage pilot Warren Polski came to Alaska with his family when he was 9 and got his pilot’s license at age 16. He flew with the Civil Air Patrol for the next 50 years on search and rescue missions. One memorable flight was right after the 1964 earthquake. Polski took the first plane into Whittier, flying in two workers from the department of public safety. He says the ground was covered in debris and he needed to attempt to land on an airstrip maintained by the railroad.
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The Billionaire Behind Alice Rogoff
If you’ve heard anything about Alice Rogoff, the woman who recently bought the Anchorage Daily News, you’ll likely know that she’s married to a billionaire who co-founded the Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm. David Rubenstein is making headlines with big examples of what he calls "patriotic giving."
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Alaska News Nightly: May 13, 2014
State Supreme Court Hears Same-Sex Survivor Benefits Case; Rubenstein Reforming Face Of Carlyle Group; Shishaldin Volcano Rumbling To Life; Bethel City Council Fires City Manager Lee Foley; Fish and Game Expects Low Yukon Chinook Run; Old And Bold Pilots: Warren Polski; Kuskokwim Elders React To This Year’s Breakup; The Dauenhauers Teach Tour Guides How To Teach Tourists
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The Dauenhauers Teach Tour Guides How To Teach Tourists
Two of greatest living scholars on Sitka’s Russian and Tlingit past were in town last week to train National Park rangers on the historic battles that took place here. Park rangers give programs, of course, but sometimes they’ll interact with visitors for only a few minutes at a time. So the challenge is: How do you teach visitors about the culture in a way that will have impact – when the most commonly-asked question is “Where’s the bathroom?”
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Shishaldin Volcano Rumbling To Life
Shishaldin Volcano is rumbling to life in the Aleutian Islands. The Alaska Volcano Observatory detected long tremors and an increase in surface temperatures at Shishaldin earlier Tuesday.
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State Supreme Court Hears Same-Sex Survivor Benefits Case
The Alaska Supreme Court listened to oral arguments Tuesday in a case that challenges whether or not same-sex couples should receive survivor benefits.
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Kuskokwim Elders React To This Year’s Breakup
This year, residents along the Kuskokwim River experienced a rare breakup when the river seemingly broke up in reverse. While elders say this year was a unique event they also believe it could be sign of things to come.
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‘I Am A Girl On The Run’
When Molly Barker exclaimed, “I feel beautiful,” the crowd of runners, running buddies, volunteers and family members cheered. When she yelled, “I am a girl on the run,” everyone – female and male alike – shouted, “I am a girl on the run!”
APICDA Tries to Draw Graduate Students Back Home
Community development quota groups, or CDQ groups, are supposed to harness some of the wealth from western Alaska's booming fisheries. They all invest in education by handing out scholarships to coastal residents.
Managers May Close Kuskokwim to King Salmon Fishing Earlier than Planned
The waters of Kuskokwim River are free of ice and at the moment open to subsistence king salmon fishing, but that could quickly change, depending on how many fisherman are targeting and catching king salmon in a year that managers believe is crucial for viability of the run.
Unalaska Tallies Cost of Blasting Issues at Wastewater Plant, Landfill
It's been a year since Unalaska started uncovering big problems with a major construction project in town. Work is moving forward on the city’s new wastewater treatment plant. But, staff are still trying to put a price on the damage done.
Tongass Fire Warning Rescinded
The risk of fires in Southeast’s Tongass National Forest has dropped. A warning was issued last week as warm, sunny weather dried out grass and underbrush.
Fish and Game Expects Low Yukon Chinook Run
The run size for Yukon River Chinook, or king salmon, is likely to be lower than last year’s. Fishermen saw the lowest run of kings on record in 2013.
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Bethel City Council Fires City Manager Lee Foley
The Bethel City Council voted unanimously to fire City Manager Lee Foley during a special meeting Monday.
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Alaska Air Group To Repurchase Up To $650 Million-Worth Of Stock
The Alaska Air Group will buy back up to $650 million of stock, in a move approved by the Board of Directors.
Group Challenging Alaska’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Alaska was the first state in the country to add a ban on same-sex marriage to its Constitution. Now, five gay couples are trying to strike that ban down.
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Pacific Walruses Removed From Unusual Mortality Event In North Pacific
Pacific walruses have been removed from the unusual mortality event declared in the North Pacific for several marine mammal species.
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Panel Discussion Addresses Effects Of British Columbia Mines
Over the weekend, the Western Mining Action Network held a panel discussion in Anchorage on the development of large scale mines in British Columbia that could impact the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers. All are prolific salmon producers for Alaska.
Chris Zimmer is the Alaska Rivers without Borders campaign director. He says there are a number of mines proposed for BC and two of the most concerning are the Tulsequah Chief mine and the much larger Kerr Suphurets Mitchell or KSM prospect which is half the size of the Pebble mine proposal and 50 times larger than Tulsequah.
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Study Finds No Discernable Impact From Tulsequah Chief Mine Discharge On Fish
Chieftan Metals Corporation, based in Toronto, is the owner of the Tulsequah Chief Mine. Company President and CEO Victor Wypryski was traveling and could not be reached for comment today, but a recent posting on the company’s website highlights the results of a February water quality study.
Conducted at the request of the British Columbia ministry of the environment, the study tested four sites on the Tulsequah River, near the confluence of the Taku River near the mine site. Chinook, Coho, sockeye salmon and dolly varden were tested. Researchers reportedly found no discernable impact in fish tissue samples from historic mining discharge.
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Concerns Raised Over Alaska’s Lack Of Standing To Address Canadian Mining
Robert Sanderson is first vice president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes and was at the mining conference. He also is concerned that Alaskans don’t have legal standing to address Canadian mining.
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