News / State Of Alaska
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State pauses J&J one-shot vaccinations
JUNEAU (AP) - The state health department said Tuesday upcoming appointments for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska are being canceled or delayed after federal agencies recommended a “pause”to review reports of rare but...
Florida sues to get cruise ships sailing again
MIAMI (AP) - The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, demanding that cruise ships be allowed to start sailing immediately. Gov. Ron DeSantis said April 8 the federal no-sail order is outdated and hurts the state as...
Anchorage mayor lifts limits on outdoor gatherings
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Anchorage will lift all limits on outdoor gatherings in a new coronavirus emergency order that will take effect on Friday night. Outdoor gatherings will no longer have capacity restrictions, though mask and social distancing...
South African COVID variant reported in Alaska
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Health officials have reported a case of a coronavirus variant in Southcentral Alaska first detected in South Africa. The Alaska case was reported as first identified in March in the region that includes Anchorage and the...
St. Paul reports first COVID case
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The island community of St. Paul, in the middle of the Bering Sea, has issued an emergency stay-at-home ordinance after its first case of the coronavirus. An essential worker tested positive on the island, the Anchorage Daily...
Gustavus residents worry that airport work with stir up contaminated soil
JUNEAU (AP) - A plan to upgrade the Gustavus airport faces criticism from residents as contractors plan to begin work on the $20 million federally funded project this month. Residents and organizations such as the Gustavus PFAS Action Coalition want...
Snowstorm forces flyers to abandon planes on Denali
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Five people had to ski through a heavy Alaska snowstorm to a mountain chalet after abandoning their airplanes on a glacier on North America’s tallest peak, where they were stranded for the weekend, officials said Monday. The five...
Anchorage schools will test hockey players, wrestlers weekly
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The Anchorage School District have implemented weekly coronavirus tests for high school hockey players after at least 64 students tested positive for the virus or were told to quarantine because they were a close contact to someone...
Ravens head to where the food is – at an Anchorage Costco parking lot
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Some Alaska Costco shoppers said they've had their groceries stolen by ravens in the store parking lot. Matt Lewallen said he was packing his groceries into his car in the parking...
State may provide COVID vaccinations at 4 airports
JUNEAU (AP) - The state health department is floating the idea of providing COVID-19 vaccinations to travelers at Alaska's busiest airports with the summer tourism and fishing seasons looming. The...
State and others file in support of roadless rule exemption for Tongass
JUNEAU (AP) - The state of Alaska and several other groups have filed to defend the Tongass National Forest’s 5-month-old exemption from a nationwide rule that limits development on federal land. The filing fights back against a group of tribal, en...
Alaska had 22,300 fewer jobs in February than a year go
JUNEAU (AP) - Alaska had 22,300 fewer jobs last month than it did in February 2020, the state labor department reported last Friday, citing the ongoing economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest job losses were in the leisure and...
Czech Republic's richest man dies in Alaska helicopter crash
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heli-skiing trip in Alaska's backcountry crashed on Saturday, killing the pilot and four others, including the...
Legislators may look at parole for juveniles
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A proposal by the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission could provide juveniles sentenced to lengthy prison sentences an opportunity for parole after serving 15 years. The commission recommended state lawmakers pass a “second look...
COVID leads to serious inflammatory syndrome for eight Alaska youth
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Eight Alaska youths have developed a serious inflammatory syndrome from previous coronavirus infections, state health officials said in a report. The report, released March 26, said some of the eight youths ended up in the pediatric...
Sentencing set for June in killing aboard cruise ship
JUNEAU (AP) - Sentencing has been set for June for a man who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the beating death of his wife during a 2017 family cruise to Alaska. Kenneth Manzanares, who is from Utah, signed a plea agreement in the case in...
Judge dismisses 2 charges, 8 remain against former legislator
JUNEAU (AP) - A judge has dismissed two election-tampering charges against a former Alaska legislator as falling outside a statute of limitations, but eight charges remain against Gabrielle LeDoux. Last March, the state charged LeDoux, an Anchorage...
Federal aid, rising oil price ease Alaska's budget crunch
Legislators started the session in January amid a shortage of revenues and debate whether the state could even afford a dividend this fall unless it exceeded its annual limited draw from the Permanent...
GCI will move call-center operations overseas
GCI, the largest telecommunications provider in the state, is planning to move all of its call-center operations out of Alaska and will contract with a third-party vendor to provide the service from...
Legislators push back against proposal to close DMV offices
JUNEAU (AP) - A plan by the governor to close six Division of Motor Vehicles offices and contract with private companies to provide services has been met with resistance from the state Legislature. Under the proposal, the state would save money but...
FBI arrests Wasilla man on Capitol riot charges
ANCHORAGE (AP) – A Wasilla construction worker faces federal charges in the January breach of the U.S. Capitol. Aaron James Mileur, 41, was arrested March 16 by the FBI on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful...
Anchorage worries about high COVID counts in Mat-Su Borough
PALMER — Health officials in Anchorage say they’re worried about a COVID-19 transmission source that could delay efforts to move past the pandemic’s human toll and crippling economic effects. That source is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the...
New law requires engine cut-off switch on some boats
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A new federal law will require operators of recreational boats less than 26 feet in length to use an engine cut-off switch with a safety link that attaches the operator to the control device to shut off the engine if the operator is...
Motor fuel tax hike passes first committee
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Alaska lawmakers have advanced a bill that would double the state’s motor fuel tax, which has not changed since 1970 and is the lowest in the U.S. The bill passed in the House Transportation Committee on March 16 and moves next to...
Legislators, governor differ on ferry system advisory board
Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to create a new state ferry system advisory board with one state official and 10 public members to replace an existing advisory panel, similar to a separate proposal from...