Anchorage news

• In Major Blow To Trump, GOP Health Care Bill Vote Delayed

  23-03-2017 23:56 via ktoo.org
  
  The long-promised Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has been delayed, NPR’s Susan Davis reports. It was supposed to get a vote Thursday night, but it has been running into trouble — from both the right and the center.
  Thursday afternoon, the votes were not there to pass the bill. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried downplay the task ahead, saying on CNN that leadership just needs to convince “a couple more” lawm
  
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• Fish and Game says crab counts were low this season, fishermen totally disagree

  23-03-2017 23:17 via ktoo.org
  When Captain Daher Jorge and his crew fished for Opilios, they found a surprising number of Bairdi crab. (Laura Kraegel/KUCB)
  The Bering Sea Bairdi (or Tanner) crab fishery stayed closed this year, for the first time in four years. State biologists decided there were too few crab to safely harvest. But fishermen are questioning that decision. They say there were plentiful Bairdi when they were fishing for other species.
  At a Board of Fisheries meeting in Anchorage this week, commissioners w
  
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• Fish and Game says crab counts were low this season, fisherman totally disagree

  23-03-2017 23:17 via ktoo.org
  When Captain Daher Jorge and his crew fished for Opilios, they found a surprising number of Bairdi crab. (Laura Kraegel/KUCB)
  The Bering Sea Bairdi (or Tanner) crab fishery stayed closed this year, for the first time in four years. State biologists decided there were too few crab to safely harvest. But fishermen are questioning that decision. They say there were plentiful Bairdi when they were fishing for other species.
  At a Board of Fisheries meeting in Anchorage this week, commissioners w
  
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• Newscast- March 23, 2017

  23-03-2017 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/KXLL-news-032317.mp3In this newscast:
  The chairman of the US House Science Committee asked the EPA to rescind its veto of the Pebble Mine.
  High schoolers from across the state addressed gun violence at a student government conference in Juneau.
  For the first time, the Federal Communications Commission is allowing full foreign ownership of U.S. radio stations.
  
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• New book features Arctic indigenous culinary traditions, preparation methods

  23-03-2017 22:48 via ktoo.org
  
  A reindeer ranch in Nome is encouraging a whole new generation of herders. (Photo by Mitch Borden/KNOM)
  A unique guide that combines the traditional knowledge of reindeer and caribou food preparation, as well as other Arctic recipes and culinary traditions, is set to be released in a few months. The cookbook may provide Alaskans with new ideas for economic opportunities in a changing Arctic.
  “This is the plate with a lot of reindeer food. And this is very traditional” said ViviAnn La
  
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• Results mostly positive with ASD’s fitness trackers

  23-03-2017 21:33
  
  In the fall of 2015 the Anchorage School District handed out a device called “Sqord” to students in 36 schools. The device is similar to a Fitbit watch and connects a social online world with activity tracking. Kids accumulated points based on how active they were and can compare with friends and classmates. The initiative was a partnership with ASD and Providence Medical Center to get children more active. Those organizations were also working with the State of Alaska, Healthy Futur
  
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• See the Easter Bunny and more on the railroad’s Easter Train

  23-03-2017 21:31
  
  Families looking to get out of Anchorage and celebrate spring and Easter can hop on board the Alaska Railroad’s Easter Train on April 8. The train will depart from Anchorage twice, once in the morning and in the afternoon. The total ride is expected to last two and a half hours. It will head down the Turnagain Arm to Indian and then back to Anchorage. Along the way families can meet the Easter Bunny, see a magic show and engage in Easter crafts and activities.
  Tickets are se
  
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• Walker: Up to 45K Alaskans could lose coverage with GOP bill

  23-03-2017 21:25
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Bill Walker says as many as 45,000 Alaskans could lose health care coverage under a Republican bill proposed in the U.S. House.
  Walker says that includes 30,000 Alaskans covered by the expanded Medicaid program and roughly two-thirds of the Alaskans with individual plans on the federally facilitated insurance marketplace.
  About 19,000 Alaskans have individual plans. Walker said about 13,000 could lose coverage.
  His statement came Thursday before GOP leaders delay
  
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• Update: Murkowski doesn’t want to see health plan rushed

  23-03-2017 21:25
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Latest on the federal health care debate (all times local):
  2:20 p.m.
  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski cautioned against a “reckless” approach to changing the federal health care law, saying it’s important to get it right.
  During a Facebook Live event Thursday afternoon, the Alaska Republican said she could not support the GOP health care overhaul as it stood in the House, saying it doesn’t solve Alaska’s problems.
  The bill remained a work in
  
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• Suspect arrested in overnight standoff charged with kidnapping, animal cruelty

  23-03-2017 21:09
  
  The Anchorage Police Department (APD) said it received information Thursday morning that a woman was being held captive inside her home by her boyfriend, who did not live at the residence and was armed with a knife.
  Police were also informed the suspect, 28-year-old James Roy Nanalook, had strangled the woman’s two cats, according to a release from APD.
  According to police, when officers arrived at the house on the 1500 block of Karluk Street they set up a perimeter and began to try and ma
  
