Anchorage news

• Story Time w/ Aunt Phil: The fate of the Portland, known as the ‘Gold Ship’

  17-11-2016 23:46
  
  This week in 1910, a ship that helped start the largest gold rush to Alaska wrecked at Katalla. The steamer Portland, known as the “Gold Ship,” hit a rock on Nov. 12 and was declared a total loss.
  The Portland became synonymous with the Klondike Gold Rush after it arrived in Seattle on July 17, 1897, with 68 miners and a cargo of “a ton of solid gold” from the Klondike aboard.
  Residents of Seattle awoke to the sound of newspaper boys shouting out the morning headlines fro
  
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• Judge upholds Walker’s veto halving Permanent Fund dividends

  17-11-2016 23:31 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s exterior sign. A judge ruled in favor of the corporation and upheld Gov. Bill Walker’s veto of half of dividend funding. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  Gov. Bill Walker’s veto of half of Permanent Fund dividend money will stand for now. A judge found Thursday he had the authority to cut the money.
  In a lawsuit, Sen. Bill Wielechowski sought to reverse Walker’s veto of $666 million. He argued in court that the constitutional amendment
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016

  17-11-2016 23:08 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/11/20161117-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  An Anchorage Superior Court judge sides with the state in a legislator’s case trying to overturn the governor’s Permanent Fund dividend veto,
  the man accused of a dangerous driving spree over the weekend is indicted and also identified as the same man in a Taser-machete incident,
  tax revenue from the state’s legal marijuana businesses are expected to begin coming in this month, and
  a year aft
  
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• Surgeon General Murthy wants America to face up to addiction

  17-11-2016 23:07 via ktoo.org
  
  In 1964, the U.S. surgeon general released a report on the health impacts of smoking, and it shaped the public and government’s attitudes toward tobacco for years to come. On Thursday, another surgeon general’s report was issued, this time tackling a much broader issue: addiction and the misuse and abuse of chemical substances. The focus isn’t just one drug, but all of them.Though little in the report is new, it puts impressive numbers to the problem, and some surprising contex
  
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• Clapper resigns as director Of National Intelligence

  17-11-2016 23:03 via ktoo.org
  
  Saying that “it felt really good” to step down, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, 75, says he has submitted his letter of resignation. Clapper revealed the news as he testified Thursday before the House Select Committee on Intelligence.
  Clapper’s resignation “was expected and does not today appear to indicate that Clapper is in any trouble or is being forced out,” NPR National Security Editor Philip Ewing says. Clapper has told NPR’s Mary L
  
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• How to make your home less desirable to thieves this holiday season

  17-11-2016 22:23
  
  For those getting ready to travel this holiday season, the Anchorage Police Department recommends adding a home security checklist. A vacant house is a prime target for opportunistic thieves and burglars, says Anita Shell with APD.
  Shell stopped by KTVA 11’s Daybreak Thursday to share a few ways Alaskans can keep their home secure and, in the event of a burglary, recover their belongings.
  The first on the home security list, Shell says, is making sure the doors are equi
  
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• Man indicted for dangerous driving spree was also Tasered machete suspect

  17-11-2016 22:16 via ktoo.org
  
  A police officer’s affidavit identifies the man accused of dangerously driving across Juneau on Saturday and swerving at police officers as the same man involved in a machete incident last week.
  The affidavit was submitted during grand jury proceedings on Wednesday.
  Officer Lee Phelps writes that Cecil Trent Yeisley’s mother had brought her 23-year-old son to Bartlett Regional Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
  The mother also told Phelps that Yeisley was the one who &ldqu
  
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• Tension lingers over handling of investigation into Anchorage’s linked homicides

  17-11-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A day after news broke that five Anchorage deaths are linked to the same gun used an attack on a police officer during the weekend, questions remain about how officials responded to public concerns in the months before.
  Law enforcement had very little evidence connecting the homicides and walked a fine line between recruiting the public’s help and not losing their only thread in the case.
  On Saturday, the Anchorage Police Department caught a break.
  They’d known since July t
  
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• Offshore gold mining barge runs aground in Nome’s harbor

  17-11-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A barge involved with offshore gold mining ran aground early Wednesday morning in Nome’s harbor.
  The barge, the Eddie, is owned and operated by Phoenix Offshore Mining, Port Director Joy Baker said.
  A surge of waves made the barge’s spuds break free, leaving the jackup legs of the rig unsupported, Baker said.
  The barge was lifted up by the waves, then started free floating, which also caused the vessel to lose its excavator.
  Phoenix President and CEO John Keeley i
  
