Hope, hesitancy as first vaccine shipments grow near for Alaska
Providers charged with giving the vaccine say they’re eager to use the first doses to protect their front-line workers. But they also say workers are hesitant about being among the first to receive doses on a nationwide scale, and add that the first shipment will do little to ease the current demands of the pandemic.
Closed for the past 18 months, Haines hotel opens for a community in need
Some 50 families have been displaced in Haines due to mudslides and evacuations. Every hotel in town was full over the weekend. Except for one: the 60-room Hotel Halsingland, closed for the last year and a half and currently on the market.
LISTEN: As Alaska’s COVID-19 count spikes, contact tracers bear the strain
The job wasn’t an easy one to begin with, and the surge of infections is increasing the pressure on Alaska’s contact tracers, leading to burnout and turnover.
Officials call off search for 2 Haines residents missing in landslide
The decision to suspend the search for David Simmons and Janae Larson is due to bad weather and unstable ground.
Alaska will get special first shipment of 35,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine as soon as next week
State officials say that the federal government is treating Alaska as a "territory" and sending its initial batch of COVID-19 vaccines all at once, instead of once a week. The vaccine will be prioritized for front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care centers like nursing homes.
Federal court rejects approval for Hilcorp’s Liberty Project
A federal appeals court has sided with environmental groups and overturned approval for Hilcorp’s Liberty Project in the Beaufort Sea.
Trump administration to auction oil drilling rights in all federal lands of ANWR coastal plain
The Bureau of Land Management says, however, it could withdraw some tracts from leasing after its 30-day comment period ends Dec. 17.
After COVID-19 closes post offices for weeks, Western Alaskans suffer critical mail delays
The post offices in Kwethluk and Pilot Station have been closed for weeks because employees were infected with COVID-19, delaying shipments of essential medicines and supplies.
Anchorage mayor tests positive for COVID-19
Austin Quinn-Davidson began feeling symptoms a week ago, according to a Sunday press release.
In Haines, clean-up and search efforts happen in brief good-weather window
Search and rescue teams took off for their fourth day of looking for two missing residents, whose home was caught up in a 600-foot landslide on Wednesday.
Dozens of Haines residents evacuated from their homes as rain and landslides continue
Dozens more homes in Haines were evacuated Thursday night as rain continued to saturate the mountainsides near residential neighborhoods.
Around Southeast Alaska, communities assess damage from record-breaking storm
Sitka broke rainfall records on Tuesday, and damage from serious rain, winds and power outages afflicted communities across Southeast.
Search and rescue teams in Haines still hopeful they’ll find missing residents alive
Searchers continue to look Thursday for two people missing after a large landslide rumbled through a residential area on Beach Road in Haines Wednesday afternoon, destroying at least four houses.
More COVID-19 cases at Goose Creek as outbreaks climb in Alaska prisons
Three-quarters of Goose Creek Correctional's 1300 inmates have active cases of COVID-19.
LISTEN: Alaska geologist says rainfall-induced landslides are like an ‘air hockey table’
Landslides don't always occur under the same conditions, but in Southeast Alaska they're often associated with rainfall soaking soils over time, followed by a sudden, torrential downpour that shifts the balance between friction and gravity.
Alaska officials say hackers stole voter info, didn’t compromise election integrity
State officials said Thursday hackers stole personal information such as birth dates and driver's license numbers of more than 100,000 Alaska voters, though they stressed the hack had no effect on the results of last month's election.
8 COVID-19 deaths as Alaska sets daily record 760 new cases
8 Alaskans died and 15 residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, the state health department reported Thursday.
There will be a recount Friday of the East Anchorage House race Liz Snyder won by 13 votes
A group of 11 Anchorage residents requested the East Anchorage recount on Tuesday. They said they believe an election official made mistakes that could change the result.
Trump administration announces ANWR lease sale for Jan. 6
The plan sets up a final showdown with opponents before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
How residents at this Anchorage assisted-living home are hugging their families again
Hint: It involves a big sheet of plastic.