Anchorage news

• More money for the Alaska Marine Highway

  10-03-2017 23:50 via ktoo.org
  
  The fast ferry Fairweather docks in Petersburg on Aug. 20, 2013, after a trip from Juneau. Budget cuts eliminated that route and reduced sailings to and from other communities. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  State House budget writers have restored much of the ferry system cut proposed by the governor for the next fiscal year.
  The House Finance Committee on Thursday added about $2.1 million to the Alaska Marine Highway budget. Gov. Bill Walker’s spending plan, released in Decemb
  
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• Shortlist for Haines manager job includes two familiar candidates

  10-03-2017 23:18 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The Haines Borough Administration building. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS))
  The Haines Borough Assembly narrowed down a list of manager applicants from 10 to four at a meeting Thursday.
  The shortlist includes the current interim manager, the Haines Chamber of Commerce director, and two Lower 48 applicants who have Alaska municipal experience.
  The Assembly did not choose to interview former manager Bill Seward, who was terminated three months ago but re-applied for the job.http://khns.org/
  
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• Mitch Seavey is first musher to Huslia checkpoint

  10-03-2017 22:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Iditarod racer Mitch Seavey is the first musher to reach the halfway checkpoint of Huslia.
  The two-time champion was the first to leave Galena early Thursday and arrived in Huslia more than 80 miles up the trail at 8:18 p.m.
  A big crowd lined the main street to welcome in Seavey.
  For being the first musher to Huslia, Seavey wins the GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, which includes $3,000 in gold nuggets.
  Huslia residents gave Seavey several gifts, such as dog collars with c
  
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• Consumer Protection Week: BBB talks top scams

  10-03-2017 22:52
  
  Protecting people and their hard earned money from scams is the goal of the Better Business Bureau, especially during Consumer Protection Week.
  Michelle Tabler with the BBB joined Daybreak to talk about how the organization safeguards consumers and their interests.
  Top Scams
  Home improvement scams
  Fake checks and money orders
  Employment scams
  Online purchases scams
  Advance fee loan scams
  How to Report a Scam
  Better Business Bureau website
  Click the Scam Tracker tabCall the Local Office
  
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• Push or pause? Near Iditarod’s mid-point, mushers decide when to rest

  10-03-2017 22:14 via ktoo.org
  
  
  It’s break time on the Iditarod trail, as teams hunker down for 24 hours of uninterrupted rest along the Yukon River or consider pushing down the trail to a later checkpoint.
  As the race approaches the halfway point mushers try to plan how to get the most from their tactical breaks.
  http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2017/03/iditarod-2017/2017-03-09-Iditarod-Galena-BM.mp3As Jason Mackey laid out beds for his team’s rest he bangs tug line clips against one another to break off frozen dog p
  
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• Iditarod Trail photos: Huslia

  10-03-2017 21:55
  
  Mitch Seavey arrives in Huslia. (Megan Edge / KTVA) Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA (Heather Hintze / KTVA) (Heather Hintze / KTVA) (Heather Hintze / KTVA) (Heather Hintze / KTVA) Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge/ KTVA
  Huslia was buzzing with excitement hours before any musher had made their way to to this year’s halfway checkpoint. The villages log roundhouse, filled with t
  
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• With sick dogs, Zirkle takes her 24-hour rest earlier than planned

  10-03-2017 21:34 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Aliy Zirkle coming into the checkpoint in Galena on Thursday. Zirkle has had to upend her race plans and declare a 24-hour rest in Galena because of sick dogs. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media)
  Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle has had to upend her race plans and declare a 24-hour rest in Galena because of sick dogs.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170309-07.mp3Aliy Zirkle gets water while stopped Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the Nenana checkpoint of the Iditarod. (Photo by Zachariah Hu
  
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• Juneau considers establishing winter camp for homeless

  10-03-2017 21:31
  
  A ban on camping in downtown Juneau goes into effect next month, leaving many homeless people asking where to go.
  KTOO-FM reports (http://bit.ly/2maxewz ) that Alaska Electric Light and Power has offered to let the city lease about an acre to use as a winter camping site for homeless people.
  The city already runs a summertime campground on AELP land, but that location is in an avalanche zone, meaning it has to shut down for the winter.
  The proposed winter site has its issues too. It’s an u
  
