Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Oct. 5, 2015
Holmes implicates new assailant during day 1 of FBX Four hearing; Obama announced global fishing enforcement, new sanctuaries; Theology school calls off Native Art sale amid investigation; Candlelight vigil honors those who died on streets of Anchorage; ‘I thought he was safe,’ brother says of man found dead in wetlands; Denali Commission-funded diesel plants planned in Togiak, Koliganek; Volcano farts: Scientists look to gas for beta on atmosphere, geothermal resource
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Theology school calls off Native art sale amid investigation
A Massachusetts college that planned to liquidate its Native art collection has called it off. The pieces are from 52 tribes, including Tlingit and Haida items that might be sacred. Now the country’s oldest theology school could get dinged with penalties as feds investigate.
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Obama announces global fishing enforcement, new sanctuaries
President Obama today unveiled a package of global initiatives aimed at cracking down on illegal fishing. He also announced two new marine sanctuaries, and they are not in Alaska.
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‘I thought he was safe,’ brother says of man found dead in wetlands
John Knudson, 56, is one of at least eight people who have died outside in Juneau over the past three years. His body was found in the Mendenhall Wetlands in mid-September.
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Denali Commission-funded diesel plants planned in Togiak, Koliganek
New diesel power plants in two Bristol Bay communities were on a list of Denali Commission projects announced alongside President Obama’s visit a month ago. Long-expected power plant projects in Togiak and Koliganek are still in early stages.
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Volcano farts: Scientists look to gas for beta on atmosphere, geothermal resource
In September, a team of scientists crawled around the summit of seven volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands. They updated seismic sensors, replaced 8,000 pounds of batteries and visited one summit that geologists hadn't been to since the 1940s.
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UAS tries to draw students as programs fall to budget cuts
While programs and construction projects are dwindling due to budget cuts, the University of Alaska Southeast is looking at enrollment as a way to continue contributing to the Juneau economy in the long run.
More people leaving Alaska than in previous years
More people left Alaska last year than they have in decades, with net migration out of the state at its highest point in in the past quarter-century.
AT&T says Skagway network upgrades are planned before next summer
After a slew of service problems this summer, AT&T is planning upgrades to Skagway’s phone service in time for the next cruise ship season.
GCI to Expand Network in Western Alaska
GCI recently announced plans to complete its TERRA network in rural Alaska by 2017. The expansion would offer a better and more reliable Internet connection throughout the YK Delta and much of Western Alaska.
Authorities: Alaska deaths of some walruses human-caused
Federal authorities say the death of some of the walruses at a haul-out site in northwest Alaska were caused by humans, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes it has identified those responsible.
Candlelight vigil honors people who died on the streets of Anchorage
Sunday night about 70 community members gathered on the Park Strip in Anchorage to honor those who died while living outside on the streets this summer.
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More cops, fewer consultants in Anchorage’s opening budget volley
The administration introduced its 2016 budget, which is $1.8 million less than last year's, but saddled with $11 million less in revenues.
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, Oct. 2, 2015
Supreme Court to hear appeal challenging NPS authority on Alaska land; Court to hear new evidence in Fairbanks Four case; APOC fines Slope mayor Charlotte Brower $35k for failure to disclose; More cops, fewer consultants in Anchorage's opening budget volley; Scientists stumble over active underwater volcano in Southeast; Chopper-cowboys herd hundreds of remote cattle in Aleutians; AK: Southeast dairy goat business presents unique challenges; 49 Voices: Chelan Schreifels of Japan
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Supreme court to hear appeal of National Park Service authority
The Supreme Court will decide whether the National Park Service has authority to enforce federal regulations on state-owned lands and rivers in national parks in Alaska.
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Court to hear new evidence in Fairbanks Four case
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled to begin Monday in state court in Fairbanks in the case of four Fairbanks men seeking exoneration from convictions for a nearly two-decade old murder.
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APOC fines Slope mayor Charlotte Brower $35k for failure to disclose
The Alaska Public Offices Commission is fining North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower $34,460 dollars for failing to file her annual disclosure report for 2014. In the investigation into her campaign for re-election last year, Brower and her staff refused to provide information repeatedly requested by APOC.
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Scientists stumble over active underwater volcano in Southeast
Scientists have found another underwater volcano in Southeast Alaska waters. And this one is active.
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AK: Southeast dairy goat business presents unique challenges
Buying fresh dairy produce in Southeast Alaska isn’t easy. The rugged, mountainous landscape doesn’t lend itself well to farming. Now a farming couple in Petersburg are trying to change the way people consume milk in town. For the past year they’ve been selling raw milk processed by their own herd of dairy goats. But, producing – and selling – dairy products in Southeast Alaska comes with a unique set of challenges.
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Homeless man fatally spears bear in Anchorage
A homeless man fashioned a long knife to a groomed tree branch and speared a hungry black bear cub that was sniffing for food Friday morning at an illegal camp site in Anchorage.