Anchorage news

• Trump makes nice in Mexico, talks tougher than ever just hours later in Phoenix

  01-09-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump walks with Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto at the end of their joint statement at Los Pinos, the presidential residence, in Mexico City. (Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press)
  Donald Trump has provided the political world with many moving moments over the past year, but none quite like the whiplash mood swing between his daytime and nighttime performances in Mexico City and Phoenix on Wednesday.
  In the daylight hours, Trump struck hi
  
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• Sun’aq Tribe to open Alutiiq immersion school for children

  01-09-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak will be able to build an Alutiiq language program for preschool-aged children with the help of a grant it just received.
  The tribe has been influential in bringing Alutiiq language learning to the Kodiak Island Borough School District and Kodiak College.
  Candace Branson, the tribe’s Alutiiq heritage educator, said last week Sun’aq learned that it won a five-year, $400,000 grant from the Administration for Native Americans.
  The prog
  
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• SpaceX rocket and its cargo explode on launch pad In Florida

  01-09-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Smoke rises from a SpaceX launch site at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Thursday. NASA said SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket when a blast occurred. (Photo by Marcia Dunn/Associated Press)
  Two days before SpaceX was to launch a communications satellite that would widen Internet access in Africa, an unmanned rocket and its payload were destroyed in an explosion on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Smoke billowed from the pad where the AMOS-6 satellite was to be launched Satu
  
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• Heroin laced with fentanyl in Bristol Bay, law enforcement says

  01-09-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Heroin powder. (Photo courtesy Drug Enforcement Administration)
  This month in Quinahagak four people overdosed — one of them, a young woman, fatally — after using heroin that contained a large amount of fentanyl.
  The heroin supply in other parts of Western Alaska is likely laced with the powerful, often deadly, added drug, and they’re putting the word out that things could soon get worse in the region, authorities said.
  “Oh absolutely. I have no doubts at t
  
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• Fast-growing Idaho wildfire could keep burning until October

  01-09-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Pioneer Fire has been burning in Idaho since July, and hot, dry weather caused the fire to grow rapidly this week. (National Forest Service)
  In Idaho, a wildfire has burned nearly 250 square miles of forest and is growing quickly. About 157,000 acres are currently on fire in Boise National Forest in the western part of the state, northeast of Boise.
  The blaze, known as the Pioneer Fire, has been burning for several weeks, but hot, dry weather this week caused the wildfire to get much larger.
  
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• Cooperative Extension to keep doors open in Anchorage, Sitka

  01-09-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Leadership for Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced Aug. 31 a plan to keep two offices open that it planned to close this fall due to state budget cuts –- one in Anchorage and the other in Sitka.
  The Sitka office now will be funded largely through grants, some with 4-H and the National Park Service.
  The program assistant Jasmine Shaw, based at the University of Alaska Southeast, will continue her work offering programs to the community.
  Fred Schlutt
  
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• Seldovia residents warned of leaching lead

  01-09-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has released a report listing 15 water systems in Alaska that contain lead levels above the federal limit, and the city of Seldovia is among them.
  At the last city council meeting, Seldovia city manager Tod Larson responded to the report, stating that old pipes and faucets are the issue.
  He advised running water before using it.
  “The water from the current water treatment plant is safe,” Larson said. “As it comes into the
  
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• Haines man killed in midair collision Wednesday

  01-09-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Jeff Burruss of Haines was a passenger in a Super Cub plane that was involved in a midair collision Wednesday morning. There were no survivors. Burruss was 40. (Facebook)
  A Haines man was one of five people killed in a midair plane crash in Southwest Alaska Wednesday morning.
  Jeff Burruss, 40, was the passenger in a Super Cub plane operated by Bethel-based Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures.
  Burruss’ Facebook profile says he worked as a hunting and fishing guide for Renfro’s.
  Accordin
  
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• Tropical Storm Hermine strengthens as it approaches Florida

  01-09-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A satellite image shows Tropical Storm Hermine forming in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. The storm is expected to make landfall north of Tampa late Thursday night or early Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center says. (NASA/NOAA GOES Project)
  Tropical Storm Hermine, in the Gulf of Mexico, is growing stronger as it approaches the Florida coast, the National Hurricane Center says.
  The storm, which has been moving very slowly, is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfal
  
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• Three in Sitka indicted for heroin possession

  01-09-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A Sitka grand jury has indicted three Sitkans for possessing and intending to distribute heroin.
  On Aug. 26,  A grand jury indicted Lawrence Johnson Jr., 42, Evelyn Calhoun, 29, and Shammar Ferguson, 32, with two felony counts each.
  One is for conspiracy to commit misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, which is a class C felony. The other is for misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class B felony.
  According to courts record
  
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• Homer pot club members react to attorney general’s opinion

