Anchorage news

• Mic Check in the Morning: WindSync

  24-02-2017 23:40
  
  WindSync is a classical wind quintet from Houston, Texas that plays classical selections from memory. Because of that, they are able to engage their audience in a way that no other classical quintet can, according to the biography on their website.
  They have created a name for themselves by not only playing classical music, but also modern pop-rock hits from artists like Radiohead.
  The quintet will be in Anchorage Friday, Feb. 24 for one show at the Discovery Theater in Downtown Anchor
  
  Read more

• Mushers compete for record purse of $100,000 in Fur Rondy sled dog races

  24-02-2017 22:57
  
  The Fur Rendezvous Open World Sled Dog Championship Race starts Friday, Feb. 24. Racers will compete for a record-setting purse of $100,000.
  “Dogs don’t know it, they run with with the same enthusiasm every year,” said Janet Clark, the 2017 Fur Rondy race marshal.
  This is different from the Iditarod, which is a long-haul 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. The Fur Rondy sled dog race takes place over three days, over the same 25-mile course, totaling 75 miles. Acc
  
  Read more

• Therapy, husband lead Aliy Zirkle back to Iditarod

  24-02-2017 22:09
  
  One of dog mushing’s leading figures has suffered panic attacks and undergone therapy in the year since she was stalked by a drunken snowmobile driver on an isolated stretch of the Iditarod race across Alaska.
  Aliy Zirkle tells The Associated Press that she has had a really hard time during the first half of this season.
  After her terrifying morning, Aliy Zirkle finds a moment of zen on the Iditarod trail
  But she plans on being back in the Iditarod when it starts next week in Anchorage. Sh
  
  Read more

• Daybreak Adopt-A-Pet: Feb. 24, 2017

  24-02-2017 22:00
  
  From Anchorage Animal Care and Control:
  Patches:
  Patches is an inquisitive five-month-old male rabbit who loves exploring and socializing with people, and his favorite treat is lettuce.
  Ilia & Mir:
  Ilia and Mir are a delightful pair of guinea pigs.  Ilia is more outgoing and Mir is content just hanging out.  They would do best if adopted together.
  Javier:Javier is an adorable six-month-old neutered male who enjoys cuddling with people, but can be adventurous as well.  His favo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Mike Miller’s life, career centered on social justice, faith

  24-02-2017 21:54 via ktoo.org
  
  Services are planned for this weekend for Mortimer Michael “Mike” Miller, the travel writer and former lawmaker who represented Juneau in the Legislature just as the new state of Alaska was getting on its feet.
  Mike Miller in a 2012 photo. (Courtesy Miller family)
  Mike Miller was the first publicity director for the State Division of Tourism, served on the Juneau Assembly, served a total of 16 years in the state House, and served 10 years on the Department of Corrections’ Parol
  
  Read more

• Alaska Senate rolls out bill to address state’s $3B budget deficit

  24-02-2017 21:16
  
  On day 39 of the legislative session, the Alaska Senate Finance Committee rolled out its plan to solve the state’s $3 billion budget shortfall. The measure bundles proposals to use the Alaska Permanent Fund’s earnings with a tighter cap on state spending into one measure.
  Senate Bill 70, introduced Friday morning, calls for a $4.1 billion cap on the state’s budget, and would result in Permanent Fund dividend payouts of $1,000 for the next three years. It also draws 5.25 pe
  
  Read more

• White House asked FBI to publicly refute reports Trump associates had Russia contacts

  24-02-2017 20:38 via ktoo.org
  
  The White House is admitting that it discussed with the FBI media reports that Trump campaign officials were in contact with Russian intelligence agents, and that Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asked the FBI to publicly knock down the story.
  FBI Director James Comey refused.
  The administration is pushing back on a CNN report that White House officials “sought the help.”
  A senior administration official told reporters Friday morning that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe asked to speak
  
