Unalaska Copes With Shell’s Decision Not To Drill
At least one Alaska community was banking on Shell’s presence – and business – this summer.
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Murkowski Pushes To Lift Crude Oil Exports Ban
A campaign by Senator Lisa Murkowski to lift the decades-old ban on crude oil exports got its first hearing in Washington today. It’s been 25 years since Congress has formally considered the ban it adopted during the Arab oil embargo, but the recent energy boom in the Lower 48 is triggering new debates.
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DOT Works To Dig Out Richardson Highway
State Department of Transportation crews will be working for days to get the Richardson highway completely opened.
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UAS Training Takes To Skies Above JBER
Soldiers from the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion conducted an Unmanned Aircraft System – or UAS – training flight on Thursday morning in the skies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
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Department of Defense Prepares For More Arctic Activity
Shell may be abandoning their plans for drilling in Alaska’s Arctic waters in 2014, but vessel traffic, tourism and other activity will continue to advance. As part of our ongoing look at future plans for port development and military oversight of Arctic safety and security, APRN’s Lori Townsend recently spoke with Daniel Chiu the undersecretary for strategy at the Department of Defense. Chiu says the Pentagon expects large increases in defense activity is likely decades out, but he says DOD is closely following climate science to ensure they have the lead time to adjust if necessary.
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Democrats Introduce Medicaid Expansion Legislation
Democratic state lawmakers are introducing legislation in the House and Senate to expand Medicaid in Alaska. Governor Sean Parnell rejected the expansion, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, in November.
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Taku River Tlingit Sue To Stop Tulsequah Mine
The Taku River Tlingit First Nation has filed suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia to stop the Tulsequah Chief Mine. The old mine is at the headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s most prolific salmon stream.
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Shishaldin Volcano’s Alert Status Upgraded After Unusual Activity
The Alaska Volcano Observatory upgraded the alert level at Shishaldin Volcano in the Aleutian Islands on Thursday after observing some unrest at the summit.
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Alaska News Nightly: January 30, 2014
Shell Calls Off This Year’s Exploratory Drilling Plans For Alaska; Unalaska Copes With Shell’s Decision Not To Drill; Murkowski Pushes To Lift Crude Oil Exports Ban; DOT Works To Dig Out Richardson Highway; UAS Training Takes To Skies Above JBER; Department of Defense Prepares For More Arctic Activity; State Dems Introduce Legislation To Expand Medicare In Alaska; Taku River Tlingit Sue To Stop Tulsequah Mine
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Mountain View Community Plan Process
Last year, the Anchorage Community Land Trust, in partnership with the Mountain View Community Council, began the process of creating a 2014 Mountain View Neighborhood Plan.
Focus groups were held with Clark Middle School students, program participants, business owners, and residents to hear their thoughts on land use in Mountain View.
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Planned Parenthood Suing Over Abortion Funding Reg
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest says it is suing over regulations in Alaska that would further define what constitutes a "medically necessary" abortion for purposes of receiving Medicaid funding.
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Fire Destroys Fairbanks Apartment Building
Fire destroyed an apartment building in Fairbanks this morning. The blaze caused multiple injuries and two residents were unaccounted for as of this morning.
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State Senators Push For Criminal Justice Reform
Criminal justice reform may be coming to Alaska. After spending the summer collecting more information on efforts happening in other parts of the country, the Senate Judiciary Committee has started holding hearings again on their omnibus crime bill.
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Bill Aims To Arm VPSOs As Danger Levels Rise
The legislature’s Community and Regional Affairs Committee convened Tuesday to discuss House Bill 199, a proposal to allow arming village public safety officers in rural Alaska.
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House Passes Bill Extending PILT, Alaska’s Village Safe Water Program
The U.S. House today passed a farm bill that includes programs for Alaska unrelated to agriculture. The bill continues another year of funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes, a program that pays municipalities surrounded by federal land to compensate for the loss of tax base. The so-called PILT program sends about $26 million a year to Alaska and is a large portion of the budget for some local governments. The bill also renews Alaska’s Village Safe Water program, which gets some $30 million a year from the federal government.
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State of the Union Address Irks Alaska’s Delegation
President Obama gave his State of the Union address Tuesday night, and the response from Alaska's U.S. senators was swift and negative, particularly to Obama's pledge to act without Congress where he can.
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From Paying $1,000 A Month For Health Care To $100
A Juneau woman says getting insurance under the Affordable Care Act means she’ll take better care of herself. Prior to January 1st, Bonnie Berg was paying up to $1000 a month for health insurance. Now, she’s paying less than $100.
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Senate Panel Hears Bill On Elementary School Reading Programs
With education being a hot issue this legislative session, some politicians are looking at the basics of learning in their effort to improve student outcomes. Today, the Senate Education Committee held its first hearing on a bill that would establish a reading program targeted at kindergarteners through third graders.
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Richardson Highway Opens North Of Mile 19
The Alaska Department of Transportation opened up a section of the Richardson Highway today. DOT cleared avalanches from the road north of mile 19, but the highway is still closed between Miles 12 and 19.
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Can You Guess When The Road To Valdez Will Reopen?
Nobody knows when the Richardson Highway is going to reopen, but the Valdez Parks and Recreation Department is hoping everyone has a fun time guessing.
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