“Irregularities” Found in State Crime Lab Drug Samples
It looks as if somebody tampered with drug samples at the state crime laboratory in Anchorage. The state Troopers put out a short press release today saying that new equipment has shown small amounts of foreign materials in the so-called "reference" samples used to compare with and estimate evidence in drug cases.
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$500 Tickets to be Issued for Spice, Bath Salts
Anchorage has a new law that fines people in possession of the designer drug spice. It's the city's second try at cracking down on the drug...after failed attempts with a narrow law that focused on contents that manufacturers change quickly. The Anchorage Assembly acted quickly Tuesday after hearing public testimony on the damage that spice has been doing.
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New Study Shows Alaska Natives Are More Vulnerable To Flu
Indigenous populations in Alaska and Australia are more vulnerable to flu. That’s according to a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As KUAC’s Emily Schwing reports, scientists are using their finding to help native populations fight flu in the future.
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Cook Inlet Fishermen Want Federal Fisheries Oversight
A federal lawsuit filed by a Cook Inlet fishermen's group seeks to overturn state salmon management in some parts of Alaska. The suit targets the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, and, if successful, could bring federal oversight into some of the state's salmon harvests.
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Anchorage Assembly Passes Spice Ticketing Law
Anchorage has a new law that fines people in possession of the designer drug spice. It's the city's second try at cracking down on the drug...after failed attempts with a narrow law that focused on contents that manufacturers change quickly. The Anchorage Assembly acted quickly after hearing public testimony on the damage that spice has been doing.
Former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan Raises $1.2 Million For Senate Race
The U.S. Senate campaign of Dan Sullivan announced today how much money he collected in his first three months of fund-raising – $1.2 million.
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Shishmaref Delegation Meets With Climate Change Task Force
A delegation from Shishmaref is visiting Congress to explain how their world is changing. Shishmaref Native Corporation President Tony Weyiouanna told lawmakers at a climate task force meeting the village used to have so much beach they played baseball on it. Now, with the water level rising and the island eroding, they don’t have enough shore to dig clams. They’re finding tumors and hair loss on the marine mammals. The ice isn’t thick enough for safe travel.
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Juneau Businesses Take The Bitcoin Lead
Bitcoin is a digital currency not backed by any country’s government. The currency only exists on the Internet and has been growing in popularity over the past year and a half. Now, a few businesses in the capital city are starting to deal in bit coin and accept it for payment.
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Fairbanks Militia Leader Holding Anti-Gun-Control Rally
A local militia leader is organizing an anti-gun-control rally that’ll be held next month in downtown Fairbanks. The rally is one of five to be held around the state on Feb. 23 to show support for the Second Amendment and other right-wing political causes.
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Alaska News Nightly: January 14, 2014
Former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan Raises $1.2 Million For Senate Race; Shishmaref Delegation Meets With Climate Change Task Force; Lawsuit Could Bring Federal Oversight Into Salmon Harvests; Juneau Businesses Take The Bitcoin Lead; Fairbanks Militia Leader Holding Anti-Gun-Control Rally; World Wildlife Fund Releasing Walrus Ivory Report; Grant Advances Kasaan Longhouse Repairs; Dena’ina Athabascan Exhibit Wraps Up At Anchorage Museum
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World Wildlife Fund Releasing Walrus Ivory Report
Next month, the World Wildlife Fund is releasing a report on walrus ivory.
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Grant Advances Kasaan Longhouse Repairs
A nearly-half-million-dollar grant will speed restoration of Alaska’s oldest Haida longhouse. The structure was first built 130 years ago.
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Dena’ina Athabascan Exhibit Wraps Up At Anchorage Museum
Sunday marked the final day of the Dena’ina Athabascan exhibit at the Anchorage Museum. A culmination of seven years of work, the exhibit reveals the art, history, culture and science of the lives of the people whose territory Anchorage now encompasses. Aaron Leggett is one of the curators and a Dena’ina tribal member. We walked through the exhibit one last time on Sunday. Leggett says thousands of Anchorage school children, residents and tourists visited during the four month run. The exhibit starts with a contemporary fish camp scene. One of Leggett’s favorite parts of the exhibit is a slide show of the Dena’ina people.
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Faces of Alaska: Callan Chythlook-Sifsof
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof is the first indigenous Alaskan to represent the US in the Olympics.
A member of the US Snowboard team since 2006, Chythlook-Sifsof credits her success to Alaska Native values and culture.
Federal Spending Package Secures Funds For Tribal Health Care Facilities
In Congress tonight, a massive spending package has emerged after weeks of intense negotiations among lawmakers, and it contains good news for Alaskans. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, top Republican on the subcommittee for Interior Department spending, has announced that she’s secured $66 million to staff the state’s six new tribally operated health care facilities.
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Alaska’s Affordable Care Act Enrollment Remains Low
The federal government released numbers today that give an idea of who is signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. In Alaska, about 3000 people selected marketplace plans before Dec. 28 and 83 percent qualify for a subsidy to help pay for premiums. But Enroll Alaska has seen a steep drop off in the number of people signing up for insurance in the New Year.
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Refinery Owner Seeks Lower Cleanup Level For Tainted Groundwater
The operator of the North Pole refinery wants the state to set a lower standard for cleaning up the sulfolane groundwater-contamination problem in the North Pole area. Flint Hills Resources Alaska has asked the head of the state Department of Environmental Conservation to set a less-stringent cleanup level for the industrial solvent that leaked into the groundwater for more than a decade before Flint Hills bought the refinery in 2004. The requests could delay cleanup for several months.
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Akutan Volcano’s Geothermal Power Potential Increases
A new study says Akutan Volcano could be an even more promising source of geothermal energy than previously thought.
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Bering Sea Ice Sees 7-Year Expansion
While sea ice in the Arctic has been undergoing a seven-year decline, sea ice in the Bering Sea has been experiencing a seven-year expansion.
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Interior Alaska’s River, Lake Ice Thinner Than Normal
There’s less than normal ice build up on many Interior waters. The National Weather Service drills into ice on rivers and lakes at the start of each month, and agency hydrologist Ed Plumb says January’s measurements showed generally thinner ice.
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