https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240508-News-Update.mp3 In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly wants the city to ask community organizations if they’d be interested in continuing to care for graveyards on Douglas — with potential funding, An audio postcard from this years MMIP Awareness Day in Bethel ..read more

Members of the Alaska House and Senate vote on the confirmation of state Board of Education and Early Development member Bob Griffin on May 5, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media) The Alaska Legislature shot down one of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s nominees to the state Board of Education and Early Development on Tuesday. Members of the House and Senate objected to what they said were ethics violations by Bob Griffin, who has sat on the state board for five years. The 21-39 bipartisan vote came during a joint session set aside for votes on Dunleavy’s appointees to his cabinet and various boards and ..read more

Artist rendering of the Polar Security Cutter design. (VT Halter Marine/Technology Associates, Inc.) The Coast Guard’s plan to build three heavy icebreakers is five years behind schedule and the price has ballooned to $5.1 billion from an initial estimate of less than $2 billion, according to projections from Congressional Budget Office and other watchdogs. “The Coast Guard originally aimed to have the first PSC (polar security cutter) delivered in 2024, but the ship’s estimated delivery date has been delayed repeatedly and is now expected to occur no earlier than fiscal year 2029,” Ron O’Rour ..read more

The Norwegian Encore berths in Juneau in Oct. 2022. (Clarise Larson/ for the Juneau Empire) The FBI arrested a cruise ship employee in Juneau on Tuesday afternoon, the day after he allegedly stabbed multiple people with scissors aboard the Norwegian Encore.  Ntando Sogoni, 35, of South Africa was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In an interview, FBI Public Affairs Officer Chloe Martin said the agency continues to investigate the case.  “This was an isolated incident, and there’s no threat to other passengers,” she said.&n ..read more

https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240507-News-Update.mp3 In this newscast: Juneau’s annual workshop on How to Run for Local Office is this Saturday, and October’s municipal election is already shaping up to be an interesting one, A proposal headed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries next year would change how a popular run of king salmon is managed near Petersburg, Tongass Voices: Haa Tooch Lichéesh Coalition members find inner strength through ocean dipping ..read more

Michael Beasley drops a ballot into a drop box at the City Hall Assembly Chambers on Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Clarise Larson / for the Juneau Empire) Juneau’s annual How to Run for Local Office workshop is happening on Saturday. It gives anyone a chance to ask questions and learn about what it takes to campaign for the Juneau Assembly or School Board.  Current and former members will offer advice to prospective candidates for this October’s municipal election. Peggy Cowan with Juneau’s League of Women Voters said the workshop is a chance for people to learn the ins and outs ..read more

Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee discuss their first-draft budget on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) A key Alaska House committee has approved funding for the most school maintenance projects in several years — from new roofs to copper pipe and electrical replacements. The finance committee advanced a $552 million construction and renovation spending plan that includes a huge increase for school maintenance. If adopted, the $63 million earmarked for major maintenance projects would be the most approved by the Legislature since 2011. “We need everythi ..read more

People dipping with Haa Tooch Lichéesh Coalition at Auke Recreation Area on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO) This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond. Haa Tooch Lichéesh Coalition is a nonprofit that offers Indigenous-based healing practices and reconciliation with the violent history of colonization and its impacts on Juneau’s community today. One of these traditional practices is a dip in the ocean, for strength and healing. It’s methodical and intentional — participants walk in up to their kne ..read more

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Monday announced a new state awareness campaign called “One Pill Can Kill,” aimed at addressing the fentanyl crisis in Alaska. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media) Alaska officials have announced a new awareness campaign aimed at highlighting and combating the growing danger of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan announced the “One Pill Can Kill” campaign at an Anchorage news conference Monday. Sullivan said that Alaska’s 40 percent increase in drug deaths from 2022 to 2023 was larger than any other state. “Alaska is under attack,” S ..read more

Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee, at left, listen to budget aide Remond Henderson during a break in amendment discussions on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Members of the Alaska House have refused a request by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority for permission to borrow up to $300 million for unspecified mining-related projects. On Friday night, the House Finance Committee removed the requested bonding authority from House Bill 122, which was originally written to allow the Alaska Railroad to borrow money. AIDEA’s request for up to ..read more