Flight company ordered
to pay whistleblower pilot
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An attorney for a Homer-based Bald Mountain Air Services says the company denies allegations that it improperly fired a pilot in 2012.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday it has concluded the company violated federal whistleblower law.
OSHA has ordered the company to rehire the pilot and pay him years of back wages and $100,000 in compensatory damages.
OSHA says the pilot, whose name was not released, raised repeated safety concerns ranging from missed drug tests for pilots to poor record-keeping.
Company attorney Aaron Sperbeck says the company “steadfastly denies” the allegations. He says the company will thoroughly examine its legal options before commenting further.
Both parties have 30 days to object and request a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Project would bring local
fish into Alaska schools
FAIRBANKS (AP) — University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers are looking to expand a project that seeks to bring locally caught salmon into school cafeterias and classrooms throughout Alaska.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reportsthat the Fish to School program is meant to help students understand how food choice affects their health and benefits their communities. The program is entering its second year and is funded for three years through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
During the program’s first year, researchers worked with a school in southwest Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Researchers brought locally sourced salmon into the school and helped teachers implement lessons on the impacts of food choice.
Researchers found that the one-year pilot project increased traditional food intake, diet quality and awareness of the impacts of food choice.
DMV launches email notice program
The Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles has begun a program to notify drivers by email when their vehicle registration is due or when their license is about to expire.
The division announced the system by email Monday.
DMV allows drivers to renew their registration or license online, order personalized plates, report the sale of their car or change their address.
To register for the email notification system, visit online.dmv.alaska.gov/EmailNotification.
Business After Hours
event scheduled for today
HomeRun Shortstop at 3425 Sterling Highway will host this month’s Homer Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event.
It will be from 5:30-7 p.m. today.
There will be refreshments, networking opportunities and plenty of door prizes.
For more information, call the chamber at 235-7740.
