Anchorage news

• FiveThirtyEight podcaster rescued off Mount Roberts trail

  18-08-2016 23:07 via ktoo.org
  
  The view from the Mount Roberts trail in September 2015. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  Jody Avirgan, a podcast host for the political analysis website FiveThirtyEight, is vacationing in Juneau this week – but it went awry Wednesday night.@schweigefox sure! We have an Airbnb for five days and that’s about it. Doing a kayak trip one day, otherwise free.
  — Jody Avirgan (@jodyavirgan) August 9, 2016Avirgan, 35, was hiking the Mount Roberts trail with Kathlyn Clark, 33, according to
  
  Read more

• Pioneer homes won’t take new residents, at least for now

  18-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The Sitka Pioneer Home was the first such facility. It and others in Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage, Palmer and Fairbanks have lost staff due to budget cuts. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)
  Alaska’s Pioneer Homes have stopped accepting new residents, at least for a while. It’s one more impact of state budget cuts.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/08/16Pioneer.mp3The state’s six homes usually serve about 440-450 Alaskans at any given time.
  State Pioneer Homes Division D
  
  Read more

• Millennials are more likely to live with mom and dad in some states

  18-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Young adults, often unable to find good jobs, even with a college education, are increasingly staying with their parents. (Photo by Associated Press)
  By now, Karen Wilk thought she would have sold her five-bedroom house in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and downsized to a smaller home. But she has had to put those plans on hold because her 23-year-old daughter, who is finishing her college degree while working part-time, still lives with her. Wilk’s 27-year-old son moved out two years ago.
  &ldquo
  
  Read more

• 2 men armed with shotgun and handgun rob Anchorage bank

  18-08-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  Additional photos of the Wells Fargo robber, via the FBI: https://t.co/0avWJxTinO pic.twitter.com/CsnGxiyfdR
  — KTUU.com (@Ch2KTUU) August 18, 2016ANCHORAGE — Two armed men robbed a bank Thursday morning on Anchorage’s east side, according to the FBI.
  One man was armed with a shotgun and the other with a handgun.
  The men at 10:14 a.m. entered the Wells Fargo Bank at 630 E. Fifth Avenue and demanded money.
  They carried off cash in a duffel bag with purple straps and left on foot
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Engineless boat ‘Race to Alaska’ that ends in Ketchikan is on for 2017

  18-08-2016 22:35 via ktoo.org
  
  Team Mail Order Bride (5th place, first leg) at the Finish Line in Victoria, BC. pic.twitter.com/0GRJ4RQO6G
  — Race to Alaska (@RacetoAlaska) June 23, 2016Organizers announced last week that the Race to Alaska is a go for the summer of 2017. The 750-mile engineless boat race begins with a qualifying heat from Port Townsend, Washington, to Vancouver, British Columbia.
  Qualifiers then race to Ketchikan by sailing, paddling or using any other, non-motorized means.
  2017 will be the third year
  
  Read more

• Seiners turn in early after weak pink harvest in Southeast

  18-08-2016 22:30 via ktoo.org
  
  The pink salmon season in Southeast is supposed to be peaking right now.
  Instead, the run is actually slowing, harvests have been poor, and many fishermen are wrapping up the season early.
  “We’re done,” said Jesse Agner, a crewmember on the boat. Out of the 12 years he’s been seining he said this is one of the worst he’s ever seen.
  “We put the skiff away yesterday and we’re going to get rid of everything else in short order,” Agner said.
  
  Read more

• Riders hone skills, hit the road to round up stuffed toys for kids

  18-08-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Panhandlers Motorcycle Club’s two big summer events are coming up this weekend.
  The rodeo begins at noon Saturday at the Panhandlers’ Club House on Engineers Cutoff Road, where riders will demonstrate their skills with a series of competitions. Anyone with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle can participate in the competition.
  With the exception of children and dogs, everyone is welcome to watch.
  The events test a variety of skills. There’s Lancelot, a fresh take on medi
  
  Read more

• Fire damages structures in western Alaska village of Kotlik

  18-08-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  ANCHORAGE — An overnight fire burned buildings in the western Alaska village of Kotlik.
  Anchorage television station KTUU reports a deputy state fire marshal is heading to the village to investigate.
  Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain said the fire marshal’s office received a call reporting the fire at 2:12 a.m. Thursday.
  He said there are no reported injuries or loss of life.
  School teacher Cheryl Faulk said residents pumped water from a river to contain the
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Juneau Afternoon – 8-19-16

  18-08-2016 21:57 via ktoo.org
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon,
  We’ll learn about Saturday’s Fly Casting Workshop/Fundraiser for the Southeast Alaska Land Trust;
  We’ll get the details about Saturday’s Tea Party , hosted by TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly);
  And Dr. Erin Whitney and students will be here with a preview of Friday’s presentation about the Juneau Icefield Research Program.
  That, Writers’ Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, live on KTOO-News at 3, r
  
  Read more

• Troopers seize 19 bottles of vodka from entering Alakanuk

  18-08-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  Troopers confiscated 19 bottles of vodka on their way into the dry village of Alakanuk on Wednesday.Joey Buster, 20, of Anchorage was flying the contraband through the St. Mary’s airport on his way to Alakanuk.During the flight, one of the bottles broke in his bag and blew his cover, “making the contents readily apparent,” according to a Trooper dispatch.Criminal charges for alcohol importation are pending.
  
