Alaska news

• Phone, internet outages affect GCI customers in urban Alaska - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-06-2016 23:36
  
  Phone, internet outages affect GCI customers in urban Alaska
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Some GCI customers have been been experiencing phone and internet issues Friday, as the Alaska telecommunications firm works through a series of repairs. GCI spokesman David Morris said the internet problems, which were related to issues with the ...
  
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• Alaska fire season lagging behind preseason predictions - Alaska Public Radio Network

  24-06-2016 23:28
  
  Alaska fire season lagging behind preseason predictions
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  The Big Mud Fire, burning 55 miles southwest of Tanana, was discovered yesterday by civilian aircraft. A BLM Alaska Fire Service aircraft responded from Fairbanks and flew over the lightning-caused fire. The fire is estimated to have burned about 300 ...
  
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• Alaska fire season lagging behind preseason predictions

  24-06-2016 23:27
  
  The Big Mud Fire, burning 55 miles southwest of Tanana, was discovered yesterday by civilian aircraft. A BLM Alaska Fire Service aircraft responded from Fairbanks and flew over the lightning-caused fire. The fire is estimated to have burned about 300 acres, mostly along a ridgeline north of the Big Mud River. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Fire Service)A lack of winter snow, early season ignitions, and a hot weather forecast had Alaskans bracing for another busy fire season. But, so far, it’s l
  
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• Judge sentences Alaska woman who suffocated infant to 20 years - KTUU.com

  24-06-2016 23:11
  
  KTUU.com
  Judge sentences Alaska woman who suffocated infant to 20 years
  KTUU.com
  ANCHORAGE (KTUU) A Superior Court judge today sentenced Sarah Bentley Johnson, who admitted to killing her newborn daughter by suffocating her with a plastic bag, to 20 years in prison. An Anchorage jury found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder in ...and more »
  
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• Taking improv to work

  24-06-2016 23:00
  
  Creative Commons image used with permission. Photo credit: Ed Schipul, a web designer based in Houston, Texas.Anchorage is lucky to have two improv troupes, Urban Yeti and Scared Scriptless. It also has lots of active high school students who love improv enough to compete in an annual Improvaganza! competition hosted by the local TBA Theatre. UAA’s own improv hotbed is known as the Ad-lib Alchemists.
  Enjoying improv as pure entertainment is one thing, but the worlds of business and work&md
  
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• In face of budget cuts, 39th Great Alaska Shootout will take place - KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska

  24-06-2016 22:52
  
  KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska
  In face of budget cuts, 39th Great Alaska Shootout will take place
  KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska
  The University of Alaska Anchorage announced the men's and women's fields this morning for the 39th GCI Great Alaska Shootout. With plummeting oil prices and subsequent budget problems, athletic director Keith Hackett has stated since February that ...
  Fields set for 39th annual Great Alaska Shootout (Jun 24, 2016)FOXSports.com
  Pack to play in Alaska Shootout, opens
  
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• Teams take off from Victoria for non-powered race to Alaska - KTUU.com

  24-06-2016 21:25
  
  KTUU.com
  Teams take off from Victoria for non-powered race to Alaska
  KTUU.com
  PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. (AP) After a short hop from Port Townsend to Victoria, British Columbia, 55 teams are on their way to Ketchikan, Alaska as part of the second Race to Alaska. The Peninsula Daily News reports that 58 teams left Port Townsend on ...
  Race to Alaska boaters have rough, wild week aheadThe Spokesman Review (registration) (blog)all 7 news articles »
  
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• Study looks at new way to make ice for salmon fleet

  24-06-2016 21:19
  
  Ice is an integral part of many salmon boats’ chilling operations, but getting it isn’t so easy: producing and distributing ice to the fleet is a major undertaking with many players each summer. A recent study looked at making one piece of the puzzle – creating the ice – a little simpler, but that doesn’t mean any changes are on the way right now.Making ice to keep Bristol Bay fish cold after they’re caught is an energy-intensive endeavor, but a recent study l
  
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• Bethel nonprofits will no longer get a pass on sales taxes

  24-06-2016 20:17
  Starting Aug. 1 the city of Bethel will begin enforcing sales taxes on nonprofits unless the nonprofit gets an exemption. But no one can get an exemption, because one of the legal requirements is impossible to fulfill.
  (Photo illustration by Flickr user photosteve10)By city law, nonprofits were supposed to be paying sales taxes since 2001. But the trend didn’t catch on for everyone, and the city didn’t enforce the change. Until now.
  “Just because we’ve done something wron
  
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• 49 Voices: Katy Laurance of Anchorage - Alaska Public Radio Network

  24-06-2016 19:06
  
  49 Voices: Katy Laurance of Anchorage
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  This week we're hearing from Katy Laurance of Anchorage. She recently moved back to Alaska after a 12-year hiatus in Seattle. Katy Laurance of Anchorage (Photo by Ammon Swenson, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage) Katy Laurance of Anchorage (Photo ...
  
