Alaska News

Study: Idaho Still Ranks Low For Employee Health Insurance

A new national study shows Idaho is again ranked among states with the lowest percentage of companies that offer workers employer-sponsored health insurance. Idaho ranks 4th nationally – trailing Alaska, Montana and Wyoming – with just 43 percent of the …

Tsunami Preparedness Week in Alaska

Gov. Sean Parnell declared this Tsunami Preparedness Week in Alaska. Parnell, in his proclamation, says Alaska’s vast coastline is home to many communities that are vulnerable to tsunamis. He says the state also falls within one of the most seismically …

Alaska Bill On Proof Of Insurance Via Cell Phone Advances

If a bill passes out of the Alaska Legislature, you might be handing an officer your phone instead of paper. HB146, by Rep. Pete Higgins, would allow drivers to display proof of automobile insurance on a “personal mobile electronic device,” …

PCI: Bill Protects Discounts for Alaska Insurance Consumers

Alaska insurance consumers will benefit if a measure under consideration is approved, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. SB 55 will clarify that discounts many insurers provide to consumers based on credit-based insurance scores can be applied …

No Leak Seen At Stranded Oil Drill Ship in Arctic

No leak has been seen from a Shell oil drilling ship that grounded off an Alaska island during a storm, officials said, as opponents criticized the growing race to explore the Arctic for energy resources. Federal on-scene response coordinator Capt. …

Shell Drill Ship Runs Aground On Island Off Alaska

Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s foray into Arctic offshore drilling has suffered a serious setback after one of its two Alaskan drilling rigs ran aground off a small island while trying to escape a fierce storm. The Kulluk drilling ship grounded …

Company Fined For Alaska Asbestos Release

An Alaska company has been fined $70,000 and placed on three years of probation for releasing asbestos into the air in Anchorage. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline (BISTE’-line) last week also ordered Copper River Campus to hire …

Conocophillips Reaches Deals Over Alaska Spills

ConocoPhillips has agreed to federal and state civil penalties of about $200,000 for spills of crude oil and contaminated water from corroded pipe in Alaska’s Kuparuk Oil Field in 2006 and 2007. ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. also agreed to reimburse the …

Alaska Increases Estimate of Salmon Disaster

Alaska’s Commerce commissioner says the disaster from poor king salmon returns was worse than first estimated. In a letter to the state’s congressional delegation, Susan Bell says commercial fishery permit holders lost an estimated $16.8 million in direct revenue. She …

Researchers Still Learning About 2002 Alaska Earthquake

The Denali Fault earthquake only rumbled for about 3 minutes when it shook Interior Alaska a decade ago, but some of the reverberations of that powerful seismic event are still being felt today. The 7.9 magnitude quake, which rattled the …