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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal agency’s rejection of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in a statement last Wednesday said having a case heard directly by the Supreme Court rather than first in the lower courts is “an extraordinary ask, but it’s appropriate given the extraordinary decision being challenged.” “The EPA’s order strikes at the heart of Alaska’s sovereignty, depriving the State of its powe...
JUNEAU - A fire in the engine room of a small cruise ship in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve prompted the evacuation of dozens of passengers and crew on Monday. No injuries were reported, and the fire was extinguished, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The fire on board the Wilderness Discoverer was reported to the Coast Guard around 7:30 a.m. UnCruise Adventures, which operates the ship, said 78 passengers and crew members were on board at the time. All 51 passengers and most crew...
The IRS announced last Friday that most temporary relief checks issued by states in 2022 are not subject to federal income taxes, including the $662 energy-relief portion of last year’s $3,284 Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. Alaska legislators last year added the energy-relief money to the annual PFD of $2,622 in a move to help residents hit hard by high prices for gasoline, diesel and heating fuel. The IRS decision provides last-minute tax guidance as returns are starting to pour in. The agency said it will not challenge the taxability of paym...
WRANGELL-A shortage of pilots amid a labor dispute has forced Alaska Airlines to cancel hundreds of flights since last Friday. Pickets went up Friday at airports in Seattle and elsewhere on the airline's West Coast route system. Alaska reported it canceled 9% of its service on Friday, about 120 flights, and 7% on Saturday, which affected about 12,000 travelers that day. Flight cancellations were down to 6% on Sunday and about 3% on Monday. "We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration we...
The board that oversees Alaska's multibillion-dollar investment portfolio has fired Angela Rodell as chief executive officer of the Permanent Fund Corp. Legislative leaders and Finance Committee members are upset at the surprise decision and plan to hold hearings to ask questions. The fund this past fiscal year grew more than 25%, with record returns on its investments. The board on Dec. 9 voted 5-1 to remove Rodell. The five votes came from members last appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The...
The first 100 out-of-state health care workers have started arriving in Alaska to help at medical facilities overwhelmed with record patient counts due to surging COVID-19 infections. The state health department has contracted to bring on 470 health care workers, including about 300 nurses, to help the strained workforce. Alaska is using $87 million in federal funds to cover the costs. The first health care personnel reported to the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage for orientation on Tuesday. The contractor said the remaining nurses,...
Trident Seafoods will resume fish processing in Petersburg after a light pink salmon run brought an early end to the processing work in the Wrangell plant. Plant manager Dave Ohmer said Wednesday that 43 Trident Seafoods workers who were temporarily transferred to the Wrangell plant on June 28 have returned to Petersburg as planned. Trident Southeast Manager John Webby, who was in Petersburg Wednesday said the decision earlier this summer was made to save money as well as put employees where they’d get the most work. “We were expecting pin...
