Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015
Rep. Young avoids POTUS hoopla; Obama wraps up his tour on the front lines of climate change: the Arctic; Denali Commission to spearhead relocation efforts; Sunken seiner leaks oil near Sitka; Uber agrees to pay state $78k for misclassifying employees; Alaska National Guard family program seeks Mat-Su support; National arts endowment leader explains why art is worth it; Restoring the 'Tall One' to its Athabascan roots; Juneau Library to launch Alaska Native stories project
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Obama wraps up tour on climate’s front lines: the Arctic
President Obama ended his three-day tour of Alaska on Wednesday along the western coast—first in Dillingham and then Kotzebue—where he officially unveiled new initiatives aimed at helping Alaska’s rural villages cope with climate change in the fast-thawing Arctic.
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Sunken seiner leaks oil near Sitka
A 58-foot seiner that sank Wednesday is now estimated to have spilled 10-30 gallons of oil in Sitka waters. The incident took place half a mile from the mouth of Indian River.
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Uber to pay state $78K for misclassifying drivers
The ride-sharing services settles with the state and agrees not to operate in Alaska until they classify their drivers as employees instead of independent contractors.
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Alaska National Guard family program seeks Mat-Su support
The Alaska Forget Me Not Coalition met with Matanuska Susitna Borough service providers in Wasilla Thursday to coordinate with organizations that support veterans.
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National arts endowment leader explains why art is worth it
The leader of the National Endowment for the Arts is in Alaska this week and made a stop at KTOO to talk about what she looks for in potential grantees.
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The ‘Tall One’ restored to its Athabascan roots
Alaskans have been celebrating the federal government's decision to officially recognize Denali as the name of North America's tallest mountain. Aaron Leggett is the Alaska Gallery Curator at the Anchorage Museum and an Athabascan historian. He says more than just local Athabascan people had a name for the mountain.
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Juneau Library to launch Alaska Native stories project
The Juneau Public Library system embarks on an oral history project this spring collecting Alaska Native stories on educational experiences. The capital city’s library is one of ten picked from more than 300 national applicants to bring StoryCorps to the community.
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I Am The Bone Builder
You could say that skeleton building is in his bones. Lee Post's articulated creations can be found in museums and visitor centers across Alaska and the Lower 48. Every summer, Post guides students at the Peterson Bay Field Station through a mystery bone-building project.
Medicaid looks to cut back on new disability program users
An Alaska Medicaid program that funds care for adults with developmental disabilities is looking to cut the number of people it enrolls each year by 75 percent.
USGS takes Denali down a notch
Just days after being officially named Denali, North America’s highest peak received a new height estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday.
State economist: ConocoPhillips layoffs have broad reach
In wake of the announcement by energy company ConocoPhillips that it may cut about 120 jobs in Alaska, a state economist says the damage will be big.
Chief gets snapshot of rural food prices at Dillingham Market
The president capped off his trip to Dillingham with a stop at the N&N Market, where he got a first-hand look at rural food prices in Alaska.
Alaska News Nightly: Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015
Obama shares smiles, salmon and dance moves in Dillingham; In Kotzebue, excitement is high as the president ventures north; 5 Chinese warships spotted off the Aleutians; Shell drill rig is back on the grind after a brief storm-induced hiatus; Even with another icebreaker, US fleet pales against its Arctic neighbors; President gives a small fiscal boost to village relocation efforts; Praying to see POTUS, even just a glimpse!; With a potential buyer in the Philippines, Mat-Su floats a ferry deal; Dust settles on state's new Douglas offices, but employee concerns haven't gone quiet
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Obama shares smiles, salmon and dance moves in Dillingham
President Obama began his tour of Western Alaska with a stop in Bristol Bay, landing in Dillingham just before noon. While Obama had sparkling clear weather for his tour around Seward yesterday, it was drizzly and a little chilly for the duration of the Dillingham stop. No mind, say residents: that’s what fishing weather is usually like in the region, and fishing was the main thing locals wanted the President to know more about while he was in salmon country.
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In Kotzebue, excitement is high as president ventures north
Air Force One landed in Kotzebue just before 5 p.m. President Obama is now the first sitting president to visit the U.S. Arctic.
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5 Chinese navy ships spotted off the Aleutians
Pentagon officials say three of China’s surface-warfare ships, a resupply vessel and a landing craft were seen in international waters off the Aleutian Islands.
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Shell rig back on grind after storm-induced hiatus
The president of Shell Oil Co. says exploratory drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days.
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Praying to see POTUS, even just a glimpse
Anchorage residents get one last look at President Obama, fulfilling years long wishes and family prayers.
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Even with another icebreaker, US fleet pales against Arctic neighbors
The U.S. Coast Guard has two icebreakers in working condition. Russia has about 40. Canada, Finland and Sweden each have six or more. Obama proposed to speed up construction of a heavy icebreaker by two years. He wants the new ship to be polar-ready by the year 2020, rather than 2022.
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