Anchorage news

• Plane crash passengers found alive on west side of Cook Inlet

  31-01-2017 23:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Three people walk away after their Cessna 180 crashed near a ridgeline landing strip in the vicinity of the Chakachatna River in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, Jan. 30, 2017. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60T Jayhawk crew transported the three to Anchorage International Airport. (Photo by U.S. Coast Guard)
  Three people aboard a plane that crashed near the Kenai Peninsula on Sunday have been found.
  A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak located the plane
  
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• Walker seeks money for Medicaid payments, other costs

  31-01-2017 23:49
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is requesting about $110 million in additional spending for the current year.
  The request, from Walker’s budget office, includes state and federal dollars.
  One of the biggest costs is for Medicaid provider payments, stemming from problems that state had with its payment system. The budget office says system problems have been fixed but the state health department is playing catch-up in making payments.
  Additional funding is sought for suc
  
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• Two fires, same downtown Juneau house

  31-01-2017 23:47 via ktoo.org
  
  Structure fire on Basin Road late in the evening of Jan. 30. (Photo courtesy Randy Burton)
  A dog died, but no people were reported as seriously injured after a structure fire broke out just before midnight Monday in downtown Juneau.
  Fire Marshal Dan Jager said the two-story house with an apartment at 623 Basin Road was a total loss.
  Jager said the fire appears to have started on the first floor near a kitchen, but the cause is still undetermined.
  Three adults who lived in two separate residences
  
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• First of 911 calls from Florida airport shooting released

  31-01-2017 23:40
  
  Esteban Santiago in courtRichard Miller
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A terrified girl trapped in a janitor’s closet and a Delta flight crew hiding inside a briefing room are among those who called 911 during the Florida airport shooting spree that killed five people and wounded six others.
  Broward Sheriff’s Office released the first batch of calls Tuesday. The FBI is still reviewing others that will be released later.
  An operator tells a male caller at a bar to take cover and
  
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• Jeff Sessions vote: Democrats delay Judiciary Committee vote on attorney general nominee

  31-01-2017 23:38
  
  Last Updated Jan 31, 2017 2:11 PM EST
  Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee used an obscure Senate rule to delay the committee vote on Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions.
  After Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave lengthy speeches opposing Sessions for several hours Tuesday, chairman Charles Grassley said the vote would be delayed until Wednesday. Sessions is expected to be approved by the panel.
  Through those lengthy speeches, Democrats were able to trigger
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017

  31-01-2017 23:29 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/01/2017-01-31-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  A fire destroys a two-story downtown home and kills a pet dog,
  the Alaska Department of Transportation is offering the ferry Taku to local governments and other state governments at no cost,
  the city harbormaster is in the process of clearing inoperable boats from harbors for safety and commercial reasons, which is displacing live-aboards,
  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski hasn’t decided if she’ll back Pre
  
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• Trump’s immigration order ‘not a ban on Muslims,’ Homeland Security chief says

  31-01-2017 23:27 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET
  Homeland Security officials are defending the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration and refugees, along with its implementation.
  At a news conference Tuesday, DHS Secretary John Kelly said the order creates a “temporary pause” as officials “assess the strengths and the weaknesses of our current system.” He was adamant in saying that the order “is not — I repeat — not a ban on Muslims.”
  The controversial
  
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• Recipe Box: Saltine Salmon

  31-01-2017 23:11
  
  Some Alaskans aren’t even halfway through their fish supply from this summer’s catch. That surplus of salmon can make it hard to come up with new meal ideas, says Anchorage writer Julia O’Malley.
  This week, O’Malley adds a dose of inspiration to our Recipe Box, courtesy of her cousin, Tanya.
  “She fishes the Copper River and she had an entire giant freezer full of salmon,” said O’Malley. “And she just came up with this recipe on the spot,
  
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• State transportation department seeks takers for ferry Taku

  31-01-2017 21:58
  
  The state of Alaska trying to unload a 350-foot ferry it no longer needs.
  The state transportation department is offering the Taku at no cost to local governments or other state agencies in Alaska that might want it for a public purpose. Statements of interest are due Feb. 21.
  If there’s no interest, department spokeswoman Meadow Bailey says there will be a public sale.
  Bailey there’s no dollar figure attached to the Taku yet. If there’s a sale, Bailey says there may be a minim
  
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• Travel Tuesday: Family fun on board the Valentine train

