Anchorage news

• State corporation working to takeover Alaska LNG project to be audited

  15-12-2016 23:54 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Rep. Mike Hawker, Chair of the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee, on Feb. 12, 2015. Hawker and fellow Anchorage Republican Cathy Giessel asked the committee to audit the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation which Hawker helped form.  (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  Update | 2:16p.m. Thursday
  The Friday AGDC board meeting, which would have discussed the audit, has been canceled and the company has not been rescheduled.
  Original story | Wednesday
  The state corporation charged with tak
  
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• Citing finances, Walker halts work on Juneau road extension

  15-12-2016 23:35
  
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says he’s halting work on a proposal to extend a road north of Juneau that was aimed at enhancing access to the state capital.
  Walker says the state’s multi-billion dollar fiscal crisis means the road extension must give way to projects with a higher priority.
  The governor in a prepared statement says he knows many will be disappointed with the decision.
  Juneau is accessible only by water or air.
  The Juneau Access Project would have extended the road by 50 mil
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016

  15-12-2016 23:03 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/12/20161215-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The state publishes its revenue sources book with its oil production and price projections for the next fiscal year,
  state lawmakers ask for an audit of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp.’s finances,
  a Hillary Clinton supporter in Anchorage sues the state over the electoral college system on constitutional grounds, and
  the Alaska Dispatch News’ office is evacuated after a man with a holstered gun
  
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• Story Time w/Aunt Phil: Ed Schieffelin’s journey to Alaska

  15-12-2016 22:29
  
  Before arriving in Alaska in the early 1880s, Ed Schiefflin searched for the mother lode of silver in the Apache country of Arizona.
  Day after day, he rose at dawn to search the hills and desert for ore. When a soldier asked him what he was doing going out into the hills everyday, he replied “To collect rocks.” The soldier told him, “you keep going out there and the only rock you will find will be your tombstone.”
  After searching for more than a decade, Schiefflin finally
  
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• Man with gun forces evacuation at Alaska Dispatch News building

  15-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Employees from the Alaska Dispatch News evacuated the newspaper’s building Thursday morning after receiving information about a potential threat.
  Jennifer Castro, communications director for the Anchorage Police Department, said a man was taken into police custody at the newspaper’s mid-town office where he was making “odd statements” and appeared “disgruntled.”
  The man is known to police, and there were concerns over his mental health.
  The unnamed man had a h
  
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• Jury finds Dylann Roof guilty in S.C. church shooting

  15-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A jury in Charleston, S.C., has found Dylann Roof guilty on all 33 counts of federal hate crimes he faced for murdering nine people and attempting to kill three others in the basement of a historically black church.
  Federal prosecutors are seeking a death sentence. Roof has asked to represent himself in the penalty phase of the trial, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 3.
  The guilt phase of the trial featured six days of testimony from 30 witnesses, including a recorded confession and excerpts fro
  
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• Interior Secretary pick has a record of listening to tribes

  15-12-2016 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke has been tapped to head the Interior Department by President-elect Donald Trump. (Photo by Mark Trayhant/Trahant Reports)
  HELENA, Montana — Just about a week ago it was clear that Cathy McMorris Rodger was headed to the Interior Department. Nope. It was a headfake. President-elect Donald Trump has instead picked U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, for the post.
  This is a much better appointment for Indian Country. Zinke is no less conservative than Rodgers, but since h
  
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• Report: 2016 was Arctic’s warmest year on record, effects are cascading down into ecosystem

  15-12-2016 21:09 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Ice pack near Svalbard (Creative commons photo by Luc Jamet)
  2016 was not a good year for the Arctic with the continued warming of the air and sea water, and diminishing sea ice.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday released its Arctic Report Card for 2016.
  It was the warmest year on record for the Arctic where the average air temperature is increasing at twice the rate as the global average.
  This year was 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than 1900. Also, water temperature
  
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• Uber launches self-driving cars in California, over state’s objections

