The Alaska winter weather has been nothing short of schizophrenic this year -- will it snow? Won't it snow? Will temperatures reach 40 degrees today and dip to minus-10 tomorrow? And while the snow gods seem to have forsaken the 49th state this year, there's a lot of other news going on around Alaska, too.

Anchorage's arts and culture scene is in full swing during the cold winter months, with perennial favorites like "Object Runway" taking place this week at Bear Tooth Theatre, while a classic opera is connecting Alaskans to the timeless story of "Tosca."

Meanwhile the Alaska Legislature is focused on how to avert a winter energy crisis -- and depending on whom you ask, Cook Inlet offers enough gas to keep Southcentral heated for decades to come, or it's dried up and the region is one cold snap away from disaster, according to the utilities that stand to make the most money from such a scenario.

A new airline is bringing hope and competition to the Alaska travel industry; all eyes are on jetBlue and its attempts to normalize Anchorage airfares. Meanwhile, across the Arctic in Norway, Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell this week renewed the call for Alaskans and the rest of the country to focus more time, resources and foreign policy on the ocean north of Alaska, where ice continues to melt, revealing new opportunities and challenges for the world.

Here's a look at some of the biggest stories coming from Alaska and points beyond for the week of Jan. 21, 2013.