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• Palmer man indicted for 2016 double homicide eligible for death penalty

  23-03-2017 20:34
  
  John Pearl Smith II, a Palmer man, could face life in prison or the death penalty if he’s convicted of numerous crimes, including the murders of Wasilla residents Crystal Denardi and Ben Gross.The investigation into their deaths began on June 5, 2016. Troopers said around 4 a.m. they received a 911 call about a possible shooting. When investigators arrived at a home on West Cole Road, they found the garage on fire and Denardi and Gross inside. Autopsy results showed Denardi, 30,
  
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• Will a Texan-Australian partnership bring the ‘shale revolution’ to the North Slope?

  23-03-2017 19:56 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Conventional oil is what’s traditionally flowed through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. But some companies hope to bring shale oil into the mix. (Photo courtesy the Center for Land Use Interpretation)
  Amid a wave of new oil discoveries in Alaska, other companies are hoping to get lucky, too. And in pursuit of the next billion-barrel find, two companies from Texas and Australia are trying something a little different.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/22-Icewine.mp3After the State o
  
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• State fines Hilcorp an additional $160K for violations

  23-03-2017 19:15 via ktoo.org
  
  In September 2015 three men nearly died at Hilcorp’s Milne Point Unit on the North Slope, after the trailer they were working in filled with nitrogen. (Image courtesy of AOGCC)
  The state is fining oil and gas company Hilcorp an additional $160,000 for using nitrogen without permission while working on two wells in 2015 — the same practice that nearly killed three North Slope workers.
  Earlier this month, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) fined Hilcorp $200,000 for
  
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• FCC approves measures intended to combat prison cellphones

  23-03-2017 17:15
  
  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Federal officials have taken a step toward increasing safety in prisons by making it easier to find and seize cellphones obtained illegally by inmates.
  The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted Thursday to approve rules to streamline the process for using technology to detect and block contraband phones in prisons and jails across the U.S.
  The vote came in Washington after testimony from Robert Johnson, a former South Carolina corrections officer who was
  
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• Sperm problems? Smartphone device could screen for infertility

  23-03-2017 07:35
  
  What would happen if screening for male infertility was just about as easy as taking a pregnancy test in your home bathroom?
  That’s the question researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital tried to answer when they went about developing a smartphone-based test that men could use to test their semen in the comfort of their homes.
  The test delivered impressive results, identifying abnormal semen samples with approximately 98 percent accuracy according
  
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• What your vote means for Proposition 8

  23-03-2017 07:34
  
  In an effort to make taxicab service better and faster, the Anchorage Assembly voted in December to make changes to Title XI in municipal code. The changes will put an additional 166 cabs on the streets over the next five years, but the cab industry says it’ll do more harm than good. So they’re asking voters to decide during the April municipal election.
  “The issue of permitting has been a long festering one,” says Anchorage transportation inspector Eric Musser, addi
  
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• North Korea missile launch attempt fails, U.S., South Korea say

  23-03-2017 06:18
  
  North Korea’s latest missile launch ended in failure on Wednesday, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said, three days after the North claimed a major breakthrough in its rocket development program.
  The reported launch failure comes as the North is angrily reacting to ongoing annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. Wednesday’s missile was assessed to either a Musudan, the intermediate range missile which keeps failing, or the older medium ra
  
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• New languages considered for ASD immersion program as lottery deadline looms

  23-03-2017 06:15
  
  Parents in the Anchorage School District have shown enough interest in immersion programs that the district is considering adding other languages.
  “The three languages that continue to come up are Korean, Arabic and French,” explained the program’s director, Brandon Locke.
  He said one thing working in the district’s favor is the “cost.”
  “People think this is just another program, it costs more money,” Locke said. “But the reality is that stud
  
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• Mat-Su Borough Assembly takes 2 parks off trapping ban list

  23-03-2017 05:33
  
  The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted Tuesday night to change an ordinance on trapping in the borough that was passed recently.
  The Assembly had approved a measure to ban trapping near school grounds and trails in eight local parks, but Assembly member Randall Kowalke requested a reconsideration of the ordinance less than 24 hours later. He said he wanted to clarify the areas listed in the ordinance, and even potentially add new locations.
  On Tuesday, however, the Assembly took two of the
  
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• Renovations planned for UAS Ketchikan maritime facilities

  23-03-2017 05:22
  
  Construction is expected to start later this year on a nearly $6 million overhaul of University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan’s Regional Maritime and Career Center.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports that Wendy Miles Horn, with the university, says the work is needed because the two buildings that make up the facility are inadequate, cramped and don’t measure up to U.S. Coast Guard and maritime-industry training standards.
  The renovations call for creating adequate space to house the i
  
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• New fiscal plan pays out $1,900 PFD, but faces grim future