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• Juneau schools superintendent reports highest graduation rates ever

  17-11-2016 20:44 via ktoo.org
  
  The JDHS class of 2014. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)
  Graduation rates have reached a new high in Juneau. Superintendent Mark Miller told the Juneau School Board on Tuesday that last school year, the district’s high school graduation rate increased to just about 85 percent.
  Miller didn’t give the board his opinion on why the rate was higher. According to school district budget documents, the graduation rate for the prior school year was 78 percent.
  Superintendent Mark Miller. (
  
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• With the clock ticking, Emmonak works to fix sewer pipes before they freeze

  17-11-2016 20:30 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Yolanda Kelly poses with her granddaughter, son, and other children in her Emmonak living room. (Photo by Adrian Wagner/KYUK)
  Inside a modest home on a quiet snow-covered street in Emmonak, water boils and turns into steam.
  Yolanda Kelly heats water to bathe her son and granddaughter.
  http://cpa.ds.npr.org/kyuk/audio/2016/11/161117_emmonak_feature_pkg.mp3“I make my hot water on the stove, and I put it in the tub, and I give them a bath as much as I can,” Kelly said.
  When asked h
  
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• Winter outlook calls for continued warmth across most of Alaska

  17-11-2016 20:17
  
  Don’t be misled by the light scattered snow in Anchorage on Thursday morning, the state is expected to have above average temperatures and below average precipitation for most of winter.
  The Climate Prediction Center released its latest winter outlook Thursday, and to no surprise Alaska is expected to remain warmer than normal in December, January, and February. Locations along the Arctic Coast, Bering Sea Coast, and the Aleutians have the highest probability of a warmer than nor
  
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• Troopers say 1 dead, 1 injured in Glenn Highway crash

  17-11-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  SUTTON — Alaska State Troopers are investigating a crash on the Glenn Highway that left one man dead and another seriously injured.
  Dustin Lakey, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at milepost 63 in Sutton, Troopers said. Gene Boyda, 45, was seriously injured and was transported to a local hospital.
  Lakey was heading north in a pickup and Boyda was southbound in a pickup when the two trucks collided head-on in the centerline.
  Lakey was not wearing a seat belt, Troopers said.
  
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• Judge sides with state, Walker in PFD lawsuit

  17-11-2016 19:50
  
  A small group of protestors stands outside the Nesbitt Courthouse Thursday morning.Bonney Bowman / KTVA Asst. Attorney General Margaret Patton-Walsh presents the state's case in court Thursday. Bonney Bowman / KTVA
  The Latest on a lawsuit over the dividend from Alaska’s oil-wealth fund (all times local):
  10:50 a.m.
  Anchorage Superior Court Judge William Morse sided with the state following nearly two hours of arguments Thursday, agreeing that Gov. Walker had the authority to reduce the Pe
  
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• Troopers: 1 dead, 1 injured in Glenn Highway crash

  17-11-2016 19:39
  
  Alaska State Troopers are investigating a crash on the Glenn Highway that left one man dead and another seriously injured.
  Troopers say 24-year-old Dustin Lakey was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at milepost 63 in Sutton. Troopers say 45-year-old Gene Boyda was seriously injured and was transported to a local hospital.
  Troopers say Lakey was heading north in a pickup truck and Boyda was southbound in a pickup when the two trucks collided head-on in the centerline.
  Troopers say Lakey w
  
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• Superior Court arguments in PFD lawsuit

  17-11-2016 19:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Update | 10:56 a.m.
  The court hearing has ended. Judge William F. Morse has denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and Gov. Bill Walker’s veto will stand, for now.
  Wielechowski is expected to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
  Original story | 9:36 a.m.
  The Anchorage Superior Court is hearing arguments this morning in Sen. Bill Wielechowski’s lawsuit attempting to reverse Gov. Bill Walker’s Permanent Fund dividend veto.
  The Anchorage Democrat argues that the g
  
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• Live: Superior Court arguments in PFD lawsuit

  17-11-2016 19:36 via ktoo.org
  
  The Anchorage Superior Court is hearing arguments this morning in Sen. Bill Wielechowski’s lawsuit attempting to reverse Gov. Bill Walker’s Permanent Fund dividend veto.
  The Anchorage Democrat argues that the governor’s veto was unconstitutional. The governor’s veto was a cost saving measure that roughly halved the Permanent Fund dividends paid to Alaskans in October.
  KTUU is live streaming the arguments online. KTUU’s coverage is also being broadcast on 360 North t
  
