State House Approves 2016 Sunset Date For Alaska Film Tax Credit
The state House voted Thursday to sunset the Alaska Film Tax Credit in 2016. The provision was part of a bill requiring state agencies to report to the Legislature on so-called “lost revenue.” That’s the millions of dollars in revenues the state doesn’t collect each year due to various fee exemptions and tax credits. The bill adds sunset dates to some of them, meaning those programs would expire if lawmakers don’t intervene before then.
Ferry Workers Considering Strike If Contract Negotiations Don’t Move Forward
Contract talks between the state and Alaska’s ferry workers are heating up as each side disagrees on how to make up the gap between revenues and the cost of operating the ferry system. Workers are now considering whether to authorize a strike if negotiations remain stalled.
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Texan Confirmed to Alaska Gasline Board
The Alaska Legislature today confirmed a controversial appointee to the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation board of directors after a debate that centered on whether he has Alaska’s interest at heart.
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House Speaker Adds Agrium to Refinery Assistance Bill
Gov. Sean Parnell’s $150 million-dollar bill to subsidize Alaska’s oil refineries grew to $200 million today, when House Speaker Mike Chenault expanded it to include the Agrium fertilizer plant in Nikiski.
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Bill Arming VPSOs Goes To Governor’s Desk
Village Public Safety Officers will soon be able to carry fire arms if Governor Sean Parnell signs a measure approved this morning in the Senate.
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Legislature Passes Bill On AGDC Appointment
The Alaska Legislature has passed a measure allowing out-of-state residents to serve on the board of a corporation that could play a key role in a major liquefied natural gas pipeline project.
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Legislature Considers $150m to Help Refineries
The Parnell Administration warns Petro Star’s refinery in North Pole might fold without state assistance. A bill pending in the state House would prop up Alaska’s three remaining oil refineries with $150 million in state funds. But even some legislators who are helping advance the bill say they’re uncomfortable with it.
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NTSB Advances Investigation Into Fatal Training Flight Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has finished its on-scene investigation into the crash that killed two Hageland Aviation pilots Tuesday. Derrick Cedars of Bethel and Greggory McGee from Anchorage died in Tuesday’s crash.
‘Erin’s Law’ Passes Alaska Senate
The Alaska Senate unanimously passed Erin’s Law this morning. The law provides age-appropriate sexual abuse education to children in public schools.
Inuit Circumpolar Council Discussing Food Security
The Inuit Circumpolar Council is holding a meeting in Nome next week. The topic is food security, and the goal is to create a framework to understand the issue from an Inuit perspective.
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Delta Western Workers Approve Union Membership
After two months of protests, Delta Western fuel workers in Unalaska have voted to unionize. The Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific got the support of a slim majority in an election on Thursday night.
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Geraghty Testifies On Tribal Law And Order Commission Report Findings
State Attorney General Michael Geraghty testified before a legislative committee this week to respond to a national report that singles out Alaska for its high rates of violence against Alaska Natives, especially Native women. The Indian Law and Order Commission report was deeply critical of Alaska’s law enforcement and judicial system. But the state’s Geraghty says the Indian Law and Order Commission is trying to impose lower 48 solutions that won’t work in Alaska.
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Army Sets New Protocols During Fire Season
The Army has a new protocol for live ordnance training during times of high wildfire danger. Army artillery practice sparked the Stewart Creek 2 wildfire that burned east of Fairbanks though much of last summer. The 87,000 acre blaze forced evacuations and cost more than $20 million to fight.
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Troopers Name Two Pilots Killed In Crash Near Bethel
Two pilots are dead after a fiery plane crash Tuesday night just outside Bethel. Alaska State Troopers have identified the pilots who were onboard the Hageland Cessna 208 Caravan as Derrick Cedars, 42, of Bethel and Greggory McGee, 46, of Anchorage.
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Murkowski Signs Onto ‘Regulatory Fairness Act’
Leaders in the Bristol Bay area say they’re upset U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has co-sponsored a bill that would undo their biggest regulatory success in fighting the Pebble Mine project.
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UAF Med Students Inject Wrong Substance
Some University of Alaska Fairbanks students received doses of a substance not approved for humans or animals. The medical course students were practicing giving injections.
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Plane Down Near Bethel, Two Reported Onboard
A Cessna 208 with two pilots on board has crashed outside of Bethel. Ravn Alaska spokesperson Steve Smith confirms the downed plane was a Hageland Aviation training flight with two pilots on board, and no passengers.
Alaska Dispatch To Buy Anchorage Daily News
Alaska Dispatch is making an aggressive move to position itself at the forefront of the the state's media landscape. It announced Tuesday that it's buying the Anchorage Daily News – Alaska's largest newspaper.
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Can an Aggressive Russia Remain Our Nice Arctic Neighbor?
Despite occasional fears in the West of a Russian land grab in the Arctic, Russia has behaved as a good neighbor in its dealings with other countries in the Arctic Council. But Putin's moves in Ukraine has Arctic experts wondering what this means for international relations in the Arctic and whether the era of cooperation with Russia is over.
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Why Alaska women earn less and what they can do about it
President Obama signed executive orders on Tuesday that aim to tighten the pay gap between men and women. The President’s actions take place on national Equal Pay Day, a day symbolizing how long women have to work into 2014 to catch up with what men earned in 2013. Equal Pay Day originated in 1996 to raise public awareness of the wage gap. While discrimination may contribute to Alaska’s pay gap, a state economist says other factors are just as important.
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