News

A Ketchikan company has been awarded a $2.6-million sale of second-growth timber on an island in Southeast Alaska. The state of Alaska prepared and awarded the contract for logging on federal land on Kosciusko Island under an agreement with the federal government.

The future remains bright for the cruise industry in Alaska, a cruise line association president said Monday during a shared during a luncheon. Cruise Lines International Association Alaska president John Binkley delivered the optimistic news to the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau and Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce.

The Department of Corrections is the largest mental health care provider in the state, and the administrators at Spring Creek Correctional Center want to make it one of the most effective, too. They’re treating inmates who have mental illnesses with new innovations — porches and paintings.

The beluga whale population in Cook Inlet has been steadily declining since the 1970s. The number of whales in the area today is just a third of what it once was, and the Alaska Department of Fish Game wants to help belugas recover.

Southeast Alaska will open to commercial fishing for red king crab this fall for the first time in six years. The crab population has seen a steady increase, according to state surveys.

The administration has waived the Jones Act for Puerto Rico. Under the law, only U.S.-flagged ships are allowed to move goods between U.S. ports.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski chairs the energy committee. Opening the refuge to drilling is a top priority for her, as it’s been for Alaska’s congressional delegation for 40 years.

In Alaska, big fall storms are often associated with the jet stream.

A plan to reform the Alaska Marine Highway calls for replacing some ferries with smaller, more efficient vessels. It would be run by a public corporation.

In contrast, Alaska’s health care exchange rates are going down in 2018.

A first of its kind study shows plastic contamination in tap water from sources around the world. Scientists say they don’t know how plastic fibers reach household taps — or, what the health implications might be. Experts are concerned these fibers may transfer toxins, acting as a kind of shuttle for dangerous chemicals from the freshwater environment into the human body.

The extraordinary sight of a 30-foot long dead humpback whale that washed up on a beach area in Anchorage has drawn dozens of onlookers, despite a NOAA warning to stay away.

The latest Senate effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is dead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday canceled a planned vote after too many Republicans declared they would not support the Graham-Cassidy bill.

Desa Jacobsson is remembered for her weeks long fasts and multiple arrests to call attention to violence against Alaska Native women, Native rights, subsistence and environmental issues.

An economic study commissioned by Juneau’s Docks and Harbors projects 1.5 million cruise ship visitors in 10 years. The city is developing an urban plan for the downtown waterfront as visitors numbers increase.

David Evenson is accused of punching and kicking Aaron Monette in the head June 30 at the downtown Juneau transit center. Monette died five days later in Seattle.

Electrical components from the second floor of the house at 526 Seward Street are being sent to the Seattle office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Baranov Museum in Kodiak Alaska is contracting with Juneau-based museum design firm ExhibitAK to help with redesigning its exhibits.

Republicans conceded that their latest Obamacare repeal-and-replace push does not have the votes. It’s yet another embarrassment for GOP leadership and President Trump.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers are investigating the death of a black bear found behind the Mendenhall Mall. Investigators suspect the unlawful killing is related to ongoing trash issue in the area.