Anchorage news

• APD: Intoxicated man clocked doing 111 on Glenn Hwy

  06-04-2017 23:44
  
  A 39-year-old Anchorage man is accused of driving recklessly while intoxicated with a minor child in the vehicle.
  A witness reported to Anchorage Police seeing the driver of a Ford Taurus toss what they believed to be a can out of the window while dangerously cutting between two vehicles on the highway; the witness says the object struck and damaged their windshield.
  Anchorage Police pulled over Shawn Bannister Wednesday night after they say he was clocked driving 111 mph in a 65 mph zone on the
  
  Read more

• Aces’ loss pushes them closer to the end

  06-04-2017 23:42
  
  The Alaska Aces’ season is officially on the brink. Following a 2-0 loss to the Idaho Steelheads, coupled with Utah’s 2-1 overtime win over Missouri, the Aces now trail the Grizzlies by three points with two games to play.
  The Utah win also eliminated the Mavericks from playoff contention.
  It was a crushing outcome at Sullivan Arena as Glacier Blue had its opportunities, but was unable to capitalize — especially in the third period, wasting three power plays.
  “We generate
  
  Read more

• ‘Aurora: A Tale of the Northern Lights,’ from page to ballet stage

  06-04-2017 23:12
  
  The Anchorage Ballet’s newest production is based off an Alaska children’s book, “Aurora: A Tale of the Northern Lights.” Arianna Ciccarelli plays the title role of Aurora, and said the it follows the same story as the book. In it, Aurora is a passionate young girl who wants to learn more about herself while she adventures through Alaska. Ciccarelli said it’s a story a lot of kids can relate to.
  The artistic director, Michelangelo Canale, says this is the
  
  Read more

• Phil Crawford’s can’t miss events for April

  06-04-2017 23:04
  
  Phil Crawford from 907Life.com has hand picked three events he says Alaskans shouldn’t miss for the month of April.
  Happening on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8, are Alaska Aces’ final home games of the season at the Sullivan Arena. They will be facing off against the Idaho Steelheads. Crawford lamented this could be the last time for Alaskans to see the Aces play at their home ice. Earlier this year, the team announced it would cease operations, ending its nearly three de
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Absurdist play, ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’ entering its final weekend

  06-04-2017 22:57
  
  The University of Alaska Anchorage Theatre Department’s performance, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” is a fast-paced absurdist play written by stand-up comedian and actor Steve Martin. According to the event page, Albert Einstein and artist Pablo Picasso meet at a Parisian cafe in 1904. The two are on the cusp of publishing the theory of relativity and introducing the world to cubism, respectively. The genius pair discuss everything from the advancements of the 1800s to the
  
  Read more

• Congressman Don Young pulls punches for road foe

  06-04-2017 22:07 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Witnesses wait to testify at a hearing in the U.S. House on the King Cove Road. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  At the U.S. Capitol, Alaska Rep. Don Young is known to berate Democrats and environmentalists who oppose his efforts to get a road for King Cove.
  Young accuses them of being indifferent to the lives of his constituents, the Alaska Natives who reside in a remote, isolated community.
  At a hearing Wednesday, the witness who spoke against the road was also an Alaska Native f
  
  Read more

• White wolf stuck, killed by car in Midtown

  06-04-2017 21:55
  
  Anchorage's white wolf rests near the Campbell Creek bike trail on July 21, 2016, after feeding on a moose calf it was killed in Midtown Anchorage in early April 2017. (Credit: Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game)
  ANCHORAGE, AK —  A female white wolf was killed after being struck by a car Wednesday morning in Midtown.
  An official with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the 10- to 12-year-old white wolf was hit by a car on East Tudor Road near the Muldoon curve around 6:45 a.m.
  T
  
  Read more

• Meet Mike Conaway, GOP congressman now overseeing House’s Russia probe

  06-04-2017 21:41 via ktoo.org
  
  Texas Republican Mike Conaway will now preside over the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. This comes after the announcement on Thursday morning that the embattled Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., will be stepping away from the Russia probe.
  Conaway is a seven-term congressman and the second-ranking Republican on the committee. Said to be well-respected among his GOP colleagues, Conaway will have the difficult ta
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Climate change hits Alaska’s rural water and sewer systems

  06-04-2017 21:41 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Open water, seen from the beach in Unalakleet in November 2015. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  For decades, Alaska has struggled to get running water and sewer systems to its rural communities. An estimated 3,000 households — or about 10,000 people — still lack both. Now, that job may be getting harder, as climate change exacerbates old problems and creates new ones.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/04/05H2Oclimate.mp3For years, the village of Unalakl
  
