Briefs
Alaska Legislature votes to preserve savings accounts for education, ferry system
Hours before the end of the Alaska Legislature’s regular session, the state Senate voted 14-4 to approve a bill that will keep the state’s Higher Education Investment Fund and two ferry-system-related savings accounts from being automatically drained at the end of the fiscal year. The bill had already passed the state House. The investment fund […]
Biden administration’s pause on Ambler road project gets court approval
A federal judge has granted the Biden administration permission to reconsider a controversial Trump administration-approved road that would cut through the Brooks Range foothills. In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason approved the Department of the Interior’s plan to partially reevaluate the impacts of the proposed 211-mile Ambler Access Project while […]
President Biden to visit Anchorage briefly on Thursday
President Joe Biden will stop briefly in Anchorage on Thursday during a flight from Washington, D.C., to Asia. The president’s stopover was revealed in a notice published this week by the Federal Aviation Administration. According to the notice, Air Force One and supporting aircraft will stop in Anchorage sometime between 1:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. […]
Feds sue Alaska over management of Kuskokwim fisheries
The federal government sued Alaska’s state government and the state Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday, saying in a filing at the U.S. District Court in Anchorage that the state illegally opened the Kuskokwim River for salmon fishing. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block similar future actions by the state. Low salmon returns […]
After two-year COVID hiatus, tours on Pribilof island set to resume
Two years after becoming one of the most sealed-off locations in the United States, St. Paul Island is reopening to visitors. St. Paul Island Tour, a business within the Unangan-owned TDX Corp., is resuming its operations after a pause forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. An email blast sent out last week revealed a lot of […]
Alaska inflation similar to U.S. trends, but a sharp departure from recent past
The annual inflation rate for the Anchorage area was 7.5% as of April, nearly matching the annual national rate that was most recently measured at 8.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. The close match between Alaska and national economic trends is noteworthy, said Neal Fried, a senior economist with the Alaska Department […]
Alaska tops nation in overdose death increase
Alaska had the national biggest increase in drug overdose deaths in the past year, far outstripping rate increases in other states, the Centers for Disease Control reported. A report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said Alaska had 75.3% more overdose deaths in 2021 than in 2020, compared to an national average of […]
Alaska House proposes naming new bridge after Don Young
Alaska’s longest single-span bridge would be named after former Congressman Don Young under legislation passed Wednesday by the Alaska House of Representatives. The House voted 36-2 to name the planned Juneau Creek bridge on the Sterling Highway after Young, who died earlier this year after 49 years in office. Reps. Ron Gillham, R-Kenai, and David […]
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy planning trip to East Asia, letters show
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is planning a trip to East Asia, accompanied by the president of the state-owned corporation backing a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline, according to letters released in a public records request. The two men are seeking support for the pipeline project, known as Alaska LNG. “All conditions permitting, I plan to travel […]
Dictionary decides Alaska Supreme Court case
The Alaska Supreme Court said last week that a dictionary definition of “official misconduct” was the key factor in proving the legality of a recall election against Anchorage Assembly Member Meg Zaletel. On Friday, the court released a legal opinion in a two-year-old, now-resolved dispute over a recall campaign seeking to remove Zaletel from office. […]