Anchorage news

• Where does a gorilla run for mayor? Juneau, of course.

  09-02-2017 23:16 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Erin Heist of Juneau talks with KTOO’s Matt Miller on Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, about an old rumor that she’d heard of a gorilla running for mayor. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  Southeast Alaska’s rainforest is home to several species of flora and fauna. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if some mysterious creature was hiding up in the mountains, rarely making its appearance known.
  And just maybe that creature had a political platform to run for the municipality’s top
  
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• Vlogger Cory Williams to be on ‘Naked and Afraid’

  09-02-2017 23:02
  
  Viral vlogger Cory Williams is set to be on Discovery’s “Naked and Afraid” reality show. On his YouTube channel, “LiveEachDay,” he’s been showing off how he has been preparing for his two weeks in an undisclosed, but possibly jungle setting.
  “I’m going to survive this. I’m going to do this for Alaska and really make everybody proud,” Williams added. For those unfamiliar with the set up of the Discovery show, two people are dropped into
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017

  09-02-2017 23:02 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/02/2017-02-09-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Highlights from day three of the Christopher Strawn homicide trial,
  Alaska Air Group’s stock hits an all-time high, and
  Oprah Winfrey plans a trip to Alaska.
  
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• Miss Alaska USA 2017: ‘I want to empower women’

  09-02-2017 22:57
  
  Miss Alaska and Teen Alaska USA were crowned last week and the pair are already getting ready with what they want to accomplish this year. That, and getting prepared for the national competition this summer.
  Alyssa London is Miss Alaska USA. She is a Tlingit entrepreneur and motivational speaker who grew up in Ketchikan. According to her website, she has worked with Microsoft, Nike and Stanford University, where she graduated from. She has a weekly radio show on KOAN as well, where she brings a
  
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• Woman killed in Tudor Road car crash

  09-02-2017 22:36
  
  Part of Tudor Road near the New Seward Highway was closed Thursday following a fatal crash. (Jared Mazurek / KTVA)
  Last updated at 12:47 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9
  A woman was killed in a late-Thursday morning car crash on Tudor Road, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
  Police said they were called to East Tudor Road and Shelikof Street at 11:18 a.m. In a release the agency wrote, “Initial indications are that a small Honda traveling westbound on Tudor crossed over the c
  
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• Presbyterian Church formally apologizes to North Slope Natives for denouncing culture

  09-02-2017 22:30 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Utqiagvik, the city formally know as Barrow, in 2014. ( Creative Commons photo)
  The head of the Presbyterian Church offeredan apology Wednesday to the Alaska Native people of the North Slope at in Utqiagvik.
  The idea is to start a process of healing by acknowledging that the Church, however well intended, was wrong, when it denounced the cultures of Native people, both in Alaska and across the nation.
  The Rev. Joe Reid is the pastor for the Utqiagvik Presbyterian Church, the oldest on the North
  
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• Latest oil tax credit bill off to a rough start in state House

  09-02-2017 22:16 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Rep. Chris Birch, R-Anchorage, argues over the debut of an oil tax credit bill, during a floor session of the state House, on Wednesday, February 8, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Last session, the fight over oil tax credits was one of the biggest questions lawmakers sought to answer.  And while they did manage to pass a bill, it focused on Cook Inlet. Now, many lawmakers are saying it’s time to look at the North Slope.  
  The messa
  
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• Strawn prosecution admits alleged murder weapon is still missing

  09-02-2017 21:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Dispatcher Erika Johnson testifies during the Christopher Strawn homicide trial on Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  The third day of the Christopher Strawn homicide trial on Wednesday featured the seating of the jury, opening statements, and the first piece of evidence presented at trial, a harrowing account of a terrified woman hiding in her trailer from a man she believed had just shot her friend.
  Christopher Strawn is standing trial in Juneau Superior Court on charges related to the
  
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• Recipe Box: Pasta Aglio e Olio

