Juneau Issues First Winter Air Alert
The City and Borough of Juneau has called the first air emergency of the winter. For residents of the Mendenhall Valley, that means wood stove burning is banned until the alert is lifted.
Grant Funding to Promote Success Toward Higher Education
The Youth Action Committee (YAC), of the Juneau Community Foundation, requests proposals from Juneau non-profit organizations and schools to promote success in high school by increasing awareness of the range of Post Secondary opportunities available for high school graduates.
With the help of the Juneau Community Foundation and local organizations, YAC members strive to improve the lives of their peers.
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Democratic Legislators Push For Stricter Campaign Disclosure Rules
Over the next year, millions of dollars are expected to enter Alaska in the form of campaign spending. The Alaska Senate race could end up being one of the more expensive races in the country, because Republicans need to unseat Democrat Mark Begich if they want to take control of Congress. Since much of the money is going to be spent on political ads, some state legislators would like to see stronger federal disclosure laws, so voters know who's paying for the airtime.
Alaska Groups Give Passing Grade To Reworked HealthCare.gov
Groups in Alaska working to sign people up for health insurance on the federal marketplace say the website is working much better. The Obama Administration re-launched an improved healthcare.gov marketplace yesterday. Now insurance agents and navigators have three weeks to help Alaskans enroll in insurance plans that start offering coverage January 1st.
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Dead Birds Wash Up On St. Lawrence Island
Hundreds of dead birds washed up on the shores of St. Lawrence Island towards the end of November. And though the cause of the die off isn’t yet known, the quick response demonstrates a mounting capacity for dealing with unexpected environmental events in the region.
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Frog Abnormality Research Finds Location is a Key Factor
Increasing reports of deformed frogs and toads in the mid 90s, prompted Congress to mandate studies to look into the problem. Amphibians are sort of the canary in the coal mine for gauging the environmental health of land and surface water. The study was released in November, and looks at amphibian abnormalities on 152 wildlife refuges across the country, including five in Alaska.
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Plucky Delta Farmer Undaunted, Determined to Rebuild Poultry Barn Razed by Fire
A Delta Junction-area farmer is rebuilding a barn fire that killed 500 chickens and other livestock last spring. Despite that and other adversity, Brandy McLain is determined to restore her poultry operation.
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Crews Rescue Woman From Fairbanks High Rise Window
Fairbanks emergency responders rescued a woman from a window of a downtown Fairbanks high rise yesterday.
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Late Start for Flu Shots Causes Concern
The Lower 48 has been on the offensive against the flu virus for weeks. But in Unalaska, most people didn’t have access to vaccines until late November. An attempt to tailor flu prevention around Unalaska’s unique population didn’t go over well with locals.
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How To Save An Endangered Language
Speaking an endangered language at home is the essence of language revitalization, according to author Leanne Hinton. She’s written the book Bringing Our Languages Home and was recently in Juneau for the Tlingit Tribes and Clans Conference.
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CLARIFICATION: Bragaw Extension May Cost More Than Initially Planned
A consultant says that the Bragaw Street extension into Anchorage's UMed district could cost more than originally planned.
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Alaska Communities Join Forces To Prevent Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault
Community members from Alaska towns as large as Anchorage and as small as Allakaket are in Juneau for the second annual Prevention Summit sponsored by the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
Alaska Searching For Methane Hydrate Research Partners
The state of Alaska is looking for partners to research a new source of natural gas called methane hydrates. It could bring in new revenue for the state far down the road, but some environmentalists worry the risk of releasing that much methane is too great.
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Survey Says Alaska Has Poor Business Climate
A survey of oil company managers and executives has given Alaska poor marks for its business climate. The annual report by the Fraser Institute, a conservative Canadian think tank, stacks Alaska up against other states and countries in an effort to develop a “policy perception index.” The respondents weren’t kind to the 49th state.
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Officials Documenting Wreckage of St. Marys’ Crash
The chief of the agency's Alaska office, Clint Johnson, said an investigator with the NTSB and another from the Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday reached the site where a single-engine aircraft went down near the village of St. Marys.
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Premera Won’t Increase Rates On Plan Extensions
Premera Alaska won't increase premium rates for Alaskans who decide to extend their plans for another year. The company previously had to cancel plans that didn't meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act for 5,400 members in the state.
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Juneau Observes World AIDS Day
December first was World AIDS Day. The annual observance started in 1988 to increase awareness and prevention of the disease. The United Nations estimates that more than 35 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2012. About 70 percent were in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 4 percent in North America.
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Family Hopes to Save Homestead of 30-Years
A misjudgement of just a few dozen yards in the placement of a small house on a remote part of Kodiak Island over 30 years ago will likely result in a family’s hopes, dreams and history literally going up in smoke. The family doesn’t live on their homestead on Dry Spruce Bay full time anymore, but they’re heartbroken at the prospect of losing it.
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Kodiak Alum Receives Holiday Surprise from Teammates
It’s expensive to travel in and out of Alaska. And for Puni Timu, that price tag has kept her from seeing her parents for more than a year and a half. Puni went to Kodiak High School where she was a star player on the girls’ basketball team. When she graduated, she signed with the University of Jamestown’s basketball team in North Dakota. It’s been a long time since Puni last saw her parents and her teammates recently decided to something extraordinary for her.
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Ballet, Twerking and Everything In-between
Today we’re going to dance class. Three months ago in midtown Anchorage, Studio Pulse opened its doors as the cities newest modern dance studio. Stephanie Wonchala is the founder of the Pulse Dance Company, and runs the studio.
The classes offered at Studio Pulse are wide ranging to say the least.
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