On April 17th, the Senate rejected an amendment expanding background checks to gun shows and online sales. A majority, 54 Senators, voted for the expanded law, but Senate rules require 60 votes. Both Begich and Senator Lisa Murkowski voted against the measure.

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A recent Gallup Poll shows 83% of Americans support expanded background checks; a slight tick down from 91%  just a few months ago.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said six months after the shooting the families of victims remain undeterred.

“The momentum is undiminished. The passion is stronger, if anything,” he said flanked by families from Newtown. “We lost the first vote, but we’re going to win the last vote. And the one who wins the last vote is the one who wins. ”

He compared the two days – the shooting and the vote.

“December 14th was a day of searing sadness, but April 17th was a day of shame,” he said.

Reid said he’ll bring up the measure again. He promises he will not accept a “watered down bill.” He has not explained what that means.

It remains unclear whether the Senate will vote on other measures  like an amendment Begich promotes outlawing the seriously mentally ill from owning guns. Reid said it’s not if the Senate passes the background check bill, it’s when the Senate passes the background check bill.

“The writing is on the wall,” Reid said. “The Republicans who voted against this: The writing is on the wall. And the Democrats who voted against this; the handful of Democrats who voted against this.”

That handful includes Begich, Max Baucus, who is retiring, Mark Pryor and Heidi Heitkamp. Pryor, like Begich, is up for reelection in 2014 in a Republican state.

At a Capitol Hill press conference last week marking the anniversary, Matt Soto read the names and ages of the victims who were murdered in Newtown. He paused to compose himself when he got to his older sister, a teacher at Sandy Hook elementary.

The families of the victims have returned to Capitol Hill to lobby for the background checks. Begich met with them last week, and again told them he would vote no.

If the families can’t win over hesitant senators, one person hopes to punish them at the polls: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg, the billionaire who’s been a Democrat, Republican and now independent, sent a letter to wealthy New York donors urging them to withhold donations to Begich and the other no votes.

One of those New Yorkers is Peter J. Solomon. The investment banker gave $2500 to Begich in the first quarter of 2013. He’s donated nearly $5000 since 2008. He refused to comment for this story, but his aide gave a statement on his behalf.

It said he respects both Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Begich, that he disagrees with Begich on gun control, but will continue to donate to him because he prefers a Senate in the Democrats’ control.

Begich said  many of his donors don’t agree with his vote on background checks.

“At their request they’d call, or I’d call because I know they have concerns. But I’m not afraid to talk to people about my position and my votes,” he said from New York Monday morning.

It’s unclear when the debate will begin again on the Senate floor. Reid said this time, he will not bring it up for a vote until he knows he has the votes to pass it.

The US Coast Guard Cutter Storis, now decommissioned, is being auctioned by the U.S. General Services Administration. (USCG file photo)

The historic Coast Guard Cutter Storis, which spent most of its post-World War II career sailing Alaska waters, is on the auction block. Alaska’s Congressional delegation had managed to stave off disposal since its 2007 decommissioning, but the federal government has decided it is time to move on.

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Heather Handyside is a press secretary for Senator Mark Begich.

“Well I think we had been hoping to be able preserve the Storis, and find it a place specifically in the museum in Juneau,” she said. “However, as you probably know, it does take a little bit of money to maintain these older, historical vessels, and so, unfortunately we weren’t able to keep it and it’s being auctioned off.”

The Storis was listed last week on the auction site of the General Services Administration. The opening bid, which did not meet the reserve price, was $60,000.

Joe Geldhof, the secretary for the Storis Museum in Juneau, said it appeared the GSA was not willing to wait any longer for Congress to give the ship away:

“Well, a number of us around the country and throughout Alaska were surprised with the General Services Administration’s acts in putting it up for auction,” he said. “We were on a track for the Congress to dispose of the Storis by giving it to the museum. And we were frustrated, as many people are, in dealing with Congress by various maneuvering and stuff. But this caught a lot of people by surprise, the GSA play.”

Geldhof said the Storis Museum group was hoping to bring the ship back to Juneau, where it was stationed in the 1940s and ‘50s, and use it for training young mariners as well as a museum.

“What we had hoped when we heard about this not too long ago is that we’d be able to obtain the vessel for training purposes through the Sea Cadets program run by the Navy League of the United States. And the GSA wasn’t willing to work with us and they just wanted to put it out to bid. You know, there’s conflicting views apparently in the GSA, whether it’s in California or Atlanta, where this seems to be run from,” he said. “But if I sound confused it’s because all of us are, a little bit.”
Geldhof says the next move will hopefully save the Storis from the scrap-yard, but it might mean the ship won’t be retired to Alaska.

