Anchorage news

• ‘Solar-powered skin’ could open new doors for prosthetics

  25-03-2017 21:58
  
  Engineers have developed a new way of harnessing the sun’s rays to power “synthetic skin” that they hope can be used to create advanced prosthetic limbs capable of returning the sense of touch to amputees.
  Dr Ravinder Dahiya. Courtesy University of Glasgow
  The researchers from the University of Glasgow had previously created “electronic skin” for prosthetic hands made from graphene, a highly flexible form of graphite that is only a single atom but stronger than stee
  
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• London attacker Khalid Masood taught English in Saudi Arabia

  25-03-2017 21:49
  
  The British man who killed four people during a London rampage had made three trips to Saudi Arabia: He taught English there twice on a work visa and returned on a visa usually granted to those going on a religious pilgrimage.More details about attacker Khalid Masood’s travels, confirmed by the Saudi Arabian embassy in Britain, emerged Saturday amid a massive British police effort to discover how a homegrown ex-con with a violent streak became radicalized and why he launched a deadly attac
  
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• Alaska’s Hebard leads Oregon to another NCAA win

  25-03-2017 21:21
  
  They did it again.
  West Valley High School’s Ruthy Hebard helped the 10th-seeded University of Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team to another upset win in the NCAA tournament. This time it was a 77-63 shocker over the third-seeded Maryland Terps at the regional in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The victory puts the Ducks into the Elite Eight for the first time ever in program history and a nets them a matchup with the number-one University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies.Hebard has been a
  
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• In lavish style, entourage of Chinese tourists and crew runs its own ‘Iditarod’

  25-03-2017 21:03
  
  The Burled Arch awaits mushers in Nome.Days before the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race finished, on Sunday, March 12, a group of Chinese tourists arrived at Nome’s burled arch after mushing the trail themselves. But unlike the competitive finishers of Iditarod 2017, these first-time mushers had been aided in their run by a large entourage of traveling trail staff, with a bevy of specialized gear to match. Most of the tourists had never seen snow before embarking on the tr
  
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• Prince of Wales Island gets new courthouse in Klawock

  25-03-2017 20:37
  
  Prince of Wales Island has a new courthouse in the community of Klawock.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reports that the new facility opened this month about six miles away from the former courthouse in Craig.
  Area Court Administrator Neal Nesheim says the new courthouse is more centrally located and can better serve the island’s needs.
  The courthouse is just under 3,000 square feet and holds one courtroom. The facility is large enough to hold felony and 12-juror civil trials, which used to be h
  
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• Pick.Click.Give. receiving fewer but larger donations

  25-03-2017 20:36
  
  Alaskans have one week left to apply for the Permanent Fund Dividend. The PFD Division says it expects this week to be its busiest yet, with around 80,000 more applications. By 6 a.m. Friday morning, a spokesperson said they had 469,774 applications, 500 more than they did at that time the previous year.
  Will the numbers translate to donations through Pick. Click. Give.?  Nonprofits are hoping so.
  Armed with signs, music and smiles, a couple dozen representatives from various orga
  
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• Hilcorp, owner of leaking Alaska pipeline, to reduce natural gas flow for repair work

  25-03-2017 20:12
  
  Hilcorp Alaska LLC says it will be taking steps to begin repairs on a natural gas pipeline that has been leaking into Cook Inlet for weeks. The pipeline is leaking an estimated 193,000 to 215,000 cubic feet of gas a day into Alaska’s Cook Inlet, which contains endangered beluga whales.
  The site of the leak from Hilcorp’s pipeline
  Hilcorp says the leak hasn’t caused any significant environmental issues but ice has made it too risky to start repairing the pipeline. The
  
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• House majority and minority offer new plans for budget future

  25-03-2017 19:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Lance Pruitt, R- Anchorage, during a House minority press availability Thursday. Pruitt introduced a fiscal plan. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  House members from both sides of the aisle have put forward new ideas to balance the state government budget into the future.
  The co-chairmen of the House Finance Committee revised their plans to introduce an income tax to Alaska for the first time in nearly four decades.
  Instead of basing the tax on 15 percent of residents’ federal tax liabi
  
