Alaska’s Redistricting Board is awaiting the outcome of a United State Supreme Court case that could remove some federal restrictions from state redistricting plans. Wednesday, the nation’s highest court heard arguments over whether states with a history of discrimination need to get Department of Justice approval for state voting maps. Although the federal Supreme Court case was brought by an Alabama county, it has implications for Alaska.  The state of Alaska filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs, while the Alaska Federation of Natives filed a brief in support of the federal government.

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Epilepsy, eclampsia, pulmonary hypertension, and sickle cell anemia. Those are all conditions where a low-income woman would still qualify for abortion coverage under a new bill being considered by the Alaska state legislature. But depression, schizophrenia, alcohol dependence and bulimia aren’t on the list. Nor are any other mental heath conditions.

Alaska’s Medicaid program pays for a few hundred abortions each year, and some lawmakers believe that a portion of those might actually be elective and shouldn’t be covered. At a hearing on Wednesday, the Senate judiciary committee considered a bill that provide a strict definition of the term “medically necessary,” and they consulted with a trio of doctors affiliated with the anti-abortion movement on where the line should be drawn.

The three medical professionals invited to testify at the bill’s first hearing laid out their case for why only conditions that endanger a women’s physical health should be covered by Medicaid.

Priscilla Coleman, a psychologist whose research focuses on abortion and depression, called in from Ohio.

“I can say with a reasonable degree of scientific and medical certainty that abortion is a substantial contributing factor in women’s mental health problems,” said Coleman. “Abortion is a particularly risky choice for women with preexisting mental illness.”

Coleman explained that her studies had shown that abortion can correlate with future depression and substance abuse, and for that reason an abortion on mental health grounds shouldn’t qualify for state funding.

But Coleman’s research has come under scrutiny from inside Alaska and beyond. The chair of the Alaska Democratic Party described her and the other doctors invited to testify as “extremists,” and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has previously called Coleman’s research “unreliable.” The American Psychological Association has also found fault with her research linking abortion and mental health issues.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, the lone Democrat on the committee, questioned her on that point.

“All we get from the professional organizations are very biased, very politically driven efforts to summarize what’s available,” Coleman responded.

The other two doctors invited to testify were also supportive of the bill. John Thorp, an obstetrician from North Carolina, said that in the event of major trauma to a women or a fetus, termination of pregnancy short of massive hemorrhaging on the part of the fetus was always an elective procedure. Susan Rutherford, an obstetrician from Washington, provided the committee with a couple of other physical conditions that should be included in the bill, but also rejected the idea of a mental health allowance. Both are listed in the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ directory.

Sen. John Coghill, who chairs the judiciary committee and is the lead sponsor of the bill, said earlier this week that he invited the group to testify to get a medical perspective on the bill since it wasn’t going through the Senate’s health and social services committee. He also said he found the work conducted by the testifiers to be credible.

During the hearing, most of the committee members seemed receptive to the bill, with three of the five members already having signed on as co-sponsors.

But Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, questioned the need for the bill. During the hearing, legislative aide Chad Hutchinson stated that the bill was necessary because its supporters had reason to believe that Medicaid is currently covering elective procedures. Wielechowski pushed him to identify a case where an abortion that was not medically necessary had been funded.

WIELECHOWSKI: Do you have any evidence of any abortions in the state of Alaska that have been paid for by Medicaid that were elective as opposed to being medically necessary.

HUTCHINSON: Sen. Wielechowski, through the chair, I believe the statistics that we quoted show that that is occurring.

Hutchinson did not name a case, but elaborated that Medicaid covers over a third of abortions in the state, and that data from the Guttmacher Institute suggested that a much smaller percentage of abortions performed nationally were done out of medical necessity.

Testimony on the bill continues next week, when Planned Parenthood is invited to testify.

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Most rural Alaska communities use diesel generators to create electrical power. But fuel is expensive, so they’re trying out alternatives.

Yakutat, on the eastern Gulf of Alaska, wants wave power. A project in the works for several years just won a key permit. But it still faces substantial barriers.

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Bikers obliterated a previous course record in this year’s Iditarod Trail Invitational.  The first riders pedaled across the finish line Wednesday morning to complete the 350 mile race between Knik and McGrath.  Four of the race’s top five finishers this year are all cyclists from Alaska.