  31-01-2017 21:54
  
  Think outside the box and show the family some love with the Alaska Railroad’s Kid’s Valentine’s Day train. Act quickly though, because tickets sell out fast according to Meghan Clemens, the railroad’s marketing manager. Clemens mentioned the event train is a way to make new family memories and see more of Alaska.
  “There’s going to be a balloon artist on there, a magician, there will be live music,” Clemens said.
  She added that the ride will be around tw
  
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• KTVA Weather Lab: Chugiak Elementary School

  31-01-2017 21:49
  
  In this week’s KTVA Weather Lab, I visited Chugiak Elementary School, where the second- and third-graders in Mrs. Flagg’s class are learning all about what it means to be good weather observers.
  I also answered the KTVA Weather Lab Question of the Week: What is the difference between mostly cloudy and partly cloudy?
  Next week I’ll answer a weather question from Bear Valley Elementary School.
  Every Tuesday, Melissa Frey will take the KTVA Weather Lab to a classroo
  
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• How will climate science in Alaska fare under Trump? No one knows yet

  31-01-2017 21:37 via ktoo.org
  
  “[Climate change] is real. It is happening. We can see it out our windows,” said John Neary, who heads the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center “And we’ll continue to say that. But we’ll say it in an engaging, positive way that connects people instead of just infuriates people.” (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Federal agencies and scientists both inside and outside government endured a roller coaster of a week as President Donald Trum
  
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• Reintroduced wood bison shot, killed near southwest Alaska village

  31-01-2017 21:22
  
  A wood bison reintroduced in interior Alaska was found shot to death near the village of Quinhagak.
  Alaska Wildlife Troopers are investigating the illegal kill.
  Original Alaska wood bison were last seen in the 1920s. They are a larger species than plains bison.
  The Department of Fish and Game reintroduced 130 wild wood bison in 2015 along the lower Innoko and Yukon rivers using animals from Canada.
  The animal killed Friday was a young cow that had wandered and extensively explored the Yukon, Kus
  
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• Anchorage-area power companies announce agreement to reduce costs

  31-01-2017 19:53 via ktoo.org
  
  Chugach Electric in Anchorage is one of three utilities announcing a preliminary agreement to work together to reduce power costs. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Three electric utilities serving the Anchorage area — Chugach Electric Association, Municipal Light & Power and Matanuska Electric Association– on Monday announced a preliminary agreement to work together to provide lower-cost power.
  Though not finalized, the agreement makes it easier for the ele
  
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• Juneau looking to clear harbors of inoperable boats

  31-01-2017 17:38
  
  Juneau officials have begun removing boats from city harbors after identifying dozens of boats that have not moved in years.
  The Juneau Empire reported Sunday that city Harbormaster David Borg started a campaign to clear harbors of inoperable boats in August.
  A few owners were given orders to prove their boats could move under their own power or leave the harbor. Two owners have shown their boats are operable and three have been impounded.
  City code requires boats to leave the harbor three
  
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• Delta offers change fee waiver for customers affected by computer outage, delays

  31-01-2017 08:01
  
  Following a systemwide outage Sunday, Delta Airlines is working on getting their customers to their destinations.
  The outage, which began around 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, led to delays for a number of flights in the U.S., according to a company statement. Roughly 170 flights were canceled by Sunday night, followed by another 110 on Monday. Other cancellations were possible, the company added.
  As a result, the company says affected customers will be able to make changes to their itineraries&nb
  
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• Dimond’s Pili takes his game all the way to ‘La La Land’

  31-01-2017 07:25
  
  Brandon Pili is going to Hollywood. 
  The Dimond High School Lynx football star is also part of an Alaska trend — Anchorage-area kids being recruited by Division I programs. Three have declared in the past couple of weeks.On Monday, Pili reaffirmed his commitment to the University of Southern California, one of the traditional powers in the sport. He narrowed his choices down to USC, the University of Notre Dame — another program with stron
  
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• Protesters urge Senator Murkowski to deny secretary of education nominee

  31-01-2017 06:48
  
  Hundreds of people gathered outside Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Anchorage office on Monday to protest President Donald Trump’s secretary of education nominee.
  “We are Alaskans, represent us!” the group chanted.
  Alyse Galvin, a co-founder of Great Alaska Schools, said she organized the protest because she thinks Betsy DeVos is unqualified for the position. She’s concerned about funding for public education going to private schools instead.
  “Particularly where we have
  
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• Murkowski votes to move secretary of education nominee to full Senate vote

  31-01-2017 06:48
  
  Updated at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31
  An Alaska senator has voted to move President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, to be confirmed by the full Senate.
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski released a statement Tuesday after the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to refer DeVos’ nomination for the consideration by the Senate.
  “I voted to move Betsy DeVos out of the HELP Committee because I have long held the belief that a Preside
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: Will the refugee ban make us safer?

