Justice
Alaska state school board advances proposal to ban trans girls from girls high school sports teams
Alaska’s state school board voted almost unanimously Thursday to advance a proposed regulation that would bar transgender girls from playing on girls’ high school sports teams in the state. The vote will open a 30-day public comment period. After that period, the board will consider amending, rejecting or adopting the proposal. The decision comes amid […]
Court filings provide mixed picture of Ambler road progress
A federal decision on the controversial plan to build a 211-mile road through the Brooks Range foothills to provide access for mining development might come a few months later than previously anticipated, according to recent court documents. However, other recent legal developments indicate positive signs for the road’s prospects. The Bureau of Land Management, the […]
Hate groups’ political influence growing, watchdog says
WASHINGTON — More than 1,200 hate and anti-government extremist groups were active across the United States in 2022, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest report on the nationwide prevalence of extremists who target people of color, LGBTQ people, Jewish communities and other religious minorities. While the overall number of hate and anti-government groups […]
State roughly halves the number of Alaskans waiting on food aid, but more than 8,000 remain
The state says it has worked through thousands of backlogged applications, but thousands more Alaskans are still without food benefits.
Alaska Airlines asks federal judge to dismiss mask lawsuit brought by former senator
Alaska’s leading airline has responded to a lawsuit from a former state senator, saying the legal claim “contains multiple deficiencies,” and asked a federal judge in Anchorage to dismiss it. Former state Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, sued Alaska Airlines in April, saying the airline violated her constitutional rights when it banned her from its […]
Alaska state school board considers rule that would limit transgender athletes
The state of Alaska is proceeding with plans to limit transgender students’ ability to participate in sports and activities. On June 8, the state board of education will consider a regulation that would bar transgender student-athletes from participating in school sports and activities under their gender identity. It would limit students to either multi-gender sports […]
Alaska Supreme Court finds former North Pole refinery owner liable for pollution
The former owner of a North Pole petroleum refinery is financially liable for groundwater pollution that has contaminated drinking-water wells around the refinery, the Alaska Supreme Court said in a ruling published Friday. “While we’re still reviewing the decision in its totality, this is a huge win for the public, for the environment, and for […]
State Supreme Court offers new insight into 2021 dispute that brought Alaska to shutdown’s brink
No, the Alaska Attorney General may not sue the Legislature’s administrative wing to bypass a clause of the Alaska Constitution. That was the Alaska Supreme Court’s conclusion in a Friday ruling that offered a longer explanation for a brief decision issued in 2021 during a budgetary dispute that threatened to send the state into a […]
Alaska justices rule against Dunleavy administration in long-running union-dues lawsuit
The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed that the state of Alaska will not be allowed to go ahead with a plan intended to make it more difficult for state employees to participate in a union. In a ruling released Friday, the court upheld and confirmed a lower-court decision that found the state acted illegally when […]
Alaska has more than half of America’s wetlands. A new ruling could change how they’re managed
A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court likely exempts large areas of wetlands in Alaska from federal regulation under the Clean Water Act, a decision that has alarmed environmentalists and could speed road construction, mining and other development projects here. The decision, in a case known as Sackett v. EPA, means that the Environmental […]
Bills on drug crimes and confinement of offenders fall short in Alaska Legislature
Two criminal-justice bills remain pending in the Alaska Legislature after Wednesday’s adjournment of the 2023 session, even though each passed one of the bodies. The first bill would reclassify drug-overdose deaths as second-degree murders instead of manslaughter cases. It passed the House on May 11 but failed to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. […]
Legislature votes to allow Alaska prisons to issue state IDs
The state’s prison system could soon issue state IDs to prisoners who don’t have one. A newly passed bill is intended to ease prisoners’ reentry into society after incarceration. The House passed Senate Bill 119 on Saturday with a unanimous vote. The Senate passed it last week. Valid ID is required for everything from getting […]