Anchorage news

• Soldotna man dies in crash of trucks; second driver injured

  09-12-2016 23:36
  
  A 23-year-old Soldotna man Thursday died in a crash between two pickups.
  The Peninsula Clarion, a Kenai newspaper, reports Steven Marshall died in the crash near the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Mackey Lake Road.
  The driver of the second truck, 73-year-old Thomas Varieur of Kenai, was taken by ambulance to Central Peninsula Hospital for treatment of injuries.
  The crashed occurred shortly before noon Thursday. Officer Tobin Brennan says one truck crossed the center line and struck the
  
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• Obama creates ‘resilience area’ to protect Bering Sea ecosystem

  09-12-2016 23:32
  
  President Obama used his executive powers Friday to add protections to waters off Alaska’s west coast.
  The White House announced creation of a Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area that will focus “locally tailored” protections on marine resources.
  The area covers 112,300 square miles and supports the annual marine mammal migration of bowhead and beluga whales, Pacific walrus, ice seals and migratory birds.
  Residents of 39 coastal villages dependent on marine resources ha
  
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• APD searching for missing 80-year-old man

  09-12-2016 23:18
  
  Police in Anchorage are seeking help to find an 80-year-old man, who never came home from playing cards with friends Thursday.In a release Friday, the Anchorage Police Department said Seraphim Stephan (pictured left) was last seen when he was dropped off at the Wells Fargo bank on Fifth Avenue at 11 a.m. Thursday. Stephan was supposed to meet and play cards with friends nearby, but he never came home or contacted family, police stated.
  Stephan has health concerns that require regular medication,
  
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• Obama orders sweeping review of international hacking tied to U.S. elections

  09-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  President Barack Obama has ordered the intelligence community to conduct a “full review” of “malicious cyber activity” timed to U.S. elections, the White House said Friday.
  The review will go all the way back to the 2008 campaign when China was found to have hacked both the Obama and McCain campaigns, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said at a Friday press briefing.
  In the 2016 election, U.S. intelligence officials charged that Russia had interfered. In early October, t
  
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• Daybreak Adopt-a-Pet for Dec. 9, 2016

  09-12-2016 22:00
  
  From Anchorage Animal Care and Control:
  Bulldog:
  Bulldog is a confident, dignified (well, until you get the laser light out for him to play with) and quietly affectionate cat who is seeking a calm home with adults only. He loves to explore and sit up high so he can survey his surroundings. Bulldog has been spending the mornings in the offices with staff and his company is always appreciated – he visits each of us and convinces us to stop working just long enough to show him some affection.
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: The Stars We Are perform ‘Silent Night’

  09-12-2016 21:55
  
  Getting into the holiday spirit, four outgoing contestants from The Stars We Are singing competition performed “Silent Night.” The performance was done completely a cappella, or without instruments, by Andrew Adcock, Mercedes Curran, Jetaime Kathryn and Whitney Youngman.
  The Stars We Are is a premier singing competition held Thursday nights at Williwaw in Downtown Anchorage. Contestants that continue on to the next week will be one step closer the grand prize: two airline ticket
  
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• Alleged child predator and fugitive arrested in Alaska

  09-12-2016 21:21 via ktoo.org
  
  SAN FRANCISCO — An alleged child predator described as one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Alaska after four years on the run.
  Kevin Trask was listed as one of Homeland Security’s most wanted fugitives.The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, says in a statement Friday that Trask was arrested in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was initially pulled over by officers for faulty equipment on his vehicle and gave a false identity.
  The 40
  
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• Municipality takes college student to court over $50 traffic fine

  09-12-2016 21:16
  
  A University of Alaska Anchorage student says the Municipality of Anchorage is taking him to court over $50. A case that started as a simple traffic citation has been going on for months now, after his court appearance turned into a confrontation between a judge and the Anchorage police officer involved in the traffic stop.
  “When I went through [the light] I thought it was yellow,” explained Patrick Markley, standing at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Karluk Street where an
  
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• Tongass National Forest plan moves to young-growth timber

