Should E-Cigarette Vapors Be Treated Like Tobacco Smoke?
The Juneau Assembly is considering a ban on e-cigarette vapors in nearly all indoor public spaces. The local chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence led the push at an Assembly Committee meeting Monday. Kristin Cox, a naturopathic doctor and the council’s tobacco prevention program coordinator, argued that the new tobacco alternative is being marketed to youths and misrepresented as harmless.
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In First Drift Opening Near Bethel, Managers Balance Chinook Conservation with Opportunity
After months of planning and studying the numbers, state and federal managers will open the first six-inch-drift gillnet opening on the most densely populated stretch of the Kuskokwim river. The tremendous fishing power will be aimed at chum and sockeye salmon, but managers are moving cautiously to make sure enough king salmon make it to spawning grounds.
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Fuel Spill Reported At Nome Hospital
Up to 1,200 gallons of home heating oil is estimated to have spilled at Norton Sound Regional Hospital in Nome.
Anchorage celebrates World Refugee Day
Anchorage residents gathered at Mountain View Lions Park on Friday to celebrate World Refugee Day. The day honors people who have fled their home country, often because of war or ethnic persecution. About 120 refugees are resettled in Anchorage every year as part of a national program. Some of them spoke about their experiences.
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The Top-10 Alaska Books (And Tons More) To Add To Your Reading List
Before this week's Talk of Alaska about the best Alaska-based books, we opened up voting to the listeners to get their input into what the top-10 Alaska books should be. We received tons of feedback and compiled a full list, which you can find here. Here are the top-10 results based on online voting, comments, emails, social media, and calls we have received...starting with #10.
Rules for 2014 RUNNING – Primary Election
Write-in candidates must show at least 5% standing in the polls to be included. The percentage would NOT include the margin of error in the poll. The poll must be done by a reputable pollster and presented to Alaska Public Media at least one week before the production - either the record date or the live date.
All Hope for Knik Bridge Rides on Federal Decision
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell on Friday signed a bill to finance a $900 million bridge across Knik Arm. A decade ago, bridge proponents hoped to fund the project entirely with federal earmarks. But then Congress banned earmarks, in part due to public outrage over this bridge and another in Ketchikan, both derided nationally as “bridges to nowhere.” Now, the Knik project all depends on winning a low-interest from a federal program known as TIFIA.
8.0M Quake Puts Aleutians on Tsunami Watch
The tsunami advisory in Unalaska has ended, after a powerful underwater earthquake in the Western Aleutians triggered tsunami alerts for parts of the Aleutian Islands Monday afternoon.
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Medicare Will Penalize Alaska Hospitals For Patient Safety
The four largest hospitals in Alaska are facing Medicare payment penalties for the quality of their care. Providence, Alaska Regional, Alaska Native Medical Center and Fairbanks Memorial are all in the bottom 25% nationally for the number of infections and serious complications patients get in their hospitals, according to data analyzed by Kaiser Health News.
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Alaska Supreme Court Clears Bristol Bay Initiative For Ballot
An initiative that would add another roadblock to the Pebble Mine project will appear on the ballot this fall, now that a legal challenge against it has failed.
Native Voting Rights Case Kicks Off
A federal trial is underway to determine whether the State of Alaska does enough to serve voters who speak Native languages.
Gov. Parnell Signs Bill To Finance KABATA
Governor Sean Parnell on Friday signed a bill to finance a $900 million bridge across Knik Arm, from Anchorage to Point McKenzie. Bridge proponents originally wanted to fund the project entirely with federal earmarks. But then Congress banned earmarks, in part due to public outrage over this bridge and another in Ketchikan, both derided nationally as “bridges to nowhere.” The new Knik bridge plan is contingent on low-interest loans from the federal government.
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Low Unemployment Limits Anchorage’s Business Growth
Anchorage’s unemployment rate for May is 4.9 percent, one of the lowest rates in the state. Though that may seem like a good thing, it’s actually a barrier for growth in the state’s largest city. Businesses are having trouble finding reliable workers.
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Legislation Transfers $3 Billion From State Savings To Public Employee Pension Systems
Surrounded by dozens of public employees in the atrium of Juneau’s State Office Building, Gov. Sean Parnell today signed legislation transferring $3 billion from state savings into Alaska’s public employee pension systems.
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A Mountaineering Season for the Record Books
This year’s mountaineering season has been one for the record books. Earlier this month, a new speed record was set on Denali. And a team of skiers knocked out back-to-back ascents of the three tallest mountains in the Alaska Range.
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Alaska News Nightly: June 23, 2014
Tsunami Warning In Effect From Attu to Nikolski; Medicare Will Penalize Alaska Hospitals For Patient Safety; Initiative Challenging Pebble Development Remains On Ballot; Does The State Do Enough To Serve Alaska Native Language Speakers?; Gov. Parnell Signs Bill To Finance KABATA; Low Unemployment Limits Anchorage’s Business Growth; Legislation Transfers $3 Billion From State Savings To Public Employee Pension Systems; A Mountaineering Season for the Record Books
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Tsunami Warning In Effect From Attu to Nikolski
A tsunami advisory is in effect for Unalaska. The advisory stretches from Unimak Pass to Nikolski. Public Safety says people do not need to evacuate to high ground at this time. They say residents should avoid shore areas, but don't need to take any other action.
Itemized Work On Gas Line Considered Confidential
State reimbursements to TransCanada Corp. in pursuit of a natural gas pipeline are expected to total about $330 million. But the list of the itemized project work is considered confidential.
I Am A Distiller
You have to be creative to make a living in a small town like Haines, Alaska. With Port Chilkoot Distillery, Sean Copeland and Heather Shade are a young couple who are doing just that.
http://youtu.be/91WdnKQxM9A
Alaska News Nightly: June 20, 2014
Convicted Killer Joshua Wade Claims Responsibility for 3 Additional Murders; Family of Wade's Alleged New Victim Demands Justice; House Ethics Panel Accused Don Young of Misusing Campaign Funds, Accepting Improper Gifts; State Rebuffs A Challenge to Its Gay Marriage Ban; Fairbanks Area Sees Heavy Rainfall, Flooding; New Placer Mining Permits Proposed; Fishers Flock to Anchorage's Slam'n Salm'n Derby.
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