Anchorage news

• Newscast – Friday, Dec. 16, 2016

  16-12-2016 23:14 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/12/20161216-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The governor proposes a 2 percent budget cut to the Alaska Marine Highway System,
  a Juneau woman is sentenced after a plea agreement for stealing more than half a million dollars from the Juneau Bone and Joint Center, and
  in a new report, scientists say global warming played a role in 24 of 30 extreme weather events around the globe last year.
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: RonaMay Love from The Stars We Are

  16-12-2016 23:04
  
  RonaMay Love, a finalist on The Stars We Are, performed a medley by pop star Rihanna Friday.
  The grand prize winner of this inaugural Stars We Are competition was Talkeetna resident Kayti Heller. She will be one of the headlining performers at the KTVA New Year’s Eve Celebration in Town Square. In addition, Heller also won two round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the United States, courtesy of the Alaska Downtown Partnership.
  The second and third place finishers –Kendr
  
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• Alaska unemployment rate at 6.8 percent last month

  16-12-2016 22:21
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s unemployment rate for November stood at 6.8 percent.
  State and federal labor statistics show the seasonally adjusted, preliminary rate compares to a revised rate of 6.9 percent for October. The unemployment rate in November 2015 was 6.6 percent.
  Nationally, the unemployment rate last month was 4.6 percent.
  (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
  The post Alask
  
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• Daybreak Adopt-a-Pet for Dec. 16, 2016

  16-12-2016 21:57
  
  From Anchorage Animal Care and Control:
  Owen:
  Meet Owen – this big boy is an explorer (indoor explorations only, please) who comes back from his adventures full of stories for you. He loves to tell you about what he’s seen while you pet him and concur with him that he’s a brave boy.
  Snowflake:
  Snowflake was a very lucky girl – she was found her one cold, snowy morning curled up in a tire in the dog’s play yard. Staff brought her inside, warmed her up, fed her, fell
  
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• Active weather pattern continues across much of Alaska

  16-12-2016 21:44
  
  The stagnant weather pattern keeping much of Alaska clear, cold and dry this past week has ended. Storms will track through the Aleutians into Southcentral and down to Southeast about every 24 to 48 hours over the next week.
  The first front in this series brought fresh snow to much of Southcentral Thursday evening, totaling 1.6 inches officially in Anchorage. The snow total for December in Anchorage is now up to 10.6 inches.Anchorage will stay mostly cloudy, with light isolated snow showers poss
  
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• Holiday Programming – 2016

  16-12-2016 20:34 via ktoo.org
  
  Hot Jazz for a Cool Yule – Hosted by Robert Sewell (12/18) Airs: Sunday, December 18 at 7 p.m. on KRNN (102.7 FM)
  Crosscurrents – Traditional Christmas music with John Gaguine (12/21) Airs: Wednesday, December 21, 8-10 a.m. on KRNN (102.7 FM)
  Selected Shorts: ``Christmas Guests`` (12/22) Guest host Robert Sean Leonard celebrates the season with three holiday stories. First, Truman Capote’s “One Christmas” is a companion piece to his well-loved essay “A Christ
  
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• Want a hippo for Christmas? The story of a girl who got one

  16-12-2016 19:45
  
  When she recorded “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas” in 1953, Gayla Peevey says she had no idea schoolchildren would be singing it 63 years later.
  Or that people in her hometown of Oklahoma City would really raise the money to buy a 10-year-old girl a hippopotamus.
  She gave that hippo, named Matilda, to the local zoo on Christmas Eve. It lived to be nearly 50.
  Her song might live forever.
  It’s found today in ringtones, iTunes downloads and the voices of schoolchildren who si
  
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• School district provides scholarships to attract teachers

  16-12-2016 19:18
  
  A Bethel school district is offering to help fund college educations as a recruitment tool to get more teachers in its classrooms, particularly those from the area who are familiar with the local culture.
  Joshua Gill with the Lower Kuskokwim School District tells KYUK-AM that locals hired by the district typically stay longer and take less time to adjust than those from other areas. He says hiring local teachers provides stability for the students.
  That’s why the district is offering
  
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• Budget leaves ferry schedule as is, for now

  16-12-2016 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Passengers enjoy the scenery during a late summer fast ferry sailing between Sitka and Juneau. Budget cuts have reduced such runs. But the cuts may be leveling out. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  Gov. Bill Walker’s newly released operating budget requires no changes to the Alaska Marine Highway’s scheduled sailings.
  Walker’s spending plan for the fiscal year beginning in July proposes a $2.8 million, or 2 percent, budget cut.
  Spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said that came a
  
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• 1 hospitalized in early morning shooting, APD investigating

  16-12-2016 18:52
  
  One person underwent emergency surgery Friday morning after Anchorage police found him injured in the street following reports of gunshots.
  The Anchorage Police Department stated in a release that shots were reported around 2:30 a.m. Friday near Donna Drive in east Anchorage. A caller told police they heard a man screaming.
  When officers arrived on scene, they found the victim on Donna Drive near Sixth Avenue with a gunshot wound to his lower body, according to APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro.
  