  Read more

• Watch Sen. Sullivan address Alaska Legislature

  24-02-2017 20:31 via ktoo.org
  
  U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gives his annual address to the Alaska Legislature, Feb. 29, 2016. Behind him from left to right are Senate President Kevin Meyer and House Speaker Mike Chenault. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan delivers his address at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24, to the Alaska Legislature Joint Session.
  Watch the live stream at 10:30 a.m. of Gavel Alaska coverage. Or watch on 360 North television, which is available in Juneau over the air on
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• House Science Committee asks EPA to drop Pebble Mine veto

  24-02-2017 20:07 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Members of the media walking to an exploratory drill rig at the Pebble Mine Exploratory site. (Photo by Jason Sear/KDLG)
  In a letter Wednesday to new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, the chairman of the House Science Committee asked that the agency rescind its 2014 veto of the Pebble Mine.
  EPA proposed the preemptive Clean Water Act restrictions based on findings from its Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, and did so with the support of many area tribes, fishermen
  
  Read more

• Spicer says feds likely to boost enforcement of anti-marijuana laws

  24-02-2017 19:43 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Marijuana. (Creative Commons photo by Katheirne Hitt)
  White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday he expects the Department of Justice will step up enforcement of federal marijuana laws.
  Spicer didn’t elaborate on what that might entail, and there are no details yet about how this will affect states that have set up recreational marijuana industries.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170223-01.mp3If enforcement is increased, it could collide with Alaska’s voter-app
  
  Read more

• President Trump at CPAC: ‘The era of empty talk is over’

  24-02-2017 19:35 via ktoo.org
  
  President Donald Trump skipped the annual Conservative Political Action Conference last year, but this year he was the annual gathering’s hero who had finally returned the White House to Republicans.
  Trump’s stem-winder of just under an hour, which he delivered to the adoring crowd just outside Washington on Friday morning, felt more like a campaign speech than a presidential address, reliving many of his greatest hits and applause lines on the campaign trail — even down to th
  
  Read more

• Fairbanks grand jury indicts 4 in theft of 500-pound safe

  24-02-2017 19:18
  
  A Fairbanks grand jury has indicted four people suspected of stealing a 500-pound safe from a North Pole home.
  The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the safe contained almost $100,000 in coins, jewelry and guns.
  The theft was discovered Jan. 22. A man called Alaska State Troopers reporting the stolen safe and the ransacking of his parents’ home.
  Troopers determined that thieves pried open the side door of a garage, drove a vehicle inside and used a car jack to lift the safe into the vehic
  
  Read more

• Walker peddles pipeline project to President Trump

  24-02-2017 19:13 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Chief Oil & Gas Advisor John Hendrix, Alaska Gasline Development Corporation President Keith Meyer, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack at a news conference on Sept. 30, 2016, discussing their meetings with potential Asian markets for Alaska’s LNG in Anchorage. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged to increase the nation’s infrastructure spending.After T
  
  Read more

• Fur Rondy 2017: First weekend of events

  24-02-2017 18:54
  
  The 82nd Annual Fur Rondy starts this weekend in Downtown Anchorage. Are you ready? The annual 10-day long event includes sled dog races, a blanket toss, a hockey tournament, parade, carnival, snowshoe softball and much much more.
  Find a complete list of events at the Fur Rondy website.
  Rondy Weekend Events: Feb. 24 – 26
  Friday, Feb. 24
  GCI Snow Sculpture Competition – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  Ship Creek Ave, across from the Comfort Inn downtownRondy World Champion Sled Dog Races (Day 1) &
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon – 2-24-17

  24-02-2017 18:42 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline hosts.
  We’ll discuss the upcoming season at Perseverance Theatre;
  Eileen Hosey, from Catholic Community Services, will be here to talk Tai-Chi;
  Bob Armstrong, will offer a preview to the Friday night’s Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center lecture about Coping With Weather;
  Live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN, on demand via ktoo.org
  
