Saying that the proposed initiative to ban commercial gillnets and set nets from non-subsistence areas proposed by the Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance goes against the state's constitution barring appropriation of a state asset, Lt Governor Mead Treadwell rejected the initiative on Monday.
In a vote of 60-37, the Senate narrowly passed a temporary extension of jobless benefits allowing the bill to clear the first hurdle towards a final vote in the Senate.
After being stranded in the Antarctic ice since Christmas Eve, the passengers aboard the "Akademik Shokalskiy" were airlifted from the Russian ship on Thursday afternoon by a Chinese helicopter based aboard the Chinese icebreaker, "Xue Long."
Long-time Chair of the Sealaska board, Albert Kookesh, announced via the Sealaska website online, on December 31st, that he will be stepping down from the chairman's position after 14 years.