The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Juneau Empire – Senator plans to investigate Guard situation State Sen. Lesil McGuire says the Legislature will hold hearings into sexual assault and other allegations involving members of the Alaska National Guard, but she’s getting push back from the Senate president. ADN.com – Alaska land access fights hinge on one word in 34-year-old law The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected two high-profile Alaska cases dealing with federal authority in Alaska, largely because of a six-letter word Congress inserted into a sentence in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 34 years ago. In both cases, the court…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Juneau Empire – EPA extends decision-making on mining proposal The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will take more time to review comments on a proposal that would restrict large-scale mining near the headwaters of a world-premier salmon fishery. Vice.com – We Spoke to the Alaskan Reporter Who Quit Her Job On Live TV to Run a Weed Dispensary Last night, after hosting a segment on the effort to legalize weed in Alaska, local KTVA news anchor Charlo Greene quit her job in true “f**k you, f**k you, you’re cool” fashion. Charlo went off script and told her Alaskan audience, on live TV, that she…
Palin & Olbermann on the R**Skins
It’s not often these days that we at The Mudflats get to write about Sarah Palin AND our old friend Keith Olbermann in the same story. It brings us back to that odd time when Palin went from being Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States, to ‘The Quitter.’ But by some magic they’ve both been talking about the same issue – the despicable name of the Washington DC football team. I’ll give you Sarah Palin’s word-salad first and then follow up with Olbermann’s fun take on the team owner Dan Snyder. Palin, ever the martyr, makes this about “the PC police” and…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Fairbanks News Miner – Unlike statewide, Fairbanks voters favored “yes” votes on Measure 1 FAIRBANKS — A majority of Alaska’s voters decided to keep the oil tax system passed by the Legislature in 2013, but on Tuesday, Fairbanks favored throwing it out by a wide margin. ADN.com – Extreme weather events pose risks to Alaskans’ health, study finds Wacky weather may be hazardous to people’s health, at least in far-flung areas of Alaska, according to researchers who have been conducting a multiyear study in eight communities around the state. Juneau Empire – ‘Suspicious’ lightsaber draws police [ed. note: make sure to read this…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Fairbanks News Miner – Pro-Begich super PAC takes on Treadwell JUNEAU, Alaska – A super PAC that supports Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has a new ad that, for the first time, takes on Republican Senate hopeful Mead Treadwell. Put Alaska First’s ad also features Republican Dan Sullivan, the presumptive front-runner in the race who has been a target of the group for months. Alaska Dispatch News – Nixon took time out from Watergate to plot politics with Young, Coghill Forty years after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace, the secret tapes that proved his role in the Watergate…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Study envisions possible fallout from a Canadian Beaufort oil spill A well blowout, pipeline breach or vessel accident in the Canadian Beaufort Sea could spew spilled oil westward for months, polluting waters off Alaska and soiling habitat used by whales, seals and migrating seabirds, according to a study released Friday by the World Wildlife Fund. Fairbanks Daily Miner – Pro-marijuana legalization group urges opponents not to get all drunk at fundraiser The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol today urged attendees of the anti-legalization group’s Anchorage fundraiser to “exercise caution” because the event is co-hosted by a former…
The Weekend Off – The News You Missed
Alaska KNOM – Lacking Sea Ice, Seal Pups Populate Local Beaches Baby seals are appearing on local beaches in greater numbers this year, with over 20 reported sightings in Nome, and a few others recorded in Wales, Teller and Shaktoolik. Anchorage Daily News – Oddball rivers flow north through Alaska Range. Why? Alaska’s landscape has an unusual feature that allows us to enjoy cheap bananas in the Interior and other things that make life possible in the subarctic. The Nenana River, born on the south side of the Alaska Range, makes a U-turn and flows north through the mountains. With it…
The Weekend Off – The News You Missed
Alaska Anchorage Daily News – John Devens, mayor of Valdez at time of oil spill, dies at 74 “On the eve of March 24, 1989, John Devens was living what was, for him, a near-perfect life. He was serving as the mayor of Valdez and as the president of a community college he’d expanded. He had also gained a license to operate a charter boat, and was running a small audiology practice on the side.” Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – ‘Alaska Agreement’ good theory, flawed practice: The campaign funding reform issue shouldn’t be tackled piecemeal “Called the “Alaska Agreement,” the pledge’s…
Good News out of Detroit
Good local news is hard to come by. Well produced local news is nearly impossible to find. We’re lucky here in Anchorage to have some great local journalists at the ADN, KTUU, The Alaska Dispatch, and AlaskaCommons.com. In Detroit they’ve got Pulitzer Prize winning Charlie LeDuff. He’s the classic local TV news investigative reporter – just funnier. I have to admit am completely addicted to Charlie LeDuff’s journalism. It’s sensationalist, it’s absurd – but in a real way it does what top notch local journalism does – speaks truth to power. Please check out this story on police wait times in…
Revolution 2.0 – Where to Get the News from Egypt
The US networks are doing (in my opinion) a terrible job covering the ouster of Morsi in Egypt. From spelling Morsi’s name wrong, to interviewing those who previously supported the dictator Mubarak. This is why I turned off my TV, and tuned in to aljazeera.com. For those that don’t know, there’s an excellent 24-hour live stream on Al Jazeera’s website. I’m sure people have their problems on both the left and the right with me promoting AJ, but compared to the US coverage right now, it’s the gold standard. If you have better or just different news sources, please post them…