  Read more

• Alaska village banishes 4 people for dealing meth

  24-02-2017 17:33
  
  The chief of an Alaskan tribe says four community members have been banished for dealing methamphetamine.
  Allakaket Chief PJ Simon tells the News-Miner that 25 residents confronted the suspected meth dealers and escorted them out of town. They were placed on a Tuesday afternoon flight.
  The banishment came after an emotional town hall meeting, which required residents to brave temperatures of 40 degrees below zero. The village has no Alaska State Trooper post or village public safety officer.
  Sim
  
  Read more

• Aces coach, players try to process the end of an era

  24-02-2017 09:00
  
  Alaska Aces’ Head Coach Rob Murray had a hard time finding the words.
  “It’s shocking. It’s disappointing. It’s … I could go on and use as many phrases as I want,” Murray said in an interview Thursday after the announcement was made that this would be the team’s final season.
  Before Thursday’s win at Elmira, Murray spoke of his surprise. For him, the Aces have become a special organization. He guided the team to a Kelly cup title in 2014
  
  Read more

• Video: Red Carpet Concert with Marian Call and Laura Zahasky

  24-02-2017 06:50 via ktoo.org
  
  Marian Call and Laura Zahasky dropped into the arts room recently to record a Red Carpet Concert. Here are the tunes “Pie Maker,” “Iceland” and “Rainboots.”“Pie Maker” is part of Call’s new album called “Standing Stones.” Call will be giving a “first listen” of the recording on Friday, Feb. 24 on KXLL beginning at noon AKST.
  
  Read more

• Bill to triple motor fuel tax makes first move in Alaska House

  24-02-2017 06:36
  
  The Alaska House Transportation Committee moved a bill Thursday that would increase costs at the pump, if passed. Alaska currently has the lowest motor fuel tax in the nation. The gas we put in our cars is taxed at 8 cents a gallon, and has been since 1970.
  Gov. Bill Walker wants to triple the tax over the next two years, but the House Transportation committee passed an amendment to spread it out over three. Many in the House support House Bill 60 because of the state’s multi-billion
  
  Read more

• Alaskans react to reversal of federal transgender bathroom policies

  24-02-2017 06:14
  
  Alaskans are reacting to an announcement from the President Donald Trump’s administration Wednesday that says it’s dropping federal protections for transgender students.
  Trump’s stance simply means it’s now up to states and school districts to interpret whether federal sex discrimination law applies to gender identity.
  The Anchorage School District spokesperson Heather Marron wrote in an email that the district already has a policy to accommodate transgender students
  
  Read more

• Alaska Senate calls for across-the-board cuts to state departments

  24-02-2017 05:26
  
  State departments should be preparing for a five percent cut to their budgets — that’s the message from the Alaska Senate Finance Committee.
  Committee members are calling for across-the-board reductions during the next fiscal year, which starts in July.
  Members have said Health and Social Services, Education, Transportation and the University of Alaska are the top four targets for cuts this session because they have the largest budgets.
  In an interview Thursday, Sen. Mike D
  
  Read more

• Start-up gambles time is right for Alaska solar power

  24-02-2017 05:25 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Stephen Trimble and Chase Christie of Arctic Solar Ventures show off the company’s largest installation to date: an 86-panel commercial installation in downtown Anchorage. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Alaska’s solar industry lags far behind many other states.
  But with prices dropping dramatically around the world, some entrepreneurs see a new opportunity.
  One major challenge is simply convincing people that solar works in Alaska — and that, in fact
  
  Read more

• Start-up gambles that time is right for Alaska solar power

  24-02-2017 05:25 via ktoo.org
  
  Stephen Trimble and Chase Christie of Arctic Solar Ventures show off the company’s largest installation to date: an 86-panel commercial installation in downtown Anchorage. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  Alaska’s solar industry lags far behind many other states.
  But with prices dropping dramatically around the world, some entrepreneurs see a new opportunity.
  One major challenge is simply convincing people that solar works in Alaska — and that, in fact
  
