Anchorage news

• Legislature passes capital budget in one-day special session

  28-07-2017 04:39 via KTOO
  Rep. Neil Foster, D-Nome, and Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, talk before the vote on the capital budget on Thursday. The House voted for the budget, 27-13. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO)
  The Alaska Legislature passed the state’s capital budget today, allowing road projects and other construction to move forward.
  It was the only piece of business for the third special session, which lawmakers called themselves. It came and went in about six hours on Thursday.
  The capital budget is $1.4 bi
  
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• Aircraft downed on north side of Lake Clark, recovery efforts underway

  28-07-2017 03:28 via KTOO
  Conditions Thursday afternoon from a Federal Aviation Administration webcam looking south from Lake Clark Pass, towards the vicinity of where Miller Creek drains into Lake Clark. (Photo courtesy Federal Aviation Administration)
  Recovery efforts are underway Thursday evening for what is believed to be a fatal aircraft accident in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
  The preserve is about 88 miles west of Kenai, Alaska.
  Spokesperson Megan Richotte said that an NPS aircraft with rangers was launc
  
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• Entomologist tracks the year in Alaska bugs

  28-07-2017 03:18 via KTOO
  Bumblebee checks out a lupine at Eagle Beach State Recreation Area. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  Bugs of various shapes and sizes are part of life in Alaska, and it can be easy for them to escape notice.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170726-09.mp3Anecdotally, this year seems light on one of Alaska’s most prolific insects, the mosquito. Despite the fact that Alaska is home to nearly forty species of the insect, there just don’t seem to be as many around as in some years.
  Derek Sikes&
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 7-28-17

  28-07-2017 02:10 via KTOO
  Friday at 3 on a Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline will host;Natalee Watson will be here to highlight Girls on the Run;We’ll get the details about this weekend’s Douglas Volunteer Firefighter’s Whale Watching Cruise;That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on demand via ktoo.org
  
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• Feds charge Utah man with wife’s murder aboard cruise ship in Alaska 

  28-07-2017 00:08 via KTOO
  Passengers wait aboard the Emerald Princess moored on the South Franklin Street Dock in Juneau on Wednesday, July 27, 2017. The FBI investigated an alleged murder after a Utah woman died the day before on the ship. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  Federal authorities are charging a Utah man in the murder of his wife aboard a cruise ship in Southeast Alaska.  
  Kenneth Ray Manzanares, 39, of Santa Clara, Utah, is charged in the death of his wife, Kristy Manzanares.  
  Accordi
  
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• Feds charge Utah man with wife’s murder aboard cruise ship in Alaska

  28-07-2017 00:08 via KTOO
  Passengers wait aboard the Emerald Princess moored on the South Franklin Street Dock in Juneau on Wednesday, July 27, 2017. The FBI investigated an alleged murder after a Utah woman died the day before on the ship. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  Federal authorities are charging a Utah man in the murder of his wife aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Southeast Alaska.
  Kenneth Ray Manzanares, 39, of Santa Clara, Utah, is charged in the death of Kristy Manzanares, who died Tuesday.
  After about 15
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, July 27, 2017

  27-07-2017 22:22 via KTOO
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/72717newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Lawmakers are scheduled to vote today on a capital budget that will include 20 million dollars in oil and gas tax credits.
  The latest updates on a Utah man that killed his wife aboard a cruise ship.
  President Donald Trump tweeted his dissatisfaction with U.S Sen. Lisa Murkowski over her healthcare vote.
   
  
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• After Trump targets Murkowski, Interior Secretary reportedly warns Alaska’s senators

  27-07-2017 19:47 via KTOO
  Hours after President Donald Trump criticized fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s vote on debating health care legislation, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke reportedly called Murkowski and her fellow Alaskan, Sen. Dan Sullivan, to say their state could run into trouble with the Trump administration.
  Describing the call from Zinke, Sullivan told the Alaska Dispatch News, “I’m not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mi
  
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• Ride malfunction at Ohio State Fair kills 1, injures 7

