Alaska News

Alaskans just can't get enough of Elton John. His May 28 concert at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage sold out in 58 minutes last week, prompting the addition of a second concert two days later. via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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House Speaker John Harris is asking Gov. Sarah Palin to expand the special session in June to include energy cost relief for Alaskans. via The Associated Press

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“More than one-fifth of the U.S. population lives in rural or remote areas, and many of these areas have high rates of AD”

Access to treatment for alcohol dependence in rural and remote areas is limited. via Huliq.com

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Sometimes it's hard to feel optimistic about Alaska. A former mayor of Fairbanks, convicted of pocketing taxpayer dollars intended for charity, is heading for federal prison. via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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“We know that she didn't report anything to the authorities... The baby was found by the stepmother and her father in a bedroom. The infant had been deceased for some time.”

A 22-year-old woman in Alaska was arrested and charged with murder in the death of a newborn found hidden away in a home in Colorado. via Alaska Journal of Commerce

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“We accept that we definitely have challenges before us”

A new state study shows that Alaska's education system is faltering. The Anchorage Daily News says the study overall found Alaska ranking at the bottom of educational attainment indicators - from getting ... via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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“I haven't been able to campaign because of this issue”

Former Alaska Democratic Party Chairman Jake Metcalfe on Wednesday abruptly dropped out of the race for U.S. House, citing a distraction caused by fake Web sites that sought to trash a party rival. via Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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A graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks spent more than a year completing a massive Lego replica of a campus building. via Alaska Journal of Commerce

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“The immediate goal is to stop the seismic surveys this summer, but in the longer term, our goal is to see federal protection of the Beaufort, Chukchi and entire Arctic basin”

Alaska Native and environmental groups sued Monday to stop exploration by oil companies this summer in Arctic waters frequented by whales, seals and other marine species.

The groups are challenging federal permits that allow Shell Oil Co. and BP PLC to search for oil and gas using powerful vibrations that have been shown, at times, to harm a variety of marine animals.

The technology, known as seismic exploration, is used to determine the geologic makeup of the sea bed.

'The federal government is rushing to approve a burst of new seismic activity without completely studying the effects on marine life,' said attorney Clayton Jernigan of Earthjustice. The nonprofit law firm's Juneau office filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. Read more

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“They had exhausted their resources and she would likely be euthanized”

Biologist Jane Fink Cantwell feeds Beauty, a rescued Alaskan bald eagle, salmon using forceps at a raptor recovery center near St. via Athens Banner-Herald

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