Search Crews Find Missing Nunapitchuk Man Deceased
Search and rescue crews have found the body of Wassillie Berlin. Searchers found him deceased on the trail between Atmautluak and Bethel. The Nunapitchuk man was reported missing by his brother on Saturday. Crews had found his snowmachine earlier.
Breath of Fresh Air
Thanks to the Lower 48 taking on our Polar Vortex - winter here in Fairbanks has been perfect: mostly warm, with plenty of snow for skiing and other winter recreating. It’s been good for chickens too.
Maybe not for outside frolicking, but they haven’t reached that level of coop-fever that drives them out into the snowy yard.
Read more. Bush Pilots Hit Hard By New Interpretation Of Tax Law
Alaska air taxi operators say the IRS has re-interpreted tax law for their industry, hitting some Bush pilots with tax bills of up to a million dollars. Alaska’s federal lawmakers are asking the revenue office to back off until they get some answers about what the rules are. The unexpected burden is driving some air carriers into debt or out of business entirely.
Download Audio
Ketchikan Assembly Nixes Draft Letter To Gov. Parnell
Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly members had a spirited discussion Tuesday night over a letter that had been submitted by two Assembly members as a suggested response to Gov. Sean Parnell’s comments in the community last week.
Download Audio
YK Delta Teen Smoking Rate Well Above National Average
A Mayo Clinic study of teen smoking rates in the Yukon Kuskokwim delta region found young people there use tobacco at high rates. Nearly 30 percent of 11 to 14 year olds and 63 percent of high school students use tobacco, compared to less than 20 percent of teens nationally. Dr. Christi Patten is the lead author of the YK Delta study. She says focus groups with kids in the region helped them design the intervention program for the youth, but the results were not good.
Download Audio
Alaska Senate Opposes Creation Of Beringia International Park
The Alaska Senate has unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Beringia International Park – an idea agreed upon in 1991 by then-Presidents Bush and Gorbachev.
Download Audio
Juneau Childcare Workers See Higher Wages
Juneau childcare workers are getting paid more and staying in their jobs longer than they were just a few years ago. That’s according to an organization that runs a pilot program designed to improve access to childcare in the Capital City.
Download Audio
Alaska Supreme Court Decides Pipeline Worth Billions, Not Millions
The State Supreme Court reaffirmed on Wednesday that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is worth $10 billion.
Murkowski Continues To Push For King Cove Road
In her annual address before the State Legislature on Wednesday, Murkowski described the Interior Department’s decision to block the project as “heartless and wrong.” She says it’s an extreme case of federal overreach.
Alaska News Nightly: February 19, 2014
Court Reaffirms Trans-Alaska Pipeline Value; Bush Pilots Hit Hard After New Interpretation Of Tax Law; Murkowski Continues To Push For King Cove Road; Ketchikan Assembly Nixes Draft Letter To Gov. Parnell; YK Delta Teen Smoking Rate Well Above National Average; Alaska Senate Opposes Creation Of Beringia International Park; Juneau Childcare Workers See Higher Wages
Download Audio
Air Taxi Services Say IRS Overreach is Crushing
Alaska air taxi operators say the IRS has re-interpreted tax law for their industry, hitting some Bush pilots with tax bills of up to a million dollars. Alaska’s federal lawmakers are asking the revenue office to back off until they get some answers about what the rules are. In the meantime, the unexpected burden is driving some air carriers into debt, or out of business entirely.
Bill Would Standardize Grievance Process For Mental Health Patients
The bill would set up a 24-hour crisis line for patients and establish an administrative appeal process. Mental health facilities would be required to employ patient advocates and to use the same type of complaint forms.
Home Depot’s Hiring Initiative Doesn’t Mean Much To Alaska
The Home Depot is touting a nationwide initiative seeking 80,000 “new hires” this spring and summer, including 270 in Alaska — but that’s nothing new. The home improvement retailer is looking to hire 45 seasonal employees in Juneau, 45 in Fairbanks, and 180 in Anchorage.
Dry Well Forces Buccaneer to Abandon West Eagle #1
Buccaneer Energy has experienced another setback in its oil and gas exploration efforts in Alaska. After spending millions of dollars to begin an onshore project east of Homer, the company is pulling up stakes and abandoning its only well at the site.
Slow Down Like a Spaniard: with Cake
The hardest thing to get used while studying abroad in Spain was the timing of Spanish meals. Spaniards eat a light breakfast, their largest meal of the day at 2 in the afternoon and a light dinner around 9 at night.
Inevitably, I would find myself with my stomach grumbling around 6.
Read more. 
Delta Western, Employees Clash Over Unionizing
A labor dispute is brewing between a regional fuel distributor and its staff in Unalaska. Employees of Delta Western say the company doesn’t want them to unionize.
Download Audio
Tok Residents Trying to Revive Biomass-Fueled Power Plant Project To Cut Energy Costs
Business and community leaders in Tok are trying to revive a plan to cut the area’s high energy costs by generating electricity with biomass.
Download Audio
Fairbanks Assembly Votes To Participate In Education Suit
The Fairbanks North Star Borough will participate in a school funding lawsuit filed by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough against the state of Alaska. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the state requiring organized municipalities to help cover the cost of local schools.
Download Audio
Save Our Schools Rallying Cry Heard On Capitol Steps
Holding signs saying “Kids! Not Cuts” and “Vouchers Hurt Public Schools,” about 200 people packed the Alaska Capitol steps for a “Save our Schools” rally yesterday afternoon.
Download Audio
Supporters Cheer Alaska Native Language Bill
The Barnes Committee Room at the Alaska Capitol erupted in cheers this morning, as a panel of lawmakers unanimously moved a bill that would make 20 Alaska Native languages official state languages.
Download Audio