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• Dimond High School hockey team already winners off the ice

  16-12-2016 17:54
  
  The Dimond Lynx don’t talk the talk, they skate the walk. As the Lynx ready for Friday night’s match with crosstown rival West, the evening will be about more than goals and saves. It will be about helping those in need.
  For a third consecutive year, the Lynx will be collecting donations for the Clare House in Anchorage which provides shelter for homeless women, their children as well as expectant mothers.
  “It’s a place where women can come in and they can stay here for u
  
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• Walker’s 2018 fiscal plan met with criticism from lawmakers

  16-12-2016 09:18
  
  Thursday, Gov. Bill Walker’s office unveiled a budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year. The plan, with a $4.2 billion operating budget and a $115 million capital budget, has three major components; spending cuts, restructuring the Permanent Fund, and new revenue.
  Spending Cuts
  The first piece of his puzzle is government reductions. In the next year, his budget would eliminate 400 jobs by December 2017, making a total of nearly 3,000 jobs cut since he took office. He also wants to req
  
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• Chinese leaders set 2017 economy plans amid trade pressure

  16-12-2016 07:42
  
  BEIJING (AP) – Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European governments over trade and market access.
  The government of President Xi Jinping has promised to make the economy more productive by giving market forces a bigger role. But reform advocates complain Beijing is doing too little to curb state industry. Foreign companies say regulators are trying to squeeze them out of technology and other promising field
  
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• Radio transmitters provide insight into winter waterfowl behavior

  16-12-2016 07:06
  
  About 1,500 mallards make Anchorage their home in the winter but biologists don’t know why.
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a new way to track the ducks to see where they go.
  For the first time, the birds are being outfitted with radio backpacks.
  “The radios also have a GPS component, so when we recapture the bird we can download the data and see where the bird went,” waterfowl biologist Mike Petrula explained.
  The open water at Chester Creek provides a home for hund
  
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• CDC: Deadly strep infection showing signs of decline

  16-12-2016 06:52
  
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says an outbreak of an invasive bacteria, that’s caused four deaths in Alaska, seems to be slowing down. CDC epidemiologist Emily Mosites, with the Arctic Investigations Program based in Anchorage, said the number of weekly cases they’re seeing in Anchorage is declining. In Fairbanks, Mosites said, they haven’t seen a new case since July.
  Since the strain of group A strep was detected in Fairbanks last February there hav
  
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• Alaska Regional opens community health clinic in Mountain View

  16-12-2016 06:36
  
  A health care clinic that opened last week in Mountain View is expected to fill a big need in the community.
  Alaska Community Health Clinic is operated by Alaska Regional Hospital. CEO Julie Taylor said the community has been lacking basic medical care for a long time. As a result, she said, many people in Mountain View end up in the emergency room of the hospital when they have a medical need.
  “You would be surprised at the number of patients we have in the hospital with things that, if t
  
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• Walker seeks Permanent Fund earnings for budget, but leaves gap

  16-12-2016 05:21 via ktoo.org
  
  Gov. Bill Walker spoke to reporters in June, announcing $1.29 billion in budget vetoes, including a $1,000 cap on the PFD. Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott is on the left. He aimed to enshrine changes to the Permanent Fund in state law through his new budget proposal. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Gov. Bill Walker proposed a state budget that again seeks to draw nearly $2 billion from Permanent Fund earnings, and cap Permanent Fund dividends. But Walker left an $890 milli
  
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• Convicted $514K Juneau thief could serve out her sentence at home

  16-12-2016 03:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Defense attorney Kevin Higgins and defendant Christena Leamer listen as District Attorney James Scott speaks during a sentencing hearing on Wed., Dec. 15. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  A Juneau woman on Wednesday was sentenced to serve a year in prison for running up over a half-million dollars in personal expenses on a Juneau business’s credit card. Among the various charges billed to Christena Leamer’s employer were over $112,000 on food, liquor, clothing and four-dozen flights to th
  
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• Yes, scientists say, Alaska wildfires linked to climate change

  16-12-2016 03:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Flames from the Funny River Wildfire flare up on May 24, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. The wildfire started unusually early in the season and burned nearly 200,000 acres on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion)
  2015 was a headline grabbing year for extreme weather events. Massive floods, extreme drought and low snowpack were seen around the globe. In Alaska, wildfires scorched over 5 million acres of land. Now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is
  
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• Fracking in Alaska: Who should weigh in?