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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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Shell Suspending 2013 Drilling Season

Stephanie Joyce, KUCB – Unalaska

With both of Shell Oil’s Arctic drill rigs headed to drydock for repairs, the company says it’s suspending its 2013 drilling season.

NOAA Tracking North Pacific Storms

Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage

This month has been a busy one for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s winter storms reconnaissance project. The agency tracks developing winter storms in the North Pacific with an airplane equipped to eject data gathering instruments into the atmosphere. That data is quickly fed into weather models to help refine the forecasts for potentially damaging storms that will hit Alaska and the Lower 48.

Redistricting Board Awaiting U.S. Supreme Court Decision

Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

Alaska’s Redistricting Board is awaiting the outcome of a United State Supreme Court case that could remove some federal restrictions from state redistricting plans. Wednesday, the nation’s highest court heard arguments over whether states with a history of discrimination need to get Department of Justice approval for state voting maps. Although the federal Supreme Court case was brought by an Alabama county, it has implications for Alaska.  The state of Alaska filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs, while the Alaska Federation of Natives filed a brief in support of the federal government.

Senate Committee Considering Bill Defining ‘Medically Necessary’ Abortions

Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN – Juneau

Alaska’s Medicaid program pays for a few hundred abortions each year, and some state lawmakers think that number is too high. At a hearing today, the Senate judiciary committee considered a bill that provides a strict definition of the term “medically necessary.” They consulted with a trio of doctors affiliated with the anti-abortion movement on where the line should be drawn and outraged many democrats in the process.

Yakutat Seeking Wave Power

Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau

Most rural Alaska communities use diesel generators to create electrical power. But fuel is expensive, so they’re trying out alternatives.

Yakutat, on the eastern Gulf of Alaska, wants wave power. A project in the works for several years just won a key permit. But it still faces substantial barriers.

15 To Be Inducted Into Alaska Women’s Hall Of Fame

Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

Thursday evening, 15 women will be inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Anchorage. The recognition of women’s contributions to the state started in 2008 during the 50th anniversary of statehood.

Bikers Break Previous Iditarod Trail Invitational Record

Emily Schwing, KUAC – Fairbanks

Bikers obliterated a previous course record in this year’s Iditarod Trail Invitational.  The first riders pedaled across the finish line Wednesday morning to complete the 350 mile race between Knik and McGrath.  Four of the race’s top five finishers this year are all cyclists from Alaska.

Thursday evening, 15 women will be inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Anchorage. The recognition of women’s contributions to the state started in 2008 during the 50th anniversary of statehood.

Former Anchorage Assembly chair and prior year inductee Jane Angvik is on the steering committee. She says women from several service organizations decided the statehood celebration was a good time to honor great Alaskan women.

“How do we make sure that we find the women who have made a difference in Alaska in any field, in any community activities or who made a difference statewide or impacted the nation, from Alaska,” Angvik said.

This is the fifth year of recognizing those contributions. There are 15 women being inducted Thursday evening bringing the total to 110. One of the inductees is Judge Karen Hunt. Judge Hunt was the first female superior court judge appointed in Anchorage in 1984. She was a teacher in Los Angeles schools but decided to go to law school in the 60s. She says things have changed dramatically from the time when the big issue was whether women could work in a private firm.

“Pretty much the federal government was hiring, the state government was hiring and so the entry for many women into the practice of law was in government agencies. But trying to get a job in a private firm, in which you would face the responsibility of meeting face to face with clients was a hurdle that women lawyers were having trouble getting over,” Hunt said.

Judge Hunt was appointed by Governor Bill Sheffield. After years of being a trial attorney, she says the first day she entered court as a judge and everyone stood up. She turned around to see who was behind her and then, embarrassed, realized she was the reason they were standing. She says being inducted into the hall of fame is humbling.

“I have a little trouble thinking that I belong in that group, but I have to tell you that I’m extraordinarily pleased to have been considered and included. It’s, it’s quite humbling,” Hunt said.

Marie Nash is another inductee this year. She is of Aleut and Japanese descent and was born in a Japanese internment camp during World War Two. After college, Nash first worked for Alaska Congressman Howard Pollack. She went on to spend 20 years working for Senator Ted Stevens.

