Anchorage news

• Justices to hear sex offender’s challenge to Facebook ban

  29-10-2016 21:15
  
  The Supreme Court will take up a free-speech challenge to a North Carolina law banning registered sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites that minors can join.
  The justices on Friday agreed to review a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law. The high court acted on an appeal from Lester Packingham, who was convicted of violating the law after maintaining a Facebook account under a different name.
  A lower state court had found the law violated free-spe
  
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• Attorney general disagreed with FBI director’s decision to alert Congress to Hillary Clinton-related emails

  29-10-2016 21:12
  
  MGN
  Attorney General Loretta Lynch disagreed with FBI Director James Comey’s decision to send a letter notifying Congress of new developments in the probe of Hillary Clinton’s private email server, CBS News’ Paula Reid reports.
  Sources close to the Clinton investigation told Reid that Lynch encouraged the FBI chief to follow a long-standing practice not to comment on ongoing investigations. While the two did not speak directly, the attorney general’s position was made cl
  
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• Wasilla man killed in Glenn Highway crash, troopers say

  29-10-2016 20:39
  
  The investigation into a Glenn Highway crash that killed one man and briefly hospitalized another continues, according to Alaska State Troopers.
  The collision was reported near mile 52 at roughly 11:05 p.m. on Thursday, troopers said in an online dispatch.
  “A southbound pickup driven by Keven Johnson, age 50 of Sutton, crossed the center line striking a northbound pickup driven by Thomas Pelfrey, age 57 of Wasilla,” the dispatch said.
  Medical personnel transported Pelfrey to the Mat-
  
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• Tenakee Springs: A source for innovation in rural education

  29-10-2016 20:25
  
  For some Alaska communities, keeping their schools open is a yearly challenge, one that hit hard this month as the state did its enrollment count.
  Communities with less than 10 students get reduced funding — 25 percent in the first year the school fails to meet the mark, 50 percent in the second, and by the fourth year, the school loses 100 percent of state funding, according to Eric Fry, a spokesperson with the Department of Education. Fry said it’s part of a phasing-out provision i
  
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• Behind the Ballot: Sen. Lisa Murkowski for re-election

  29-10-2016 06:00
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski was appointed by her father to the U.S. Senate in 2003. She’s the first U.S. Senator born in Alaska.
  “I don’t think it makes me better or worse, but it does kind of put my heart in the right place,” Murkowski said in an interview Friday.
  After 14 years in office, the Republican says her work isn’t done.
  “The need to have infrastructure in the Arctic is something that we have to begin commencing,” Murkowski said as one exampl
  
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• Early voter numbers double from 2012 presidential race

  29-10-2016 05:41
  
  Early voter turnout numbers for the 2016 presidential election are more than double the returns from the previous presidential race.
  The Division of Elections office has seen a steady stream of people since the polls opened Monday morning.
  Region II election supervisor Julie Husmann said about 1,000 people a day have voted at that location; the City Hall location gets an additional 350 to 400 people. During the first four days of early voting in 2012 4,790 people cast their ballot. During those
  
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• Anchorage’s Worthington Ford changes hands after 40 years in business

  29-10-2016 05:28
  
  Some people might consider it the end of an era — longtime Anchorage dealership Worthington Ford and Lincoln is being sold to the Kendall Auto Group.
  “It’s been our honor to serve the Anchorage market for the past 40 years and we’re excited to see that legacy of family friendly service continue with the Kendall Auto Group,” said Nick Worthington, president of the Worthington Auto Group. “We have always made our employees, our customers, and our community the c
  
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• Alaska’s first marijuana shop opens Saturday, more to follow

  29-10-2016 04:57
  
  It’s a historic swirl of commerce and cannabis, and if all goes as planned, Saturday is the day Alaskans will be able to buy marijuana from a store. Herbal Outfitters, in Valdez, says it will open at “high noon.”
  General manager Derek Morris says the store’s owners didn’t realize until just a few days ago that their marijuana retail store would make history as the first in the state to open its door.
  “It’s overwhelming, but it is exciting to be part of t
  
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• For Trump volunteer, Clinton presidency raises fears of ‘last days’

  29-10-2016 04:06 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Margie Ward says she believes Donald Trump will win the presidency. But if he doesn’t, she worries there will be “a huge change, and it won’t be for the better — maybe what some people refer to as the last days.” (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  As election day approaches, we’ve been checking in with voters around the state, asking them what issues matter most and who they’re supporting for president.
  On Friday, Alaska
  
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• Trump, Johnson added to online Alaska voter guide

  29-10-2016 02:34
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska election officials say information on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Libertarian Gary Johnson have been added to the online version of state’s election pamphlet ahead of the general election.
  The addition comes after neither the Trump nor Johnson campaign submitted biographical information, campaign statements or the $300 fee to be included in the printed version by the Aug. 30 deadline.
  Election officials said Friday the Trump and
  
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• Iditarod board rules to amend communication two-way rule, mushers not pleased

  29-10-2016 02:02
  
  Modernizing and governing a sport born long before Facebook, GPS tracking devices, cell phones and even its most recent champion, has proved to be a bit of a struggle. Much to the dismay of some Iditarod mushers, the race’s board of directors voted to leave a new rule — which will allow racers to make and receive cellphone calls during the 2017 race to Nome — nearly the same at a board meeting Friday morning.
  Following this year’s race, where two mushers and their te
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 10-31-16

  29-10-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Monday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon, Scott Burton hosts.
  We’ll learn about the Master Chief Petty Officers Senior Dinner;
  Amanda Lovejoy will be here to talk about basketball;
  And we’ll talk with Ernestine Hayes and Chrystal Worl about their First Friday book signing.
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, live at 3 on KTOO-NEWS, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on demand via ktoo.org
  Tune in at 7 to KTOO-NEWS for an hour of Halloween stories!
  
