March-Issue-3 2012

A surface transportation reauthorization package that passed the U.S. Senate March 14 is making the Alaska Railroad Corp. nervous.

NOME (AP) — Mushers always pose with their lead dogs under the burled arch in Nome after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

There is no beach trip for 19-year-old DeAnna Amox this spring break. She has something else on her mind: beating the boys at the carpentry game.

Repsol USA said it will plug and abandon its Qugruk No. 2 well after drilling crews were unable to repair damage in the well caused by a Feb. 15 gas blowout, a company spokesman said March 14.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gasoline is now over $4 per gallon in four states and Washington, D.C., as a three-month surge in pump prices continues.

State agencies have identified some key technology and permitting challenges for a North Slope shale oil play, an official in the state Division of Oil and Gas says.

With less than four weeks left in the 2012 legislative session, state senators are on the slow track in their work on changes to the state’s oil production tax.

NEW YORK (AP) — BP’s multibillion-dollar settlement deal with people and businesses harmed by its 2010 oil spill removes some uncertainty about the potential financial damages it faces. It also may help the company restore its all-important relationship with the federal government.

A change in the Universal Service Fund high-cost support program that helps pay for rural telecommunications infrastructure bit into the bottom line of General Communications Inc. sooner than expected and reduced its 2011 income by $3.5 million.

NEW YORK (AP) — Oh, you pretty things. Just look at the mama giraffe nuzzling a baby giraffe, that lovely idea for an indoor planter made of mason jars and those perfectly cooked bacon strips cooling on a plate. This is what people are circulating on Pinterest, the latest website-of-the-moment for sharing things you love.

It’s a busy or slow Legislative Session in Juneau, depending on your perspective.

A surface transportation reauthorization package that passed the U.S. Senate March 14 is making the Alaska Railroad Corp. nervous.

With less than four weeks left in the 2012 legislative session, state senators are on the slow track in their work on changes to the state’s oil production tax.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve sketched a mildly brighter view of the economy March 13 after a burst of hiring since its last meeting in January. It took no further steps to aid the recovery and repeated its plan to keep short-term interest rates near zero through 2014.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four major U.S. banks failed to show they have enough capital to survive another serious downturn, the Federal Reserve said March 13. The list included Citigroup, the nation’s third-largest bank.

It’s a busy or slow Legislative Session in Juneau, depending on your perspective.

As assistant associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, I travel throughout the nation to meet with small business owners. Many small businesses don’t realize that 17 small business tax cuts have already been signed into law and an additional five small business tax cuts are proposed for 2013. These tax cuts are available to all types of small businesses, from main street shops to high growth startups.

Homegrown salmon are Alaska’s largest crop – but don’t ever refer to it as farming. Where farmed fish are crammed into closed pens or cages until they’re ready for market, Alaska salmon begin their lives in one of 35 hatcheries and are released as fingerlings to the sea. When the fish return home, they make up a huge part of Alaska’s total salmon catch.

NOME (AP) — Mushers always pose with their lead dogs under the burled arch in Nome after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Bulletins 03/18/12

If halibut thrived on hard feelings, there would likely be a trophy fish for everyone by now.

A pair of halibut regulatory actions once intended to take effect in 2012 are winding their way through the council process with an uncertain future.

At 38, Jason Bjaranson was starting to figure it might be time to get out of commercial fishing on the Pacific Ocean. He was starting to think he should buy some life insurance, and had second thoughts about making what proved to be his last trip. But he had a family to support, and the bills were piling up.

Homegrown salmon are Alaska’s largest crop – but don’t ever refer to it as farming. Where farmed fish are crammed into closed pens or cages until they’re ready for market, Alaska salmon begin their lives in one of 35 hatcheries and are released as fingerlings to the sea. When the fish return home, they make up a huge part of Alaska’s total salmon catch.

If halibut thrived on hard feelings, there would likely be a trophy fish for everyone by now.

A pair of halibut regulatory actions once intended to take effect in 2012 are winding their way through the council process with an uncertain future.

At 38, Jason Bjaranson was starting to figure it might be time to get out of commercial fishing on the Pacific Ocean. He was starting to think he should buy some life insurance, and had second thoughts about making what proved to be his last trip. But he had a family to support, and the bills were piling up.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — Bob Landorf walked miles during his hospital stay, dragging his IV pole along, too, on a mission to upend disturbing statistics for patients his age.

NEW YORK (AP) — Oh, you pretty things. Just look at the mama giraffe nuzzling a baby giraffe, that lovely idea for an indoor planter made of mason jars and those perfectly cooked bacon strips cooling on a plate. This is what people are circulating on Pinterest, the latest website-of-the-moment for sharing things you love.