Anchorage news

• Mic Check: Rhythm Future Quartet

  24-03-2017 22:15
  
  Keeping the genre of gypsy jazz alive, the acoustic ensemble Rhythm Future Quartet will be touring Alaska for two weeks. Their first stop is downtown Anchorage. From there they will cross the state, going from Kodiak to Skagway.
  According to violinist Jason Anick, gypsy jazz is a style of music that was pioneered in France during the 1930s and 40s by guitarist Django Reinhardt and Violinist Stephane Grappelli. Reinhardt was of Romani, or Gypsy, descent. Anick said it has the energy of early
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Rhythm Future Quartet

  24-03-2017 22:15
  
  Keeping the genre of gypsy jazz alive, the acoustic ensemble Rhythm Future Quartet will be touring Alaska for two weeks. Their first stop is downtown Anchorage. From there they will cross the state, going from Kodiak to Skagway.
  According to violinist Jason Anick, gypsy jazz is a style of music that was pioneered in France during the 1930s and 40s by guitarist Django Reinhardt and Violinist Stephane Grappelli. Reinhardt was of Romani, or Gypsy, descent. Anick said it has the energy of early
  
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• Newscast- March 24, 2017

  24-03-2017 22:12 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/KXLL-news-032417.mp3In this newscast:
  Republican leaders abruptly pulled their troubled health care overhaul bill off the House floor shortly before its scheduled vote
  The Alaska House of Representatives has introduced a new version of a statewide income tax.
  Business and labor groups are at odds over Alaska Governor Bill Walker’s proposed worker’s compensation reform, and
  The retrial of a man accused of fatally shooting another man in
  
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• Small explosion detected at volcano in Aleutian Islands

  24-03-2017 22:08
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Another volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands is showing signs of unrest.
  Bogoslof Volcano has been erupting periodically since mid-December.
  On Friday, the Alaska Volcano Observatory detected a small explosion at Cleveland Volcano.
  Geologists say the event at 8:15 a.m. did not last long and was similar to or smaller than other explosions at Cleveland Volcano.
  Clouds covered the cone-shape mountain and obscured observations by satellite or boat.
  Geologists say
  
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• After drawn-out fight, budget quietly passes Alaska House

  24-03-2017 22:03
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A version of the state operating budget passed the Alaska House with little fanfare Friday, following a drawn-out floor debate and bickering about process.
  Debate on the budget began March 13, with final arguments delivered a week later.
  An initial vote was taken Monday but the bill was held for reconsideration. When a reconsideration vote was not taken up Friday, it allowed the bill to move to the Senate.
  The House majority had cut off debate on amendments, with Hous
  
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• Daybreak Adopt-A-Pet: March 24, 2017

  24-03-2017 22:00
  
  From Anchorage Animal Care and Control:
  Easter has come early to Anchorage Animal Care and Control where there are four sweet, cuddly, soft, adorable bunnies; four mice and one cat who are looking for new homes.
  Bunnies are social animals who like spending time out of their cages and in your lap. Especially if you have snacks for them to nibble on. The rabbits available are Brownie, Thumper, Petunia and Mister Pickle.
  There are also four mice awaiting a good home. Just imagine the hours of enter
  
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• It can power an ice rink in Fairbanks. Could it power rural Alaska?

  24-03-2017 21:45 via ktoo.org
  
  A hockey team plays a game at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. The Alaska Center for Energy and Power, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough are hoping an innovative energy system can help power the lights. (Photo by Tim Ellis/KUAC)
  A system that could power remote Alaska is being tested in an unexpected place. Typically found in Scandinavian countries, a new cleaner energy technology is now coming to Fairbanks.
  “Our PR campaign has been this isn’t wood bur
  
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• From left and right, Young finds fault with ACA replacement bill

