News

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says she will not run for president. Her announcement today left little doubt that the eventual Republican nominee will come from the current field of contenders.

Elections were held in municipalities across the state yesterday except for Anchorage.

A Fairbanks ballot proposition aimed at reducing wintertime fine particulate pollution failed at the ballot box. In unofficial results from yesterday’s municipal election, 60 percent of voters said no to the Healthy Air Protection Act.

It looks like the Deadliest Catch production crew won’t have all too much to film this year. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced how much king crab the fleet can take this year, and compared to previous years, it’s not very much.

More and more Southeast government buildings and businesses are turning to woody biomass for heat. Some experts say the region is close to having enough demand to justify building a pellet mill. But it won’t be easy.

The Bristol Bay Native Corporation is running a video contest. It’s called, ‘Day in our Bay’. They’re giving away video cameras and teaching people how to use them.

The stateless drift-netting vessel Bangun Perkasa is under siege in the Port of Dutch Harbor. Local officials and Alaska Senator Mark Begich are calling for the Coast Guard to scuttle the boat, even as rat elimination efforts get underway.

Three communities in Alaska have received U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Development grants. Community Facilities Programs Administrator Tammy Trevino announced the recipients of the awards this (Tuesday) morning from Washington, DC.

A settlement has been reached in a 1997 lawsuit alleging the state was neglecting its duty to provide adequate funds for rural schools in the state.

The Parnell administration is still weighing whether to apply for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. School officials in Kodiak have mixed feelings about the act, but they’re hoping Governor Parnell decides to apply for the waiver.

One of today’s Nobel Physics prize winners is a 1985 graduate of Bartlett High school in Anchorage. Brian Schmidt shares the prestigious prize with two other U.S. born scientists.

An unidentified flying object over Juneau Sunday night had one Douglas couple rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

The Alutiiq Museum is moving forward with a project that will help preserve indigenous knowledge of local food resources and integrate that information with modern preservation techniques. April Laktonen Councellor and Danielle Ringer both work at the museum and are involved with the Alutiiq Wild Foods project.

About 3500 soldiers stationed at Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson will deploy next month to Afghanistan. The 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division's deployment is for one year.

State Legislative Committees today (Monday) began looking at the steps needed to cut back on the cost of prisons at the same time as maintaining a “tough-on-crime” reputation. The House and Senate Finance Subcommittees on Corrections heard of strategies in other states – most predominantly Texas, where state Representative Jerry Madden recalled how he was part of a bipartisan approach to prison reform.

For the past week, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been meeting in Unalaska. No action there has been more controversial than the announcement that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to put off the implementation of a new halibut catch share plan.

A Palmer grand jury has indicted nine people in relation to the theft of 38 handguns from a Wasilla store. Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen, says the nine, ranging in age from 30 years to a juvenile of 16, have a collective total of 72 felony charges against them.

Wasilla city councilman Steve Menard is the target of a recall effort. The town’s city clerk has approved an application for a recall election sponsored by members of an organization called Conservative Patriots Group.

Diabetes is epidemic among Native Americans and rates have continued to increase since the 1960s. At the National Indian Health Board annual conference in Anchorage last week, participants discussed ways to convince Congress to keep the Special Diabetes Program for Indians going, in an era of tight federal budgets.

An Alaska aviation legend is being honored for a lifetime of service. A new east ramp entrance at Fairbanks Airport was recently dedicated to Cliff Everts, and as KUAC’s Dan Bross reports the longtime Fairbanks pilot got special recognition again last week.