Anchorage news

• North Slope oil companies ask lawmakers for stable tax laws

  02-02-2017 23:49 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Geran Tarr and Rep. Andy Josephson, Anchorage Democrats and co-chairs of the House Resources Committee hear testimony from oil and gas industry representatives on Wednesday Feb. 1, 2017 in Juneau. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  A state House committee heard testimony Wednesday afternoon from the big three North Slope oil producers. ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and BP representatives gave several members of the House Resources Committee their perspectives on how the st
  
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• Rust delays ferry Matanuska’s return

  02-02-2017 23:39 via ktoo.org
  
  The ferries Matanuska, right, and Fairweather, left, dock at Juneau’s Auke Bay terminal May 20, 2016. The larger ship is delayed in its return to service after an overhaul. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska News)
  The ferry Matanuska will take 10 days longer than expected to return from repairs.
  The ship, which sails Southeast waters, was scheduled to resume service Feb. 10. Instead, it will return to its route Feb. 20.
  The Matanuska has been out of service since Jan. 4 for its annual ov
  
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• More than 70 arrests in North Dakota as pipeline detractors weigh legal action

  02-02-2017 23:07 via ktoo.org
  
  More than 70 people were arrested on Wednesday afternoon near the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, as Western lawmakers expressed opposing views on the future of the $3.8 billion project.
  The Morton County Sheriff’s office said it had arrested approximately 76 people who were camping on land the sheriff’s department said was privately owned, north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and south of the pipeline’s proposed crossing under the Missouri
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017

  02-02-2017 23:05 via ktoo.org
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/02/2017-02-02-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Big Oil representatives tell state legislators to stop changing the oil and gas tax regime,
  state health leaders warn that last year’s Medicaid reforms may be jeopardized by a repeal of the Affordable Care Act,
  the University of Alaska Southeast and Juneau Docks and Harbors vie for an old NOAA facility on Auke Bay, and
  a high wind warning is in effect for the Juneau area until 3 p.m. Saturday.
  
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• Cumbersome process slows rate for examining sexual assault kits

  02-02-2017 22:37 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Michelle Collins demonstrates how to use one of the machines that processes DNA samples. (Photo by Anne Hillman/Alaska Public Media)
  A recent legislative audit of the state’s Crime Lab said the facility isn’t meeting its target speed for processing sexual assault response team kits, which include biological evidence gathered after an alleged sexual assault.
  A scientist at the lab explained that the process is complicated.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170201-07.mp3Forensic biology
  
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• Iditarod could move back to Fairbanks for a third time

  02-02-2017 22:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Teams began the journey to Nome from the re-start at Willow Lake in Iditarod 44. (Photo by Ben Matheson/Alaska Public Media)
  The Iditarod may once again be moving to Fairbanks.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170201-01.mp3Though the decision has not been made, low snow conditions along difficult parts of the trail are prompting officials to consider moving the race’s re-start from Willow to Fairbanks, as they did in 2015, and for a first time in 2003.
  According to the Iditarod Trail Commi
  
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• Unknown flusher interrupts Marijuana Control Board meeting

  02-02-2017 21:40
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Everyone’s had a bad conference call experience when someone who dialed in puts the call on hold, and loud holding music makes it impossible for the call to continue.
  The Alaska Marijuana Control Board had a bit of that and a sound of a different sort during its meeting Thursday.
  Someone who had dialed in to the meeting in Juneau flushed a toilet.
  About 40 people were on the line, including enforcement officer James Hoelscher from Anchorage.
  During his report, m
  
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• Choose your trail: A guide to Nordic ski trails in Anchorage

  02-02-2017 21:24
  
  Did you know that Anchorage has 136 kilometers (84.5 miles) of groomed trails, especially for cross country skiing? The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage grooms and maintains these trails each year. There’s a trail for every skill level — from flat, smooth trails for beginners, to steeper trails with tight turns for the more advanced. The trails are open day and night and are marked by maps at the trailheads. Yellow dots on the maps indicate lighted trails. If you’re out e
  
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• Mat-Su Borough School Board moves forward with controversial bid process that could lead to layoffs

  02-02-2017 21:18
  
  In front of a packed room Wednesday night, the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) voted 4 to 3 to move forward with a widely criticized request for proposal (RFP).
  The district is heading into the next fiscal year with an almost $10 million deficit. In an effort to minimize cuts inside the classroom, the school board has decided to look into outsourcing nutrition and custodian jobs.
  MSBSD estimates outsourcing the services could save up to $4.3 million. By voting to move forward with th
  