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• Fairbanks school district ordered to pay $88K to former superintendent

  17-11-2016 19:00
  
  An arbitrator has sided with a former Fairbanks North Star Borough School District superintendent was fired in 2014 for incompetence.
  The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports that according to a Sept. 14 arbitration opinion, the school district has been ordered to pay former superintendent Pete Lewis $88,205 in damages for firing him.
  According to the opinion, the school board gave Lewis high marks in performance reviews but disagreed with some of his judgment calls. The arbitrator ruled that the
  
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• Bethel sex offender program sees severe budget cuts

  17-11-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  BETHEL — After severe budget cuts and staffing changes, advocates for Bethel’s Sex Offender Treatment Program say they fear the changes will lead to recidivism.
  KYUK-AM reports that the program’s staff has been reduced from three members with a combined 40 years of experience to one member with four months of experience. Board members, former employees and advocates say the change will end up costing the state more in the long run and will damage Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta comm
  
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• Judge to hear arguments in lawsuit over Alaska dividend

  17-11-2016 18:10
  
  A judge in Anchorage is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging Gov. Bill Walker’s cut to this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.
  The lawsuit was brought by state Sen. Bill Wielechowski and two former lawmakers.
  It contends the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. was obligated by law to make available nearly $1.4 billion from the fund’s earnings reserve for dividends, in spite of a Walker veto reducing that amount.
  The veto cut the dividend to roughly half of
  
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• Connected in death: Inside APD’s months-long investigation into a string of homicides

  17-11-2016 09:25
  
  ANCHORAGE – Five Anchorage homicide victims have little in common, other than the gun that killed them. Police also believe they were all just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  “These victims did not do anything to provoke their deaths, and it’s obvious that they probably never even saw it coming,” said Anchorage police Lt. John McKinnon in an interview with KTVA Wednesday.
  The Colt Python .357 revolver APD found on suspect James Dale Ritchie, who died after initiati
  
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• Anchorage police shed more light on summer homicides

  17-11-2016 09:25
  
   
  ANCHORAGE – Five Anchorage homicide victims have little in common, other than the gun that killed them. Police believe they were all just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  “These victims did not do anything to provoke their deaths, and it’s obvious that they probably never even saw it coming,” said Anchorage police Lt. John McKinnon in an interview with KTVA Wednesday.
  The Colt Python .357 revolver APD found on James Dale Ritchie during a shootout Saturday mor
  
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• Dimond High’s Sulte plans for next phase of life

  17-11-2016 08:47
  
  Brynn Sulte is focused. The Unites States Air Force Academy likes focus. The two are a great match. On Wednesday, Sulte capped what’s been a career week by signing a letter of intent to attend the USAF and play volleyball for the Falcons.
  Last Saturday, Sulte and her Dimond High School Lynx teammates were down two sets to none against rival South before coming back to tie and ultimately win the state crown for a second consecutive year.
  But those odd
  
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• Alaska baseball players learn from the best

  17-11-2016 08:29
  
  It’s tough enough to get the major leagues, but to get on the right path, it helps to hear from someone who’s done it.
  KTVA’s John Thompson visited with Houston Astros pitching coach Brent Strom on Sunday during the seventh-annual professional coaches baseball clinic at The Dome.
  Follow KTVA 11 Sports on Facebook and Twitter for the latest in Alaska sports
  The post Alaska baseball players learn from the best appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Dimond does it again: Lynx sit down to discuss second-straight volleyball crown

  17-11-2016 08:17
  
  The Dimond High School Lynx capped a magical season with some late heroics in capturing their second-straight 4A volleyball crown.
  Some of the Lynx stopped by KTVA to discuss the run with Dave Goldman.
  Follow KTVA 11 Sports on Facebook and Twitter for the latest in Alaska sports
  The post Dimond does it again: Lynx sit down to discuss second-straight volleyball crown appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Former homeless move into new supportive housing complex

  17-11-2016 06:23
  
  Some of Anchorage’s most vulnerable homeless people have a place to sleep now that the city’s newest supportive housing facility has opened at Third and Cordova Streets.
  The complex, located in a renovated building that used to hold a variety of nonprofits, features 20 efficiency apartments. It’s managed by Rural Alaska Community Action Programs (RurAL CAP), the same agency that manages Karluk Manor, a similar program downtown.
  RurAL CAP’s Kenny Scollan said, like Karluk
  
