APRN: Alaska News

Vice President Joe Biden says he will deliver recommendations for new gun control measures to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Mr. Biden says he will call for both legislation and executive order from the White House.

It looks like there was a spill from the Kulluk grounding after all. One of four life-boats dislodged and washed ashore as the huge rig grounded off Sitkalidik Island has at least two damaged fuel tanks. The rig itself has been towed to more sheltered waters and responders discovered the empty tanks while assessing materials washed to the the shoreline during the New Year's Eve grounding. The spill is estimated as under 270 gallons of diesel fuel. That estimate may rise as more tanks are examined on the four lifeboats.

The Parnell administration is poised to introduce oil tax reform legislation again. Previous attempts have failed to gain enough support to pass the state legislature. The new bill was previewed for the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Tuesday. It incorporates some ideas raised in recent year’s discussions.

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

It’s hard to imagine that oceans in the far north once teemed with ancient marine reptiles. But 145 million years ago, that’s exactly what was happening a couple hundred miles north of mainland Europe. A region east of Greenland and north of Norway used to be home to a whole slew of giant sea-faring reptiles. “It is literally one of the richest places in the world for marine reptiles like Plesiosuars and Ichthyosuars,” says Pat Druckenmiller.

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.

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.

The Republican primary race for Matanusaka Valley's state House District 11 ended with incumbent Republican Bill Stoltze easily defeating challeger Tom Connelly. Stoltze, who has served in the legislature since his 2002 election, came out of Tuesday's primary with 82% of the vote.

Republican upstart Mike Dunleavy is heading to Juneau. Dunleavy's upset of incumbent Wasilla Senator Linda Menard has big implications for next year's legislature.

It’s not everyday that a person from a tiny remote village in Alaska gets national attention. But that’s what’s happening to Matt Bissonnette, a former Navy Seal who has penned a book titled “No Easy Day”, about killing Osama Bin Laden.