An unstable slope near Whittier picks up speed, with potential dangers uncertain

Alaska delegation, governor urge Biden to waive storm recovery costs as freeze-up looms Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( Today's sponsor: [Today's sponsor: Anchorage School District]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Wednesday, September 28. In today's newsletter: - In Prince William Sound, an unstable slope in the Barry Arm is dropping faster. A complete failure of the slope could cause a tsunami and other threats for Whittier. - Alaska’s congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Dunleavy are asking the Biden administration to waive the state’s share of disaster costs for Western Alaska's recovery from Typhoon Merbok. - Alaska's missing and murdered Indigenous persons initiative has a new lead investigator after the first one left after five months. Last week, the country celebrated free and open access to information through reading with Banned Books Week. Launched in 1982, it was a response to a growing number of challenges to books in schools and libraries. Anchorage had its own brush with book controversy several years earlier when a group of concerned parents banded together to [successfully force the removal of a book]( from school libraries. The culprit? A dictionary. ☁️ Anchorage weather It's overcast today with a chance of showers and a high of 53 degrees. Rain is likely tomorrow, and the chance for rain continues into the weekend. Temperatures will hover in the low 50s. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [An unstable slope above Prince William Sound is dropping faster. A complete failure could cause a tsunami.]( [An unstable slope above Prince William Sound is dropping faster. A complete failure could cause a tsunami.]( Last month, scientists noticed new movement on the steep, unstable slope in the Barry Arm fjord about 30 miles from Whittier. It’s possible the speed-up means rapid failure of the slope may be ahead, which could result in a tsunami. But it’s also possible the movement could stall, and nothing dramatic or devastating would occur. [Read More]( [Alaska delegation, governor urge Biden to waive storm recovery costs as freeze-up looms]( [Alaska delegation, governor urge Biden to waive storm recovery costs as freeze-up looms]( If the request by Gov. Mike Dunleavy is approved, the federal government would pay 100% of eligible costs for recovery from the historic Western Alaska storm for 30 days. Homes, subsistence camps, schools and other essential infrastructure across the region were damaged by the storm. [Read More]( [Alaska’s first MMIP investigator stayed on the job 5 months. The new one is committing to at least a year.]( [Alaska’s first MMIP investigator stayed on the job 5 months. The new one is committing to at least a year.]( Retired Alaska State Troopers lieutenant Lonny Piscoya is Alaska’s new missing and murdered Indigenous persons investigator. He fills the vacancy left by Anne Sears, who went back into retirement in early September after five months on the job. (Via Alaska Beacon) [Read More]( ADVERTISEMENT [Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board elects new chair ahead of report on former CEO’s ouster]( [Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board elects new chair ahead of report on former CEO’s ouster]( A legislative committee is preparing to release a final report today on the abrupt removal of the corporation’s former CEO, Angela Rodell, late last year. The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board of trustees is also set to choose a new CEO next week. [Read More]( [Debris removal set to begin after Juneau landslide damages 3 homes, causes outages]( [Debris removal set to begin after Juneau landslide damages 3 homes, causes outages]( Teams were gearing up this week to begin removing debris from a Monday night landslide in Juneau. Triggered by record rainfall, the slide significantly damaged three homes, prompted the evacuation of about a dozen residents and caused power outages in downtown Juneau. [Read More]( ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwest Florida with sustained winds up to 150 mph]( [Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwest Florida with sustained winds up to 150 mph]( [Read More]( [Debate on whether Alaska should hold a constitutional convention set for Thursday]( [Debate on whether Alaska should hold a constitutional convention set for Thursday]( [Read More]( [Service High placed on brief lockdown after threat made by student]( [Service High placed on brief lockdown after threat made by student]( [Read More]( [How Lizzo came to play a 19th-century president’s crystal flute at the Library of Congress]( [How Lizzo came to play a 19th-century president’s crystal flute at the Library of Congress]( [Read More]( [Body of missing famed U.S. extreme skier recovered in Nepal]( [Body of missing famed U.S. extreme skier recovered in Nepal]( [Read More]( [Get digital access to the ADN for as low as $1.99 for the first month]( and help us cover the news that matters most here in Alaska. 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