Anchorage news

• 42nd Annual Alaska Folk Festival – Show 3 out of 4

  02-03-2017 23:44 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Tune in to KRNN-FM Saturday Afternoon at 2 for the third in a series of highlights from the 42nd Annual Alaska Folk Festival, recorded live between April 4th through the 10th.
  Featured are The Heartstrings; Three Fish, A Tree, and a Forester; Mike Truax; Stella & Jason; Monica Lettner; Ramiro Rivera; Radio Flyer, the PFLAG Pride Chorus; Mary DeSmet, Teri Tibbett; Shaidri & Ezra; Codfysh Joe; The Carper Family Band, and Mark Heard.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/FF-42-3.mp
  
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• Attorney General Sessions to recuse himself from any Trump campaign investigations

  02-03-2017 23:26 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 4:56 p.m. ET
  Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he will recuse himself from any investigations into possible Russian involvement in the 2016 elections.
  “Let me be clear: I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign,” Sessions reiterated during an afternoon news conference in response to reports that he had met twice with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. last year.
  “I should not be involved in investigating a campa
  
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• EPA funds for Native water projects could disappear under Trump administration

  02-03-2017 23:09 via ktoo.org
  
  The Kasaan Water Treatment Plant, built in 2012, was a partnership of Kasaan, USDA, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and state of Alaska. (Photo courtesy USDA)
  The White House wants to eliminate Environmental Protection Agency funds for water projects in Alaska Native villages, according to an article in the Washington Post on Wednesday, March. 1.
  The article said the Trump administration’s plans for the EPA budget also include trimming grants to states by 30 per
  
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• Lawsuit: Should foster kids know when the state uses their benefits?

  02-03-2017 22:37 via ktoo.org
  
  Benjamin Dahl-Rouzan shares his story of living in foster care before the House’s Health and Social Services Committee in 2015. A lawsuit is asking whether the state needs to notify families and guardians before it starts using Social Security benefits to pay for foster care services. (Photo by Kevin Reagan/ KTOO)
  Some foster children are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, but the kids and their families don’t always know the money is available.
  Instead, the state app
  
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• Kuskokwim salmon management group wants earlier meeting with state managers on summer king run

  02-03-2017 22:12 via ktoo.org
  
  Chinook salmon, Yukon Delta NWR. (Public domain photo by Craig Springer/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
  There may be fewer king salmon on the Kuskokwim River this summer than hoped, and some residents want to meet with state biologists now to figure out how best to manage both expectations and the fishery.
  “Our preference is that preseason plan doesn’t start being discussed the very last few days of March, or April or May,” said Mary Sattler Petola, one of four members o
  
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• Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic moves to Big Lake this year

  02-03-2017 21:58
  
  Alaskans can help support the Scotty Gomez Foundation this winter by playing in the 3rd Annual Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic. The fundraiser will be held at the Burkeshore Marina on Big Lake in the Valley.
  The Scotty Gomez Foundation was founded to help make hockey affordable to Alaska youth. Some of the ways the foundation achieves that is through fundraisers and programs. One of the foundation’s programs was forming the Scotty Gomez Hockey Association in 2012. Through the p
  
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• Ben Carson confirmed as secretary of Housing and Urban Development

  02-03-2017 21:22 via ktoo.org
  
  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has been confirmed as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, by a 58-41 Senate vote.
  Six Democrats and one Independent joined with the Republicans to approve the nomination — mostly Democrats who are up for re-election next year and represent states that voted for President Trump, NPR’s Arnie Seipel reports.
  “Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who received blowback from liberals for voting for Carson in committee, voted against his
  
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• 907Life’s top three places to be in March

  02-03-2017 20:53
  
  907Life’s Phil Crawford has three recommendations for where to be in March.
  First on the list is a Fur Rendezvous favorite, the Running of the Reindeer. It takes place this Saturday, March 4 and starts at 4 p.m. The event is a mad dash down 4th Avenue. Crawford said he likes the event because people dress up in costumes.
  “One of my favorite things is seeing a not-so-agile Spider-Man; somebody dressed up as Darth Vader falling,” said Crawford. There are more events and
  
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• Antarctica’s record high temperatures documented in new report

  02-03-2017 20:22
  
  Temperatures on the Antarctic continent reached a record-breaking high of 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit in 2015, according to a new report of balmy records for the bottom of the world.
  And things got even toastier back on Jan. 30, 1982, when the thermometer peaked at 67.6 degrees F at Signy Research Station on Antarctica’s Signy Island, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a division of the United Nations. This temperature was the highest on record for the Antarctic region,
  
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• Public testimony tilts against oil and gas tax overhaul

