Remembering Ruby Rokeberg
Looking out the living room window of our duplex on Iliamna Drive I couldn’t have missed Ruby on her hands and knees furiously yanking from the flower bed my newly transplanted flowers.
We were new to Alaska, having lived our first year on Government Hill and new to the neighborhood, Susitna View Park, just west of Turnagain-By-the-Sea subdivision, where Mel and Ruby lived. Their son, Norman, and I had become friends. The year was 1954.
Read more. Congress Moves Ahead On Bill To Restore Veteran’s Benefits
Congress is working this week to protect military pensions from inflation. The U.S. House voted today (Tuesday) to restore a cut to the cost-of-living-allowance for retirees, and the Senate last night (Monday) voted to move forward with a bill to do the same. The Senate bill was sponsored by Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, and, on the procedural vote, it passed 94-0. Still, as APRN's Liz Ruskin reports, the bill's fate is uncertain.
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Measure To Elect Attorney General Moves Ahead
Alaska is just one of seven states in the country that does not elect its attorney general. A constitutional amendment that’s moving through the Legislature would change that.
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Kikkan Randall Finishes Out Of Medals In Olympic Skate Sprint
It was a disappointing day for Kikkan Randall and her fans. The Anchorage skier failed to medal in the Olympic skate sprint in Sochi- an event many thought she would win. Randall missed advancing to the semifinals by a tiny margin- seven-hundredths of a second.
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Fairbanks Chamber Works To Keep Flint Hills Open
The Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce isn’t giving up on the Flint Hills refinery. Flint Hills announced last week that it plans to cease crude oil processing at the North Pole Plant, and turn the facility into a distribution depot for fuel shipped in from other facilities. Fairbanks chamber board chair Steve Lundgren says the organization will work with the state to try to find a new owner-operator for the refinery.
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Tok Biomass Boiler Heats School, Funds Music Teacher
In late 2010 the Tok School fired up its new biomass boiler to heat the school. By 2013 it was providing electricity as well and saving the school district about $350,000 per year. Now, those same scrubby trees will help grow fresh vegetables for the district’s students.
Sass Still Planning for Iditarod
The Yukon Quest Race Organization held a press conference with Brent Sass this morning (Tuesday). The musher discussed the accident that led to a serious concussion and took him out of this year’s race. The musher was emotional, but he’s confident about his future mushing career.
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Raven Guitars, Icy Straits Lumber Win First Path To Prosperity Contest
An acoustic guitar maker and a small saw mill are the winners of the inaugural Path to Prosperity contest. The business plan competition for Southeast Alaska entrepreneurs was sponsored by Haa Aanì, the community development arm of Sealaska Corporation, as well as the Nature Conservancy.
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Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Parmesan & Walnuts
My love for Brussels sprouts extends far and deep, years before they became a fad at hip eateries in Chicago and San Francisco. It all goes back to a time when the idea finding a fresh Brussels sprouts at the grocery store in Fairbanks was unthinkable, and so ours came to the dinner table via frozen baggies from the super market.
It all goes back to a time when Holly and I were obsessed with Barbies.
Read more. State Senate Rejects Pay Raises For Governor, Commissioners
The compensation bill was approved unanimously and now needs a vote from the House.
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Budget Cuts Shrink AVO’s Seismic Network
The ability to monitor several volcano’s in Alaska is being diminished due to funding constraints. The Alaska Volcano Observatory confirms that all of the monitoring instruments and stations at the Fourpeaked Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula have failed.
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Empire Reporter Fired Following Disagreement With Publisher
A former Juneau Empire reporter says she was fired when she refused to set up a meeting between the publisher and a legislator on a bill that affects newspapers.
Jennifer Canfield left her job as state capital reporter last week.
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Fish Board Restricts Commercial Fleet in Cook Inlet
After spending Sunday listening to stakeholders' committee comments on Northern District proposals, the state's Board of Fisheries this (Monday) morning got down to deliberations on central Cook Inlet management changes. The Board unanimously approved a proposal to ensure escapement goals for the Northern District.
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Museum Exhibit Opens Highlighting Marine Debris Problem
Marine Debris used to be mostly nets, buoys and fishing gear but now it includes plastic bottles, bottle caps, and styrophone. It's everywhere, there's nowhere to put it and more is coming every day. Johanna Eurich reports on a new museum exhibit highlighting the problem.
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Tourists Rescued Near Chatanika
Alaska State Troopers rescued a group of tourists late Friday night after they got stuck in their vehicle trying to get to a lodge about 20 miles north of Fairbanks near Chatanika on an outing to view the aurora borealis.
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Iditarod Considers Starting In Fairbanks
The Iditarod Trail Committee is considering moving the restart of the race from Willow to Fairbanks. Saturday's statement says that the ceremonial start will take place on March 1st in Anchorage as planned, and that the current plan is to have the restart, where the competitive part of the race truly begins, in Willow the next day. But there are concerns about trail conditions between Rainy Pass and Nikolai. If the trail isn't acceptable by the beginning of next week, the restart will be moved to Fairbanks on March 3rd.
Allen Moore Wins 2014 Yukon Quest
Allen Moore has won the Yukon Quest International Sled dog Race for the second consecutive year. Moore’s team is known for its petite stature, perky ears and wagging tails and they didn’t disappoint. They jumped in harness and yelped after arriving at Takhini Hot Springs 30 miles outside of Whitehorse.
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Drumming and Healing at Beans Café
At midday, huge crowds of homeless men and women filter inside Beans Café in downtown Anchorage for meals and socializing. It can be noisy and chaotic. For many, it's their only respite from the cold and dust outside on the city streets. But once a week, volunteers recently began serving up more than a hot meal. KSKA's Daysha Eaton has the story.
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Fine-tuning your Valentine’s Day Mix
Today we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with music.
And what better gift than the gift of music? It’s highly customizable, and can be deeply personal.
Now, obviously the days of making your sweetheart a mix tape are long gone, but DJ Spencer Lee says you can go digital just as easily.
We Are A Goth Band
Cliff and Ivy have been performing as a goth band for over 30 years. For them, identifying as goth is empowering to people who are perceived as being different.
http://youtu.be/fVO-1slh-pk