Looking Back: April 20, 2018
April 20, 2008 - Jars of Cambodian bats, the tusk of a narwhal and the pelt of an amur tiger are just three of the multitude of mammal specimens at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
Category Archives: Alaska
Oil, gas drilling in pristine Alaska refuge takes step ahead
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an airplane flies over caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska.
Cash-strapped Alaska eyes earnings from oil wealth fund
Tillion, a former state legislator, has suppor... . In this March 13, 2018, photo, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker speaks by phone to a reporter not physically present for a media availability at the governor's mansion in Juneau, Alaska.
Smith Bay is Caelus Energy’s development just southeast of Barrow.
Caelus Energy wants to develop the Smith Bay prospect just southeast of Barrow. Company officials said last year that they've applied for between $75 million and $100 million in cash tax credits from the state for work done at Smith Bay and elsewhere, but that drilling work at the site has been delayed.
Alaska residents line up to apply for the Permanent Fund dividend on…
The Alaska House is putting its state budget plan on the back burner so it can work on a constitutional amendment to create stronger protections for the Permanent Fund dividend program, lawmakers said Thursday. The move from the largely-Democratic House majority is still in its early stages, and before the proposal can go before voters, it has to clear a high bar - passing by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.
We need to demand that our government protect free speech on the internet
In this day and age, it is close to impossible for anyone to get through life without using the internet. That reality is even more true here in Alaska, where larger distances separate us and we have less infrastructure to connect us.
House committee scales back draw from permanent fund earnings
Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, center, chairs the House Finance Committee shortly before it passed its version of the state budget in March 2017. On Tuesday, the committee voted to reduce the proposed draw from permanent fund earnings.
Murkowski: Bill would create new Native corporations
A proposed bill would give 100,000 acres of federal land in total to Native groups in five Southeast Alaska towns, according to Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski discussed the proposed legislation Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, saying a major component of the legislation involves the formation of Native corporations in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Tenakee and Haines.
Delegation to Zinke: Thanks, but no thanks, for huge leasing plan
Alaska's congressional delegation has asked Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke to exclude most of the state from his draft plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. Earlier this month, Zinke had proposed opening 14 of Alaska's 15 offshore planning areas, all but the North Aleutian Basin in Bristol Bay.
Alaska lawmakers unite to establish permanent funding for Children’s Health Insurance Program
Permanent funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, a federal program providing health insurance for children in lower income families, ran out in September.
Optimism for Alaska in 2018
As Alaskans, there's no doubt we face significant challenges, including high crime rates, domestic violence and sexual assault, thousands of Alaskans struggling with addiction, and a continuing recession that has left too many without jobs.
Tax hike for cruise industry dropped amid Alaska concerns
The cruise industry has dodged a tax increase after Alaska's U.S. senators helped strike the provision from the tax bill that passed the Senate. The bill approved early Saturday includes other provisions that Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan hailed as significant for Alaskans, including allowing oil and gas drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
GOP Inches Closer To Opening ANWR To Drilling
Legislation to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration advanced out of a Senate committee on Wednesday, largely along party lines. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, joined with GOP lawmakers to pass ANWR legislation in a 13-10 vote.
Alaska senators tell Trump they want mountain’s name to stay
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the Alaska mountain came up during an hourlong meeting he and fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski had with Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in March. Sullivan said during a weekend speech to the Alaska Federation of Natives that Trump asked if the senators thought the name change from Mount McKinley to Denali should be reversed, the Alaska Public Radio Network reported .
A look back at the original Alaska Purchase
Wednesday marks the 150th anniversary of the US taking possession of Alaska following the 1867 purchase of the territory from Russia. The idea of an "Alaska Purchase" saw a renaissance last month, when the phrase was borrowed to describe the possibility of sweeteners in the GOP health care bill meant to woo Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Trump’s sellout of American heritage
The last runs of heavenly wild salmon are trickling in this month, the buttery coho with flesh the color of fall foliage. After that, we'll have to settle for mostly farmed and frozen fish until next spring - no substitute for the real deal.
An Interview with Alaska Governor Bill Walker
On August 25th, Governor Bill Walker, our second Alaskan born governor, arrived in Seward to spend some personal time here with his wife Donna in celebration of their fortieth wedding anniversary and to take part in the Lost Lake Run benefiting those with cystic fibrosis; a cause that is close their hearts as their daughter-in-law has cystic fibrosis. The governor mentioned that he likes to take the opportunity to thank those that participated in the run while raising money for a good cause.
Walker signs two bills in Ketchikan: Governor approves Deer Mt. land exchange and AMHS ship naming
Gov. Bill Walker was back in Ketchikan on Thursday, signing two bills into law, one of which Sen. Lisa Murkowski excitedly called "a win-win-win situation!" The governor, who was in town on Saturday for the Blueberry Arts Festival, was already back on Thursday with a whirlwind of handshakes, photo-ops and signatures.
Zinke calls to Alaskans draw look by watchdog
The Interior Department's internal watchdog is examining phone calls to Alaska's Republican senators from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke seeking support for the GOP health care bill. Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall said her office was launching a "preliminary investigation" of Zinke's July 26 calls to Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.
Trump’s threat deserves swift kick
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks at a town hall meeting at Bartlett High School in Anchorage on Saturday, May 20. Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks at a town hall meeting at Bartlett High School in Anchorage on Saturday, May 20. How dare you, Mr. President, from your Twittering perch in distant Washington, threaten a senator from Alaska - or any senator - with damage to her state's share of public interests because she voted not your views but her own carefully considered views on a matter of concern to Alaskans. Apparently you think that Alaskans are so attuned to top-down dictatorial styles of government that they will punish Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the polls at your direction.