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Here are some rainfall and peak wind gust information for the storm that affected Mainland Alaska September 15 - 16, 2012.

The cleanup is underway in Talkeetna and in other areas of the Matanuska Susitna Borough, but south of Anchorage, more rain is falling. River waters continue to rise on the Kenai Peninsula, and a flood warning has been extended until later this (Monday) afternoon a for Seward and for Tuesday night for the entire Kenai Peninsula Borough.

A public meeting between representatives of Buccaneer Energy and concerned Homer citizens turned contentious Tuesday night, with many people wondering why the company’s ‘Endeavor’ jack-up rig is still parked at the Homer harbor nearly two months after its arrival. Company officials say the rig will soon be moving to drill in the Cosmopolitan Unit near Anchor Point but as KBBI’s Aaron Selbig reports, the State of Alaska says that’s not likely to happen.

Gathering information about the scale of the problem of sex trafficking in Alaska will be the focus of a state hearing on the issue next week. The lengthily titled State of Alaska Task Force on the Crimes of Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking will hold hearings in Anchorage and Bethel. Cori Badgley is an assistant Attorney General with the state. She says domestic violence and sexual assault of children are usually in the backgrounds of victims of sex trafficking. She says it's important for Alaskans to weigh in on this crime.

Trials began yesterday for two dozen Kuskokwim subsistence fishermen who allegedly fished with salmon nets when they were restricted this past summer. The first three fishermen were found guilty at the Bethel District Court House today. The politics of subsistence rights versus state restrictions weighs far heavier on the trials than the violations themselves, worth $250 each

This week Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest is offering free HIV testing in four Alaska locations. It started today (Monday 12/10) and runs through Friday.

A second person has died in Bethel after being found in an unheated home. 60-year-old June Swope was found unresponsive Friday morning at 102 East Avenue, located across the slough.

Plans for a 29-mile pipeline underneath Cook Inlet were announced Wednesday. Cook Inlet Energy, one of many new players in the area, is the company applying for a right-of-way lease from the Department of Natural Resources. An underwater pipeline would solve several problems for Cook Inlet oil producers, but other concerns remain.

Southeast lost both its Tlingit lawmakers during this year’s legislative elections. It’s the first time in at least two decades that the region has been without Native representation.

Soon it will be more expensive to be a tobacco user in Bethel. At the last regular meeting the Bethel City Council passed an ordinance that will increase taxes on all tobacco products sold in the city. The ordinance will raise the price of cigarettes by $2.21 per pack and raise prices for other tobacco products by 45%.

The Senate is green lighting a disaster relief bill to the floor. It could come up for a vote as early as Monday. It has two key provisions for Alaska – federal aid for the fishery disaster and money for marine debris research and clean up. As APRN’s Peter Granitz reports, the bill has ballooned in size, and it’s unclear whether it will pass as is.

A legislative aide resigned today because of ethics violations involving an anti-Islam organization.

Today Governor Sean Parnell announced a $12.8 billion-dollar budget for 2014, saying it's more than a billion dollars leaner than this year's budget and leaves a half-billion-dollar surplus.

Kikkan Randall won the world cup skate sprint near Sochi, Russia today, on the same course that will serve as the Olympic venue next year. The Alaska Pacific University skier won all three heats.

The Alaska Republican Party's Executive Committee has blocked incoming party chair. Russ Millette from taking his position. In a meeting last night, the committee voted to oust Millette, who was elected to the chairman's position at the party's annual state convention in April of last year. Millette says he's weighing his options to fight the decision.

Shell’s chief executives responded to questions about the January grounding of the Kulluk drill rig during the company’s annual results conference in London Thursday. In a prepared presentation, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser, played down the company’s many mishaps in Alaska last year.

When it finally arrives in Unalaska next week, the Shin Onoe will be one of the biggest vessels to ever stay in port here. It’s 150 feet wide, with a 60 foot draft when it’s full of coal, soybeans, or iron. Right now, it’s empty. It was traveling along the Great Circle shipping route to Prince William Sound early this week to pick up cargo when its turbocharger failed, just west of Attu island.

A measure that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls got its first hearing today (on Thursday). Rep. Bob Lynn, a Republican from Anchorage, sponsored the bill, and he views it as a simple way of preventing voter fraud.