“Our plan at this point is to work with some folks in Ohio and out in the Midwest, to acquire the Storis. That means it may wind up in Toledo where the ship was built, but we are still trying to save the Storis and preserve a ship that spent most of its career in Alaska, but started out in Ohio. Frankly, we are scrambling at this point to preserve a ship that was enormously important to Alaska’s maritime history and to the maritime history of the United States.”

The Storis spent about 10 years stationed in Juneau and another 50 in Kodiak. It spent much of its time patrolling the North Pacific and Bering Sea.

Governor Sean Parnell has requested a federal disaster declaration for Galena and other communities damaged by spring flooding. And most of the State of Alaska Emergency Management Team that’s been in Galena to assist with flood relief is scheduled to leave this week. The team has been in the city since shortly after the May 27 incident to assist in coordinating rebuilding efforts.

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New record-high temperatures are being recorded in many places around the state Monday, with Talkeetna topping the charts at 94 degrees. It’s their second-straight day of record-high heat.

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Seward also hit its all time high temperature today, with thermometers reaching 88 degrees.

And the Prince William Sound communities of Valdez and Cordova set new record highs, both reaching 90 degrees.

In Southeast Alaska, Yakutat reached a new high of 74 degrees, toppling a record set back in 1967.

Temperatures haven’t quite reached their peak for the day in the Interior and Northern portions of the state, but, according to Christopher Cox, with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, it’s going to be hot.

“Record to near-record temperatures are being experienced across most of Northern Alaska. We’re expecting high temperatures today in the mid- to upper-80s, even pushing low 90s much of the Central Interior,” he said.

Temperatures across the state are expected to cool off slightly around the state later this week, but will remain higher than normally forecast this time of year.

Quick action by fire fighters is credited with keeping a wildfire away from homes and cabins near Harding Lake south of Fairbanks. The fire is one of few getting attention as hot dry weather amps up wildfire season in the Interior.

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It’s been a rocky 12 years since Adak was incorporated as a city. The community has survived power crises, crushing debt, and twice, the closure of its biggest business – the fish processing plant. But now, Adak is facing a new, larger setback. Tuesday, the processing plant’s equipment is being auctioned off, and if it leaves the island, Adak will be left without its economic engine.

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The Obama administration’s top officials dealing with Arctic issues were in Anchorage Friday looking for comments from Alaskans about their new Arctic Policy. They got plenty of them, from a standing room-only crowd.

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The state and U.S. government are partnering together to investigate building a deep port at Nome or Port Clarence. They’re in the early stages of the study. Officials from the Alaska Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer visited Nome, Brevig Mission and Teller last week to collect public input about marine infrastructure and to hear about local concerns over natural resource impacts.

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The Corp took comments for an Environmental Impact Statement on the Arctic Deep Draft Ports Navigation Improvements Feasibility study. The meetings mark the beginning of a long process until proposals for port projects are fleshed out. In Teller, residents asked about impacts to the fragile Arctic environment and the hunting and fishing that so many in the area depend on.

Lifelong resident Josie Garnie says she’s worried about increased vessel traffic and who will regulate and be responsible for cleanup of spills and other pollution.

“It’s just the most beautiful place in the world and it’s really sensitive,” Garnie said. “It’s vulnerable, the environment, if one thing gets impacted it will impact everything else, it’s going to impact the people and we live off the land here.”

Her father Joe Garnie, known for his long career as an Iditarod musher, says he’s worried about vessel impacts to seal pups.

“At this time of the year, literally thousands of seals come in to this bay for calving. They give birth on the ice. They’re here for a few days and then they’re gone. They need that short period when the ice is really thin. If the ice is broken up, I don’t know what that will do to them if there’s a lot of boats in here,” he said.

Teller and Brevig Mission are located near a natural deep water bay and ships have always sought shelter from bad weather or ice at Port Clarence. Garnie says the vessels are coming whether locals want them or not. And he says economic development is needed because there are very few employment opportunities for locals.

“The only thing here is a little grocery store, employees a few, at minimum wage pretty much and the school. The school employs a few and the clinic. That’s it, there’s no real economic base here,” Garnie said.

Lorraine Cordova is an economist with the Army Corps of Engineers and the deep port project manager. She says she learned a lot from the dozens of people who came to the three community meetings.