  23-03-2017 05:20
  
  There are now more than a handful of proposals in Juneau on how to use the permanent fund to solve the state’s multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. The latest is one unveiled by House Republican minority Wednesday morning, day 65 of the legislative session.
  House Bill 192 avoids a steep cut to dividends next year by using less of the permanent fund’s earnings for the budget, relying instead on a mix of state savings.
  The amount of Permanent Fund Dividend checks is shaping
  
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• Police: Shooting at Fairbanks library confused for phone charger explosion

  23-03-2017 04:48
  
  Noel Wien Public LibraryGoogle Earth
  An afternoon at a Fairbanks library took a strange turn when a man was injured by what was at first thought to be an exploding phone charger, but turned out to be a bullet, according to police.
  At 1:15 p.m., Fairbanks fire crews responded to the Noel Wien Library on Cowles Street after receiving a report that someone had been injured “when a cell phone charger plugged into an outlet exploded.” Police spokesman Doug Welborn said fire personne
  
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• Humpback whale population growing near Homer

  23-03-2017 04:18
  
  Kachemak Bay, Alaska’s first state park, is known for it’s towering mountains, sandy beaches and rich marine habitat, which are all visible from the Homer Spit.
  Karl Stoltzfus has lived there for nearly 50 years and has been offering wildlife excursions for more than two decades. He says they traditionally look for humpbacks at the end of summer.
  “They used to come in Kachemak Bay in August and September, October, that’s when we’d normally see them,” Stol
  
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• Software update locks thousands of state workers out of computers

  23-03-2017 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Computer problems for some, extended coffee break for others: Employees of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Financial Services Division, in the State Office Building in Juneau drink coffee near their disabled computers on Wednesday. The workers, who chose to not be identified, said some computers were working while others were not due to a technical problem within the state’s system. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  A software update error locked thousands of s
  
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• Longtime leader of Sealaska board to step down

  23-03-2017 03:59
  
  Southeast Alaska’s regional Native corporation Sealaska is losing one of its longest-serving leaders.
  Rosita Worl. Photo: Sealaska Heritage
  KTOO-FM reported Wednesday that Rosita Worl will step down in June after 30 years on the Juneau-based corporation’s board of directors.
  Worl says she has thought about leaving her post for some time and is looking forward to completing various academic projects. She will also continue in her role as president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute.
  W
  
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• Police: Arrest made in Anchorage train tagging case

  23-03-2017 03:25
  
  The Delaney Park 556 TrainLauren Maxwell/KTVA 11
  The Anchorage Police Department has arrested a man for allegedly spray painting a historic local landmark this week.
  The Delaney Park 556 Engine, located on the corner of E Street and Ninth Avenue in downtown, was found Tuesday partially covered with tags. On Wednesday, police responded to the train to investigate the vandalism, and APD spokeswoman Renee Oistad said the department received a tip about the crime through Crime Stoppers.
  “As a
  
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• Alaska Airlines to drop Virgin America name and logo

  23-03-2017 03:09
  
  Alaska Airlines says as part of their merger with Virgin America they will drop the Virgin America name and logo.
  Alaska Airlines said in a news release Wednesday that the combined company will retire the Virgin America name likely sometime in 2019.
  Alaska Airlines Vice President of Marketing Sangita Woerner says “while the Virgin America name is beloved to many, we concluded that to be successful on the West Coast we had to do so under one name.”
  The company also says it will make e
  
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• Final suspect in armed crime spree turned himself in, police say

  23-03-2017 01:11
  
  Delander Owens, Jr. (Courtesy of Anchorage Police)
  The third suspect in a recent crime spree has turned himself in to police, a spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.
  Delander Owens Jr., 21, turned himself in just after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Renee Oistad. She confirmed he was the last of three suspects being sought for a string of crimes ranging from assault to robbery and vehicle theft.
  The spree allegedly began Jan. 27, when Owens, 20-year-old Detallion Owens and 16-year-old King Soloman
  
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• Sears, an icon of US retail, may shut its doors

  23-03-2017 01:09
  
  The Mall at Sears
  Sears (SHLD), an icon of American retail dating to the 19th century, is in danger of having to close its doors. The company said late Tuesday in a regulatory filing that there is “substantial doubt” it can remain in business.
  Sears’ stock price, which hit an all-time low last month, tumbled more than 14 percent Wednesday to $7.80.  As a measure of how far the company has fallen, in 2007 its shares topped $190
  Sears tried to soothe investors’ fears,
  
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• New Coast Guard cutter brings improved response capabilities to Southeast Alaska

  23-03-2017 01:09
  
  The FRC John McCormick arrives in KetchikanKetchikan Fire Department/Facebook Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick (WPC 1121) engineering department receive a Meritorious Team Commendation award for their casualty control response to a flood in the engine room during the initial days of their voyage US Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Statham, a crew member aboard the Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick (WPC 1121), greets his family after the Fast Response Cutter and cr
  
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