  15-12-2016 21:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Uber has started offering rides in self-driving cars in San Francisco without a permit for autonomous vehicles — defying state regulators, who say the permit is mandatory.
  Uber’s self-driving Volvos, which are operated with a “safety driver” behind the wheel, have already been deployed in Pittsburgh. They hit the roads in San Francisco on Wednesday.
  The company maintains that because the cars’ programming is “not ready” to drive without a person behind t
  
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• Snow, warmer temps likely to cause slippery driving conditions in Southcentral Alaska

  15-12-2016 20:24
  
   
  Warmer temperatures combined with precipitation might make for a messy few days for motorists in Southcentral Alaska.
  Roadways are cold due to the below normal temperatures we’ve seen over the last few weeks. With precipitation moving into the area and temperatures hovering near the freezing mark, roadways will become very slick.
  The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement Thursday, warning drivers to use caution.
  With the potential for more snow on Su
  
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• Alaska Airlines to be ‘very deliberate’ as it combines with Virgin America

  15-12-2016 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Airlines management and workers received a lively, upbeat welcome on their rival’s home turf Wednesday when they flew to San Francisco to celebrate a merger closing.
  Alaska Air paid $2.6 billion to buy upstart Virgin America.
  Now comes the hard work of integration.
  But first there was a party. In keeping with Virgin America’s unconventional style, there was pulsing music. Bacon covered donuts were served. Flight attendants in high heels waved pompoms as the passengers from Sea
  
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• Oil and gas companies snap up North Slope leases on state and federal lands

  15-12-2016 19:33 via ktoo.org
  
  Ted Murphy, associate state director of the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska, reads off winning bids for the 2016 oil and gas lease sale for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  State and federal oil and gas lease sales held Wednesday in Anchorage saw an unexpected surge of interest in the North Slope.
  “The bids started to come in and they kept running down to my office going, ‘you’re not believing this,'” said
  
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• Alaska woman sues to block electors from voting for Trump

  15-12-2016 19:29
  
  A Hillary Clinton supporter from Anchorage is suing Alaska’s three members of the Electoral College, claiming their anticipated votes for President-elect Donald Trump next Monday will violate her constitutional rights.
  Janice Park’s lawsuit will be heard Thursday in federal court in Anchorage. It claims that since Clinton is winning the overall nationwide popular vote, her vote for Clinton will not be counted as a full vote since Trump will likely win the electoral college process. S
  
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• Successes and shortcomings in Anchorage’s homelessness strategy

  15-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  As the year comes to a close, Anchorage officials are taking stock of the city’s problems with homelessness.
  Several assertive measures to connect people with housing and social services are succeeding, but the coordinated effort is showcasing just how much work is left to do.
  A Wednesday meeting of the Assembly’s committee on homelessness put on display the measurable gains being made by city programs, and also where critical gaps remain.
  Assembly members were briefed on a number of
  
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• Pipeline spill adds to concerns about Dakota Access Pipeline

  15-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  For months, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others in North Dakota mounted a massive protest against the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, in part over concerns that any leak could contaminate their drinking water.
  Now they are watching the Belle Fourche pipeline, which recently leaked roughly 180,000 gallons of crude into the Ash Coulee Creek in far western North Dakota. The leak was discovered Dec. 5, and authorities say there is no threat to drinking water and that the crude is 100 perc
  
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• Anchorage sees first retail pot store open Thursday

  15-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  ANCHORAGE — The first retail marijuana store in Alaska’s largest city is set to open Thursday, and so many people are expected at the small store that shuttle buses will ferry customers in.
  Owner Bryant Thorp has set the opening for high noon at Arctic Herbery, a small nondescript shop in a busy industrial and residential area of midtown Anchorage.
  People are expected to line up well before hand, but they will have to stay outside. By law, only eight people are allowed inside the sho
  
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• Troopers investigate death of man found along Parks Highway

  15-12-2016 18:12
  
  Alaska State Troopers are investigating the cause of death of a Fairbanks man found in a pickup along the Parks Highway.
  The body of 68-year-old Donald Leistikow was found Tuesday afternoon in a truck that entered the ditch at Mile 149.
  Troopers say Leistikow’s death appears to be from natural causes.
  Troopers say the truck had been southbound. It crossed the centerline and entered the ditch on the northbound side of the highway.
  (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. T
  
