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.
VA relieves contractor of role in appointments
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will return to using its own employees to make appointments for Alaska veterans who need services outside the VA system. Download Audio
Juneau cooking prodigy sails to White House on a crêpe
An amateur chef from Juneau has won a White House-sponsored recipe competition, and he’s just 9 years old. Denali Schijvens will attend a Kids’ State Dinner in July, hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama. Download Audio
Memo: US Attorney General to visit Alaska Friday
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch intends to visit Alaska on Friday. She plans to discuss public safety concerns of Alaska Natives communities and tribes. Download Audio
Non-candidate Joe Miller issues campaign-ish press release
Joe Miller didn't file to run for U.S. Senate this year, but the Republican issued a statement last night that has the look of a campaign press release.
As Stock flies non-partisan banner, bits of blue show through
Fifteen candidates are running for Lisa Murkowski’s U.S. Senate seat. Only one Murkowski challenger, though, has already raised a sizable war chest: Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock. While Democrats recruited Stock to run, Stock insists she’s no Democrat. Download Audio
Sullivan says surprise candidacy followed call to Joe Miller
Ex-Anchorage mayor Dan Sullivan says he didn’t want to file for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's seat until he knew who else was running. Late in the afternoon, he spoke to Murkowski’s 2010 rival, Joe Miller. Download Audio
Ex-Mayor Dan Sullivan challenges Murkowski
Former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan is apparently challenging U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican Primary. The news, broken by an ADN reporter on Twitter, raises the prospect that Alaska would have two Republican U.S. Senators named "Dan Sullivan." Download Audio
Juneau man captures story of icebreaker Storis in labor-of-love documentary
Congress is considering funding a new icebreaker to serve in the Arctic. It would be a heavy, polar-class Coast Guard cutter, to get through thick ice. But size isn’t everything when it comes to Coast Guard ships. A Juneau man has made a film about the Storis, a dainty icebreaker by polar standards, that rescued mariners and enforced the law along Alaska’s coast for almost 60 years.
Young, Murkowski to do ‘double whammy’ on energy bill
Alaska Congressman Don Young will have a say in drafting the final version of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s energy modernization bill. That’s because the U.S. House passed its own energy bill this week, to match the Murkowski bill already passed in the Senate. House leaders then picked Young to serve on the conference committee that will negotiate a compromise between the two bills. Download Audio
Bill with $1B for icebreaker advances to Senate
The Arctic is one step closer to having a new U.S. icebreaker. The full Senate Appropriations committee this morning passed a bill that includes $1 billion for a heavy duty polar ship. The panel also approved millions in Defense and Coast Guard spending likely to go to Alaska, and to Kodiak in particular. Download Audio
U.S. Senate bill includes $1B for icebreaker
A U.S. Senate panel has passed a bill that includes $1 billion to build a new polar icebreaker. The subcommittee on Defense Appropriations put the money in the Navy's budget. It’s far from a done deal, though. Download Audio
‘Eskimo’ and ‘Aleut’ scrubbed from 2 U.S. laws yet live on
President Obama has signed a bill that removes the words “Oriental,” “Eskimo” and “Aleut” from two federal programs. But contrary to some social media posts, the new law doesn't make the terms illegal and no one is barred from using them.Download Audio
Do Arctic villages need oil? Point Lay leaders say no
In Washington, both sides of any Arctic drilling dispute want to show they have locals on their side. Sen. Lisa Murkowski bolstered her case for more offshore leasing with the help of an Arctic Slope mayor. He testified that communities like his need the industry. But other Arctic residents sat in the back of the hearing room, passionately opposed to offshore drilling. Download Audio
Plastics, once America’s darling, now foreign villain on Alaska shores
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan chaired a hearing in Washington this morning on marine debris, and he if there was consensus on what the focus should be. "Plastics?" Download Audio
Trump campaign reveals list of Alaska Republican co-chairs and supporters
Alaska Republican leaders from all parts of the GOP spectrum are uniting behind Donald Trump for president. On Monday, the Trump campaign’s Alaska branch released a list of honorary co-chairs. Download Audio
Feds may finally sell Anchorage lot where Archives never went
The federal government owns about 60 percent of Alaska, but its portfolio is about to shrink, just a tiny bit. Congress this afternoon passed a bill allowing the federal government to finally shed ownership of a nine-acre lot in Midtown Anchorage, once planned as the Alaska home of the National Archives. Download Audio
Sullivan: U.S. economy nothing to boast about
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan gave the weekly Republican address on Saturday. The Alaska senator took the opportunity to bash President Obama for what he says is an anemic economy.
Hot, dry conditions have Alaska fire pros on alert
The images of a wildfire raging through subdivisions in Fort McMurray, Alberta last week were horrifying. Firefighters say the fire season is already well underway in Alaska, too, and they need citizens to do their part to keep their communities safe. Download Audio
Shell forfeits Arctic leases once worth $2b
Months after halting its exploration of the Chukchi Sea, Shell is now giving up all but one of its leases there. It will keep the parcel that includes Burger J, the sole test well it completed in its $7 billion Arctic exploration program. Download Audio
GOP supports mandatory drug-testing for welfare applicants
The Alaska Republican Party wants to require drug testing for welfare recipients. That’s one of the new planks it added to the party platform at its convention in Fairbanks over the weekend.