  01-09-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  An image from inside the cannabis club that was open in Homer earlier this year. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KBBI)
  In Homer, cannabis club members are reacting to the opinion issued by Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth on Wednesday, which said that private clubs that allow people to consume marijuana in exchange for a fee are illegal. They say the are looking forward to a legal battle.
  Besides clubs being illegal, the Attorney General says that offering marijuana samples to paying patrons m
  
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• Bethel police arrest suspect in connection with weekend stabbing

  01-09-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Police arrested a man in connection with a stabbing that occurred in Bethel over the weekend.
  Police have charged Mathew Romer, 25, on one count of assault in the first degree.
  The victim, a 26-year-old man from Newtok, was found Saturday morning, lying on the ground in the 200 block of Akiak Drive bleeding from the abdomen.
  Emergency workers transported him to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation before flying him to Anchorage where he’s listed in stable condition at the
  
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• As Anan’s season closes, Forest Service to continue use of temporary float

  01-09-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Temporary mooring float tied to float house at Anan Wildlife Observatory. (Photo by Aaron Bolton/KSTK News)
  As the Wrangell ranger district moves forward with improvements to the Anan Bear Observatory trailhead and observation deck, some may have noticed one change within the Anan master plan already happening.
  “We placed a larger float in Anan Bay this summer in mid-season for use of any of the visitors going there,” Wrangell District Ranger Bob Darymple said. “It&rs
  
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• Southeast Alaska Dungeness crab catch down from last year

  01-09-2016 17:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Dungeness crab. (Creative Commons Photo by Andy Clordia)
  This summer’s commercial catch of Dungeness crab in Southeast Alaska looks to be down from last year, even with a strong price paid for the crab.
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary harvest estimate for the summer harvest is 1.9 million pounds.
  A total of 198 permit holders landed crab during the season which runs June 15 through Aug. 15.
  Fish and Game’s Assistant crab biologist for the region Kellii Wood
  
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• Tlingit & Haida: Tribal youth court could launch in a few weeks

  01-09-2016 05:12 via ktoo.org
  
  About 30 tribal officials and community members recently discussed ways to get a new youth court up and running in Juneau. It’s an opt-in program for youth tribal members in Southeast Alaska that’s an alternative to the regular justice system.
  SueAnn Lindoff is in charge of the new program of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. She hopes they’ll be able to start taking youth through the program in a few weeks,  a student or two at a
  
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• State analyzing higher claims for expanded Alaska Medicaid

  01-09-2016 04:36 via ktoo.org
  
  JUNEAU — Costs for Alaska’s expanded Medicaid program have exceeded first-year estimates by roughly $30 million so far, leaving some concerned about the impact the program may have on the state budget once the federal government stops covering the entire tab.
  Gov. Bill Walker expanded Medicaid to provide coverage to thousands more lower-income Alaskans, with enrollment beginning last September. So far, more than 20,000 people have signed up.
  The federal government is expected to cove
  
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• Sitka scrambles to act after finding moderate landslide risk

  01-09-2016 04:33 via ktoo.org
  
  SITKA — Sitka officials are working on public safety issues after finding one area of the city is at risk for a landslide.
  The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports that a Seattle-based geotechnical consulting firm released a report Monday that some areas of Sitka, including an elementary school, may contain landslide hazard zones.
  City staff has asked the firm, Shannon & Wilson, for a proposal for a more detailed study of the areas as well as the area above Sitka High School, including possibl
  
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• USDA puts $27 million toward Alaska’s villages

  01-09-2016 04:31 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — Alaska’s rural communities are set to receive $27 million in federal funds to help improve sanitation.
  KTUU-TV reports that the funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program announced Tuesday will support water, sewer and solid waste projects. The money will also be used to improve technical assistance and training, preliminary engineering and planning and solid waste management.
  The village of Eek in southwestern Alaska will receive $5.9 milli
  
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• Doctors fear Zika is a sleeping giant in Haiti

  01-09-2016 04:27 via ktoo.org
  
  Chinashama Sainvilus is one of three babies born with microcephaly at the Mirebalais Hospital in Haiti in July.(Photo by Jason Beaubien/NPR)
  At the Mirebalais Hospital in Haiti’s central plateau, Dr. Louise Ivers and Dr. Roman Jean-Louis are examining a baby girl who was born in early July with microcephaly, a smaller-than-normal skull often associated with Zika infections.
  The baby, named Chinashama, is dressed in a white smock adorned with small flowers. Her legs cross unnaturally over h
  
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• Lead levels force more than 1,000 Indiana residents to relocate

  01-09-2016 04:24 via ktoo.org
  
  A sign from the Environmental Protection Agency posted in front of West Calumet Housing Complex houses in East Chicago, Ind. (Photo by Tae-Gyun Kim/Associated Press)
  More than 1,000 residents of a public housing complex in East Chicago, Ind., are now forced to relocate because of dangerously high lead levels in the area’s soil.
  The West Calumet Housing Complex, which houses primarily low-income families, lies on the site of a former lead smelting company, as member station WBEZ reported.
  I
  
