Court Says Former Distracted Driving Law Was Unclear
The Alaska Court of Appeals has found a former law was ambiguous with regard to whether it banned text messaging while driving.
Download Audio
Warmer Temperatures Delay Bear Hibernation
Winter has been late in coming, this year. Temperatures are only now starting to get to levels near the seasonal norms. While that has meant extra time to split wood and change vehicle tires, it has also meant that bears have been active later in the year than usual.
Download Audio
Public Housing Rent Reform Set for 2014
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is overhauling the state's public housing system. Effective April 1st, any family with one able-bodied adult in the household will see yearly rent increases. And after five years, the assistance will end and they'll be responsible for paying their own rent. The changes will impact those renting public housing and those receiving voucher assistance to rent private units.
Download Audio
Sea Lion Corporation Receives Final ANCSA Conveyences
The Bureau of Land Management has conveyed the final 4,516 acres to the Hooper Bay Sea Lion Native Corporation as required under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The entitlement lands are located are north east of Hooper Bay near the Askinuk Mountains.
Marine And Coastal Monitoring
The herring never really recovered after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Even 24 years later, there is an ongoing effort to monitor the waters of the spill area in the Gulf of Alaska. The spill prompted a wave of revealing scientific research that is cresting now with new technology, and a portal for public access in real time.
APRN: Tuesday, 11/12 at 10:00am
Download Audio
Pick.Click.Give. – How Alaskans Gave
There’s good news on the generosity front in Alaska. The PFD Charitable Contributions Program – Pick.Click.Give. – continues to grow in three core metrics: number of Alaskans contributing, total amount they are giving, and percentage of participants among those who file for their dividend online.
Earlier this year, 26,093 Alaskans used Pick.Click.Give. to donate part or all of their $900 dividend to causes they support.
Read more. Senate Passes Anti-Discrimination Bill
Gay rights advocates are celebrating a win today in the nation’s capital. The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to ban workplace discrimination against gay and transgender people. Both Alaska senators voted for it. But, the bill is unlikely to become law.
Download Audio
Shell Oil Works To Revive Arctic Drilling Program
Shell Oil is taking measures to revive its troubled Arctic drilling program. On Wednesday, the company filed an updated Arctic exploration plan with the Alaska office of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Download Audio
Groups Hail Court Ruling On Lease Sale Reviews
The Alaska Supreme Court is standing behind a decision it issued last spring, affirming that the state must consider cumulative impacts of exploration and development as it reviews oil and gas leases. Opposing sides in the case have differing views on the significance of the decision.
Download Audio
Rodell Named Revenue Commissioner
After serving as acting revenue commissioner for the past three months, Angela Rodell now officially has the job.
Download Audio
F/V Arctic Hunter Begins To Shed Debris
Rough weather is taking a toll on the grounded fishing vessel Arctic Hunter, which has been stuck on the rocks outside Unalaska since last Friday. The 93-foot crab boat has survived a series of storms this week without breaking apart. But salvagers haven’t been able to work on the vessel since last weekend.
Download Audio
Fukushima Contamination Could Reach Alaska Waters Next Year
It’s been almost three years since a tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, releasing radiation into the ocean. Computer models indicate the contamination will reach Alaskan waters this year or next. But scientists haven’t been able to regularly sample Alaskan waters to check radiation levels.
Download Audio
Top 10 Things Alaskans Want To Know About Healthcare
Juneau residents took their questions to healthcare experts Monday night and got them answered by Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium navigator Monique Martin, United Way navigator Crystal Bourland, chief operating officer for Enroll Alaska Tyann Boling, and chief administrative officer for Enroll Alaska Chanel Moesh.
Download Audio
Officials Say Dirt, Birds Doubled ML&P Project Cost
The cost of prep work on a new power plant that Municipal Light and Power is building is now double what it was budgeted at.Anchorage Assembly grilled the power company's manager the about increased cost at Tuesday's meeting of the Anchorage Assembly.
Download Audio
UAA Engagement Week Highlights Community
The University of Alaska Anchorage is hosting community engagement events this week. The focus is on being urban in Alaska. Bree Kessler is an assistant professor for Health Sciences at the center for community engagement and learning. She says on Saturday a pop up museum will appear for a few hours in a downtown neighborhood.
Download Audio
Sitka Named Alaska’s First ‘Walk-Friendly’ Community
Sitka has been named one of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in America. The city gets about 86 inches of rain each year and nearly half of the city’s incorporated area sits under water – a pair of statistics that, to an outsider, might not suggest a community built for travel by foot. But this year, Sitka became the first city in Alaska to be named a “walk friendly” community.
Download Audio
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Extends Emergency Declaration
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly extended an emergency declaration order at its meeting Tuesday night. The move allows for continued efforts for flood relief around the Peninsula.
Legislative Ethics Committee Says Senator Hoffman Failed To Disclose Income
Senator Lyman Hoffman failed to file complete financial disclosures, according to a decision by the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics. The committee found that Senator Hoffman “knowingly” prepared and filed incomplete disclosures, leaving out a “substantial” amount of income.
Gourds Fly In Bethel With Pumpkin Trebuchet
Less than 48 hours after trick or treating, the sugar buzz should be mostly worn off. But there’s still thrills to be had in the form of launching pumpkins through the air.
Download Audio
Lawmakers Host ‘Competitive Energy Roundtable’
State lawmakers and the Alaska Independent Power Producers Association plan to host a "Competitive Energy Roundtable" in Anchorage next week. Senator Lesil McGuire will be hosting the discussion on Nov. 12.