Anchorage news

• Kenai Peninsula Borough invocation policy challenge moves to federal court

  11-01-2017 23:49
  
  A lawsuit challenging a Kenai Peninsula Borough policy that restricts who can give invocations at assembly meetings is moving to federal court.
  The case originally was filed in state court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska. The organization is representing two Kenai Peninsula residents who say the assembly’s policy is discriminatory.
  To deliver an invocation under the policy, one must be a member of a religious organization with an established presence in the borough or a cha
  
  Read more

• U.S. puts first bumblebee on endangered species list

  11-01-2017 23:45 via ktoo.org
  
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the rusty patched bumble bee an endangered species — the first such designation for a bumblebee and for a bee species in the continental U.S.
  The protected status, which goes into effect on Feb. 10, includes requirements for federal protections and the development of a recovery plan. It also means that states with habitats for this species are eligible for federal funds.
  “Today’s Endangered Species listing is the best—and
  
  Read more

• Workforce Wednesday: Air Traffic Controllers

  11-01-2017 23:31
  
  A career as an air traffic controller comes with high stakes and potentially high wages. According to the Alaska Department of Labor it is one of the top jobs in the state, and is projected to grow.
  “The FAA is trying, nationwide, to hire between 1,300 and 1,700 controllers a year,” said Duane McQuillin, a training manager with Federal Aviation Administration.
  He added that the facility he works at is looking to have 115 air traffic controllers on site. They currently have 70.
  The De
  
  Read more

• Murkowski says repeal and replacement of Affordable Care Act should coincide

  11-01-2017 22:50 via ktoo.org
  
  
  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wants to slow the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/APRN)
  President-elect Donald Trump leaned on Congress on Tuesday to quickly get rid of President Barack Obama’s signature heath care law, which he called a catastrophe.
  Lisa Murkowski, though, is among five Republicans in the U.S. Senate sponsoring an amendment that would slow the law’s repeal.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170110-02.mp3“Trying to rush things through
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tanker truck wrecks, spills 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel

  11-01-2017 21:51 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The driver of a diesel-fuel tanker truck lost control of his rig Monday and wrecked in a remote spot on the Richardson Highway south of Paxson, spilling some 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
  Officials with Fairbanks-based trucking company Colville Transport and the state are trying to figure out a way to remove contaminated material from the area while allowing traffic to pass through the narrow, winding stretch of roadway.
  https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kuac/audio/2017/01/011117-tankerspill.mp3A dies
  
  Read more

• Scientists: Moon over the hill at 4.51 billion years old

  11-01-2017 20:58
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – It turns out the moon is older than many scientists suspected: a ripe 4.51 billion years old.
  That’s the newest estimate, thanks to rocks and soil collected by the Apollo 14 moonwalkers in 1971.
  A research team reported Wednesday that the moon formed within 60 million years of the birth of the solar system. Previous estimates ranged within 100 million years, all the way out to 200 million years after the solar system’s creation.
  The scientists conduc
  
  Read more

• Trump dismisses Russian connection allegations as ‘fake news’

  11-01-2017 20:40 via ktoo.org
  
  Trump: Buzzfeed is a “failing pile of garbage” for reporting the unverified Russian dossier. https://t.co/6EVCY1VVFT
  — NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) January 11, 2017
  President-elect Donald Trump denounced as “fake news” Wednesday reports that Russia had compromising information about him before the election.
  He also acknowledged for the first time that Russia was behind the hacking of emails from the Democratic National Committee, although he seemed to couch it later
  
  Read more

• After New Year’s storm, Savoonga asks state for disaster relief

  11-01-2017 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Mayor Myron Kingeekuk and a Red Cross employee survey storm-damaged homes in the community. (Photo by Davis Hovey/KNOM)
  In the final days of 2016, a Bering Sea storm battered St. Lawrence Island, causing wind and water damage to many buildings in Savoonga.
  The community declared a local disaster and asked for assistance from the state in order to restore their livelihoods.
  As of Friday, 30 residents are claiming storm damage to their homes or shelters, along with the community’s teen cente
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Three people stranded on trail to Levelock returned safely

  11-01-2017 19:33 via ktoo.org
  
  A search and rescue wrapped up Tuesday morning with three people returned safely to Levelock.
  Danielle Dobkins, Ivon Washington, and Paul Chukwak, all in their 40s, had made a trip to Naknek by four-wheeler Sunday morning, and had broken down on the return trip on Sunday evening.
  They were stranded near Coffee Creek, and called for help Monday when they realized no one else would be coming by.
  When contact with authorities by cell phone was lost, the trio decided to begin hiking the remaining di
  