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• Lawmakers consider protecting ‘ballot selfies’ as part of free speech

  02-02-2017 21:15 via ktoo.org
  
  
  I Voted Today stickers may not be the only popular form of social media expression for voters if an Alaska measure passes. A measure going though the Alaska House could add so-called ballot selfies to recognized forms of political speech. House Bill 7 is sponsored by state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka. (Photo by Maggie Schoenfeld)
  In Alaska it’s illegal to “exhibit” a picture of a marked ballot. Sharing a ballot selfie isn’t a criminal offense 
  
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• At a safe distance: Monitoring remote volcanoes from remote locations

  02-02-2017 20:40 via ktoo.org
  
  Dave Schneider, a research geophysicist with the USGS, explains how volcanoes around the state can be monitored remotely by satellite from the AVO Operations Room in Anchorage. (Photo by Eric Keto/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Across Alaska there are monitoring instruments on 31 of the most active volcanoes, but there’s nothing on the one that’s erupting now.
  Bogoslof volcano is on a tiny uninhabited island in the middle of the Bering Sea. Since mid-December, Bogoslof has erupted more
  
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• 3 February event’s you can’t miss events with 907Life

  02-02-2017 20:28
  
  People looking to fill out their social calendar this month with awesome events need to look no further. 907Life.com’s Phil Crawford joined Daybreak Thursday morning with a breakdown of his top three events for February.
  First is the biggest contest in all of American football. Super Bowl 51. There will be a huge party at the Williwaw, featuring food and fun. And a 10 foot high definition screen to catch the Atlanta Falcons play the New England Patriots. That starts Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. at Wil
  
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• National Signing Day sees Alaska athletes chart a new course

  02-02-2017 19:35
  
  Wednesday was the day a signature would change the lives of high school athletes from across Anchorage.
  For a group of West High School football players, while the decision had been made, it wasn’t official until they signed.
  Justin Tovio, Rapi Sotoa, and Manase Así all signed on a paper with the same seal — Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU).
  “We didn’t want to face the fact that we go our separate ways, we didn’t think that was the time, so we sat down lo
  
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• Shee Atika Corp. shareholders seek change amid money trouble

  02-02-2017 18:58
  
  SITKA, Alaska (AP) – Shareholders of a Sitka corporation formed under the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act have expressed concern about the financial stability of the organization.
  The Sitka Sentinel reported Wednesday that about 100 Shee Atika Corp. shareholders met over the weekend to share their grievances.
  One of them, CeeJay Johnson of Washington state, says the group wants Shee Atika CEO Ken Cameron to step down. She also called for more transparency in board affairs and says
  
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• Iditarod Trail Committee considers race restart move

  02-02-2017 18:46
  
  Here we go again. For the second time in three years, the famed Iditarod sled dog race to Nome could officially begin in Fairbanks.
  In a press release sent out late-Wednesday afternoon, the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) outlined what could ail this year’s race — a lack of snow on a notoriously difficult stretch of trail.
  While Anchorage, the home of the ceremonial start slated for March 4, and Willow, the traditional site of the restart, are expected to be fine in terms of snow
  
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• Oil companies defend tax credits to new Legislature

  02-02-2017 06:55
  
  The Alaska House majority is calling for changes to the state’s current oil tax credit system. On Wednesday, members of the oil industry got a first chance to defend their use of the credits before the new House Resources Committee.
  The Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) and several companies, including oil giants BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, warned lawmakers that changing the system could have a harmful effect on production and the economy.
  “The current system is bringing i
  
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• Alaska Senate takes lead on reforming SB 91

  02-02-2017 06:37
  
  Members of the Alaska Senate are taking the lead on changes to a major overhaul of the criminal justice system lawmakers passed last year, Senate Bill 91.
  Legislators who supported the measure at the time said they knew it would need fixing later. On Wednesday, Senate leadership outlined what that work would look like.
  A report by the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission recommends 14 changes to SB 91, ranging from technical tweaks to larger-scale adjustments. Because SB 91 became law last Ju
  
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• AEDC: Continued job loss expected, but businesses feeling confident in 2017

