Hot, Dry Weather Fuels an Early Start to Fire Season
Wildland fighters are busy responding to new starts as hot dry breezy weather continues in the interior. Most of the human caused fires are being knocked down quickly, but a few are requiring larger responses.
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Rare thunderstorms move through Southeast Alaska
Rare thunderstorms in Southeast Alaska led the National Weather Service to issue a special marine warning Monday evening. The warning covered a swath of Southeast, roughly from Juneau to the southern tip of Prince of Wales Island.
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‘Ridiculously Resilient Ridge’ Returns This Winter
Odds are you heard at least one person make a crack about moving the Iditarod to Boston this winter. It’s the second year Alaska had a mild winter while people in the Northeast got hammered. There’s a new weather pattern with a funny name that’s contributing to some of the mess.
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Bandit the Runaway Wave Buoy Back in Service
A popular, yet troublesome, ocean monitoring buoy went back in service this spring in southern peninsula waters after being out of service for a year and a half.
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Grocery Shopping To Cross the Stikine Icefield
Explorers Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard are in the midst of skiing the Stikine Icefield in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. The journey is part of a decade-long project to traverse the world's 20 largest ice fields.
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Suspect arrested for attack on biker on Chester Creek Trail
A man biking to work along the Chester Creek trail near the Goose Lake overpass was assaulted by a group of three young men on Monday morning and struck in the face by a thick branch.
Noorvik Man Faces Kidnapping, Attempted Sexual Assault Charges for April Attack
A Noorvik man faces charges of burglary, kidnapping, and attempted sexual assault after allegedly breaking into a neighbors home, attacking a woman who was walking by, and dragging her inside the house.
Man in Anchorage drug ring gets 3 life sentences
A man involved in a violent drug ring that operated in Anchorage has received three life sentences for his crimes.
First lady: Libraries, museums are ‘necessities,’ not extras
First lady Michelle Obama says some people think of America's libraries and museums as luxuries. She calls them "necessities."
Drilling foes block Seattle port entry; city issues notice
Foes of Royal Dutch Shell's use of a Seattle terminal to prepare for exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean have attacked on two fronts as a few hundred protesters blocked port entrances and the City of Seattle declared that Shell and its maritime host lacked a proper permit.
Self-Determination for the Future of Native Game Development
Indigenous game designers, coders, and artists will be in Santa Clara, California on Friday to talk about the future of the native gaming industry.
US House votes to maintain current USCG spending levels
The U.S. House has passed a bill to keep the Coast Guard operating at the current spending level.
Alaska News Nightly: Monday, May 18, 2015
Walker Threatens Budget Veto, Warns of Layoffs; Alaska's Capital City Braces for Potential Layoffs; Flooding Closes Dalton Highway; First Kuskokwim Restrictions Expected May 21; Girl Dies After Boat Falls on Her; Thirsty California: A Potential Market for Alaska Water?; M/V Susitna Racks Up As Much As $1M in Rain Damage; Conference to Focus on Traditional Knowledge, Resource Management; Alaska's First Cannabis Convention
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Walker Announces Budget Vetoes, Warns Of Layoffs
In a letter sent to state employees, Walker explained that the partial veto is being made because the Legislature authorized $5 billion in state spending when only $2 billion are readily available.
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Alaska’s Capital City Braces for Potential Layoffs
Of the 16,000 State of Alaska employees, more than a quarter of them work in the capital city. On their lunch break, state employees at the State Office Building talked about their tentative employment future.
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Flooding Closes Dalton Highway
The northern end of the Dalton Highway is closed again. A month after overflow from the Sag River shut it down, spring melt water has made the only access road to the North Slope oil fields impassable again.
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First Kuskokwim Restrictions Expected May 21
Expecting another poor king salmon run, the first fishing restrictions are expected to go into effect on May 21st. With the lessons learned from 2014, managers hope to bring enough king salmon to spawning grounds and allow for limited fishing along the way.
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M/V Susitna Racks Up As Much As $1M in Rain Damage
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s would-be ferry, M/V Susitna, has suffered expensive damage, and now the Borough estimates repairs could cost as much as $1 million.
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Thirsty California: A Potential Market for Alaska Water?
In Sitka, raising the hydroelectric dam at Blue Lake has created not only a source of renewable energy, but an even larger reserve of fresh water. The bulk water presents a business opportunity. With a contract deadline looming that could terminate its exclusive rights, Alaska Bulk Water hopes to deliver on long awaited promises to ship tankers of water and to make California its first customer.
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Conference to Focus on Traditional Knowledge, Resource Management
The Native American Fish and Wildlife Society meets in Juneau this week. Tribal and other government officials and staff will discuss climate change, subsistence, Arctic policy and dozens of other issues.
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