Alaska News

2012 ALASKA LEGISLATURE

Parents need time off to meet teachers, lawmaker says

Parents who have trouble getting time away from work to get involved with their kids' school lives might get help from a bill that would guarantee time off to attend parent-teacher conferences twice a year.

More Legislature coverage

Lawmakers debate ethical risks of their Facebook pages

Alaska lawmakers head for DC to lobby for ANWR drilling

CIRI wins big with Alaska Supreme Court decision

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lower court ruling that the Native corporation Cook Inlet Region Inc . owed millions of dollars to a former business partner despite evidence the partner, John Ellsworth, engaged in fraud and freewheeling spending.

Senate passes education funding increase

A bill that guarantees three years of increased funding to Alaska school districts has passed the Alaska Senate with just two senators voting no.

FBI searches in investigation of militia were legal, judge rules

Fairbanks searches that uncovered weapons and are said to be central to the FBI case against Schaeffer Cox and two other members of his Peacemakers militia were legal, a judge has ruled.

Visiting doctor to evaluate locals' marijuana needs

In a meeting room at a Spenard hotel this weekend, Alaskans seeking a medical marijuana card can line up to see an L.A. ophthalmologist in town to evaluate their medical need for pot -- at $225 a "patient."

In plea deal, artist admits to killing scores of sea otters

An artist known for his work with marine mammal pelts would serve six months in prison for the illegal sale of sea otter parts under a plea agreement filed this week in federal court.

Romney announces Alaska leadership team

An 11-member Alaska steering committee announced today by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney includes U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.

JULIA O'MALLEY

After abduction, fear on the rise in Anchorage coffee carts

Barista Samantha Koenig's abduction has sent a shiver through the workers - most of them young and female - who spend their days in Anchorage's coffee shacks.

Candlelight vigil set for missing barista

Photos: The search for Samantha Koenig

O'Malley blog, previous columns

Fire tears through St. Paul Island seafood warehouse

A fire has likely destroyed a building at the Trident Seafoods plant on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea.

Hypothermia found as cause of Sitka man's death

Sitka police say the Alaska medical examiner's office has determined that hypothermia caused the death of a 37-year-old man whose body was found outside in December.

Tuberculosis cases spike in Western Alaska villages

Alaska state health officials say they are responding to an increase in cases of confirmed and suspected tuberculosis in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.

2012 ALASKA LEGISLATURE

House resolution aims anger at feds over old Arctic wells

A state House resolution calls on the federal government to properly plug and reclaim the sites of so-called legacy wells within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

2012 ALASKA LEGISLATURE

Lawmakers debate ethical risks of their Facebook pages

Alaska lawmakers have been allowed to use Facebook on Capitol computers for a year, with a few strings attached. This week, the committee that sets rules for the Legislature revisited that approval.

Senate passes education funding increase

Parents need time off to meet teachers, lawmaker says

Alaska lawmakers head for DC to lobby for ANWR drilling

More Legislature coverage

2012 ALASKA LEGISLATURE

Alaska lawmakers head for DC to lobby for ANWR drilling

Alaska lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Chenault will miss several days of the legislative session next week to make another pitch in Washington, D.C., for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

More Legislature coverage

More on ANWR

Lawmakers debate ethical risks of their Facebook pages

2012 ALASKA LEGISLATURE

Church-owned housing measure has its first hearing

A measure that would wipe out some property tax breaks for church-owned housing got its first hearing Thursday before a state legislative committee, but it didn't advance.

Education funding bill clears Senate hurdle

More Legislature coverage

Alaska investigations bureau focuses on cab driver's death

The Alaska Bureau of Investigations is now leading the investigation into the death of a Bethel cab driver.

Arguments set in legislative redistricting case

The Alaska Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments March 13 in the lawsuit over the state's newly drawn political boundaries.

Education funding bill clears Senate hurdle

A bill that guarantees three years of increased funding to Alaska school districts was cleared Thursday for a floor vote in the Senate.

Pentagon will loosen restrictions on women in combat zones

The Pentagon will take a small step and announce today that women will be formally permitted in crucial and dangerous jobs closer to the front lines, but the new rules stop short of officially allowing them to serve in combat.

Yukon Quest dogs sport colorful leggings on the trail

Dogs in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and in other long-distance sled dog races have recently been seen wearing long, cloth tubes -- the mushers call them leggings -- that stretch from ankle to shoulder.

Snowmachine rolls over on 40-year-old man, killing him

A Holy Cross man has died in a snowmachine crash near the Western Alaska village of Holy Cross.