Sofia Stuart-Rasi
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sofiastuartrasi.bsky.social
Sofia Stuart-Rasi
@sofiastuartrasi.bsky.social
Public radio reporter for KUCB in Unalaska, Alaska 🌊🏔️💨 I cover a lot of science and climate change stories in the Aleutians, as well as other local stories from the island communities
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
Special education laws and the U.S. Department of Education have evolved together over nearly five decades. Now, the Trump administration seems to want to separate the two. By @jonakimehta.bsky.social
How the Education Department helps students with disabilities get an education
Special education laws and the U.S. Department of Education have evolved together over nearly five decades. Now, the Trump administration seems to want to separate the two.
www.npr.org
April 5, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
A $1,000 boost to basic per-student education funding, the base student allocation, passed the Alaska House today.

But will that amount survive the Senate?

The state of play, for @alaskapublic.org

#akleg

alaskapublic.org/news/politic...
‘Schools have been waiting’: Alaska House passes public school funding boost
The bill’s sponsor called it a “wonderful compromise.” It boosts the largest part of the state’s public school funding formula by $1,000.
alaskapublic.org
March 13, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
Three decades after legislation pushed for the return of Native American remains to Indigenous communities, many of the nation’s top museums and universities still have thousands of human remains in their collections.

Check on institutions near you with our database (just updated):
Does Your Local Museum or University Still Have Native American Remains?
Use this database to find out where Native American remains were taken from and which institutions report still having them. Check on institutions near you.
propub.li
February 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Nearly a decade ago, bird observers in Unalaska, Alaska noticed something alarming: a once-abundant seabird was vanishing from their shores.

Here's my latest about how citizen scientists have become crucial as human-caused climate change intensifies, impacting wildlife. #aknews
In Unalaska, citizen scientists help document largest single-species wildlife die-off ever recorded
The murre die-off might have gone unexplained if it weren't for decades of observations from researchers and citizen scientists.
www.kucb.org
January 6, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
You will hear people say social safety net programs are bloated with those who don't belong, there's fraud. My stories on SSI tell different story--of people in great need who try to follow the rules. But the rules don't work. A podcast version from NPR's The Sunday Story www.npr.org/2024/12/08/1...
Trapped in a Social Safety Net : Up First from NPR
In 1972, the federal government launched a program to support the poorest disabled and elderly Americans. Supplemental Security Income, run by the Social Security Administration, provides monthly checks that are a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in this country.SSI was intended to serve as a powerful safety net and a tool for fighting poverty. But a recent NPR Investigation led by correspondent Joseph Shapiro has discovered a very different reality today.In today's episode of The Sunday Story, Shapiro explains how SSI's outdated rules have made the system difficult to run and almost impossible for its beneficiaries to navigate. Impoverished disabled and elderly people say they have been penalized for trying to improve their lives—for saving money, getting married, and even daring to have careers.
www.npr.org
December 9, 2024 at 6:07 PM
earthquake swarm near Adak Sunday, residents report "light" and "weak" shaking but remain alert. while earthquakes are very common in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Earthquake Center is keeping an eye on the event because "unusually high number of moderately sized earthquakes in this swarm." #aknews
Scientists keep a watch on a series of earthquakes in western Aleutians
A swarm of earthquakes and aftershocks shook Alaska's western Aleutian Islands on Sunday. Scientists at the Alaska Earthquake Center are monitoring an unusually high number of moderate earthquakes nea...
www.kucb.org
December 10, 2024 at 1:09 AM
Happy Cat Day! … oops, I mean Happy Turkey Day!
November 28, 2024 at 8:03 PM
At Alaska's westernmost island, where USA meets Russia, Wolfgang Tutiakoff sailed to Attu w/NOAA in July documenting sunken WWII artifacts. It was a bittersweet journey: they could see their ancestral lands, but couldn't set foot on them.

KUCB's Kanesia McGlashan-Price's latest Island Interview.
‘Felt like a unicorn was going to walk out of the valley’ Qawalangin liaison documents research trip to Attu
In this episode of "Island Interviews," Wolfang Matilda Tutiakoff shared with KUCB's Kanesia McGlashan-Price what researchers discovered underwater near Attu Island and their personal journey during t...
www.kucb.org
November 27, 2024 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
The Alaska House of Representatives will be majority-woman for the first time in history next year, according to final unofficial election results. There will also be a record number of female legislators at 26. That's 43% of the Legislature as a whole. #akleg
alaskapublic.org/2024/11/21/f...
For the first time, women will outnumber men in the Alaska House next year
There will be 21 women in the state House, according to unofficial election results. 43% of the Legislature will be women, a record high.
alaskapublic.org
November 22, 2024 at 2:11 AM
unalaska only has one health center that provides urgent and emergency care. but now, they can't afford to keep providing that kind of service anymore. the island is a fishing hub and home to 4,000 residents, so it's not a lack of patients ... it's a reimbursement issue.

my latest:
$20M expansion aims to address Unalaska’s emergency care funding challenges
Unalaska's community health center is preparing to start construction on an expansion that could help secure emergency care funding.
www.kucb.org
November 21, 2024 at 11:47 PM
Did you know that if you take turmeric for its health benefits, make sure to pair it with black pepper? Or that collagen might actually help with wrinkles?! Got to geek out about vitamins and supplements with our local nurse practitioner in my latest Island Interview.
Confused about vitamins and supplements? Unalaska health care provider sorts fact from fiction
In this episode of "Island Interviews," Iliuliuk Family and Health Services nurse practitioner Greg Walter shares evidence-based insights about common supplements.
www.kucb.org
November 19, 2024 at 11:24 PM
Thoughts I’ve only ever had in Unalaska: Is it snowing outside? Oh no… an eagle is sitting on top of the house.
November 15, 2024 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Sofia Stuart-Rasi
The Biden administration has given preliminary approval for a land swap needed to construct a single-lane gravel road to connect King Cove with an all-weather airport, but not everyone is happy:
Biden administration gives support to controversial land trade in Alaska wildlife refuge • Alaska Beacon
The swap would allow a road to be built through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, a plan pitting safey claims against environmental concerns.
buff.ly
November 14, 2024 at 3:35 AM