Nash also served on the Bristol Bay Native Association board for more than a decade. From her early beginnings as an American whose rights were stripped because of her heritage to working for a powerful U.S. Senator, Marie Nash is happy to be inducted.

“Well I was surprised and like Judge Hunt, very humbled,” Nash said.

The Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony is Thursday evening at 6 p.m., at the Wilda Marston Theater, in the Loussac Library in Anchorage.

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Fur earmuffs, fur-lined jackets and furry, bearded Alaska men: It should come as no surprise that this year's trending accessory at the annual winter festival in Anchorage, the Fur Rondy, is animal fur.

John Nick Marvin, Jr.

The judge in the John Nick Marvin, Jr. case has turned down a request for a new trial which could have led to a shortened sentence for the murder of two police officers.

Sitka Superior Court Judge David George on Thursday declined to set aside earlier findings that one of the Hoonah police officers was actually in performance of his official duties when he was shot over two years ago.

Judge George also denied a companion motion for a new trial to determine whether Sargent Anthony Wallace was actually performing those duties when he was chatting with a colleague’s children on Front Street in Hoonah.

Public defender Eric Hedland filed the motions following last November’s trial in which Marvin was convicted in the murder of Wallace and Officer Matthew Tokuoka. Both were killed during the August 28, 2010 shooting.

Marvin could be sentenced to anywhere from 20- to 99-years for Tokuoka’s murder, but a straight 99-years for Wallace’s murder because the sentence for a first degree murder of a peace officer is defined in statute.

Wallace, although in uniform, was socializing with the Tokuoka family at the time of the shooting. Hedland argued that was not part of his official duties.

Marvin’s sentencing is still scheduled for April 5th.

Preliminary shuttle ferry deck plans are part of a design concept document released by transportation officials. AMHS image.

New Lynn Canal shuttle ferries will be 280 feet long, seat about 300 passengers and operate no more than 12 hours a day.

Part, but not all, of the car deck may be open. And the ships will have no staterooms or crew quarters.

That’s according to a draft design-concept report prepared for the Alaska Marine Highway System by Anchorage-based Coastwise Corporation.

Officials say it’s one of several steps in the design process for what’s being called the Day Boat-Alaska Class Ferry.The shuttle plan replaces an earlier Alaska Class design that called for a larger vessel that could sail longer routes.

Deputy Transportation Commissioner Reuben Yost says amenities will be limited, including food service.

“What we envision at this point of time is vending machines. So it would be similar to what we have on the fast ferries, in terms of amenities. So there won’t be a cafeteria, there won’t be cooked for but there will be food in machines and drinks in machines most likely,” Yost says.

Hulls and decks will be configured so vehicles can drive in one end and out the other, for quicker loading and unloading.

Yost says the ships could carry 53 large vehicles, but not all would be under cover.

“Essentially the vehicle space for the last 15 vehicles, if the car deck was full, would be in an area that we’re saying potentially could have an open roof,” he says.

Yost says high walls and other design elements will protect against ocean spray. He also says the vehicle deck is usually not full in winter months when wind and waves are at their worst.

Marine Highway General Manager John Falvey says the ships will be designed for Lynn Canal’s harsh conditions. For example, they’ll lack sponsons, which project from the side of the hull.

“It will not have the sponsons forward, which eliminates a lot of the slamming and potentially a very flared … bow which will deflect the spray. We feel that a vessel of these characteristics will have very good sea-keeping ability,” Falvey says.

They would be built to sail at an average speed of 15-and-a-half knots. That’s about the same as other ships in the fleet, except the fast ferries.

The design document estimates the final design could be completed by next November. And officials hope to keep costs within the $117 million put aside by the state.

Falvey says plans are to build two identical vessels.

“The shipyard is, in essence, lofted up and tooled up as far as their particular class of vessel that they’re building. You can throw a lessons learned and experience factor into the second vessel. There are actually many savings we will be able to see on the second vessel if we are able to sign a two-ship contract with the shipyard,” he says.

The draft plan will be presented to the Marine Transportation Advisory Board and the House and Senate Transportation Committees this week.

Opportunities for public comment will come later in the process.