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• Supreme Court declines to reinstate North Carolina voter restrictions

  01-09-2016 04:20 via ktoo.org
  
  North Carolina State University students vote in the primaries at Pullen Community Center on March 15 in Raleigh, N.C. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)
  A divided U.S. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reinstate a set of voter restrictions enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in the battleground state of North Carolina.
  Last month a federal appeals court invalidated the restrictions, declaring that they were deliberately targeted at making it more difficult for African-Americans
  
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• Alaska junior senator addresses Deer Mountain, federal regulations

  01-09-2016 04:16 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks during a Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce lunch. (Photo by Leila Kheiry/KRBD)
  Alaska’s Sen. Dan Sullivan has been in Ketchikan for a couple days this week.
  He spent Tuesday meeting with local officials, touring around town and celebrating the new House District 36 Republicans office at The Plaza mall.
  On Wednesday, he met with Ketchikan High School students, and spoke to a packed Chamber of Commerce lunch.
  Sullivan said visiting communities in Alaska, and he
  
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• Skagway raptor tour will move forward

  01-09-2016 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A hawk at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines, which is partnering with Alaska Mountain Guides in hopes of starting a Skagway raptor tour. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  It appears a proposed Skagway raptor tour that has drawn resistance from some in the community will be able to move forward.
  Alaska Mountain Guides is partnering with the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines to bring a raptor tour to the Liarsville neighborhood in Skagway.
  In 2014, the Skagway planning commission rejec
  
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• Following robbery and assault, Fairbanks man fatally shot by police

  01-09-2016 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Fairbanks police fatally shot a man yesterday.FPD spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch said officers were called to a robbery and assault at the Alaska Motel on South Cushman Street.She said a man, later identified as James Robert Richards, 28, of Fairbanks, was reported to have aimed a gun at a woman in a motel room.
  “A short time after that, it was late. Officers said a shot was fired,” McCulloch said. “And once the officers got there, they found the suspect leaving the Alaska motel, s
  
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• Earthquake simulator jolts Juneau residents with white-knuckle ride

  01-09-2016 02:33 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Alaska’s Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks had recorded more than 25,000 earthquakes this year, according to researchers on Monday.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/09/31Quakesim.mp3They’re not all big ones, but emergency planners want Alaskans to be prepared and have been taking an earthquake simulator on tour to that end.
  The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and the Juneau Local Emergency Planning Committee hosted the event.
  Homeland Security&rs
  
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• Earthquake simulator jolts Juneau resident with white-knuckle ride

  01-09-2016 02:33 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Alaska’s Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks had recorded more than 25,000 earthquakes this year, according to researchers on Monday.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/09/31Quakesim.mp3They’re not all big ones, but emergency planners want Alaskans to be prepared and have been taking an earthquake simulator on tour to that end.
  The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and the Juneau Local Emergency Planning Committee hosted the event.
  Homeland Security&rs
  
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• Marijuana social clubs are illegal, attorney general says

  01-09-2016 02:16 via ktoo.org
  
  (Creative Commons photo by Brett Levin)
  Private clubs that allow people to consume marijuana in exchange for a fee are illegal, according to Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth.
  She issued an opinion Wednesday that also said offering marijuana samples to paying patrons may violate state criminal law that bars distributing marijuana without a valid commercial license.
  The state Marijuana Control Board has authorized retail marijuana stores to allow marijuana consumption on their premises
  
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• As summer ends, daily high temperature records fall around the state

  01-09-2016 02:12 via ktoo.org
  
  A dog swims in University Lake in Anchorage on Aug. 31, 2016. (Photo By Annie Feidt/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  In climate terms, Wednesday marks the official end of summer. That’s because June, July and August are the hottest months of the year. And in Alaska, it was really hot this summer.
  Nine communities around the state broke daily high temperature records Tuesday, including Kenai at 71 degrees, Bethel at 72 degrees and Anchorage at 74 degrees.
  Brian Brettschneider is a climatologist
  
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• Five people dead in midair collision in western Alaska

  01-09-2016 02:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska State Troopers say all five people aboard two small planes died in a midair collision in the western part of the state.
  Troopers say the crash occurred northwest of the village of Russian Mission. Troopers say responders at the scene have confirmed there were no survivors on either of the planes.
  Alaska National Guard officials say the collision occurred just before 11 a.m. Wednesday.
  Officials say the planes involved in the crash are a Hageland Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan carrying three
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 9-1-16

  01-09-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon,We’ll talk with Julie Neyhart and Gareth Hummel about next week’s Suicide Prevention Week;
   Chef Stef, this month’s featured artist at the Juneau Artist’s Gallery, will be here with her edible art, Salted Caramels;
   Chancellor Rick Caulfield will be here to highlight the Upcoming Board of Regents meeting and their new format for public testimony & community forum;
   
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with Arts Up!
   
  Th
  
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