  02-02-2017 06:22
  
  At a time of financial hardship, 1,500 Anchorage business members gathered Wednesday to hear the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation’s (AEDC) predictions for 2017.
  AEDC president Bill Popp said Anchorage lost 2,700 jobs in 2016 and is expected to lose another 2,200 jobs in 2017. That’s a total of three percent of all jobs.
  “That’s a lot,” Popp said. “It hurts. It’s a pinch. But it’s not as bad as we saw back in the 1980s when we saw 10 perce
  
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• Kenai plane crash victim shares his family’s story of survival

  02-02-2017 06:08
  
  Three people were rescued after their plane crashed earlier this week. Pilot Josh Smith had his 72-year-old father-in-law and 12-year-old daughter on board with him during the incident.
  He’d only been home one day after being rescued, but Smith was already writing his list of thank yous. The list of people who helped rescue him and his family is longer than he can even grasp.
  “Everybody stepped up, and it’s quite a quite a humbling experience to see your who
  
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• Anchorage teen among Alaska students to sing at Carnegie Hall

  02-02-2017 05:39
  
  For many musicians, performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City is one of the highest honors. Anchorage Christian Schools junior Jaelyn Singleton will have a chance to take the prestigious stage this weekend.
  She’s one of three high school students from Alaska selected for the Honor Performance series.
  “It’s honoring and humbling for me to be able to go,” Singleton said.
  For her, music is a way to bring people together.
  “I love how it can connect your emotions
  
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• King Career Center students launch doggie day care

  02-02-2017 05:33
  
  If you are in the market for a haircut or a nail trim, students at a local Anchorage high school can help, provided, of course, that you’re a dog.
  The King Career Center (KCC) has offered a course in veterinary science for a while, but very recently students there have branched out. The school has launched a doggie day care that’s open to the public.
  Veterinary science teacher Vanessa Forbes was behind the idea. She said the program offers full- and half-day slots, as well as a host
  
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• In Soldotna, women recovering from addiction will soon have new home

  02-02-2017 05:09
  
  There’s a two-story building on Shady Lane that, on any given day, is filled with the sounds of construction — drills boring holes, hands hauling sheetrock, saws slicing plywood. It’s been like that for a little over a month now, as volunteers have been revamping the inside of the former day care center in Soldotna. Left vacant for years, a sign recently posted to the outside of the building reads, “Freedom House future home.”
  “A lot of them are here
  
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• ACA repeal could complicate Medicaid reforms

  02-02-2017 04:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Valerie Davidson, commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services in 2015. She’s concerned about the effect of an Affordable Care Act repeal. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  State health leaders say a federal repeal of the Affordable Care Act could make it difficult to implement reforms to Medicaid. That could cost the state the tens of millions of dollars that lawmakers are counting on.
  Many of the reforms the Legislature included in the Medicaid law it passed
  
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• UAS, Juneau Docks and Harbors vie for former NOAA lab on Auke Bay

  02-02-2017 04:56 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The federal government is offloading some prime real estate on Auke Bay and both the city of Juneau and University of Alaska Southeast are making strong cases to receive it. The former NOAA Fisheries Auke Bay Marine Station is currently occupied by the Coast Guard, though that arrangement expires this spring. Now both UAS and the Juneau Docks and Harbors have put in competing proposals to take it over.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/02/170202AUKEBAYLAB-WEB.mp3There are differing vis
  
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• Man accused of Alaska rape indicted for Nevada sex assault

  02-02-2017 04:56
  
  A 38-year-old man previously charged with raping a woman and holding her captive for weeks in an Alaska cabin is now accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Las Vegas motel in 2004.
  Daniel Lloyd Selovich. Courtesy Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
  A grand jury indicted Daniel Selovich, also known as Pirate, on one count of sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon.
  The Las Vegas victim told police she was raped and beaten by a man who broke into her motel room.
  Selovich’s attorne
  
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• Juneau man appears in court after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend

  02-02-2017 04:56 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau man arrested for an alleged knife assault against his girlfriend on Tuesday will likely remain behind bars until his next court hearing.
  Brent Sanders, 26, appeared in Juneau District Court for a first felony appearance on Wednesday afternoon to face a single charge of attempted murder and two charges of felony assault. He will be required to enter a plea during a later court hearing.
  District Attorney James Scott called Sanders a “profound threat to the community” and not
  
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• Juneau police arrest man for allegedly stabbing woman in the head, back