  09-02-2017 18:57
  
  No groceries in the fridge? No problem! We’re keeping things simple in this week’s Recipe Box and packing the flavor into a quick and easy comfort food.
  Anchorage writer Julia O’Malley shares her recipe for Pasta Aglio e Olio. It’s a traditional Italian dish that takes a minimal amount of time and effort to make.
  “Start to finish, it’s about 20 minutes,” O’Malley says, adding that there’s no trip to the grocery store needed. The recipe c
  
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• Weak and short La Nina fades away; climate shifts to neutral

  09-02-2017 17:52
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – La Nina, we hardly knew ye.
  U.S. weather forecasters said Thursday the cool flip side to the climate phenomenon El Nino has faded away.
  The La Nina episode lasted only four months and was among the weakest and shortest on record, coming on the heels of one of the strongest El Ninos, said Mike Halpert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
  La Nina, a cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns
  
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• It’s dome, sweet dome: Fox Hollow steps forward to handle new business

  09-02-2017 08:03
  
  Losing an indoor sports facility in some spots around the country would be a nuisance, though hardly a big deal. But not in Alaska. Not in winter. 
  With the collapse of The Dome last month also went a place many teams and leagues count on, especially during these harsher weather days. So how did a spot known for golf help the indoor soccer season?
  When owners of the Fox Hollow Golf Course opened their dome’s doors, folks realized they might not
  
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• Data portal gives Anchorage residents new access to information

  09-02-2017 07:30
  
  The Municipality of Anchorage launched a new website giving residents access to usable data about their community.
  It’s called the Open Data Portal and includes everything from crime statistics and homelessness numbers to restaurant and child care inspections, as well as property appraisals.The municipality put together the portal as a way to give people access to public information that was previously sometimes difficult to find. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said it will also be useful when maki
  
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• In annual address to lawmakers, Alaska chief justice urges caution with budget cuts

  09-02-2017 07:08
  
  Alaska’s Supreme Court is warning lawmakers that cutting too deep this session could have drastic and harmful consequences on the state’s court system. In his annual State of the Judiciary address, Chief Justice Craig Stowers urged lawmakers to take swift action on a long-term budget plan this year.
  Stowers said cuts made in the last two years have already taken a toll on the system, causing longer wait times for trials and judgments. Court employees have taken mandatory furloughs an
  
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• New oil tax bill sparks heated debate in Alaska House

  09-02-2017 07:02
  
  The Alaska House majority introduced a new bill Wednesday to scale back the state’s spending on oil tax credits — a cornerstone piece to a long-term fiscal plan, according to caucus leadership.
  The topic of credits pushed lawmakers into overtime in Juneau last year. Now, upon new introduction, lawmakers are headed towards gridlock with House Bill 111. The measure sparked a long and heated discussion in the House about who should sponsor it.
  Members of the House Republican minority, w
  
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• Alaska senator weighs in on Arctic Strategy

  09-02-2017 06:58
  
  Alaska’s junior senator says the country is finally starting to act like an Arctic nation with the release of the 2016 Arctic Strategy. The Department of Defense wrote the 17-page strategy, discussing how best to protect US interests in the region, given its challenging and changing climate.
  The strategy identifies 43 recommendations for infrastructure development. The two most important recommendations are building an Arctic port and more icebreaker ships, said Sen. Dan Sullivan.
  Accordin
  
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• Anchorage School District investigates Confederate flag photo

  09-02-2017 06:48
  
  The Anchorage School District is investigating a photo shared on social media that some people may find offensive. The photo, which is believed to have been taken inside Chugiak High School on Friday, shows several students posing with a modified Confederate flag that includes the silhouette of a woman in flames at the bottom.
  A screenshot of the original post, sent in by a KTVA viewer
  The text says, “If your (sic) offended… hah that sucks. That’s your problem.”
  Anc
  
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• St. George without water after reservoir damage