  02-03-2017 19:53 via ktoo.org
  
  Members of the House Resources Committee listen to public testimony on a bill to overhaul the state’s oil and gas taxes and tax credits. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO and Alaska Public Media)
  Most Alaskans who offered public testimony Wednesday on a proposed overhaul of the state’s oil and gas taxes and tax credits opposed the measure.
  Fairbanks resident Cynthia Henry urged House Resources Committee members to vote against House Bill 111, a bill that would lower oil and gas t
  
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• Bethel council opposes new liquor store applications

  02-03-2017 18:15
  
  BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – The Bethel City Council is opposing two applications to bring new liquor stores to the city.
  KYUK-AM reported Wednesday that the council voted to protest applications seeking to turn existing businesses into liquor stores. Council member said they opposed the stores at Fili’s Pizza and Cezary’s Auto Body and Paint shop in part because neither business has secured a Conditional Use Permit for the construction of their liquor stores yet.
  The Alaska Alcoholic
  
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• These Americans suffer from the most overdue medical debt

  02-03-2017 08:31
  
  Getting sick in America can lead to complications aside from health issues: Unpaid medical bills remain a serious issue for millions of adults.
  Almost one out of four working-age adults said they had past-due medical debt in 2015, according to a new study from the Urban Institute. While that may seem shocking, it’s actually an improvement from 2012, when almost 30 percent said they were in that situation.
  The sharp decline could be due to a number of issues, including the rollout of t
  
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• Woodworkers make hundreds of bowls for Bean’s Cafe fundraiser

  02-03-2017 08:23
  
  Woodworkers from around the state are pitching in to help Bean’s Café with one of its biggest fundraisers.
  About 50 members of the Alaska Woodturners’ Association have been making bowls since last May. Just two weeks before the Empty Bowl Project, they’d made almost 400.
  Bean’s Café board member Arnold Geiger said it was a way for the group to give back to their community.
  “It’s a good way to create a lot of friendships working together like
  
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• Senate confirms Ryan Zinke for Department of the Interior

  02-03-2017 06:45
  
  Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke won Senate confirmation Wednesday as President Donald Trump’s Interior secretary, giving him responsibility for overseeing the nation’s 400 million acres of public land, mostly in the West.
  The Republican-controlled Senate approved the nomination, 68-31 as 16 Democrats and one independent joined with 51 Republicans to support the choice. Several Democrats from Western states as well as those facing tough re-elections next year, including Montana’s Jon Te
  
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• Alaska’s senators voice support for Trump’s military plan

  02-03-2017 06:28
  
  In his first speech to Congress Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to grow the military. That’s welcome news for Alaska lawmakers, who know it could mean dollar signs for the state.
  “I am sending the Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the defense sequester,” announced Trump during his speech Tuesday.
  Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski applauded the move because she believes sequestration-era funding cuts have been felt here at home, like at Jo
  
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• Juneau Assembly to vote on sales tax exemption for cruise ships

  02-03-2017 05:58 via ktoo.org
  
  
  A cruise ships heads out of Juneau’s harbor on Feb. 13, 2013. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)
  Juneau is moving toward exempting transactions aboard docked cruise ships from local sales tax. The initiative is touted as bringing the city in line with other Southeast communities.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/02CRUISETAX.mp3There’s been little public discussion about the proposed sales tax exemption since it was introduced at an Assembly Finance Committee meetin
  
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• Anchorage lawmaker pushes first education tax in Alaska since 1980

  02-03-2017 05:50
  
  If Alaskans are to pay an income tax, would knowing that the money is going straight to education ease the pain on their wallets?
  Anchorage Democratic Rep. Matt Claman thinks so. 
  “People generally like that,” he said. “People can see it’s going to the schools, it’s not going to somewhere else.” 
  Claman rolled out House Bill 146 last week as an alternative to an income tax under consideration in the Alaska House of Representatives, House Bill 11
  
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• LKSD says students can still use bathrooms, locker rooms matching their gender identities

  02-03-2017 03:48
  
  The Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) will continue allowing students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identities, according to a story published by KYUK Public Media.
  Last week, the Trump administration rescinded protections the Obama administration had created for transgender students in public schools. Beginning in May 2016, under President Barack Obama, public schools could lose federal funding for violating those protections under guidance issued
  
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• Cook Inlet-based quake rattles southcentral Alaska

  02-03-2017 03:30
  
  Many Alaskans in southcentral Alaska reported feeling a long earthquake early Wednesday evening.
  The earthquake occurred around 5:11 p.m. According to the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Earthquake Center, the preliminary measurement of the quake was magnitude 5.6. It has since been downgraded to a magnitude 5.5.
  The origin of the earthquake was approximately 32 miles west-southwest of Anchor Point in Cook Inlet, with a depth of 59.6 kilometers, according to USGS’ website.
  Did you
  