  Read more

• Congressional committee asks EPA to give proposed Pebble Mine another shot

  24-02-2017 05:03
  
  A congressional committee is asking the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give Alaska’s Pebble Mine another shot.
  Texas republican Lamar Smith chairs the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology committee. In a letter to newly confirmed EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, Smith asks the agency to rescind its 2014 decision that invoked the Clean Water Act to limit development in Bristol Bay.
  Smith says using Section 404(c) before Northern Dynasty, the company that owns th
  
  Read more

• Alaska AG says feds couldn’t overturn state’s pot law

  24-02-2017 03:09
  
  A representative for the Alaska attorney general’s office says a change in how the federal government enforces its own marijuana laws would not affect state marijuana laws.
  Department of Law spokeswoman Cori Mills says Alaska’s law legalizing recreational marijuana wouldn’t be overturned.
  She commented after White House spokesman Sean Spicer suggested during a press briefing Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration might crack down on states that have legaliz
  
  Read more

• Alaska sees positive federal signals on individual insurance market

  24-02-2017 03:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Lori Wing-Heier, the director of the Alaska Division of Insurance, in January 2016. She’s asked the federal government for a waiver that would pay more than 80 percent of the cost of the state reinsurance program. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  Gov. Bill Walker’s administration is asking the federal government to take on much of the cost of supporting the individual insurance market.
  Early interest in the program from the Trump administration is raising the administration&r
  
  Read more

• Alaska Aces hockey team to fold after this season

  24-02-2017 03:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The state’s only professional sports franchise, the Alaska Aces, will fold after this season. The decision was announced Thursday, Feb. 23.
  After years of declining revenue, Aces managing member Terry Parks said the choice to fold was a business decision.
  Alaska Aces hockey team to fold after this season
  “We bought this team out of bankruptcy almost 15 years ago and certainly turned it around and now we have to suffer the consequences of closing it down because of lack of attend
  
  Read more

• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: The uncivil war over the Confederate flag

  24-02-2017 01:58
  
  You know the saying; a picture is worth a thousand words.
  The use of symbols is possibly worth a thousand times more.
  Recently, a group of kids from Chugiak High School got in hot water for posting a photo of themselves posing with a confederate battle flag.
  The photo made the rounds on social media and became yet another teachable moment.
  I had a lot of teachable moments when I was their age. I’m just grateful we didn’t have social media to share my learning curve with the rest of t
  
  Read more

• Police: Fairbanks mother killed by ex-boyfriend in apparent murder-suicide

  24-02-2017 01:13
  
  Fairbanks police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide that took place in a residence sometime Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release issued Thursday.
  The victim, 24-year-old Vanessa Reese, and her estranged boyfriend, 26-year-old Thien Tran, were found dead from gunshot wounds inside Tran’s home.
  “The preliminary investigation indicates that Tran shot Reese then killed himself,” Fairbanks Police Department public information officer Yumi McCulloch&n
  
  Read more

• Ask the Energy Desk: Are plastic bag bans better for the environment?

  24-02-2017 00:47 via ktoo.org
  
  via GIPHY
  Bans on plastic grocery bags have been cropping up across Alaska’s remote communities. Cordova’s ban went into effect last year.
  But so far, the larger cities in the state have yet to adopt one.
  Penny Gage, a resident of Anchorage, has a different kind of skeleton in her closet.“I have a large collection of plastic bags at home, and I feel very bad,” Gage said. “I have gotten out of the habit of bringing my fabric bags to the store. And we use them for tr
  
  Read more

• Alaska State Troopers plan to move Haines position to Bethel

  24-02-2017 00:42 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The Haines state trooper car parked outside of the courthouse. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  Things are not looking good for Haines’ Alaska State Trooper post.
  Trooper Director Col. James Cockrell intends to reassign Haines’ one trooper position to Bethel.
  The decision isn’t final yet, but the community conversation about how to handle the loss continued at a Public Safety Commission meeting this week.http://khns.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/23TrooperwINTRO.mp3The lev
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!