  Read more

• Fate of competing plans to close state budget is uncertain

  06-04-2017 21:19 via ktoo.org
  
  Co-chair of House Finance Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, asked questions during a hearing on Tuesday. Seaton supports reintroducing an income tax. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  To some House members, reintroducing an income tax in Alaska is the best way to close a long-term gap between how much the state government spends and what it raises in revenue.
  But senators are opposed to the plan, leaving a political chasm between the two chambers with only 11 days left before the scheduled end to the legi
  
  Read more

• Listen: Guest Band The Murphy Beds previews their Alaska Folk Fest music

  06-04-2017 21:11 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Alaska Folk Festival 2017 Guest Artist The Murphy Beds perform at 8 p.m. Thursday at Centennial Hall. (Photo by Anna Colliton/Courtesy of the Artist)
  Irish folk music duo The Murphy Beds of New York, are this year’s Guest Artist for the 43rd annual Alaska Folk Festival. Jefferson Hamer and Eamon O’Leary  are known for their close harmonies and dynamic arrangements featuring guitar, bouzouki  and Mandolin. Together they reinvent traditional folk songs with a repertoire
  
  Read more

• AK man facing child sex charges fights extradition

  06-04-2017 20:11
  
  Jeffrey Jackson (Courtesy of the Washington Country Sheriff's Office)
  SEARCY, AR — A 51-year-old man suspected of sexual abuse over multiple years in a southwest Alaska village is fighting extradition from Arkansas.
  Jeffery Jackson faces 76 felony counts, including 28 counts of first-degree sexual assault.
  He’s being held on $1 million bail at the White County Jail in Searcy, Arkansas. Online court documents to not list his attorney.
  The case stems from incidents in the village of N
  
  Read more

• Video: Designing a renewable energy device for rural Alaska

  06-04-2017 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  An old technology may play a role in the future of affordable energy in rural Alaska. Professor Tom Ravens has been working with students in his lab at the University of Alaska Anchorage to design a practical, low-cost hydrokinetic device for use in rural communities around the state.
  
  Read more

• Troopers identify ‘distraught male’ who was firing shots near Beluga Point

  06-04-2017 07:35
  
  Last updated at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, Apr. 6
  Both the inbound and outbound lanes of the Seward Highway have been reopened following a 12-hour closure overnight.
  The road was closed between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point as officials with the Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage police and SWAT dealt with a “distraught male who fired gunshots and threatened a citizen.”
  The suspect has been identified as 36-year-old Kevin Thibodeau, according to a release from the Alaska State T
  
  Read more

• Seward Highway closed in both directions near Beluga Point

  06-04-2017 07:35
  
  Both the inbound and outbound lanes of the Seward Highway are currently closed between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point as Anchorage police respond to a “developing situation.”
  The Anchorage Police Department sent out a Nixle alert at 9:25 p.m.The Seward Hwy is closed both direction north of McHugh Creek and south of Beluga Point while APD manages a developing situation. Please a
  — APD Public Info. (@APDInfo) April 6, 2017Drivers are being asked to avoid the area.
  Police
  
  Read more

• Morning update: Seward Highway still closed in response to armed ‘distraught male’

  06-04-2017 07:35
  
   
  Last updated at 7:40 a.m. on Thursday, Apr. 6
  Both the inbound and outbound lanes of the Seward Highway are currently closed between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point as Anchorage police and Alaska State Troopers SWAT attempt to disarm a “distraught” male.
  There is no school bus service for Girdwood-area families Thursday due to the closure, Anchorage School District spokesperson Heidi Embley confirms. The Girdwood K-8 school is having class today.
  The Anchorage Po
  
  Read more

• Anchorage police, troopers close Seward Highway in response to armed “distraught male”

  06-04-2017 07:35
  
  Outbound traffic on the Seward Highway is backed up as police respond to a situation near Beluga Point. (Daniella Rivera / KTVA)Last updated at 11:57 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 5
  Both the inbound and outbound lanes of the Seward Highway are currently closed between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point as Anchorage police and Alaska State Troopers SWAT attempt to disarm a “distraught” male.
  The Anchorage Police Department sent out a Nixle alert at 9:25 p.m.The Seward Hwy is closed bo
  
  Read more

• No aerial bear hunting; Fish & Game clarifies Alaska’s new hunting regulations

  06-04-2017 07:06
  
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to clear up misconceptions about new hunting regulations President Trump recently signed into law.
  Congressman Don Young said H.J.R. 69 was about overturning an Obama administration rule that gave the federal agencies too much control over land in Alaska.
  Conservation groups around the country produced articles with headlines like “Alaska’s Wolf Pups and Hibernating Bears are Fair Game for Hunters in Trump’s America,” saying sp
  
