Refrigerators, foam buoys and even ketchup bottles are piling up on Alaska’s beaches. It’s debris from the devastating Japanese tsunami in the spring of 2011. One of the hardest hit beaches is on Montague Island at the entrance to Prince William Sound. APRN’s Annie Feidt visited the beach with a marine debris expert and has this story.
In the legislature, a bill that would increase funding for schools has been introduced. A team of nine Democrats want to peg what’s called the “Base Student Allocation” to inflation. That allocation gives school $5,680 for every student they have enrolled, and it’s remained at the same level for the past three years.
The public got its first chance to comment on Gov. Sean Parnell’s proposal to cut taxes on oil companies on Tuesday, and most of the testimony broke along familiar lines.
The Anchorage School District Superintendent has recommended a budget which eliminates more than 200 jobs. Counseling services could be hit especially hard. KSKA’s Daysha Eaton visited Service High School in Anchorage where staff and students are worried about the impact of the cuts.
Eagle-human relations in Unalaska are usually relatively peaceful. But for a few months each springtime they can turn violent as the eagles attempt to protect their nests. Last week, the city took preemptive action to ward off future attacks.
Matanuska Valley’s dairy industry has shrunk to two farms since the shutdown of the Matanuska Creamery in December. A new dairy enterprise may keep both of them afloat for the time being.
There was a shooting in a West Anchorage apartment Tuesday afternoon. Police say the victim was seriously injured and knew the suspect, who is still being sought. They say there were several other people in the apartment at the time – no identities released yet. Officers say the place was full of bear spray when they arrived, but were not yet ready to say why.
John Minge will leave his Alaska job and move up to become the Chairman and President of BP America in a couple of weeks. Minge has headed BP’s Alaska operations since 2009. He will replace Lamar McKay, who is moving up to head the oil giant’s Upstream operations worldwide.
I headed down to Homer, Alaska for the day in hopes to score some surf. Unfortunately the wind was howling and the shore break was a sloppy mess.
Once the sun started going down, I got a call from Mike McCune. He told me he might know where some waves are. He took me to a local secret spot off the beaten path but only a short hike down from the road.
