Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Dec. 7, 2015
BOEM staffers say rush for Arctic study undermined their work; Juneau loses boundary dispute to Petersburg; UAA, Providence gripe over U-Med road decision; Tesoro's Flint Hills acquisition expected to streamline petroleum distribution; Tanacross hydropower project nets $500K federal grant; 'Deadbeat' Eklutna dam overdue for removal, group says; Bethel hopes housing initiative may help retain city workers; The real Sitka journey of Steinbeck’s ‘Doc Ricketts’
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BOEM staffers say rush for Arctic study undermined their work
When Shell announced it was giving up on its leases in the Arctic Ocean, it blamed, in part, the challenging regulatory climate. But an inspector general’s report released today says many of the government regulators who worked the Arctic lease case felt they were too rushed to provide a rigorous review.
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Juneau loses boundary appeal to Petersburg
The Alaska Supreme Court has settled a boundary dispute between Juneau and Petersburg affecting about 1,500 square miles of Southeast. Under the decision the court issued Friday, Petersburg Borough boundaries will stand as they are, now that Juneau has lost its last legal challenge on the matter.
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UAA, Providence ‘disappointed’ in U-Med road decision
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has withdrawn the city's support for the $20 million dollar Northern Access Project, also called the U-Med District Road. The Department of Transportation says without the municipality's backing, work on the controversial project that links Elmore and Bragaw will stop.
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‘Deadbeat’ Eklutna dam due for demolition, group says
An obsolete, "deadbeat" dam on the lower Eklutna River has blocked salmon runs there for decades. Now, an Alaska Native tribe wants to tear the dam down and restore fish to the river.
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Tanacross hydropower project nets $500K federal grant
A small hydropower project near Tanacross is one step closer to fruition after receiving a half-million dollar federal grant.
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Bethel hopes housing initiative may help retain city workers
Jobs in rural Alaska are often seen as a career stepping stone. Professionals take a job for a year, maybe two, and leave. In doing so, they take career skills and experience with them. How to retain workers in rural Alaska is a vexing puzzle. Bethel thinks it’s got one piece figured out.
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The real Sitka journey of Steinbeck’s ‘Doc Ricketts’
A new collection of essays about one of the most iconic figures in American literature has been published, shedding new light on his connections to Alaska. "Ed Ricketts, from Cannery Row to Sitka, Alaska" explores the relationship between the noted biologist of the title, and John Steinbeck, the Nobel-prize winning author who immortalized him.
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Tesoro’s Flint Hills acquisition expected to streamline petroleum distribution
Tesoro’s pending acquisition of Flint Hill’s fuel distribution and marketing operations in Fairbanks, North Pole and Anchorage, will streamline the transportation of refined petroleum products from Southcentral to the Interior.
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Community in Unity: Prisoner Re-Entry
Every month about 1,000 people are released from prison in Alaska. Many of them end up returning to prison. Re-integrating into a community can be challenging. In this program, we bring together a diversity of perspectives to explore the topic of what makes prisoner re-entry successful. KSKA: Monday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. KAKM: Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7:00 p.m. on KAKM Channel 7
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Tongass Forest advisers finish review of logging transition plan
The Tongass Advisory Committee ended a 16-month series of meetings Thursday, formally completing its effort to advise the Tongass National Forest in a transition from old to young growth logging.
EIS released, comments open on Kuskokwim gold mine proposal
The Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, has been released for the proposed Donlin Gold mine. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the document, which is more than a thousand pages long, in late November.
Southeast Alaska priest dies following heart attack
A Catholic priest who served parishes in Wrangell and Petersburg died Sunday night, 10 days after suffering a heart attack.
State stops requiring annual phone books
Alaska telephone companies will not have to produce annual phone books starting in 2016.
Native corporations deal with federal contracting changes
Alaska Native regional corporations are receiving a decreasing amount of their revenue from a government contracting program that gives preferential treatment to disadvantaged businesses.
Fish economist Gunnar Knapp retiring as head of ISER
Alaska budget expert and fisheries economist Gunnar Knapp is retiring as director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Berkowitz kills controversial road project
Mayor's letter asks state Transportation commissioner to take money for the Elmore Extension and put it towards Port Modernization Project.
Expensive state negotiator is out as gas line reshuffle continues
Rigdon Boykin, the South Carolina attorney who made up to $120,000 a month in his role as the lead negotiator on the Alaska LNG project, is no longer working for the state.
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, Dec. 4, 2015
VA: Fix for Choice plan taking longer than expected; Transit Center: Anchorage looks to re-invent its ugly duckling; Ketchikan council votes to ban marijuana sales; Lawmakers on prowl for cheaper digs in Anchorage; State agencies pinch pennies with small-scale furlough; In Juneau, unexpectedly filling a mayor's shoes; AK: After prison, giving back to a community once hurt' 49 Voices: Jane Standifer of Tyonek
VA: Fix for Choice plan taking longer than expected
The Veterans Affairs Department pledged to create a pilot program to help Alaska vets get health care services outside the VA. The pilot program didn’t get underway in November, as promised, but a top VA official says they’re making progress.
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