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Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, and Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, listen during a House Resource Committee hearing at the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017.

Pre-filed bill would require rape kit testing within six months

On Monday, Alaska House Rep. Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) pre-filed public safety legislation that would require the timely testing of sexual assault/rape kits in Alaska. HB… Continue reading

Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, and Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, listen during a House Resource Committee hearing at the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy meets with his cabinet members and gives attending media a list of his administration’s priorities at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. The 31st Legislative Session opens next Tuesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dunleavy vows to crack down on crime, restore PFD

New governor, new cabinet.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy meets with his cabinet members and gives attending media a list of his administration’s priorities at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. The 31st Legislative Session opens next Tuesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, speaks during a legislative session at the Capitol in January 2017. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire file photo)

Anchorage rep pre-files bill on contraceptive access

On Monday, Rep. Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) filed HB 21, which aims to provide greater access to reproductive health care and prescription contraceptives for women across… Continue reading

Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, speaks during a legislative session at the Capitol in January 2017. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire file photo)
Gov. Bill Walker talks about his four years as governor during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire) Gov. Bill Walker talks about his four years as governor during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Walker laments how fiscal crisis dominated tenure

Walker reflects.

Gov. Bill Walker talks about his four years as governor during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire) Gov. Bill Walker talks about his four years as governor during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
National Forest System Acting Deputy Chief Chris French speaks at a public informational meeting on Thursday on development of an Alaska-specific version of the national Roadless Rule. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Skepticism at first Alaska Roadless Rule meeting

As rulemaking process begins, Juneau meeting draws out public’s skepticism.

National Forest System Acting Deputy Chief Chris French speaks at a public informational meeting on Thursday on development of an Alaska-specific version of the national Roadless Rule. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
Angela Rodell, Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, speaks about the positive results of the fund this year at the APFC office on Thursday, July 26, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska Permanent Fund continues to beat market, but returns drop slightly from last year

The investment managers at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation have once again beaten the market.

Angela Rodell, Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, speaks about the positive results of the fund this year at the APFC office on Thursday, July 26, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
A school of pink salmon splashes in the shallows of Resurrection Creek near its confluence with Cook Inlet on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 in Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Salmon initiative would criss-cross state jurisdictions, officials say

Beyond just the cost and politics of Ballot Measure 1, state administrators have expressed concern about who would be in charge of what land. Ballot… Continue reading

A school of pink salmon splashes in the shallows of Resurrection Creek near its confluence with Cook Inlet on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 in Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
A herd of Dall’s sheep graze on the side of one of the peaks in the Mystery Hills above the Skyline Trail in September 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Fish and Game expands monitoring for harmful sheep, goat bacteria

The state is asking hunters to bring in the heads of the animals they’ve harvested this season so biologists can test for a dangerous bacteria.… Continue reading

A herd of Dall’s sheep graze on the side of one of the peaks in the Mystery Hills above the Skyline Trail in September 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry

Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry

The state is warning people about a phone scam targeting people on sex offender lists. The Alaska State Troopers issued a public safety advisory Wednesday… Continue reading

Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry

Fish board denies emergency petition on hatchery permit

The Board of Fisheries declined to take up an emergency petition related to hatchery pink salmon production in Prince William Sound, though members agreed the… Continue reading

Kodiak hatchery experiments with salt water exposure to mark its pink salmon

Editor’s note: This is the third part of a three-story series about the operations of Alaska’s salmon hatcheries and their consideration in the North Pacific.… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018, near Moose Pass. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Hatchery-marked salmon important for management, international relations

Editor’s note: This story is the second in a three-part series about the operations of Alaska’s salmon hatcheries and their impact on the North Pacific.… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018, near Moose Pass. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018 near Moose Pass, Alaska. Pacific salmon raised in hatcheries are usually exposed to predetermined sets of hot and cold water cycles before they hatch, leading to dark and light rings on their inner ear bone, called an otolith, that biologists can later read to track where the salmon came from when it returns as an adult. Staff at Trail Lakes Hatchery raise all the association’s sockeye salmon, which are hatched, imprinted and distributed to the organization’s various operations across Cook Inlet, from China Poot Lake in Lower Cook Inlet to Shell Lake. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

A look into how salmon hatcheries mark their fish

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a three-story series about the operations of Alaska’s salmon hatcheries and their impacts in the North Pacific.… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018 near Moose Pass, Alaska. Pacific salmon raised in hatcheries are usually exposed to predetermined sets of hot and cold water cycles before they hatch, leading to dark and light rings on their inner ear bone, called an otolith, that biologists can later read to track where the salmon came from when it returns as an adult. Staff at Trail Lakes Hatchery raise all the association’s sockeye salmon, which are hatched, imprinted and distributed to the organization’s various operations across Cook Inlet, from China Poot Lake in Lower Cook Inlet to Shell Lake. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska Department of Labor to use $1.2 million grant for opioid response

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development plans to use $1.2 million from the federal government for its first programs specifically to help people… Continue reading

Pink salmon mill in the shallows of Resurrection Creek near its confluence with Cook Inlet on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 in Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Groups war for voters on salmon initiative

As voters try to decide whether to support or go against a ballot measure related to salmon streams protections, the groups on both sides are… Continue reading

Pink salmon mill in the shallows of Resurrection Creek near its confluence with Cook Inlet on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 in Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Poor salmon runs result in low harvests, disaster request

Poor salmon returns across the Gulf of Alaska are putting commercial fishing catches far behind the average and prompting a request for a disaster declaration.… Continue reading

Mead Treadwell joins governor’s race at last minute

Republican voters in Alaska get to choose their gubernatorial candidate from among a former senator, a prominent businessman and a former lieutenant governor who jumped… Continue reading

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner gives a thumbs up outside the Supreme Court, Wednesday, June 27, 2018 in Washington. From left are, Liberty Justice Center’s Director of Litigation Jacob Huebert, plaintiff Mark Janus, Rauner, and Liberty Justice Center founder and chairman John Tillman. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor. (AP Photo | Andrew Harnik)

Alaska unions clobbered by Supreme Court decision

Alaska’s public-sector unions warned Wednesday that a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will have significant effects across the state. The 5-4 ruling in… Continue reading

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner gives a thumbs up outside the Supreme Court, Wednesday, June 27, 2018 in Washington. From left are, Liberty Justice Center’s Director of Litigation Jacob Huebert, plaintiff Mark Janus, Rauner, and Liberty Justice Center founder and chairman John Tillman. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor. (AP Photo | Andrew Harnik)
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, June 1, 2017.

Alaska cities, boroughs see more cash from Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior will send more than $32.3 million to local governments across Alaska as part of this year’s Payment in Lieu of… Continue reading

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, June 1, 2017.
Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet wait to be set to the a processor on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Tariffs ding commercial fishing industry

Fishermen and seafood harvesters may take a major trade hit with the announcement of new tariffs from China, though the details still aren’t clear. The… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet wait to be set to the a processor on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)