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Wrangell mourns victims of Friday’s plane crash
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
Wrangell residents are mourning the loss of three members of their community in Friday’s plane crash on Admiralty Island.
Power Cost Equalization Fund could pay for community assistance
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
The Senate Finance Committee is looking to re-route money from a fund to offset the high cost of electricity in rural areas. Some Power Cost Equalization money would replace the Community Revenue Sharing program that the state government started when oil prices were higher.
Alaska House postpones vote on oil tax bill – again
Rachel Waldholz, APRN – Anchorage
For the second time in two days, House lawmakers have postponed a final vote on the governor’s controversial oil tax bill.The bill is a cornerstone of Governor Bill Walker’s efforts to close the state’s $4 billion dollar budget deficit. Walker’s proposal would have brought in more than $400 million dollars a year by raising the minimum oil tax and rolling back subsidies to smaller oil companies.The House has scaled the bill back significantly.The Republican-controlled majority still doesn’t have the votes to pass it.
Congress seeks to privatize air-traffic control
Liz Ruskin, APRN – Washington D.C.
Congress is back in Washington this week. High on its to-do list is passing an FAA bill before legal authority for the aviation agency expires in mid-July. The House bill includes a controversial provision that would privatize air-traffic control, but that bill is in a holding pattern and hasn’t been approved by the full house. The Senate is trying to pass its own bill. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said it’s good for passengers.
Crews search for two missing on Bear Glacier
Daysha Eaton, KBBI – Homer
A helicopter carrying a rescue crew has landed at the base of Bear Glacier in the Harding Ice Fields, near Seward. They’re looking for two hikers who were stranded over the weekend.
Missing kayaker presumed dead
Emily Kwong, KCAW – Sitka
A 41-year-old Sitka man — missing in a kayak since Thursday morning — is presumed dead. The Coast Guard suspended the search for 41-year-old Jesse Mills Friday afternoon. Mills was reported missing by his wife after he failed to return from a solo kayaking trip on Wednesday night.
State Senate passes criminal justice overhaul bill
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
The state Senate voted 16-2 on Saturday to pass a bill overhauling Alaska’s criminal justice system.
“We Are AVCP” claims tribal representatives seeking transparency on recent controversies
Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK – Bethel
Tribal representatives from across the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta met in Bethel earlier this week to hold what they called a special convention of the Association of Village Council Presidents, or AVCP— the regional, tribal non-profit for 56 villages across the YK Delta. The goal of the meeting was two-fold: to discuss forming a regional tribal government and to get answers to recent controversies surrounding AVCP. But the group left with their questions unanswered.
‘In Amundsen’s Footsteps’: Expedition re-traces route of explorer’s 1905 Journey
Tim Ellis, KUAC – Fairbanks
An international team of explorers returned last week from a grueling 700-mile dog-sled journey from the Arctic Ocean to Eagle, Alaska. They were the first to re-trace the route that legendary explorer Roald Amundsen took in 1905 after his historic transit of the Northwest Passage.