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• 49 Voices: Katy Laurance of Anchorage

  24-06-2016 19:06
  
  This week we’re hearing from Katy Laurance of Anchorage. She recently moved back to Alaska after a 12-year hiatus in Seattle.
  Katy Laurance of Anchorage (Photo by Ammon Swenson, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)LAURANCE: We relocated here a year ago, but I’ve lived here from when I was born til I was 18. We were in the Seattle area for 12 years, but Alaska’s always been home. You know, I think people who grew up in Alaska, there’s two kinds of us. Those who can&rsquo
  
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• Shia LaBeouf selfies his way across Southcentral Alaska - KTUU.com

  24-06-2016 18:40
  
  KTUU.com
  Shia LaBeouf selfies his way across Southcentral Alaska
  KTUU.com
  ANCHORAGE (KTUU) According to the Vice.com tracker, Shia LaBeouf remains in Alaska this morning as his “Take Me Anywhere” project continues. [Shia LaBeouf takes himself anywhere, and that means Alaska]. He's made some new friends in the Last ...
  
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• Cyrano’s Sila

  24-06-2016 18:37
  
  
  Listen in to Stage Talk this week as playwright Chantal Bilodeau, actor Jay Burns and actor Polly Anderson drop by to talk about Bilodeau’s “Cli-Fi” (Climate Fiction) play, Sila which opens at Cyrano’s Theatre Company Friday, June 24th and runs Thursdays through Sundays until July 10th.
   
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  HOST:
  Steve Hunt
  GUESTS: 
  Chantal Bilodeau, playwright Sila at Cyrano’s Theatre Company
  Jay Burns, Actor in Sila at Cyrano’s Theatre Co
  
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• Rural Alaska in line to receive $16 million in federal energy grants - KTUU.com

  24-06-2016 16:58
  
  KTUU.com
  Rural Alaska in line to receive $16 million in federal energy grants
  KTUU.com
  ANCHORAGE Rural communities in Alaska are set to receive more than $16 million in federal grants to go toward their energy projects. The Alaska Public Radio Network reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture made the announcement Wednesday.
  $16 million in federal energy grants announced for rural AlaskaFairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Rural Alaska communities to get $16 million in federal energy grantsAlaska Public
  
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• Alaska Air Group (ALK) Hits 52-Week Low: What's Taking it Down? - Yahoo News

  24-06-2016 16:49
  
  Alaska Air Group (ALK) Hits 52-Week Low: What's Taking it Down?
  Yahoo News
  Shares of Seattle, Washington-based Alaska Air Group ALK fell to a 52-week low of $58.74 during the trading session on Jun 23. Shares of the carrier, however, recovered marginally to close the session at $59.14. Terror Attacks Hit Carriers ...and more »
  
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• How an Alaska Clinic Takes an All-in Approach to the Medical Home - Hospitals & Health Networks

  24-06-2016 12:04
  
  How an Alaska Clinic Takes an All-in Approach to the Medical Home
  Hospitals & Health Networks
  Steve Tierney, medical director of quality and chief medical informatics officer at Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska, describes their medical home approach, which has been so popular the organization formed a separate consulting division.
  
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• Alaska IPHC board member fined $49K for fishing violation, resigns - Juneau Empire (subscription)

  24-06-2016 10:02
  Alaska IPHC board member fined $49K for fishing violation, resigns
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  Jeff Kauffman resigned as the Alaska resident member of the International Pacific Halibut Commission on June 22, shortly after he and two fellow fishermen agreed to a $49,000 fine for harvesting more than 10,000 pounds of halibut over their combined ...
  
