Alaska news

• Avalanche shuts Hatcher Pass Road; Skier missing

  24-11-2015 23:18
  The Hatcher Pass Road near Palmer remains closed due to an avalanche Tuesday morning. State officials are assessing whether or not it is safe to clear the road. Reports indicate 14 feet of snow blocking the road just below the Arc Angel trailhead, with the potential of more avalanches to come.
  Jill Reese is a spokespeson for the state Department of Transportation.
  Skiers alerted each other to high-risk avalanche conditions in Hatcher Pass in mid-November over a social media group. Photo: Alaska
  
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• Sitka museum weeds out collection

  24-11-2015 22:04
  Krystle Weddle, collections fellow, enters information about a metal key into the Sitka Historical Society and Museum’s database. She is performing an audit on the museum’s collection. (Brielle Schaeffer/KCAW photo)
  The Sitka Historical Society and Museum has been acquiring objects, documents and photos for more than 50 years. And, like any collector, there comes a time to clean house.
  After moving out of Harrigan Centennial Hall for its remodel this summer, the museum began refining
  
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• Sitka museum audit focuses collection

  24-11-2015 22:04
  
  Krystle Weddle, collections fellow, enters information about a metal key into the Sitka Historical Society and Museum’s database. She is performing an audit on the museum’s collection. (Brielle Schaeffer/KCAW photo)
  The Sitka Historical Society and Museum has been acquiring objects, documents and photos for more than 50 years. And, like any collector, there comes a time to clean house. After moving out of Harrigan Centennial Hall for its remodel this summer, the museum began refining
  
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• Study: Many Alaska teachers are underpaid, but pay isn’t everything

  24-11-2015 22:01
  
  Many Alaska school districts don’t offer high enough salaries to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. That’s according to a new study that looks at a possible statewide teacher salary schedule.
  But researchers found that a statewide pay schedule would be too expensive, and wouldn’t do enough to solve Alaska’s teacher retention problem.
  A first grade class lines up outside of Dillingham Elementary School, spring 2015. (Photo by Hannah Colton/KDLG)
  About 65 percent
  
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• Tesoro to buy Flint Hills assets in Anchorage, Fairbanks

  24-11-2015 18:36
  Tesoro Corp. has announced that its Alaska affiliate will purchase a portion of Flint Hills Resources assets in Fairbanks and Anchorage.
  The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that under the agreement, Tesoro Alaska will acquire a terminal at Fairbanks International Airport, including storage for 22,500 barrels of jet fuel. The San Antonio, Texas-based company has agreed to a multi-year contract with the North Pole terminal to provide better access to Interior Alaska.
  The deal also includes the
  
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• Troopers suspend search for missing Unalakleet woman

  24-11-2015 18:35
  Photo: Alaska State Troopers file.
  Alaska State Troopers have suspended the search for a Unalakleet elder missing for six days, according to a dispatch released Monday afternoon.
  Seventy-four-year-old Vivian Foote was last seen on Wednesday, walking near her Unalakleet home in the early afternoon. The community — led by the Unalakleet Search and Rescue team — conducted a preliminary search for the missing woman before notifying troopers of her disappearance around 6 p.
  
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• Kenai Peninsula CASA progam seeks volunteers

  24-11-2015 18:33
  (Image via CASA for Children)
  The Kenai Peninsula CASA program is recruiting volunteers. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. The program assigns CASA’s to speak for children caught in the middle of cases often dealing with neglect and abuse. Jessica Crump is the Program Assistant for the program.
  “The cases can go anywhere from one year to two years. CASA’s are generally with that child from the time the case starts to the time the case closes. On top of
  
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• Thanksgiving Blessings offers food, hope, and exercise plan

