“We expect that pro tem judges will assist with helping to cover the caseloads for the two Kenai positions until they are filled but coverage details are still being worked out.” - Rebecca Koford, a spokesperson for the Alaska Court System said the state is planning how to proceed after two judges look likely to fail their retention votes in initial midterm election results.
An empty judge’s bench is seen in the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage on Jan 17, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
By Corinne Smith
Alaska voters in the Third Judicial District opted to reject two state judges standing for retention in the midterm election by wide margins in initial results on Tuesday.
The vote comes after the non-partisan Alaska Judicial Council — charged with vetting and nominating judges, as well as conducting performance evaluations — issued a rare recommendation for voters not to retain the two judges in this election
Mary Peltola greets supporters on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at a Mary Peltola watch party in downtown Anchorage. (Photo by Loren Holmes/Alaska Beacon)
By James Brooks
The campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola sued the Alaska Division of Elections on Friday in an attempt to make public the names of Alaskans whose absentee ballots have been rejected by the division.
The suit was filed Friday in Anchorage Superior Court by Alaskans For Mary, and it named the Division, its director and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom as defendants.
A colorized electron micrograph image shows mpox virus particles, in red and yellow, found within infected cells, colored blue. (Image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health)
By Yereth Rosen
A rare viral disease has emerged in an outbreak in Alaska’s largest city that appears to be expanding, state health officials report.
There are now four new cases in Anchorage of mpox, a viral disease formerly called monkeypox that is spread through close contact and can be fatal.
Fall colors are seen on Aug. 24, 2015, along the Canning River on the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Katrina Liebich/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
By James Brooks
In a court filing Thursday, officials with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said their plans to explore for oil in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are on hold until at least mid-January as they wait for permission from the federal government.
The refuge, located to the east of Prudhoe Bay, is believed to contain vast oil and gas deposits but has been off-limits to development for decades. A bill passed during the first Trump administration mandated an oil and gas lease sale, but work has been paused amid legal challenges.
Soldiers from Ft. Lee, Virginia help mark Veterans Day ceremonies at the World War II Memorial November 11, 2011 in Washington, DC. Veterans Day in the United States honors those who have served in the nation’s military and also coincides with the anniversary of the conclusion of hostilities on the western front in World War I. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
COMMENTARY
By Maggie Humm and Abby Vankudre
Veterans have been in the spotlight as Americans across the country have celebrated our nation’s 250th birthday. And rightly so — the rights and freedoms that we enjoy are secured by the courage and sacrifice of our veterans. But while veterans took an oath to defend our rights, their own rights sometimes go undefended in our legal system when they face critical civil legal issues such as eviction, consumer matters and access to earned benefits.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Alaskans approve largely meaningless noncitizen voting ballot measure | James Brooks and Claire Stremple
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins likely to become Alaska’s first Democratic governor since 2002 | James Brooks, Corinne Smith and Yereth Rosen
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