  Read more

• Justice Department will phase out its use of private prisons

  18-08-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Idaho Correctional Center south of Boise, Idaho, is a contract facility operated by Corrections Corporation of America. The Justice Department says it’s phasing out its relationships with private prisons after a recent audit found they have more safety and security problems than ones run by the government. (Photo by Charlie Litchfield/AP)
  U.S. Justice Department officials plan to phase out their use of private prisons to house federal inmates, reasoning that the contract facilities off
  
  Read more

• Shrimp grown in tanks make a splash, coming to a market near you

  18-08-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Pacific white shrimp raised in Eco Shrimp Garden’s indoor aqua farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, which owner Jean Claude Frajmund describes as a spa for shrimp. They grow for six months before they’re ready for harvest. (Photo by Allison Aubrey/NPR)
  Americans love shrimp.
  We import about $5 billion worth of it from all over the globe, including from India, Thailand and Indonesia.
  But over the past year, we’ve learned more about the downsides of global shrimp production. T
  
  Read more

• Senior center ballot question on Skagway assembly agenda

  18-08-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  The Skagway Borough Assembly will hold its first reading of an ordinance to put a senior center bond question on the October ballot on Thursday.
  The up to $7 million bond would fund construction of a senior center and housing facility that proponents say is needed to better serve the town’s aging population. A property tax increase may be implemented to pay for the bond.
  The assembly will also hold a first reading on an ordinance prohibiting parking within 20 feet of any street intersectio
  
  Read more

• Eagle River couple plans vast African adventure in wooden plane

  18-08-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Nick and Lita Oppegard will fly from the island of Crete to Cape Town, South Africa, a nearly 7,000-mile journey across the African continent, in a wooden biplane. (Photo by Graelyn Brashear/Alaska Public Media)
  A lot of people wouldn’t be all that excited about hopping in a wooden plane and flying thousands of miles.
  An Eagle River couple will do just that in November.
  They will make up one of two American teams on a historic air rally in November that will see two dozen vintage airc
  
  Read more

• Eroding Alaska island village votes to move to mainland

  18-08-2016 19:02 via ktoo.org
  SHISHMAREF — Residents of a tiny island village in Alaska have voted to move from their badly-eroded home to the mainland, but there likely isn’t enough money for the impoverished community of just 600 people to follow through on the decision.
  The Inupiat Eskimo village of Shishmaref held a special election Tuesday asking residents if they should develop a new community at a nearby mainland location or stay put with added environmental protections. Unofficial ballot returns show 89 v
  
  Read more

• Most incumbents do well in Southeast primaries

  18-08-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Secrecy folders for ballots and “I Voted” stickers at a polling place in the State Office Building for early and absentee voting, Aug. 15, 2016. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Tuesday’s primary election was pretty low-key in Southeast Alaska. The real battle for state House and Senate candidates will come during the general election. But a few trends emerged.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/08/17VoteSEPkg.mp3The region had no primary match-ups. So, ballots showed only
  
  Read more

• Scientists use seismic waves to map Okmok volcano

  18-08-2016 05:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A team of scientists are using a process like a geological CAT scan to map the the inside of Okmok Volcano. (Photo by Alaska Volcano observatory, USGS/Wikimedia Commons)
  In the rich volcanic landscape of the Aleutians, Okmok volcano on Umnak Island has drawn special attention this summer.
  Matt Haney, a research geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, is part of a team trying to create an image of the inside of Okmok. The process is like a geological CAT scan, mapping the eart
  
  Read more

• Airline pilots pump the brakes on plans to speed up flights

  18-08-2016 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
  The U.S. Department of Transportation released a statistic on Wednesday that should surprise no one who flies: in the first six months of the year, nearly 1 in every 5 flights was delayed.
  Flights can be delayed for reasons ranging from bad weather to mechanical problems, but airlines know delays are a problem.
  Sarah, a corporate training prof
  
  Read more

• Low-turnout primary could lead to five House incumbents losing

  18-08-2016 03:48 via ktoo.org
  
  A poll watcher helps Newtok resident Bosco John, 27, vote during Tuesday’s election. It was the village’s first time using a digital machine. (Photo by Mareesa Nicosia, The 74)
  Alaskans ejected as many as five incumbents from the House in the primary Tuesday. And they also rejected two House members who tried to move up to the Senate.
  But not many people showed up to vote: It was the lowest turnout for a primary in state history.
  Three Republican incumbents and two Democrats who cauc
  
