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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Legislators this week have reached the half-way point of the scheduled 90-day session, with the House working toward finalizing its version of the state operating budget and a Senate committee working on a measure geared toward curbing and containing state Medicaid costs. Bill that would keep Planned Parenthood from providing sex education in schools and restrict how the Board of Regents regulates concealed handguns on university campuses have garnered recent attention. But the Senate remains on schedule with its review o...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Fishing industry and lawmakers on Thursday puzzled over the origins of a proposed one percent tax increase in fisheries business taxes and fishery resource landing taxes. During a hearing on the bill by the House fisheries committee, fishermen testified that they did not understand the origins of the increase. It is expected to raise $18 million in new revenue for the state annually, according to the Department of Revenue. It is one of six proposed industry taxes from Gov. Bill Walker, including increases to mining, m...
Fishing lives and fishing wives are set to be showcased for a national audience; one as a documentary and the other, on reality television. The first, an hour-long feature called Last Man Fishing, focuses on the lifestyles and challenges facing our nation’s small-scale fishermen. “We’re from Indiana and we realized there is a disconnect between the consumer and where their fish is coming from,” said JD Schuyler who is co-producing the documentary with his wife, Kelley. “We want to bridge the gap of people appreciating seafood, while also unde...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A newly released report from the University of Alaska projects a significant drop in state spending this year on the construction industry. The annual report from the university’s Institute of Social and Economic Research presented to the Associated General Contractors of Alaska and the Construction Industry Progress Fund says construction spending in 2016 is expected to drop 18 percent from last year to $7.3 billion, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. The report also shows that oil and gas construction spending, whi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s gaping budget deficit is expected to be the focus of the legislative session beginning this week. But the road to a solution may be rocky, with differing ideas for how to help close the deficit and difficult choices that could significantly impact state services. A continued drop in oil prices adds urgency to legislators’ work, as does the ongoing draw-down on savings to help cover state costs. North Slope crude peaked around $66 a barrel last year, a crash from the prior year, and fell below $30 last week. For R...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will no longer be able to smoke, vape or chew tobacco on campus starting Thursday. The change comes after the University of Alaska’s board of regents approved a policy last year banning the use of tobacco and tobacco-related products across all campuses. UAF was the only campus that failed to meet this year’s Dec. 1 deadline, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. Kris Racina, UAF associate vice chancellor of university and student advancement, said campus officials wante...
The year 2015 was largely a good one for Wrangell, with the appearance of several new businesses, large infrastructural developments undertaken by businesses, the formal opening of the Tribe's cultural center, and a balanced financial outlook for the city despite tumultuous budget negotiations in Juneau. The state deficit will remain the largest issue moving ahead into 2016, as will continued mining developments in Canada along shared waters. January On Jan. 12 and 14 the first of three sets of...
Caught by Alaskans for Alaskans is a business concept that bested 170 others in a global fisheries business competition last month at Stanford University in California. The contest, sponsored by Fish 2.0, awards creative approaches that build demand for sustainable seafood, reduce waste and support fishing towns. The Alaska Community Seafood Hub model, presented by Kelly Harrell of Anchorage, won $5,000 in cash and is in the running for more money to be awarded this month. Fish 2.0 builds the knowledge and connections needed to increase...
The call is out for products to compete in Alaska’s most celebrated seafood bash, and another new category has been added to the mix. For the 23rd year, the Symphony of Seafood in 2016 will showcase innovative new products that are entered both by major Alaska seafood companies and small ‘mom and pops’- such as last year’s top winner: Pickled Willy’s of Kodiak for their smoked black cod tips. All entries are judged privately by a panel of experts in several categories, based on the product’s packaging and presentation, overall eating expe...
PETERSBURG – United Fisherman of Alaska members gathered in Petersburg last week when it conducted its 2015 Fall Board Meeting. Board members representing 35 Alaska commercial fishing organizations began their meeting Tuesday Oct. 27 where representatives of Governor Mallott, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Alaska Anchorage and other independent commercial fishing agencies gave presentations to the board. Much of the time was devoted to internal discussion regarding seafood industry taxes and fees and was not open to the p...
Wrangell High School's annual study of the Chief Shakes Glacier is wrapping up its study measuring the mass of ice's steady retreat into the mountains. "We're in our fifth year right now," explained teacher Jenn Miller, who has coordinated the study each year since its start in 2011. With the cooperation of the United States Forest Service, the group lands close to the glacier's face and takes measurements, which are then compared to the previous year's. Miller explained R&M Engineering...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Researchers have uncovered a new species of plant-eating dinosaur in Alaska, according to a report published Tuesday. The animal was a variety of hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur that roamed in herds, said Pat Druckenmiller, earth sciences curator at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks. Northern Alaska likely was once covered by forest in a warmer climate. The dinosaur lived in darkness for months and probably experienced snow, researchers said. The fossils were found in rock deposited 69 million years ago. F...
