JUNEAU — A bill that stalled in the Senate last year over concerns it limited public involvement in permitting decisions resurfaced Monday. But critics say the reworked version of HB77 being considered by the Senate Resources Committee doesn’t go far enough in addressing those concerns.

Two of the more controversial pieces of that bill dealt with general permits and who could apply for water reservations to guarantee certain levels of flow in a river or stream for things like fish and habitat protection.

JUNEAU — Borough mayors want to ensure they have a say on terms that will affect local communities and be negotiated by the state in pursuit of a mega-liquefied natural gas project.

JUNEAU — Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty is pushing back against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after it took a step that could ultimately lead it to prohibit or restrict development of a massive gold-and-copper prospect in the Bristol Bay region.

The EPA announced Friday that it was exercising a rarely used authority under the Clean Water Act to protect the region’s world-premiere sockeye salmon fishery from large-scale mining.

JUNEAU — U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said Monday that Alaskans should never amend the state constitution as a “fix” for education.

Proposed constitutional amendments pending before state lawmakers would allow for public money to be used for private or religious schools. Supporters see this as a way to allow for more choice in where parents send their kids, but critics fear it could siphon needed money from public education. Republican Gov. Sean Parnell has called on state lawmakers to debate the proposal and send it to voters to decide.