Obama Administration Shines Spotlight on Oceans
President Obama announced today he intends to vastly expand the Pacific Remote Islands marine sanctuary, putting a swath of the south-central Pacific off-limits to fishing and energy development. The announcement is part of a high-profile oceans conference taking place this week at the State Department. Australian scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg focused on ocean acidification, which he says undermines the entire marine food chain – from plankton and shellfish to bowhead whales.
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Kodiak Fishermen Target A Niche Consumer Market
Small boat fishermen out of Kodiak have found a premium market for their catch, based on the idea of buying local. The jig fishery uses gear as light as ten pounds, and is open to anyone who buys a permit. A number of restaurants are willing to pay more for fish caught that way.
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Steel Creek Fire Draws Speedy Response
A new Fairbanks area wildfire drew a major response last night. Alaska Division of Forestry information officer Sam Harrel reports that ground and air resources were tapped to attack the Steel Creek Fire, near mile 4 Chena Hot Springs Road.
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State, IBU Reach Tentative Agreement On New Contract
The largest labor union representing Alaska Marine Highway System workers has a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract with the state. The Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific and the Alaska Department of Administration reached the agreement last week after more than six months at the bargaining table.
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Alaska News Nightly: June 17, 2014
Alaska Communities To Be Compensated $28.5M for Tax-Exempt Lands; Obama to Expand Pacific Marine Sanctuary; Kodiak Fishermen Find a Niche Consumer Market; Steel Creek Fire Near Fairbanks Draws Air Response; Ferry Workers Reach Tentative Labor Agreement; GCI Celebrates Launch of 3G Service with 6,000 Cheeseburgers; Right-Wing Lt. Gov. Candidate Vies for Ballot Slot; Plans for a Skatepark Get Rolling in Kwethluk; Loo Dedication Draws Small Crowd in Ketchikan.
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GCI Celebrates 3G Data Service in Bethel with 6,000 Cheeseburgers
GCI celebrated the launch of 3G data service in Bethel by flying in 6,000 McDonald’s cheeseburgers. The Friday lunchtime crowd stretched out and around the parking lot of the Long House Hotel.
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Right-Wing Lt. Gov. Candidate Vies for A Ballot Slot
A Fairbanks woman is part of a team trying to get a new party on the Alaska ballot. Maria Rensel is running as an Alaska Constitution Party candidate for lieutenant governor. Resnel says the campaign is all about breaking up the lock Republicans and Democrats have on Alaska politics.
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Plans for a Skatepark Get Rolling in Kwethluk
Village youth in the Kuskokim village of Kwethluk will soon have a chance to do something few of them have done before: Skateboard. Construction of a new skatepark there will begin next month. The park is the first of it’s kind in the YK Delta.
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New Loo Offers Relief In Busy Tourist Season
A ribbon cutting ceremony for a new public facility was held Thursday morning in downtown Ketchikan. The christening of the Stedman –Thomas Neighborhood Loo attracted about 40 people on a sunny and windy morning.
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Alaska’s New Standardized Tests
Alaska will pay $25 million in the next five years for a new standardized test. The new test is being created by the Achievement and Assessment Institute at the University of Kansas and will be administered to the state’s 77,000 third through 10th graders.
Racial Outburst Disrupts End Of Celebration Parade
Juneau police are asking for help identifying a man in connection with a racist incident during Saturday morning’s Celebration parade through downtown.
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B.C. Mine Developers Defend Near-Border Projects
We’ve heard a lot about mines planned for northwest British Columbia, just across Alaska’s border. Southeast tribal, fishing and environmental groups have blasted those plans. Critics say they’ll pollute rivers that cross the border, damaging or destroying salmon and other fish runs. But we haven’t heard a lot from mine advocates. Now, we have.
Alaska Dept. Fish & Game Announces Subsistence Salmon Opening
If you live by the Norton Sound, get ready for salmon. On Monday, the Department of Fish and Game announced subsistence and commercial openings that will begin this Wednesday, June 18th, for three subdistricts in the Norton Sound.
New Radio Stations Reaching Out to Natives, ‘Under-Represented’ Audiences
A new Fairbanks radio station is broadcasting programs aimed at the Native community in the Interior. Another group hopes to launch its station early next year to provide radio programming for other groups that they say are not being served. The ventures are part of a nationwide trend of community-based radio.
Parnell Signs SB99 To Allow POW Mine Loans
Gov. Sean Parnell was in Ketchikan on Monday to sign into law Senate Bill 99, which allows the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to issue bonds for two Southeast Alaska mining projects, plus a loan for Sitka’s Blue Lake Hydroelectric Project.
Potential PSP Case Reported From Clam Beach Clams
A man reported possible symptoms of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning after consuming clams gathered near Clam Gulch on the Kenai Peninsula Saturday - one of the few beaches the state monitors.
One Year After Galena Flood, Rebuilding Effort Underway
The 470-person village is still recovering from a catastrophic flood last year, when the break-up of an ice jam caused the Yukon River to overflow.
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Seismic Storm Continues in Noatak with Fifth 5.7 Quake
The seismic storm in the far-western arm of the Brooks Range that began nearly two months ago continued early Monday morning.
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Public Comment Open on ‘Land Into Trust’ Until June 30
The U.S. Department of Interior is asking for public comments on a new policy that will allow it to take land into trust for Alaska Native tribes. Alaska Native leaders say the change, after years of litigation, brings them one step closer to self-determination.
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Tentative Deal Reached On Ferry Union Contract
The state has reached tentative agreement on a new, three-year contract with the largest union representing Alaska Marine Highway System workers.
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