  27-07-2017 19:42 via KTOO
  One person was killed and seven others injured, including three critically, Wednesday evening when they were ejected from a ride at the Ohio State Fair.
  Video posted online appears to show part of the Fire Ball ride detaching before people drop out of their seats to the ground. Their names have not been released.
  Michael Vartorella, who is in charge of inspectors for the state Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for safety checks, said the Fire Ball and all the rides had been inspect
  
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• Lawmakers agree on capital budget funding for oil and gas tax credits, Kivalina school

  27-07-2017 04:04 via KTOO
  Kivalina, Alaska, in August 2009. Legislative leaders agreed to a capital budget that adds funding to build a new school for the community. (Creative Commons photo by Lt. Cmdr. Micheal McNeil/U.S. Coast Guard)
  State lawmakers are scheduled to vote Thursday on a capital budget that will include $20 million in oil and gas tax credits. It would also add $8 million to assist municipalities and $7 million to complete a school in Kivalina.
  Those are among the details released Wednesday on Senate Bill
  
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• Prosecution charges seizure caused fatal July 4 van wreck

  27-07-2017 02:56 via KTOO
  (Angela Denning/KFSK)
  Charging documents state that a seizure caused an accident that left two people dead July 4th last year.
  The driver in a van accident, William Christopher “Chris” Allen, 24, is facing murder and manslaughter charges.
  Prosecutors filed a new charge against Allen, alleging he lied on applications for a driver’s license by not disclosing a history of past seizures.https://kfsk-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/27ARRAIGNweb.mp3It was a nearly ful
  
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• Alaska Airlines profits despite pilot shortage, operational challenges

  27-07-2017 01:49 via KTOO
  Alaska Airlines passengers wait for their bags at Gustavus Airport on June 29, 2017. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  https://cpa.ds.npr.org/northwestnews/audio/2017/07/072617ES_AirlineOps_web.mp3Alaska Airlines is still ironing out operational wrinkles following the acquisition of Virgin America last year. At the same time, its smaller, regional airline is still grappling with a pilot shortage.
  The acquisition of Virgin America gives Alaska Air Group access to larger markets, like San Francisco and
  
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• Green sponge discovered in Southeast could treat some cancers

  27-07-2017 01:17 via KTOO
  A green sponge found in the waters near Sitka could hold the key to curing pancreatic and ovarian cancer. (Photo courtesy NOAA Fisheries)
  A green sponge discovered in 2005 in Southeast Alaska waters has unique properties that could be used to treat certain types of cancer.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hosted a news conference Wednesday morning.
  https://krbd-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/26CancerSponge.mp3Bob Stone is a Juneau-based coral and sponge biolog
  
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• Haines author’s books optioned for potential TV series

  27-07-2017 00:59 via KTOO
  Heather Lende stands on the beach outside her home in Haines. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  An international television production company has optioned the rights for two of memoirs written by a Haines author.
  The small town may have more than 15 minutes of fame if the show comes to fruition.
  Heather Lende is a newspaper obituary writer, author and Assembly member. Soon, she could be an executive producer on a TV show based on her life.
  Imagine getting an email from TV producers with a list of fam
  
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• Petersburg borough denies applications for Assembly recall

  27-07-2017 00:20 via KTOO
  Petersburg Borough Assembly members in February, from left, Eric Castro, Nancy Strand, Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Mark Jensen, Kurt Wohlhueter and Bob Lynn. Jensen has resigned as mayor and is one of the sponsors seeking to recall Castro, Strand, Stanton Gregor and Wohlhueter. (File photo by KFSK)
  The Petersburg borough has rejected applications for the recall of four borough assembly members.
  The borough’s attorney has recommended against issuing recall petitions and defended the assembly&rsqu
  
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• Gov. Walker signs opioid addiction prevention bill

  26-07-2017 23:04 via KTOO
  Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday signed into law House Bill 159, which aims to help prevent opioid addiction before it starts. (Photo by Casey Grove/Alaska Public Media)
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday signed into law House Bill 159, which aims to help prevent opioid addiction before it starts.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170725-02.mp3The law puts new limits on opioids like capping new prescriptions at seven days-worth of pills, and requires training about abuse for medical practitioners.
  Walk
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, July 26, 2017

  26-07-2017 22:52 via KTOO
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/noon072617.mp3In this newscast:
  FBI investigating cruise ship death,
  Alaska Air Group reports earnings,
  Economics program cut at UAF, and
  Comment period ending on new ferry schedule.
  
