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Taylor Heckart

@theckart.bsky.social
62 followers 58 following 12 posts

Reporter in Petersburg ✍️ 📻 Lifelong Alaskan ⛰️ 🌲

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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 25/11/2025
An Alaska Marine Lines barge that was taking on water off the coast of British Columbia has continued its journey south to Seattle. The barge was spotted floating lower than normal last week near Bella Bella, about 260 miles south of Ketchikan.
akpub.io
Alaska Marine Lines barge continues south after taking on water off British Columbia
The company said in an email that the barge was damaged during transit but was “secure” and “not sinking.”
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
In the screen adaptation, the title characters, Ch’idzigyaak and Sa’, speak to each other in Gwich’in. In fact, the film is entirely in the Athabascan language, which is considered severely endangered. (From KUAC - Fairbanks)
ktoo.org
First screen adaptation of 'Two Old Women' told in severely endangered Athabascan language
The new film premiered in Hawai'i last month, with homecoming showings scheduled in Alaska in December.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 17/11/2025
KYUK, the station that kept dozens of Western Alaska villages informed during Typhoon Halong, is now cutting staff after losing all federal funding.
akpub.io
Alaska station that covered devastating storm cuts jobs
A public TV and radio station in Western Alaska serves dozens of villages damaged by Typhoon Halong. But with federal funding eliminated, KYUK makes severe cuts to its staff and news department.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 15/11/2025
Anchorage election administrator Liz Edwards said the voting system has been in place since April, and was not a “first of its scale” experiment the city was about to conduct, as the Times reported. akpub.io/3LMkM6J
akpub.io
‘Inaccurate’ New York Times piece spotlights Anchorage’s electronic voting system, officials say
Anchorage election administrator Liz Edwards said the voting system has been in place since April, and was not a “first of its scale” experiment the city was about to conduct, as the Times reported.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 08/11/2025
The electric utility for the Anchorage area has approved plans to build what could be largest solar farm in Alaska, near the village of Tyonek.
adn.com
Chugach Electric moves ahead with plans to develop what could be Alaska’s largest solar farm
The effort come as other renewable projects struggle amid pressure from the Trump administration.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 06/11/2025
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is among 40 airports across the country forced to slash air traffic by 10% starting Friday as the government shutdown continues.
akpub.io
Anchorage International among 40 airports forced to cut flights due to government shutdown
Officials at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport say they’re working to minimize impacts to passengers and cargo operations.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 04/11/2025
Alaska regional air carrier Kenai Aviation shut down operations abruptly on Monday, citing financial insolvency.
adn.com
Regional air carrier Kenai Aviation announces immediate shutdown
The airline’s owner said Monday that the company was struggling under a debt burden that had become untenable.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Followed up with the Coast Guard on this— they sent a statement saying, “the VHF-FM marine radio will not be down the entire 96 hours. It will experience a brief interruption, lasting only 3-5 minutes, during a scheduled upgrade within that 96-hour time frame.” www.kfsk.org/2025/11/03/c...
kfsk.org
Coast Guard may briefly be unable to hear distress calls in Southeast Alaska this week - KFSK
According to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard, they may be unable to hear distress calls on the region’s emergency VHF channel for 3-5 minutes sometime this week.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
The news comes amid the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically slash federal spending – including by proposed cuts to key weather and climate programs within NOAA. (From KHNS - Haines)
ktoo.org
NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems
The Alaska Earthquake Center has long provided NOAA with seismic data for tsunami monitoring and warning purposes. That work will wind down in November, after the federal agency said it can no longer…
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
National Weather Service @nws.noaa.gov · 01/11/2025
A friendly reminder that tonight we "fall back" one hour. While setting clocks that don't do it on their own, change your smoke detector & NOAA Weather Radio batteries too!
Graphic with fall leaves reminding viewers that Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Text says ‘It’s time to fall back, not fall behind.’ A clock shows turning time back one hour. Tips include replacing batteries in smoke and CO detectors and NOAA Weather Radios, and restocking your vehicle’s emergency kit. NOAA and National Weather Service logos appear at the bottom.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
James Brooks Cascade @alaska.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
I need you to know that the Knights of Ni have been accused of Medicaid fraud: alaskabeacon.com/briefs/alask... #akleg #Alaska
alaskabeacon.com
Alaska prosecutors charge Knights of Ni with significant Medicaid fraud | Alaska Beacon
Seven felony charges have been filed against a 'Monty Python' named LLC and its owner, alleging more than half a million dollars in fraud.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
A seal that was rescued near Petersburg returned home last week to be released into the wild! Bravo the seal was welcomed back by a crowd of more than a hundred people. www.kfsk.org/2025/10/28/s...
kfsk.org
Seal rescued near Petersburg in May released back into the wild - KFSK
After several weeks of treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, the seal returned home on Oct. 23. Over a hundred people gathered at Sandy Beach to see the nearly five-month-old Bravo get rel...
