Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska

Governor Sean Parnell’s capital budget proposes spending about $195 million on Southeast projects.

A number of Southeast leaders are upset about the governor’s plan to scale back the Alaska Class Ferry project. He made his announcement Tuesday in Ketchikan. Legislators and members of an advisory board say they should have been consulted first.

Angoon Democratic Senator Albert Kookesh ends his 18-year career at the Capitol when the Legislature is sworn in this January. But the longtime Southeast Alaska politician still has plenty on his plate.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell says the state will immediately begin negotiations with the Ketchikan shipyard to design the first of at least two smaller ferries, rather than the 350-foot ship that had been planned.

There’s a baby boom going on with Alaska’s humpback whales. Slow-but-steady population growth is good news for the species, as well as whale-watchers. But it could be bad news for boaters, hatcheries and the herring fleet.

State officials say a magazine article about shellfish incorrectly states when they can be gathered safely.