'Dress
Rehearsal'
Front Page Photograph by Carl Thompson
National: Medicare
faces financial crisis by 2014, report finds By Lawrence
M. O'Rourke - While President Bush and Congress focus on fixing
Social Security this year, Medicare faces unsustainable increases
as it takes responsibility for paying the largest single share
of prescription drug costs, federal officials said Wednesday.
The new Medicare prescription drug benefit that becomes available
next year could quickly threaten the solvency of the federal
health insurance system that now serves 41 million Americans,
according to a new report from the federal Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services. - More...
Thursday - February 24, 2005
Alaska: Alaska's
hot summer a sign of warming planet, expert says By Doug
O'Harra - For proof of climate change in the Arctic, look no
further than Alaska's long, hot summer, according to one of the
country's top climate scientists.
Last year Alaskans sweated
through the warmest May, June, July and August of the century,
with average temperatures almost 5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.
Such heat was largely driven by the warmest ocean temperatures
ever measured in the Northern Hemisphere, matched globally by
the fourth-warmest year on record. - More...
Thursday - February 24, 2005
 Alaska:
Governor's
Jobs Message For Alaskans -The Governor talks about his administration's
priority to create jobs in Alaska. Described by the Governor
as "Good-paying jobs, like those created by the gas pipeline
and other resource development jobs, give hope to young Alaskans
that they can find work and support a family, here at home."
- More....
Thursday - February 24, 2005
Alaska: Governor
Rejects New NOAA Mandates; Asserts state's rights to manage coastal
resources - Citing the need for the state to manage its coastal
resources without excessive federal intervention, Governor Frank
H. Murkowski sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Wednesday asking NOAA to abandon new requirements
for the Alaska Coastal Management Program. If NOAA does not reject
the new requirements, the ACMP will expire in the summer of 2005.
- More...
Thursday - February 24, 2005
Alaska: Workers'
Compensation Bill Offers Needed Reform; Legislation Addresses
Skyrocketing Costs of Employee Insurance - Reforms aimed
at streamlining the delivery of workers' compensation benefits
to injured workers, and easing the cost burden on Alaska businesses,
will be sent to the Legislature this week by Governor Frank H.
Murkowski. - More...
Thursday - February 24, 2005
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