  24-03-2017 20:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Small groups in favor of Affordable Care Act protested and marched outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday morning. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  Republicans in the House have postponed the vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as they try to overcome opposition from members of their own party. As many as two dozen Republican conservatives oppose the bill on grounds that it doesn’t repeal enough of the ACA. A smaller number of Republican moderates say it doesn&
  
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• Labor and business at odds over Walker’s worker’s compensation reform

  24-03-2017 20:44 via ktoo.org
  
  
  A welder shields his face from sparks. (Pixabay photo by Fernando Fleitas )
  Governor Bill Walker is sponsoring legislation he says would make it easier to determine if someone is an employee or an independent contractor.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/23WORKERSCOMP.mp3Walker’s legislation creates a new definition for independent contractors that would determine whether employers have to pay to insure against on-the-job injuries.  The issue is particularly important to t
  
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• AELP crews attack avalanches before they strike

  24-03-2017 20:14 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Most of Juneau’s power is hydroelectric. Getting that power to the community requires transmission lines that traverse miles of avalanche country. That’s why Alaska Electric Light and Power Company (AELP) uses helicopters to trigger slides to prevent destructive avalanches from knocking out the power.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/170324AVALANCHE-PKG2.mp3Flying at about 4,000 feet in a chartered AStar helicopter, AELP’s avalanche forecaster Mike Janes gives th
  
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• Ryan, Trump Meet As More Republicans Defect From Health Care Bill

  24-03-2017 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  The Republican health care plan is on life support.
  House Speaker Paul Ryan headed to the White House Friday afternoon to brief President Trump on the bill’s status amid key GOP defections Friday afternoon.
  A defeat of their plan, the American Health Care Act, would be devastating to the GOP. The party has vowed repeatedly over the past eight years that they would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. An inability to do that, with control of the House, Senate
  
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• Huge fine issued for dangerous incident at Anchorage power plant

  24-03-2017 19:35 via ktoo.org
  
  A sign points to ML&P’s newest power facility in East Anchorage. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk.)
  The state is fining three companies a combined $882,000 for violations that led to a dangerous incident last September at a power plant in East Anchorage.
  The companies were involved with construction of Municipal Light & Power’s Plant 2A, which started operating last year.
  Greg Cashen, deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce D
  
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• GOP pulls health care overhaul off House floor

  24-03-2017 19:16
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  4:40 p.m.
  President Donald Trump says he would be willing to reopen negotiations for a health care bill with Democrats if the Affordable Care Act fails.
  Trump told reporters Friday that he would be “open to it” if Democrats wanted to work on a bipartisan measure. He predicted the current law would soon collapse.
  The president says he has a great relationship with the Republican Party and isn’t going
  
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• Researchers Test Hotter, Faster And Cleaner Way To Fight Oil Spills

  24-03-2017 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  On a cold and windy day off the coast of Alabama, a team of researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts gathers, conducting the first test outside a laboratory for a potential new solution to a challenging problem: cleaning oil spills from water.
  The invention, the Flame Refluxer, is “very simple,” says Ali Rangwala, a professor of fire protection engineering: Imagine a giant Brillo pad of copper wool sandwiched between layers of copper screen, with springy copp
  
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• US imposes sanctions on China, North Korea entities, people

  24-03-2017 17:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on 30 foreign companies and people from 10 countries, including China.
  The State Department said Friday that the entities and people contribute to activity that “only serves to escalate regional conflicts further and poses a significant threat to regional security.”
  The statement says that a group of eleven entities and individuals were sanctioned for transfers of sensitive items to Iran’s ballistic missile
  
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• Volunteers at Covenant House help assemble Narcan kits

  24-03-2017 17:15
  
  Narcan has been called a life-saving drug that can stop a heroin overdose in its tracks. That’s one reason why the federal government is paying millions of dollars to help states get more of it into the hands of citizens.
  A $4.2 million grant is helping the Alaska Department of Heath and Social Services (DHSS) pay for 6,000 Narcan kits. On Thursday, volunteers at Covenant House in Anchorage were working to assemble about 2,000 kits to be distributed around the state.
  Silace
  
