As Indigenous youth, we work continuously to strengthen our roots in the values that have shaped our ancestral heritage and continue to guide our collective journey. Over the past decade, with the rising awareness of global humanitarian crises and environmental disasters, investors and companies have become more sensitive to the impacts of their decisions on […] The post A rising awareness about sustainability appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. HERNDON, Va. — Juan Ramirez, watching his dog play in Chandon Park here in suburban Virginia on a Saturday morning, tries to imagine the massive office buildings next to the park becoming apartments and townhouses. “I guess it’s inevitable. People don’t […] The post Too many cubicles, too few homes spur incentives to convert offices to housing appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan emergency spending law Wednesday to provide an additional $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, ending months of behind-the-scenes maneuvering and public pleas for Congress to approve the funding. The package also included a measure requiring the popular app TikTok be sold by its Chinese […] The post Biden signs $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan into law  appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Alaska’s three-member, bipartisan congressional delegation is siding with boosters of the major proposed Donlin mine in an ongoing lawsuit filed by tribal governments that seeks to invalidate the Southwest Alaska project’s federal environmental approvals. Republican U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, in documents filed in federal court late […] The post In Donlin lawsuit, Murkowski, Sullivan and Peltola come to mining project’s defense appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

The Alaska House’s Rules Committee has eliminated, at least temporarily, a plan to raise the state’s age of sexual consent to 18. Members of the House said on Tuesday that they expect to revote on the idea before the legislative session ends. Meeting on Monday, members of the committee voted unanimously to remove the section […] The post Alaska House panel removes proposal to raise the state’s age of sexual consent to 18 appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Alaska is getting an infusion of nearly $125 million to build and expand solar energy projects, part of a national Solar for All program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Northwest regional office announced on Tuesday. The funding is split between two projects, one of them a partnership between the Alaska Energy Authority and the […] The post Alaska projects win nearly $125 million in EPA’s national Solar for All grant competition appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

The Alaska Senate voted unanimously on Monday to make it easier for groups of Alaskans to invest in wind and solar power projects, sending the idea to the state House for further work. Senate Bill 152, from Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, allows Alaskans to jointly invest in a renewable power project, and if the project […] The post On Earth Day, Alaska Senate passes green-billing legislation, revised hunting license standards appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced a final rule that means millions of salaried workers who are employed in the executive, administrative or professional industries will become eligible for overtime pay. The rule will affect roughly 4 million workers in the first year of implementation and will be broken into two checkpoints. […] The post Millions of salaried workers to become eligible for overtime under new Biden rule appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

The Biden administration has introduced a controversial set of new regulations intended to increase staffing levels and improve patient care in nursing homes. The new staffing rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has faced fierce opposition from the industry and Republicans in Congress. It establishes for the first time national minimum staffing […] The post Biden administration unveils new rule on nursing home staffing levels appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

To address a surge in mental health problems among young Alaskans, the Alaska Senate is considering whether to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to seek therapy without their parents’ permission. On Wednesday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on Senate Bill 240, a proposal introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and amended by Senate Majority Leader Cathy […] The post Alaska Senate considers plan that would allow teens to independently seek mental health care appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

There was only one purpose for the boarding school system in Alaska. In fact, there was only one purpose for the Bureau of Indian Affairs educational program in America. It was all about white power. White supremacy. Assimilate the savage Natives by force. The Inupiat people of our Bering Straits region, first subjugated by the […] The post BIA boarding schools’ devastating legacy continues to echo in Alaska appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

A bill passed Thursday by the Alaska House of Representatives would affirm a tough hurdle for top-level environmental protections on rivers and lakes in the state. House Bill 95, passed on a 21-18 vote, would require that labeling a river or lake a “Tier III” waterway requires legislative approval.  Under the federal Clean Water Act, […] The post House approves tougher route for environmental protections on Alaska rivers, lakes appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S Supreme Court justices Monday seemed inclined to side with an Oregon town’s law that bans homeless people from sleeping outdoors, in a case that could have broad implications for local ordinances related to homelessness across the country. During oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, conservative […] The post U.S. Supreme Court appears to lean toward Oregon city in complex homelessness case  appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Industries that discharge toxic PFOA and PFOS compounds into the environment will now be held legally and financially responsible for the contamination, according to a final rule issued by the EPA today. The Department of Defense is also subject to the new requirements. PFOA and PFOS are now classified as hazardous substances under Superfund law, […] The post Polluters must pay to clean up areas contaminated with PFOA, PFOS appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

The Yup’ik village of Newtok, perched precariously on thawing permafrost at the edge of the rapidly eroding Ninglick River, is the first Alaska community to begin a full-scale relocation made necessary by climate change. Still, the progress of moving to a new village site that is significantly outpacing relocation efforts at other vulnerable Alaska communities, […] The post Relocation of eroding Alaska Native village seen as a test case for other threatened communities appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Indigenous leaders want a seat at the table and to be seen and heard. “Nothing about us without us.” That’s the message Indigenous leaders shared at an Arctic symposium that organizers say brought in participants from 30 countries. Six Inupiaq, Tlingit and Athabascan leaders kicked off “Arctic Encounter 2024” with a plenary […] The post Alaska Native vision for the future: Self determination appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

When Denise Brown peruses the tightly packed gift card display at her local CVS in Harlem, New York, she sees the perfect present for her grandson: a Sony PlayStation gift card. Others, acting in bad faith, see these gift card displays as easy money in one of the country’s costliest and most common consumer scams: […] The post As consumers lose millions to gift card scams, lawmakers pressure businesses appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Citing what they characterized as unacceptable risks to wildlife habitat, water quality and the Native communities that depend on natural resources, the Biden administration on Friday rejected the controversial plan to put a 211-mile industrial road through largely wild areas of the Brooks Range foothills. The decision came in a supplemental environmental impact statement released […] The post Biden administration rejection of Ambler road project both panned and celebrated in Alaska appeared first on Alaska Beacon.

Over the last 26 years, Penelope Gold has used the state’s correspondence school program to homeschool six of her seven children. Most have graduated, but her youngest daughter is in fifth grade. For all that time, Gold said she has gotten cash from the state to round out her kids’ education with things like sports, […] The post Lawmakers to wait on Alaska Supreme Court as families reel in wake of correspondence ruling appeared first on Alaska Beacon.