  31-01-2017 06:39
  
  Consider the iPhone. Who could imagine a computer for your pocket?
  Mine started blowing up on Friday with news of President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt the U.S Refugee Resettlement program until our country’s vetting process is improved.
  We witnessed the protests across America as we detained refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, as well as permanent visa holders who currently live in the U.S.
  Some asked why there wasn’t a warning and grace period befor
  
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• Walker speaks out for first time on president’s refugee ban

  31-01-2017 06:26
  
  In Juneau, a group of protesters Monday morning pressed Gov. Bill Walker to speak out on President Donald Trump’s executive order, which temporarily bans refugees from seven countries from entering the U.S.Organizers collected more than 100 signatures on a letter to the Walker, urging him to break his silence on the issue. Speaking for the first time publicly since the order was issued Friday, Walker said he is concerned about how the ban might affect Alaskans, adding that he is consu
  
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• ‘This is not acceptable’: Alaska Muslims react to travel ban

  31-01-2017 06:14
  
  President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the country’s refugee program and restricting travel to seven Muslim-majority countries is drawing criticism from Alaska’s Islamic community. 
  “Don’t divide the people. That’s the message,” said Asha Artan, who arrived in the U.S. in 2002 after leaving Somalia and living in Yemen and Syria — three of the countries affected by the executive order.Artan became an American citizen in 2010 a
  
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• Juneau lawmaker introduces income tax for legislative lobbyists

  31-01-2017 05:51
  
  A Juneau legislator introduced an income tax bill Monday, but only for lobbyists.
  Rep. Sam Kito’s House Bill 91 would levy a 2.5 percent income tax on the annual earnings of legislative lobbyists. The measure would replace the state’s current $250 registration fee.
  Kito said the money raised from the tax will support the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which oversees the activity of candidates, political groups and lobbyists.
  “That’s where I’m concerned is that we
  
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• Major southcentral Alaska utility companies sign power pooling agreement

  31-01-2017 05:26
  
  Three of southcentral Alaska’s major electric companies announced on Monday that they’ve signed a power pooling agreement, which will impact tens of thousands of customers.
  The agreement is between Chugach Electric Association, Municipal Light and Power and Matanuska Electric Association. It allows the different utilities to buy and sell power to each other when it’s more economic than generating their own.Power pooling agreement announced today saves $12-16 million annually fo
  
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• Some Anchorage residents say they support Trump’s refugee ban

  31-01-2017 05:07
  
  Anchorage residents took to the streets Sunday night to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration. About 200 people marched downtown, including Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.On Monday morning, a smaller crowd took to the capitol building’s steps in Juneau to voice opposition to the plan to temporarily ban refugees and immigrants from coming to the country. But despite the emotion the issue has generated, not all Alaskans are voicing opposition to the president
  
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• Trump fires acting attorney general

  31-01-2017 04:04
  
  President Donald Trump has fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she announced she would not defend his controversial immigration order.
  Sally Yates. (Photo: U.S. Department of Justice)
  He is naming Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve in her place.
  The White House press office says in a statement Monday that Yates “has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States
  
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• Troopers: Suspect in custody following Chenega Bay man’s death

  31-01-2017 03:04
  
  Alaska State Troopers say a Chenega Bay man is dead and another man is in custody for his involvement in the death.
  On Saturday, someone from the small town, located on an island east of Seward in southcentral Alaska, called Soldotna troopers to report they had found 42-year-old George Eleshansky dead in his home, AST spokesman Timothy DeSpain wrote in an online dispatch.
  Troopers from Seward responded and secured the scene until Alaska Bureau of Investigation personnel arrived, DeSpain wro
  
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• Trump fires acting attorney general for refusing to defend immigration order

  31-01-2017 02:33 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 9:40 p.m. ET
  President Trump has fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, concluding she has “betrayed the Department of Justice” by refusing to defend his executive order that imposes a temporary ban on refugees and visa holders from seven majority Muslim countries.
  In a statement, the White House called Yates, an Obama administration holdover with 27 years of experience prosecuting corrupt public officials and the man who bombed the Atlanta Olympic park, “weak on
  