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• White House cheers numbers on jobs, border crossings

  10-03-2017 20:59 via ktoo.org
  
  The White House is celebrating some encouraging numbers this week. Factory jobs are up. Illegal border crossings are down.
  The new administration is claiming credit on both fronts, although much of the change so far is psychological.
  The Labor Department released its first monthly jobs report of the new Trump administration Friday. The numbers were solid, if not spectacular. U.S. employers added 235,000 jobs in February. Gains were especially strong in manufacturing, construction, and oil drilli
  
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• Daybreak Adopt-A-Pet: March 10, 2017

  10-03-2017 20:45
  
  From Anchorage Animal Care and Control:
  Four very sweet cats:
  Sweet AliceSweet Alice was named by our Kennel Supervisor for a very simple reason… she is one very sweet cat. She likes to be held and will settle comfortably on your lap. She never turns down your offerings of attention!
  SweetheartHow did Sweetheart get her name? Because she is one! Sweetheart is a relaxed girl who purrs and kneads her paws ever so sweetly in response to your affection. She is missing both of her upper canine
  
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• Repsol: North Slope sees ‘largest U.S. onshore oil discovery in 30 years’

  10-03-2017 17:57
  
  Spanish energy company Repsol is calling a new discovery on the North Slope the largest onshore oil discovery in the United States in 30 years. Repsol says there are at least 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil just waiting to go into the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
  [Related: Lawmakers stake positions on oil credits amid news of North Slope find]
  Officials in the oil industry say the discovery is good news, but the process of getting from discovery to production could prove to be expensi
  
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• JACC sports new paint thanks to Anchorage graffiti artist

  10-03-2017 17:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A woman enters the Juneau Arts & Culture Center in February. Will Kozloff’s unfinished mural can be seen on the outside the JACC’s exterior. The Anchorage artist was invited to Juneau to work on set pieces for the Governor’s Awards for the Arts in January. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  I see her sometimes in the morning while I’m walking to work. My commute-by-foot brings me down the steps along Fireweed Place, past Bullwinkle’s Pizza, and by Centenni
  
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• Dog dies on Iditarod trail near Galena checkpoint

  10-03-2017 13:22
  
  From: Mark Nordman, Race Marshal, Iditarod Trail CommitteeAnchorage, Alaska – A two-year-old male named Deacon in the team of veteran Iditarod musher Seth Barnes (bib #51) died at approximately 11:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017, just prior to Barnes’ arrival at the Galena checkpoint.
  A necropsy will be conducted by a board-certified pathologist to make every attempt to determine the cause of death.The post Dog dies on Iditarod trail near Galena checkpoint appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• CBJ: Bergmann Hotel shutdown and evictions imminent due to health and safety problems

  10-03-2017 08:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Sign above the Bergmann Hotel’s front door. (Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO)
  The owner of downtown Juneau’s historic Bergmann Hotel has until midday Friday to address various code violations dealing with health and safety issues — or else the city is ordering its tenants out.
  City Manager Rorie Watt said in a written statement that the order was issued Thursday afternoon. He said it came after months of inspections, walkthroughs, and communication with the owner, including
  
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• Huslia elementary students welcome Iditarod mushers with handmade signs

  10-03-2017 06:31
  The Iditarod trail into Huslia is lined with dozens of colorful, handmade signs created by elementary school students.
  On Thursday afternoon, Annette Moses’ second and third graders spent the day coloring poster board with encouraging messages like “Way to Go!” and “Halfway There!”
  “It’s a big thing for them to see something like this because we never know if it’s going to come through again,” Moses said.
  (Heather Hintze / KTVA)Each stud
  
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• Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey first into Huslia, this year’s halfway point

  10-03-2017 06:30
  
  View the 2017 Iditarod Trail Map
   The post Iditarod 45 Race Blog: Mitch Seavey first into Huslia, this year’s halfway point appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Great moments in Iditarod history: Joe May’s historic 1980 run