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• Ferry system plans more fare hikes

  17-11-2016 04:58 via ktoo.org
  
  Spare life rings lean against other parts at the Alaska Marine Highway System in Ketchikan in 2014. The ferry system just released its summer 2017 schedule, which includes fare hikes. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  The Alaska Marine Highway System plans its next round of fare increases to start May 1. That’s when the new summer schedule begins.
  Spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said it’s the second year of a five-year effort to equalize ticket prices.
  “What we’re trying
  
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• A year after double murder, JPD has nothing new to report, says case still active

  17-11-2016 04:54 via ktoo.org
  
  Robert H. Meireis and Elizabeth K. Tonsmiere were found dead in one of the Admiralty condos in West Juneau on Nov. 15, 2015. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Monday was the one-year anniversary of the discovery of a double murder in a West Juneau condo.
  The Juneau Police Department has been investigating the case, but has not named any suspects, made any arrests or filed any charges in it.
  Department spokesman Lt. David Campbell said there has been progress, though.
  “We recogniz
  
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• Light earthquake shakes southeast Alaska

  17-11-2016 03:03 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — Officials say a light earthquake rattled southeastern Alaska Wednesday morning but there were no immediate reports of damage.
  The Alaska Earthquake Center say the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 and was centered 74 miles east of Yakutat at a depth of about 9 miles.
  The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 4.4.
  The center recorded the shaking at 5:25 a.m. It says the quake was felt in the communities of Haines and Yakutat.
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Alaska’s “relentless” streak of warm temperatures

  17-11-2016 02:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Weather stations in Alaska have logged an “unprecedented” run of above-normal temperatures, says climatologist Brian Brettschneider. (Graphic courtesy of Brian Brettschneider)
  According to an announcement this week from the World Meteorological Organization, 2016 is on track to be the warmest year ever. If current trends continue, it would be the third straight year of record-breaking heat.
  That trend has been particularly noticeable in Alaska, where two thirds of major weather stati
  
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• Man accused of shooting mechanic at Anchorage shop

  17-11-2016 02:42 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — A 26-year-old Anchorage man has been accused of shooting an auto mechanic to death.
  Trevon Allridge walked into an auto shop Tuesday afternoon at a south Anchorage dealership and shot William Schmaus, a 51-year-old mechanic, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
  The motive isn’t known, and Allridge refused to make a statement when he was taken into custody.
  Allridge has been charged with two counts of murder.He’s being held without bail, and an arraignme
  
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• Walker names Anchorage lawyer Kendall to replace Whitaker as chief of staff

  17-11-2016 02:25 via ktoo.org
  
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter Matt Buxton speaks to Jim Whitaker, outgoing chief of staff for Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, shortly before Walker’s inauguration in 2014. Whitaker will move from being chief of staff to senior adviser on major projects on Dec. 2. Scott Kendall will replace him. (Creative Commons photo by James Brooks)
  Gov. Bill Walker named a new chief of staff Wednesday, bringing in Anchorage lawyer Scott Kendall to replace Jim Whitaker, effective Dec. 2.
  Kendall said
  
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• Following Election, NRA Goes On ‘Offense’; Here’s What It Could Aim To Do

  17-11-2016 02:17 via ktoo.org
  
  “Our time is now.” That’s the message from Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, to his group’s members and gun owners across America, following last week’s election.
  With a Republican-held Congress and Donald Trump headed to the White House — helped, in no small part, by the support of the NRA — big changes could be coming to the nation’s gun laws.
  At an NRA-sponsored event Monday, in the desert north of Phoenix, more than 1,
  
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• Anchorage Assembly budget makes several cuts mostly to increase police force

  17-11-2016 01:50 via ktoo.org
  
  The Anchorage Assembly passed a $504 million operating budget during it’s Tuesday night meeting, up slightly from last year’s budget of $488 million.Increases are going primarily to pay for a larger police force.
  Modest cuts were made across the board to departmental budgets, grant programs and public transportation.
  Assembly member Eric Croft summed up a process that’s gone relatively smoothly since the budget was first introduced by the mayor’s administration a few mont
  
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• North Pole school to change controversial name

  17-11-2016 01:43 via ktoo.org
  
  A North Pole school will get a new name.
  The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board of education approved a measure Tuesday night to rename of Badger Road Elementary.
  Badger Road Elementary is currently named for a convicted pedophile, said Michael O’Brien, a member of school board.
  Harry M. Badger admitted to abusing a 10-year-old girl a century ago, historical records show.
  The school took up the suggestion during a work session in September.
  
