News

The U.S. House passed a bill this morning that would replace President Barack Obama’s outer continental shelf drilling plan. The bill would speed up existing lease sales in Alaska.

The Air Force has lifted the flight restrictions on the F-22 fighter, saying it has resolved the problems that were depriving pilots of sufficient oxygen during maneuvers and at altitude. A large part of the F-22 fleet is based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

The federal Office of Surface Mining has questioned the validity of the Usibelli coal mining permits for the Wishbone Hill mine near Palmer. In a letter to the state Department of Natural Resources, division of mining, land and water, OSM’s Kenneth Walker states that the federal agency finds “gaps” in permitting information furnished to OSM by the state. OSM has requested that the division of mining, land and water conduct a file review on the Wishbone Hill mining permits and to provide OSM with further information.

The Association of Village Council Presidents is officially asking for clemency for Kuskokwim River subsistence fishermen cited during closures. AVCP represents 56 tribes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

At midnight last night, Katmai National Park and Preserve switched on newly installed webcams around Brooks Camps. And by early afternoon, viewers from all over the world were tuned in to a live-feed of the park’s famous grizzlies over the internet.

When Shell secured a court order to keep Greenpeace from protesting near its Arctic drilling expedition, the environmental group decided to strike back — by pretending to be Shell.

In Sitka, declining cruise traffic has city leaders considering the possibility of building a downtown dock. Right now, visitors arriving aboard large vessels are ferried to shore on smaller boats.

This July is on track to be one of the coldest ever in Anchorage. As of today, the average temperature for the month is just 55 degrees, a bit shy of the coldest July on record which came in at 54 point 4 degrees in 1920. The normal average is 58 degrees. David Snider is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Anchorage. He says the same weather pattern that is heating up the Lower 48 is making it colder than normal over Southcentral Alaska and keeping storms over the area.

A federal commemoration of homesteading in America recognizes six Alaskans, considered the last to participate in the program. The last woman homesteader and her son gained title to land near Big Delta in 1984.

Lawmakers in Washington are considering what it would take to use natural gas in more cars. There’s some potential for using Alaska’s gas, though there are huge barriers.

Environmentalists are urging the EPA to block Shell’s request for a waiver from the Clean Air Act for its Discoverer vessel. Groups have collected hundreds of thousands of signatures opposing the compliance order.

The Coast Guard is relaxing certification standards for Shell’s oil spill containment barge. The company convinced regulators the Arctic Challenger should be considered a mobile unit. Among other things, that means its mooring system only needs to be able to weather a 10-year storm, as opposed to the more rigorous 100-year standard for fixed platforms.

A man was mauled by a brown bear Sunday in Eagle River. He sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. It was the fourth bear attack in Anchorage this year, one of the highest numbers ever. And the city is on its way to reaching a new record.

A new genetic study of polar bears out form the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday shows the species is older than previously thought. The study also suggests that intermingling with brown bears could have been in partial response to previous changes in earth’s climate.

The Community Development Quota (CDQ) program for 20 villages along the Bering Sea recently handed out 100 free nets in Bethel. For most of the summer, subsistence fishermen on the Kuskokwim River have been restricted to smaller nets to protect Chinook salmon. Coastal Villages Region Fund says the nets were gone within an hour, but the nets didn’t change hands without some controversy.

Studies related to the proposed Susitna Watana hydroelectric dam were put forward last week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Wrangell’s milling industry is taking a new turn toward niche markets. Ron Franz of Whale Bay Woods is cutting and selling music wood for instrument makers around the world. He spoke with KSTK’s Anne Hillman about what makes Wrangell’s Sitka spruce sing so sweetly.

You may use Facebook to share photos from your summer vacation or goof off at work. But Sitka resident Rick Armstrong has found a different use for the social network – he’s using Facebook to try to catch a thief.