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Eric Stone @eriwinsto.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
It looks like the photos didn’t quite come through… let’s try that again.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Beacon @alaskabeacon.com · 22/10/2025
More than 66,000 Alaskans will lose food stamps within weeks if government shutdown continues, the state of Alaska is warning, writes James Brooks (@alaska.bsky.social) for the @alaskaaeacon.com. alaskabeacon.com/briefs/more-...
alaskabeacon.com
More than 66,000 Alaskans will lose food stamps within weeks if government shutdown continues | Alaska Beacon
Nationwide, more than 42 million people could lose federally paid and state administered support that keeps them from going hungry.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Some 90% of the structures in Kipnuk were destroyed by the storm, along with 35% of buildings in Kwigillingok, according to the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. (From @alaskapublic.org)
ktoo.org
Evacuations wind down as focus in Western Alaska shifts to recovery and relief
Hundreds have been evacuated in military helicopters and planes to Bethel and Anchorage. Now, state officials are assessing what it'll take to rebuild villages hit hard by the storm.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
James Brooks Cascade @alaska.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Folks have been focused on the developing disaster in southwest Alaska, but America's farthest-west community is suffering, too: Adak has been without power for two weeks because of problems with the local generator. www.kucb.org/regional/202...
kucb.org
Adak residents ‘getting by’ after two weeks without power
A replacement generator is currently being sent on a barge, but it’s not scheduled to arrive until Nov. 3 – weather dependent.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
PBS News @pbsnews.org · 16/10/2025
"It's been a really mixed bag of emotions to be doing important work and trying to get the vital information that people need about disaster relief," @sgsmly.bsky.social of KYUK told PBS News Hour's Geoff Bennett. "My position itself will be going to five hours a week in the beginning of the year."
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Corinne Smith @corinne-smith.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Sage Smiley, news director of KYUK in Bethel @sgsmly.bsky.social briefs NPR on the evacuation and devastation of western Alaska. People are not just displaced from their homes but also their traditional ways of life. www.npr.org/2025/10/16/n...
npr.org
Mass evacuations underway in Western Alaska after storm devastates communities
Hundreds of people are being evacuated from the Alaska villages hardest hit by the remnants of Typhoon Halong over the weekend.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 14/10/2025
A U.S. Coast Guard commander compared the devastation in Southwest Alaska villages over the weekend to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “This took people into peril, where folks were swimming, floating, trying to find debris to hold onto in the cover of darkness," Capt. Culpepper said.
akpub.io
Officials say storm 'completely devastated' Western Alaska communities
A Coast Guard commander recounts scenes of Alaskans swimming in floodwaters in the middle of the night, in search of debris to hold onto.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
If you’re in Petersburg, Cooper Landing, Seward, Ketchikan, Tok, Unalaska, Soldotna, Skagway, and Bethel, you should get free access to a news database through your library! There are 20+ Alaska news publications in there, including many that are normally paywalled. www.kfsk.org/2025/10/13/g...
kfsk.org
Grant funding will give 15 Alaska libraries free access to many paywalled newspapers - KFSK
Fifteen libraries across Alaska will be gaining access to a large online database of national and in-state news sources. The Alaska Library Network received a $10,250 grant from the Atwood Foundation,...
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 12/10/2025
Some residents are reportedly unaccounted for or trapped in houses as a major storm brings high water and winds to some Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities. The storm is expected to move north and continue into Monday.
akpub.io
Live updates: A major storm is bringing dangerous flooding and hurricane-force winds to Western Alaska
The remnants of Typhoon Halong have already caused damaging flooding in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The storm is expected to move north and continue into Monday.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
The resolution also asks the federal government to loosen regulations for how Alaska Native subsistence hunters can use harvested sea otters. (From KFSK - Petersburg)
ktoo.org
Petersburg joins other Southeast Alaska communities in asking for stronger sea otter management
Sea otters were once wiped out in Southeast Alaska due to the fur trade, but their population has skyrocketed since reintroduction in the 1960s.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 03/10/2025
Here are four graphics that show how much the PFD's purchasing power has changed over the years. UAA economist Brett Watson says they tell us "as much about how we think about inflation or the things that we buy as it does about the dividend itself."
