Anchorage news

• Opening of Tanana road pushed back due to weather

  12-07-2016 23:41 via ktoo.org
  
  This summer’s rainy weather has further delayed the opening of the first road to connect a bush community to Alaska’s highway network in two decades.Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner the 20-mile road to the Yukon River near the village of Tanana is expected to be complete by Sept. 1.
  The single-lane gravel road extends from outside Manley Hot Springs to the banks of the Yukon.
  Construction on the road, which began in 20
  
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• Heroin, cash seized at Kenai home; man, woman arrested

  12-07-2016 23:41 via ktoo.org
  
  A Kenai man is in custody after Alaska State Troopers and Kenai police seized nearly a half-pound of heroin from his home.Trooper say 42-year-old Corey Clifton was wanted on felony warrants for probation and parole violations. He faces new charges of drug misconduct.
  Another resident of the home, 20-year-old Yesenia Cisneros, was arrested on suspicion of drug misconduct.
  Online court records did not list attorneys for Clifton and Cisneros.
  Troopers and police served a search warrant on Clifton&r
  
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• Video: How chilly seawater keeps an aquarium warm

  12-07-2016 21:24 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Sealife Center has managed to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its annual utility bills in half. The secret: In 2008, the aquarium used state and federal grants to install a seawater heat pump system.
  
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• Juneau Assembly asks voters to decide on marijuana tax and permanent sales tax

  12-07-2016 10:43 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau voters will be asked two questions on the October ballot affecting sales taxes: Should marijuana be taxed an extra 3 percent, like alcohol? And should a long-standing, 3 percent “temporary” sales tax become permanent?
  The Juneau Assembly voted Monday to put those questions on the Oct. 4 municipal election ballot.
  Assemblywoman Debbie White supported the marijuana ordinance.
  “The industry themselves said, ‘Treat us like the alcohol industry,’” White said
  
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• Obama Renews Call For A ‘Public Option’ In Federal Health Law

  12-07-2016 07:06 via ktoo.org
  
  President Obama speaks in Dallas in 2013 about the technical problems that affected the initial rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Now, citing the law’s success, he is urging Congress to expand the insurance offerings. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
  President Barack Obama on Monday called on Congress to revisit the controversial idea of providing a government-run insurance plan as part of the offerings under the Affordable Care Act.
  What’s been described as the &ldqu
  
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• Pokémon Go Is Catching Us All — In Unexpected Ways

  12-07-2016 07:05 via ktoo.org
  
  The mobile app Pokémon Go is currently the top downloaded free app in both Apple and Android stores. The augmented reality game allows smartphone users to track and catch Pokémon in real life.
  It’s been an eventful weekend for Pokémon trainers — even without Team Rocket around.
  After being released Wednesday, the mobile app Pokémon Go is currently the top downloaded free app, and the top grossing app, in both the Apple and Android stores.
  The augmented rea
  
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• 30,000 Civilians Take Refuge At U.N. Base As Fighting Escalates In South Sudan

  12-07-2016 07:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Black smoke rises above Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Sunday. Explosions and heavy weapons gunfire are shaking Juba Monday in the fifth day of clashes between government and opposition forces, raising the specter of a return to civil war. (Iain McLellan/AP)
  As fighting continues in South Sudan, tens of thousands of civilians have taken refuge inside a U.N. base, The Associated Press reports.
  At least two U.N. peacekeepers have been killed, the AP writes, and aid workers are having difficu
  
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• Firms Are Buying, Sharing Your Online Info. What Can You Do About It?

  12-07-2016 07:03 via ktoo.org
  
  Data brokers collect information on how you use the Internet, from personal data you share on Facebook to online shopping. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
  There are some big companies out there that you’ve probably never heard of, that know more about you than you can imagine.
  They’re called data brokers, and they collect all sorts of information — names, addresses, income, where you go on the Internet and who you connect with online. That information is then sold to other compani
  
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• As budget is sliced, Alaskans feel the cuts

  12-07-2016 06:41 via ktoo.org
  
  (Creative Commons photo by peasap)
  Alaskans are already starting to feel the effects of state budget cuts, from shorter court hours to last minute local budget negotiations.
  For example, Friday afternoons used to be busy times for court-appointed advocates for children, since courts tried to resolve issues ahead of the weekend. But not anymore. Starting July 1, state courts began closing on Fridays at noon to save money.
  Margie McWilliams works in Juneau as a guardian ad litem —
  
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• Anchorage LIO landlord seeks $37 million in damages

  12-07-2016 06:41 via ktoo.org
  
  The Anchorage Legislative Information Office on March 4, 2016. (Photo by Megan Ahleman)
  The landlord for the embattled Legislative Information Office in downtown Anchorage is taking the first step in what could be a lengthy process toward a lawsuit.
  The claim, filed Monday with the Legislative Affairs Agency, seeks to recover $37,016,021 for damages connected with the legislature’s 10-year lease on the building. That lease was ruled invalid in March.
  Lawyers for the landlord argued lawmake
  
