Council wants speaker cancelled
JUNEAU -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for a speaker invited to testify to Alaska House Judiciary Committee to be pulled from Wednesday's lineup.
Council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says Pamela Geller, head of advocacy group Stop Islamization of America, should not be allowed to testify on House Bill 88 because of what he calls her anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Geller didn't immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The bill from Rep. Carl Gatto, a Republican from Palmer, would prohibit the use of any foreign law in state courts if it infringes on a person's constitutional rights.
Gatto also wasn't immediately available for comment. He previously has said that the measure is designed to guard against Islamic Sharia Law.
-- Associated Press
Austerman: Pebble study not dead
House Majority Leader Alan Austerman says he's not giving up on a state-funded effort to study the effects of the proposed Pebble Mine on the Bristol Bay region.
Austerman, R-Kodiak, said he hopes the issue can be advanced at an upcoming Legislative Council meeting.
Last year, the Legislature allocated $750,000 for an independent, scientific study. But the council's chairwoman has said that money could revert to the general fund after a panel failed to determine how best to approach the study.
Austerman would like a group such as the National Academy of Sciences to look at the issue. He says this type of study is important to helping lawmakers know what questions to ask to see whether a mine is compatible with the sockeye salmon fishery in the region.
-- Associated Press