  16-12-2016 03:39 via ktoo.org
  
  BlueCrest Energy Inc.’s operation in southern Cook Inlet. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is considering whether to solicit more public comment when companies want to use hydraulic fracturing. (Photo Courtesy/Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority)
  The state agency that oversees oil and gas drilling held a hearing Thursday on whether more public input is needed when a company wants to start hydraulic fracturing in Alaska. Environmental groups say this would allow
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: Tennys Owens made Anchorage her canvas

  16-12-2016 03:37
  
  Thursday, Anchorage’s premier art gallery Artique closed it’s doors for the last time, after 45 years in business.
  Artique is the love child of owner Tennys Owens.
  If the modern history of Anchorage could be painted on canvas, Tennys Owens and her husband, Tom, would be primary colors. The Air Force sent the young couple to Alaska in 1967; Tom Owens as a JAG attorney and Tennys Owens as an entrepreneur in the making.
  In 1971 she opened a 900 square foot space in Anchorage’
  
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• 6 Anchorage officers ‘justified’ for use of deadly force in Hillside standoff

  16-12-2016 03:27
  
  Six Anchorage Police Department officers have been cleared for their roles in the fatal shooting of a 69-year-old Vietnam veteran during a late-September days-long standoff, according to a letter from the Office of Special Prosecution to APD chief Chris Tolley.
  According to the letter, officers Jason Penman, Robert Wurst, Matthew Barth, Daniel Henegar, Seth McMillan, and Sgt. Steve Childers were all part of the response effort during a 48-hour standoff, in which Robert Musser barricaded himself
  
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• Celebrating cannabis: Anchorage’s first pot shop is open for business

  16-12-2016 02:38
  
  Mark Green poses after purchasing marijuana from Arctic Herbery in Anchorage on Thursday. He said he's been told pot would never be legalized in his lifetime. "I just proved all them naysayers wrong," he said.Jessica Stugelmayer / KTVA
  Anchorage hit a marijuana milestone on Thursday. Arctic Herbery is officially the first pot shop in the city to start selling cannabis over the counter. It’s something folks have been waiting for since Alaska legalized weed two years ago.
  While th
  
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• 1 dead in east Anchorage fire

  16-12-2016 01:23
  
  One person was killed in a late-Wednesday fire, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
  AFD assistant chief Alex Boyd said the agency was called to a fire on the 6900 block of Gemini Drive, in east Anchorage, at 11:15 p.m. Eleven units responded and were able to get the fire under control by midnight, Boyd said.
  Emergency responders took one person out of the home and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, according to Boyd.
  AFD did not say if the victim was a homeo
  
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• Don’t build the road, Walker says, citing state’s financial crisis

  16-12-2016 00:46 via ktoo.org
  
  The end of the road in Juneau on May 25, 2015. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh)
  Citing the state’s multibillion dollar financial crisis, Gov. Bill Walker announced Thursday that the state is no longer backing construction of the Juneau Access Improvements Project.
  The extension has been a perennially divisive issue for Juneau, Haines and Skagway.
  For years, state transportation officials backed an extension of the road along Lynn Canal about 50 miles north.
  It would end at the Katzehin River.&
  
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• Facebook unveils new plan to try to curb fake news

  16-12-2016 00:42
  
  Last Updated Dec 15, 2016 5:05 PM EST
  After months of public pressure, Facebook is announcing new steps it is taking to to curb the spread of fake news on the social network. The plan includes new tools to make it easier for Facebook users to flag fake stories, as well as a collaboration with the Poynter Institute, a highly respected journalism organization, to independently investigate claims.
  Here’s how Facebook says the new process will work:
  Facebook will rely primarily on individual
  
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• Walker proposes slashing 795 state jobs to cut budget

  16-12-2016 00:21
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Bill Walker is proposing to cut 795 state positions as part of a budget plan that includes use of earnings from Alaska’s oil-wealth nest egg and ultimately tripling state motor fuels taxes.
  Walker’s budget office says the governor’s overall budget plan, if implemented, would leave a budget deficit of nearly $900 million that would need to be closed with lawmakers’ help.
  The office says one issue being looked at is changing Alaska’s c
  
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