ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 17 -- The U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska, S. Lane Tucker, issued the following news release on June 16, 2023: Former Advanced Nurse Practitioner Jessica Joyce Spayd (52) was sentenced in U.S. District Court yesterday to 30 years (360 months) imprisonment for illegally prescribing and dispensing opioids outside the scope of legitimate medical practice that resulted in the deaths of five people between 2014 and 2019. United States District Judge Joshua M. Kindred  more

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- AmeriCorps issued the following news release: AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, announced more than $7 million in investments to support Native Nations and native-led nonprofits to address community needs specific to Indian Country, from education, mental health, food security, to climate change, conservation, habitat preservation and more. These investments continue AmeriCorps' commitment to partnering with American Indian and Alaska  more

SEATTLE, Washington, June 15 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that Hecla Mining Company's Greens Creek Mine, located on Admiralty Island near Juneau, Alaska, was fined $143,124 for violating hazardous waste management and disposal requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. "EPA continues to hold mining companies accountable for hazardous waste disposal practice  more

WASHINGTON, June 16 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science Center issued the following news on June 15, 2023: * * * New survey estimate and recent trend data suggest the population may be stable and possibly increasing slightly. * * * Today, NOAA Fisheries announced an updated abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 290 and 386, with a median best estimate of 331.   more

WASHINGTON, June 17 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Regional Office issued the following news: * * * Removed from the Endangered Species List in 2013, the eastern distinct population segment of the Steller sea lion is still recovered a decade later. * * * Steller sea lions were named for Georg Wilhelm Steller, a German surgeon and naturalist who first documented the species in 1742. They were once so abundant throughout the North Pacific that Indigeno  more

WASHINGTON, June 14 (TNSrpt) -- The National Transportation Safety Board issued the following news release: Overreliance on an electronic chart, miscommunication and an outdated navigational chart were all factors in a cruise ship damaging a cruise terminal pier last year near Sitka, Alaska, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. The cruise ship Radiance of the Seas was docking at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal on May 9, 2022, when it struck and damaged a mooring dolphin. The   more

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, June 12 -- The U.S. Pacific Air Forces issued the following news: By Tech. Sgt. Curt Beach, JBER Public Affairs U.S. and Royal Australian Air Force service members came together to discuss challenges and posture for the future during this year's iteration of the Air Senior National Representatives forum at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, May 15-17. The ASNR forum is a bilateral U.S. Air Force - RAAF engagement that lays the foundation for the interope  more