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JUNEAU (AP) — A conservative Republican freshman state legislator announced plans Monday to run for governor, joining a field that includes Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, former independent Gov. Bill Walker and former Anchorage Democratic state lawmaker Les Gara. Rep. Christopher Kurka, of Wasilla, announced his plans in a video on social media in which he levied criticisms at Dunleavy. “The dirty little secret of Juneau and Washington, D.C., is that while most conservative officials talk tough about Republican ideals, very few have the int...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A man charged with threatening the lives of Alaska’s two U.S. senators has pleaded not guilty, and the judge decided that he will remain in custody. Jason Weiner, an attorney for Jay Allen Johnson, entered the plea on his client’s behalf during Johnson’s arraignment in U.S. District Court in Fairbanks on Nov. 22. Johnson at the hearing greeted U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Oravec by saying: “Good morning, Happy Thanksgiving, and I’m sorry I’m here today.” Johnson, from the small Interior community of Delta Junction, was i...
The state says it will stop paying extended unemployment benefits because the jobless rate has declined, ending a third program of enhanced or extended financial aid for Alaskans jobless during the pandemic. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced the state’s extended benefits period will end Dec. 11, Anchorage television station KTUU reported. The extension — which has been in place since May 2020 — provided Alaskans the opportunity for additional weeks of unemployment benefits, which range from $56 to $370 a week...
A federal judge on Monday blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states, including Alaska, that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement. The court order said the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact the vaccine mandate for providers participating in the two government health care programs for the elderly, disabled and poor. The injunction does not apply to several hospitals across A...
JUNEAU (AP) — The federal government said Nov. 18 that it’s beginning the process of repealing a Trump-era rule that permitted road building and logging in the Tongass National Forest, home to about 60,000 people and habitat for wolves, bears and salmon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a proposed measure to repeal last year’s Forest Service rule will be published for public comment this week, beginning a 60-day process. The previous rule exempted more than 9 million acres in the Tongass from a 2001 nationwide rule that banne...
Tribes nationwide will receive an infusion of federal money from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to expand broadband coverage, fix roads and address water and sanitation needs. The measure does not allocate funds to individual tribes on a per-capita basis as did the 2020 CARES Act or 2021 American Rescue Plan. Much of the overall infrastructure funding will be distributed as competitive grants through federal agencies. Funds also will be directed to the states, with lawmakers making the decisions on which projects to undertake. The...
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A coalition of 10 states, including Alaska, sued the federal government on Nov. 10 to block a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers, adding to resistance by Republican-led states against the pandemic policies of President Joe Biden’s administration. It’s the third such lawsuit Alaska has joined against vaccination rules. The latest lawsuit filed in a federal court in Missouri contends that the vaccine requirement threatens the jobs of millions of health care workers and could “exacerbate an alarming sho...
A divided Alaska Redistricting Board voted last week on a final map that could give one of the more conservative areas of the state, Eagle River, a second seat in the state Senate. All three board members appointed by Republican elected officials supported the map. The two who were not appointed by Republicans opposed the map. In addition to redrawing the boundaries for the state’s 40 House seats, the board had to decide the pairings of two House districts each to create 20 Senate seats. It was those Senate district boundaries that prompted l...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska doctors plan to ask the State Medical Board to investigate concerns about the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments by other physicians. Merijeanne Moore, a private practice psychiatrist, said she drafted the letter out of concern over an event about COVID-19 treatments that featured prominent vaccine skeptics in Anchorage last month. Moore said last Saturday that nearly 100 doctors had signed the letter and more could before she plans to submit the letter this week. “We are writing out of con...
JUNEAU (AP) — Kelly Tshibaka, who is running for the Alaska U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Republican Lisa Murkowski, has announced plans for a fundraiser hosted by former President Donald Trump in February at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “It’s a great honor to have the endorsement and enthusiastic support of President Trump and I am thrilled that he will be hosting this event,” Tshibaka said in a statement Nov. 3. Tshibaka, a former commissioner of the state Department of Administration under Gov. Mike Dunleavy, announced plans in...
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial and had called for his resignation after the Jan. 6 insurrection, announced last Friday she will run for reelection in 2022. Trump, who has focused on punishing his political opponents, has endorsed top Murkowski opponent Kelly Tshibaka, saying "Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska." Murkowski pushed back in a campaign video that promotes her as "independent and tough." "In...
JUNEAU (AP) — Wildlife officials have announced a one-month trapping season for wolves on and near Prince of Wales Island, despite concerns conservationists have raised about the population. A statement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Forest Service announced state and federal trapping seasons will run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. The statement cited a fall 2020 Fish and Game estimate of 386 wolves, which it called the most current estimate and one that was higher than expected “considering it followed a reported harvest of...