  09-02-2017 06:20
  
  The small Pribilof Island community of St. George is without water after ice damaged the village’s reservoir.
  Mayor Pat Pletnikoff said he believes an ice buildup during the last cold snap crushed on of the pipes leading to the 280,000-gallon tank.
  “When the water levels go down, the ice after it thaws a little bit comes crashing down on the inside of the tank,” Pletnikoff explained, noting there’s no insulation in the reservoir.
  The community had a similar problem three
  
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• APD: 2 men found in Mountain View with stab wounds, 1 charged with attempted murder

  09-02-2017 06:12
  
  An Anchorage man is facing an attempted murder charge after an altercation with another man ended with both men undergoing treatment for multiple stab wounds.
  Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad says the incident was first reported around 1:38 a.m. on Monday. Two calls came in reporting two injured men, one located on the 3100 block of Tarwater Avenue and another on the 3200 block of Peterkin Avenue.
  Police found 23-year-old Kevin Dyer on Tarwater Avenue suffering multiple stab wounds on his body, O
  
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• Anchorage’s first vote-by-mail election will not be in April as planned

  09-02-2017 05:51
  
  Anchorage’s municipal election is still a few months out, but April is approaching a little too fast for the municipality to roll out the new vote-by-mail system election officials planned to use for the first time this year.
  In March of last year, the Assembly approved voting by mail with the intention to start in April 2017.
  Deputy municipal clerk Amanda Moser said they still need two major pieces of equipment: a tabulator to scan the ballots and a machine to sort the envelopes. She said
  
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• Wasilla students heading to Washington DC for National Science Bowl

  09-02-2017 05:41
  
  For the fourth year running, students from Mat-Su Career and Technical High School won the regional U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl competition and will be heading to the nation’s capital for the finals.
  Captain Lucas Arthur says his five-person team gets together to practice at least once a week. While what’s in their heads is important, they say the biggest skill they work on is pressing the buzzer with speed and accuracy.
  Mat-Su Career and Technical High Schoo
  
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• Wasilla police find stolen items during home inspection

  09-02-2017 05:32
  
  Police are trying to identify the owners of stolen items found at a Wasilla property on Tuesday.
  The Wasilla Police Department and Palmer Probation Office conducted a inspection at 33-year-old Luke Douglas’ home on East Southview Drive around 10:25 a.m. after he allegedly violated his probation. During the inspection, they located a number of items that were reported stolen during recent local burglaries and thefts, a statement on the WPD Facebook page explained.
  The items seized from Doug
  
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• Troopers: Pilot injured in plane crash on the Kenai River

  09-02-2017 05:05
  
  Alaska State Troopers say a Sterling pilot was injured but survived a plane crash on the Kenai River Wednesday.
  Troopers, Central Emergency Services and Alaska State Parks personnel responded to the crash scene near Sterling just before 3 p.m., according to an online trooper dispatch.
  A Piper PA-18 plane crashed into a riverbank of the Kenai, injuring 27-year-old pilot Charley Tegerdine, troopers wrote. He was taken to and treated at Central Peninsula Hospital.
  “Tegerdine reported experien
  
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• Juneau’s proposed ‘camping ban’ could affect HUD funding

  09-02-2017 04:44 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The headquarters of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington in December 2006.(Creative Commons photo by David)
  An ordinance to ban the homeless from camping in the downtown core continues to generate controversy. Now there’s questions over whether a ban could affect the community’s access to federal housing dollars.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/02/170209-homeless-web.mp3There’s been a lot of outcry over a proposed ordinance that would ba
  
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• Alaska’s infrastructure report card probably not going on the fridge

  09-02-2017 03:35 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska scored a B- on its bridges, the state’s highest infrastructure grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers. (Photo by KDLG)
  Is Alaska on the honor roll for its energy grid and water systems? According to the American Society of Civil Engineers the answer is “no.” The professional organization graded Alaska’s infrastructure for the first time, releasing the report card on Tuesday. And while the state didn’t ace anything, it could always be worse.
  O
  
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• Senate confirms Jeff Sessions as Attorney General

