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In COVID years, new patterns emerged in Alaska hospitals and emergency rooms, report says
The COVID-19 pandemic brought some big changes to patterns for hospital stays and emergency-department visits in Alaska, according to a new report issued by the state Division of Public Health. While the disease became one of the dominant causes of hospitalizations and emergency-room visits, the need to treat patients for other respiratory diseases appears to […]
Typhoon Merbok spotlights Alaska’s need for science and climate-resilient infrastructure
When the remnants of Typhoon Merbok were barreling toward western Alaska to unleash what turned out to be the region’s strongest storm in more than half a century, meteorologists knew what was coming. What they could not predict was the exact level and location of flooding – devastation that prompted a federal disaster declaration on […]
Study links lack of running water to prevalence of ear infections among rural Alaska children
Bering Strait region children in households without running water are much more likely to get middle-ear infections, a newly published study confirmed. Data from screenings of more than 1,600 schoolchildren in various communities in that part of western Alaska found that lack of running water – a chronic problem in rural Alaska – corresponded to […]
Alaska officials seek 100% federal coverage of disaster aid for storm-damaged communities
Alaska officials are asking that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provide 100% of the funds necessary for western Alaska communities to recover from damages inflicted by Typhoon Merbok. That would match the 100% response funding that was committed to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Fiona in President Biden’s federal disaster declaration. Typically, FEMA covers […]
Justice Department funds to aid tribal law enforcement and help Indigenous victims of crime
The U.S. Department of Justice announced it will provide more than $246 million in grants to Native American and Alaska Native communities for improvements in law enforcement and justice. The well-received announcement was made in Anchorage on Wednesday at the start of the federal government’s annual tribal consultation conference on violence against women. Allison Randall, […]
New environmental study of Ambler road project kicks off with call for public input
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said it will start collecting public input on how it should carry out a new environmental review of the controversial Ambler Access Project. The scoping period for a supplemental environmental impact statement on the project starts on Tuesday and will run for 45 days, the BLM said Friday. Scoping […]
Agreement with Japanese company boosts fortunes of planned hydropower project near Alaska’s capital, developers say
A new agreement with Japan’s leading hydroelectric operator will give the long-planned Sweetheart Lake project south of Juneau a boost toward development, developers promoting the project said on Thursday. The agreement is between Juneau Hydropower, the corporation planning the Sweetheart Lake hydro project, and J-Power, a major Japanese hydroelectric company. The Sweetheart Lake project is […]
Election in West Anchorage could be key to control of Alaska state Senate
The state Senate race in West Anchorage pits two seasoned lawmakers against each other and could be critical in deciding the makeup of the majority caucus that controls the body’s business. For Democratic Rep. Matt Claman, who represents the House district that comprises the northern part of the newly drawn Senate district, the prospect of […]
Citizen science event focused on endangered belugas returns after pandemic interruption
After a two-year hiatus, crowds of wildlife lovers will be back this weekend at designated observation points to count beluga whales swimming in Cook Inlet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be staging a citizen-science event on Saturday called Belugas Count! The annual event was put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it […]
Corps denies permit for company seeking to dredge for gold in sensitive area near Nome
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has rejected an application from a Nevada-based company that was seeking to operate a controversial mining project near Nome. The Corps said on Friday it denied IPOP LLC’s application for a wetlands-fill permit for a gold-dredging operation that would have affected about 195 acres at Safety Sound and Bonanza […]
Alaska park managers preparing for loss of some of the state’s most iconic attractions: glaciers
On the route to one of Alaska’s most-viewed glaciers, there is little doubt about the destination. Visitors drive on Exit Glacier Road to get to the Exit Glacier trailhead of the 1-mile Exit Glacier trail that takes them to the face of Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. Now, with the climate continuing to […]
First shipment of new COVID-19 booster signals shift in fight against disease
More than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alaska, the fight against the disease is pivoting from testing to vaccine boosting. Fall is here and winter is coming, and health officials are encouraging Alaskans to view vaccine boosters as part of the normal preparation for the time of year when people spend more time […]