Anchorage news

• Pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads spiking

  30-03-2017 23:16
  
  WASHINGTON — Pedestrian deaths are climbing faster than motorist fatalities, reaching nearly 6,000 last year – the highest total in more than two decades, according to an analysis of preliminary state data released Thursday.
  Increased driving due to an improved economy, lower gas prices and more walking for exercise and environmental factors are some of the likely reasons behind the estimated 11 percent spike in pedestrian fatalities in 2016. The figures were prepared for the Governo
  
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• Congress lets states block some Planned Parenthood money

  30-03-2017 23:06
  
  The Senate has voted to let states block federal family planning money from going to Planned Parenthood affiliates and other abortion providers.
  Senators approved the Republican legislation 51-50. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote after two GOP senators, Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, voted with Democrats against the measure.
  The bill erases a regulation imposed by former President Barack Obama that lets states deny family planning funds to an o
  
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• Formerly all-Boeing Alaska Air to keep Airbus jets for ‘foreseeable future’

  30-03-2017 23:00 via ktoo.org
  
  (Photo courtesy Alaska Airlines and Virgin America)
  Alaska Airlines executives say the integration of former rival Virgin America is proceeding on track. Parent company Alaska Air Group updated Wall Street analysts on the merger at an “Investor Day” briefing in New York City on Wednesday.
  One thing left up in the air was how long Alaska will keep Virgin America’s Airbus fleet. Chief Financial Officer Brandon Pedersen noted Alaska Airlines had long operated an all-Boeing fl
  
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• State suspends medical license of former Fairbanks Memorial Hospital chief of staff

  30-03-2017 22:14 via ktoo.org
  
  Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in May 2011. (Creative Commons photo by RadioKAOS)
  The State Medical Board has suspended the license of the former chief of staff at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The suspension of Dr. Christopher Jensen earlier this month is the result of accusations filed by the state, including drug use.
  Angela Birt is chief investigator for the state office of professional licensing. She said Jensen had “allegations of potential substance abuse.”
  Birt referenced a repor
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Keith Anderson

  30-03-2017 21:47
  
  Keith Anderson is a gold record-selling country artist. He was nominated for a Grammy and Academy of Country Music award for co-writing “Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)” for Garth Brooks and George Jones.
  Anderson will be touring in Alaska for the next three days — March 30 – April 1.
  Thursday evening, he’ll be playing at Klondike Mike’s and the Main Street Grill in Palmer. Anderson will be joined by Kendell Marvel and Danny Myrick, as part of the Ala
  
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• Beyond believers and deniers: for Americans, climate change is complicated

  30-03-2017 20:44 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Researchers with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication track how Americans think about global warming. You can find the full set of maps here.  (Image courtesy of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication)
  On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at rolling back many of the Obama administration’s efforts to curb climate change. The order comes as surveys show Americans remain divided over global warming’s causes and consequences.
  
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• APD: Armed suspect taken into custody after reportedly threatening wife

  30-03-2017 20:37
  
  Andy Nitchman / KTVA
  Last updated at 10:58 a.m. on Thursday, Mar. 30
  Anchorage police officers, negotiators and SWAT team members responded to a report of an armed man who barricaded himself inside an East Anchorage home Thursday shortly after 6 a.m.
  Jamie Lee Jacko, 41, walked out of the house and was taken into custody at 10:25 a.m., according to an updated release from police. He is charged with third-degree assault and will be taken to the Anchorage jail.
  A woman inside a home on Richa
  
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• Spring is an ideal time for Nordic skiing in Anchorage

  30-03-2017 20:18
  
  With warming temperatures in the forecast this week, skiing may not be the first outdoor activity that comes to mind. However, mild spring temperatures actually make for great skiing conditions-especially for skate skiers.
  “When you’re pushing down on the ski you’re actually creating this thin layer of water and that’s how you glide at all. When it’s colder it’s harder to get that layer of water. So the warmer the more of a water lens you’ll have and the
  
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• Grace Christian coach, players discuss 3A championship

  30-03-2017 19:18
  
  After a decade and half of waiting, the Grace Christian Grizzlies basketball team will be hang another 3A title banner from the rafters after taking the crown last weekend.
  Head Coach Jason Boerger along with a pair of his players paid a visit to KTVA on Wednesday.
  Watch the entire interview.
  The post Grace Christian coach, players discuss 3A championship appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Rural Trump voters embrace the sacrifices that come with support

