Alaska News Nightly: July 15, 2014
Questions Remain About Alaska’s Prison Deaths; Protesters Speak Out On Demolition Of Two Government Hill Homes; House Considers Bill To Provide Advance Funding To IHS; Sullivan Reports Almost $1.2M In Donations In 2nd Quarter; World Eskimo Indian Olympics Start Wednesday; No Alcohol at Marijuana Initiative Fundraiser; Hazardous Material Containers Cleaned Up In Galena; Sunken Barge Irks Kuskokwim Residents; Healy Frees Sailboat Trapped in Arctic Ice; Commercial Fishing Season Ramping Up In Cook Inlet
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Alaska News Nightly: July 14, 2014
Satellites Tracking Polar Bears; Lt. Gov. Candidates Debate; Cleanup Starts in Juneau; Entrepreneurs Get Second Chance at Award; Calista Looking to Expand; Memorial to Internees Dedicated; Palmer Gets Link to Culinary Past
At Democratic Lieutenant Governor Debate, Differences In Style Over Substance
The only area where Hollis French and Bob Williams really seemed to disagree was on who would make a better running mate for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott.
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Scientists Use Satellites to Track Polar Bears
With sea ice in the Arctic melting, polar bears are in peril. Researchers have monitored the threatened species for decades, but tracking bears in remote and harsh climates can be costly and dangerous. Which is why federal scientists have started using a new tool to study the animal: satellites.
Flooding Cleanup Starts in Juneau
A handful of homes in Juneau are cleaning up after a river flooded over the weekend. The unusual event has become a regular, almost expected occurrence in the Capital City.
Entrepreneurs Get Second Chance for Awards
Southeast Alaska entrepreneurs are getting a second chance to win $40,000 to develop regional businesses. It's part of a partnership involving a Native corporation and a conservation group that made its first awards last year.
Calista Looking to Expand
Facing federal budget slashing and continued pressure on 8(a) contracting, the Calista Regional Native Corporation is continuing to look beyond federal contracts. The company acquired STG, a major construction company last year and is hoping to grow across the economy.
Memorial to WWII Internees Dedicated
After Pearl Harbor was attacked, Juneau’s Japanese population was forced from their homes and sent to internment camps in the Lower 48. Teenager John Tanaka was among those shipped out. He was the valedictorian of Juneau High School in 1942, but didn’t get to graduate with everyone else. An empty wooden chair was put on stage in his place. Now, a bronze replica of that chair will remain at the Capitol School Park permanently.
“Key Ingredients ” Highlights Local Foods
Eating is, by nature, a social activity. But these days, with the frenetic pace of American living and a disturbing reliance on fast food, it's hard to get the whole family together for a meal. Now a traveling Smithsonian exhibit at the Palmer Museum attempts to get people connected to their local foods, Recently, a sampling of old time Palmer colonists' recipes is helping to highlight the use of native grown produce.
Denali Commission Money Survives House
Congressman Don Young fends off incursion from fiscal hawks, but the commission remains a shadow of its former self.
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Fairbanks Wind Energy Battle Continues
A Fairbanks based alternative energy company continues to push Golden Valley Electric Association to buy more of its wind power. Alaska Environmental Power operates a wind farm in Delta Junction, and recently teamed with an Anchorage law firm on a report it hopes will sway utility members.
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Rep. Guttenberg Looks To Jumpstart Fairbanks LNG
State Representative David Guttenberg wants to jumpstart Fairbanks’ conversion to natural gas heating. The state is pursuing a public private project to process North Slope gas and truck it to Fairbanks, but Gutenberg says it faces a familiar problem.
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Fairbanks Rains Approach Record Levels
Scattered rain showers are in the Fairbanks area forecast, and any precipitation that falls will add to local totals that have Fairbanks on track to continue breaking wet weather records.
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‘Among Wolves’ Details Researcher’s Lifelong Passion
The University of Alaska Press recently published a book detailing one biologist’s lifelong effort to chronicle the lives of wolves that live inside the boundary of Denali Park and Preserve.
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Alaska Native Leader Don Wright Passes Away
Alaska Native leader Don Wright has died. He was 84 when he passed away at home on July 5.
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AK: Bear Aware
For naturalist Steve Merli, bear education isn’t just about staying alive. The way he sees it, knowing how to behave in bear country allows Alaskans to explore wilderness more deeply.
Merli works with Discovery Southeast, a Juneau organization that connects kids with nature programs.
Earlier this month, KTOO’s Lisa Phu joined campers for a lesson that had some questioning their assumptions about bear encounters.
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300 Villages: Palmer
This week on AK we’re heading to Palmer, home to the state’s only musk ox farm. Mark Austin is director of the musk ox farm in Palmer.
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Alaska News Nightly: July 11, 2014
Denali Commission Money Survives House; Fairbanks Wind Energy Battle Continues; Rep. Guttenberg Looks To Jumpstart Fairbanks LNG; Fairbanks Rains Approach Record Levels; 'Among Wolves' Details Researcher's Lifelong Passion; Alaska Native Leader Don Wright Passes Away; AK: Bear Aware; 300 Villages: Palmer
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Lieutenant Governor Primary Election: Bob Williams
In Alaska, the Lieutenant Governor has duties beyond backing up the Governor and keeping custody of the State Seal. The Lieutenant Governor oversees the enactment of regulations and the Division of Elections. Two Democrats are vying for that nomination in August, and your chance to get to know them is coming up on “Talk of Alaska.” Bob Williams was Teacher of the Year and now wants to be Lieutenant Governor.
APRN: Tuesday, 7/15 at 10:00am
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Alaska Edition: Friday July 11, 2014
Alaska Natives go to federal court to force the state to provide more voting assistance to Native-language speakers. Shopping may never be the same in Bethel. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation endorses Dan Sullivan for the Senate. Sullivan and incumbent Mark Begich exchange hostile advertisements. Congressman Don Young receives a "letter of reproval" from the House Ethics Committee. The KABATA moves forward with the Knik Arm Crossing: Buildings on Government Hill will be torn down. Senate candidate Joe Miller goes after his Republican opponents on the immigration issue.
KSKA: Friday, July 11 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, July 12 at 6:00 p.m.
KAKM: Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m.
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