  10-03-2017 06:15
  
  The 1980 Iditarod race was a breakthrough for Joe May. Like he did in the other five events he entered, he won, receiving an unlikely assist with Herbie filling as the lead dog. May cajoled a performance out his team, getting to Nome some 13 hours ahead the legendary Herbie Nayokpuk. He only ran the Iditarod 4 times, but he never finished lower than 15th. May made all the right calls on the way to history to start the decade of The 80s.
  Photos courtesy of Iditarod: The First Ten Years Fran
  
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• First wave of federally funded opioid overdose kits distributed in the Valley

  10-03-2017 06:09
  
  They’re lifesaving kits that can stop a heroin overdose in it’s tracks. The federal government is paying for thousands of them to come to Alaska and some of the first have been distributed in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
  A $4.2 million grant is helping the Alaska Department of Heath and Social Services (DHSS) pay for a total of 6,000 kits to be distributed state-wide. The kits will help address what Gov. Bill Walker has declared an opioid public health crisis.
  Narcan overdoes kit d
  
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• State senator puts out comprehensive plan to curb alcohol abuse in Alaska

  10-03-2017 05:53
  
  Alcohol is the deadliest substance in Alaska, according to the state department of health and social services, but state law regulating its consumption hasn’t changed much since 1980. A bill in the Senate would overhaul current statutes, Title 4.
  Stakeholders representing the alcohol industry, public health, local governments, law enforcement, public safety, education, and community advocacy sectors have spent thousands of hours drafting new measures to help prevent abuse. Those provisions
  
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• Marines nude photo scandal expands to all branches of military

  10-03-2017 05:42
  
  The Defense Department is investigating online outlets through which Marines shared nude photographs of women, including fellow Marines — some taken without their knowledge.
  CBS News has learned the investigation has spread to all branches of the military.
  The website titled Anon-IB first gained notoriety for publishing nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence. But it also contains a message board for military personnel where men from all branches of the military exchange comments
  
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• Groups join to fight new health care legislation, which they say hurts poor families, seniors

  10-03-2017 05:40
  
  The Republican Party’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act passed its first hurdle Thursday. Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee voted to push through the American Health Care Act, which groups in Alaska are gearing up to fight.
  Nonprofits, health care providers, faith groups and advocates formed a coalition called Protect Our Care Alaska. They say seniors and low-income families will be hit hard if the new legislation passes.
  The coalition looked at analysis o
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: Lawmakers are finding common ground on budget deficit

  10-03-2017 04:42
  
  It’s often difficult to see progress, but it’s worth recognizing it when it happens.
  Believe it or not, lawmakers in Juneau are beginning to find some common ground in their efforts to close Alaska’s $3 billion budget gap.
  And that’s worth noting.
  First and foremost, a restructuring of the Permanent Fund, and making it’s earnings available for state spending is once again a part of Gov. Bill Walker’s plan, and the Senate Majority’s plan, and for the firs
  
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• Anchorage police expanding foot patrols to Mountain View, Fairview, Spenard

  10-03-2017 04:14
  
  Homicides, property crime and car thefts — Anchorage is breaking records police aren’t proud of.
  They’ve been looking into the problem and say much of the crime around town appears to be fueled by an increase in drug abuse.
  It’s something several Mountain View residents told KTVA they see all the time, and part of the reason the Anchorage Police Department (APD) is targeting their neighborhood with it’s new three step action plan.
  “I would say the types of cri
  
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• State concerned about tanker escort design for Prince William Sound

  10-03-2017 03:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Crowley Marine Services currently holds the contract to provide oil tanker escorts and spill response and prevention in Prince William Sound. (Photo by Eric Keto/APRN)
  State regulators are asking the operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline and oil shippers to offer more proof that new tugboats being built for Prince William Sound are up to the job of preventing major oil spills.
  In late February, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation wrote that design information submitted so far is
  
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• Now in minority, House Republicans fail to cut budget

