Chicken dinner: A Juneau black bear was caught red-handed this week after it snagged a chicken from a neighbor's yard before bringing it over to Sue Bahleda's porch for a quite dine-out experience. "People on the street were stopping and staring, so I went downstairs and there she was, doing bear stuff," Bahleda told Alaska Dispatch," Bahleda suspects the bear was a young sow, but she'll never know for sure because she didn't want to get the animal "in trouble," opting to let it stay and finish its meal.
Sockeye saviors fly rescue missions: Lucky timing may have saved 10 million salmon fry after the Gulkana River, located in southcentral Alaska, flooded, damaging a bridge that connects the world's largest sockeye salmon hatchery to the Richardson Highway and gouging out pieces of the hatchery, the Anchorage Daily News reported. On Monday, Gulkana Hatchery staff awoke to discover a rapidly rising river and decided to take action to protect the fry. A Palmer-based pilot, who has been dumping the fry in lakes for 25 years, made nine or 10 trips to Crosswind Lake, dumping 900,000 fish each time.
New rules for infamous Mount Marathon race: With just a few weeks to go before this year's iteration of Mount Marathon -- a mad scramble of a footrace up a mountain overlooking the Kenai Peninsula harbor community of Seward -- now seems a good time to mention the significant rule changes announced months ago and making the rounds again in the news. After rookie runner Michael LeMaitre tragically disappeared during the 2012 running of the race, never to be seen again despite extensive searches of the 3,022 foot peak, organizers now say runners will have to get halfway to the turnaround in an hour or they'll be forced back down the mountain. Runners will also have to sign a disclaimer stating that they have previously completed the race course and familiarized themselves with the terrain. In the image below, runner Matthew Kenney, who was injured during last year's event, is transported off the mountain.
Thumbs down on solar energy at UAF: The University of Alaska Fairbanks, whose campus is located in an Interior city that's hard pressed for affordable energy alternatives, will not install a large array of solar panels due to a lack of support from the university's Board of Regents, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The $4.1 million project would have generated enough electricity for about 5 percent of the campus's electrical needs, and it would have aligned with a goal of adding more renewable energy to UAF. But a summary acknowledged there'd be opposition to the appearance of the large solar panels. Regent Kirk Wickersham, one of three regents opposed to the project, said some aspects require more study before he's convinced.
Yukon 800 turns into Yukon 1000: Due to the recent flooding along the Yukon River, the annual Yukon 800 speedboat race course will gain an extra 200 miles. In the past, the turn-around point has been Galena, but because of the heavy flooding in that community that led to a disaster declaration race officials have announced that the new turn-around point will be Kaltag. This year's Yukon 1000 will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 22 in Fairbanks. Boats go out, turn around and are expected back in Fairbanks around 2 p.m. the next day.
STDs on the rise again: The infection rates for gonorrhea and chlamydia in Alaska are on the rise again after going down in recent years. State epidemiologists report the rates dropped in 2011 and 2012, but are now increasing. "This is concerning. We thought we had gonorrhea on the run, and I don't think we do," a state HIV/STD program manager told KTVA.
No Internet taxes, please: Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty, along with the AGs from Montana and Oregon, are urging members of Congress to nix a bill that would levy taxes from online purchases. That may not come as much of surprise when you consider that Alaska, Oregon and Montana don't have state sales taxes. The legislation would allow states to require retailers to collect taxes on goods sold to online shoppers in those states.
Golden ticket: Help celebrate the Alaska Marine Highway System's 50th anniversary and get a chance to take the frontier ferry ride of your dreams. Enter monthly "Golden Ticket" drawings for a $500 travel voucher to use on any of the state's 11 ferries. Among the many Golden Ticket contests conjured up: best marine highway photos and essays about Haines. Details at the marine highway website and on Facebook.