Minimum Wage Bill Introduced Amid Sponsor Outcry
A bill that could supplant the minimum wage initiative has popped up in the Legislature. Initiative organizers strongly oppose any effort to pre-empt their initiative out of concern the Legislature might try to water it down.
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Deal Reached For Susitna-Watana Dam Land Access
A land access dispute that threatened to delay progress on the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project has been resolved, though the agreement has come later than expected.
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Alaska Shield Exercise Testing Military’s Emergency Readiness
More than 550 military personnel from around the country are gathered at the Port of Anchorage this week for an Alaska Shield exercise, meant to test the readiness of the military to provide emergency support to areas impacted by natural or human-caused disasters.
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Senate Ratifies Treaties to Stop Fish Piracy
The U.S. Senate yesterday ratified two international treaties to crack down on illegal international fishing. One is an agreement to restrict ships from using ports if they engage in what’s known as IUU fishing.
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State, Feds Wrestle Over Navigable Water Control
The State of Alaska is continuing to fight the federal government over control of navigable waters in two cases involving Interior rivers.
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Food Tastes Better When It’s Shared
It’s crisp, crunchy, and salty – and you’ll never find it in a bag in the grocery store. Dipped in seal oil or eulachon oil (hooligan), it is a traditional Southeast Alaskan delicacy that signals spring as surely as a warm, sunny day. But, gathering herring eggs-on-hemlock branches is about a lot more than food.
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300 Villages: Moose Creek
This week, we’re heading to Moose Creek, a village of about 600 people in central Alaska. Jeff Jacobson is the chief of staff for the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
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AK: Book Club
Several people at Juneau’s downtown shelter and soup kitchen The Glory Hole are part of a new club. Every Tuesday, they come together on the second floor of the facility to discuss a different topic. The club is helping to build a different kind of community within the homeless shelter, a community not based on need, but on the exchange of ideas.
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Alaska News Nightly: April 4, 2014
Parents Rally For Education Funding; Minimum Wage Bill Introduced Amid Sponsor Outcry; Lawmakers Shelve Controversial Permitting Bill; Deal Reached For Susitna-Watana Dam Land Access; Alaska Shield Exercise Testing Military’s Emergency Readiness; Senate Ratifies Treaties to Stop Fish Piracy; State, Feds Wrestle Over Navigable Water Control; Food Tastes Better When It’s Shared; AK: Book Club; 300 Villages: Moose Creek
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The Business of Clean Energy
Alaska is becoming known as a testing ground for renewable energy. As more and more clean energy technology comes on the market, Alaska’s high fuel costs can make investments in things that reduce those costs pay off quickly - in fact it’s already happening.
APRN: Tuesday, 4/8 at 10:00am
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Sealaska Dividends Include No Corporate Earnings
The spring dividend for most Sealaska shareholders will be $721, but some will receive less than a tenth of that amount.
Legislature OKs $5.8 Million In Capitol Repairs
The legislature has approved $5.8 million in additional repairs and renovations to the Capitol building.
Alaska House Names April as ‘Child Abuse Prevention Month’
The Alaska House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to name April “Child Abuse Prevention Month” in Alaska. House Concurrent Resolution 21 was sponsored by Representative Geran Tarr from Anchorage. The resolution heads to the Senate for consideration.
Lawmakers Shelve Controversial Permitting Bill
With the end of session looming, lawmakers found the bill was simply too complex and too polarizing to advance.
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Homer Man Shoots, Kills Self With Trooper’s Pistol
Alaska State Troopers say a Homer man fatally shot himself after he grabbed a trooper’s gun during a struggle following a domestic violence call.
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Coast Guard Finds Violations in Kulluk Grounding
The Coast Guard has released the results of an investigation into the grounding of Shell's Kulluk drill rig at the end of their troubled Arctic drilling season. The agency documented multiple safety violations. It also found a desire to avoid a state tax contributed to the decision to move the rig in poor conditions.
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Young Lights into Interior Secretary Over King Cove
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell already rejected a plan to build a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to link King Cove to the all-weather airport at Cold Bay. These days, all three members of Alaska’s Congressional delegation are trying to get her to change her mind, and today was Congressman Don Young’s turn to press the case.
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NMFS Clears Commercial Fishing In Sea Lion Habitat
After a research review, the National Marine Fisheries Service is prepared to loosen controversial limits on fishing in the western Aleutian Islands.
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As Education Bill Nears Vote, Lawmakers Brace For Funding Fight
On Friday, state representatives will vote on a sprawling education bill that deals with everything from school budges to teacher tenure to the establishment of charter schools. Some lawmakers are already preparing for a marathon session.
Gov. Parnell Calls Proposal To Deal With Teacher Retirement System ‘Immoral’
How to address the teacher retirement debt is another friction point for lawmakers. Governor Sean Parnell says a House Finance Committee proposal to deal with the teachers’ retirement system is “immoral” and shifts the debt obligation to future generations.
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