  09-12-2016 21:14
  
  Plans for managing the nation’s largest national forest call for changes in timber harvests that one critic says will be “the demise of the timber industry.”
  The Tongass National Forest released a management plan update Friday that it says emphasizes young-growth timber sales in the forest covering much of southeast Alaska over old-growth timber. The plan would allow for a logging rate that management says will meet projected demand.
  Kristen Miller, with the Alaska Wilderness L
  
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• Trump faces a more skeptical public than any incoming president since 1989

  09-12-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Everyone called this a “change election,” and with the fiercely anti-establishment Donald Trump, Americans certainly got change. But they are still uncertain about what they think of their new Change President.
  Forty-one percent of Americans say they approve of how well he has explained his “policies and plans for the future to the American people,” according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.
  That’s lower than any incoming president since at least George H.W
  
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• Obama creates ‘climate resilience area’ in Bering Sea

  09-12-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  President Obama today issued an executive order creating the “Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area” of 112,300 square miles.
  The order aims to include local tribes in decision-making about shipping through the Bering Strait, among other activities in the area.
  He also announced $30 million pledges from philanthropic groups for projects “related to shipping, ecosystem science, community and ecological resilience, and tribal engagement.”
  The order
  
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• Researchers aim to protect the Bering Sea’s rare blue king crab while preserving fisheries

  09-12-2016 19:56 via ktoo.org
  
  The restrictions put in place to protect blue king crab also make it difficult to do research on the species. (Photo by Celeste Leroux/Alaska Sea Grant)
  The last commercial harvest of Pribilof Island blue king crab was in 1999. Extremely low population numbers have kept that fishery closed.
  “They’re almost like unicorns in the trawl survey now,” said Lauren Divine, co-director of St. Paul’s Environmental Conservation Office. “There are very, very, very few being fou
  
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• Search suspended after no sign of sunken vessel’s missing crew members

  09-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for two people who went missing Tuesday after their ship sank north of Unalaska.
  Coast Guard officials made the announcement Thursday evening after a cutter, a helicopter crew, and several volunteer vessels spent more than 40 hours looking for the crew members of the sunken motor vessel Exito.
  The ship went down late Tuesday night with five people onboard.
  Within an hour, three were rescued by a good Samaritan vessel. But there’s been no sign
  
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• Energy bill fails; Murkowski blames House

  09-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  It was two years in the making, but it seems Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s energy bill is now dead.http://media.aprn.org/2016/ann-20161208-06.mp3The office of House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Wednesday there was no time left to pass an energy bill, according to the publication The Hill.
  Murkowski took to the Senate floor Thursday to refute that. She said there was time, but House leaders didn’t want to reach an agreement. Months of negotiations over the sprawling bill were nearly succe
  
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• Alabama inmate coughed, heaved for about 13 minutes during execution

  09-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  An Alabama man convicted of murdering a convenience store clerk in 1994 was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday night, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay the execution and amid ongoing legal challenges to the state’s lethal injection protocol.
  Ronald Bert Smith Jr. had been on Alabama’s death row since 1995, when he was convicted of murdering Casey Wilson, a convenience store clerk, during a robbery.
  The execution took place late Thursday night local time at
  
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• Feds expand areas where ballots will be in native languages

  09-12-2016 18:50
  
  More people who speak Alaska Native languages will be able to receive translated election material thanks to changes made by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  KTOO-FM reports that the Census Bureau announced on Monday that it has expanded the number of areas and languages eligible for election material translation.
  The Census Bureau designates languages for translation based on its estimates for speakers who have limited English proficiency.
  In Alaska, the bureau expanded the areas where Yupik, Unungam Tu
  
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• 2 injured in head-on Seward Highway crash

  09-12-2016 18:41
  
  Two people were injured in a head-on crash on the Seward Highway six miles north of the junction with the Sterling Highway.
  Alaska State Troopers say 56-year-old Virginia Ingram of Anchorage was flown by LifeMed helicopter to an Anchorage hospital after the crash at about 7 p.m. Wednesday.
  A Wasilla man, 66-year-old Ted Peter, was transported by ground ambulance to a Soldotna hospital.
  Troopers say the crash occurred at Mile 42.6. Peter was driving a small pickup north and Ingram was southbound
  
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• Buyer Beware: Holiday gift exchange scams to watch out for on Facebook