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• Ballast Water Exemptions Are Leaving Alaska Open to Invasion - Hakai Magazine

  24-06-2016 09:25
  
  Hakai Magazine
  Ballast Water Exemptions Are Leaving Alaska Open to Invasion
  Hakai Magazine
  Meanwhile, a new bill could strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate ballast water. by Geoffrey Giller. Published June 24, 2016. In 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska, spilling millions of liters of ...
  
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• Spring came too early in Alaska - Albuquerque Journal

  24-06-2016 08:02
  
  Albuquerque Journal
  Spring came too early in Alaska
  Albuquerque Journal
  Murres, a sea bird shown here off the coast of California, are dying in large numbers and failing to reproduce in Alaska, problems some think may be related to warming temperatures. (Ben Margot/Associated Press). A few years ago, in my coastal Alaskan ...
  
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• Alaska Science Forum: Summer solstice doesn't mean maximum warmth - Juneau Empire (subscription)

  24-06-2016 07:03
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  Alaska Science Forum: Summer solstice doesn't mean maximum warmth
  Juneau Empire (subscription)
  A person might think that since we get our maximum sunlight on the summer solstice (on or about June 21), we should also get our peak warmth then. The sun's calling the shots, right? Not entirely, said former Alaskan Martha Shulski, author of “The ...
  
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• Don Young gets heated over House Democrats' gun control protest - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-06-2016 06:20
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Don Young gets heated over House Democrats' gun control protest
  Alaska Dispatch News
  WASHINGTON — Alaska's sole representative, Don Young, a Republican, was not pleased with the Democrat's "sit-in" that began on the House floor Wednesday night, staged in hopes of forcing the majority to hold votes on gun control legislation.and more »
  
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• Mobile clinic providing free STD testing at Alaska PrideFest - KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska

  24-06-2016 05:34
  
  KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska
  Mobile clinic providing free STD testing at Alaska PrideFest
  KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska
  Each year Alaska continually ranks high, if not the worst, when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases. New numbers out by the state on Thursday are moving in the right direction. They show the chlamydia infection rate in Alaska has decreased by 2.7 ...
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, June 23, 2016 - Alaska Public Radio Network

  24-06-2016 03:40
  
  Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, June 23, 2016
  Alaska Public Radio Network
  We asked Congressman Don Young and U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski how they feel about Donald Trump these days. Their responses ranged from tepid to chilly. Rural Alaska communities to get $16 million in federal energy grants. Graelyn ...and more »
  
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• Alaska News Nightly: Thursday, June 23, 2016

  24-06-2016 03:38
  
  
  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
  Attorney General Craig Richards resigns abruptly
  Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
  The head of Alaska’s legal team announced today he is stepping down.
  Walker appoints new DNR commissioner; second cabinet change today
  Rashah McChesney, KTOO &
  
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• Yukon subsistence fisherman get first targeted opening for Yukon salmon in 5 years

  24-06-2016 03:10
  
  Subsistence fishermen on the Yukon are getting some rare gillnet openings during the middle of the summer season, and will be allowed to keep any king salmon they catch.
  “Chinook salmon, Yukon Delta NWR.” Photo: Craig Springer, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Via Flickr Creative Commons.Targeted openings for Yukon king salmon have not occurred in more than 5 years, though occasionally subsistence users are allowed to keep kings taken as bycatch in the summer chum fishery.
  Fish and
  
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• Group cites concern for belugas in protest of Bluecrest

  24-06-2016 03:07
  
  A national environmental group is challenging BlueCrest Energy’s plans to conduct hydraulic fracturing in Cook Inlet, citing concerns for endangered beluga whales.
  The Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service asking it to take a closer look at the potential harms of fracking in the Inlet.
  BlueCrest is targeting oil wells in the Cosmopolitan Unit, about three and a half miles offshore and 7,000 feet below the surface of Cook Inlet. The company p
  
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• National food contaminations affect hundreds of products in Alaska - KTUU.com

  24-06-2016 03:03
  
  KTUU.com
  National food contaminations affect hundreds of products in Alaska
  KTUU.com
  ANCHORAGE (KTUU) A dozen food recalls have affected Alaska this month, forcing grocery stores across the state to pull hundreds of items off their shelves. According to the Alaska Food Safety and Sanitation Program, the surge hitting shelves this ...
  