  Read more

• Reformers seek alternatives to putting mentally ill behind bars in Alaska

  06-04-2017 06:54
  
  There’s a will, but no clear way to solve a problem the Deptartment of Corrections (DOC) calls ‘unacceptable.’ Every year, Alaska prisons see thousands of cases of intoxicated, often mentally ill people who spend the night in prison cells instead of hospitals beds.
  Greg Fitch is one of them.
  “I have schizoaffective disorder. I have a personality disorder, very common in mental illness. I’m an ex-alcoholic and I do fall behind the wagon sometimes,” Fitch said d
  
  Read more

• DHSS confirms 38 newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2016

  06-04-2017 06:41
  
  While the number of HIV cases are going down nationally, in Alaska, state health officials say they’re on the rise.
  Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) released its latest numbers.
  In 2016, 38 newly diagnosed cases of HIV were confirmed.
  “We’re not seeing a reduction in the number of cases. Each year we have between 20 and 50 new HIV cases reported,” DHSS HIV/STD program coordinator Susan Jones said.
  The average age of those infected in 2
  
  Read more

• Biggest spenders in Tuesday’s election didn’t see wins

  06-04-2017 06:14
  
  Money plays a roll in most elections, and Anchorage’s municipal election is no exception. But as it turns out, those who spent the most, didn’t necessarily win, especially when it came to two ballot propositions.
  The Anchorage Taxi Permit Holders Association and their supporters were the biggest spenders in Tuesday’s election, with their “Say YES to 8 campaign.” The group said they spent $107,000 on a series of ads asking voters to repeal a recent assembly ordinance
  
  Read more

• Neighbors say abandoned house in Spenard is a safety concern

  06-04-2017 05:48
  
  Pesky neighbors are the least of Amber Glasser’s problems.
  The property next to hers in Spenard has sat abandoned for years, but that doesn’t mean it’s been empty.
  “Lots of homeless camps, lots of drug use, lots of stolen vehicles being dropped off,” she listed as concerns, adding that she’s had to call the police more than a handful of times. “Stolen items, people running through our backyard, lot of police through the neighborhood. Just always an
  
  Read more

• 2017 Folk Fest Nightlife Guide

  06-04-2017 03:47 via ktoo.org
  
  It’s not hard to find something to do during the Alaska Folk Festival, but this year we tried to make it easy and list your favorite venue schedules all in one place. As these things go, we’ll be updating the schedule daily with changes, new events, and start times as we learn more.Nicole Church performs at Kindred Post Wednesday at 7:00. (Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO)
  Wednesday
  Tiny Post Office Concert Featuring The Quaintrelles & Nicole Church at 7:00 p.m. at the Kindre
  
  Read more

• Senate Finance budget cut falls short of $300 million goal

  06-04-2017 03:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, proposed a series of budget amendments during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Monday. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The Senate will debate a state government budget for the coming year that is $262 million less than the current budget.
  The Senate Finance Committee’s proposed cut is much deeper than the $32 million cut the House passed.
  But it falls short of the $300 million that the Senate majority caucus announced as a reduction goal this winter.
  
  Read more

• Alaska marijuana regulators delay onsite use debate

  06-04-2017 03:23
  
  Alaska marijuana regulators have delayed discussion about onsite use until next month.
  The board was to consider Wednesday whether to move forward with proposed rules for allowing retail pot customers to consume their purchases on site, a step no other state has taken yet.
  The debate comes amid concerns that doing so could bring unwanted attention from the federal government.
  However, the board during its meeting prioritized slogging through a backlog of license applications for new retail store
  
  Read more

• Ask a Climatologist: Should we be worried about methane hydrates on the sea floor?

  06-04-2017 03:05 via ktoo.org
  
  A Methane hydrate sample under a rock encrusted with deep-sea mussels on the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo courtesy of NOAA)
  What are methane hydrates and what role could they play in global warming? That’s the question a listener posed this week for the segment Ask a Climatologist.
  Brian Brettscheider says methane hydrates are clumps of gas entrapped in water lattice – a kind of ice-like structure — on the continental shelf floor. Some scientists think of these hydrat
  
  Read more

• Recall effort underway for three Haines Assembly members

  06-04-2017 03:04 via ktoo.org
  
  
  A group of Haines residents is trying to recall half of the borough assembly, including the two newest members.
  Resident Don Turner Jr., along with nine other people, signed three requests for recall petitions.
  They accuse Assembly members Tom Morphet, Heather Lende and Tresham Gregg of misconduct in office.http://khns.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/05RecallwiNTRO.mp3Turner publically threatened a recall petition for Morphet after the Assembly voted 4-2 to fire former manager Bill Seward in Dece
  
