Alaska News

A recently published scientific study says the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound is less to blame for salmon and herring declines than previously thought, but critics say it’s not that simple.

A new U.S. study of polar bears off Alaska’s coasts says faster-moving sea ice brought on by rapid global warming is adding to the animals’ physiological stress. That adds to problems for polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea, research ecologist George Durner said.

Friends are welcome to attend a memorial potluck for Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver Clarissa Rizal at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.

Bogoslof volcano has a new lava dome. Cleveland volcano continues to put up ash and extrude lava, and the alert level for Pavlof volcano was raised to “advisory.”

Alaskan Robb Kulin is among the 12 people selected by NASA for the newest class of astronaut candidates. He will report to Johnson, Texas, in August, where he will begin two years of training.

Wrangell police arrested a man Thursday who allegedly stole and damaged at least eight cars and trucks during the past week. Police Chief Doug McCloskey said the man won’t be named until he’s formally charged. That could happen Friday.

State ferry service would be severely reduced if the Legislature fails to pass a budget in time to avoid a July 1 government shutdown.

A downtown tent village has sprang up near the former subport in recent weeks. The city of Juneau won’t try to close down the camp without a formal trespassing complaint from its owner, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

Chuck Keen had a vision to build a tramway to a hotel and a two-story revolving restaurant at the summit of Mount Juneau. But the project stalled when one of his companies filed for bankruptcy protection and a dispute with the City and Borough of Juneau.

The shutdown could immediately cost the state more than $150 million. The biggest reason is that the state would be required to pay laid off unionized workers for leave time they’ve built up.

Fitch, 47, is a Democrat. According to the Alaska Division of Elections, he’s the third person to file for the 2018 election. Longtime incumbent Don Young and political newcomer Dimitri Shein of Anchorage are the other candidates.

A man has died after being stabbed on a downtown Anchorage street outside a soup kitchen, Anchorage police said.

The only Alaska team in this year’s Race to Alaska has withdrawn. That means the Washington state-to-Ketchikan competition will involve mostly Pacific Northwest motorless boaters.

A Coast Guard Station Juneau crew picked up the 32-year-old who was trying to reach Point Bishop after he began taking on water.

A vehicle-to-vehicle drive-by-shooting in east Anchorage injured a 14-year-old boy early Wednesday, the Anchorage Police Department said in a release.

The Copper River king salmon return is coming in better than forecast. Predicted to be the weakest on record, at about 29,000 kings, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Upper Copper River management biologist Mark Somerville said the forecast is being questioned – given recent week’s king harvest by commercial fishers on the river’s delta.

Israel is working on a better missile to counter the threat of an Iranian launch. But Israel lives in a crowded neighborhood, so the plan is to test the interceptor in Kodiak.

The corporation is investing more conservatively so it has cash on hand in case the Legislature uses fund earnings to close the gap.

Families of recent missing persons have been contacted about the human leg pulled out of the Gastineau Channel on May 22, Juneau’s Police Chief Bryce Johnson said Monday on A Juneau’s Afternoon. But tests results on the leg could take as long as a year to be completed.

Haines’ new borough manager is breaking ground in a couple ways: she’s the first woman to ever serve as the town’s permanent manager, and she’s a local. Debra Schnabel started work Monday, although her contract has not been finalized. She takes the helm during a challenging time.