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• Following health care vote, Trump singles out Murkowski with critical tweet

  26-07-2017 22:51 via KTOO
  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks to a Joint Session of the Alaska Legislature, Feb. 22, 2017. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  This afternoon, the U.S. Senate voted against an amendment to partially repeal the Affordable Care Act in a 55-45 split.
  It was one of several votes concerning the health law in two days.
  Following Tuesday’s narrow Senate vote to allow debate on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump tweeted his disapproval toward Sen. Lisa Murkowski &
  
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• Trump says transgender people can’t serve in military

  26-07-2017 22:34 via KTOO
  Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET
  President Donald Trump has announced that the government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military, a year after the Pentagon lifted its ban on transgender service members.
  In a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, he wrote:
  “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow … Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our m
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: For summer in Alaska, 70 is the magic number

  26-07-2017 21:47 via KTOO
  Graphic Courtesy of Brian Brettschneider
  In other parts of the country, the temperature on a perfect summer day might land somewhere in the mid-80s. In most  of Alaska though, the mid-70s are a more realistic target.
  Alaska’s Energy Desk is checking in with Brian Brettschneider each week as part of the segment, Ask a Climatologist.
  He says Juneau has had very few days above 70 this year. In contrast, Anchorage logged its warmest temperature of the year Sunday, 76 degrees:
  Interview Tr
  
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• State’s cruise ship monitoring program shielded from budget cuts by tourists

  26-07-2017 21:16 via KTOO
  A Celebrity Cruise Line ship sails into Juneau in 2012 with emissions coming out of its stack. Ed White with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation monitors cruise ship emissions. (Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/19-shipwatch.mp3Over a million cruise ship visitors are projected to land in Juneau this year. And the summer cruising season is a big boost for coastal retailers. But, it also brings all of the noisy traffic, haze and wate
  
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• ‘Suspicious death’ reported on cruise ship in Southeast Alaska

  26-07-2017 20:30 via KTOO
  The Emerald Princess is moored Wednesday, July 27, 2017, at the S. Franklin Street Dock in Juneau. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  Investigators were headed to Juneau early Wednesday after a “suspicious death” occurred on a cruise ship, according to the FBI Anchorage division.
  Staci Feger-Pellessier, an FBI spokeswoman, said the death happened aboard a Princess Cruises liner.
  Princess Cruises said in a statement Wednesday there was a “domestic dispute” aboar
  
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• New Tlingit teachers weave language education into Kake’s Culture Camp

  26-07-2017 19:39 via KTOO
  Myrna Demmert, left, works with her mom elder Ruth Demmert to filet dog salmon at Culture Camp. (Photo by Nora Saks/KFSK)
  For almost 30 years, the remote village of Kake has been running its annual summer Keex’ Kwaan Culture Camp – a chance for kids and adults to practice and celebrate Tlingit traditions.
  It’s the longest running camp of its kind in Alaska.
  This year, two young women are taking over the reins from a cherished elder and are bringing more Tlingit language to camp
  
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• Murkowski, Sullivan split over Senate health care vote amid dramatic protests and debate

  26-07-2017 06:03 via KTOO
  Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, addresses a crowd outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington protesting the Republican health care bill on Tuesday. (Creative Commons photo by kellybdc)
  It was a dramatic day in the U.S. Senate today with a vote to advance a Republican health care bill. Alaska’s two senators split their votes. Both said the outlook for the bill is uncertain.
  Protesters in the gallery chanted “Kill the bill! Don’t kill us!” and “Shame! Shame!&rdquo
  
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• Southeast Alaska State Fair kicks off Thursday

  26-07-2017 01:58 via KTOO
  A woman competes in the axe throwing contest during the logging show at the 2016 Southeast Alaska State Fair. (Photo by Jillian Rogers/KHNS)
  Haines is getting ready for a weekend full of music, food and Ferris wheels.
  The 49th annual Southeast Alaska State Fair takes place Thursday through Sunday.http://khns.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/25SEFair.mp3“It’s gonna be hard to see everything that you want to see this year at the fair,” director Jessica Edwards said.
  She’
  
