Anchorage news

• Homer students to compete in state robotics championship

  09-01-2017 23:52 via ktoo.org
  
  As part of the competition, the middle-schoolers program their Lego robot to perform a series of missions on a tabletop arena. (Photo courtesy of
  Marj Dunn)
  This winter, a group of middle-schoolers at West Homer Elementary are putting aside hockey sticks and skis in favor of a more unusual team sport: building robots.
  The group of 10 sixth-graders calls themselves the “Brickheads.”
  They competed against more than 20 teams from across the state at the First Lego League Robotics State
  
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• Bean’s Cafe fundraiser will highlight local soup recipes

  09-01-2017 23:26
  
  Bean’s Cafe is hosting its Empty Bowl Project again this year. The fundraiser showcases soup recipes submitted by local residents. The only caveat is that the soup recipe has to include dried beans. Executive director Lisa Sauder says they’ll get between 25 to 30 submissions, and more than 1,200 people will attend the various events.
  Bean’s Cafe will narrow down the submissions to four final soups, then take those on a soup roadshow. People will have the chance to tas
  
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• Newscast – Monday, Jan. 9, 2017

  09-01-2017 22:46 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/01/2017-01-09-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Some pre-filed bills for the upcoming legislative session are out,
  U.S. wildlife officials have released a plan to get threatened polar bear numbers back up, and
  Anchorage officials walk through what the know about the shooter in the Ft. Lauderdale airport attack and his ties to Alaska.
  
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• Anchorage serial rapist sentenced to 70 years in prison

  09-01-2017 22:44
  
  Clifford Lee
  An Anchorage man who plead guilty to raping eight women over a 13-year period was sentenced to serve 70 years in prison on Monday. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Paul Olson said Clifford Lee was a serious offender with little prospect for rehabilitation.
  Lee agreed to a plea deal with the state after his arrest in 2014. As part of the deal he confessed to raping one woman in 2005, another in 2010 and six more in 2014. The crimes were consolidated into two counts of first degree sexu
  
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• Alutiiq Museum director of operations to take job in Minnesota

  09-01-2017 22:15 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alutiiq Museum’s director of operations is moving on.
  Alutiiq Museum Director of Operations
  Marnie Leist is movnig to Minnesota to take a position as executive director of the Brown County Historical Society. (Photo courtesy of the Alutiiq Museum)
  Marnie Leist has been in Kodiak for 11 years, and looks back to when she first arrived to the island.
  She said she got a master’s degree in art history and museum studies, and the only position she applied to following graduation w
  
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• New city dock in Chignik Bay nearly complete

  09-01-2017 22:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Construction is continuing on the new city dock in Chignik Bay. The roughly $11 million project has been the top capital improvement project for the Lake and Peninsula Borough, and should be ready in plenty of time to receive the Ferry Vessel Tustamena when it starts the Aleutian run in May.
  For years the “Trusty Tusty” has tied up at the privately owned Trident Seafoods dock in Chignik Bay.
  That dock was in need of repairs, some of which the city and borough agreed to pay for, but t
  
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• Kodiak home a loss after sunday morning blaze

  09-01-2017 22:04 via ktoo.org
  
  A Kodiak home was declared a total loss after a fire early morning Sunday.
  An occupant at 1521 Baranof Street called 911 just before 1:30 a.m. and reported that the home was on fire and everyone had gotten out, according to an announcement from Kodiak Fire Department Chief James Mullican Jr.
  Four fire units were dispatched from the fire department, with two more from Bayside and the Coast Guard.
  However, according to the release, the intensity of the fire and the co
  
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• Trump names son-in-law Jared Kushner as White House senior adviser

  09-01-2017 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Donald Trump has named his son-in-law to a top White House job.
  Jared Kushner will serve as a senior adviser to the president, and the transition team says he will work with incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon “to execute President-elect Trump’s agenda.”Best News of the Day. Trump Son-in-Law Jared Kushner to Be Named Senior White House Adviser https://t.co/GGmpeUq2oA
  — Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) January 9, 2017The announcemen
  
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• Cutter SPAR disabled during rescue mission

  09-01-2017 21:51 via ktoo.org
  
  The Coast Guard Cutter SPAR is safe at its home port at Coast Guard Base Kodiak after a high seas adventure over the weekend.
  The fishing vessel Lady Gudny experienced engine trouble Thursday night and became disabled nearly 300 miles south of Kodiak.
  The SPAR got underway to provide assistance, and as it prepared to take the Lady Gudny under tow Friday afternoon, the towline snapped and became entangled in the SPARS propellers, subsequently disabling it.
  The four crewmen from the Lady Gudn
  
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• Troopers thwart attempted alcohol importation to Elim

