In this newscast: Alaska House Speaker Bryce Edgmon says he doesn’t see a timely budget compromise with the Dunleavy administration, Gov. Dunleavy’s refusal to pick a judge for a Superior Court seat sends the judicial appointment process into uncharted territory, JDHS students combine Western science and Native knowledge of halibut hooks in a biology class, the latest Mendenhall Glacier ice cave brings awe and peril, Ketchikan declares a hydropower emergency amid drought, and a fishery for herring spawn on kelp is underway near Craig and Klawock.
Jeremy Hsieh
Local News Reporter, KTOO
I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?
Volunteers get thumbs up on spruced-up peace sign redesign
The plan is for volunteers this summer to prune some encroaching vegetation, and to plant spruce seedlings in the footprint of the peace sign. Eventually, they expect the spruce will outgrow and contrast with the existing alders on the hillside.
Newscast – Thursday, March 21, 2019
In this newscast: Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Jason Brune addresses a friendly industry crowd, a national security expert warns that the U.S. needs to keep an eye on Russia-China cooperation in the Arctic, local volunteers get an OK to landscape the huge peace sign at the end of Commercial Boulevard in Juneau, trail conditions deteriorate rapidly amid warm temperatures in Talkeetna, and the Association of Village Council Presidents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta condemns Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget.
Newscast – Wednesday, March 20, 2019
In this newscast: Hundreds rally at the Capitol for the ferry system, another Dunleavy administration appointee withdraws amid controversy, a national advocate for limiting money’s influence in politics tours Alaska, subsistence interests on the North Slope await the Interior Department’s Arctic offshore oil and gas lease sale plan, and traditional food enthusiasts advocate for seal oil’s inclusion on the menu in public facilities.
Advocate for campaign finance amendment tours Alaska
Jeff Clements says 19 states and 800 American cities have already adopted resolutions supporting the amendment. Alaska isn’t one of them.
Newscast – Tuesday, March 19, 2019
In this newscast: State health officials propose $225 million in state Medicaid cuts, Guardian Flight recovers the cockpit voice recorder from its crashed plane, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announces a fiscal policy tour — with many events hosted by a conservative political organization, Republican members of a House education budget committee walk out in protest of what they said was a lack of transparency, and the public trashes the governor’s appointee to head the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Newscast – Monday, March 18, 2019
In this newscast: The Alaska House of Representatives creates a new committee on tribal affairs, conservation interests lose a lawsuit affecting Chilkat Valley mineral exploration, Pebble mine opponents gear up in Washington state, and a UAF researcher makes a discovery that could increase computer memory storage 10-fold.
Newscast – Friday, March 15, 2019
In this newscast: The Forest Service moves forward with a major Tongass timber sale, an expensive scientific state study comparing hatchery salmon with wild salmon comes under scrutiny, more than 100 people rally in Anchorage in a global climate strike, commercial halibut and black cod fisheries open as king salmon trolling closes, and the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery goes on two-hour notice on Sunday.
Newscast – Thursday, March 14, 2019
In this newscast: The City and Borough of Juneau has worked out an agreement with the cruise industry over how it can spend passenger taxes, Alaska’s senators in Washington split their vote over President Donald Trump’s border wall emergency, Congressman Don Young asks the Army surgeon general to investigate suicides at Fort Wainwright, rural communities weigh in on potential changes to road-building rules in the Tongass, and House officials announce plans to hold public meetings across the state on the state budget.
Newscast – Wednesday, March 13, 2019
In this newscast: Local officials and residents weigh in on the proposed state budget’s local impact at two town halls, Alaska’s Energy Desk breaks down impacts and fairness arguments over who’s entitled to North Slope property tax revenue, and Bethel musher Pete Kaiser wins the Iditarod.