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• Alaska lawmakers seek balance between public outcry over crime and national evidence

  02-03-2017 02:49 via ktoo.org
  
  Quinlan Steiner of the Public Defender Agency presents testimony relating to Senate Bill 54 on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  Lawmakers looking to tighten penalties for some felonies and thefts are weighing two factors.
  On one hand, they’ve heard from members of the public and law enforcement that last year’s criminal-justice overhaul went too far in letting offenders go without jail time.
  On the other, social science researc
  
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• Troopers: 2 bodies recovered from home after disturbance turns into standoff, fire

  02-03-2017 02:37
  
  An Old Steese Highway apartment building is considered "unlivable" after a man set it on fire during a standoffCourtesy American Red Cross of Alaska
  Two people have been confirmed dead after a domestic disturbance at a Fairbanks home resulted in a standoff and fire.
  Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters reported the incident in an online dispatch, saying the case began when troopers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a multi-unit residence at 588 Old Steese Highway just
  
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• Human intervention: scientists propose plan to help refreeze the melting Arctic

  02-03-2017 02:21 via ktoo.org
  
  Ice floes float in Baffin Bay between Canada and Greenland above the Arctic circle on July 10, 2008. A new paper from Arizona State University physicists proposes using sea water pumps to facilitate more ice formation in the Arctic. (Photo by Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
  The Arctic could see its first ice-free summer as soon as 2030 as the region continues to warm faster than the rest of the planet.
  Some scientists think we’ve reached a point of no return, where no amount of reduc
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 3-2-17

  02-03-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes will host,
  Kolene James will be here to highlight the upcoming Native Oratory event on Saturday
  We’ll talk with three of AWARE’s Women of Distinction;
  Jennifer Brown and Martin Suzuki bill will be here to discuss Southeast Alaska Boy Scouting and the 2016 Eagle Scout Recognition Banquet.Marc Wheeler and Eric Carlson will be hee to talk about ice cream and art,
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with art news during Arts Up.
  That, Writers Alma
  
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• Unalaska teen: If you like sushi, you better take care of the environment

  02-03-2017 01:46 via ktoo.org
  
  Cade Terada fishing in Unalaska. (Photo courtesy Cade Terada)
  Across the state, there’s a cohort of young Alaskans raising awareness for the rapidly changing Arctic environment. Cade Terada is one of 22 Arctic Youth Ambassadors. Growing up in Unalaska, America’s largest fishing port, he was immersed in the seafood industry.
  Terada looks like a young, hip politician. Hair gelled back, the 18-year-old sports a grey quarter zip and khaki’s with an earring and a tattoo peeking
  
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• Alyeska Snow Classic: Fundraiser offers cash prize for best guess at snow amount

  02-03-2017 01:24
  
  For the entire month of March, people can guess the total snow accumulation at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood for a cash prize. It’s called the Alyeska Snow Classic and is a fundraiser for the Four Valleys Community School. The nonprofit education center serves the communities of Girdwood, Bird, Indian and Portage.
  Tickets cost $2.50 and there is only one guess per ticket. Those tickets will be available at Girdwood businesses like Jack Sprat, Chair Five and more. There are participating b
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Models hint at El Niño resurgence

  02-03-2017 01:09 via ktoo.org
  
  (Graphic courtesy of NOAA)
  The weather phenomenon El Niño may be on its way back. That’s after a weak La Niña system faded out a few months ago. Climatologist Brian Brettschneider says computer models are hinting at El Niño returning in the second half of this year.
  “The models right now are predicting a 50 percent chance of an El Niño by this fall,” said Brettschneider.
  But that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal, he says, but it’s
  
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• Alaska House passes bill to allow ballot selfies

  02-03-2017 01:00
  
  Snapping a selfie at the polls to show how you voted has become a popular way to show support for candidates and propositions. But in Alaska, it’s illegal to do so, although the law is not enforced.
  A bill passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday changes that, allowing voters to take and display photos of their marked ballot while within 200 feet of a polling place, so long as the photo is not used to coerce other voters.
  “Under the letter of current Alaska law, tens of thous
  
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• Ocean acidification in Southeast, tribal network seeks regional impact

  02-03-2017 00:08 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Ocean acidification has been big news lately. Experts have spoken about the possible consequences for shellfish and the critters that eat them but, its actual impact in Southeast Alaska is not known.
  Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research, a network of 15 Southeast tribes, hopes to answer that question.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170228-10.mp3Wrangell and fourteen other tribes have participated in the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research program, collecting clams and cockles to test for p
  
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