Anchorage news

• Officials celebrate near completion of launch complex

  16-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  KODIAK — Construction work on the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak is near completion following a rocket explosion at the facility two years ago.
  The explosion, which damaged buildings and left behind debris, occurred following a test launch of a hypersonic weapon in August 2014. Testers destroyed the rocket after they detected an anomaly.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the facility Saturday, where officials gathered to celebrate its progress.
  
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• Man arrested on suspicion of setting Northern California wildfires

  16-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  James McCauley looks over the burned-out remains of his residence in the town of Lower Lake, Calif. (Josh Edelson, Associated Press)
  A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of setting the Clayton fire in Northern California, which officials say has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed more than 175 homes and businesses in the past few days.
  Damin Anthony Pashilk of Clear Lake, Calif., is being held on suspicion of a total of 17 counts of arson in Lake County, Calif., over the past
  
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• Justice Sotomayor speaks at University of Alaska Fairbanks

  16-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Another story on Sotomayor’s Alaska talk https://t.co/gUFDhKbVbl #SCOTUS
  — Jessica Gresko (@jessicagresko) August 15, 2016Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina appointed the nation’s highest court, spoke Sunday at the University of Alaska Fairbanks during a UAF Summer Sessions event.
  U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor addressed a capacity audience in Fairbanks.
  ”I understood then that I had to live every minute of my life as fully as I could,&rdquo
  
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• Kodiak pedestrian struck by bus, seriously injured

  16-08-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  KODIAK — A Kodiak pedestrian was flown to Anchorage in serious condition after he was struck over the weekend by a school bus.
  Alaska State Troopers said Jamie Cruz, 21, at about 11 p.m. Saturday was in the middle of Rezanof Drive near Mile 8.
  He was struck by a bus driven by Kenneth Cameron, 61, of Kodiak.
  Cruz was rushed to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center and later transported to Anchorage.
  The cause of the accident is under investigation.
  
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• Alaska drops appeal of tribal land into trust regulation

  16-08-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Federation of Natives President Julie Kitka listens in 2014 during a panel discussion on taking tribal land into trust. (Photo by Jennifer Canfield, KTOO file photo)
  The state of Alaska is dropping its lawsuit over federal regulations that banned Alaska tribes from putting land into trust, calling it “dead-end litigation.” But that doesn’t mean the state sees smooth roads ahead.
  Trust status for tribal lands transfers title to those lands to the federal government,
  
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• Rudy Giuliani claims U.S. had no terrorist attacks prior to Obama

  16-08-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday. (Gerald Herbert, Associated Press)
  For a man once accused of forming every sentence with a noun, a verb and 9/11, it was a serious omission.
  Rudy Giuliani appeared to forget the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, while warming up a crowd for Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech on Monday.
  “By the way,” Giuliani said, “under those eight years, b
  
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• Floatplane rescues woman swept into Cook Inlet

  16-08-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — A woman swept into Cook Inlet was rescued Monday night by a pilot and at least one passenger of a floatplane.
  The Anchorage Fire Department at 7:30 p.m. received a report of a woman in distress at Point Woronzof, a popular bluff and viewing area near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
  Witnesses said the woman was 100 feet off shore and the current was sweeping her out.
  Fire department and airport emergency officials put out calls for assistance on marine and aviation
  
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• Decade-old efforts to modify West Glacier Trail enters final phase

  16-08-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Part of the West Glacier Trail. (Photo by Heather Bryant, KTOO)
  The U.S. Forest Service plans to expand parking, extend a trail and improve an outhouse near the West Glacier trailhead.
  The Alaska Department of Transportation recently awarded the Forest Service the $294,000 grant to pay for the improvements.
  The Forest Service’s Ed Grossman, who manages recreation programs in Juneau, said the potential cost for the project could change, depending on contractors&rsqu
  
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• Anchorage fire truck damaged when struck by small sedan

