Judge Allows Private Emails for AK Officials

Wed, August 12, 2009

An Anchorage judge on Wednesday declined to put an immediate stop on the governor’s office from conducting public business on private e-mail accounts. A Superior Court judge did not grant a summary judgment against the state in a case challenging former-governor Sarah Palin’s practice of using her personal address instead of her state accounts.

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

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Education Secretary Meets with Local Educators

Wed, August 12, 2009

Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with Anchorage school officials at a brief question and answer session on Tuesday in a gathering hosted by Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

Duncan brought welcome news to local educators: $200 million in federal stimulus dollars for Alaska to help boost educational resources. And an additional $1.2 million grant for the Anchorage School District for a program aimed at halting the Alaska Native student dropout rate.

Ellen Lockyer, APRN – Anchorage

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Anchorage Assembly OKs Gay Rights Ordinance

Wed, August 12, 2009

Tuesday night the Anchorage Assembly passed a municipal ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

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Spill Claimants Encouraged to Cash Checks

Wed, August 12, 2009

A number of claimants in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case who have received punitive damages from the company haven’t cashed their settlement checks yet. Last week a notice appeared on the Exxon Qualified Settlement Fund website, EXSpill.com urging plaintiffs to cash their checks.

Casey Kelly, KBBI – Homer

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Juneau Nonprofit Has Plans for Former Mine

Wed, August 12, 2009

In Juneau, a new nonprofit has big plans for the site of what was once the world’s largest gold mine. Between 1882 and 1922, the Treadwell Mine yielded nearly $70 million in gold. That’s equivalent to roughly $1.5 billion today.

Rebecca Sheir, KTOO – Juneau

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Cabinet Members Visit Bethel

Wed, August 12, 2009

Arne Duncan and three other cabinet Secretaries flew to Bethel today. Their flights were delayed by three hours, so their agenda was pushed back throughout the day. But YK Delta residents still had about an hour to meet with the Secretaries in a town hall meeting before the entourage flew out to Hooper Bay.

Angela Denning-Barnes, KYUK- Bethel

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Wildfires Could be Sign of Climate Warming

Wed, August 12, 2009

This summer’s massive wildfires are likely a symptom of climate warming. That’s the take from University of Alaska Fairbanks forest ecologist Glenn Juday. He says the individual occurrence of high fire years is not unusual, but their increasing frequency is.

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks

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Alaska News Nightly: August, 12, 2009

Wed, August 12, 2009

Photo by Christopher Ho, KYUK – Bethel

U.S. Secretaries Arne Duncan, Steven Chu, Shaun Donovan, and Tom Vilsack listen to Elder Peter Jacob at the Bethel Town Hall Meeting.

Individual news stories are posted in the Alaska News category and you can subscribe to APRN’s news feeds via email, podcast and RSS.

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Battle for America: Why McCain Chose Palin

Wed, August 12, 2009

Sarah Palin was almost a complete unknown on the national political stage but Senator John McCain, the GOP nominee for president, needed and wanted, a major spark to ignite a general campaign against Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz details how and why McCain chose Palin in his new book, “The Battle for America 2008.” Haynes Johnson is the coauthor.

Her selection electrified the presidential race but ultimately hurt the GOP ticket, Balz says.

Balz spoke with APRN’s Lori Townsend this week.

Here is a tape of the interview.

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