Talks On Mental Health Land Swap Continue
State and Federal officials say they are making progress on a proposed land exchange between the Alaska Mental Health Trust and the US Forest Service. The plan is aimed at conserving thousands of acres that are important in several Southeast Alaska communities while providing the trust with more remote Tongass National Forest lands it can log. The plan was recently endorsed by a group of Tongass Stakeholders and the Forest service expects to start the environmental review process in the coming year.
Trial For Former Juneau Officer Postponed
The trial of a former police officer accused of firing on his former colleagues has been moved until the latter half of next January. Troy Wilson was scheduled to stand trial on December 3rd. But his attorney Julie Willoughby said in Juneau Superior Court on Thursday that she just received another 150-pages of documents as part of the discovery process.
Mayor Sullivan Vetoes Repeal Of Sidewalk Ordinance
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan yesterday vetoed the Assembly repeal of the sidewalk ordinance. Sullivan's Municipal Attorney maintains the ban on sitting on sidewalks is constitutional. The assembly vote was 7-2. It would take eight votes to over-ride the veto.
Doc Martin: Gentlemen Prefer
Martin is appalled to find his first surgery full of people enjoying a cup of tea and a biscuit – a practice inherited from his predecessor – but with no medical problems.
TV: Saturday, 9/29 at 7:00pm
Assembly Passes Private Building Plan Review
This week the Anchorage Assembly passed an ordinance that will impact how building plans are approved. The ordinance allows builders to have single-family and two-family residential construction plans OK’d by privately contracted engineers, rather than through the municipal process. Officials say it will speed up the permitting process.
Two Missing In Norton Sound
Two people are missing in Norton Sound tonight. The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers are searching for two overdue boaters who planned to travel from Koyuk to Unalakleet on Monday. They were reported missing Tuesday evening and after two days of searching, there has been no sign of them.
St. George Skirts Fuel Crisis
With fuel stores dwindling and temperatures already dropping below freezing, St. George spent last week anxiously awaiting a resolution to a potential energy crisis. The city’s supplier, Delta Western, had reached the end of a 20-year agreement with village Native corporation Tanaq to deliver fuel to the remote island, and it was unclear how residents were going to heat and power their homes.
Health Leaders Discuss the Affordable Care Act in Anchorage
“Monumental change” is one way to describe the reform taking place in health care right now as the result of the Affordable Care Act. How that change is impacting Alaska was one focus of the State of Reform Health Policy conference on Thursday in downtown Anchorage. The consensus is that there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding a law that will be fully implemented in a little more than a year.
Dive Surveys Help To Track D. Vex Distribution
State officials are learning as much as they can about an invasive species of sea squirt living in Sitka’s Whiting Harbor. It was discovered in 2010 by citizen volunteers. The hope is to eventually wipe it out.
Sitka’s Fake Coupons Par Of National Problem
You’re shopping online, and suddenly, you come across a wonderful deal. It’s a book of coupons, cheap or free, for brand-name products you already use. There’s Coke, Pepsi, Huggies, Doritos … even Listerine.
CVRF Villages Launch Campaign To Increase Fishing Allocations
The 20 villages that form the Coastal Villages Region Fund, or CVRF, have started a public campaign aimed at increasing their fishing allocations under the Community Development Quota program. To change how much fish CVRF can take would require Congress amending the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. CVRF is hoping there is enough support to make it happen.
Pilot Shares Story With LKSD Students
Several Lower Kuskokwim School District students interested in aviation gathered in Bethel earlier this week to hear one pilot’s story.
Athabascan Elder Richard Frank Passes Away
Athabascan Elder Richard Frank passed away late last week. He was born and raised in Old Minto, roughly 60 miles northwest of Fairbanks. Frank’s daughter Roxanne remembers his outspoken attitude about native land claims issues in Interior Alaska.
More People Are Riding State Ferries
The Alaska Marine Highway System had a good year in 2011, with ridership up throughout the state’s ferry system. Deputy Commissioner Capt. Mike Neussl gave an update Wednesday, during the second day of Southeast Conference convention in Craig.
Mine Developers Optimistic About Prospects
The annual Southeast Conference kicked off in Craig this week with a morning dedicated to mining. Representatives of area mining interests spoke back-to-back to about 200 conference participants. Two potential mines on Prince of Wales Island remain in development, but both are promising enough that owners intend to submit preliminary economic assessment plans within the next couple of months.
Cruise Ship Season Ends
The Holland America Oosterdam pulled out of Juneau at 6 p.m. Wednesday, ending the cruise ship season for the year. About 925,000 passengers visited Alaska’s capital city this summer, according to Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau President Lorene Palmer.
Major Quake Strikes Near Adak
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck near Adak on Wednesday afternoon. The quake was centered about 70 miles southwest of town and City manager Layton Lockett says it felt like the earth was moving in circles underneath him.
Police Release Identity of Body Found in Anchorage
The body found this week on the coastal trail in Anchorage has been confirmed as that of a woman missing for seven weeks. Police say in a statement that dental records were used to confirm the identity of 63-year-old Letitia Baxter.
900 EVOS Plaintiffs Still Owed $1 Million
There is about $1-million dollars sitting in a trust account waiting for its owners to claim it. You might be one of them. The Exxon Qualified Settlement Fund is looking for about 900 people who still have money owed to them from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill settlement. Dave Oesting is the court appointed lead council for the plaintiffs in the case. He says there is just one more push to find the claimants.
Salvation Army Hosting Events Raising Awareness About Sex Trafficking
Statistics from national organizations that gather and share information on sex trafficking show it isn’t a problem in Alaska. But local experts don’t believe that’s accurate. The Salvation Army is hosting events in Anchorage this weekend to raise awareness of the problem.