Wrangell Medical Center's Board of Directors announced Robert Rang will take over as the hospital CEO once Marla Sanger steps down Oct. 30. Rang is currently the long-term care administrator for the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. He will relocate to Wrangell the first week of October and begin working on Oct. 12, allowing him three weeks to work alongside Sanger as he transitions into the position. When Sanger announced her intention to step down in June, her employer PeaceHealth confi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The University of Alaska plans to eliminate or suspend a number of majors this year to deal with an ongoing budgetary squeeze on the state’s public universities. The university system has slated 31 academic programs for removal, including 21 at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Juneau Empire reported. “Sometimes having three of something isn’t as good as having one strong something,’’ UA president candidate Jim Johnsen told the Juneau Empire. The university system has $15 million less to work with this fiscal year...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – More dead whales have been found in the Gulf of Alaska following the sightings of nine fin whale carcasses in late May and early June. Fishermen, pilots and survey crews have reported five additional dead whales over the past several weeks, including four humpbacks and one fin whale, the Alaska Dispatch News reported. One theory is that the whales died from a toxin related to warmth-induced algae blooms in the Gulf of Alaska waters, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks marine mammal specialist Kate Wynne. But s...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The increase in the number of women prisoners in Alaska more than tripled that of male inmate growth between 2004 and 2013, according to a study by University of Alaska Anchorage researchers. The statistics released Monday show that the female inmate population grew by about 87 percent over the 10-year period, while the number of male inmates grew by about 24 percent. The study also found that close to a quarter of all admissions to Alaska Department of Corrections facilities were women, reported The Alaska Dispatch N...
Former resident, Katie Marley (Miller), of Anchorage recently graduated from the University of Alaska. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. She is employed with Alyeska Service Pipeline Company in Anchorage and is also expecting her first child with husband Casey....
ANCHORAGE (AP) – After months of negotiations, the Alaska Legislature on June 11 approved a $5 billion budget that reduces spending while tapping the state’s reserves to help with multibillion-dollar deficits brought on by low oil prices. The plan now goes to Gov. Bill Walker, whose administration had been preparing for a partial government shutdown next month in case a fully funded budget isn’t reached. During a news conference that afternoon, Walker said state workers who had been notified they could be laid off will get better letters “advis...
Twenty-two seniors graduated from Wrangell High School last Friday. This year's graduating class donned their gowns and mortarboards and walked the aisle in front of friends and loved ones in a confetti-strewn ceremony at the school gym that afternoon. "All of our seniors are headed out in different directions, but all of them have worked very hard to get to this point," said Lisa Nikodym who helped the students prepare for post-graduation. "Wrangell High School staff and myself are very proud...
How much are fishermen affected by long term health problems like hearing loss, lack of sleep and high blood pressure? A pilot study aims to find out and researchers are using the 500-plus members of the Copper River salmon driftnet fleet as test subjects. “The Copper River fishing season lasts five months and most of the fleet is very digitally connected so it seemed a great fit,” said Torie Baker, a Sea Grant Marine Advisory Agent in Cordova. Baker is the point person for the project being done by the School of Public Health at the Uni...
At last weekend's Stikine River Birding Festival, residents and visitors flocked to the Nolan Center to learn more about their feathery, flighty neighbors. While there were birding tips, arts shows and craft displays to enjoy, the festival also took on a more serious note regarding threats to the future of species' populations. Of particular concern for marine species are the short term and cumulative effects of discarded plastics. On Friday evening, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)...
Lovers choose lobster as the top Valentine’s Day dish to share with that special someone. Crab legs and shrimp also get the nod as ‘romantic meals’ on Feb. 14 - one of the busiest dining out days for U.S. restaurants. In a national survey by Harris Interactive, chefs called lobster an “exotic delicacy that results in an intimate moment because it is hand-held and shareable.” In fact, respondents called all shellfish ‘a catalyst for connection like no other food.’ The links between seafood and love have a long history, including the belief th...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – State education commissioner Mike Hanley said the department, schools and districts will have to work to find efficiencies in light of the state’s budget deficit. But he said education will have to be protected at some level and expects there to be a conversation as to what that level should be. Alaska faces a projected multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid a crash in oil prices. Gov. Bill Walker has said he wants to insulate education to the greatest extent possible, but he also has said nothing is off the table as the...
7 Fish Picks and Pans Biggest fish wait and see: Senator-elect Dan Sullivan. Trickiest fishing conundrum: Sea otters vs. fisheries in Southeast Alaska. Best fishing career builder: University of Alaska/Southeast for its hydraulics and vessel electronics courses, fish tech training – all available on-line. Best Fish Givers: SeaShare, which has provided close to 200 million fish meals to food bank networks since 1994. Biggest fishing industry critic using questionable “facts:” Craig Medred, Alaska Dispatch News. Best fish reality show: Kodia...
Alaska seafood innovators are getting serious about ‘head to tail/inside and out’ usages of fish parts, and they see gold in all that gurry that ends up on cutting line floors. Fish oils, pet treats, animal feeds, gelatins, fish scales that put the shimmer in nail polish – “almost anything that can be made out of seafood byproducts has increased in value tremendously in the last few years,” said Peter Bechtel, a US Dept. of Agriculture researcher formerly at the University of Alaska. In today’s climate of planet consciousness “co-product...