  Read more

• Fukushima radiation yet, and unlikely, to affect Alaska seafood

  11-01-2017 19:26 via ktoo.org
  
  Sockeye salmon delivered in Bristol Bay. (File photo by KDLG)
  Alaskan seafood remains free of detectable Fukushima-related radiation, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
  The department along with other state, federal and international agencies has been testing Alaskan seafood since 2013.
  After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, food safety authorities, including the FDA, reported it would be highly unlikely that radiation would affect Pacific seafood in t
  
  Read more

• Walrus Islands designated as national historic landmark

  11-01-2017 19:13
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has designated 24 U.S. sites as new national historic landmarks, including one in Alaska.
  Jewell announced the designation Wednesday of Walrus Islands Archaeological District near Togiak.
  A department announcement says it’s one of the few remaining places with evidence of human occupation of the Bering Sea continental shelf when sea levels were substantially lower.
  Round Island, a haulout site for Pacific walrus, is one of the
  
  Read more

• Facebook unveils a new, limited journalism project

  11-01-2017 19:13 via ktoo.org
  
  Facebook is unveiling a new journalism project Wednesday. No, the Silicon Valley giant isn’t hiring a team of reporters. Facebook says it wants engineers — the tech talent at local and global publishers — to tag-team earlier on to develop technologies that make Facebook a more powerful platform to distribute news and discuss it.
  Facebook Live has become a visceral way to share breaking, even disturbing news — such as the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile, who was shot
  
  Read more

• Trump denies allegations of secret ties, collusion between campaign and Russia

  11-01-2017 17:17 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 9:24 a.m. ET on Wednesday
  Top U.S. intelligence officials have briefed leaders in Washington about an explosive — but unverified — document that alleges collusion between Russia and President-elect Donald Trump, NPR has learned.
  The brief, which NPR has seen but not independently verified, was given by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain to FBI Director James Comey on Dec. 9. Details from it have been part of presentations by Comey and other intelligence l
  
  Read more

• Bill would cut ferry costs, reinstate discharge rules

  11-01-2017 16:53 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Extra ferry life rings lean against other spare parts at the Ketchikan Marine Engineering Facility at Ward Cove. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  A Southeast lawmaker introduced a bill this week to help Alaska Marine Highway ferries meet state pollution-control rules. It would also exempt new ships from a law requiring a percent of construction spending go toward art.
  Senate Bill 3 is one of about 50 pieces of legislation prefiled by Alaska lawmakers Jan. 9.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws
  
  Read more

• Construction ramps up on Petersburg police station as deadline approaches

  11-01-2017 16:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart stands in the unfinished lobby near the front entrance of the new police department. (Photo by Angela Denning/KFSK)
  Petersburg’s Police Department is scheduled to start moving into the newly renovated municipal building by Jan. 17.
  Whether that deadline can be met is still unknown, but the department is looking forward to a much larger and more secure working space.
  http://kfsk-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/06policetour.mp3Outside the
  
  Read more

• Follow President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference live at 7 a.m. Wednesday

  11-01-2017 12:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore)
  KTOO is carrying live NPR coverage of President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday. It’s Trump’s first since the election.
  The event’s being held at Trump Tower in New York.
  The address will be followed by NPR analysis. You can live stream it here on KTOO, or tune in over the air.
  Related articles:
  President-elect Donald Trump will hol
  
  Read more

• Man found dead in wooded area in Juneau; identity unknown

  11-01-2017 08:34
  
  Authorities say a man has been found dead in a wooded area in Juneau, several hundred feet from a road.
  Juneau police say the man’s body was discovered by a hiker Saturday afternoon.
  Police say the body showed signs associated of being unattended in the woods. It wasn’t immediately clear how long the body had been there, and police say the man did not have any identification with him.
  Police estimated the man, an Alaska Native, was in his 20s or 30s and say he had distinctive tattoos
  
  Read more

• Obama Defends His Legacy As He Says Farewell: ‘Yes We Can. Yes We Did’

  11-01-2017 07:44 via ktoo.org
  
  President Barack Obama greets the crowd at his farewell address at McCormick Place in Chicago on Jan. 10, 2017.
  (Video still courtesy WhiteHouse.gov)
  President Obama reflected on the achievements of his eight years in the White House on Tuesday night, telling supporters in his hometown of Chicago that they were instrumental in helping him boost the nation’s economy, create his signature health care reform law and extend equal rights to more Americans:
  “If I had told you eight years a
  