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• Kenai Assembly defeats proposal to drop invocation policy

  24-03-2017 16:57
  
  KENAI, Alaska (AP) – Though legal challenges still remain, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has defeated a proposal to drop its controversial invocation policy.
  The Peninsula Clarion reported Wednesday that the assembly voted down an ordinance that would have repealed the section of code allowing for an invocation before meetings. Policy currently allows invocations from members of religious organizations that have established local presences and regular meetings. Chaplains servin
  
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• Alaskans march against domestic violence and sexual assault

  24-03-2017 04:54
  
  Communities across Alaska are taking steps forward, marching in solidarity against what they call an epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault.
  On Thursday, the Zonta Club of Anchorage organized a march from the Delaney Park Strip to Town Square Park. Roughly 100 people attended.
  Demonstrations such as this are at the center of the state’s Choose Respect campaign, which was started by former governor Sean Parnell in 2009.
  “Alaska unfortunately has the highest rate of this
  
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• Alaska Senate passes bill to allow Uber, Lyft in Alaska

  24-03-2017 04:24
  
  The Alaska Senate passed a bill Thursday that gives ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft the green light in Alaska. The measure passed 14 to 5, but not without lengthy debate.
  Lawmakers spent more than four hours going over the Senate Bill 14. Members of the Democratic minority raised concerns about a provision that allows the state to regulate the industry, overriding municipal authority.
  The minority introduced a total of 23 amendments to the measure. While some were adopted, Democrats vo
  
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• Military props up Alaska’s economy in tough financial times

  24-03-2017 04:07
  
  Alaska’s military leaders are worried the state could become a target for North Korea, and that has armed forces ramping up. Top military officials in Alaska gave state lawmakers an update on the state of the military Thursday, one that shows the new efforts go beyond public safety to helping protect the state’s economy.
  Alaska’s purse strings may be tight, but the federal government is still spending money up here — especially on the military.
  “With the many c
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: To vote or not to vote

  24-03-2017 03:31
  
  So, here’s a question for you. Do you know who’s running for Anchorage Assembly in your area?
  Chances are you don’t. Don’t feel bad about that.
  I have to confess that up until I started writing this commentary, I didn’t know the candidates in my area either, and the election is just 12 days away.
  The statistics tell us that 3 out of 4 eligible voters won’t bother to vote in this election.
  In the past 10 years, there have been seven municipal elections wit
  
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• Results: ASAA high school basketball quarterfinals

  24-03-2017 02:05
  
  Girls 3A Quarterfinals
  Sitka 78 – Valdez 22
  Four players scored in the double figures to lead the Sitka Wolves to an easy win over Valdez. Zosha Krupa scored 22 points in 20 minutes. Alexandra Kirby chipped in a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.
  Anchorage Christian 54 – Galena 37
  After a slow first quarter, ACS opened it up in the second outscoring the Grizzlies 22-6 en route to the 17 point victory. Destiny Reimers poured in a game high 16 points.
  Girls 4A Quarterfinal
  
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• Juneau Afternoon–3-24-2017

  24-03-2017 01:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline hosts:
  Volunteers from the Marie Drake Planetarium’s will preview their presentation on the Great American Solar Eclipse;
  We’ll get an update on the Juneau Family Health and Birth Center;
  We’ll hear about the next Fireside Lecture about Seward’s Folly;
  And folks from Perseverance Theatre will highlight “To Kill a Mockingbird”
  
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• Alaska high school students address gun violence and prevention

  24-03-2017 01:56 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Kodiak student council members Solomon Himelbloom, Beatriz Recinos-Pineda and Esmerelda Lopez with their advisor Lindsey Glenn (Photo by Caroline Halter/KTOO)
  High schoolers from across the state wrapped up an annual student government conference at Juneau’s Thunder Mountain High School this week. This year, they tackled a serious topic: gun violence at school.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/22sandyhook_mixdown.mp3Mark Barden addressed the auditorium full of students fr
  