  16-08-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage fire truck is out of service after it was involved in a crash with a car Monday night.
  The Anchorage Fire Department says Engine 2, housed at a station in downtown Anchorage, shortly before midnight was driving to assist an ambulance crew.
  The truck was traveling “Code Yellow” without warning lights and siren.
  The department says a small sedan ran a red light at Fourth Avenue and Eagle Street. The truck stopped but was struck on the side by the car.
  Two
  
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• Akai Gurley’s family settles with New York City over police shooting death

  16-08-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A demonstrator peers at a memorial to Akai Gurley at a public housing complex in Brooklyn, N.Y. Gurley was shot and killed by an NYPD officer in November 2014. (John Minchillo, Associated Press)
  The family of an unarmed black man fatally shot by a New York police officer two years ago will receive more than $4 million from the city to settle a wrongful-death claim.
  New York City will pay $4.1 million to the family of 28-year-old Akai Gurley. In addition, NPR’s Joel Rose reports, the city&r
  
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• Absentee and early voting numbers suggest low primary turnout

  16-08-2016 08:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Election official Hali Denton runs a polling place for early and absentee voters in the State Office Bulding on Monday. She said it’d been a slow day. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Alaskans vote Tuesday in primaries to determine the party nominees for U.S. Senate and House, as well as for the state legislature.
  The numbers of Alaskans that have already voted suggest there will be low turnout.
  “Our early and absentee in-person voting that started on Aug. 1 … have observed lower
  
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• Juneau election filing closes with contested assembly and school board seats

  16-08-2016 07:42 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau Assembly will have two contested municipal elections this fall. Monday evening was the last chance to file for candidacy for a seat on the assembly.
  Three people are vying for the Assembly District 1 seat. William Quayle Jr. and Arnold Liebelt are challenging incumbent Mary Becker.
  Becker has served as deputy mayor and briefly filled in as mayor after Greg Fisk died last fall. She’s seeking her third term.
  Douglas resident Arnold Liebelt worked for the state for more than two de
  
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• Coast Guard suspends search for missing fisherman, Arnold Skeek

  16-08-2016 07:29 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Arnold Skeek, far right, is a fisherman who authorities believe fell overboard into Auke Bay on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Amy Meats)
  The Coast Guard stopped looking for Arnold Skeek, the missing 27-year-old fisherman from Kake, early Monday afternoon. Authorities believe he fell from the Beaufort Sea, 60-foot fishing tender, into Auke Bay on Sunday.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/08/15Meats.mp3The Beaufort Sea is the fishing tender Arnold Skeek worked aboard. (Photo courtesy Amy Meats)
  
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• Alaska’s top general to retire, hand command to new joint base leader

  16-08-2016 05:00 via ktoo.org
  Alaska’s top military official is stepping down.
  Lt. Gen. Russell J. Handy will retire after 34 years in the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday, following a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
   
  For the last three years of his tenure, Handy has overseen Alaskan Command, the 11th Air Force and Alaska operations for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
  Taking Handy’s place is Maj. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, who most recently directed operation
  
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• Man dies at Wildwood Correctional Complex, Kenai

  16-08-2016 04:00 via ktoo.org
  A man died in state custody on Sunday afternoon at the Wildwood Correctional Complex in Kenai.
  Michael Talcott, 57, was found unresponsive in his cell, according to Department of Corrections spokesperson Corey Allen-Young.
  “He was found by his cellmate who said that Mr. Talcott collapsed,” Allen-Young said. “After informing corrections staff and medical staff, they attempted to save him through efforts of CPR and defibrillator. And also the emergency responders from the Nikiski
  
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• Walker’s new oil and gas advisor wants to put some “grit” in the system

  16-08-2016 03:10 via ktoo.org
  
  
   
  John Hendrix started work as Gov. Bill Walker’s chief oil and gas adviser in July 2016. Photo: Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk
  When Gov. Bill Walker announced the creation of a new cabinet position — a chief oil and gas adviser — he framed it as a way to improve his administration’s often rocky relationship with the oil and gas industry.
  The man he appointed, John Hendrix, has more than 35 years of experience in oil and gas and has been praised by
  
