An expansion of school choice programs
available to Alaskans is one step closer to becoming a reality, but
a 4-3 vote by the House Education Committee indicates the road
ahead for the bill could be rough.
The state already has 27 charter schools, and students can move
to other public schools in their district if space is available.
The bill by Rep. Wes Keller would make state funded scholarships
available for students to attend private or religious schools.
Keller, a Wasilla Republican, has said HB145 would increase

An avalanche has forced the closure of
the Seward Highway in both directions.
The Alaska Department of Transportation says the avalanche
occurred at about 7 a.m. Thursday at the Y intersection of the
Seward and Sterling highways. Traffic is closed in both directions
on the Seward. The Sterling Highway also is closed.
The closure is expected to extend well into the day as crews
work to remove the snow and debris. The slide is estimated to be
between 3 and 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide.
Drivers also are being warned to avoid the Turnagain and Seward

A second person has died at an
Anchorage center that allows homeless alcoholics to drink in their
rooms.
The Anchorage Daily News reports Daniel
Worthman died Tuesday at Karluk Manor. Police say a medical
examiner will determine the cause of the 46-year-old man's death.
It's the second death reported at the center, which opened December
8 in a former Red Roof Inn in downtown Anchorage. The first death
was reported New Year's Day.
Karluk Manor is based on the Housing First model that maintains
that chronic alcoholics are best-served by providing them with safe

Governor Sean Parnell is proposing a $97
million supplemental budget to cover what he says were
unanticipated increases in delivering state services and programs
for the current year.
The request includes $38 million for legal settlements, $3
million for disaster funding and $4.9 million for wildland
firefighting. There's also money for emergency road and bridge
repairs; low-income heating assistance programs; and inmate housing
and transportation.
The budget includes $3.1 million for oil and gas litigation and

A Senate committee has advanced
legislation that would increase education funding in Alaska.
The measure, SB171, would increase the base student allocation
by $125 the first year, $130 the second year and $135 the third
year. It is aimed at providing school districts greater funding
certainty in their planning, and to help them meet rising costs.
But there's considerable debate at the Capitol over whether this
is the right approach.
Governor Sean Parnell has said he's open to discussing ways to help
school districts meet fixed costs but has problems with increases

House leadership is seeking a legal
opinion on what "substantially similar" means, as it pertains to
a proposed ballot initiative that would revive Alaska's coastal
management program.
But it's not clear the House will take the lead in considering
any coastal management legislation this session.
The Legislature can pre-empt the measure, if it qualifies, by
passing a substantially similar bill. Senate President Gary Stevens
said recently that if legislation is proposed, it should come from
the House. The Senate passed a bill aimed at saving the program

Anchorage police say a suspect in a
weekend stabbing has turned himself in.
The stabbing occurred early Sunday morning in an east Anchorage
neighborhood after a man pounded on his neighbor's door, saying he
needed help.
The suspect has been identified as 21-year-old Richard Smith who
is wanted on assault charges. Police say he turned himself in late
Sunday evening.
The woman first thought 56-year-old Thomas Atkinson Jr. was
having a heart attack, but it was soon discovered he had been
stabbed several times in the back. Police say Atkinson had been

A Russian tanker that delivered 1.3
million gallons of fuel to Nome, and Coast Guard cutter that broke
ice for the tanker, have reached open water.
Vitus Marine LLC
says the Renda and the Healy broke free of ice in the Bering Sea on
Sunday afternoon after spending more than a week in pack ice.
The city of Nome was in need for fuel for the winter after a
storm last November prevented the last barge of heating oil and
gasoline from reaching the iced-in community.
The Renda is returning to its home base in Vladivostok, Russia.

When two clinics opened for Medicare
patients in Anchorage last year, they were initially flooded with
patients.
But the Anchorage Daily News reports demand
has tapered off and clinic officials are beginning to wonder where
the rest of the Medicare patients have gone.
Providence Senior Care Center opened just about a year ago and
the Alaska Medicare Clinic in south Anchorage opened in May.
Combined, the clinics have seen nearly 3,000 patients. That is far
less than an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Anchorage Medicare

An avid beachcomber has found tsunami
debris from Japan washed up in Kodiak.
KMXT says Dave Kubiak in September found
a large, white plastic float but wasn't sure if it was tsunami
debris. When he found seven, he suspected something was going on.
Pictures of the floats were sent to Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who
is well-known for his study of flotsam and how it travels through
the ocean. He sent the pictures to the national media in Japan and
asked for help identifying the floats.
Ebbesmeyer says the floats have been identified as coming from
oyster farms.