Humpback Researchers See ‘Old Timer’ Again After 44 Years
Whale researchers in Southeast Alaska have broken the record for the longest re-sighting of a humpback whale. Forty-four years ago, the first sighting of a humpback known as Old Timer coincided with both the end of commercial whaling and the establishment of the Endangered Species Act.
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New York-based investors buy majority stake in Ravn
New York investors are now majority owners of the Ravn Air group, which mostly serves rural Alaska.
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Shell ready to drill for Arctic oil as delayed icebreaker arrives
Shell’s wayward icebreaker made it to the company’s Arctic Ocean drilling site Tuesday. The arrival of the Fennica after a month’s delay means the company could get to drill for oil beneath the Chukchi Sea this summer.
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Bethel Council Nixes City-Run Liquor Store Vote in October
There will not be a vote this October for Bethel to go into local option status and pursue opening a city-run liquor store. The Bethel City Council by a vote of five to one rejected sending the vote to citizens.
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Looking (And Listening) For Alaska’s Rarest Whale
Researchers are cruising the Gulf of Alaska on the lookout for one of the world’s rarest animals: the North Pacific right whale.
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City Hires Homelessness Coordinator Using State Funds
The city's new mayor is taking quick steps towards leveraging State resources that may fix what many in Anchorage see as an intractable urban issue.
President Obama: Alaskans Are On the Front Lines Of Climate Change
Alaska is ground zero for climate change -- that's the message of a new video issued by the White House discussing president Obama's upcoming visit to the Last Frontier.
Sled Dog Fatally Gored By Muskox Outside Nome
A grimly familiar sight to Nome dog owners returned with the fatal goring of a local musher’s dog by a bull muskox Wednesday.
Permafrost Carbon Takes A Trip to Davy Jones’ Locker
It’s been widely accepted in the science community that melting permafrost means more carbon in the atmosphere. But a new study has identified a quirk in that process.
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Mat-Su Vets Rail Against VA During Secretary’s Visit
A listening session held Thursday night in Wasilla by the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs was dominated by complaints about the healthcare system for veterans in Alaska.
Governor Nominates Elizabeth Peratrovich As The Face of the $10 Bill
The Walker-Mallott administration has nominated a Tlingit civil-rights leader to be on the new $10 bill.
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Earthquake swarm hits Yakutat
About 30 earthquakes have hit the Yakutat area this week. The Gulf of Alaska city, about 250 miles northwest of Juneau, is in a fault zone and quakes aren’t unusual.
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Sentencing begins in Anchorage hit-and-run cyclist case
The first segment of Alexandra Ellis’ sentencing hearing took place Friday afternoon in Anchorage. Ellis pled guilty to hitting and killing cyclist Jeff Dusenbury last summer, when she was 17. Many community members disagree with the plea deal reached by the state this spring.
Fiery Testimony, Complex Problems at Mat-Su Visit From VA Secretary
A listening session held Thursday night in Wasilla by the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs was dominated by complaints about the healthcare system for veterans.
Dispatch From The Couch: Google Trekker Lets You ‘Hike’ the Chilkoot Trail
A hundred years ago, to hike to the Klondike gold fields via the Chilkoot Trail meant a grueling trek carrying a required one ton of supplies, enough to last a year. Soon armchair hikers can breeze along the 33-mile trail virtually, in a few minutes, using Google’s Street View.
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Dead herring, poison mussels found on Unalaska shorelines
Hundreds of dead herring washed up on Front Beach in downtown Unalaska on Tuesday.
Shell Gets Final Approval To Drill Into Oil-Bearing Rock in the Chukchi
The Interior Department gave final approval to Shell Oil to drill into oil-bearing rocks at the company’s “Burger J” drilling site. The company has until late September to complete this summer’s exploratory drilling.
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Bethel Preschool Trashed by Vandals
Vandals trashed preschool classrooms and smashed windows in 13 of the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s vehicles over the weekend.
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3 People Missing In Sitka Landslide
Four people are believed missing after rain triggered a series of landslides in Sitka early Tuesday morning. Recovery efforts have been suspended while officials wait for the affected slopes to stabilize.
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A short history of Alaska LGBT rights
Alaskans voted in 1998 to define marriage in the state constitution as only between a man and a woman. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated that definition, Alaska and the entire country has marriage equality. To some it may seem like things are changing fast, but Alaska’s fight for gay rights began half a lifetime ago.
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