Daily Archives: February 16, 2012
Crews Continue to Respond to Exploratory Well Blow Out
Gas is still flowing intermittently from an uncontrolled exploratory drilling well on the North Slope. The well suffered a blow out Wednesday morning. It’s located on land, a few miles from the Beaufort Sea. Cathy Foerster is the engineering commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She says the well is releasing a mix of gas and water.
Egan’s Retirement Choice Bill on the Move
A state Senate panel has advanced a bill giving Alaska’s public employees a choice of retirement systems.
Anaktuvuk Pass Residents Lobby Against Road to Umiat
Residents from Anaktuvuk Pass are in Juneau this week to lobby against a proposed road to Umiat, an area with oil and gas potential. The state wants to build the road as part of its “Roads to Resources” program. But community members say it would disrupt the caribou herds they depend on for subsistence.
A-CAP Report Says Climate Change Predictions Proving True
Climate change predictions are coming true. That’s the finding in an updated report from the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy or “A-CAP.” The recently released draft report includes input from a variety of stakeholders.
Last-Place Musher Will Be Allowed to Finish Yukon Quest
The final teams in the Yukon Quest continue to make their way into Whitehorse, but there are still two at Pelly Crossing, more than 250 trail miles from the finish line.
Remaining Mushers Making Most of Quest Experience
The back of the packers may not be as competitive as the frontrunners, but as KUAC’s Emily Schwing reports, they’re making the most of their Yukon Quest experience.
National Guard Save Man in Red Devil
A young man in the small Kuskowim River village of Red Devil was saved after two National Guardsmen parachuted through a storm at night to give him medical attention.
Alaska News Nightly: February 16, 2012
Crews Continue to Respond to Exploratory Well Blow Out, Egan’s Retirement Choice Bill on the Move, New Attorney General Plans to ‘Fight the Good Fight’, ConocoPhillips: Current Taxes Cut Long-Term Plans, Anaktuvuk Pass Residents Lobby Against Road to Umiat, A-CAP Report Says Climate Change Predictions Proving True, Last-Place Musher Will Be Allowed to Finish Yukon Quest, Remaining Mushers Making Most of Quest Experience, National Guard Save Man in Red Devil
New Attorney General Plans to ‘Fight the Good Fight’
Newly appointed Attorney General Michael Geraghty made his first appearance before legislators today to talk about the budget, pending litigation – and what he calls the state’s “proactive” role in state’s rights litigation.
ConocoPhillips: Current Taxes Cut Long-Term Plans
Discussing the state's current oil tax regime -- called Aces -- Conoco-Philips Vice President Scott Jepson told the Senate Resources Committee, "Basically, Aces puts a haircut on your long-term profitability."
“Persepolis” and the Middle East Today
Since the publication of its first volume in 2003, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis has rightly received critical and scholarly acclaim. Time, Newsweek and the New York Times praised Satrapi’s autobiography, both for its innovative use of comic-book format and for the insight it provides into life in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Iran.
I have assigned the book to students in my courses at Temple University, La Salle University, and the University of Alaska Anchorage with good results, so I was pleased to hear that Anchorage Public Library had selected Persepolis for this year’s Anchorage Reads.
Read more.
“Babies on Track” Stimulating Child Brain Development
More than 160 premiere events are set to raise the curtain on Best Beginnings’ Babies on Track, a 14-minute DVD for parents. More than 80 villages, towns, and cities across Alaska took up the call to roll out the red carpet from February 25 through March 4.
Best Beginnings produced Babies on Track to foster early learning and healthy brain development.
Learn more.