  Read more

• Most property assessments rise in Juneau

  06-04-2017 02:38 via ktoo.org
  
  City and Borough of Juneau city hall in 2013. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)
  By now Juneau property owners should have received property value notices that were mailed out last Friday.
  Alaska state law requires the City and Borough of Juneau to tax property at market value.
  About 60 percent of properties saw their tax bill increase. On average, these went up 3.5 percent, though some saw a hike as high as 10 percent.
  “Fair market value is generally determined by what it would sell for on th
  
  Read more

• Congressman Don Young renews fight for King Cove road

  06-04-2017 02:35
  
  Congressman Don Young was fired up Wednesday about legislation he introduced to the House Natural Resources Subcommittee.
  The King Cove Land Exchange Act, H.R. 218, would allow the State of Alaska to give up 43,093 acres in exchange for 206 acres of federal land the community needs to build an 11-mile, one-land road to the neighboring village of Cold Bay.
  It’s an issue the people of King Cove and Alaska’s congressional delegation have been fighting for for years.
  “The day this
  
  Read more

• Juneau Afternoon – 4-6-17

  06-04-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Thursday at 3 on a Juneau Afternoon, we’ll meet The Murphy Beds, this year’s Guest Artists for the 43rd Annual Alaska Festival!
  We’ll talk with photographers from the Alaska Association for the Photographic Arts whose work will be hanging in the KTOO hallways during April beginning this First Friday;
  We’ll learn about a unique English Literature offer this Summer at UAS;
  And Nancy DeCherney will be here for Arts Up.
  And don’t forget KRNN’s live broadcast of th
  
  Read more

• Most, but not all, scientists agree that starvation killed hundreds of puffins last year

  06-04-2017 01:36 via ktoo.org
  
  St. Paul residents have seen more than 300 puffin carcasses wash ashore since mid-October. Scientists say seabirds are good indicators of overall ecosystem health, which means the die-off could be a sign of trouble for all sorts of species. (Photo by COASST Island Sentinels)
  What caused more than 300 puffins to wash up dead in the Pribilof Islands last fall? Starvation. At least, that’s the consensus among most scientists.
  But one ecologist thinks there may be another culprit: Paralytic Sh
  
  Read more

• Workforce Wednesday: Careers in behavioral health for rural Alaskans

  06-04-2017 01:27
  
  The Rural Human Services program connects rural Alaskans to careers in healthcare and behavioral health. It’s a 32-credit program that is a part of the the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Rural Academic Pipeline. The program is offered in Anchorage, Bethel and the Kuskokwim campuses.
  Annie Hopper, the program’s manager, said one aspect that’s unique to the program is it blends traditional Alaska Native values with Western education. As such, elders are a vital part o
  
  Read more

• Air Force destroys World War II shell discovered in Unalaska

  06-04-2017 00:37 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Explosive specialists with the U.S. Air Force return to their plane Tuesday after destroying World War II-era ordnance found in Unalaska.
  (Photo by Laura Kraegel/KUCB)
  The U.S. Air Force made a special visit to Unalaska Tuesday after a hiker found unexploded ordnance from World War II. A bomb squad destroyed the artillery shell in a controlled explosion.https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kucb2/audio/2017/04/05ORDNANCE.mp3During the war, hundreds of soldiers were stationed atop Mount Ballyhoo, one of the tal
  
  Read more

• Walk and Roll for Hope: Supporting Alaskans with disabilities

  06-04-2017 00:27
  
  This year, the Walk and Roll for Hope is celebrating it’s 48th anniversary. The event helps to support Alaskans with developmental and mental disabilities.
  The event starts in May, but organizers are encouraging more participants sign up in April. Michael Wachsmuth, a development officer with Hope Community Resources, said the event gets a great turn out every year. However, due to a proposed dramatic drop in Medicaid and Medicare funding, she said the event could use extra support. T
  
  Read more

• Muslim exchange students in Juneau report warm welcome, shrug off Trump rhetoric

  06-04-2017 00:12 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Palestinian exchange student Mahmoud Abu Aisha of Gaza City, 17, is a junior at Thunder Mountain High School. On March 29, 2017, he spoke about his experiences in Juneau. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)
  A federally funded exchange program has welcomed high school students from Muslim majority countries to Juneau for the past six years, despite uncertainty over the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to impose a blanket travel ban targeting Muslims.
  Now, the program is looking for hos
  
  Read more

Follow @AnchorageNewsUS on Twitter!