alaskapublic.org
Four graphics that chart the purchasing power of your PFD over the decades
University of Alaska economist Brett Watson looked at what you can buy with this year’s $1,000 dividend compared with 1982 and 2003.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Mikko Wilson @mikkowilson.com · 26/09/2025
For those in southeast #Alaska watching the wind & rain weather system, @nws.noaa.gov Juneau has a live #akwx update on the hurricane force low storm system at 8:30am on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/ZJ3GOJY...
youtube.com
Hurricane Force Low update, Friday morning 9/26/2025
YouTube video by NWS WFO Juneau
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 23/09/2025
For years, a national database that tracks and maps landslides has had a major hole: Alaska. But that’s about to change.
alaskapublic.org
A new map shows where landslides have happened across Alaska
The state released an inventory this week that pinpoints thousands of past slides. The aim is to better understand the risk – and prepare for the future.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
A storm moving through Southeast Alaska is causing high winds that will continue into Wednesday evening in Juneau. It’s resulting in power outages and fallen trees. Multiple cruise ships have canceled port calls.
ktoo.org
Severe wind causes fallen trees, power outages in Juneau
Three cruise ships that were scheduled to arrive in Juneau canceled their stops ahead of the storm Tuesday night.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 22/08/2025
Advocates say it’s finally time to connect Alaska’s largest city to bedroom communities to its north using commuter rail service. A proposal from the Alaska Commuter Rail Coalition is fairly straightforward, though it’s still unclear who will pay for it.
alaskapublic.org
Could commuter rail between Mat-Su and Anchorage become a reality? Advocates push for a pilot project
If built, the pilot project would have two trains running daily from Wasilla to Anchorage and back again on existing rail that’s maintained by the Alaska Railroad Corporation.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
KFSK’s summer intern Hannah Weaver got the chance to head over to Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island recently. She put together many great radio pieces, including this story on the new disc golf course! www.kfsk.org/2025/08/15/f...
kfsk.org
First Coffman Cove disc golf course opens with a par-ty - KFSK
Prince of Wales Island hosted its first-ever disc golf tournament on Aug. 9. The new course in Coffman Cove is plenty challenging — and plenty fun.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Eric Stone @eriwinsto.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
On Sunday, tens or hundreds of millions of tons of rock fell into Tracy Arm, a deep, narrow fjord south of Juneau popular with sightseers. It set off a colossal tsunami, stranding and nearly washing away a group of kayakers who had camped on a nearby island. alaskapublic.org/news/environ...
alaskapublic.org
'Pure chaos out of nowhere': Mega-landslide and tsunami rip through Tracy Arm south of Juneau
Waves that may have reached 100 feet scoured an inlet that’s frequented by cruise ships, tour vessels and pleasure boats.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Happy Friday! Here’s a fun story I’ve been working on this week! www.kfsk.org/2025/08/08/c...
kfsk.org
Canadian kayakers pit stop in Petersburg during a thousand-mile expedition - KFSK
Michelle Martin and Heather Grant McLoughlin are more than two months into a kayaking expedition from Vancouver Island to Glacier Bay. The Canadian women have paddled hundreds of miles through the Ins...
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 02/08/2025
Alaska lawmakers voted today to overrode Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of some $51 million in state funding for public schools.
alaskapublic.org
Alaska lawmakers override Dunleavy’s education funding veto
The vote was the second successful veto override after lawmakers convened Saturday for a special session called by Dunleavy.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 17/07/2025
Petersburg’s police chief and his employer, the Petersburg Borough, have officially resolved a lawsuit over his statements during the COVID-19 pandemic with a $70,000 out-of-court settlement.
alaskapublic.org
Petersburg police chief settles lawsuit against borough for $70K
James Kerr said borough officials retaliated against him after he testified as a private citizen against enforcing a masking mandate at a 2021 Assembly meeting.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
NPR @npr.org · 17/07/2025
The Senate voted to approve a $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television — a major step toward winding down nearly six decades of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. n.pr/44QnXjT
n.pr
Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs
The Senate voted to approve a $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 17/07/2025
Update: The Weather Service has lifted its tsunami advisory. No major waves were reported in any community.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 16/07/2025
Update: The Weather Service has downgraded its warning to an advisory.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 16/07/2025
Breaking: The National Weather Service has issued a tsunami warning for communities on the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck about 50 miles south of Sand Point.
