Anchorage news

• Judge throws out controversial votes in North Slope election, declares Nageak winner

  06-10-2016 23:57
  
  A superior court judge has ruled some North Slope votes illegally cast in the August primary election should not be counted, changing the outcome of the race.
  Last month, the Division of Elections certified Dean Westlake, of Kotzebue, as winner of the House District 40 race by just eight votes. But a decision by Judge Andrew Guidi puts Westlake’s opponent, Rep. Benjamin Nageak, of Barrow, on top by just two votes.
  [Read Judge Guidi’s full decision]
  Guidi’s decision stems f
  
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• ConocoPhillips inks deal for new extended reach drill rig

  06-10-2016 23:37
  
  Courtesy Conoco-Phillips
  Doyon Drilling Inc. has signed a contract with ConocoPhillips Alaska to build an extended reach drilling rig that can be used on Alaska’s North Slope.
  The rig will be used first on a field northwest of the Alpine field.
  ConocoPhillips says the rig will increase the area that can be drilled from one site from about 55 square miles to as much as 125 square miles.
  ConocoPhillips Alaska president Joe Marushack calls construction of the rig a potential breakthrough eve
  
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• Anchorage 4-year-old struck by bullet fragments from nearby apartment

  06-10-2016 23:25
  
  A 4-year-old Anchorage girl was struck and injured by bullet fragments when someone in an upstairs apartment fired a gun.
  Police early Thursday took a call from a hospital reporting the girl had suffered puncture wounds. They were not life-threatening.
  The girl’s parents told police she and three other children had been left Wednesday night with a 17-year-old.
  When the parents returned, they checked on the girl and found blood in the bed and wounds to her legs. The parents drove the girl t
  
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• State receives grant to assess landslide risks in Sitka

  06-10-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  An aerial image of the Kramer Avenue slide, from a stack in the Fire Hall where a state team is helping affected Sitkans apply for aid. (Photo by Emily Kwong, KCAW)
  FEMA will be stepping in to fund landslide mapping in Sitka. The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, who will be leading the research project, announced the news on Tuesday.
  Deanne Stevens, a chief geologist for DGGS, said the agency has been given $110,000 for two years of research through a program called &ldqu
  
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• City of Seldovia hires new police chief

  06-10-2016 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The city of Seldovia has hired Robin Daniels as new chief of police.
  Daniels is the current Chief of Police in Louisville, Alabama. In addition to his experience working in law enforcement, Daniels also worked as a civilian contractor in Iraq for two years.
  Seldovia City Manager Tod Larson was part of a three-person hiring committee that reviewed seven applicants before selecting Daniels for the position.
  Larson says that he was specifically looking for a new police chie
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016

  06-10-2016 22:57 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/10/2016-10-06-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Gov. Bill Walker continues noodling on whether or not to build the road,
  Native youth leader Devlin Anderstrom of Yakutat speaks at the ANS-ANB Grand Camp convention, and
  FEMA gives the state some grant money to conduct a comprehensive landslide hazard assessment in Sitka.
  
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• 907Life: October arts and events in Anchorage

  06-10-2016 22:47
  
  October in Alaska means permanent fund dividends, charity functions and possibly the season’s first snowfall. It’s a transition month before winter.
  Thursday, 907Life Blogger Phil Crawford joined Daybreak with some fun activities to keep Alaskans going through the month of October.
  First Friday (October 7)
  Anchorage Museum – “The Future/Ancient” exhibit by artist Allison Warden6 p.m. (Exhibit runs through October)Beacon Hills: Heart Gallery
  6 – 9 p.m.
  Heart of
  
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• Alaska DOT closes maintenance stations due to budget cuts

  06-10-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Department of Transportation has closed four road maintenance stations and discontinued maintenance at a rural airport as part of a series of cuts brought on by a drastic reduction in the department’s budget.
  KTUU-TV reports the closures announced Tuesday come as the DOT says its budget has decreased by $60 million since 2015.
  The four closed maintenance stations in different parts of eastern Alaska have handled snowplowing, filling potholes and clearing ditche
  
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• Story Time With Aunt Phil: The story of Alaska’s first governor