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• Republicans Murkowski, Collins oppose GOP health vote

  26-07-2017 01:47 via KTOO
  WASHINGTON — Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke with their party and opposed the Senate vote to move ahead on health care.
  The two women drew criticism from President Donald Trump, who said their votes were “very, very sad for them.”
  Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, hailed the votes as “an act of political courage” that will be remembered by history.
  Collins, in her fourth term, is a moderate kn
  
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• Coast Guard works together with mariners on rescue

  26-07-2017 01:24 via KTOO
  A good Samaritan vessel and a Coast Guard aircrew rescued four fishermen Monday in Kodiak waters.
  The fishing vessel Grayling capsized in Kuprean of Strait near Raspberry Island, according to a Coast Guard news release, and the nearby Calista Marie came to their aid.
  An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter on a training flight also responded.
  Pilot Lt. Kevin Riley said they were flying in the vicinity of Old Harbor when they got word from Air Station Kodiak about the vessel’s distr
  
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• Late state budget delays fall-winter-spring ferry schedule

  26-07-2017 01:13 via KTOO
  The ferry Malaspina is shown in drydock and the Columbia is tied up at the Ketchikan Shipyard in February 2012. Damage to the Columbia is delaying its return to service this fall and the Malaspina will help fill in. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  Alaskans have until the end of the month to tell the Marine Highway System what they think of its fall, winter and spring sailing plans.
  The schedule, which is similar to last year’s, came out later than usual and the comment period is
  
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• Krattmania comes to Juneau: ‘Wild Kratt’ brothers teach kids about natural science, animals

  26-07-2017 01:08 via KTOO
  Martin and Chris Kratt share stories Thursday at Meet The Kratts, Wild Alaska Live Meet & Greet at Thunder Mountain Auditorium. (Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO)
  Brothers and television hosts, Chris and Martin Kratt are known for their PBS Kids’ wildlife shows: “Kratts’ Creatures,” “Zoboomafoo” and now “Wild Kratts.”
  The Kratts are in Alaska, anchoring the BBC and PBS’s prime-time “Wild Alaska Live” specials from the Mend
  
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• Travel Tuesday: The Kratt brothers in Alaska

  26-07-2017 00:44
  If you’ve got kids, you likely know the Kratt brothers — hosts of Zoboomafoo and the Wild Kratts on PBS. The creative adventuring duo is in Alaska this week, to bring a taste of Alaska in real time.
  Hosts Chris and Martin Kratt and the PBS crew have cameras and correspondents spread out across the state to give audiences a glimpse of what’s going on, at the very moment you’re watching — whether it’s bears on the shore of Katmai, salmon swimming upstr
  
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• Dimond Boulevard closed near Jewel Lake after gunfire inside suidical man’s home

  26-07-2017 00:27
  Part of Dimond Boulevard in South Anchorage has been shut down Tuesday afternoon east of Jewel Lake Road, after police said a suicidal man inside a nearby home had fired a gun.
  Police were asking people to avoid the closed section of Dimond between Arlene and Blackberry streets, spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in a statement.
  Officers first responded to the 2800 block of West 91st Avenue just after 1:30 p.m., after a call reporting “an armed man threatening suicide.”
  “The suicida
  
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• Captain rescued from capsize near Kodiak jumps back in to save a crewman

  25-07-2017 23:14
  A capsized fishing vessel’s captain jumped back into frigid waters north of Kodiak after being rescued to save one of his crewmen, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
  The dramatic rescue, caught on camera by a rescue helicopter, took place Monday afternoon in Kupreanof Strait according to a statement from Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Colclough.
  A call came in reporting that the Grayling had capsized near Raspberry Island from a responding good Samaritan vessel, the Cal
  
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• Ekwok substance use disorder recovery program teaches subsistence skills to fight addiction

  25-07-2017 22:54 via KTOO
  The Ekwok community arrives for a wellness camp graduation ceremony Friday. Ekwok Lodge, hosted the 30-day camp, where participants fought alcohol and drug addition with fishing and berry picking. (Photo by Avery Lill/KDLG)
  Behind the Ekwok Lodge, the smell of soured salmon and pig muck hang in the air.
  Despite the odor, Ben smiles shyly as he points out the nails in wooden boards that surround the pen, which stick out to deter bears.
  “We feed them fish and other leftover foods. You hear t
  