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• Boulder the size of a van dislodged over Seward highway

  24-06-2016 03:03
  
  Alaska road crews have dislodged a massive boulder that was poised to come crashing down on a highway busy with summer travelers.
  Thursday morning’s work followed a rock slide that pushed a van-sized rock to a precipice over the Seward Highway near Potter Marsh, south of Anchorage. The Seward Highway is the only road leading south out of the city.
  State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jill Reese says crews dislodged the rock with a high-pressure water hose.
  She says the boulder ca
  
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• Anchorage woman wins Trans Am bike race; first woman, first American to do so

  24-06-2016 02:51
  
  Lael Wilcox is a woman of many firsts. The 29 year old Anchorage resident and world bicycle traveler just won the 4200 mile Trans Am bike race. She was the first woman and the first American to win the grueling race. Wilcox started the race on June 4th in Astoria, Oregon and won yesterday in Virginia. The Trans Am race is self supported. Wilcox said you have to carry what you need or buy it along the way.
  Lael Wilcox during the Trans Am bike race in Western Virginia. (Photo courtesy of Trans Am
  
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• Rural Alaska communities to get $16 million in federal energy grants

  24-06-2016 02:34
  
  Jim Nordlund, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency, speaks at a press conference announcing $16 million in energy grants for rural Alaska communities. (Photo by Graelyn Brashear, KSKA-Anchorage)The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency today announced more than $16 million in federal grants for energy projects in communities across Alaska. The federal High Energy Cost Grants fund projects in areas where households are payi
  
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• Congressional delegation on Trump: meh

  24-06-2016 02:21
  
  Donald Trump file photo by Gage Skidmore/CC 2.0In this strange election year, Republican members of Congress are still lukewarm about their party’s presumptive nominee for president, Donald Trump. Among Alaska’s congressional delegation support for Trump these days is hovering between tepid and chilly.
  Alaska’s sole House member, Don Young, says he might choose himself for president, as a write-in. He could be joking about that. But Young sounds sincere when he says he&rsq
  
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• Tetlin fire estimated smaller than previously thought, still burning near Tok

  24-06-2016 01:58
  
  The Tetlin River Fire, south of Tok, is now estimated at 818 acres …that’s nearly 200 acres smaller than previously thought.
  Officials from the Alaska Division of Forestry say the adjustment is due toimproved mapping of the fire’s perimeter.
  Crews Wednesday continued mop-up operations on the blaze,focusing on hotspots and putting in containment lines.
  Nearly 300 personnel are still working the fire.
  
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• Second official steps down from Walker cabinet on Thursday - Alaska Dispatch News

  24-06-2016 01:39
  
  Alaska Dispatch News
  Second official steps down from Walker cabinet on Thursday
  Alaska Dispatch News
  In an big day of change in Gov. Bill Walker's Cabinet, the governor's office said for a second time on Thursday a top administrator is leaving, though it also named a new commissioner. Department of Natural Resources Acting Commissioner Marty ...
  Richards resigns as Alaska's attorney generalFairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Alaska attorney general, resources commissioner resignJuneau Empire (subscripti
  
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• Boulder the size of a van dislodged over Alaska highway - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

  24-06-2016 01:30
  
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  Boulder the size of a van dislodged over Alaska highway
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
  This photo provided by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, shows a worker looking over a large boulder that road crews dislodged near Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, June 23, 2016, because it was poised to come crashing down on ...
  Crews knock down boulder teetering over Seward HighwayAlaska Dispatch News
  Boulder over Alaska highway weighed 60 tonsKFQDall 6
  
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• All manner of waterborne entries on starting line of race to Alaska

  24-06-2016 00:50
  
  It was so memorable they had to do it again. The 750-mile Race to Alaska is back for a second year as 43 teams of sailors, rowers and paddlers prepare to set off from Port Townsend, Washington at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
  No cabin! Captain Jill Russell and an eight member crew plan to mostly row – and occasionally sail – this 28-foot longdory to Ketchikan from Port Townsend. They’ll sleep in shifts on board or go to shore to rest. (Photo by Tom Banse, Northwest News Network, Oregon)A
  
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• Walker appoints new DNR commissioner; second cabinet change today

  24-06-2016 00:40
  The state Department of Natural Resources has a new commissioner.
  Andy Mack, the new commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources (Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office)Gov. Bill Walker announced today that Andy Mack, an Arctic policy and development adviser and manager of Pt Capital, a private equity fund based in Alaska, will take over the agency. Former commissioner Mark Meyers retired in February.
  The announcement came after acting DNR commissioner Marty Rutherford told Walker
  
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