Alaska lawmakers close in on a gasline compromise

By Corinne Smith

Legislative leaders say they will introduce a final compromise tax bill for the proposed AKLNG gasline on Thursday, which is then scheduled to be taken up for a vote by the full House and Senate. 

A six-member multipartisan conference committee of lawmakers from the House and Senate has been working throughout a second special session called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on a compromise tax cut bill for the multibillion dollar project.

By Yereth Rosen

The western Prince William Sound town of Whittier is small, with only about 250 residents packed into a narrow slice of land between the mountains and the sea. But it accommodates a huge number of travelers who move in and out by cruise ship, ferry, railroad, car, bus and truck.

In recent years, according to city officials, Whittier has gotten about 700,000 visitors annually: tourists, recreational users, seafood workers, cargo shippers and others. That number is expected to increase substantially in the coming years.

By Corinne Smith

Alaska’s midterm election season is underway. Residents who lost the right to vote with a felony conviction may have their right restored once they are unconditionally discharged from the Alaska Department of Corrections’ supervision.

Restoration of voting rights after a felony conviction varies by state. Alaska is one of more than a dozen states that requires residents to complete their prison sentence and be unconditionally discharged from custody before their right to vote is restored.

By Timothy Bundy

On a warm July afternoon near Fairbanks, a volunteer with the Alaska Bee Atlas kneels beside a patch of blooming fireweed, gently sweeping a net through the air. A small bumblebee lands in the bottom of the net — one of thousands of specimens collected each summer across the state. It’s a simple moment, but one that reflects a much greater effort: Alaskans working together to understand the bees that pollinate the North.

For decades, scientists knew surprisingly little about Alaska’s native bees. The state’s size, remote landscapes and short summers made systematic research difficult. Many species were known from only a handful of specimens. Others had never been documented at all. As Alaska warms faster than almost anywhere else on Earth, these knowledge gaps have become more urgent.

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