  06-10-2016 21:40
  
  This October, many Alaskans will celebrate the birth of Alaska’s first elected governor. William A. Egan was born on October 8, 1914 in Valdez.
  Thursday, Author Laurel Downing Bill joined Daybreak to talk about how his upbringing prepared him for some serious challenges leading the last frontier.
  The post Story Time With Aunt Phil: The story of Alaska’s first governor appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Proposed Donlin Gold Mine runs afoul of the Iditarod dog mushing community

  06-10-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The historic Iditarod Trail took center stage during a Tuesday meeting held by the Army Corps of Engineers on the proposed Donlin Gold mine.
  The route has been changed, but not far enough to suit some longtime mushers.
  Proposed Donlin Gold mine runs afoul of the dog mushing community.
  The Iditarod Trail is a National Historic Trail; there is no getting around that.
  After Donlin Gold’s original proposal for a natural gas pipeline through Rainy Pass raised a storm of objections from some in
  
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• Matthew strengthens to Category 4 hurricane

  06-10-2016 21:00
  
  Last Updated Oct 6, 2016 1:58 PM EDT
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Hurricane Matthew has strengthened to a catastrophic Category 4 storm as it barrels toward the heavily populated coast of Florida.The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm’s maximum sustained winds had strengthened to 140 mph as of late Thursday morning and were expected to maintain their strength as the storm approaches the Florida coast.
  Hundreds of thousands of anxious people boarded up their homes a
  
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• ‘Hanoi Hannah,’ Whose Broadcasts Taunted And Entertained American GIs, Dies

  06-10-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  One of North Vietnam’s most recognizable wartime voices fell silent last Friday, when former radio broadcaster Trinh Thi Ngo, dubbed “Hanoi Hannah” by American service members, died.
  Her former employer, the government-run Voice of Vietnam, reported the news on its website Sunday. The radio service says Trinh was 87 when she died, though there are conflicting reports about the year of her birth.
  Trinh broadcast under the pseudonym Thu Huong, or Autumn Fragrance. At the height o
  
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• Millions Of Coastal Residents Warned To Flee Inland As Hurricane Nears Florida

  06-10-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  People bike on the beach ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Atlantic Beach, Fla., on Wednesday. Droves of people in the U.S. have begun evacuating coastal areas ahead of the storm, which tracked a deadly path through the Caribbean in a maelstrom of wind, mud and water. (Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)
  For Florida residents who think they can ride out Hurricane Matthew, Gov. Rick Scott has just three words:
  “Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.”
  “There are no excuses. You need to lea
  
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• Driver strikes pedestrian who assisting disabled motorist

  06-10-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  WILLOW — A Willow woman who stopped to help a disabled vehicle was struck and injured early Thursday by a hit-and-run driver.
  Antoinette Holliday, 27, suffered injuries to her lower extremities and was transported by emergency responders to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, Alaska State Troopers said.
  Holliday just after 1 a.m. stopped to assist a driver who had pulled over on Long Lake Drive in Willow.
  A small, white sedan approached at high speed and struck her as she stood next to her veh
  
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• Homer voters elect new mayor and councilmembers, reject new police station

  06-10-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Homer has a new mayor and two new city council members, according to unofficial Homer municipal election results, but voters rejected Proposition 1, saying no to a new police station.
  Homer City Council Member Bryan Zak won the mayoral race, defeating fellow City Council Member David Lewis by just 74 votes.
  Zak spent Tuesday afternoon waving an election sign with his supporters in front of WKFL Park in Homer.
  “I never quit campaigning. I never quit running the race, right up unti
  
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• Friday’s Jobs Report Could Help Shape Election Outlook

  06-10-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  When the Labor Department announces the September job-creation numbers on Friday, presidential candidates will pounce, hoping to find data to support their talking points on the economy.
  For the last three months, the numbers have been favoring the incumbent Democratic Party. Candidate Hillary Clinton could point to a steady, low unemployment rate of 4.9 percent and average growth of 232,000 jobs per month, a robust pace.
  But the September numbers might show the economy is slowing – giving
  