  30-03-2017 17:51 via ktoo.org
  
  A new water tank in Strong City, Kansas, (at right) sits next to one that was part of an old leaky system on a hill just outside the city limits. (Photo by Frank Morris/KCUR)
  Some of President Trump’s proposed spending cuts would cripple programs that benefit communities full of his rural supporters, but at least in Strong City, Kan., some say they are ready “to bleed a little bit.”
  Strong City is a former railroad town of about 460 people, less than half the size it was in 189
  
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• Troopers release names of 2 officers in fatal shooting

  30-03-2017 17:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska State Troopers have released the names of two officers who fired their weapons, killing a suspect.The agency says Trooper Christopher Havens, an officer since February 2012, and Trooper Jason Somerville, employed since August 2015, fired their weapons.
  Thirty-six-year-old Justin Smith of Wasilla died in the shooting. Smith is suspected of killing a trooper dog, a 3-year-old Dutch shepherd named Rico. Havens was the dog’s handler.
  Troopers just before 3 a.m. Sunday tried stopping Smi
  
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• Providence offers free colon cancer screening kits

  30-03-2017 08:09
  
  When it comes to treating colon cancer, early detection can be a lifesaver. Providence Alaska Medical Center is pushing to get more adults screened for the disease that’s considered the number two cause of cancer death in the country.
  On Thursday and Friday, Providence is giving out free screening kits for colon cancer.
  “We want to get the word out, we want to get the kits out so more people are screened,” said Amy Myers, the director of digestive health at Providence Alaska. &
  
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• $1 million in grant money available for social justice projects

  30-03-2017 08:08
  
  From immigration issues to racial equality across Alaska, groups can now access a total of $1 million for grants to create awareness about social justice issues. The Alaska Community Foundation announced the project on Wednesday.
  Nina Kemppel, the CEO and president of the foundation, said the gift comes from John Rubini and Clare Bertucio and that the Alaska Community Foundation is working to match the gift.
  “As of four months ago, the national conversations around social ju
  
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• Preparing Alaskans for the next tsunami one community at a time

  30-03-2017 06:10
  
  There are about 75 communities in Alaska at risk of a tsunami and only about a third of those are fully prepared for the real event, according to experts.
  Coastal regions of Alaska have the most serious tsunami risk in the United States. Over 100,000 people have been identified as living in a community at risk of being hit by the dangerous series of waves that can follow an earthquake or landslide.
  When a tsunami strikes, the effects are devastating. Entire communities can be wiped out
  
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• Debate over same-sex bathrooms continues with new petition

  30-03-2017 06:07
  
  A group that wants to change the city’s equal rights ordinance is giving it another try. In January, the Municipal Attorney’s office rejected a ballot initiative from the group Protect Our Privacy that wanted to make changes to an ordinance passed by the Anchorage Assembly in 2015.
  At the time, the office concluded the petition wasn’t legal because it addressed too many subjects. This time, initiative sponsor Kim Minnery said the petition is much more specific.
  The new petition
  
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• Anchorage mayor mum on income tax while municipalities, businesses battle it out

  30-03-2017 05:50
  
  The fight over a state income tax just got bigger, with local governments and businesses taking stands on both sides of the debate.
  As the House Finance Committee took public testimony Wednesday on House Bill 115, legislators saw some well-known, respected groups weighing in on an income tax that would generate more than $640 million a year.
  Mayor Mike Navarre of the Kenai Peninsula Borough is advocating for the tax, while the Alaska Chamber is spending $40,000 to block it. The Alaska Chamber re
  
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• 3-year-old sees cop eating alone, so she walks up to his table and sits down

  30-03-2017 03:43
  
  Sgt. Steven Dearth with the Hingham Police Department in Massachusetts and 3-year-old LillianCourtesy Hingham Police Department/Facebook
  Sgt. Steven Dearth was taking a quick dinner break when he spotted a little girl in a booth with her family in Panera Bread staring at him.
  The 3-year-old girl named Lillian was sitting in her dad’s lap when she started waving to the police officer, who works with the Hingham Police Department in Massachusetts. The officer, waiting in line to pick up his
  
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• Freshman Hayden Lieb becomes Bethel’s first All-American wrestler

  30-03-2017 03:27
  
  BRHS freshman Hayden Lieb and junior Thomas Dyment at the 2017 National High School Coaches Association TournamentCourtesy Darren Lieb/BRHS via KYUK Freshman Hayden Lieb finished fifth out of 63 wrestlers in his weight class.Courtesy Darren Lieb/BRHS via KYUK
  Freshman Hayden Lieb has become the first Bethel Regional High School (BRHS) wrestler to earn an All-American title, according to a story originally published by KYUK Public Media. The wrestler earned the honor this weekend at the 2017 Nat
  
