State’s National Parks Close Due To Shutdown
The shutdown of much of the federal government has closed National Parks. In Interior and Northern Alaska, that means just a few staff remaining on to carry out essential work.
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Municipal Elections Held Across State
Municipalities across the state held elections Tuesday. Homer’s ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags went into effect January 1st but nine months later, the ban appears to be history. Homer residents voted to repeal the ban in yesterday’s municipal election.
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Circle Still Recovering From Spring Floods
Circle has made progress rebuilding after this past spring’s break up flood. Yukon River water and ice damaged homes, other buildings and roads in May. The state reports that sink holes have been filled. Village corporation president Charles John says the clinic is being operated out of trailers brought in this summer, and he’s one of three who’ve had new homes put up.
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Solace International Helping Syrian Refugees
An Alaska based non-profit that does international aid work is running a school for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Nate York is Executive Director of Solace International. He founded the small organization after the September 11th attacks and started building girls schools in Afghanistan. Now the non-profit works on a wide range of small projects in South and Central America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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High Web Traffic Cripples Federal Health Insurance Marketplaces
A day after the launch of Alaska’s health insurance marketplace, it’s still impossible to sign up for plans on the website. The federal government says higher than expected web traffic has hampered all of the federally run marketplace sites, like the one in Alaska. They are working to add more server capacity to address the problem.
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Arctic Agriculture Conference Draws Researchers
Researchers from circumpolar countries are meeting in Girdwood this week for an agricultural conference sponsored in part by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. Food policy and food safety are increasingly urgent issues in Arctic nations, and many of those represented at the conference have come up with innovative programs to encourage local production and distribution.
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Despite Shutdown, Alaska WIC Recipients Should Still Get Food Aid
Even though the federal government is shut down, poor women and children can still get food vouchers through the State of Alaska. The Women, Infants, and Children Supplement Nutrition -- or "WIC" -- program should be able to operate until the end of the month, according to the Alaska Department of Health.
Mat-Su District 1 Race Too Close To Call
Voter turnout in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was thin on Tuesday, but the handful of voters that did show up at the polls upset the status quo for what has been until now a pro-development Borough Assembly.
Haines Voters Opt To Change Boroughs Charter Preamble, Bill of Rights
Three write-in campaigns slowed the ballot counting in the Haines Borough on Tuesday. But when results did come in, just after midnight, it was clear Haines voters do not support so called corporate-personhood.
Incumbent Rowland Leads Write-Ins For Unalaska City Council
Unalaska mayor Shirley Marquardt ran unopposed and secured a fourth term in office. That was the first time in over 20 years that a mayoral election has been uncontested in Unalaska.
Austerman, Peterson Join Kodiak Assembly as Voters Approve Proposition One
Preliminary results from yesterday’s election are in, with 2,204 people casting their votes at Kodiak’s nine precincts.
Troll Leads Peters In Juneau’s Only Contested Municipal Election Race
In Juneau, there was really only one race to pay attention to on Election Day. Out of three Assembly seats and two School Board seats on the ballot, only one was contested.
Fairbanks Voters Approve 2 School Bond Propositions
Proposition 1 asked voters to OK the sale of about $37.2 million in bonds to replace Ryan Middle School. According to unofficial results, 60 percent of voters said yes, passing the measure by nearly 2,000 votes. Prop 2 passed by an even wider margin, with 65 percent of votes cast in favor, unofficially. That measure will raise $19.4 million to repair and renovate five other district schools.
2 Fairbanks Assembly Members Retain Seats
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will welcome only one new member to chambers this year. Janice Golub won Seat C, over Larry Morris. Both Karl Kassel and Presiding Officer Diane Hutchison will return to serve second terms on the Assembly.
Wrangell Voters Decide Against Sales Tax Decrease
About 600 voters took to the polls in Tuesday’s elections. Incumbent mayor David Jack will keep his position for another year after receiving three-quarters of the vote.
Four Incumbents Fall In Valdez Elections
In Valdez, only one of five incumbents survived Tuesday’s Municipal Election. Three seats on the City Council and two on the School Board were up for grabs.
End of the Alcan: Our Journey to Alaska
“I packed one suit, two shirts and two ties,” Dad said to Mom the night before he left Portland.
He had accepted a job with the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage and needed to be presentable for work, but had little room in the old Plymouth for much of anything in addition to camping equipment, food, fishing gear and his beloved guns.
Read more. Federal Government Shuts Down
Much of the federal government is now shutdown because of Congress’s failure to pass a funding bill. Huge sections of the government – the costliest ones, like Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits and war-fighting efforts – remain open. But the shutdown could have huge affects in Alaska, the state with the third highest percentage of federal employees.
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Alaska’s Federal Workers Speak Out On Shutdown
This morning, hundreds of workers trickled out of Juneau's federal office carrying boxes of personal items, plants, and even pet fish -- basically, any personal items they might want during their furlough. They won't be allowed back to their desk until Congress agrees to fund the federal government. APRN's Alexandra Gutierrez caught up with some of these workers Tuesday and brings us their voices on dealing with the shutdown.
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Why Are Old Apartment Complexes Burning Down In Anchorage?
A 38-unit apartment complex burned down in the Anchorage neighborhood of Mountain View last month, leaving dozens of people homeless. So far this year, there have been 20 fire calls to multifamily dwellings where the fire spread beyond the room where it started and at least five of them did major damage. All the fires burned older buildings that don't have to meet modern fire code standards.
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