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• Ketchikan voters narrowly approve tobacco tax

  06-10-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The $2-per-pack boroughwide tobacco tax was approved narrowly by Ketchikan voters in Tuesday’s local election.
  In the final count on Wednesday by the Canvass Board, which tallies absentee, questioned and special-needs ballots, the proposition passed by a margin of 28 votes; 1,256 voted yes and 1,228 voted no.
  Overall, the Canvass Board’s tally didn’t change any of the preliminary results reported at the end of Tuesday’s election.
  Judith McQuerry and Rodney Dial won the tw
  
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• In Haiti, slow revelations about the scale of Hurricane destruction

  06-10-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  People help each other across the river La Digue in Petit Goave, Haiti, on Wednesday, a day after Hurricane Matthew raked the island nation. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)
  The wind ripped roofs off buildings. It flattened trees. It snapped power poles.
  The rain, in some places more than 2 feet of it, washed out bridges and flooded entire communities, cutting people off as it drowned their homes.
  Two days after Hurricane Matthew made landfall in southwestern Haiti as a Category 4 stor
  
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• Canceled tribal providers conference back on schedule

  06-10-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — A yearly conference for Alaska Natives is set to kick off in late November after initially being canceled last month.
  The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Providers Conference is scheduled to take place Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.
  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says in a news release that the matter was resolved after she and her staff contacted Department of Interior officials following word about the cancellation. Murkowsk
  
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• Driver strikes pedestrian who stopped to help motorist

  06-10-2016 17:55
  
  A Willow woman who stopped to help a disabled vehicle was struck and injured early Thursday by a hit-and-run driver.
  Alaska State Troopers say 27-year-old Antoinette Holliday suffered injuries to her lower extremities and was transported by emergency responders to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.
  Holliday just after 1 a.m. stopped to assist a driver who had pulled over on Long Lake Drive in Willow.
  A small, white sedan approached at high speed and struck her as she stood next to her vehicle.
  The
  
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• Wasilla legislator plans bill to restore dividend amount

  06-10-2016 17:00 via ktoo.org
  
  State Sen. Mike Dunleavy of Wasilla plans to introduce legislation that would restore the portion of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends vetoed by Gov. Bill Walker.
  Dunleavy said he hopes the issue gets immediate attention once the Legislature convenes in January. If it passes, Walker could veto it, but Dunleavy believes there could be sufficient support to override any veto.
  Lawmakers earlier this year declined to hold a veto override session to consider reversing the cut.
  This comes as a state cou
  
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• Basketry ties art and language together for Tsimshian weaver

  06-10-2016 16:00
  
  With nimble fingers and a steady gaze, Kandi McGilton slowly built a basket out of red cedar strips.
  “I’m working up the side of the basket doing a Tsimshian-style Z twist that’s unique to Metlakatla, Alaska,” she described.
  She’s one of four weavers working at the Anchorage Museum as part of its artist in residency program with the Smithsonian Institution.Basket weaving not only captures the spirit of Southeast but the people’s respect for the land.
  &ldq
  
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• ‘Open the doors, take out the bones’: March brings awareness to domestic violence

  06-10-2016 15:00
  
  When it comes to domestic violence, speaking out can make a difference. That was the thought behind a march that took place Wednesday at the Alaska Native Medical Center campus.
  Katherine Gottlieb was one of the marchers. She said she’d experienced domestic violence, child sexual abuse and child neglect.
  She’s also the CEO of Southcentral Foundation. Gottlieb said she started speaking out so that others would know it was OK to talk about their own experiences.
  “It’s
  
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• The Kobuk slings free coffee Wednesday to ‘Gilmore Girls’ fans

  06-10-2016 07:16
  
  It was a little taste of Stars Hollow in the Last Frontier.
  On Wednesday morning, The Kobuk in downtown Anchorage turned into Luke’s Diner, the coffee shop staple of the TV series, “Gilmore Girls.”“It’s my guilty pleasure show,” said Kate Bradley. “Might have binged watched some last night.”
  The series launched on Oct. 5, 2000. It ran for seven seasons on the WB/CW channel. Nexflix seemed to have recognized its cult following and swooped in for a h
  