  Read more

• Gov. Bill Walker hires political campaign consultant as special assistant

  11-01-2017 06:36
  
  You may soon see a young face by Gov. Bill Walker’s side, starting at the end of this month. Walker is hiring political consultant and campaign strategist John-Henry Heckendorn as his special assistant.
  The 26-year-old has worked in Alaska for five years and is the director of the political consulting firm Ship Creek Group. Heckendorn worked successfully to help several Democratic candidates reach state office during the November election, including Dean Westlake of Kotzebue, who won by a
  
  Read more

• Anchorage garbage collection goes high-tech

  11-01-2017 06:26
  
  The city’s Solid Waste Services is going high-tech when it comes to collecting trash. The utility recently installed computers on their garbage trucks.
  SWS director Mark Spafford said the paperless system is providing more information than ever before, which should be a benefit for customer service.
  The computers, along with GPS tracking, show where a driver has been and where they are headed. In addition, the computer records exactly when a can has been picked up and relays the informatio
  
  Read more

• How hair stylists could become allies in the fight against domestic violence

  11-01-2017 06:15
  
  Fifty percent of women in Alaska have experienced domestic or sexual violence in their lifetime, according to a report by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center. It’s a statistic the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA) has been working since 1980 to eliminate. Drawing inspiration from the state of Illinois, it may find allies in an unsuspecting place — hair salons.
  Hair salons are a little like Las Vegas — what happens in the salon st
  
  Read more

• Authorities say rabid dog brought to Anchorage from YK Delta

  11-01-2017 05:54
  
  A dog brought to Anchorage from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta has died after testing positive for rabies.
  State health officials say in a release that the dog had been in foster homes in both Bethel and Anchorage, but had limited contact with humans or other dogs.
  Officials have informed people who interacted with the dog. The animal had been kept quarantined after it was rescued, minimizing possible rabies exposure in both the delta and in Anchorage.
  Officials say residents should be aware of healt
  
  Read more

• Family fights to end heroin use one year after daughter’s death

  11-01-2017 04:19
  
  For Kathi Green, Jan. 10, 2017 marks one year since the worst day of her life. She learned early that morning an inmate had died in custody.
  “I watched the 6 o’clock news and they talked about an inmate dying in the Anchorage Jail but they didn’t have a name,” she recalled. “8:30 at night, my doorbell rings and that’s when I found out it was my daughter that died in the Anchorage jail.”
  Kellsie Green, 24, died from complications from a heroin withdr
  
  Read more

• Fort Lauderdale shooting raises questions about guns laws, mental illness

  11-01-2017 04:17
  
  In wake of the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, many people are questioning why someone who showed signs of psychiatric issues was allowed to have a gun.
  In November, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago Ruiz walked into the Anchorage FBI office to report that the CIA was controlling his mind. The FBI contacted the Anchorage Police Department, and in a press conference on Saturday, APD Chief Chris Tolley described the event as a “mental health crisis.”
  “APD transferred him to a mental
  
  Read more

• APD searches for man wanted on Alaska, Tennessee warrants

  11-01-2017 03:57
  
  Jessie Surgers IIICourtesy Anchorage Police Department
  The Anchorage Police Department says it is actively looking for 26-year-old Jessie Surgers III, who is wanted on a felony fugitive from justice warrant.
  In a Nixle alert, APD spokeswoman Renee Oistad said Surgers was classified as a violent offender in Tennessee, where another warrant has been issued for his arrest. She did not have information on his alleged crimes in Tennessee.
  Oistad said in an email that police believe Surgers is in Anc
  
  Read more

• CBJ Assembly Meeting – 1-9-17

  11-01-2017 03:36 via ktoo.org
  
  
  CBJ Meeting for 1-9-17http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/01/CBJ-01-09-17.mp3
  
  Read more

• Nominate an educator for this year’s BP Teachers of Excellence program

  11-01-2017 03:14
  
  For the past 22 years, BP has honored outstanding instructors all across Alaska through its Teachers of Excellence program. This year, the program will also be honoring the unsung heroes, or “educational allies” — people who aren’t teachers, like counselors or principals.
  Right now, BP is looking for nominations for both teachers and allies. According to Tara Stevens with BP, the program gets more than 1,000 nominations every year. Last year there were 30 winners, an
  
