The nation’s Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program would get a modest boost in funding and some expanded responsibilities under a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and a colleague from another earthquake-prone state, Sen. Alex Padila, D-California, on Wednesday. The Murkowski-Padilla bill would reauthorize the program for five years. It proposes to appropriate $175.4 million per year to […]
Posted inLocal News, Alaska Marine Highway System, News
Governor wants to take over appointment of entire ferry system advisory board
Unless the Legislature decides otherwise by mid-March, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will take over appointment of the entire nine-member Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. State law reserves four of the seats for appointment by legislative leaders, but Dunleavy on the first day of the legislative session Jan. 16 introduced an executive order that changes the law […]
Posted inNews, Southeast News, Alaska Legislature
Dividend, school funding will again dominate legislative session
State lawmakers went back to work last week in Juneau, with two familiar topics likely to dominate the budget-writing work. “The real question is what are we going to do for the Permanent Fund dividend … and what are we going to do for education,” Rep. Dan Ortiz told the Wrangell Borough Assembly Jan. 9. “That’s what the argument […]
Posted inHealth
Alaska adults of childbearing age advised to get testing for syphilis
With cases of syphilis skyrocketing, including dangerous infections that are passed from pregnant women to their infants, new recommendations have been issued for much more widespread testing for the disease, the Alaska Department of Health announced on Tuesday. All sexually active adults under 45 should get a test at least once this year, the department said. That […]
Posted inNews, Health
On Roe anniversary, abortion opponents look to White House to fast-track national ban
Falling snow and flight delays thinned this year’s anti-abortion March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, but did not deter the most impatient activists in the movement, those unsatisfied until the entire U.S. map is red with abortion bans. “I’m not okay with abortion states and non-abortion states. I want an abortion-free America,” said Right to […]
Posted inHousing, Alaska Legislature
Alaska’s working population loss casts long shadow over legislative session
As the Alaska Legislature convenes in Juneau, the state population is on the minds of lawmakers. For the 11th consecutive year, more people moved out of Alaska than moved into it, according to new estimates published this week by the Alaska Department of Labor. Though new births over the past year counterbalanced the losses, the […]
Posted inCourts
Alaskans no longer need to appear in court for certain self-represented cases
Alaska’s court system will allow self-represented small claims and debt collection cases to be resolved online, in an effort to ease the stress and inconvenience of the judicial process and increase access to justice. The court started with small claims because they are usually straightforward cases, said Rebecca Cain, the manager for the project, called […]
Posted inEducation, Southeast News
Juneau superintendent says ‘small, targeted cuts’ won’t fix budget crisis
Superintendent Frank Hauser said the district needs to cut about 10% of its budget to address its $9.5 million deficit.
Posted inNews
Juneau Empire could get new owner as parent company faces revenue loss
Black Press Media, the owner of three Alaska newspapers, is seeking a new owner as it restructures its finances. The Canadian company’s U.S. branch, Sound Publishing, owns the Juneau Empire, the Peninsula Clarion and the Homer News. Boyd Erman, a spokesperson for Black Press, didn’t answer questions about whether the Alaska papers would continue to […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Search and Rescue
Searchers find bodies of 2 who died when boat overturned near Sitka
Using an unmanned underwater drone to search a boat that had overturned near Chichagof Island, searchers on Jan. 10 located the bodies of two people who were missing after three others were rescued from the Jan. 9 accident. The three who survived were hoisted from the water within about an hour from the time Sitka […]