Associated Press

The chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee wants to vet several ideas surrounding the use of Alaska Permanent Fund earnings.

Sen. Bill Stoltze says that could include a constitutional amendment to allow for voters to weigh in. So far, such a measure has not been introduced.

Stoltze’s committee held its first hearing Tuesday on the governor’s plan to use the permanent fund as an endowment of sorts, fed by oil tax revenue and a portion of royalties. Earnings from the fund would help pay for state government. The plan would change how the annual dividends most Alaskans receive are calculated.

Questions have been raised about whether the fund’s earnings reserve account must be swept to repay money taken from a constitutional reserve account. The Department of Law says it wouldn’t.

A man found guilty of sexually assaulting and killing a woman in Tenakee Springs a decade ago has won an appeal for post-conviction relief.

The Juneau Empire reports the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled Friday that James Harmon received inadequate representation from an attorney appointed to represent him.

Harmon was sentenced to 72 years in prison in 2005 after being found guilty in the death of 19-year-old Maggie Wigen, who disappeared in Tenakee Springs in 2003.

Court documents say Harmon sought post-conviction relief, arguing that he didn’t receive sufficient representation during his initial trial. He was appointed a third attorney to represent him in that claim, but he argued that attorney also failed to adequately represent him.

Harmon’s accusation against his trial attorneys will go back to superior court.

A growing number of families in Alaska have been enrolling their children in a home schooling program that officials say offers flexibility to those who live far from their nearest school.

The Peninsula Clarion reports that Interior Distance Education of Alaska, based out of Galena School District on the Yukon River, is attracting students throughout the state. Enrollment has risen by about 5 percent annually over the past five years.

The program has offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, southeast Alaska and the Mat-Su Valley.

Field representative for the Kenai Peninsula region, Suzanne Alioto, says the program allows parents to be more involved in deciding what their children are learning. The program has no mandated curriculum but students are still required to take state standardized tests.

Staff and students at the Kenai Peninsula College have started the spring semester with the campus’ new tobacco ban now in effect.

The Peninsula Clarion reports the policy has been implemented for the entire University of Alaska system since Dec. 31. The use of tobacco or substitutes, vape pens and e-cigarettes is prohibited on all university property. The policy also includes a $50 fine for littering tobacco-related materials.

KPC Director Gary Turner said previously the new policy would be difficult for KPC’s Kenai River Campus because it doesn’t have nearby public sidewalks, where smoking is allowed.

The UA Board of Regents approved the change in December 2014 in an effort to create a healthier environment for smokers and non-smokers. They also sought to encourage those who do smoke to quit.