  24-11-2015 14:00
  
  
  Volunteer Payton Augafa stands in front of some of the piles of vegetables waiting for distribution. Hillman/KSKA
  For the 31st year in a row, Central Lutheran Church in downtown Anchorage is providing Thanksgiving dinners for people in need. They started with 39 families and now, through a partnership with the Food Bank of Alaska, they serve 1,400. But it takes a lot to get a complete turkey dinner back home…
  Download Audio.
  Sweat drips from under Payton Augafa’s Santa Claus hat as
  
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• Tesoro buying assets in Alaska - Chron.com (blog)

  24-11-2015 12:50
  San Antonio Business Journal
  Tesoro buying assets in Alaska
  Chron.com (blog)
  SAN ANTONIO — Tesoro Corp. announced Monday that it will acquire wholesale marketing contracts and certain logistics assets in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, from Kansas-based Flint Hills Resources for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to ...
  Tesoro expands presence in Alaska following new asset shopping spreeSan Antonio Business Journalall 20 news articles »
  

• Alaska Delegation Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of John Sturgeon ... - SitNews

  24-11-2015 12:13
  Alaska Delegation Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of John Sturgeon ...
  SitNews
  (SitNews) Washington, D.C. - The three members of Alaska's congressional delegation on Monday filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Alaskan John Sturgeon, who is suing the National Park Service over being forced off the ...
  

• Alaska hockey signs three forwards - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  24-11-2015 09:55
  Alaska hockey signs three forwards
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  FAIRBANKS—The Alaska Nanooks hockey team announced the signing of three forwards to National Letter of Intents in a University of Alaska Fairbanks press release on Monday. The Nanooks announced the signings of left wing Ross Heidt, wing Jimmy ...
  

• French citizens living in Interior Alaska reflect on Paris terror attacks - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  24-11-2015 09:53
  French citizens living in Interior Alaska reflect on Paris terror attacks
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  FAIRBANKS — Yelena Mazour-Matusevich, who runs the French program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said her son lost an acquaintance in the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. Ludovic Boumbas is among more than 100 people killed as they were ...
  

• What's Killing Alaska's Sea Otters? - Hakai Magazine

  24-11-2015 09:40
  Hakai Magazine
  What's Killing Alaska's Sea Otters?
  Hakai Magazine
  So far this year, at least 250 sick or dead sea otters have washed ashore on Alaska's southern coast, and no one knows why. This is more than double the number reported last year—itself higher than the average— says Joel Garlich-Miller, a biologist ...
  

• FAA task force wants even smaller drones registered - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-11-2015 08:48
  Alaska Dispatch News
  FAA task force wants even smaller drones registered
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Drones, those remote-controlled flying machines, are expected to top many wish lists this holiday season. Now those who open those gifts will most likely need to tell the federal government. On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration, scurrying to ...
  Huerta Announces UAS Registration Task Force Members - Federal Aviation ...Federal Aviation Administrationall 442 news articles »
  

• New processing plant prepares traditional Alaska Native food - WRAL.com

  24-11-2015 08:33
  WRAL.com
  New processing plant prepares traditional Alaska Native food
  WRAL.com
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska — First it was musk ox stew. Then the Alaska nursing home served up musk ox meatloaf to its elderly Inupiat residents and their visiting family members. The reaction at the long-term residential senior care facility was immediate ...and more »
  

• New processing plant prepares traditional Alaska Native food - U.S. News & World Report

  24-11-2015 08:19
  U.S. News & World Report
  New processing plant prepares traditional Alaska Native food
  U.S. News & World Report
  This Sept. 2, 2015 photo released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows diners at a long-term senior care facility in Kotzebue, Alaska. Now that the long-term senior care facility in Kotzebue just began incorporating traditional foods into the ...and more »
  

• Alaska delegation says US refugee security worth reviewing following Paris ... - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-11-2015 06:36
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Alaska delegation says US refugee security worth reviewing following Paris ...
  Alaska Dispatch News
  WASHINGTON -- Members of Alaska's congressional delegation agree that a "pause" on admitting Syrian refugees to the U.S. is in order after members of the Islamic State killed 130 people Paris this month, but one lawmaker says it's unclear whether ...and more »
  

