Alaska's largest tribe is boycotting FedEx, a sponsor of the Washington, D.C. NFL team whose name and mascot many consider derogatory to Native Americans. The Juneau Empire reports the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska announced Thursday that it has told tribal employees use of FedEx services will be discontinued. FedEx is one of the team's top sponsors and owns naming rights to the Washington D.C. stadium.
Wayside closures will affect travelers on Glenn, Richardson and Tok Cutoff highways
The Alaska Department of Transportation is closing eight waysides along the Richardson Highway, Glenn Highway and Tok Cutoff due to budget cuts. To prevent vandalism, DOT will barricade the facilities. KCHU's Marcia Lynn reports the closures will cause noticeable impacts to summer travelers. Restrooms will be far apart. The agency closed some of the waysides because alternatives exist. Some of the alternatives, however, are at local businesses that may not allow non-customers to use their restrooms.
Cooler weather helps dampen fires but danger remains high
Rain, cooler overcast weather and higher humidity helped firefighters battling fires for the central interior and southcentral areas of the state but agencies say pockets of dry fuels exist and fire danger remains high, particularly in portions of the Copper River Basin and south of Tok. A burning closure is still in effect.
Some 294 personnel are working the Aggie Creek fire located 30 notheast of Fairbanks has grown to more than 15-thousand acres, and threatens 28 homes, the Transalaska Pipeline, fiber optic cable, and the Elliott Highway.
Smoke cleared and visibility increased enough on Saturday to allow planes and boats to get through and carry crews to fight eight fires in the Tanana area. About 382-thousand acres are burning there. The Incident Commander, Roger Staats, said they have a lot of work to do protect about 100 miles of riverfront.
Anchorage commuters favor driving solo over carpools, public transportation
Commuters in the Anchorage metro area spend about 23 minutes getting to work, giving them a 3-minute advantage over the national mean travel time. The 2013 U.S. Census data shows that carpooling and public transit take a backseat to driving solo to work for workers 16 and older in the Anchorage area.