SEATTLE (AP) — Of the 109 cargo containers that went overboard from a cargo ship that caught fire near British Columbia last month, 105 have not been seen, according to the Canadian Coast Guard. In all, 57 tons of potassium amyl xanthate, used in mines and pulp mills, and thiourea dioxide, used to manufacture textiles, were aboard the Zim Kingston in four containers: two that fell overboard and the two that caused the onboard fire, the Seattle Times reported. The two containers containing hazardous materials are among those that have not b...
Majestic, increasingly hungry and at risk of disappearing, the polar bear is dependent on something melting away on our warming planet: sea ice. In the harsh and unforgiving Arctic, where frigid cold is not just a way of life but a necessity, the polar bear stands out. But where it lives, where it hunts, where it eats is disappearing underfoot in the crucial summertime. “They have just always been a revered species by people, going back hundreds and hundreds of years,” said longtime government polar bear researcher Steve Amstrup, now chief scie...
Attorneys general in 11 states, including Alaska, filed suit last Friday against President Joe Biden’s administration, challenging a new vaccine requirement for workers at companies with more than 100 employees. The lawsuit filed in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argues that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government. “This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise,” said the court filing by Missouri Attorney General and political candidate Eric Schmitt, one of sever...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state corporation that paid $12 million in public funds for federal oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the final days of the Trump administration is suing federal officials over what it calls improper actions that are preventing activities on the lands. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority alleges federal officials have overstepped the law in suspending lease-related activities. The lease sale was held in January, shortly before President Joe Biden took office. Soon after taking o...
JUNEAU (AP) — Tribal and municipal government programs are trying to help child care providers in Juneau, but challenges remain even with higher wages and bonuses covered by the financial aid. Little Eagles and Ravens Nest Child Care Center has advertised continuously for positions since opening in February 2020, before the pandemic took hold. Pay starts around $17 an hour, and entry-level jobs come with tribal government benefits. “We now offer professional development courses and classes that we pay for. As well as … university credits that...
By Anita Snow and Terry Tang The Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) - Canadians Ian and Heather Stewart are savoring the idea of leaving behind this winter's subzero temperatures when the U.S. reopens its borders to nonessential land travel this week and they launch a long-delayed drive to their seasonal home in Fort Myers, Florida. Restrictions imposed by both countries during the coronavirus pandemic and their own concerns kept the retired couple and millions of other Canadians from driving south...
After more than 18 months without Canadian visitors, Haines could see an influx of RV traffic and coho fishermen this week. The U.S.-Canada border reopened for fully vaccinated Canadians on Monday. With coho still running and Yukoners long cut off from the sea, the quiet days of the pandemic in Haines could be waning. “Be prepared to maybe see a bunch of RVs,” said Haines Borough tourism director Steven Auch. “We’re looking forward to finally getting to see our friends we’ve been separated from forcibly for so long,” said Alaska Rod’s co-ow...
JUNEAU (AP) — The braking system on a plane carrying 42 people that overran a runway at Unalaska in 2019, killing a passenger, was compromised by anti-skid sensors that were not correctly wired, the National Transportation Safety Board determined. The incorrect wiring likely occurred during an overhaul at the landing gear manufacturer’s facility in 2017, but it was not discovered until after the accident, the Nov. 2 report said. The system “does not generate a fault (warning) based on incorrect wiring,” the report said. Also, the plane was not...
KENAI (AP) — An impromptu fundraiser to allow a Kenai library to purchase books amid accusations of censorship has twice surpassed its goal. The fund was established after the Kenai City Council delayed accepting a federal grant until the library director provides a list of the books that would be purchased with the money. The council voted Oct. 20 to postpone action that would have accepted a grant to buy library materials related to health and wellness, including mental health, suicide prevention, self-care and reference books about Medicare...
Alaska and 17 other states filed three separate lawsuits last Friday to block President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors, arguing that the requirement violates federal law. Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming signed on to one lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Missouri. Another group of states including Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia filed a lawsuit in f...
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations have declined to the point where the islands are welcoming travelers once again. Gov. David Ige said vacationers and business travelers were welcome to return to the islands starting Monday. His Oct. 19 announcement came nearly two months after he asked travelers on Aug. 23 to avoid Hawaii because case counts were surging with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant and hospitals were becoming overwhelmed. The state didn’t impose any new travel quarantine restr...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have extended for nearly three more months its rules that cruise ships must follow to sail during the pandemic, adding that the government will move to a voluntary program next year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the extension makes only “minor modifications” to rules already in effect. The agency said that after Jan. 15 it plans to move to a voluntary program for cruise companies to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their ships. The current regulations, calle...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The board of the Alaska Railroad has voted unanimously to rescind a requirement for all of its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Initially, railroad employees were supposed to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 to comply with vaccine requirements ordered by President Joe Biden that, in part, required vaccination for employees of contractors doing business with the federal government. The railroad is a federal contractor. An email sent to railroad employees on Oct. 22 said the railroad must meet the standard. But the board decis...