  Read more

• Alaskans to gather at vigils to remember those lost to addiction

  11-01-2017 02:47
  
  A year after the death of Kellsie Green, her parents and the nonprofit group R.E.A.L. About Addiction have organized three vigils in southcentral Alaska to remember her and others whose deaths are related to opioid or heroin use.
  Green died on Jan. 10, 2016 “from heroin withdrawal complications” in the Anchorage Correctional Center, according to a statement her father wrote on a Facebook event page for the vigils.
  “Kellsie’s mother Kathi and I know the pain and sorro
  
  Read more

• Alaskans gather at vigils to remember those lost to addiction

  11-01-2017 02:47
  
  With candles held high, dozens in Wasilla gathered to remember loved ones lost in heroin-related deaths.Among the list of names John Green read aloud was his daughter’s, Kellsie Green. She died from complications while detoxing from heroin in the Anchorage Correctional Complex. The vigil marked the one-year anniversary of her death. 
  “The answers that weren’t there for us, we want to be there for other families,” John Green said. “We know that Kellsie’s s
  
  Read more

• JPD seeks help identifying body found near Gastineau Avenue

  11-01-2017 02:34 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau Police Department wants help identifying a dead man discovered near an avalanche chute above Gastineau Avenue on Saturday.
  Police report the man is an Alaska Native in his 20s or 30s with distinctive chest and arm tattoos, according to a Juneau police news release He did not have any identification.
  A hiker reported finding the body that afternoon and led Juneau police to the area, about 500 feet from the roadway.
  It’s unclear how long he’d been dead. The bo
  
  Read more

• Travel Tuesday: National Plan Your Vacation Day

  11-01-2017 02:03
  
  Planning a vacation at the last minute can be daunting, as can figuring out how to use all those vacation days. Luckily there’s a day set aside to plan for both and it’s coming up soon — National Plan Your Vacation Day is on Jan. 31.
  But why plan for a vacation so early on in the year? Visit Anchorage representative Julie Saupe said the beginning of the year is the time to start thinking about how to use the vacation days people hold onto.
  “Even though Jan. 31 is a c
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon – 1-11-17

  11-01-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Wednesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon,Andy Kline will be here to talk about Beer Week;
  Joy Lyon and Jordon Nigro will be here to discuss the screening of the film, Resillience;
  We’ll get the details about the KRNN Spotlight Series concert, Gamble and the High-Costa Living
  And get an update on Eaglecrest!
  That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, today on A Juneau Afternoon, live at 3 on KTOO-News, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on demand on-line at ktoo.org
  
  Read more

• Warming oceans could boost dangerous toxin in your shellfish dinner

  11-01-2017 01:49 via ktoo.org
  
  West Coast crab fishermen just ended an 11-day strike over a price dispute. But a more ominous and long-term threat to their livelihood may be on the horizon. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found a link between warming ocean conditions and a dangerous neurotoxin that builds up in sea life: domoic acid.
  Seafood lovers got a glimpse of that threat in 2015, when record high ocean temperatures and lingering toxic algae blooms raised the domoic acid in shellfis
  
  Read more

• Treacherous conditions hospitalize two in separate accidents in Kodiak

  11-01-2017 01:26 via ktoo.org
  
  Two injury accidents in two days have occurred along one stretch of often-icy road in Kodiak.
  A Kodiak teenager was injured Sunday evening when his car crashed near the Coast Guard Base.
  Devan Monkiewicz, 18, was driving Sunday on Rezanof Drive West when his car left the roadway and crashed in a ditch near Mile 9, Alaska State Troopers said.
  The engine compartment of his 2007 Subaru burst into flames.
  Monkiewicz was wearing a seat belt in the crash, but was found unconscious when
  
  Read more

• KTVA Weather Lab: Russian Jack Elementary School

  11-01-2017 01:13
  
  In this week’s KTVA Weather Lab, I visited Russian Jack Elementary School, where the third-graders are learning all about how weather is made.
  I also answered the KTVA Weather Lab Question of the Week: How do you know if there’s going to be a rainbow?
  Next week I’ll answer a weather question from Ravenwood Elementary School.
  Every Tuesday, Melissa Frey will take the KTVA Weather Lab to a classroom in our community. If you have a weather question for Melissa or would like h
  
  Read more

• Update: Missing boy found hiding in bedroom of his home

  11-01-2017 01:02
  
  The missing boy, Abudikal. (Anchorage Police Department)
  Last updated at 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10
  A 3-year-old boy reported missing from his home Tuesday afternoon has been located and is safe.
  Officers searched the are near the boy’s home on E. 20th Ave for about an hour after he was first reported missing at around 2 p.m.
  He was hiding in a bedroom of the house the entire time, according to a family member at the scene.
  “The missing 3-year-old has been located and is safe,&rdq
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!