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• Back in Juneau, legislature faces uncertain path in fifth special session

  12-07-2016 06:40 via ktoo.org
  
  A small group rallies in Capitol Park asking legislators to pass a long-term fiscal plan. (Photo by Mary Uyanik/360 North)
  Legislators returned to Juneau on Monday for the fifth special session since last summer. And lawmakers were greeted by a group of 20 protesters who want them to close the state’s budget shortfall.
  The protesters chanted: “Act now! Pass a fiscal plan!”
  But it’s not clear if there are enough votes in the House to pass a bill to restructure Permane
  
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• Walker: Legislative inaction will cause self-inflicted disaster

  12-07-2016 06:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker talks about the state’s budget on June 1, 2016, during a press conference in Juneau. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
  Gov. Bill Walker says the state is in a fiscal crisis as a result of inaction by the Alaska Legislature.Walker has long resisted referring to the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit as a crisis, calling it a challenge instead. He has said that it’s only a crisis if nothing is done.
  But on the first day of the new special session Mo
  
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• 27-year-old woman killed in Glenn Highway rollover

  12-07-2016 06:08 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska State Troopers have released the name of a woman who died in a crash on the Glenn Highway Monday morning.
  Troopers say 27-year-old Jeannie R. Watson of Anchorage was the only person in the vehicle when it rolled at about 8:30 a.m. at Mile 135, about 5 miles west of Eureka Summit.
  Watson was ejected from the vehicle.
  Troopers say the state medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy.
  
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• Whale found dead in Alaska appeared to be in poor health

  12-07-2016 06:04 via ktoo.org
  
  National Park Service officials say a humpback whale with a long history of sightings in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park appeared to be in poor health at the time of its recent death.The 40-foot-long whale was found dead June 26 near the mouth of the bay. The necropsy, whose preliminary findings were released July 6, found bleeding and bruising in the animal’s mouth indicating physical injury, but no evidence of skull or other bone fractures was found.
  Officials say tissue sample
  
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• Akiachak prepares to inventory land for trust status

  12-07-2016 05:35 via ktoo.org
  
  After a federal appeals court last week dismissed the state of Alaska’s challenge in a tribal land rights case, the four Alaska tribes that sued the Interior Department may proceed with land petition proceedings. That includes Akiachak and Tuluksak.
  Alaska tribes can start asking the federal government to take their lands into trust. If approved, the lands would essentially be taken out of state jurisdiction, like Lower 48 Indian Country.
  Phillip Peter Sr. chairs the Akiacha
  
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• Man charged with assault after stabbing at Anchorage home

  12-07-2016 05:10 via ktoo.org
  
  An Anchorage man suspected of stabbing his father early Monday has been charged with three counts of felony assault and one of felony criminal mischief.Police just after 1 a.m. took a call from a man who said he was in a fight with his son, 20-year-old Eyob Imlach, at a home in southeast Anchorage.
  The man called back eight minutes later to say he had been stabbed. Police say he suffered wounds to his leg and torso that were not life-threatening.
  Police obtained a warrant for Imlach’s arre
  
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• Anchorage police seek witnesses in 2 deaths along bike trail

  12-07-2016 05:09 via ktoo.org
  
  Anchorage police investigating the deaths of two people on a bike trail have released photos of two men who may have information on the case.Police are investigating the deaths of 20-year-old Brianna Foisy and 41-year-old Jason Netter.
  A passer-by just after 7:30 a.m. July 3, a Sunday, found the bodies on Ship Creek Trail west of the intersection of Post Road and Viking Drive.
  Detectives reviewing surveillance footage found images of two people.
  One was a man wearing a backpack and walking near
  
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• As energy prices drop, Alaska’s inflation rate follows

  12-07-2016 02:36 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Richard Carrillo, of Juneau, gases up his suburban on July 7, 2016, in Juneau. State economists said low energy prices caused a slower growth of inflation in Alaska last year.
  As oil prices have dropped and the state has struggled to pay its bills, Alaskans saw one benefit. The cost of living in Anchorage increased by the smallest amount in nearly three decades.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/07/11INFLATION.mp3At a Tesoro near downtown Juneau, Tim Young makes a quick stop to put a f
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 7-14-17

  12-07-2016 02:16 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Tuesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon, Ben Brown hosts.
  We’ll talk with Collette Costa about changes at the Gold Town Theatre;
  He’ll get an update on Thursday’s Renewable Energy Working group meeting;
  And we’ll continue our series on Summer Fun, with guest, John McConnochie, from Cycle Alaska.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/07/Juneau-PM-7-11-16.mp3 
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 7-12-16

  12-07-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Tuesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon, Ben Brown hosts.
  We’ll talk with Collette Costa about changes at the Gold Town Theatre;
  He’ll get an update on Thursday’s Renewable Energy Working group meeting.
  And we’ll continue our series on Summer Fun, with guest, John McConnochie, from Cycle Alaska.
  
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