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• Juneau Afternoon–3-23-2017

  24-03-2017 01:50 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon, Joan Pardes hosts:
  We’ll hear about a lecture at UAS titled “The Northwest Passage: A Tale of Two Transits”;
  We’ll get a preview of the PFLAG pride chorus’s next performance;
  Erin Kirkland will join us to tell us about her new book “Alaska on the Go: Exploring the Alaska Marine Highway System with Children”;
  And we’ll hear Arts Up with Nancy DeCherney.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/03/Juneau-PM-3-23-17.
  
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• Military officials discuss REAL ID urgency, other issues

  24-03-2017 01:49 via ktoo.org
  
  Laurel J. Hammel, Major General, Alaska National Guard, speaks before the Joint Armed Services Committee of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  Time is running out for Alaskans who work on military bases to get IDs like passports that comply with federal law ahead of an early June deadline. Alaska National Guard leader Major Gen. Laurie Hummel spoke about the effect of federal REAL ID Act requirements during the state’s military leaders’ annual vis
  
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• White House tells House Republicans ,’Let’s vote’ on health care bill

  24-03-2017 01:44
  
  The Latest on the upcoming health care vote in the House (all times local):
  7:50 p.m.
  President Donald Trump wants the House to vote on the health care bill, and Republicans say a vote will occur Friday.
  White House officials had a simple message to a divided House Republican caucus on the bill: “Let’s vote.”
  Republicans emerging from the closed-door meeting Thursday said they will vote Friday afternoon even though leadership is still trying to secure the votes.
  Senior White Ho
  
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• Inter-Island Ferry attracts more passengers

  24-03-2017 01:03 via ktoo.org
  
  The Inter-Island Ferry Authority ship Stikine sails to its Ketchikan terminal in 2008. It and its sister ship, the Prince of Wales, are carrying more passengers following a drop in ridership. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/ CoastAlaska News)
  Southeast Alaska’s independent ferry system is working its way out of a ridership slump.
  The Inter-Island Ferry Authority sails a daily round-trip route linking Hollis, on central Prince of Wales Island, and Ketchikan. The authority is separate from the Alask
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Clear and cold on repeat

  24-03-2017 00:37 via ktoo.org
  
  Spencer Glacier on a cloudless day, March 11, 2017 (Photo by Dave Bass)
  For most of the state the weather forecast has been pretty simple for the entire month of March: cold and clear. But how unusual is that?
  Climatologist Brian Brettschneider says temperatures for the month have been colder than normal for most of the state, and well below normal for Anchorage and Fairbanks.
  “It’s been the coldest March since 2007 and the second coldest March since the 1970s,” he said. &
  
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• Judge declines to throw out charges in homicide case

  24-03-2017 00:16 via ktoo.org
  
  Defense attorney Eve Soutiere and defendant Christopher Strawn look over documents during the start of his homicide trial on Feb. 6, 2017. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  The retrial of Christopher Strawn on murder and other charges related to the death of Brandon Cook will likely go ahead as planned in October. The judge in the case has rejected a motion filed by Strawn’s defense attorney to dismiss the indictment.
  Online court records show Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg denied the mo
  
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• Arctic winter sees record low sea-ice cover

  24-03-2017 00:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Ice floes float in Baffin Bay between Canada and Greenland above the Arctic circle on July 10, 2008. The seven lowest levels of sea ice cover have all been recorded in the last seven years. (Photo by Jonathan Hayward, Canadian Press.)
  It’s been a chilly winter here in the Interior and elsewhere around the state. But for the Arctic Ocean, it’s been one long warm spell. That’s led to another record-low year for formation of Arctic winter sea-ice cover.
  Experts with the National S
  
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