alaskapublic.org
Tsunami warning issued after M7.3 earthquake near Sand Point
The warning includes the southern end of the Alaska Peninsula, along the coast, and up to both sides of Cook Inlet.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 16/07/2025
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck off of Alaska’s Aleutian chain on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami warning for coastal areas of the state.
adn.com
Preliminary 7.3 magnitude earthquake triggers tsunami warning for Southwest Alaska communities
A tsunami warning was issued for several coastal communities after the earthquake struck south of Sand Point.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
James Brooks Cascade @alaska.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
In Kodiak, the largest community currently under a tsunami, warning, KMXT public radio is the most valuable source for information about what’s happening in the community and for emergency information relayed by city officials. #Alaska
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Liz Ruskin @lizruskin.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
While the U.S. Senate is voting to defund public broadcasting ... my colleagues at rural Alaska public radio stations are scrambling to help coastal residents understand the tsunami danger from a 6.6 mag earthquake that struck minutes ago in Sand Point/Aleutians East.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 01/07/2025
The Yukon River village of Galena is in the midst of a clean energy transformation that locals say will boost savings, build resilience and provide jobs.
adn.com
In words and photos, Galena residents reflect on their village’s sustainable practices
These Alaska villagers want to curb their reliance on expensive, imported diesel that when burned is one of the largest contributors of planet-warming emissions.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
The new Supreme Court decision has significant implications for Alaska in particular, because it is not among the states that have legal challenges against Trump’s executive order. (From @alaskabeacon.com)
ktoo.org
After Supreme Court ruling, some Alaskans could be denied or lose U.S. citizenship
The court is allowing Trump's new definition of citizenship to advance in states that have not challenged it legally.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Eric Stone @eriwinsto.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
The Alaska DMV would like you to know that those texts you’ve been getting demanding payment are, as you may have suspected, a scam.
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Taylor Heckart @theckart.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
One of my stories from Petersburg!
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Dozens of the plastic bags have washed up near Juneau over the past week after a shipping container full of empty industrial-sized fish food bags fell off a barge heading from Baranof Island to the landfill in Petersburg. www.ktoo.org/2025/06/13/p...
ktoo.org
Plastic fish food bags litter the water between Sitka and Juneau
A shipping container full of empty hatchery feed bags fell off a barge near Admiralty Island.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Eric Stone @eriwinsto.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Dunleavy cut $50.6 million from formula funding for public schools, equivalent to $200 in basic per-student funding, known as the base student allocation, trimming back a $700 increase lawmakers approved last month. #akleg That's one of several cuts -- read more: alaskapublic.org/news/educati...
alaskapublic.org
Dunleavy cuts Legislature’s education funding increase by $200 per student
The reduction in education funding is one of more than $100 million in budget reductions Dunleavy made using his line-item veto power.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
David Reamer @anchistorian.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
And I'm required to add this image.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 12/06/2025
The U.S. Postal Service is set to increase rates next month for Alaska’s bypass mail program, which ships groceries and bulk goods across rural Alaska.
adn.com
Alaska bypass mail rates set to rise by over 9% in July
The program subsidizes groceries and bulk goods shipped across rural Alaska.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 10/06/2025
The village that people know as Newtok is basically a ghost town today, after the final residents left last fall. The next challenge is building enough housing at its new townsite, Mertarvik.
alaskapublic.org
Although everyone has moved, Newtok's relocation is far from over
They waited decades for safe, healthy housing, but for many who have made the move from Newtok to Mertarvik, that dream still hasn't become reality.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 06/06/2025
Interlibrary loans give rural Alaskans access to books that smaller libraries can't stock, sent from the Lower 48 if needed. But the service could be eliminated if federal funding isn't approved by the end of June, under Trump administration budget cuts.
alaskapublic.org
Federal cuts could end key library services for rural Alaskans
The programs allowed rural residents to access books and other materials that smaller libraries don't have the budget or space for.
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Reposted by Taylor Heckart
ProPublica @propublica.org · 05/06/2025
We asked people who lived in homeless encampments that were cleared out in city “sweeps” to write about what object was the hardest for them to lose. “They took my baby pictures and my moms obituaries,” a 29-year-old in California wrote.
projects.propublica.org
“I Have Lost Everything”: The Toll of Cities’ Homeless Sweeps
Cities often take belongings — including important documents and irreplaceable mementos — when they conduct sweeps of homeless encampments. ProPublica gave notecards to people across the country so…
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