Alaska News Nightly: May 11, 2009

Ice on the Kuskokwim
Ice on the Kuskokwim

Photo Provided by Office of Lt. Governor Sean Parnell

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Kuskokwim Villages Battling High Water; Schools Canceled
Angela Denning-Barnes, KYUK – Bethel
Lower Kuskokwim villages are being inundated with high water since an ice jam released below the village of Akiak this morning.
School was canceled in five villages near Bethel because of high flood water.

Yukon River Floods Steven’s Village
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
Steven’s Village is the latest Yukon River community to be flooded. National Weather Service hydrologist Ed Plumb says yesterday’s
flooding at Steven’s Village resulted when a 35 mile long ice jam formed downstream from where the Yukon flows under the bridge on the Dalton Highway.

Emergency Managers Set Priorities for Flooded Eagle
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
State emergency managers at Eagle have set two immediate priorities following last week’s record flood that hammered the community’s waterfront, and severed the transportation, power and communication links with the native village upstream of the city.

Cruise Ship Crew Member May Have Had H1N1 Virus
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
A crew member aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Serenade of the Seas has what Alaska’s chief medical officer is calling a probable case of H1N1 virus, the so called swine flu.

Alaska’s Kim Elton Talks About His New Job at Interior Department
Libby Casey, APRN – Washington
The Interior Department has a huge influence in Alaska. It controls most of the land in the state, and oversees wilderness, national
parks, and oil and gas leases. Its agencies include the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Fish and Wildlife Service. So the job of the Interior Secretary’s special assistant on Alaska issues also has a far reach. Kim Elton took the Washington-based job this winter, leaving Juneau, which he’d represented in the Alaska legislature for 15 years.

Fish Shown to Feel Pain
Anne Hillman, KUCB – Unalaska
A new study shows that fish feel pain and react to it as many mammals do – by being more cautious.

Legislature Has Long List of Unfinished Business
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
Alaska’s legislature left a lot of unfinished business when it adjourned about last month. Energy development, student loan forgiveness
and other issues will be back on the table when lawmakers resume meeting next January.

Ocean Ranger Says Monitoring Program is Improving
Rebecca Sheir, KTOO – Juneau
The first ocean ranger to go public says the environmental-monitoring program is improving.

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