Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
Pebble Mine to clear environmental review this week, but is it ‘practicable’?
The Pebble Mine becomes a step closer to reality this week but legal questions remain.
State reports 49 new cases in daily COVID-19 count
After days of relatively high case counts, a slight reprieve: State health officials on Friday reported that they've identified just 49 new cases of COVID-19.
Caribou heart was ‘a gift,’ says activist after disruption at Sullivan event
An activist brought a caribou heart to protest Sen. Sullivan's support of drilling in the Arctic Refuge.
Seward’s SeaLife Center warns it may have to close and send its animals away
The survival of the SeaLife Center is in jeopardy. It has a $2 million hole in its budget.
Bill to hobble development of ANWR and Tongass advances in US House
A House committee approved a bill that would erect barriers to oil development in the Arctic Refuge and logging in the Tongass National Forest.
Wealthy and well-connected Alaska firms among those gaining most from PPP
The SBA has released the names of Alaska companies that scored the largest share of Alaska's $1.2 billion in PPP funds.
BP and Hilcorp can keep business info private, state regulator says
Hilcorp and BP don’t have to publicly disclose details surrounding the sale of BP’s assets.
Sullivan disparages NYT report that Russia paid Taliban bounties to kill Americans
Sen. Sullivan casts doubt on a New York Times report that Russia paid the Taliban to kill American troops.
Defund the police? Murkowski says no. But she says they don’t need bayonets.
Sen. Murkowski is against defunding police, but she wouldn’t mind disarming them of weapons of war.
Alaska’s economy is headed for an ‘income cliff’ at end of July
Economists say $600 weekly payments to the unemployed are greasing the gears of the local economy. Those payments are set to end in less than a month.
Court rules Native corporations can receive CARES Act money intended for tribes
A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that Alaska Native corporations are eligible for part of the $8 billion intended to help tribes respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alaska Native vets from the Vietnam War era may lay claim to 160 acres
The Bureau of Land Management is trying to reach some 2,200 Alaska Native veterans to let them know they can lay claim to 160 acres apiece.
Got symptoms? In Anchorage, you can now get a COVID drive-thru test without a note from your doctor.
“At this time, we don't have any concern" about demand outstripping supplies, says city Health Department Director Natasha Pineda.
State employees urge passage of another big coronavirus relief bill
The federal bill ASEA wants includes hazard pay for essential workers, and money for state and local governments
Murkowski praises DACA decision and revisits her controversial vote on impeachment witnesses
Sen. Murkowski cheered the continued protection for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children.
Anchorage Police chief says his department is committed to ‘dignity and respect’
Chief Justin Doll says APD officers are taught to intervene if a colleague is out of bounds, and to report fellow officers for any misconduct they witness.
Developers of proposed Pebble Mine offer dividends to everyone in Bristol Bay, hotbed of mine opposition
Register now, the company says, and payments will begin with construction. "Shameless" says one leading opponent.
Your questions about traveling through Canada, answered
We’ve had several questions from listeners about whether they can cross the Canadian border to go to or from Alaska. Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin looked into it and has a few answers.
Interior Department appointee violated ethics pledge, IG finds
The Inspector General's report doesn’t include names, but it appears to be about Steve Wackowski, the top Alaska advisor at Interior.
Murkowski’s Trump ‘struggle’: Her goals for Alaska vs. her values
She likes what he does but not what he says.