  09-02-2017 03:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is sworn in before testifying during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his confirmation hearing last month to be attorney general. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc.)
  The Senate has confirmed President Trump’s nominee Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general, bringing an end to a bitter confirmation fight that has dredged up past accusations of racism against the Alabama senator.
  The vote was largely along party lines, 52-47, with only centrist
  
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• University of Alaska president addresses lawmakers after no-confidence votes

  09-02-2017 02:52 via ktoo.org
  
  The faculty senate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks voted no-confidence in University President Jim Johnsen’s leadership on Monday, Feb. 6. The vote followed the same move by the Anchorage faculty Jan. 13.
  Johnsen addressed the issue this morning at a meeting of the Senate Education Committee.
  After absorbing more than $50 million dollars in budget cuts over the past two years, Johnsen and the Board of Regents are in the process of consolidating the university’s administrat
  
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• Chief justice urges lawmakers to collaborate and compromise

  09-02-2017 02:50 via ktoo.org
  
  State Supreme Court Chief Justice Craig Stowers said Alaska’s courts are leading the way in cutting costs in a way that doesn’t threaten vital services.
  In the annual State of the Judiciary address Stowers gave Wednesday, he told lawmakers this Legislature has a chance to be remembered by history for addressing the state’s fiscal crisis. He said much is similar to the options they faced last year.
  “But things are different today in the sense that you h
  
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• Legislature considers new contract to sell royalty oil

  09-02-2017 02:48 via ktoo.org
  
  Pipelines stretch toward the horizon on NPR-A land leased by ConocoPhillips. The company announced it’s found 300 million barrels of recoverable oil nearby. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  The state gets the bulk of its royalties from oil produced on the North Slope in the form of oil rather than in payments from the producers.This week, lawmakers are considering a contract to sell some of that royalty oil to the  Alaska-owned refinery and fuel marketing compan
  
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• Senate confirms Sessions as U.S. attorney general

  09-02-2017 02:34
  
  Jeff Sessions was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next U.S. Attorney GeneralAlabama Sen. Jeff Sessions
  The U.S. Senate confirmed Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general on Wednesday.
  The 52-47 vote broke largely along party lines and capped weeks of divisive battles over Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and one of the Senate’s most conservative Republicans. Democrats laced into Sessions over his ties to Trump and his record on civil rights and immigra
  
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• UAS faculty offers support and criticism to university president

  09-02-2017 02:08 via ktoo.org
  
  President Jim Johnsen explains Strategic Pathways at University of Alaska Southeast’s Egan Lecture Hall Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)
  Lisa Hoferkamp is president of the University of Alaska Southeast Faculty Senate. She sent a letter to University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen that plainly said faculty have mixed feelings about Strategic Pathways – a cost-saving measure Johnsen launched last year and is spearheading.
  Johnsen has
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 2-9-17

  09-02-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes hosts.
  Kerry White, will be talking about the UAS School of Career Education programs coming up;
  Troy Quinn, music director for the Juneau Symphony,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 via ktoo.org
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: What the fog, Anchorage?

  09-02-2017 01:15 via ktoo.org
  
  Morning fog in Anchorage on Monday, Feb. 6th, 2017 (photo by Brian Brettschneider)
  This week we’re responding to a listener who asked: What the fog? Why has there been so much fog in Anchorage this winter?
  Anchorage has had a record amount of dense fog this winter. The main culprit is a dramatic temperature inversion between the mountains and the city. On average, it’s been nine degrees warmer on the upper hillside than in town.
  Since Dec. 1 Anchorage has seen 26 days of fog with vis
  
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• House bill would change Alaska oil tax credit system

  09-02-2017 00:50
  
  Democratic House majority members are proposing changes to an Alaska tax credit program that financially rewards oil exploration and production but is seen by critics as too pricey amid a multibillion-dollar state deficit.
  House Bill 111 was introduced on behalf of the House Resources Committee by co-chairs Geran Tarr and Andy Josephson, over the objection of minority Republicans.
  The measure would, among other things, raise the minimum oil production tax and eliminate the system by which the st
  
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