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• Alaska won’t appeal tribal lands ruling

  16-08-2016 03:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth says the state will not appeal a federal court decision that will allow Alaska Native communities to place their land in federal trust.
  The state had lost a prior appeal in a case brought by several Alaska Native communities that challenged the U.S. Interior Department’s interpretation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The ruling struck down a longstanding rule used by Interior that barred it from putting Alaska Native lan
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 8-16-16

  16-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  Tuesday on A Juneau Afternoon, Ben Brown hosts.
  Rachel Wintz will give us an update on Girls On The Run and Boys on the Run programs;
  We’ll learn about this weekend’s Writer’s Retreat;
  We’ll get the news about Wednesday’s Energy Forum with guest, Rory Watt;
  Danny Peterson will be here with a preview of his new film, Pels, Inc.
  And, Author and First Folio expert, Graham Watts will be here;
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, live at 3 on KTOO-NEWS, repe
  
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• Injured hiker rescued from Deer Mountain in Ketchikan

  16-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  An injured hiker was rescued Saturday afternoon on Deer Mountain, Ketchikan.
  Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad was alerted at about 12:30 pm Saturday that the hiker, identified as Robert U. Pace, 54, of Ketchikan, suffered a knee injury and was experiencing seizures, said Jerry Kiffer, member of the rescue squad.
  Pace did not have the SPOT locator beacon.
  “One of the people up on the mountain that had a SPOT beacon checked out happened by the patient, activated the beaco
  
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• Deacon’s music a bell-towering achievement in Sitka

  16-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Deacon Herman Madsen plays the bells atop St. Michael’s Cathedral. (Katherine Rose, KCAW)
  The bells at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Sitka are ringing again after a temporary hiatus, thanks to a new deacon with musical abilities and no fear of heights.
  The bells of the Russian Orthodox church haven’t been played for a while.
  That is, until Deacon Herman Madsen showed up.
  “I always use the example of the medical field,” Madsen said. “The priest is like a
  
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• Bill Cosby loses another round in his legal battles

  16-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Comedian Bill Cosby outside a Norristown, Pa., courtroom in February. An appeals court has rejected Cosby’s effort to reseal his deposition testimony about extramarital affairs, prescription sedatives and payments to women. (Mel Evans, Associated Press)
  Comedian Bill Cosby’s attempt to have his deposition testimony about alleged sexual assaults resealed was rejected by a federal appeals court which decided that the issue is moot because the details have already been published.
  The 3r
  
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• 4 charged in string of Anchorage car thefts, burglaries

  16-08-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — Four Anchorage men suspected of stealing thousands of dollars of property have been indicted by a grand jury.
  Anchorage police say the four are in custody.
  Charged with multiple burglaries are Usugafono Palauni, 23; Faamolemole Uiese, 26; David Fatialofa, 26; and Fale Junior Moevao, 30.
  Police say the men stole four vehicles in March and used them to burglarize 12 businesses in Anchorage and Eagle River.
  Burglary detectives spent hundreds of hours on the cases.
  Online court rec
  
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• Trump campaign chair dismisses report of Ukraine payments as ‘silly’

  16-08-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, shown here on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month, has done consulting work in Ukraine. (Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press)
  The chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign says he never received a single off-the-books cash payment for political work in Ukraine.
  The statement from campaign chairman Paul Manafort comes after The New York Times reported that his name appears in a so-called “black ledger&rdquo
  
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• Prosecutors reach plea deal in 2015 fatal shooting

  16-08-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — A man who shot and killed a woman and wounded two other people in Eagle River has pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.
  James Baker, 34, will be sentenced Jan. 19, Anchorage district attorney’s office said.
  Baker on March 8, 2015, drove five people to a neighborhood above Eagle River. Investigators say he got of the car and began shooting at the others inside.
  June McCarr, 56, died in the car.
  The four others fled on foot. Two wer
  
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