luke hopkins

Ice Alaska is in danger of melting away. The nonprofit organization formed 20 years ago cannot pay a steep rent increase to the state-owned Alaska Railroad Corp. for the land where it stages its annual ice sculpture and artwork event. The railroad wants to develop its land into a business park.

I don't want Ice Alaska to go away   -Luke Hopkins

 

FAIRBANKS Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins and local business leaders detailed a $250 million project to truck natural gas from the North Slope to Fairbanks at public meetings Tuesday. Under the plan, the port authority, which is made up of the North Star Borough, the North Slope Borough and Valdez would issue bonds to pay for the purchase of Fairbanks Natural Gas. 6 percent. Some Fairbanks-area businesses and residents would have a cheaper source for heat.

We still have an energy crisis on our hands   -Luke Hopkins

 

The busiest week of the sprint mushing season gets under way today with the Jeff Studdert Passenger Race and the Open North American draw. 1 p.m. at the Jeff Studdert Racegrounds. The course follows the 7.7-mile trail. Each musher will carry the passenger to the 7.7-mile turnaround, where they will stop and switch positions with the passenger for the return trip to the finish line.  

Business and political leaders are hosting two public meetings today to present information about a multi-million dollar project to truck natural gas from the North Slope to Fairbanks. A second meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Carlson Center. The deal involves the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, which is backed by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Valdez and the North Slope Borough, incurring debt to buy Fairbanks Natural Gas, a company owned by Outside investors.  

A commission established to advise the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly about elected officials' salaries thinks the borough mayor should get a $10,000 raise, but the mayor said he doesn't want one. "I just don't think it's right for a sitting mayor to be handed a raise," Mayor Luke Hopkins said. "It should wait until the end of a term."

I just don’t think it’s right for a sitting mayor to be handed a raise   -Luke Hopkins

 

The air pollution control commission gave its "general support" to the borough mayor's chimney smoke ordinance but plans to recommend some changes to be developed at a March 23 meeting. The seven-member group, devised to consult Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins on air pollution issues, passed a motion unanimously affirming the pollution control plan at nearly midnight Tuesday after a five-and-a-half-hour meeting. The mayor's proposed measure sets limits on the types of solid-fuel burning devices, or wood an  

The air pollution control commission debated the borough mayor's chimney smoke ordinance late into the night Tuesday following hours of public testimony. It was not clear as of press time whether the commission would endorse the mayor's plan to curb air pollution. One issue of contention was suggested limits on lot size for outdoor wood boilers.

If we can show that we can reduce our particulate levels through voluntary measures, then we don’t need any of those other measures   -Luke Hopkins

 

Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins has pulled back his pollution control plan from the Borough Assembly to send it to a citizens commission for review.  

More people at risk of strokes may opt for metal stents to prop open their neck arteries instead of having more-invasive surgery, if results of a 10-year study persuade officials to make the stent procedure more widely eligible for Medicare reimbursement. The study, which compared the two approaches for clearing fatty plaque from carotid arteries, concluded that stents and surgery were reasonably close in terms of safety and effectiveness. Results of the federally funded trial, called CREST, were made p

If you properly train to do this procedure, the two procedures are equal   -L Nelson Hopkins

 

An air pollution control plan by the Borough Mayor drew harsh criticism from a rowdy crowd of at least 100 people packed into the Borough Assembly chambers Thursday. The plan sets regulations on chimney smoke with fines of up to $500 to be imposed on the worst polluters starting late next year. The assembly will decide at its next meeting whether the measure goes to a public hearing.

fooling around stomping on wood fires.   -Hank Bartos