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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska ferry system is expected to receive an initial injection of $10 million in federal coronavirus recovery funding, officials said. The allocation for the Alaska Marine Highway System is part of $29 million in funding that the state received for rural transit needs from the Federal Transit Administration, CoastAlaska reported Saturday. The state had initially said the amount was $5 million but corrected the figure to $10 million on Monday without providing further...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Native cultural organization is suing luxury retailer Neiman Marcus, saying the Dallas-based company violated copyright and American Indian arts protection laws in selling a knit coat with a geometric design borrowed from indigenous culture. In the federal lawsuit filed Monday, Sealaska Heritage Institute maintains the retailer falsely affiliated the $2,555”Ravenstail’’ coat with northwest coast native artists through the design and use of the term, Ravenstail. The plaintiffs say the Ravenstail term and sty...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Some midsize coastal towns in Alaska have voiced opposition to state rules barring the communities from establishing their own restrictions on workers arriving for the fishing season. Updated guidelines issued by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy say only the smallest, most isolated towns and villages can restrict travel or require mandatory quarantine for workers in industries the state deems critical during the coronavirus pandemic, CoastAlaska reported Wednesday. The April 9 amendment allows special rules to be drafted o...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Opponents have lost a court case against the proposed copper and gold mine near a major salmon fishery in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could withdraw a”proposed determination’’ about potential negative mine impacts dating from 2014, Alaska Public Media reported Sunday. The determination had concluded the mining project, named the Pebble Mine, posed too great a threat to the salmon-rich waters of Bristol Bay. The judge’s ruling was...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A public warning was issued to Alaska residents about the dangers of fentanyl after multiple overdoses were reported this week from people who took counterfeit pills designed to look like oxycodone, health officials said. The Alaska Department of Public Safety alerted residents Friday after discovering fraudulent tablets containing fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, the Anchorage Daily News reported. No further information on the nature and location of the overdoses was immediately available. The blue tablets had a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Initial unemployment claims in Alaska are down slightly from a historic high, but they are about 12 times what is typical for this time of year amid the economic fallout from coronavirus concerns, according to a state official and government figures Thursday. Initial claims for the most recent reporting week totaled 12,007, said Lennon Weller, actuary for the state’s unemployment insurance system. That compares with 14,590 claims the prior week, which the state labor department said far exceeded anything in Alaska’s histor...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An oil exploration firm has discovered a deposit of potentially 1.8 billion barrels in Alaska’s North Slope region south of Prudhoe Bay, the company said. Pantheon Resources PLC said it located the deposit along the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline System corridor, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. The London-based company made an updated evaluation of an old exploration well and used information gleaned from recent nearby drilling, officials said. The prospect, called Talitha, could be the lat...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state forecast released Monday shows projected revenues down sharply from an estimate issued several months ago, with low oil prices and economic impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak cited as factors. The state Revenue Department projects unrestricted general fund revenue of $1.6 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, and $1.2 billion for the year starting July 1, excluding scheduled transfers from earnings of the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. That is down from projections of $2.1 billion and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will work with communities, industry leaders and others as it makes decisions on how to proceed in reopening sectors of the economy impacted by the coronavirus. Dunleavy said key to this will be monitoring case numbers. As of Tuesday, Alaska had reported 285 total cases of COVID-19, and nine deaths related to the coronavirus. The health of Alaskans will be a top consideration, Dunleavy said, adding he doesn’t “want anyone to get the wrong idea that we’re going to put the economy ahe...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —Four employees at a state-run prison in Juneau have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Monday. No staff at other Department of Corrections facilities have tested positive, and no inmates within the system have tested positive, department spokeswoman Sarah Gallagher said by email. Three recent cases in Juneau have involved staff from the Lemon Creek Correctional Center. Results from a fourth case came in as positive but given reporting protocols will show up in the state’s count Tuesday, according to the state hea...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The largest private landowner in Alaska has criticized a state agency for using an emergency meeting intended to discuss the coronavirus to set aside $35 million for a mining road in northwest Alaska. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority approved funding for the proposed 200-mile (320-kilometer) industrial road, which would stretch from Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District northeast of Kotzebue and cross Gates of the Arctic National Park to access an undeveloped copper-zinc mineral belt, the A...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)– Alaska government officials and fishing industry professionals are making plans to ensure the state can have a strong summer salmon season amid changes forced by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Alaska’s chief medical officer says the state has a fisheries work group looking at how small communities can handle influxes of fishermen and processing workers while adhering to health guidelines, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. “We know the fish are coming regardless of COVID-19 or not and we can’t ask the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)–An Alaska official trying to promote participation in the national census has urged residents to file their forms online and by phone as the state falls behind the national response average. The push for remote filing comes as efforts by the U.S. Census Bureau to collect residency data have been been hampered by the cornoavirus pandemic, Alaska Public Media reported Monday. The outbreak prompted the agency to close field offices and delay door-to-door interviews. The national response rate stands at nearly 43%, but l...