  09-12-2016 18:03
  
  ‘Tis the season … to get scammed on Facebook.
  Two scams called the “Secret Sister Gift Exchange” and the “Secret Wine Bottle Exchange” are spreading across Facebook like wildfire, and unfortunately, users are falling for it.
  It sounds like a fun Secret Santa-like gift exchange, but it’s actually a pyramid scheme in disguise.
  And worse, it’s illegal, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says.
  “While gift exchanges grow in popularity during the ho
  
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• Government proposes letting airline passengers make phone calls

  09-12-2016 06:16
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The government is proposing that airlines be allowed to permit their passengers to make phone calls during flights using Wi-Fi despite complaints from flight attendants and others that the calls could be disruptive.
  The Department of Transportation’s proposal leaves it up to airlines whether to allow the calls. But carriers would be required to inform passengers at the time they purchase a ticket if the calls are allowed. That would give passengers the opportunity t
  
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• A grim tally soars: More than 50,000 overdose deaths in US

  09-12-2016 06:08
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials say more than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the most ever.
  The disastrous tally has been pushed to new heights by soaring abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids. The new numbers were part of the annual tally of deaths and death rates released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  Overall, overdose deaths rose 11 percent last year, to 52,404. By comparison, the number of pe
  
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• Winter waterfowl: Biologists monitor mallards that don’t migrate

  09-12-2016 06:01
  
  Every winter the Alaska Department of Fish and Game gets calls from people concerned about ducks that haven’t flown south for the winter. Waterfowl biologist Mike Petrula said there are about 1,500 mallards that make Anchorage their year-round home and they seem to be thriving.
  “Mallards are a very tough duck. They’re a big-bodied bird. They can handle the cold,” he said.
  Part of his job is to track the birds and monitor their activity. More than 1,000 ducks are tagged wi
  
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• Vigil planned for murdered Palmer teen

  09-12-2016 04:54
  
  Organizers are expecting a big turnout Friday for a Candlelight Vigil of Hope and Prayer for David Grunwald event.
  Grunwald is the Palmer teen who was missing for weeks before his body was discovered in the Knik River Road area. Another 16-year-old has been charged with murder and kidnapping in connection to the slaying.Gina Spangler is a longtime family friend who is organizing the vigil. She said it was originally planned before Grunwald was found, but as the facts of his death
  
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• Conservation council looking for fish tales for new almanac

  09-12-2016 04:08
  
   
  Have any good personal or commercial fishing stories, anecdotes, pictures or art? The Alaska Marine Conservation Council is “calling all writers, artists, know-hows and know-nots” for a new Young Fisherman’s Almanac.
  The almanac, due out next year, is being put together to connect young fishermen and women.
  Most commercial fishing permit holders are over the age of 50, said Danielle Ringer, a fisherwoman in Kodiak. Ringer is also a researcher at the University of Al
  
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• Anchorage pot shop plans to start selling marijuana clones Friday

  09-12-2016 03:18
  
  Bryant Thorpe poses with his marijuana business licenses. Shannon Ballard / KTVA
  Ever since marijuana was legalized in Alaska, Arctic Herbery owner Bryant Thorp has said he wanted his pot shop to be the first to open in Anchorage.
  Now, after years of preparation, he’s confident it’s going to happen.
  Thorp told KTVA on Tuesday that he finally has all the required licenses in hand.
  “They gave me the blessing. They told me I can go,” Thorp said.
  The former real estate agent
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: Will you get the remainder of your PFD?

  09-12-2016 03:11
  
  What are the chances you’ll be seeing the other half of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend?
  Recently, an Anchorage superior court judge upheld Gov. Bill Walker’s authority to cut this year’s dividend in half by exercising his veto power. The lawsuit, challenging Walker’s authority, was filed by Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski.
  The case is being appealed to the state Supreme Court, and who knows how, or when that case will be resolved.
  The other chance
  
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• Newtok to ask Obama for federal disaster declaration