• Last-minute Alaska marijuana residency requirement change will get second look ... - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-11-2015 06:09
  Reason (blog)
  Last-minute Alaska marijuana residency requirement change will get second look ...
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Board chair Bruce Schulte, left, wrote in a text that the changes "could be problematic for staff to implement with the resources at hand." Loren Holmes / ADN. The Marijuana Control Board will meet again to take a look at Alaska residency requirements ...
  Alaska Regulators Propose Allowing Cannabis CafésReason (blog)
  Alaska is the first state to okay limited public mariju
  

• New teams, new rules spice 38th annual Great Alaska Shootout basketball tourney - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-11-2015 05:47
  Alaska Dispatch News
  New teams, new rules spice 38th annual Great Alaska Shootout basketball tourney
  Alaska Dispatch News
  The 38th annual Great Alaska Shootout tips off a five-day run Tuesday with new teams, new rules and an arena that still feels new. The tournament begins with women's games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. UAA (10-0) takes on Pepperdine (1-3) in the late game.and more »
  

• Why the Paris climate accords matter to Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-11-2015 04:32
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Why the Paris climate accords matter to Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  OPINION: Climate change campaigners often vilify fossil fuels, but they are the energy that powers most of what we do. Pictured: The trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Loren Holmes / ADN. Starting Nov. 30, Alaskans may want to keep a watchful eye on what world ...and more »
  

• Budget and birth-control before Anchorage Assembly

  24-11-2015 04:08
  The Anchorage Assembly is set to vote on the city’s 2016 budget.
  The operating budget the Berkowitz administration has crafted with input from the Assembly and public totals $480,866548. That’s down about three-and-a-half million from last year’s final budget of $484.3 million. However, the city is dealing with significantly less in revenues, and closed the gap by bumping property taxes and shifting some funds over to the capital budget, which totals $57,060,000.
  Up for introdu
  
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• With replacements and resignation, Walker consolidates control of gas line project

  24-11-2015 03:47
  
  
  Dan Fauske’s chair was vacant at the Saturday morning meeting of the AGDC board. Photo: Rachel Waldholz/APRN
  One doesn’t usually associate “state gas line corporation” and “drama” — but this weekend, the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation was the source of all kinds of drama.
  Download Audio:
  The corporation, known as AGDC, is responsible for the state’s share of the massive Alaska LNG project to bring natural gas from the North
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Monday, Nov. 23, 2015

  24-11-2015 03:45
  
  
  Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprn.Download Audio
   
  With leadership overhaul, Walker consolidates gas line power
  Rachel Waldholz, APRN – Anchorage
  You don’t normally associate “state gas line corporation” and “drama” – but this weekend, the state-owned Al
  
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• Dixie State volleyball earns No. 8 seed, plays host Alaska Anchorage in NCAA ... - St. George Daily Spectrum

  24-11-2015 03:40
  St. George Daily Spectrum
  Dixie State volleyball earns No. 8 seed, plays host Alaska Anchorage in NCAA ...
  St. George Daily Spectrum
  The 2015 PacWest champion Dixie State Women's Volleyball team learned its seeding and opponent Monday night when the NCAA announced its 2015 Division II Women's Volleyball tournament 64-team field. The Storm was awarded the West Region's No.and more »
  

• Costco won’t sell genetically engineered salmon ‘at this time’

  24-11-2015 03:35
  
  
  Now that the FDA has approved a genetically engineered salmon for human consumption, Costco appears to be joining Safeway and other retailers in a commitment not to sell it.
  Download Audio
  The Seattle Times reports Costco issued a statement Friday saying it does not intend to sell the transgenic salmon “at this time.”
  “This is a major step forward from the weak statement which Costco previously made over the summer,” says Dana Perls, who works for Friends of the Eart
  
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• Starving sea birds pop up in Anchorage, Mat-Su