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced wide-ranging budget vetoes Tuesday amid a collapse in oil prices, citing expectations that many of the larger cuts, including aid for schools and local governments, would be offset through use of federal funds tied to COVID-19 relief. Some legislators questioned whether the money can be used that way. “There is no guarantee that the federal government will pick up the tab. This approach is incredibly troubling to me,”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, said in a state...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has launched a new virtual school for Alaska students in partnership with a Florida program, garnering some criticism from educators adjusting their lessons to online teaching amid the coronavirus pandemic. The state of Alaska signed a $525,000 contract through February 2021 with the Florida Virtual School, which had enrolled about 80 Alaska students by Friday, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. “The ‘fourth-quarter solution’ that is suggested through the purchase of this Flo...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers fell short of a self-imposed goal of completing their most pressing work Friday, with key measures, including a state spending package and bills related to the coronavirus, yet to be finalized. Friday marked Day 67 of a legislative session that, under the constitution, can run up to 121 days, with an option to extend further. But many lawmakers are eager to get home amid concerns with the coronavirus, and Friday was targeted by legislative leaders as a goal for completing work seen as more critical. Senate...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaskans will have more time to apply for a Permanent Fund dividend this year. Anne Weske, director of the state division that determines dividend eligibility, on Tuesday said applications submitted before midnight on April 30 will be considered timely for the 2020 filing season. She said by email the action is related to a bill passed last weekend by lawmakers. The filing deadline had been Tuesday. But a bill passed by the Legislature, extending Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s public health disaster emergency declaration over the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers early Sunday approved a budget that set this October’s oil wealth fund check to nearly every single Alaskan at about $1,000, but did not approve a second dividend intended to help residents struggling with the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus. Lawmakers worked into the early morning hours to approve the budget, and then took an extended recess to allow members to go to their homes in response to the coronavirus. The Senate in its budget plan had included a $1,000 economic stimulus pay...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced the winners of the 2020 annual tag recovery incentive drawing for sablefish tag returns. The winners are: 1. Dale Bosworth, Petersburg, $1,000 2. Paul Sorenson, Kenai, $500 3. Bruce Bauer, Juneau, $500 4. Glenda Huff, Gig Harbor, WA, $250 5. James Phillips, Pelican, $250 6. Jim Hubbard, Seward, $250 7. William Hammer Jr., Port Townsend, WA, $250 All persons who return an ADF&G sablefish tag receive a tag reward (e.g., hat or t-shirt). Tag returns with valid recovery information...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Senate approved a budget provision Monday that would give residents a $1,000 payment as a way to blunt economic impacts from the coronavirus. The provision, an amendment to a larger state spending package, passed 12-7 after the Senate rejected a proposed $1,300 stimulus payment. The underlying budget passed 17-1 later in the day, with Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold voting in opposition. The House will have to decide whether to agree to what passed the Senate. If theHouse does not agree, differences typically a...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ They're tired of the deaths and multiple rescues near a decrepit old bus whose legendary status continues to lure adventurers to one of Alaska's most unforgiving hinterlands, and now officials in the nearest town want it removed, something the state has no intention of doing. The long-abandoned vehicle was made famous in the 1996 "Into the Wild"book and later in the movie of the same name. Scores of travelers have been rescued and two have died trying to cross the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Spread of the coronavirus, with businesses considered nonessential also ordered to close to the public. The order was to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday and last for two weeks. It orders Juneau residents to stay at home as much as possible, except to work in critical jobs, get health care, groceries or other goods deemed critical and get fresh air without contacting others. People, when they do venture out, are to stay at least six feet from others outside their household when possible. An extensive list of businesses deemed...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Democratic Party will hold its party-run presidential primary exclusively by mail and is moving back the deadlines for returning and tabulating ballots. The party announced Monday it is canceling in-person voting sites planned for April 4 due to concerns with the coronavirus. But it is extending the deadline to return ballots by mail. Originally, ballots were to be postmarked by Tuesday. The party now says they must be received in Anchorage no later than April 10 to be counted. Results are expected no l...
As the governor’s Alaska Marine Highway Reshaping Work Group gets underway, our directive is clear: chart a sustainable, long-term path that delivers the transportation services our coastal communities need with the reliability, safety and efficiency that all Alaskans deserve. As group chair, I am fortunate to share this endeavor with experienced and talented individuals representing a wide swathe of Alaskan perspectives. While I won’t speak for my teammates, I know that each is committed to delivering a work product that positions the system f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A pair of Alaska communities meant to receive supplemental ferry service under a state agreement with a private contractor are waiting for the ships to arrive. Gustavus and Pelican had not yet received ferry service by Wednesday despite a contract to provide temporary transportation following budget cuts and mechanical issues that halted the Alaska Marine Highway System, CoastAlaska reported. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities signed a Feb. 26 agreement with urban Native corporation Goldbelt I...
