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Alaska Dispatch's Best of the Week: Sept. 9-14

Alaska Dispatch staff
September 14, 2012

This week, Alaska Dispatch journalists filed stories on issues and personalities as diverse as the 49th state's landscapes. 

In Southcentral Alaska, folks continued to clean up from a freak windstorm that knocked out power and trees, winds so forceful and frightening that a hard-rocking metal band front man -- in Anchorage for a show at Bear Tooth -- reported ruining a pair of underwear in fear. Forecasters wondered whether Alaska might be in for a warmer-than-normal winter as sea ice moved in on the north coast, hindering Shell Oil and helping Pacific walrus. 

We checked in on Alaskans living on St. Lawrence Island and revisited a former firefighter in Nome who lost his face in a grizzly bear attack. 

Read on for more big news stories in Alaska from Sept. 9-14, 2012.

  1. 1 Arctic ice: Floes impeding Shell Oil hold promise for Pacific walrus

    Ice floes that prompted Shell Oil's retreat in the Chukchi Sea are a blessing for droves of Pacific walrus. For the first time in three years, the sea creatures may be able to remain comfortably offshore.
  2. 2 Photos: Daily life on Alaska's St. Lawrence Island

    Off the far western edge of the North American continent, nearly 1,500 people struggle in a daily battle for survival on Saint Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
  3. 3 Freak Alaska windstorm leaves Buzz Osborne of The Melvins with soiled underwear

    You'd think it would take more than a little headwind to scare the feces out of a sludge-metal front man, but hey, we all have our boogieman.
  4. 4 Life's good for Alaskan who lost face in grizzly bear attack

    Some 18 months and 26 surgeries after a grizzly bear ripped off his face, former Nome firefighter Wes Perkins says life is good and he "feels great."
  5. 5 No more cooperation from Alaska on NPR-A development plans?

    An ultimatum from Alaska's governor to the U.S. Interior secretary: Start over with plans to develop the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska or else the state will stop cooperating.
  6. 6 Commercial fishery offers hope for Alaskans on remote St. Lawrence Island

    There isn't much of an economy on this island that's closer to Russia than the U.S. Earning money means carving walrus ivory, guiding bird watchers or digging into old graves.
  7. 7 'We Breathe Again' documentary takes aim at suicide among Native Alaskans (+VIDEO)

    A group of Alaskans and a New York filmmaker have teamed up to tackle one of Alaska’s most challenging social issues -- suicide -- and have garnered some national support.
  8. 8 Photos: Oil, infrastructure and promises on Alaska's North Slope

    Royal Dutch Shell is starting to move ahead with plans for preliminary offshore oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic. Alaska Dispatch photographer Loren Holmes captures life in Arctic communities on the front lines of what may be the state's next oil boom.
  9. 9 Law of the Sea: Where do Alaska lawmakers stand?

    Republicans included Law of the Sea in their platform, congratulating senators for blocking its ratification this summer. Yet all is not "LOST," and Alaska has a role to play in the treaty's life or death.
  10. 10 How to finally accomplish your travel plans in Alaska or across the world

    Some travelers are ambitious, planning years-long voyages or vision quests. Others just want to newly experience Alaska by visiting a "foreign" place. Cheap airfares from Anchorage to rural Alaska just might help you along.

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