Alaska Ablaze: Fires Activity Puts State On Track For A Record-Setting Year
More than 300 wildfires are burning across Alaska right now- mostly in a wide swath of the interior and Southwest part of the state. More than 3 million acres of the state have burned so far this summer, which is on pace to beat the record setting 2004 season.
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Berkowitz Hopes to Swing Knik Arm Funding Over to the Port of Anchorage
New Anchorage mayor Ethan Berkowitz is outlining his priorities. Berkowitz recently told the Alaska Dispatch News that he'd like to funnel state funds tabbed for the Knik Arm Crossing into Port of Anchorage upgrades.
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Homer Feels the Squeeze of State Budget Cuts
The City of Homer holds a contract with the state to house prisoners arrested by the Alaska State Troopers outside city limits. The contract is still in place but to save money the state will stop paying about $350,000 to Homer. That is nearly 45 percent of the contract revenue.
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Some Juneau Whale-Watching Companies Commit To A Higher Standard
Seven whale watching companies in Juneau are the first in the state to participate in a voluntary stewardship program that challenges them to go above and beyond federal and state viewing guidelines. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has brought the East Coast program Whale SENSE to Alaska.
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Historic WWII Bomber, Recovered in Nome, Offers Russian Twist to Iconic American Plane
A B-25 J Mitchell bomber left to rust in Nome after World War II is being stripped for parts—and may one day be refurbished—thanks to efforts from a Michigan war planes museum and help from students across the Bering Strait.
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Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Shell Finds Fracture in Icebreaker Hull; Rep. Young Files an Amendment To Block ANWR Wilderness Plan; Alaska Ablaze: Fires Activity Puts State On Track For A Record-Setting Year; Report: Ketchikan Flightseeing Plane Was Equipped with Adequate GPS Tech; Berkowitz Hopes to Swing Knik Arm Funding Over to the Port of Anchorage; Homer Feels the Squeeze of State Budget Cuts; Some Juneau Whale-Watching Companies Commit To A Higher Standard; Historic WWII Bomber, Recovered in Nome, Offers Russian Twist to Iconic American Plane
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Report: Ketchikan Flightseeing Plane Was Equipped with Adequate GPS Tech
A federal accident report says a sightseeing floatplane that crashed in a mountainous site near Ketchikan, killing all nine on board, was equipped with technology to provide better information about the terrain.
Southeast King Opener to Close After 8 Days
Southeast commercial trollers will soon take a break from the king salmon harvest, but the final target this year remains anyone’s guess.
Ketchikan Advances A $3 Per Pack Tobacco Tax
In a split vote Monday, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly voted to move forward with a proposed tobacco tax. The proposal calls for the borough to work with the City of Ketchikan on a tax that would be similar throughout the community. The suggested tax is $3 per pack of cigarettes, or 75 percent of the wholesale price on other tobacco products. Tobacco substitutes, including e-cigarettes, also would be taxed at a similar rate.
Kodiak’s Alutiiq Museum Earns National Recognition
The Alutiiq Museum in the city of Kodiak preserves and exhibits many Alaska Native artifacts from the Kodiak Archipelago region and other areas, and now the State of Alaska’s Division of Libraries, Archives & Museums has designated it as the state’s first natural and cultural history repository.
Southeast Businesses Make A Plea to Restore Tongass Rec. Funding
Fifty Southeast Alaska business-owners are asking Congress to give more money to the Tongass National Forest recreation program. Funding for trails, cabins and wildlife-viewing sites has declined in recent years, and tour operators worry the Forest Service won’t be able to maintain the attractions they depend on.
Analysis of National Guard Records Released Under Walker Yields Few Significant Findings
Last October, executive branch was ordered to release thousands of pages of documents related to the Guard just days before an election that then-Gov. Sean Parnell lost. Recently, Gov. Bill Walker has re-released many of those same records, along with new ones.
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$23M Paratrooper Drill Sets Off From Alaska to Australia
Drill involving 33,000 members of the military across three continents takes 425th Airborne Brigade to the opposite side of the globe.
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Missing hiker on Mt. Roberts trail found dead
A Florida man hiking on Juneau’s Mount Roberts trail system on July 4th was found dead last night.
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Troopers Detain Man After Standoff in Selawik
Alaska State Troopers have taken a man into custody after he barricaded himself inside a home in the village of Selawik. One person was found dead outside the residence.
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Couple Missing From Denali Highway Found Dead
Alaska State Troopers say a man and woman reported missing from a campsite off the Denali Highway have been found dead.
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Juneau’s state flags display receives attention as nation debates Confederate flag
Some locals are calling for the removal of the Mississippi state flag flying on the main street into downtown Juneau because it prominently features the Confederate stars and bars.
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East Coast theology school selling off Alaska Native art, feds to investigate
The country’s oldest theological school is selling off its Native art collection, and Sealaska Heritage Institute is asking the feds to investigate. Tlingit and Haida pieces are among the works–some of which might be sacred.
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Caribou Emigrate From Adak; Feds Struggle to Stop the Spread
Every summer, a team of federal exterminators set up shop in the southwest corners of the state. Their job is to root out non-native animals that might disturb the Alaska Maritime wildlife refuge. Besides the usual rats and foxes, the refuge managers decided to target a new pest this season.
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Alaska News Nightly: Monday, July 6, 2015
Analysis of National Guard Records Released Under Walker Yields Few Significant Findings; From Alaska to Australia: A $23M Military Exercise Takes Flight; Missing Hiker Found Dead Near Juneau; Troopers Detain Man After Standoff in Selawik; Couple Missing from Denali Highway Found Dead; Juneau’s state flags display receives attention as nation debates Confederate flag; East Coast Theology School Selling Off Alaska Native Art, Feds to Investigate; Caribou Emigrate From Adak, Feds Struggle to Stop the Spread; Mt. Marathon Attracts A Deep Field of Competitors This Year
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