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• Snake Lake homesteader hospitalized for cold exposure, other injuries

  15-12-2016 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A 68-year old-man was rescued Tuesday after abandoning his homestead near the mouth of the Snake River west of Dillingham.
  Mike Branson, originally of Texas, had hiked through the night and reached the East Creek Lodge at the boat launch, but was suffering from cold exposure when he got there.
  A distress call went out early and was relayed to local authorities.
  “At 4:58 in the morning, we got contacted by the Rescue Coordination Center, which is located at JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richar
  
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• State, local entities have mixed reactions to president’s executive order in Bering Sea

  15-12-2016 08:17
  
  President Obama, during his tour of Kotzebue, Alaska, in September 2015. Alongside him is city manager Derek MartinMatthew F. Smith / KNOM
  A portion of the Bering Sea is now designated as a climate resilience area, thanks to an executive order from President Barack Obama on Friday. The White House says 112,300 square miles of the Bering Sea was set aside to protect the health of marine ecosystems, while allowing for sustainable fishing and economic development.
  Kawerak President Melanie Ba
  
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• ‘An insult to justice’: Family of murdered teen begs judge to reject suspect’s plea agreement

  15-12-2016 08:17
  
  The man accused of strangling his girlfriend to death pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday as part of an agreement that could set him free in 14 years.
  At the hearing, 30-year-old David Thomas asked Anchorage District Court Judge Kevin Saxby to give him the maximum penalty for killing 19-year-old Linda Bower on Sept. 10, 2014. Saxby accepted his plea, but noted that he would not make a decision about the agreement until the sentencing hearing.
  Related:
  Man charged with murder af
  
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• Hackers stole data from 1 billion users accounts from Yahoo, company says

  15-12-2016 08:08
  
  Yahoo has discovered a 3-year-old security breach that enabled a hacker to compromise more than 1 billion user accounts, breaking the company’s own humiliating record for the biggest security breach in history.
  The digital heist disclosed Wednesday occurred in August 2013, more than a year before a separate hack that Yahoo announced nearly three months ago. That breach affected at least 500 million users, which had been the most far-reaching hack until the latest revelation.
  In a statement
  
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• Leahy wants commission to probe alleged Russian hacking

  15-12-2016 06:27
  
  Vermont U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy is joining two other senior Democrats in calling for an independent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
  The commission would investigate alleged Russian hacking of U.S. political entities and election infrastructure, seek to identify those responsible, and recommend a response as well as actions the U.S. can take to defend itself in the future.
  Leahy was joined in calling for the commission by f
  
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• Alaskan Book Review – “Eskimo Star: From the Tundra to Tinseltown: The Ray Mala Story”

  15-12-2016 06:12 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Commentator Dee Longenbaugh reviews “Eskimo Star: From the Tundra to Tinseltown: The Ray Mala Story” by Lael Morgan and published by Epicenter Press.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/12/book211.mp3
  
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• Wainwright man indicted for sexually abusing 5 children, other victims interviewed

  15-12-2016 04:42
  
  A grand jury has indicted 32-year-old Raymond “Jonah” Negovanna for sexually abusing five children from Anchorage and Wainwright at least as far back as January of 2006. Additionally, the investigation revealed he likely had up to 11 victims between the two locations.
  The Anchorage Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit (CACU) first began investigating Negovanna in May after the Office of Children’s Services contacted them. They reported that a 12-year-old sta
  
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• First retail marijuana shop in Anchorage opens Thursday

  15-12-2016 04:32
  
  Retail marijuana will hit store shelves in Anchorage for the first time on Thursday.
  Arctic Herbery at 7107 Arctic Boulevard will open its doors at noon. Owner Bryant Thorp said he’ll have about 11 pounds of product to sell and hopes that will last him through the first few days of business.
  His store opened last Friday but only had clone plants for purchase. Now he’s got several strains of weed—Afghani Kush, Blueberry and Pineapple Chunk—from the North Pole cultivat
  