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• Millions along East Coast urged to evacuate as Hurricane Matthew approaches

  06-10-2016 07:03
  
  Last Updated Oct 5, 2016 11:45 PM EDT
  MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. —  Hurricane Matthew marched toward Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas and nearly 2 million people along the coast were urged to evacuate their homes Wednesday, a mass exodus ahead of a major storm packing power the U.S. hasn’t seen in more than a decade.
  Matthew was a dangerous and life-threatening Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph as it passed through the Bahamas, and it was expected to be very nea
  
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• Alaska voter registration deadline fast approaching amid efforts to simplify process

  06-10-2016 05:44
  
  Time is running out to register to vote in the November general election.
  In Alaska, voters must be registered 30 days before Election Day. The deadline is Sunday, Oct. 9.
  Ballots in November will include a measure that, if approved, would make it so Alaskans would be registered to vote when they apply for their Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.
  “If all of us are going to take the time to fill out a PFD application every year and that application includes the exact same information that
  
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• Police block Minnesota on-ramp for barricaded man, stand down without arrest

  06-10-2016 05:28
  
  Carolyn Hall / KTVA
  Updated at 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5
  Anchorage police backed off from an armed man barricaded in his car Wednesday night, leaving the scene unresolved, and are blaming the district attorney’s office.
  Police cars blocked drivers from using the southbound on-ramp for Minnesota Drive at Dimond Boulevard for hours Wednesday night as officers respond to an armed man in his vehicle, the Anchorage Police Department (APD) said.
  Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said APD&nb
  
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• Heavy police presence blocks Minnesota Drive on-ramp Wednesday evening

  06-10-2016 05:28
  
  Carolyn Hall / KTVA
  Police cars are blocking drivers from using the southbound on-ramp for Minnesota Drive at Dimond Boulevard as officers respond to an armed man in his vehicle, the Anchorage Police Department (APD) said.
  Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said APD received a call Wednesday about a “suspicious person” sitting in a vehicle for several hours in a parking lot.  Oistad wrote in an email that the suspect fled when he saw police cars.
  “The vehicle is no
  
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• Walker weighs whether to extend Juneau Access Road

  06-10-2016 03:38 via ktoo.org
  
  A sign stands at the end of Glacier Highway, near where the Juneau Access Road extension would be built. Gov. Walker is weighing whether to back the project. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO)
  Forty miles north of downtown Juneau, the Glacier Highway reaches a point that’s like nowhere else in any similar-sized city in the mainland of North America: the end of a road system.
  This “End” sign is worse for the wear after being shot by numerous visitors to the end of Glaci
  
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• Petersburg man joins race for Southeast senate seat

  06-10-2016 03:14
  
  A handyman from Petersburg is launching a write-in campaign for a state Senate seat in southeast Alaska.
  KFSK-FM reports that Michael Sheldon has registered with the state Division of Elections in an effort to unseat incumbent Republican Bert Stedman of Sitka. The 60-year-old Sheldon, also a Republican, is looking to take over the Senate district that includes Ketchikan, Wrangell, Sitka, Petersburg and many small villages.
  Sheldon says he’s challenging Stedman as a write-in candidate becau
  
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• Former New Jersey man found dead in Fairbanks

  06-10-2016 03:05
  
  Fairbanks police say a 74-year-old man who recently moved to Alaska from New Jersey was found dead on the outdoor steps of a church.
  Police say the death of Gregory Klemm was likely the result of exposure to the cold and does not appear to be suspicious.
  Police spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch says Klemm’s body was found outside St. Matthews Church Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service says the overnight low in Fairbanks was 22 degrees.
  Police say Klemm travelled to Alaska in recent mo
  
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• The Hungry Chum: Savor Homer in the shoulder season

  06-10-2016 02:27
  
  The view from the Homer harbor.The Hungry Chum / KTVA
  Fall in Alaska is on its way out. Kids are back in school and tourists have (mostly) gone home.
  The short, fall shoulder season is the perfect time for Alaskans to explore the state, especially a place like Homer. In June, while the beaches and boardwalks were full of tourists wearing the classic sandals-and-tube-sock combo with a side of fanny pack, the rest of Homer was full of the rest of us — a little crunchier and wary of Out
  
