Fish & Game Cancelling Staffed Program At Bristol Bay Walrus Islands Sanctuary
Back in 1960, seven uninhabited Bristol Bay islands south of Togiak were incorporated into the Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary. As the name suggests, the sanctuary protects one of the largest terrestrial haulout sites of Pacific walruses in North America. The Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Division decided last week that it will terminate its Round Island Program, which staffs the sanctuary to monitor the marine mammals and host visitors.
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Wife Of Missing Mt. Marathon Racer Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The wife of a man who went missing during the 2012 Mt. Marathon race is suing the Seward Chamber of Commerce. The wrongful death suit is asking for a judgment of $5 million.
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Aleutians East Scrambles For Cheaper Link To Akutan Airport
Yesterday, we reported that Akutan residents are pleased with their new airport taxi — a helicopter that came online in February. The Aleutians East Borough is already running out of money to pay for it. Today, in the second part of our series on the struggle to connect Akutan to its airport, the borough settles on a permanent solution. It’s one they rejected a decade ago.
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Alaska News Nightly: April 3, 2014
USCG Releases Kulluk Report; Rep. Young Presses Interior Secretary On Izembek Road; NMFS Clears Commercial Fishing In Sea Lion Habitat; Legislature Scraps Deal To Buy Anchorage LIO; Gov. Parnell Calls Proposal To Deal With Teacher Retirement System ‘Immoral’; KABATA Legislation Passes Senate Finance Committee; Fish & Game Cancelling Staffed Program At Bristol Bay Walrus Islands Sanctuary; Homer Man Shoots, Kills Self With Trooper’s Pistol; Wife Of Missing Mt. Marathon Racer Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit; Aleutians East Scrambles For Cheaper Link To Akutan Airport
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Legislature Scraps Deal To Buy Anchorage LIO
A deal to buy the Anchorage Legislative Information Office building for $28 million is officially off the table. Rep. Mike Hawker, an Anchorage Republican, made the announcement early Thursday morning, at a six-minute meeting of the Legislative Council.
Legislature’s Exit Time Could Shift Initiative Scheduling
Between a contested Senate primary and a mess of ballot questions, the August election is expected to be particularly lively. But a set of unusual circumstances and odd timing has the potential to knock all but one of the citizen measures to the November general election, if the Legislature gavels out late.
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Tribal Judge: Bill to Improve Village Public Safety Doesn’t Go Far Enough
The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee today looked at a raft of bills aimed at improving the safety of Native American communities, including Alaska Native villages. A bill that would strengthen Alaska tribal courts and tribal law enforcement drew no opposition at the hearing, but the bill is likely to become more controversial.
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Sitka Shops For Teachers At Seattle Fair
For school districts in rural Alaska, this is prime recruiting season. Next week, they’ll hold a job fair in downtown Anchorage, looking for teachers to fill hundreds of openings statewide. But they’re also looking outside the 49th state.
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Helicopter Improves Access To Akutan Airport, For Now
For the past year and a half, people on Akutan have been taking a hovercraft to get to their airport on a different island. Now, the Aleutians East Borough has made the switch to a helicopter as their new airport taxi. The change has been a relief for residents.
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Petersen Trumps Trombley
Voters in Alaska's biggest city elected six municipal assembly seats Tuesday, but with thousands of absentee and early ballots still to be counted, the outcomes of some races may change.
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Alaska Native Village CEOs Association Conference Addresses Land Contamination
Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, more than 200 village corporations were promised land in and around their communities. At a meeting of the Alaska Native Village CEOs Association in Anchorage this week, participants described the problems they’re encountering with the contaminated lands that were conveyed to them.
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Alaska News Nightly: April 2, 2014
Tribal Judge: Bill to Improve Village Public Safety Doesn't Go Far Enough; Most Citizen Measures Could Make November Ballot; Sitka Shops For Teachers At Seattle Fair; Helicopter Improves Access To Akutan Airport, For Now; Petersen Trumps Trombley; Alaska Native Village CEOs Association Conference Addresses Land Contamination
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Early Unofficial Results Show Tight Races in Anchorage Municipal Election
Anchorage's unofficial municipal election results show at least one upset, although outcomes of most other Assembly races are not surprising.
Feds: No Listing For Southeast Herring
The southeast Alaska population of Pacific herring will not be listed as an endangered species. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday said such a listing is not warranted.
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Season’s Maximum Extent
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, this year’s extent averaged 5.7 million square miles – that’s more than a quarter-of-a-million miles less than the average extent measured between 1981 and 2010, but it is also slightly above the record low measured in 2006
Investigation Of Alaska National Guard Sexual Assault Allegations Underway
The head of the federal National Guard Bureau says the investigation now underway into allegations of sexual assault and harassment within the Alaska National Guard should not be hidden away.
Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame: Jane Ruth Angvik
Jane Angvik has been involved in Alaska public life since 1973. She has served as an elected member of the Anchorage Assembly and the Anchorage Charter Commission and has taught many women how to conduct campaigns for public office.
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2014 Municipal Election Results
The races for Assembly Seats 5I and 6K remain close, with only a few votes left to count. With over 98 percent of the vote counted, all but one of the Ballot Propositions are on track to pass.
Alaska’s Health Insurers Call Marketplace Enrollment Figures Disappointing
The Obama administration announced today more than 7 million Americans signed up for health insurance on government run marketplaces by Monday’s enrollment deadline. In Alaska, the final numbers aren't in yet. The two insurers on the state's federally run marketplace are reporting they had 7,500 enrollees by mid March.
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Feds Ask King Cove to Weigh In on Road Alternatives
A group of tribal and government officials from King Cove are back from a week of lobbying in Washington, D.C. -- and they’ve come home with a new assignment.
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