Anchorage news

• Anti-fluoride group hopes to collect enough signatures for April ballot initiative

  07-01-2017 19:21
  
  If you’re wondering whether fluoride in your drinking water is safe, the answer you get will depend on who you ask.
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognize fluoridation of water as a cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay, but a group of Anchorage residents believes it’s unsafe and leads to serious health problems.
  Dustin Darden, the co-sponsor of a petition to get the fluoride issue on the April ballot,
  
  Read more

• Anchorage airport police discuss security in case of shooting

  07-01-2017 08:09
  
  Accused Ft. Lauderdale shooter Esteban Santiago Ruiz, of Anchorage, started his journey to the Lower 48 on Delta’s red-eye flight from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to Minneapolis, then he continued on to Florida. When he arrived, authorities say, he shot and killed five people and wounded eight others.
  Now, Anchorage airport police say they’re reminded that a shooting like the one in Ft. Lauderdale could happen anywhere, even in Anchorage.
  “The fir
  
  Read more

• Inside the Gates: A soldier serving on skis

  07-01-2017 07:34
  
  The National Guard has a biathlon team with a winning track record on the international stage. An Alaska National Guardsman is part of that team, serving his country on skis.
  Spc. Tadhg Nakada didn’t know biathlon was even an option when he signed up for the Guard until a commander saw him in action.
  “I did really well on the PT test and he asked me if I ever skied before and I’ve been skiing my whole life,” said Nakada. “Now, I’m doing this as my job.”
  
  Read more

• Crafting friends start project for hospitalized children

  07-01-2017 06:37
  
  An unlikely friendship sparked at American Legion Post 35 in Wasilla.
  Jennifer Hudson, 25, works there as a bar tender and when she met 71-year-old Pat Buchanan they hit it off.
  “We found out we feel pretty much the same thing about everything. She’s kind of like a little clone, a little mini-me clone,” Buchanan said.
  Despite a nearly 50 year age difference, Buchanan and Hudson say they bonded right away over their love for crafting and Hudson’s incredible ability to croc
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• AFD: Cause of Alpine Apartments fire under investigation

  07-01-2017 05:58
  
  Last updated at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6
  Nineteen units with the Anchorage Fire Department responded to a blaze at the Alpine Apartments Friday evening, according to AFD’s deputy chief Jodi Hettrick.
  The active fire was reported at 7:18 p.m. According to Hettrick, the fire was on the third floor of one of the buildings, located at 5410 Mockingbird Drive, which was evacuated.  After the blaze was out, AFD Capt. Mark Stephens said the two-alarm fire originated in the stairwell.
  
  Read more

• AFD battling active fire at Alpine Apartments

  07-01-2017 05:58
  
  Nineteen units with the Anchorage Fire Department are responding to a blaze at the Alpine Apartments, according to AFD’s deputy chief Jodi Hettrick.
  The active fire was reported at 7:18 p.m. According to Hettrick, the fire is on the third floor of one of the buildings, located at 5410 Mockingbird Drive, which has been evacuated. Hettrick was unable to immediately say which building the fire is in, as the Alpine Apartments are a multi-building complex.
  Hettrick said there were initial repor
  
  Read more

• Sentencing hearing begins for Anchorage serial rapist

  07-01-2017 04:26
  
  The state is calling Clifford Lee one of the worst serial rapists in recent memory. Sentencing began Friday for Lee, an Anchorage resident who admitted to raping eight women over 13 years.
  Lee was arrested in 2014, the year police say he raped six women. He accepted a plea deal from the state, agreeing to plead guilty to two consolidated counts of first -degree sexual assault in exchange for a lighter sentence. On Friday, assistant district attorney Jenna Gruenstein asked the judge to put L
  
  Read more

• Ferry sailings canceled after high wind forecast

  07-01-2017 04:05 via ktoo.org
  
  The ferry Aurora sails from Juneau’s Auke Bar terminal. (Gillfoto/ Wikimedia Commons)
  Weekend ferry service from Juneau to Haines and Skagway has been disrupted by windy conditions in Lynn Canal.
  Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said scheduled sailings for the ferry Aurora on Friday and Sunday were canceled after forecasts for high winds.
  “Those high winds bring with (them) freezing spray and that provides danger to the life rafts on that vessel,” Wo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lawyers enter not guilty pleas for 3 men accused in Christmas Eve double homicide

