KTOO News Department

In this newscast:

• The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has opened the public comment period for a proposed regulation change that redefines what counts as a local contribution for school districts,
• A cargo ship carrying thousands of vehicles that caught fire off of the Western Aleutians sank Monday amid salvage operations in the North Pacific Ocean,
• Skagway officials agreed to send a response protesting the plan to build a ferry terminal north of Juneau’s current terminal,
• A Klukwan mother and son travelled to Washington D.C. to protest a federal bill that would likely include cuts to Medicaid,
• A proposed ordinance to criminalize camping in Anchorage’s public spaces brought a huge crowd to the city’s Assembly meeting

In this newscast:

• The Coalition for Education Equity is preparing to sue the state over what it says is inadequate funding for public schools in Alaska,
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to rescind the Roadless Rule yesterday,
• Tongass Voices: Olga Sofia Lijó Seráns on a Juneau bookstore’s 50-year legacy,
• A new federal report says the group overseeing the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System needs to update its operations

In this newscast:

• The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees federal fisheries off Alaska’s coast, is scaling back operations due to federal funding uncertainties.
• A man died after falling roughly 150 near Salmon Creek Dam in Juneau on Saturday.
• Record breaking rainfall caused the water supply for the blind Slough Hydroelectric Plant near Petersburg to spill over.
• Attorneys allege the Alaska Department of Corrections is violating federal standards while holding dozens of immigration detainees.
• The community of Kwethluk burst with activity as Orthodox pilgrims from across the world honored the first-ever Yup’ik saint.

In this newscast:

• The editor of Juneau Empire is leaving the paper. Mark Sabbatini has edited the paper since 2023 and announced his departure in a Facebook post,
• The Juneau Police Department cleared a homeless encampment on the side of a Mendenhall Valley road this morning,
• The National Weather Service issued Juneau’s first recorded severe thunderstorm warning yesterday afternoon after conditions escalated and a cruise ship partially broke free from its moorings,
• The special election to determine whether or not to form the Xunaa Borough will be paused until further notice, after a superior court judge granted a stay of a state commission’s approval of the proposed borough in Southeast Alaska,
• Smoke poured over the Canadian border into eastern Alaska this weekend, impacting communities from Southeast to the Interior

In this newscast:

• The Juneau chapter of St. Vincent de Paul will have a new executive director in July,
• One of Eaglecrest Ski Area’s four chairlifts is permanently closed,
• Nearly 2,000 Juneauites joined hundreds of thousands of people across the country to protest President Trump and his polices,
• Juneau will officially have a second electric utility that is poised to expand the capital city’s renewable energy capacity, but only if the company can finance and build its proposed hydroelectric project before its federal license expires,
• A Petersburg senior was targeted in a phone scam and defrauded of over $100,000, but when two men came to town for another money pick-up, they were arrested

In this newscast:

• Alaska’s public schools likely won’t get all the money lawmakers approved in a bipartisan vote last month after Gov. Mike Dunleavy unilaterally reduced education funding with a line-item veto,
• Juneau’s fire department is piloting a paid internship program this year that equips locals with certifications and skills needed to work in the field,
• A shipping container full of empty industrial-sized fish food bags fell off a barge heading from Baranof Island to the landfill in Petersburg and dozens of the plastic bags have washed up near Juneau over the past week,
• Residents are advised against harvesting clams, mussels and other shellfish near beaches across Southeast Alaska due to concerns about paralytic shellfish poisoning,
• Curious Juneau: Why is the state capital Juneau and not Anchorage