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• Human rights executive director wants to prevent discrimination

  17-11-2016 01:32 via ktoo.org
  
  Harassment complaints in Alaska are on the rise, and the executive director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights said she expects that trend to continue, partly in light of the recent presidential elections.
  “I do think there is somewhat, a lack of respect for opposing viewpoints that has come about because of this election,” commission Director Marti Buscaglia, said. “This is a total non-partisan viewpoint here, because it’s from all sides. I think that m
  
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• MISSING: Fairbanks couple disappears in pickup truck, troopers say

  17-11-2016 01:31
  
  Chad Lowery and Geneva Cleveland. Courtesy Alaska State Troopers
  ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers are asking for the public’s helping in locating two people reported missing on Wednesday.
  Troopers stated in a dispatch that 28-year-old Geneva Cleveland and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Chad Lowery, both of Fairbanks, have not been seen or heard from since early Nov. 14, when a family member says they left Vouton Court around 1:30 a.m.
  A concerned family member filed missing person repor
  
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• Twitter Suspends Prominent Alt-Right Accounts

  17-11-2016 01:18 via ktoo.org
  
  Twitter has suspended several accounts linked to the alt-right movement, which has been associated with white nationalism.
  The move comes as Twitter is rolling out a series of actions to curb hate speech and abuse on its platform as criticism has mounted of the company’s failure to rein in harassment, racism, sexism and anti-Semitism.
  Suspended accounts include those of Richard Spencer, who is considered one of the movement’s founders, his magazine Radix Journal, an associated accoun
  
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• Sitka man indicted on child porn charges

  17-11-2016 01:10 via ktoo.org
  
  A Sitka man has been indicted on 10 counts of possession of child pornography.
  A Sitka grand jury on Nov. 10 indicted William Roy Hammock, 41, for allegedly possessing a computer disc containing at least 10 images of underage individuals engaged in sexual activity.
  Sitka police discovered the disc in Hammock’s home in December 2012 while executing a search warrant related to a drug investigation.
  The disc was one of five discs allegedly containing illegal images, and Hammock was indicted l
  
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• Anchorage man faces 28 charges related to child pornography, sexual abuse of 2 minors

  17-11-2016 00:59
  
  Bernard Droege. Courtesy Anchorage Police Department
  ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage man has been arrested for sexually abusing two young victims and possessing child pornography, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
  Police announced the arrest of 56-year-old Bernard Droege on Wednesday. He faces 28 charges — eight counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, 10 counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor and 10 counts of child pornography possession.
  Police spokeswoman Ren
  
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• Man charged with murder for Tuesday auto shop shooting

  17-11-2016 00:30
  
  Trevon Allridge appears in court in August 2016.
  Last updated at 3:06 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16
  An Anchorage man has been charged with murder for the shooting Tuesday that left another man dead.
  A complaint filed in district court states that police were called to an auto dealer and auto shop business on East 74th Avenue just after 3 p.m. Tuesday where they were told a male had been shot and killed.
  According to a Wednesday morning release from the Anchorage Police Department, witnesses said 2
  
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• Obama’s Alaska regs could cling long into Trump’s term

  17-11-2016 00:04 via ktoo.org
  
  President Barack Obama arrives at the White House on April 25, 2010. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House)
  As a candidate, President-elect Donald Trump said he’d liberate business by striking as much as 70 percent of federal regulations. Trump vowed to dump Obama-era policies and unleash the energy industry to produce more oil, gas and coal. It would seem like good times for natural resource extraction in Alaska. But Trump will find some policies easier to dismantle than others.
  President
  
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• With Little Housing Growth, Native American Families Live In Close Quarters

  17-11-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thanks to improved health care, the Native American populations around the country are growing. But the number of homes hasn’t kept up. That’s especially true of the Northern Arapaho on Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation.
  Northern Arapaho elder Kenneth Shakespeare raised seven children in a house with views of mountains and hayfields surrounding it. But now he has dementia and it’s his kids turn to take care of him in the same four-bedroom, two-bath house they grew u
  
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• Juneau Afternoon-11-17-2016

  17-11-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Scott Burton hosts:
  Ernestine Hayes, author of “The Tao of Raven,” will preview her Friday night Evening at Egan presentation;
  We’ll hear about the November 19th Con Brio Concert Series at Northern Light United Church;
  We’ll learn about the National Guard Toy Drive;
  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 KTOO-NEWS, repeated at 4 o
  
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