  24-11-2015 03:34
  
  
  The Anchorage Bird Treatment and Learning Center has received 20 common murres over the past month. All were starving. Photo: Monica Gokey/KSKA.
  An increase in dead or starving common murres has expanded beyond coastal communities and into urban areas in recent weeks. An Anchorage bird rehabilitation center that usually sees one or two murres a year has gotten 20 this month. All were starving.
  Download Audio
  At the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, a cluster of five black and whit
  
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• Sitka tribal council pens FBI, alleging racism in police dept

  24-11-2015 03:33
  
  
  On Tuesday (11-17-15), Sitka’s tribal council wrote a letter to the Anchorage division of the FBI, regarding a tasing incident of a Native Alaska teenager in the Sitka jail last year. The letter alleges that prejudice exists within the Sitka Police Department and asks the FBI to consult the tribe during the investigation.
  Download Audio
  To see a copy of the letter click here: STA Letter to FBI
  The letter was written to the special agent in charge at the FBI, the agency investigat
  
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• Fairbanks building awaits demolition… or revitalization?

  24-11-2015 03:32
  
  
  A group of Fairbanks city leaders are working to find money to demolish the Polaris building. They’ve grown frustrated awaiting action on the deteriorating downtown high rise.
  Polaris building. Photo: Dan Bross/KUAC.
  Download Audio
  Anchorage real estate developer Marc Marlow has been trying for over a decade to secure financing to renovate the long abandoned 1950s Polaris Hotel into apartments, and city council member David Pruhs is through waiting.
  “We should just knock it down and
  
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• Juneau high school sleep-out raises $3,000 for homeless youth

  24-11-2015 03:31
  
  
  About 200 kids and teenagers in Juneau are homeless. There are students without adequate or regular housing in every school in the district.
  This past weekend, high school students slept out in the cold to raise awareness of the mostly invisible issue.
  Download Audio
  During the sleep-out, students made signs about youth homelessness that they waved outside Mendenhall Mall and Safeway. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, temperatures dropped to the l
  
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• Ailing Coast Guard cutter gets replacement with same name

  24-11-2015 03:29
  
  There are now two Coast Guard cutters that carry the name Munro.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports a new cutter by that name was christened in Missouri Nov. 14. This Munro has been built over the last two years and will go into service in 2016.
  The first Munro was commissioned in 1971. The Coast Guard says the 378-foot-long cutter based in Kodiak is nearing the end of its life.
  The new Munro is 418 feet long.
  Both ships are named after Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, the only Coast Guard m
  
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• Mat Su Borough employees settle out of court

  24-11-2015 03:12
  
  A dispute over Mat Su Borough emergency services workers retirement benefits has been settled out of court. According to the Borough, nine workers involved in the dispute will be paid a total of $160,311 plus attorneys’ fees.
  Mat Su Borough manager John Moosey says the Borough admitted no wrongdoing.
  “We don’t believe the Borough’s in the wrong, but a settlement avoids the uncertainty of a trial, and avoids the negative impacts to our Borough operations.”　
  Th
  
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• Lady Toppers begin Alaska tourney play Tuesday - WBKO

  24-11-2015 02:35
  WBKO
  Lady Toppers begin Alaska tourney play Tuesday
  WBKO
  The Western Kentucky women's basketball team will compete in its lone in-season tournament of the season on Tuesday and Wednesday, participating in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout inside the Alaska Airlines Center. The Lady Toppers will open play in the ...and more »
  

• Tesoro expands presence in Alaska following new asset shopping spree - San Antonio Business Journal

  24-11-2015 01:01
  San Antonio Business Journal
  Tesoro expands presence in Alaska following new asset shopping spree
  San Antonio Business Journal
  San Antonio-based refining company Tesoro is expanding its presence in Alaska after buying marketing and logistics assets from Flint Hills Resources. A sale amount has not been disclosed but Tesoro (NYSE: TSO) announced the purchase late Monday ...
  Tesoro buying assets in AlaskaChron.com (blog)all 14 news articles »
  

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