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• Business organization hopes to deliver Juneau’s Halloween revelers home safely

  29-10-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  (Creative Commons photo by quite peculiar)
  Extra police officers will be working drunken driving enforcement for the Halloween weekend in Juneau, according to Juneau Police Department news release.
  Leeann Thomas is project manager for the Safe Ride Home program, which will offer free cab rides from participating venues on Saturday from 9 p.m. until bar close.
  Participating businesses
  Alaska Cache Liquor
  Louie’s Douglas Inn
  The Island Pub
  Alaskan Hotel & Bar
  Lucky Lady
  Squirez
  Duck Cree
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Zombie Unicorn

  29-10-2016 01:35
  
  To help get the weekend of Halloween started, Zombie Unicorn stopped by for a chilling Mic Check in the Morning.
  Zombie Unicorn, also known as Adam Hulin, melds slick beats with sounds from horror films and blends it with a seven string guitar and chilling visuals. Joining him on the Daybreak stage Friday were dancers were from the Artistic Drift Crew.
  You can catch Zombie Unicorn and Artistic Drift Crew at Koot’s on Friday, Oct. 28 and ahead of The Offspring at the Alaska Airlin
  
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• With days to go, Clinton leads in campaign cash

  29-10-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Hillary Clinton enters the homestretch of the presidential race with a sizable fundraising lead over Republican rival Donald Trump. Many GOP donors appear to have shifted their giving to down-ballot candidates for House and Senate. And Trump himself has contributed just over half the $100 million he pledged to help bankroll his own campaign.
  Finance reports filed Thursday show Clinton’s campaign raised nearly twice as much money as Trump’s in the first 19 days of October and had near
  
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• Co-op grocery store hopes to raise funds through membership

  29-10-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A co-op grocery store is trying to get off the ground and will hold a kick-off event this weekend to draw members.
  Merissa Koller Williams is the board president for the Kodiak Harvest Cooperative, a group trying to put together a community-owned grocery store downtown.
  “We have to have 500 members in order to really even start negotiating for a site or talking to banks,” Koller Williams said. “It’s probably going to a $5 million project, so we have to have a ce
  
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• Libertarian VP candidate Weld campaigning in Alaska

  29-10-2016 00:43
  
  Libertarian vice presidential nominee Bill Weld is holding a campaign event in Alaska’s largest city Friday evening, hoping to rally support for his ticket.
  It’s part of a two-day visit to Anchorage by the former Massachusetts governor.
  Alaska, with just three electoral votes, isn’t battleground territory but it’s a place where Weld and running mate Gary Johnson hope to make a statement in a year in which the two major party nominees are polarizing.
  The last time Alaska v
  
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• Denali’s dogs: Protecting the environment and preserving heritage

  29-10-2016 00:05 via ktoo.org
  
  In the winter, Denali’s sled dogs ferry park employees through areas closed to motorized vehicles. (Zoë Sobel/KUCB)
  Early on a crisp, fall morning a large white truck sits alone in a dirt parking lot at Riley Creek Campground.
  Denali kennel manager Jennifer Raffaeli takes six huskies out of the van, fits them in harnesses, and hooks them to a line attached to a green metal cart that looks like a dune buggy. Raffaeli fastens her helmet.
  On the trail, the only sound is the wheels w
  
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• Tensions escalate as police clear protesters near Dakota Access Pipeline

  29-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Protesters surround the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Highway 1806 on Thursday. (Photo by Amy Sisk/Prairie Public Broadcasting)
  In North Dakota, tension over the 1,200-mile Dakota Access oil pipeline is escalating. Police and National Guard troops arrested more than 140 protesters near a construction site Thursday.
  The Standing Rock Sioux have sued to stop the pipeline from crossing under the Missouri River next to their reservation, claiming the project would destroy sacred sites and threaten the water
  
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• Supreme Court will hear case on bathroom rules for transgender students

  29-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear a case regarding transgender students’ right to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
  The justices will hear the case sometime next year.
  At issue is whether a Virginia high school student is allowed to use the boys’ bathroom. NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports:
  “Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old senior in Gloucester County … came out as transgender when he was a freshman in high school. The school principal all
  
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• Missing man found under ice of Grayling Creek

  29-10-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Residents in the community of Grayling recovered the body of a missing man last week.
  Alaska State Troopers were alerted at about 12:15 p.m. Oct. 19 that Stanley Milton Walker, 43, was missing and that his jacket had been discovered frozen to Grayling Creek.
  With efforts of community members chipping through the creek ice, Walker was found underwater about 6 p.m., an estimated 100 feet from where his jacket had been located.
  Walker’s body has since been transported to the Anchorage Medical
  
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