  09-01-2017 21:41 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska State Troopers thwarted two attempts to import alcohol to the community of Elim over the weekend.
  Troopers seized an estimated total of 10 liters of alcohol in Nome Sunday, Jan. 8, in two separate incidents: one, an estimated 7 liters, the other about 3 liters.
  Airline passengers believed to be involved in the alcohol smuggling attempts were traveling from Nome to Elim, a local option community where alcohol sales and importation are banned.
  Suspects have been identified.The total number
  
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• Bills to restore dividend among those filed before session

  09-01-2017 21:31
  
  Bills to restore the portion of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends vetoed last year by Gov. Bill Walker have been filed ahead of the start of the legislative session.
  Other legislation released Monday includes a bill that faltered last year that would provide survivor benefits for families of peace officers and firefighters.
  Proposed, too, are bills that would let voters post selfies with their marked election ballots and would bar state or federal agencies from helping implement any federal direct
  
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• Interim manager decision on Haines Assembly agenda

  09-01-2017 21:25 via ktoo.org
  
  A new Haines interim borough manager may be in place by next week.
  The Assembly is scheduled to appoint someone to the interim manager position at a meeting Tuesday.
  Two candidates have put their names in the running: Borough Public Facilities Director Brad Ryan and former Juneau manager Dave Palmer. Ryan has also offered to take on the permanent manager position. Haines resident Debra Schnabel is another candidate for the long-term job.
  The Assembly fired former manager Bill Seward in a 4-2 vot
  
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• Even in darkest months, solar power proves to be viable option for Alaska

  09-01-2017 20:24
  
  Anchorage is in its darkest days of the year, but the solar panels at the Ridgeline Terrace housing development in Mountain View are still taking in rays.
  That sunlight is converted into electricity to power the development’s dozens of apartments and condominiums. However, some people still aren’t sold on the process of harnessing heat from the sun, says Daniel Delfino with Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC).
  “There’s a common perception that there has to be a sunn
  
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• Obama says goodbye this week, but his message hasn’t always gotten through

  09-01-2017 20:20 via ktoo.org
  
  Even before Barack Obama moved into the White House, he and his team made a choice that made actually selling his policies to the public more difficult.
  In December 2008, Obama’s economic team gathered in Chicago to map out what would become the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
  “A dispute, discussion, something breaks out at that meeting. We haven’t even come in yet,” said Austan Goolsbee, a professor at the University of Chicago, who was a top economic adviser in
  
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• The Latest: Airport shooting suspect makes court appearance

  09-01-2017 19:57
  
  The Latest on the suspect in the Florida airport shooting appearing in court (all times local):
  12:05 p.m.
  The Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting five people and wounding six at a crowded Florida airport baggage claim briefly appeared in federal court Monday in Fort Lauderdale.
  U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle explained the charges 26-year-old Esteban Santiago faces and told him the death penalty could apply during a 15-minute hearing Monday morning.
  Security was tight outside the co
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 1-9-17

  09-01-2017 18:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Monday at 3 on a Juneau Afternoon,.
  We’ll talk with Ben Huff about this year’s Alaska Positive, now on display at the Alaska State Museum;
  We’ll talk with M K MacNaughton about her art classes;
  Sarah Schafer will be here to highlight the upcoming KTOO/TAKU Fisheries Seafood Festival;
  And Jordon Nigro will offer an update of the Zach Gordon Youth Center.
  Tune in at 7 p.m. for a live broadcast of the CBJ Assembly, with your host, Martha Moore.
  
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• Juneau officer cleared in shooting, returns to full duty

  09-01-2017 05:21 via ktoo.org
  
  A Juneau officer who shot a man he believed was armed will be able to return to full duty.
  The Juneau Empire reports Juneau Police Department Sgt. Chris Gifford had been on desk duty since shooting Jeremie Shaun Tinney.
  A report by Assistant Attorney General June Stein says Gifford fired his weapon believing that Tinney had a long rifle pointed in a shooting position.
  The object was not a rifle.
  Stein’s report says Gifford was legally justified to use deadly force.
  Tinney was treated at a
  
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• TMZ releases video it says depicts Florida airport shooting

  09-01-2017 05:20 via ktoo.org
  
  TMZ has released video footage that the website says shows the initial seconds of the deadly airport shooting in Florida last week.
  The 20-second recording posted onto TMZ’s website shows a man walking through the baggage claim area at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The man then pulls a handgun from his waistband, starts firing and runs.
  TMZ does not say where it obtained the video, although it appears to be from a surveillance camera.
  Esteban Santiago is facing federal charges in the afterm
  
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• Even with increased airport security vulnerabilities remain

  09-01-2017 05:20 via ktoo.org
  
  Since the 9/11 attacks, American airports have taken steps to keep travelers safe. But significant vulnerabilities remain.
  The attack that killed five people Friday at the Fort Lauderdale airport raises concerns about how to further protect travelers and what place firearms have in U.S. airports.
  Authorities say Iraq war veteran Esteban Santiago retrieved a handgun from his checked luggage, went to a bathroom to load it and then returned to the baggage claim area to open fire.
  Transportation sec
  
