University of Alaska weighs options for academic programs

FAIRBANKS — The University of Alaska has released dozens of options for restructuring academic and administrative programs as part of its ongoing budget review process.… Continue reading

Downturn in energy production hits budgets in Alaska, five states

Downturn in energy production hits budgets in Alaska, five states

Six of the country’s major energy-producing states have slipped into recession after a sharp decline in production and exploration over the last 18 months caused… Continue reading

Downturn in energy production hits budgets in Alaska, five states
Alaska state Rep. Geran Tarr speaks to reporters during the House majority’s weekly news conference on Tuesday in Juneau. Tarr has introduced legislation that seeks to temporarily bar access to guns by people deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others. (Becky Bohrer | The Associated Press)

Alaska Democrat proposes gun bill after airport shooting

  JUNEAU — A deadly airport shooting in Florida has helped spur a bill in Alaska that would allow authorities to temporarily take away guns… Continue reading

Alaska state Rep. Geran Tarr speaks to reporters during the House majority’s weekly news conference on Tuesday in Juneau. Tarr has introduced legislation that seeks to temporarily bar access to guns by people deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others. (Becky Bohrer | The Associated Press)

PFD bill draws support from unusual allies

JUNEAU — Legislators on opposite ends of the political spectrum are supporting an Alaska Senate bill to restore the portion of Alaskans’ oil wealth checks… Continue reading

Consultant raises concerns about Alaska gas project

JUNEAU — A legislative consultant has raised red flags about Alaska taking the lead on a major proposed liquefied natural gas project, even as Gov.… Continue reading

State seeks takers for museum gift shop

The state of Alaska has a SLAM-dunk deal. On Thursday, the Department of Education and Early Development announced that it is seeking a concessionaire to… Continue reading

Oil and gas subsidy debate, which sank budget deal last year, is poised to return

Oil and gas subsidy debate, which sank budget deal last year, is poised to return

An issue that sank plans for a budget fix in 2016 will soon resurface in the Alaska Legislature. A bill addressing North Slope oil and… Continue reading

Oil and gas subsidy debate, which sank budget deal last year, is poised to return

Feds force Gov. Walker’s hand on new ID cards

Gov. Bill Walker has introduced legislation to ensure Alaskans can fly without a passport in 2018. House Bill 74, proposed by the governor Monday and… Continue reading

Nearly 1,000 people attend the Women’s March in Juneau on Saturday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Capitol Decode: One-sentence summaries of the 37 new bills introduced so far

The first week of each session of the Alaska Legislature is always one of organization and preparation. With 15 new members in the 30th Legislature… Continue reading

Nearly 1,000 people attend the Women’s March in Juneau on Saturday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

13 inches of weekend snow boosts Anchorage into record books

ANCHORAGE — Winter conditions more closely associated with Alaska have returned to the state’s largest city after two years of low snowfall totals. National Weather… Continue reading

Fairbanks finds police chief conducted other business on job

FAIRBANKS — The Fairbanks mayor’s office says a former city police chief did have a conflict of interest that barred him from the job. The… Continue reading

Anchorage teen dies in early morning street shooting

ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old boy shot and killed in the Government Hill neighborhood. Police early Saturday morning took… Continue reading

Heavy snow collapses Anchorage sports facility dome

ANCHORAGE — Heavy snow has collapsed the roof of an Anchorage sports complex. The Dome is closed and all events have been postponed until repairs… Continue reading

US rig count jumps 35 this week to 694

HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. leaped by 35 this week to 694. A year ago,… Continue reading

17-year-old boy dies when ATV flips on Iliamna Lake

KOKHANOK — A 17-year-old boy riding double on an all-terrain vehicle died in a crash on Iliamna (il-ee-AHM-nah) Lake 12 miles north of the village… Continue reading

Woman dies in 2-car Wasilla traffic crash; 3 others injured

ANCHORAGE — Wasilla police say a woman died in a two-car crash on Knik-Goose Bay Road. Anchorage television station KTUU reported 49-year-old Jeanette Pitchford died… Continue reading

Alaska ends 2016 with 6.7 percent unemployment rate

JUNEAU — The state labor department says Alaska’s unemployment rate ended 2016 at 6.7 percent. That preliminary, seasonally adjusted rate for December compares to 6.8… Continue reading

Hawaii mother’s airplane child assault conviction overturned

HONOLULU — A federal judge on Friday overturned the conviction of a mother found guilty of assaulting her 15-month-old daughter on a flight from Alaska.… Continue reading

Cannabis industry latest to be tangled in Anchorage permitting code

ANCHORAGE ­— Brian Coyle thought his marijuana lab, AK Green Labs, would open last September. Nobody told him he needed a “change of use,” or… Continue reading

Paul Gatza, director of the trade and advocacy group for craft beer brewers in the United States called Brewers Association, talks about the industry during a stop at the Triangle Bar in Juneau on Wednesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Amid recession, Alaska’s breweries find boom times

In 1986, Alaska was in the middle of a cataclysmic recession. Geoff and Marcy Larson decided it was the perfect time to open a brewery.… Continue reading

Paul Gatza, director of the trade and advocacy group for craft beer brewers in the United States called Brewers Association, talks about the industry during a stop at the Triangle Bar in Juneau on Wednesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)