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• Justice Department won’t defend Trump’s immigration order

  31-01-2017 02:33 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 8:15 p.m.
  Acting Attorney General Sally Yates has instructed Justice Department lawyers not to defend President Trump’s executive order restricting travel and immigration from many Muslim-majority countries, telling them she is not convinced it is lawful.
  Yates is a holdover from the Obama administration until Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, is confirmed by the Senate, which is expected to happen this week.
  She made clear she has doubts ab
  
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• Idaho legislature moves to nip ‘sanctuary cities’ in the bud

  31-01-2017 02:14 via ktoo.org
  
  The red-blue divide on immigration is on prominent display in the Northwest Monday.
  The state attorneys general of Washington state and Oregon are denouncing the Trump administration for its order limiting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.
  Meanwhile, Idaho legislators took the first step to require local police to assist the federal government on immigration enforcement.
  The Idaho legislation echoed an executive order from President Trump last week to crack down on so-called “sa
  
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• Local residents lead the change to more renewable energy in the Arctic

  31-01-2017 02:11 via ktoo.org
  
  Wind turbines hover over diesel tanks in Kasigluk in March 2016. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Village Electric Cooperative)
  Isolated communities across the Arctic are looking at relying more on renewable energy. A new program aimed at helping rural areas make that transition is starting this month. Instead of bringing in experts, Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy, or ARENA, is relying on local residents to lead the change. 
  George Roe says ARENA is largely a knowledge sharing program focus
  
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• Juneau Afternoon 1-31-17

  31-01-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Tuesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon,Get an update on Library activities with Andi Hirsh;We’ll learn about the Shrine’s Adopt-A-Garden program;Patricia Wherry will be here with details of the upcoming Beginning Birding classGeoff Kirsch will be here to highlight Saturday’s Montessori’s fundraiser;TMHS digital arts teacher Janna Lelchuk will be here to talk about TMHS Digital Media student awards.And we’ll hear Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more.Live at 3 on KT
  
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• Alaska congressional delegation avoids criticizing refugee ban

  31-01-2017 01:43 via ktoo.org
  
  (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a statement on President Donald Trump’s controversial refugee ban that avoids both endorsement and criticism.
  Meanwhile, Sen. Dan Sullivan said he supports the president’s order, and Rep. Don Young issued a supportive statement but did not make an outright declaration of support for Trump’s action.
  Some 200 people protested against the ban in Anchorage on Sunday.
  Murkowski said Trump has made it clear &ld
  
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• Boy Scouts will allow transgender children into programs

  31-01-2017 01:25
  
  DALLAS (AP) – The Boy Scouts of America says it will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys only programs.
  The organization announced Monday that it had made the decision to base enrollment in boys only programs on the gender a child or parent lists on the application to become a scout. The organization had previously held a policy that relied on the gender listed on a child’s birth certificate.
  A spokeswoman for the organization says it made the decisi
  
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• Justice head tells staff not to defend Trump refugee order

  31-01-2017 01:14
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a Democratic appointee, says she’s directed Justice Department attorneys not to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugees.
  Yates said in a memo Monday that she is not convinced that Trump’s order is lawful, or that its defense is consistent with the department’s obligation to “always seek justice and stand for what is right.”
  Yates was appointed deputy attorney general by President
  
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• Evidence suggests harmful algae blooms impact species from humans to whales

  31-01-2017 01:10 via ktoo.org
  
  A beached fin whale in the upper Knik Arm on June 21, 2016. (Photo by Christopher Garner/JBER biologist)
  There is growing evidence that harmful algae blooms have widespread health impacts on everything from humans to whales.
  When fin whales were found floating dead in Alaska’s oceans and stranded on beaches last year, some researchers suspected that toxic algae blooms might have been responsible.
  According to Nicholas Pyenson, a paleo-biologist and curator of the Smithsonian Natural Histor
  
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• Kodiak Search and Rescue advises caution when walking lakes

  31-01-2017 00:42 via ktoo.org
  
  Temperatures around Kodiak dropped for a while, but have recently risen again, and lakes may not be as hockey-ready as they once were.
  That means people need to exercise caution before they venture onto seemingly frozen bodies of water.
  Dicky Saltonstall, a member of Kodiak Island Search and Rescue, said there are pretty strong sheets of ice on the lakes. He says the recent snow and rain could contribute to that if the slush on the surface freezes and bonds with the ice beneath it.
  “A
  
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