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• Ekwok recovery program teaches subsistence skills to fight addiction

  25-07-2017 22:54 via KTOO
  The Ekwok community arrives for a wellness camp graduation ceremony Friday. Ekwok Lodge, hosted the 30-day camp, where participants fought alcohol and drug addition with fishing and berry picking. (Photo by Avery Lill/KDLG)
  Behind the Ekwok Lodge, the smell of soured salmon and pig muck hang in the air.
  Despite the odor, Ben smiles shyly as he points out the nails in wooden boards that surround the pen, which stick out to deter bears.
  “We feed them fish and other leftover foods. You hear t
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, July 25, 2017

  25-07-2017 22:52 via KTOO
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/20170725-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The Alaska Legislature announces plan to return to pass a capital budget,
  the U.S. Senate gets the votes needed to debate health care, and
  Talkeetna’s unofficial mayor, Stubbs the cat, dies.
  
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• Reassigned climate official worries “nobody home” on village relocation

  25-07-2017 22:23 via KTOO
  In June, the Washington Post reported that dozens of senior officials in the Department of the Interior would be reassigned to new jobs. Now one of those officials is speaking out. Joel Clement was part of a working group, focused on village relocation and coastal resilience in Alaska. He thinks he was targeted for his views on climate change.
  Joel Clement was a director at the Office of Policy Analysis. For over a year, he’d been meeting with different agencies about how to protect Alaska
  
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• EPISODE 6 • When the lights went out – Alaska’s great recession

  25-07-2017 22:02 via KTOO
  Less than ten years after oil started flowing, Alaska’s economy cratered. The recession was quick and deep. Ten banks failed, real estate values plummeted and tens of thousands of people fled the state. It was Alaska’s great recession, 20 years before the rest of the country went through almost the same thing.
  
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• Afognak Island elk study looks at balancing logging with game management

  25-07-2017 21:55 via KTOO
  Roosevelt elk, the type of elk found on Afognak Island. (Creative Commons photo by Dan Dzurisin/Flickr
  A study of elk and bears on an island in the Kodiak Archipelago will try to help balance game management and logging.
  http://kmxt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Elk-Study-Desroches-July-25.mp3The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and its partners, including Kodiak area Native corporations, are at the beginning of a two-and-a-half year, $1.8 million study on Afognak Island.
  Researchers hope it
  
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• Chiniak’s burn area is looking pretty green after replanting

  25-07-2017 21:25 via KTOO
  A Sitka spruce seedling emerges from the ground where the Chiniak fire left a burn area in 2015. (Photo courtesy Maggie Slife)
  Kodiak Island Borough resource manager and officer Maggie Slife was part of a group that went out on a rainy day to inspect the completed replanting of the burn area the Chiniak fire left behind in 2015.
  Recently, crews planted 200,000 Sitka spruce seedlings in the area. Slife said things looked good, but it’ll take some time before the burn area fully grows b
  
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• Senate opens debate on health care reform, despite ‘no’ vote from Murkowski

  25-07-2017 20:54
  Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, voted against opening Senate debate on health care reform in a highly anticipated decision Tuesday — but the final decision was ultimately made by Vice President Mike Pence.
  CBS News reported that Murkowski, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) opposed opening debate on the American Health Care Act on Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The Senate’s vote on the motion to proceed ultimately resulted in a 50-50 tie, which was br
  
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• Murkowski votes against opening debate on health care reform

  25-07-2017 20:54
  Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, voted against opening Senate debate on health care reform in a highly anticipated decision Tuesday.
  CBS News reported that Murkowski, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted against opening debate on the American Health Care Act on Tuesday afternoon.
  A third GOP defection on the motion to proceed would doom it to failure, CBS reported, as voting continued Tuesday. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) subsequently voted y
  
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• Former wrestling maven turned Trump Cabinet member tours Kwethluk School