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• Up and rolling: How elections changed Alaska’s pot landscape

  06-10-2016 02:13
  
  Marijuana advocates in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough spent Tuesday night watching the polls. To their delight, Valley voters overwhelmingly supported the commercial cannabis industry.
  Entrepreneurs like Caleb Saunders are celebrating. He dreams of transforming his smoke and glass shop, Green Jar LLC, into a dispensary.
  “For us, it was a big deal. Not only did we win the vote, but it was a high voter turnout so we know we can start our business with a welcome from the communi
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 10-6-16

  06-10-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will host.
  We’ll talk with Eric Scott, Director of Campus Life at UAS;
  Chef Stef will be here to highlight the Juneau Artists Gallery;
  We’ll get the details about this weekend’s Fall Chamber Music Concerts;
  We’ll talk with Joni Pico about Hospice & Home Care support groups
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with Arts Up!
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Thursday afternoon on A Juneau Afternoon, live at 3 on KT
  
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• Sen. Mike Dunleavy plans to file bill to restore full PFD

  06-10-2016 01:12
  
  Sen. Mike Dunleavy announces plans Wednesday to file legislation to restore full PFD amount to Alaskans.Jared Mazurek / KTVA
  A Wasilla senator plans to introduce legislation to restore the portion of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Bill Walker.
  Sen. Mike Dunleavy says he hopes the issue gets immediate attention once the Legislature convenes in January. If it passes, Walker could veto it. But Dunleavy believes there could be sufficient support to override an
  
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• $2.5M pipe replacement up for Ketchikan Council approval

  06-10-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Ketchikan City Council will decide Thursday whether to approve a nearly $2.5 million contract with BAM to replace water and wastewater pipes on Tongass, Front and Stedman streets.
  The general contractor BAM was the low bidder for the project, which will coincide with street reconstruction that the state Department of Transportation has planned.
  According to a memo from City Manager Karl Amylon, the city has close to a million left in an account dedicated to the pipe replacement project; and
  
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• Supreme Court Hears ‘Indefensible’ Death Penalty Case Where Race Linked To Violence

  06-10-2016 00:38 via ktoo.org
  
  Christina Swarns, center, the lead counsel for Duane Buck, is embraced by Buck’s stepsister Phyllis Taylor, right, outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
  The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the case of Duane Buck, a convicted Texas murderer sentenced to die after a psychologist testified that he was more likely to commit violent crimes in the future because he is black.
  Buck shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in fro
  
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• Unalaska parks director resigns after a decade serving city

  06-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Unalaska’s director of Parks, Culture and Recreation has resigned after a decade on the island.
  The City of Unalaska is looking for a new director to replace D. Tyrell McGirt, who arrived in Unalaska in 2006.
  “It’s time,” McGirt said. “I’m moving into the next chapter of my life, I’m getting married in December, and my fiancée and I are looking to start the next chapter of our lives in a place that’s new and different for both
  
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• Too close to call Unalaska municipal ballots for mayor, marijuana

  06-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Election Day at Unalaska City Hall.(Photo by Laura Kraegel, KUCB)
  The polls have closed, but it’s still too close to call for half of Unalaska’s municipal races.
  Tuesday’s election set a new record for voter turnout. But with about 80 absentee and questioned ballots outstanding, City Clerk Cat Hazen said several races could go to runoffs, including mayor and City Council Seat C.
  “There’s a significant number of ballots that’ll be canvassed on Friday — ce
  
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• Meet The Man Tapped To Become The Next U.N. Secretary-General

  06-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  After six straw polls, the U.N. Security Council has endorsed a candidate for secretary-general: Portuguese politician Antonio Guterres.
  “Guterres is well known in the U.N. system,” as NPR’s Michele Kelemen tells our Newscast unit. Until late 2015, Guterres served as the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, where he led worldwide efforts to help refugees for 10 years.
  The Security Council ultimately came together on this pick after a process that was sometimes controversial. &l
  
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