Funding Cut To Kivalina School Could Pose Legal Problem For Legislature
On Wednesday, the Senate Finance committee slashed more than $40 million in state dollars from the capital budget. A rural school project the state is legally obligated to complete was among the reductions.
Media Awaits Release Of National Guard Emails
The State of Alaska still has not released all documents and emails related to the Alaska National Guard scandal. Alaska Public Media and the Alaska Dispatch News sued the state for the documents last October after the Parnell administration took four months to deny public record requests.
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Lawmakers Discuss Medicaid Expansion, Meaning Of ‘Payment Reform’
The state House Finance Committee has spent several hours this week considering the Governor's Medicaid expansion bill- HB 148. A lot of that time has been focused on finding a better way to pay for health care services. It's called "payment reform" and it's a big topic of discussion in the health care world right now.
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With New Purchase, Shell May Be Less Keen on Arctic
Royal Dutch Shell announced this week a plan to purchase a major British LNG company, and statements by top executives suggest Shell may now be less committed to its future in Alaska's offshore Arctic.
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Citizen Group Seeks Water Rights in Proposed Mining Area
The public comment period closes Thursday on a water-rights petition from a citizen group fighting a proposed coal mine in the Chuitna watershed on the west side of Cook Inlet.
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Some Alaska Ferry Trips On The Chopping Block
More than 9,000 people are booked for Alaska Marine Highway sailings that will likely be cut due to budget reductions.
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Bill To Eliminate Time Change Stalls In House Committee
A bill to move Alaska off of daylight saving time likely won't get a vote in the House this session.
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Juneau Schools Replace Controversial Texts With Book By First Nations Writer
The Juneau School District has chosen a book to replace the controversial texts it decided to remove from the fourth grade language arts curriculum.
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Tlingit Language To Be Officially Recognized In Federal Maps Database
For the first time, a Tlingit name for a peak in Juneau will be included in the Geographic Names Information System or GNIS. This makes it possible for that name to be printed on federal maps and publications. Getting the indigenous name for a Juneau peak officially recognized actually began as an attempt to give the point a Western moniker.
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Arctic Man Turns 30
People are gathered at Summit Lake for the annual Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic. It’s the 30th running of the extreme sporting event that’s also Alaska’s biggest tailgate party.
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Alaska News Nightly: April 9, 2015
Kivalina School Nixed From State Budget; Media Awaits Release Of National Guard Emails; Lawmakers Discuss Medicaid Expansion, Meaning Of 'Payment Reform'; With New Purchase, Shell May Be Less Keen on Arctic; Citizen Group Seeks Water Rights in Proposed Mining Area; Some Alaska Ferry Trips On The Chopping Block; Bill To Eliminate Time Change Stalls In House Committee; Juneau Schools Replace Controversial Texts With Book By First Nations Writer; Tlingit Language To Be Officially Recognized In Federal Maps Database; Arctic Man Turns 30
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Roadkill Moose Sancocho | INDIE ALASKA
Hitting a moose while driving is an unfortunate part of living in Alaska. Oscar and Laura Avellaneda Cruz are making the best of it. The couple utilizes locally harvested meat to make the traditional Colombian soup, sancocho.
With AG Confirmation Pending, Same-Sex Marriage Ban Brief Causes Rift With Democrats
Last week, Alaska Attorney General designee Craigs Richards joined 15 other states in asking the Supreme Court to uphold their bans on same-sex marriage. This comes just as legislators are deciding whether to support his confirmation in a vote later this month. The action has left some Democratic lawmakers in an uncomfortable spot.
With One-Cent Spill Levy, Alaska House Passes First Tax Bill In Years
Since the Murkowski administration, the Alaska House of Representatives has not passed a taxation bill where the levy goes beyond the oil industry. That changed on Wednesday, when the House narrowly passed a surcharge on refined fuel.
Gov. Walker Issues Disaster Declaration For Dalton Highway Flooding
Governor Bill Walker has declared a disaster in response to flooding that’s making the far northern end of the Dalton Highway impassable. The road is used to supply the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. It's been closed south of Deadhorse since Sunday because an expanding area of overflow from the Sag River and recent blizzard conditions that have hampered Department of Transportation crews. The disaster declaration will amp up efforts to open the road.
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Ethan Berkowitz, Amy Demboski Heading For Mayoral Runoff Election
Unofficial results show Ethan Berkowitz leading the mayoral race with 37 percent of the vote. But because Berkowitz didn't take 45 percent, he'll be in a run off with Amy Demboski, who, with about a quarter of the total votes, was the second place candidate.
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Long After Civil War’s End, Rebel Raiders Fought On in Bering Sea
One hundred and fifty years ago, on April 9, General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va. Textbooks typically say this event signaled the end of the Civil War. But a few historians make the case that the last shots of the war were actually fired from a Confederate ship off Alaska’s coast, in the Bering Sea.
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Rural Subsistence Hunters No Longer Need Federal Duck Stamps
It took a few years and an act of Congress, but today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced rural subsistence hunters don’t need to purchase federal duck stamps.
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Rie Muñoz Leaves A Legacy Of Delight, Joy And Laughter
Beloved artist Rie Muñoz passed away Monday night at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau after a stroke. She was 93. Muñoz was active until the end, a prolific artist and traveler who drew inspiration from everyday Alaskans.
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Alaska News Nightly: April 8, 2015
Attorney General's Action On Same-Sex Marriage Leaves Democratic Lawmakers In Uncomfortable Spot As Confirmation Looms; State House Passes Surcharge On Refined Fuel; Gov. Walker Issues Disaster Declaration For Dalton Highway Flooding; Ethan Berkowitz, Amy Demboski Heading For Mayoral Runoff Election; Long After Civil War's End, Rebel Raiders Fought On in Bering Sea; Rural Subsistence Hunters No Longer Need Federal Duck Stamps; Rie Muñoz Leaves A Legacy Of Delight, Joy And Laughter
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