  09-12-2016 03:10 via ktoo.org
  
  The village of Newtok in western Alaska, in August 2016. (Photo by Eric Keto/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  The village of Newtok plans to request a federal disaster declaration from President Barack Obama before he leaves office. The village is facing rapid erosion due to climate change, and officials say a disaster declaration may be the best chance to unlock federal funds for relocation before the existing village becomes uninhabitable.
  The village of Newtok has lost ground at a rate of 67
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 12-9-16

  09-12-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon,We’ll get a preview of Saturday’s Juneau Student Symphony’s Winter Concert;
  We’ll find out about Saturday’s FiRST LEGO LEAGUE Competition, with guest, Rebecca Soza;
  That, Writers’ Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, live on KTOO-News at 3, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on-demand via ktoo.org
  
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• Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman from Pybus Bay

  09-12-2016 01:46 via ktoo.org
  
  An injured fisherman was medevaced from Pybus Bay, 50 miles east of Sitka.
  The 37-year old fisherman suffered from a leg laceration and radioed Coast Guard Sector Juneau for help, according to a Coast Guard news release.
  After consulting with an on-duty surgeon, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka was launched, along with a medium response boat from Juneau.
  The Jayhawk crew hoisted the injured fisherman up into the helicopter and transported him back to Sitka for treatme
  
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• Money management at Mental Health Trust raises concerns

  09-12-2016 01:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Congress set up the Alaska Mental Health Trust in 1956 to make sure the state could provide mental health care programs to its residents far into the future.
  But the trust has had a tumultuous history, and now, some state leaders fear it could be in danger once more.
  Legislators are considering a special audit of the trust and how the trustees are investing its money.http://media.aprn.org/2016/ann-20161207-05.mp3William Foster stood in Bean’s Cafe late last week sifting through a pile of c
  
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• Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office director resigns

  09-12-2016 00:45 via ktoo.org
  
  Alcohol Beverage Control Board director Cynthia Franklin meets with her board members on Thursday in Centennial Hall. She discussed problems she foresees in how the state will execute legalized marijuana. (Photo by Kevin Reagan/ KTOO)
  JUNEAU — Cynthia Franklin, who helped guide Alaska’s work in setting up the state’s legal marijuana industry, is resigning as director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office.
  State commerce commissioner Chris Hladick said in a release Th
  
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• Day two search underway for missing Port Alsworth plane

  09-12-2016 00:30 via ktoo.org
  
  A second day of search efforts are underway for a plane that went missing Wednesday between Port Alsworth and Anchorage.
  Four people from Port Alsworth were onboard.
  The missing single engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee is owned by Lake Clark Air, but is used as a rental or training aircraft.
  The renting pilot, a passenger and his two children left Port Alsworth Wednesday morning. It was unclear early Thursday what their exact flight plan had been, but it was believed they were heading to Anchorage and
  
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• Trump picks fast-food executive Andrew Puzder as Labor Secretary

  09-12-2016 00:16 via ktoo.org
  
  President-elect Donald Trump has chosen fast-food restaurant CEO Andrew Puzder as his secretary of labor, his transition team announced Thursday.
  Puzder is the CEO of CKE Holdings, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, and in a statement Trump praised him as someone who “has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans.”
  “Andy will fight to make American workers safer and more prosperous by enforcing fair occupational safety standards and ensur
  
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• Two crewmembers still missing after vessel sinks near Unalaska

  09-12-2016 00:10 via ktoo.org
  
  The search continues for two people that went missing Tuesday night after they abandoned a sinking ship north of Unalaska Bay.
  On Wednesday, Petty Officer Meredith Manning said a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and three volunteer vessels combed waters around the island, but they found no sign of the crewmembers missing from the M/V Exito.
  “The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley searched through the night,” she said. “Now, the plan is for the helicopter they have onboard to conduc
  
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• Accusations of fake news and Islamophobia fill Anchorage Assembly

  09-12-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Greg and Maleika Jones spoke to the Anchorage Assembly on Dec. 6 , asking for an apology from member Amy Demboski. The couple eventually received a standing ovation from the crowded chamber. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  An online controversy spread to the halls of city government in Anchorage on Tuesday, with accusations flying about fake news, liberal media bias and a militant Islamic training camp in Wasilla that does not exist.http://media.aprn.org/2016/ann-20161207-02.mp3T
  
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