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• FBI notes increase in gang violence in Anchorage

  15-12-2016 04:23
  
  The FBI said it’s seeing an uptick in gang activity in Anchorage and a lot of it seems to center around drugs.
  Special Agent Mike Watson — a member of the Safe Streets Task Force, an interagency group that works to stop gang violence — said gangs have been active in Anchorage for years, but authorities haven’t always acknowledged it.
  “It was kind of like the big thing in the room that no one wanted to talk about,” Watson said. “People don’t wa
  
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• Enviros ready for ANWR fight, with military vets in their camp

  15-12-2016 03:09 via ktoo.org
  
  Genevieve Chase, an Army vet from Idaho, in the DC office of Alaska Wilderness League. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  With Donald Trump about a month away from the White House, Alaska’s congressional delegation sees a chance to finally open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The environmental lobby is ready for the fight. And they’ve got some new, patriotic allies on their side: military veterans.
  Genevieve Chase served in the Army in
  
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• University of Alaska consolidates to single College of Education, UAS takes lead

  15-12-2016 03:07 via ktoo.org
  
  University of Alaska Southeast’s Juneau campus on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)
  The University of Alaska is bringing its three colleges of education under one roof at the University of Alaska Southeast.
  The University of Alaska’s Board of Regents voted unanimously Wednesday morning for UAS to lead the College of Education — though originally the regents planned to vote whether to give University of Alaska Fairbanks authority over the college
  
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• Telling Tales – 12-13-16

  15-12-2016 02:39 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Telling Tales with MsG.
  I was lucky enough to be joined by Woosh Kinaaedeiyi’s and “Juneau’s Poet Laureate” Bill Merk.
  Northern Pike by James Wright — read by Bill Merk
  Religious Statues by Leonard Cohen — read by MsG
  Night Sweats –after Lucille Clifton by Sjohnna McCrary — read by Bill Merk
  The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gill Scott-Heron
  Parsley by Rita Dove
  What We Wouldn’t Give by Bill Merk
  The Earth is Spinning by Michael Christe
  
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• ACLU sues Kenai Peninsula Borough over religious invocation policy

  15-12-2016 02:12 via ktoo.org
  
  
  From left to right: ACLU staff attorney Eric Glatt, plaintiff Lance Hunt and ACLU of Alaska Executive Director Joshua Decker. (Photo courtesy of the ACLU of Alaska)
  The ACLU of Alaska is following through with its threat to sue the Kenai Peninsula Borough over its invocation policy.
  In the lawsuit filed Dec. 14 in Anchorage Superior Court, the ACLU alleges the policy currently in place violates constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.
  https://cpa.ds.npr.org/k
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 12-15-16

  15-12-2016 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will be your host;
  We’ll get a preview of the Thursday night presentation for the Juneau World Affairs Council, with guest, Artem Zagorodnov;
  Sally Smith will be here to highlight this weekend’s Holiday Pops Concert;
  We’ll talk with Linda Rosenthal, who will introduce the new Artistic Director of Juneau Jazz & Classics;
  And Nancy DeCherny will be here with news about art happenings in town.
  That’s Thursday on A Juneau Aftern
  
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• Gallo’s, Taco King to pay $835,000 in unpaid overtime wages, damages owed to employees

  15-12-2016 01:31
  
  Gallo’s Mexican Restaurants and Taco King Inc. have agreed to pay more than $835,000 in unpaid overtime, as well as liquidated damages, to 159 employees. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) announced the agreement Wednesday, calling it “one of the largest recoveries of overtime wages secured by the department.”
  In a statement, the DOL said an investigation into the restaurant chains found they had failed to maintain accurate payroll records.
  
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• Alaska eateries to pay $835,000 in unpaid overtime wages, damages to employees

  15-12-2016 01:31
  
  Gallo’s Mexican Restaurants and Taco King Inc. have agreed to pay more than $835,000 in unpaid overtime, as well as liquidated damages, to 159 employees. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) announced the agreement Wednesday, calling it “one of the largest recoveries of overtime wages secured by the department.”
  In a statement, the DOL said an investigation into the restaurant chains found they had failed to maintain accurate payroll records.
  
