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The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly last week delayed consideration of technology that could reduce emissions from wood heating. An ordinance sponsored by Assembly member Lance Roberts would include installation of electrostatic precipitators as part of the borough’s wood-stove changeout program. The stack-mounted devices use static electricity to remove health-damaging fine particulates from smoke.

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Karl Kassel says the buildup associated with two squadrons of F-35 warplanes that’ll be coming to Eielson Air Force Base in a couple of years will offset decreases in population and state funding that are both being driven by Alaska’s recession-wracked economy.

Eielson Air Force Base opened its doors Tuesday to local, state and federal officials to give them a chance to see an F-35 fighter up close and to learn about its capabilities. The Air Force sent the warplane here for a few weeks for testing in anticipation of the arrival of two squadrons beginning in 2020.