  10-03-2017 02:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage, during a discussion in the House Finance Committee in February. He wants further budget cuts. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The Republican House caucus is pushing to cut the state government budget. But they no longer hold the majority. Instead of shrinking, the House version of the budget has actually grown.
  The House Finance Committee has been working through $150 million in proposed cuts by minority-caucus Republicans. So far, the mostly Democratic m
  
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• Anchorage police’s new targeted crime plan focuses on connections

  10-03-2017 02:50 via ktoo.org
  
  Acting Deputy Chief Sean Case speaks during a news conference in Mountain View on March 9, 2017. (Photo by Anne Hillman/Alaska Public Media)
  The Anchorage Police Department announced its new targeted crime plan Thursday.
  It focuses on getting into the community and developing relationships.
  The department will expand its foot patrols beyond downtown and into Mountain View, Fairview and Spenard.
  Acting Deputy Chief Sean Case spoke during a news conference at the Mountain View Community Cente
  
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• Companies trumpet 1.2 billion-barrel oil discovery on North Slope

  10-03-2017 02:48 via ktoo.org
  
  A rig in the Pikka unit, where oil companies Armstrong Oil & Gas and Repsol say they’ve found 1.2 billion barrels of oil. (Photo courtesy Armstrong Oil & Gas)
  The companies behind an already significant oil find on Alaska’s North Slope on Thursday said they’ve confirmed the biggest onshore discovery in the U.S. in three decades.
  Spanish company Repsol says two wells it drilled this winter with partner Armstrong Energy show the companies have found 1.2 billion barre
  
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• Alaska lawmakers deal with death in the digital age

  10-03-2017 02:43 via ktoo.org
  
  An elderly person uses a tablet. (Creative Commons photo by Sigismund von Dobschütz)
  Alaska lawmakers held the first hearing Wednesday on a bill that seeks to bring estate planning into digital age.
  House Bill 108, or the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, is designed to help loved ones get access to online accounts of the deceased, from Facebook to digital photo libraries and financial investments, without having to go through a lengthy legal process.
  Uniform Law Commission&
  
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• Juneau Afternoon 3-10-17

  10-03-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline hosts.
  We’ll find out about HoopTime;
  Author Brian Castner will be here with a preview of his Friday night presentation at the Valley Library;
  We’ll talk with Zach Brown about his Friday night lecture on A Trip North at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center;
  Laura Stats will be here to highlight next weekend’s Health Fair.Live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN, on demand via ktoo.org
  
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• Scott Janssen takes notes during hitchhike trip to Nome

  10-03-2017 01:36
  
  Scott Janssen greets Wade Marrs in Ruby. Megan Edge/ KTVA Megan Edge / KTVA
  In a normal year, fan favorite Scott Janssen would be on the back of a sled with a team of dogs pulling him through Alaska’s frozen landscape. But this year the man better known as the “Mushing Mortician” is heading across the Iditarod trail with the help of friends and those he meets along the way.
  Citing health concerns, Janssen pulled out this year’s race and handed over his team to Dave Branh
  
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• Lawmakers stake positions on oil credits amid news of North Slope find

  10-03-2017 00:28
  
  Members of the Alaska House used the announcement of a major oil find on the North Slope to stake out positions in the politically charged debate over oil taxes and credits.
  On Thursday, Spanish energy company Repsol said the find could amount to about 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable light oil. Repsol calls it the largest U.S. onshore oil discovery in 30 years. The company has partnered with Armstrong Energy LLC,
  The announcement was hailed by Gov. Bill Walker and state Sen. Cathy Giessel, wh
  
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• 2nd annual Freezing Tassel Burlesque Festival kicks off at ‘Koots

  10-03-2017 00:04
  
  Forty performers from across Alaska, the Lower 48, Europe and Canada are preparing to take the stage at Chilkoot Charlie’s for the second annual Freezing Tassel Burlesque Festival.
  Performers Lola Pistola and “Pillow” joined Daybreak to talk about the two-day festival. It will feature headliners like the reigning queen of burlesque, Poison Ivory, and World Famous “Bob.”
  “Burlesque is a form of exotic dancing that goes way back because it is satire, e
  
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