  07-01-2017 04:00
  
  Three men accused in a Christmas Eve double homicide in Anchorage’s Mountain View neighborhood appeared in court Friday.
  Lamarkus Jayqwann Mann, 22, Jaylyn Franklin, 19, and De Anthony Malik Harris, 19, are charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree murder.
  Franklin has also been charged with tampering with evidence.
  Attorneys for the three defendants entered not guilty pleas on all charges.
  Danielle Brooks, 32 and Chris
  
  Read more

• Newtok asks: Can the U.S. deal with slow-motion climate disasters?

  07-01-2017 03:13 via ktoo.org
  
  Newtok is asking for ongoing erosion and thawing permafrost to be qualified for federal disaster relief from FEMA. Village relocation coordinator Romy Cadiente spoke with reporters about the effort to relocate the village, Aug. 15, 2016. (Photo by Eric Keto/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  The village of Newtok has requested a federal disaster declaration from President Barack Obama to address ongoing erosion and thawing permafrost. It’s one of the first tests of whether the nati
  
  Read more

• Anchorage man in custody for Fort Lauderdale airport shooting

  07-01-2017 03:07 via ktoo.org
  
  The FBI said an Anchorage man opened fire at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport this morning. The Broward County Sheriff’s office said Esteban Santiago, 26, killed five people and wounded eight others.
  Santiago was taken into custody at the airport, allegedly after he ran out of ammunition.
  Santiago served in the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, Army Reserves and Alaska Army National Guard.
  Spokeswoman Candis Olmstead said he received a general discharge from the Alaska Army National Gu
  
  Read more

• Entangled humpback whale rescued off Prince of Wales Island

  07-01-2017 02:28 via ktoo.org
  
  A group of local good Samaritans banded together this week to help a humpback whale that had become tangled in a barge anchor cable off Prince of Wales Island.
  A tangled humpback whale was rescued by a group of Ketchikan good Samaritans this week. (Photo by Oscar Hopps)
  Oscar Hopps, of Ketchikan-based Alaska Commercial Divers, said the whale was discovered by Olsen Marine crew members on Wednesday.
  “Apparently, what had happened is the humpback whale had been feeding in the Nutkwa Inlet fo
  
  Read more

• Remote Alaska volcano erupts again in brief explosion

  07-01-2017 00:54
  
  An active Alaska volcano has erupted again, this time sending a cloud of ash and ice 35,000 feet in the air.
  The Alaska Volcano Observatory said the explosion from the Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutian Islands occurred Thursday and lasted about five minutes.
  Observatory geophysicist Dave Schneider says there have been more than 10 eruptions since mid-December.
  Thursday’s eruption prompted the observatory to issue its highest alert for aircraft. But the Federal Aviation Administration says t
  
  Read more

• News conference: Juneau police sergeant justified in December officer-involved shooting

  07-01-2017 00:06 via ktoo.org
  
  A Juneau police sergeant who shot at a Juneau man on Dec. 3 was found justified in the incident, according to Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson.
  The state Department of Law and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Johnson discussed the results at a news conference this afternoon and walked through the incident with dash cam video, eyewitness cell phone video and audio recordings of the incident.Police were investigating a car crash early th
  
  Read more

• Live: Juneau police hold news conference on officer-involved shooting in December

  07-01-2017 00:06 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau police is holding a news conference Friday afternoon in regards to updates in the Dec. 3, 2016, officer-involved shooting.
  
  Read more

• Mic Check in the Morning: Caroline Cotter

  07-01-2017 00:05
  
  Singer-songwriter Caroline Cotter uses her world travels as inspiration for her folk songs. Cotter was joined by Michael Howard and performed for a Mic Check in the Morning.
  The duo will be playing a show at Taproot on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m.
  Two years ago, Cotter quit her day job after releasing her first album, “Dreaming as I Do,” according to her website. It topped out at No. 5 on the Folk Charts in February 2015. Since then, she’s been on the road touring in Europe and the U.S.,
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!