Your resource for live music beyond the Main Stage during the 2019 Alaska Folk Festival.
Alaska
State of Alaska petitions federal government to delist Arctic ringed seals under the Endangered Species Act
In the latest chapter of an ongoing debate over the status of Arctic ringed seals, the state of Alaska has petitioned the federal government to take them off the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
Two Juneauites go from anger to consensus on the criminal justice reform debate
How a UAS associate professor and a Juneau police officer went from adversaries to allies on the criminal justice reform debate.
At Iliamna Lake hearings, residents speak out on Pebble Mine
The Army Corps of Engineers is holding public hearings on the proposed Pebble Mine. Three were held in communities on Iliamna Lake. That region — and the people who live there — would be among the most immediately impacted by the project.
Southeast Alaska researchers get rare opportunity to study a sperm whale
The species has been spotted in the Inside Passage before. But sightings are infrequent. A whale found recently near Juneau is thought to have died from a vessel strike.
Juneau Assembly begins work on ‘status quo’ budget amid state funding uncertainty
Even though it plans to adopt a final version by mid-June, Assembly members and city staff say they may have to revisit the budget later on if the state’s budget isn’t finalized in time.
Ballot initiative to move Alaska Legislature’s meetings clears early hurdle
After the sponsors get some official documents, they’ll have one year to collect more than 28,000 qualified signatures to put the question to voters in 2020.
Alaska aims to be first state receiving federal Medicaid funding as a block grant
This means the state would receive a fixed amount of federal money instead of the open-ended commitment under the current approach. It would limit the amount of Medicaid funds coming to Alaska, but allow the state more flexibility in how it operates the program.
Lawmakers amend budget to stop reimbursing municipalities for school bond debt
The vote brings the House budget back into agreement with Gov. Mike Dunleavy on the issue. If the amendment makes it into the final budget, it would shift roughly $100 million in spending from the state to municipalities.
Aboard Alaska’s endangered ferries, passengers fear a ‘giant step back in time’
Step aboard the MV LeConte, where a single trip last week showed how Southeast Alaska residents have knit the state’s ferries into their lives — and how they would adapt if the ships stopped running.