  02-02-2017 02:42
  
  A 26-year-old Juneau man is in custody for allegedly stabbing a woman in the head and back, according to police.
  The Juneau Police Department identified the stabbing suspect as Brent Sanders Wednesday, the day after the attack on Cinema Drive in Juneau.
  The stabbing was reported around 1:35 a.m. Tuesday. When officers responded, they “located a 37 year old female victim with a knife sticking out of the side of her head and multiple stab wounds to her back,” according to a statement f
  
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• Rex Tillerson confirmed, sworn in as secretary of state

  02-02-2017 02:13
  
  The Republican-led Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Wednesday. He was later sworn in by the president in the Oval Office.
  Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve Tillerson’s nomination to be the nation’s chief diplomat.
  Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson’s nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post.
  Sen. Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relati
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 2-2-17

  02-02-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes hosts.
  She’ll talk with Alaska’s Writer Laureate, Ernestine Hayes;
  We’ll learn about North Razor Clams with Kat O’Brien;
  Chef Stef, featured artist at the Juneau Artist’s Gallery, will be here to highlight her art;
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with art news during Arts Up.
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on demand
  
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• Alaska House weighs Indigenous Peoples Day

  02-02-2017 01:54
  
  Columbus Day would be known as Indigenous Peoples Day in Alaska under legislation being considered in the state House.
  Columbus Day, which falls on the second Monday in October, is a federal holiday but not a state holiday.
  For the last two years, Gov. Bill Walker has proclaimed that day to be Indigenous Peoples Day. Democratic Rep. Dean Westlake of Kotzebue hopes to make that designation permanent with House Bill 78.
  On Wednesday, the House voted down an effort to move the date for the proposed
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Calculating wind chill, then and now

  02-02-2017 01:08 via ktoo.org
  
  The National Weather Service wind chill formula changed in 2001, altering record breaking wind chills from the 1989 cold snap.
  The wind chill dropped to -77 in Arctic Village last week. That’s the coldest wind chill recorded this winter in a populated spot in Alaska. Seventy-seven below may sound bitterly cold, but climatologist Brian Brettschneider says its not even close to record territory.
  “The record in Alaska, and for any populated place is -100 and that occurred in January 198
  
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• Investigation into crash leads to murder, DUI charges

  02-02-2017 01:04
  
  Last updated at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1
  The Anchorage Police Department has arrested a 25-year-old Anchorage man and charged him with murder as the alleged driver in a Sept. 25, 2016 fatal collision.
  The single-vehicle collision took place on the Glenn Highway at the McCarrey Street overpass, claiming the life of a passenger, Thomas Shetters. Police announced the case update on Wednesday following Jesse Stutzke’s arrest.
  Initially, police did not name the driver, but on Tuesday repo
  
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• Alutiiq language documentary almost complete

  02-02-2017 00:24 via ktoo.org
  
  A screen grab from the “Keep Talking” teaser. (Courtesy of Ten Trees Productions)
  A documentary team just came to Kodiak to screen its Alutiiq language film and get feedback.
  “Keep Talking” covers the revitalization of the Alutiiq language on the island, and records the effort of passing the language down from elders to the younger generation.
  Director Karen Weinberg said the idea started in Kodiak, when she flew in from Chicago to teach a weeklong editing class.
  &ld
  
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• Whale Pass vote certified; voters OK new city on Prince of Wales Island

  02-02-2017 00:15 via ktoo.org
  
  The results are final and residents of Whale Pass have approved the incorporation of Alaska’s newest second class city.
  The small community on Prince of Wales Island voted this winter on forming a new city government.
  Residents also elected seven people to a new Whale Pass City Council.
  The state’s division of elections counted 46 ballots and certified the results Jan. 19. The final count had nearly three-quarters of the ballots in favor of incorporation.
  That makes Whale Pass the 11
  
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• Two people sustain minor injuries in two-vehicle crash in Ketchikan

  02-02-2017 00:04 via ktoo.org
  
  Two people were treated for minor injuries following a two-vehicle crash about 6 p.m. Tuesday on North Tongass Highway.
  The accident took place at the intersection of North Tongass and Pond Reef Road, according to the online Alaska State Troopers dispatch report.
  A 65-year-old Ketchikan woman in a Ford Escape was making a left turn onto Pond Reef, and crossed in front of a southbound Chevy pickup driven by a 62-year-old Ketchikan man.
  The vehicles collided, and the Escape rolled over, ending up
  
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