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Rep. Justin Ruffridge, left, and Sen. Jesse Bjorkman address constituents during a town hall event on Saturday, April 15, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Bjorkman, Ruffridge report back from Juneau

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s “parental rights” bill, state finances and funding for education were discussed

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, left, and Sen. Jesse Bjorkman address constituents during a town hall event on Saturday, April 15, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
In this photo provided by Christopher Hayden, a light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appears amid the aurora for a few minutes in the Alaska skies near Fairbanks, Saturday, April 15, 2023. The spiral was formed when excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours earlier turned to ice, and then the water vapor reflected the sunlight in the upper atmosphere. (Christopher Hayden via AP)

Odd spiral appears amid northern lights in Alaska night sky

The cause early Saturday morning was a little more mundane than an alien invasion

In this photo provided by Christopher Hayden, a light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appears amid the aurora for a few minutes in the Alaska skies near Fairbanks, Saturday, April 15, 2023. The spiral was formed when excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours earlier turned to ice, and then the water vapor reflected the sunlight in the upper atmosphere. (Christopher Hayden via AP)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, discusses what she considers inadequacies in state education funding during floor debate Monday, April 17, 2023, about the House’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget approved by a 23-17 vote will next be considered by the Senate, with a compromise version likely drafted to resolve differences before the end of the session.

House passes budget as final month of session begins

Senate expected to take public testimony on its proposed spending plan later this week

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, discusses what she considers inadequacies in state education funding during floor debate Monday, April 17, 2023, about the House’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget approved by a 23-17 vote will next be considered by the Senate, with a compromise version likely drafted to resolve differences before the end of the session.
Eric Osuch tries to offer papers related to his arrest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, April 17, 2023, to a reporter as Juneau Police Department officers escort him to a nearby patrol vehicle. Osuch, who was staging a solo protest about fisheries bycatch policies, was banned from the Capitol after causing a public disruption and was arrested a short time later for another alleged disturbance inside the State Office Building. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Fisheries activist arrested at Capitol

Juneau man staging solo protest disrupts committee hearing

Eric Osuch tries to offer papers related to his arrest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, April 17, 2023, to a reporter as Juneau Police Department officers escort him to a nearby patrol vehicle. Osuch, who was staging a solo protest about fisheries bycatch policies, was banned from the Capitol after causing a public disruption and was arrested a short time later for another alleged disturbance inside the State Office Building. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Feds OK exports for LNG project

Thursday’s action reaffirms a 2020 authorization by the department that was challenged by environmentalists

Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner-designee John Boyle presents information about carbon capture, utilization and storage during a Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday, April 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

State officials tout carbon capture initiatives at chamber chat

Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner-designee John Boyle attended Friday’s Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon

Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner-designee John Boyle presents information about carbon capture, utilization and storage during a Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday, April 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a crater and an ash cloud after the Shiveluch volcano erupted in Klyuchi village on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka Peninsula’s most active volcanoes, started erupting early Tuesday, spewing ash more than 300 miles northwest. Several Russian villages were covered in grey volcanic dust in the largest fallout in nearly 60 years. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Ash from Russian volcano prompts Alaska flight cancellations

The ash cloud is from Shiveluch Volcano

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a crater and an ash cloud after the Shiveluch volcano erupted in Klyuchi village on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka Peninsula’s most active volcanoes, started erupting early Tuesday, spewing ash more than 300 miles northwest. Several Russian villages were covered in grey volcanic dust in the largest fallout in nearly 60 years. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)
Mandy Iworrigan via AP In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.

Dog arrives home after sea-ice odyssey

About a month after Nanuq disappeared, people in Wales, 150 miles northeast of Savoonga on Alaska’s western coast, began posting pictures online of what they described as a lost dog

Mandy Iworrigan via AP In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.
AP Photo / Becky Bohrer Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.

