Tony Romeo is on the hunt for minerals, but he’s far from a typical prospector. Based in South Carolina, Romeo doesn’t spend summers in the mountains with a rock pick, and he’s not interested in combing creek beds for gold. His focus, rather, is miles beneath the surface of the ocean, where a new and highly speculative […]
The U.S. government plans another oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The sale set for June 5 follows two prior sales that saw no interest from major oil companies. …
Attendees of the Arctic Encounter Summit, held this week in Anchorage, took a break from heavy discussions about climate change, national security, shipping safety and other pressing concerns on Wednesday night to enjoy something more fun: high fashion. The Far North Fashion Show, now in its seventh year, showcased the work of Indigenous designers from […]
The Alaska Senate Finance committee advanced a draft capital budget on Tuesday that would put nearly $250 million toward state facilities and maintenance projects next year. The draft budget adds $88 million to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed capital budget of $159 million, with the largest additions going toward K-12 schools and university facilities maintenance. That […]
A professor at Furman University told the Alaska Legislature Task Force on Education Funding Wednesday afternoon that standardized test results might not be the most appropriate set of data on which to base education policy decisions. During a routine presentation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, Paul Thomas […]
Earlier this month, Golden Valley Electric Association held a community meeting in response to growing frustration among its members. The standing-room-only crowd at the Noel Wien Library included many familiar faces involved in Fairbanks energy issues. But what stood out were the people I didn’t recognize: residents who don’t typically show up to these kinds […]
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been appointed to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission at a time when the federal agency is pivoting from its longtime focus on environmental science to more emphasis on military defense and economic development. Dunleavy is an ally of President Donald Trump. Dunleavy’s presidential appointment, announced by the commission this week, […]
The Alaska House of Representatives on Monday rejected a bill passed by the Senate that would have applied state corporate income taxes to privately owned oil and gas companies that currently do not pay them. Supporters said the bill would have generated up to $100 million in new revenue for Alaska. The proposal would have […]
The war in Iran is risking what could be a catastrophic spike in the price of fuel in the rural villages and hub communities across Alaska’s coast — and distributors are also warning of possible supply shortages. Even before the war, fuel prices in the state’s off-road system communities were eye-wateringly high: Unleaded gas was […]
The Alaska Legislature will hold a public hearing Thursday afternoon on election-related ballot initiatives. The Division of Elections certified three ballot initiatives that will be on Alaskan’s ballots in November. State law requires the legislature to hold at least two public hearings on each certified ballot measure. The sponsors of all three ballot measures and […]
On March 31, President Trump issued a new executive order on citizenship records and mail‑in ballots entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order has nothing to do with election integrity — the name is like “Newspeak,” Orwell’s fictional language for a totalitarian state. It is an unlawful attempt to seize control […]
Two weeks after the Trump administration announced a U.S. Forest Service “restructuring” that would close regional offices and most of the agency’s research facilities, impacts to Alaska – home to the two largest U.S. national forests – remain unclear. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on March 31 that the Forest Service’s national headquarters will […]
A Slovakian musher living in Tok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and three Biden-administration officials in April over her denied immigration petition. Silvia Kleinova, 48, filed for permanent residency in the United States in November 2021 based on her accomplishments in sled dog racing. Under U.S. immigration law, green cards […]
Stacker compiled the most popular baby names for boys of the 1990s in Alaska using data from the Social Security Administration.
The Alaska House of Representatives advanced a draft budget for the state’s operations next year, with a $1,500 Permanent Fund dividend for eligible Alaskans. It includes a nearly $158 million one-time funding boost for public schools and tens of millions for disaster relief, transportation and public assistance programs. Members passed House Bill 263, the operating […]
Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola, who is mounting a high-profile challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, announced on Monday that her campaign raised $8.9 million in the first quarter of the year, a record for any U.S. Senate campaign in Alaska. The announcement, which followed a Sullivan campaign announcement last week of $2.1 million in […]
The Alaska Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that would grant back Permanent Fund dividends to Alaskans whose convictions are vacated, reversed or dismissed. Under current Alaska law, people who were sentenced or incarcerated as a result of a felony conviction or certain combinations of multiple misdemeanors forfeit their dividends that year and any following […]
A conservation group sued federal fisheries managers over catch limits in the pollock trawl fishery, arguing that their regulations do not adequately protect northern fur seals in the Bering Sea. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Alaska on Wednesday, centers on the fur seal population on St. Paul Island, home to nursing […]
For years, a popular part of many cruises in southeast Alaska has been sailing up Tracy Arm, a long, narrow fjord marked by steep mountains, glittering waterfalls and calving glaciers. But this …
At the Alaska Beacon, we’re constantly trying to figure out where we should put our attention. There’s always more news than there are people to report it. Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know […]