“Vessels who are selling oil in this region are parking very large vessels here in Port Clarence and then lightering onto smaller vessels. They can avoid taxes and they can also ship lots of oil in very big ships that cannot be accommodated by other ports here. There is a lot of interest in jobs and how this is going to, how a project could benefit the communities and I think we heard that pretty loud and clear from all of the communities that, not only do they want protection of the environment that they live in, but they also want some economic opportunities,” Cordova said.

Deep draft port construction could start in 2017. State and federal government officials say with increased vessel traffic there is a need for ramping up the Coast Guard’s presence for safety and national sovereignty. The Corp will hold more public meetings in December.

Individual news stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn

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Reid Promises Senate Will Pass Background Check Bill

Peter Granitz, APRN – Washington DC

It’s been more than six months since the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut reignited the national debate on gun ownership.

And with the anniversary came word that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will again try and pass a bill requiring universal background checks for gun sales.

The vote will be laced with politics, and Reid will not be able to bank on the support of Senator Mark Begich.

Historic Cutter Storis On The Auction Block

Jay Barrett, KMXT – Kodiak

The historic Coast Guard Cutter Storis, which spent most of its post-World War II career sailing Alaska waters, is on the auction block.

State Emergency Management Team To Leave Galena This Week

Jeremy Scott, KIYU – Galena

Governor Sean Parnell has requested a federal disaster declaration for Galena and other communities damaged by spring flooding. And most of the State of Alaska Emergency Management Team that’s been in Galena to assist with flood relief is scheduled to leave this week. The team has been in the city since shortly after the May 27 incident to assist in coordinating rebuilding efforts.

Heat Wave Sets Records Across State

Josh Edge, APRN – Anchorage

New record-high temperatures are being recorded in many places around the state Monday, with Talkeetna topping the charts at 94 degrees. It’s their second-straight day of record-high heat.

Hot, Dry Weather Amping Up Wildfire Conditions

Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks

Quick action by fire fighters is credited with keeping a wildfire away from homes and cabins near Harding Lake south of Fairbanks. The fire is one of few getting attention as hot dry weather amps up wildfire season in the Interior.

Adak Fish Processing Equipment Up For Auction

Stephanie Joyce, KUCB – Unalaska

It’s been a rocky 12 years since Adak was incorporated as a city. The community has survived power crises, crushing debt, and twice, the closure of its biggest business – the fish processing plant. But now, Adak is facing a new, larger setback. Tuesday, the processing plant’s equipment is being auctioned off, and if it leaves the island, Adak will be left without its economic engine.

Arctic Officials Receive Comments On Policy From Alaskans

Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage

The Obama administration’s top officials dealing with Arctic issues were in Anchorage Friday looking for comments from Alaskans about their new Arctic Policy. They got plenty of them, from a standing room-only crowd.

State, Federal Governments Investigate Deepwater Port Possibilities

Deanna Haecker, KNOM – Nome & Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

The state and U.S. government are partnering together to investigate building a deep port at Nome or Port Clarence. They’re in the early stages of the study. Officials from the Alaska Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer visited Nome, Brevig Mission and Teller last week to collect public input about marine infrastructure and to hear about local concerns over natural resource impacts.

David J. Paul (blue shirt, left) talks to his grandmother in the courtroom gallery following the verdict in his case while Judicial Services Officer Al Fenumiai (right) handcuffs him and public defender Eric Hedland (center) watches. Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO News

A Juneau jury has found David J. Paul not guilty on a single count of second degree murder with extreme indifference to the value of human life.

Paul has been found guilty of manslaughter.

The Superior Court jury delivered the verdict just a few minutes ago.

The 24-year-old Paul has been on trial for causing the death, possibly by shaking, of four-month old Rian Orr, the daughter of his then-girlfriend Jaki Orr. The baby died in August 2010, with brain injuries.  The trial lasted more than three weeks. The jury began deliberating late Thursday afternoon.

Paul’s defense stipulated to aggravators of the crime occurring to a most vulnerable person of a very young age and as member of the same social unit,

Sentencing has been scheduled for all day on September 5th. But public defender Eric Hedland signaled that he intends to file another motion for judgment of acquittal on the manslaughter charge.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more details.

Musk Ox Farm Director Mark Austin is responsible for the largest (and possibly only), modern domestication experiment. For a number of years, he has been raising musk ox in Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley.

Austin first came to Alaska in college and quickly fell in love with the opportunities and lifestyle provided by living on, what he calls, “the fringe of society.”

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