Hearing pushed back for Alaska illustrator on threat charge

Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday

AP Photo / Becky Bohrer Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Local cases remain low

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 13 cases were reported this week

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)

Moose feasts on lobby plants in Anchorage hospital building

A young moose trudging through the snow looking for a meal spotted green plants in the lobby of a medical building

In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)
The American island of Little Diomede, Alaska, left, and on the right, the Russian island of Big Diomede, are seen from the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica in the Bering Strait, on July 14, 2017. The Alaska Air National Guard on April 3, 2023, traveled nearly 660 miles to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island two miles from Russia who had severe abdominal pains, a reflection of the challenges patients face in the nation’s largest state where the most remote areas have no roads and hospitals can be hundreds of miles away. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Rescue flight highlights Alaska’s unique challenges

The Alaska Air National Guard this week traveled nearly 660 miles to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island

The American island of Little Diomede, Alaska, left, and on the right, the Russian island of Big Diomede, are seen from the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica in the Bering Strait, on July 14, 2017. The Alaska Air National Guard on April 3, 2023, traveled nearly 660 miles to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island two miles from Russia who had severe abdominal pains, a reflection of the challenges patients face in the nation’s largest state where the most remote areas have no roads and hospitals can be hundreds of miles away. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
All chairs for minority members of the Alaska State House except for Minority Leader Calvin Schrage are empty during Wednesday’s floor session after absent members fled the Alaska State Capitol over a dispute with the majority about an increase in education funding. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Education funding fight prompts House minority walkout

Republican-led majority revokes funding increase as minority threatens to withhold CBR vote

All chairs for minority members of the Alaska State House except for Minority Leader Calvin Schrage are empty during Wednesday’s floor session after absent members fled the Alaska State Capitol over a dispute with the majority about an increase in education funding. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The children’s book “You Are Home With Me,” illustrated by Mitchell Thomas Watley, is shown at a bookstore in Portland, Ore. in this April 5, 2023 photo. Publisher Sasquatch books, owned by Penguin Random House, said Wednesday, April 5, 2023, it has ended its publishing relationship with Watley after he was arrested on allegations of leaving violent, transphobic notes in stores around Juneau, Alaska. Watley told police he was motivated by fear following a deadly school shooting in Nashville that sparked online backlash about the shooter’s gender identity, court records show. (AP Photo/Claire Rush)

Publisher drops children’s illustrator for anti-trans notes

The text on the notes read: “Feeling Cute Might Shoot Some Children.”

  • Apr 5, 2023
  • By Mark Thiessen and Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • NewsState News
The children’s book “You Are Home With Me,” illustrated by Mitchell Thomas Watley, is shown at a bookstore in Portland, Ore. in this April 5, 2023 photo. Publisher Sasquatch books, owned by Penguin Random House, said Wednesday, April 5, 2023, it has ended its publishing relationship with Watley after he was arrested on allegations of leaving violent, transphobic notes in stores around Juneau, Alaska. Watley told police he was motivated by fear following a deadly school shooting in Nashville that sparked online backlash about the shooter’s gender identity, court records show. (AP Photo/Claire Rush)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Borough cases hit low not seen in years

Only 12 cases were reported this week, down from 22 last week

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
A map shows the location of the Willow oil field project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where more than 200 drills are scheduled to be drilled during a 30-year period if approved. (The Associated Press)

Oil plan foes lose 1st fight over Willow project

The court’s decision means ConocoPhillips Alaska can forge ahead with cold-weather construction work

A map shows the location of the Willow oil field project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where more than 200 drills are scheduled to be drilled during a 30-year period if approved. (The Associated Press)
Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on March 28 in Juneau. Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire) Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

House bill aims to boost Alaska Performance Scholarship use

The scholarship is awarded to support education after high school graduation

Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on March 28 in Juneau. Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire) Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
This photo shows the Alaska State Capitol. (Clarise Larson/Juneau Empire File)

School staff eye retirement reform

S.B. 88, sponsored by Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, would establish a new defined benefit system

This photo shows the Alaska State Capitol. (Clarise Larson/Juneau Empire File)
Jonathan Parducho, a pharmacist, removes a tray of vials of of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox from a box containing 20 doses, in the vaccine hub at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Friday, July 29, 2022, in San Francisco. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Only 5 cases of mpox detected in Alaska

An epidemiology bulletin released by the State Department of Health on Wednesday provides a summary of Alaska’s public health response to the 2022 outbreak of… Continue reading

Jonathan Parducho, a pharmacist, removes a tray of vials of of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox from a box containing 20 doses, in the vaccine hub at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Friday, July 29, 2022, in San Francisco. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks during a meeting of the House State Affairs committee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

Carpenter, Ruffridge target state finances

The central Kenai Peninsula’s representatives in the Alaska House of Representatives have their eyes on state finances this week. Reps. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, and Ben… Continue reading

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks during a meeting of the House State Affairs committee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)