  25-07-2017 20:48 via KTOO
  Small Business Administration Alaska District Office Director Nancy Porzio, left, tours Kwethluk school with former wrestling maven and SBA Administrator Linda McMahon and Ana Hoffman. (Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos/KYUK)
  A member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet visited the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta last week.
  Linda McMahon is the head of the Small Business Administration, or SBA, and she spent Friday morning in Bethel touring local facilities and meeting with local business owners and CEOs a
  
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• King crab fishery to open for 5 days in Juneau area

  25-07-2017 20:36
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – It has been six years since it was legal to catch and haul home a pot full of red or blue king crab out of Juneau area waters.
  KTOO Public Media reports the Department of Fish and Game said Friday in a release the summer personal use red and blue king crab fishery will open for five days: Thursday through Monday.
  The order is for Gastineau Channel, Stephens Passage and part of Lynn Canal.
  The agency is opening the fishery at a reduced harvest level. It will allow each
  
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• Immigrant trapped in stifling San Antonio trailer says they shared one breathing hole

  25-07-2017 19:09
  We’re hearing the first accounts from survivors of human smuggling tragedy in San Antonio Texas. They describe their journey from Mexico to the back of a sweltering tractor trailer.
  When Adan Lara Vega and six people climbed into the back of that trailer in Laredo, Texas, he says it was pitch black and already full.
  An hour into the trip, Vega says people started “crying and asking for water.” And as the trailer got hotter, he says people fell into despair.
  Investigat
  
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• Kodiak mayor not pleased with plans for city’s DA position

  25-07-2017 16:58
  KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska city’s district attorney’s office is down its lead position, and officials say a replacement will not be hired.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Monday the Director of the Alaska Department of Law’s Criminal Division, John Skidmore, says instead of hiring another district attorney to replace former Kodiak District Attorney Steve Wallace, a second assistant district attorney will be hired for the Kodiak office.
  Wallace took over as the new d
  
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• Reports: Trump discussing firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions

  25-07-2017 16:38
  WASHINGTON — President Trump has spoken with advisers about firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions as he continues to rage against Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from all matters related to the Russia investigation, according to reports.
  The president’s anger again bubbled into public view Monday as he referred to Sessions in a tweet as “beleaguered.”
  Privately, Mr. Trump has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of fir
  
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• Community mourns the loss of Bartlett sophomore

  25-07-2017 08:59
  Tragedy struck the Hmong and Bartlett High School community last week, as 16-year-old Mlooglug Chervang succumbed to injuries related to a swimming accident.  
  The sophomore at Bartlett was a member of the football team and very involved in his school’s performing arts programs.  
  “He kinda represented what we want kids to be like in our program,” said Bartlett football co-head coach John Jessen. “He was humble, he was hard working, he was unselfish. And he didn
  
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• Last baby orca born in captivity at SeaWorld park dies, company says

  25-07-2017 08:36
  The last orca to be born at SeaWorld is seen swimming with mother Takara at the SeaWorld in San Antonio shortly after birth in April 2017. SEAWORLD/TWITTER
  ORLANDO, Fla. — The last killer whale born in captivity under SeaWorld’s former orca-breeding program died Monday at the company’s San Antonio park, SeaWorld said.
  Veterinarians were treating 3-month-old Kyara for an infection last weekend, but her health continued to decline, the Orlando-based company sa
  
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• The pressure is on Alaska’s senators ahead of Tuesday’s healthcare vote

  25-07-2017 08:25
  Alaskans are continuing to pressure their senators to stand against overhauling the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and they also want them to vote “no” on Tuesday’s procedural vote to open debate on a healthcare reform bill.
  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a motion to proceed and Senate Republicans are trying to get at least 50 votes to move forward.
  “We don’t know which bill that will be, which is part of our concern,” Becky Hultberg with Ala
  
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• How the SAP project went from $10 Million to $81.5 Million in 6 years

  25-07-2017 05:02
  It’s been called an expensive, monster of a project and it’s about to eat up another $5.8 million. That’s the amount Anchorage Assembly members will be asked to approve Tuesday night, to wrap up the controversial SAP software project that’s years overdue, and millions of taxpayer dollars over budget.
  When former Mayor Dan Sullivan proposed the project to Assembly members in 2011, it came with a price tag of just under $10 million and was supposed to be ready to go wi
  
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