  Read more

• After challenge from their own party, two rural Democrats could lose state House seats

  18-08-2016 02:47 via ktoo.org
  
  Dean Westlake is challenging Barrow Rep. Bennie Nageak in the Democratic primary; in 2014, Westlake lost the race by 131 votes. Westlake is winning by five votes, but that state election officials say they still have absentee and questioned ballots to count. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  As votes continue to trickle in, a hotly contested race in the North Slope and Northwest Arctic Borough has two bush Democrats within five votes of each other. 
  Rep. Benjam
  
  Read more

• Cleaner electricity for Peninsula village to arrive by way of Anchorage

  18-08-2016 02:39 via ktoo.org
  
  Wires, tubes, John Deere engines and other equipment fill the inside of Perryville’s new powerhouse. (Photo by Annie Feidt, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage)
  The Native Village of Perryville on the Alaska Peninsula has a new power generator. It will help the village use more renewable power and save on costs. Contractors have almost finished putting it together –- but at the moment, it’s almost 500 miles away from its destination.
  Today the powerhouse can be fo
  
  Read more

• On the scene with the Crystal Serenity

  18-08-2016 02:22 via ktoo.org
  
  The Crystal Serenity docked in Seward Alaska on Aug. 16th, 2016
  The cruise ship Crystal Serenity cast off from Seward Tuesday for a first-of-it’s kind trip through the Arctic’s Northwest Passage to New York City. It’s the first luxury liner to attempt the route — and the largest passenger ship by far.
  Many people are wondering if it’s a sign of what’s to come, as the Arctic sees increasingly ice-free summers.
  Rachel Waldholz, from Alaska’s Energy Desk wa
  
  Read more

• Quinhagak responds to a series of apparent heroin overdoses

  18-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Four people have suffered apparent heroin overdoses earlier this week in Quinhagak, a village of about 700 people in the Bethel Census Area in southwestern Alaska. One person has died. (Photo by Adrian Wagner/KYUK)
  One of the men from Quinhagak’s four apparent heroin overdoses earlier this week has returned to the village.
  The other man has not yet returned. The third person, a woman, is dead. The fourth person was treated on site.
  Earlier reports stated three overdoses, but as of Wednesda
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon 8-18-16

  18-08-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon,
  We’ll talk with Amanda Triplett and India Busby, from UAS, about recruiting and marketing;
  We’ll discuss the Bartlett Hospital Foundation Behavioral Wellness Scholarship with Maria Uchytil;
  Kayaker Susan Conrad and film maker Luke Holton will be here to highlight Inside Passage night at the Gold Town;
  James Crippen and Kathy Ruddy will be here with details about Friday’s Remembrance of Dick Dauenhauer
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with Arts Up
  
  Read more

• Fledgling group seeks to create higher education program in Haines

  18-08-2016 01:08 via ktoo.org
  An effort to create a college or similar higher education program in Haines is just starting to get off the ground and gather interest.
  About a dozen residents met at the library Tuesday evening to start the discussion. The fledgling group will need to narrow down many divergent ideas and goals to find a clear path forward.
  Greg Podsiki’s interest in bringing higher education to Haines was sparked by a recent conversation with newspaper publisher Tom Morphet.
  “Tom Morphet stopped me
  
  Read more

• Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate 75th anniversary

  18-08-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge will celebrate its 75th anniversary this weekend and take the opportunity to acknowledge some of its accomplishments and contributions since its establishment in 1941.
  Kodiak Wildlife Refuge is one of more than 560 national wildlife refuges in the country, Refuge Manager Anne Marie LaRosa said.
  “So, Alaska has 16 national wildlife refuges and we comprise over 50 percent of the acreage in the national wildlife refuge system, and within that Kodiak i
  
  Read more

• Julian Assange sees ‘incredible double standard’ in Clinton email case

  18-08-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, pictured in February on the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has lived for four years to avoid extradition to Sweden. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
  Julian Assange says if the United States government sees him as a threat to national security, it should see Hillary Clinton as one, too.
  In an interview with Morning Edition‘s David Greene, the founder of WikiLeaks called the Department of Justice’s decision not to prosecute Cli
  
  Read more

• 2016 has been the fourth deadliest year in two decades for Anchorage

  18-08-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Anchorage Police Chief Chris Tolley addresses reporters during a brief press conference in July of 2016. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  The year 2016 has been the fourth deadliest year in two decades, according to data provided by the Anchorage Police Department.
  Twenty-four people have been killed so far in the municipality this year.
  In July alone there were nine homicides within the city. The figures come on the heels of 2015, which saw the highest number of murders
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!