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• Some Bizarre Black Holes Put On Light Shows

  09-01-2017 04:59 via ktoo.org
  
  An artist’s rendering of a black hole that’s 2 billion times more massive than our sun. Streams of particles ejected from black holes like this one are thought to be the brightest objects in the universe.
  ESO/M. Kornmesser
  People think of black holes as nightmare vacuum cleaners, sucking in everything in reach, from light to stars to Matthew McConaughey in the movie Interstellar. But, in real life, black holes don’t consume everything that they draw in.
  “They’re act
  
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• Baghdad Racked By A Spate Of Suicide Bombings In Shiite Areas

  09-01-2017 04:59 via ktoo.org
  
  Several bombings tore through Iraq’s capital city just hours apart on Sunday. The attacks in and around Baghdad, which are believed to have primarily targeted Shiite Muslims, killed more than two dozen people and left dozens more wounded.
  Early Sunday in Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite suburb, Iraqi government officials say an attacker drove a car rigged with explosives into a large fruit and vegetable market.
  “A soldier at the gate of Jamila market opened fire on a suicide car bom
  
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• Hamas calls for escalation after Israeli soldiers killed in Jerusalem truck attack

  09-01-2017 04:50
  
  A truck rammed into a group of Israeli soldiers who were disembarking from a bus in Jerusalem on Sunday, killing four people and wounding 15 others, Israeli police and rescue services said.
  Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the truck veered off course and rammed into the group in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood. She said the attacker was shot dead.
  Visiting the attack site, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was strong evidence the attacker was a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq
  
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• Petersburg advisory committee may try again for brown bear hunt

  09-01-2017 04:31 via ktoo.org
  
  A brown bear spotted near Crescent Lake in August 2014. (Creative Commons photo by Nathanael Coyne)
  Petersburg’s Fish and Game Advisory Committee might try again to propose a fall hunt for brown bears on the islands around Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake. The committee this month discussed ways to convince the state Board of Game to look more favorably on the proposal.
  In 2015, the Board of Game voted down several proposals to open a fall brown bear hunt in the area. Petersburg’s Fish
  
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• Capital City Fire/Rescue says don’t walk on thin ice

  09-01-2017 04:28 via ktoo.org
  
  Avoid thin ice. That’s the first piece of advice. But if you do fall through and find yourself in ice water, Capital City Fire/Rescue Engineer Jayme Johns wants you to keep a cool head.
  “Stay calm. It is very hard to stay calm, especially in that water, it’s going to take your breath away,” Johns said. “If you remain calm, your chance of survival is a lot better for rescue to come get you if you’re still conscious.”
  He relayed this to a full audito
  
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• Doctor: Late winter flu increase possible

  09-01-2017 04:27 via ktoo.org
  
  (Creative Commons photo by WFIU Public Radio)
  The flu season in Alaska appears to be mild so far, but Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer warns that cases could peak later this winter.
  This year’s flu season is off to a mild start, though there was an uptick of cases reported nationwide and in Alaska during the last two weeks of the year.
  Dr. Jay Butler is Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer.
  “It’s not been a terrible year for flu,” Butler said. “We began to see a
  
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• Juneau officer cleared in December shooting of unarmed suspect

  09-01-2017 03:58
  
  A Juneau police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a shooting that injured a Juneau man in December. The assistant attorney general investigating the shooting said the officer reasonably believed he was acting in self-defense.
  The shooting occurred around 4:20 a.m. on Dec. 3, when Sgt. Chris Gifford and officer Darin Schultz attempted to apprehend a suspect at an Ocean View Drive crash scene. The suspect, 38-year-old Jeremie Tinney, was the driver of a vehicle that police sa
  
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• Troopers: Driver, passenger killed in 3-vehicle collision in Wasilla

  09-01-2017 02:17
  
  Alaska State Troopers have identified two people killed in a Wasilla collision Friday.
  Troopers responded to the crash at the intersection of Knik Goose Bay Road and Compass Drive just before 3 p.m., trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in an online dispatch. One vehicle had crashed into the back of a Saturn SL sedan that was attempting to turn left. The impact forced the Saturn into oncoming traffic, where a Dodge truck crashed into it.
  The Saturn’s driver, identified as 36-ye
  
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• Crew member of disabled fishing vessel recounts rescue by US Coast Guard

  09-01-2017 00:22
  
  Last updated at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8
  The Coast Guard says four people have been safely airlifted from a disabled fishing vessel in heavy seas Friday.
  Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Colclough said the initial call came early Thursday from the fishing vessel, Lady Gudny, asking for more fuel filters.
  A helicopter crew attempted to deliver extra fuel filters but rough seas with 10 to 22 foot waves inhibited the Lady Gudny from retrieving them, according to Colclough.
  The Coast Guard released
  
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