KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska

Jay Barrett/KMXT It’s still a few days until spring officially begins, and it’s still freezing and snowing around Kodiak, but nevertheless, the Alaska Department of Transportation is taking action now to keep area roads from deteriorating too quickly. As of Wednesday, seasonal weight limits for vehicles traveling state roads went into effect. On state-maintained paved roads, the limit is 75-percent …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT In a crowded room in the Westmark Baranof Hotel in downtown Juneau, a noisy crowd weaves around a buffet table piled with fishy delicacies – salmon garnished with lemon, lox, halibut Olympia and monstrous legs of king crab. “Thank you all for coming, we’re really glad to have you here tonight, enjoy the seafood and we’ll see you …

Coming up this week: Fishermen seek broader habitat protection for the Tongass, MSA reauthorization gets underway in Congress, and no, it’s not too early to start talking about herring. Thanks to Brianna Gibbs for filling in as host the last month. We had help this week from APRN’s Peter Granitz in Washington D.C., KDLG’s Mike Mason in Dillingham, and CoastAlaska’s …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT There’s been a lot of discussion about school vouchers in the state capitol these days. In mid February Senate Joint Resolution 9 surfaced, which called for a constitutional amendment to be put to Alaska’s voters. The amendment would change the way the state’s education system is funded and allow state money to go toward private and religious schools. …

Jay Barrett/KMXT We continue our series this week with Senator Mark Begich discussing fishing industry issues from the Boston Seafood Show. Today, he talks about the replacement for the J-1, or foreign student workers visa bill, which he calls “H-2-O.” He introduced the legislation this week, but says it will not likely help processors this summer. That’s because it’s part …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The three incumbents on the Kodiak Electric Association board of directors whose terms are expiring must be doing an OK job, as they will not face any challengers in this spring’s election. Gordon Gould, jay Johnston and Linda Freed, who’ve served for 12, six, and three years respectively, were the only co-op members to throw their hats into …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Tonight members of Kodiak’s city council and borough assembly will host a reception in the state capital with the hopes of shedding a bit more light on local projects. Many have already met with various legislators this week and will use a seafood reception as an opportunity to further advocate for the community of Kodiak. The city, borough …

Jay Barrett/KMXT This week Alaska Senator Mark Begich introduced a bill that seeks to stem the tide of mislabeled seafood in the American marketplace. He says such actions hurts Alaska fishermen and cheats consumers. He said his bill gives government agencies, such as NOAA Fisheries and the FDA better tools to deal with the huge pirate fishing industry. Begich says …