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• Inside the Gates: Change of command for the Army’s 4/25

  25-03-2017 05:55
  
  A change of command ceremony on JBER Friday morning welcomed a new leader to the nation’s only Arctic airborne combat brigade. Col. Paul Larson assumed command of the Army’s 4/25 Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
  It’s the first assignment in Alaska for Larson, who spent the last six months in Afghanistan. When asked about the challenges ahead for the Brigade, Larson referred to the large geographic area where the soldiers could face deployment.
  “I think one of the biggest ch
  
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• UAA unveils Alaska’s first lactation pod for nursing mothers

  25-03-2017 05:37
  
  Nursing mothers at the University of Alaska Anchorage now have a dedicated, private space to feed their babies or pump breast milk.
  A new lactation pod is located on the first floor of the student union, and is the first of its kind in the entire state.
  It features seating, shelves, electrical outlets and USB ports. The $15,000 pod was paid for by a grant from the Alaska Workplace Breastfeeding Support Project.
  The lactation pod provides mothers with a comfortable space, something Health Science
  
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• 28 years later, Exxon Valdez still casts shadow as Alaskans weigh in on oil tax change

  25-03-2017 04:44
  
  Friday marked the 28th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill — and the end of a long week of debate in Juneau on big policy changes for the oil industry. Tensions leftover from the historic event have spilled over into a battle on oil tax credits.
  While lawmakers are welcoming of the revenue that oil development brings, they’re also wary of the risks of relying on something that can leave permanent scars on the environment, and those who call Alaska home.
  Jerry McCune is one
  
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• Results: ASAA 3A, 4A high school basketball semifinals

  25-03-2017 03:49
  
  Results from Friday’s semifinal games at the Alaska Airlines Center. Please check back; this story will be updated as games are completed.
  3A Boys Semifinal
  Monroe Catholic 42 – Valdez 40
  The Rams held off the Buccaneers’ late rally to advance to the title game. Valdez’ slow start didn’t help as it went scoreless in the first quarter falling behind 9-0. Monroe Catholic got 11 points from Ryan Brantley to get back to the championship. The school won three straig
  
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• Good Samaritan cleans graffiti from park strip train

  25-03-2017 02:55
  
  Nick Swann / KTVA
  ANCHORAGE — A good Samaritan has helped to remove the graffiti from the train that sits on the Delaney Park Strip, and it wasn’t the person who first volunteered to do the job in the first place.
  The graffiti was discovered Wednesday morning.
  Anchorage park planner Maeve Lavtar said she had instructed city maintenance crews to try and remove the graffiti as best they could, but an anonymous man and his family got there first. Although Lavtar didn’t know it at
  
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• AK: Fishing for herring from the sky

  25-03-2017 02:52 via ktoo.org
  
  The herring fishery is in a race against time, trying to catch the quota before the herring spawn. Last year, the spawn began before the quota was met. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game instructed the fleet to stand down. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)
  The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is in full swing. In less than a week, the fleet has caught over half of its quota. And while most crew members work on the water, spotter pilots fish for herring from the sky.
  I’m going to take yo
  
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• Sitka basketball team returns to Anchorage after receiving national honor

  25-03-2017 02:08
  
   
  The Sitka Wolves basketball team are champions, and it has nothing to do with shooting percentage or rebounds.
  They made a return to Anchorage this week during the state basketball tournament. While their quest for a state title ended after a first round loss to Monroe Catholic, the Wolves were reminded of a much bigger prize.
  Last year, during the state tournament, head coach Andy Lee and his team helped save 12 people from a burning apartment building in Anchorage, while on their w
  
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• Young hails demise of health bill, wants more work on issue

  25-03-2017 01:00
  
  The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House says he would have voted against a GOP health care bill had it been brought to a vote.
  U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska says it was not good legislation. He says it would have hurt people on Medicaid and did not address issues with high costs.
  The bill was pulled for lack of support Friday.
  In a video message, Young called it a good day for Alaska.
  He says he supports repealing the current health care law, passed under then-President Barack Obama. Bu
  
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