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• Alcohol, drugs cost Alaska economy $3 billion a year

  30-03-2017 03:18 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Mental Health Trust Legislative Liaison Jeff Jessee and McDowell Group Vice President of Anchorage Operations Donna Logan address the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on March 29 about the economic costs of alcohol abuse in Alaska. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The total costs from alcohol and drug abuse and dependence in Alaska are more than $3 billion per year, according to a new Alaska Mental Health Trust report completed by the McDowell Group.
  That amount is equal to
  
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• Tsunami warning system test reveals breaks in communication

  30-03-2017 02:57
  
  A few errors were identified in the state’s tsunami warning system during a state-wide test Wednesday. This test is done every year to make sure the system is working properly, and Wednesday’s test aimed to reach all coastal Alaska communities at risk.
  Most people heard or saw the signal loud and clear — it was pushed out over the airwaves on television and radio and even through sirens — but that wasn’t the case for some in the Southeast. There was one problem with
  
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• What is the Arctic Council and how does it work?

  30-03-2017 02:41 via ktoo.org
  
  Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials met in Juneau’s Centennial Hall in March 2017. (Photo courtesy of Linnea Nordström/Arctic Council Secretariat)
  Members of the Arctic Council wrapped up their recent meeting in Juneau approving measures related to protecting or monitoring areas of the Arctic for the effects of climate change or potential development.
  Created just over 20 years ago, the Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum made up of representatives from eight Arcti
  
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• UK begins Brexit process, triggers Article 50 to leave EU

  30-03-2017 02:16
  
  The United Kingdom formally triggered Article 50 and began the process of leaving the European Union on Wednesday, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reports. The move will end a 44-year relationship, and Britain’s breakup with the EU may not be pretty.
  The divorce papers were filed at European Union headquarters in Brussels, after British Prime Minister Theresa May signed an official letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday.
  In a statement, May said, “It is my fi
  
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• New owner, new look for Title Wave Books

  30-03-2017 02:07
  
  Title Wave Books is currently home to about a half-million books and Angela Libal is partial to all of them.
  “Impossible, I could never pick a favorite,” she laughed. “It’s like picking your favorite kid, right?”
  Libal started working at the bookstore 19 years ago, and now she’s the store’s new owner. She’s making a few small changes, including downsizing the space by about 10,000 square feet. Everything in the warehouse section is being sold
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 3-30-17

  30-03-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday on A Juneau Afternoon:
  We’ll meet some bi-lingual students from UAS;
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here with Arts Up!
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music and more,Thursday afternoon on A Juneau Afternoon, live at 3 on KTOO-NEWS, repeated at 4 on KRNN. And available on demand via ktoo.org
  
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• Meet the candidates: District 2 – Seat C – Chugiak/Eagle River

  30-03-2017 01:36
  
  KTVA invited every registered candidate running in the upcoming Anchorage municipal election to an on-camera interview at our studios to discuss the following topics:
  Balancing the budget
  Public safety
  Introducing new taxes
  Addressing homelessness in Anchorage
  Plans for the future
  We also asked each candidate to submit a 300-word biography, each of which has been left unaltered. The candidates’ full interviews and responses are listed below, ordered alphabetically.
  John BrassellBiography
  J
  
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• Juneau warehouse pot grow gets the green light

  30-03-2017 01:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau now has six licensed marijuana cultivation operations. (iStockphoto)
  The Juneau Planning Commission unanimously gave the green light to a 6,000-square-foot warehouse marijuana grow operation at its Tuesday meeting.
  The decision marks the sixth licensed marijuana cultivation facility in the capital city.
  It would be the second location for Green Elephant LLC, which plans a retail and growing operation at a Mill Street site south of downtown. The state has already licensed the Mill Street o
  
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• Video: Spectacular northern lights corona captured in real-time

  30-03-2017 01:04
  
   
  North Pole photographer Sean Kurdziolek specializes in taking stunning photos of the aurora borealis with clients.
  He described his process in a 2016 series KTVA produced called “Chasing the Lights.”
  On an outing with clients Monday, he captured a vivid display of aurora corona dancing overhead in real-time. The display occurred around 1 a.m., according to Kurdziolek.
  He said it was the best show he’s seen all season, a season that will soon end as the daylight grows&nb
  
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