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• Alaska eateries to pay $835,000 in unpaid overtime wages, damages owed to employees

  15-12-2016 01:31
  
  Gallo’s Mexican Restaurants and Taco King Inc. have agreed to pay more than $835,000 in unpaid overtime, as well as liquidated damages, to 159 employees. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) announced the agreement Wednesday, calling it “one of the largest recoveries of overtime wages secured by the department.”
  In a statement, the DOL said an investigation into the restaurant chains found they had failed to maintain accurate payroll records.
  
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• AST asks for public’s help finding wanted man

  15-12-2016 01:30
  
  Alaska State Troopers are looking for a 22-year-old man wanted on drug charges.Few details were immediately available, but in a release from troopers the agency wrote that Tommy Shull has active arrest warrants.
  Shull is described as being 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 230 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He also has multiple tattoos on his face and neck area, troopers said.
  Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to call troopers at 907-225-5118.
  The post AST asks for
  
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• Obama administration moves to protect Planned Parenthood’s federal funding

  15-12-2016 01:13 via ktoo.org
  
  The Obama administration is trying to protect Planned Parenthood’s federal funding before the president turns over the reins of government to Republicans who have historically been hostile to the family planning group.
  The Department of Health and Human Services finalized a regulation Wednesday that says states that award federally funded grants for women’s health programs can’t discriminate against Planned Parenthood. The regulation doesn’t name Planned Parenthood, but i
  
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• Yahoo says hackers stole information from more than 1 billion accounts

  15-12-2016 01:06 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 7:00 p.m. ET
  Yahoo says hackers stole names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers from more than 1 billion accounts.
  In a statement posted to its website on Wednesday, the company said it had “taken steps to secure user accounts and is working closely with law enforcement.”
  The statement continued:
  “As Yahoo previously disclosed in November, law enforcement provided the company with data files that
  
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• Freezin’ for a reason: What to expect for this year’s Polar Plunge

  15-12-2016 01:05
  
  Thousands people are expected to jump into Goose Lake by the University of Alaska Anchorage this Saturday as part of the Polar Plunge. Many of those will be in a colorful costume. But all of those people will be supporting the Special Olympics Alaska. According to the Jim Balamacci, the nonprofit’s president, it’s their largest fundraiser, raising more than $2,000,000 in the last seven years.
  “I think it’s the coolest event in Anchorage during the year, at least on Dec. 1
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Is that ice fog or freezing fog?

  15-12-2016 00:28 via ktoo.org
  
  Ice fog is made up of tiny ice crystals that form when it’s at least -30 degrees Fahrenheit. In urban areas, the crystals often form around pollution particles from vehicle emissions or wood smoke. (Photo by Joseph Hall)
  Anchorage residents have been waking up to fog most days recently. But do the cold temperatures that go along with it make it technically “ice fog”?
  To answer that question, we spoke with Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist in Anchorage who closely tracks Ala
  
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• Why’s this SUV in Gold Creek?

  15-12-2016 00:04 via ktoo.org
  
  Authorities inspect the area around a vehicle in Gold Creek near Cope Park. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  Someone found this white, 1994 Chevy SUV resting on its passenger side Wednesday morning inside a channelized portion of Gold Creek near Cope Park, just upstream of the bridge over Irwin Street.
  The Juneau Police Department received a call at 8:17 a.m. about the car in the creek. Its hood was damaged and the driver’s side mirror was bent.
  “There are
  
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• Police arrest two in Unalaska in counterfeit money case

  15-12-2016 00:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Two men have been charged with fraud for making counterfeit money, Unalaska Department of Public Safety said.
  Henry Zablan and Nicholas Hough were taken into police custody over the weekend and later charged with fraud.
  Deputy Chief Jennifer Shockley says in her 16 years with the department this isn’t the first case of counterfeit money found in Unalaska.
  “Typically nobody has any idea of where it came from,” Shockley said. “You know, somebody paid for something, the
  
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