Anchorage news

• Seasonal bat survey being conducted in southeast Alaska

  07-04-2017 23:30
  
  Volunteers in southeast Alaska are working to document bats as part of a program aimed at combatting a deadly virus caused by the animals.
  KFSK-FM reports volunteers from Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, Sitka and Wrangell are participating in this year’s program, which is coordinated through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
  Over the last three years, the program has helped gather data to prevent White Noise Syndrome. The fungal disease has killed off more than 7 million bats in the Lowe
  
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• Focus On Community – Mind Over Matter, 4-10-17

  07-04-2017 21:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Why do some children thrive and others not?How do early childhood experiences affect the health and happiness of the adult the child will become?To explore these questions tune in to Mind Over Matter with Dr. Elaine Schroeder and Pat Sidmore
  this coming Monday at 7pm on KTOO. That’s this Monday evening at 7 pm on Ktoo for Mind Over Matter.
  
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• Focus On Community – 4-10-17

  07-04-2017 21:16 via ktoo.org
  
  Why do some children thrive and others not?How do early childhood experiences affect the health and happiness of the adult the child will become?To explore these questions tune in to Mind Over Matter with Dr. Elaine Schroeder and Pat Sidmore
  This coming Monday at 7pm on KTOO. That’s this Monday evening at 7 pm on Ktoo for Mind Over Matter.
  
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• Black bear, 2 cubs become fodder for Anchorage shutterbugs

  07-04-2017 21:05
  
  A sure rite of spring for residents of Alaska’s largest city is the return of bears, some with cubs.
  One black bear sow has become a celebrity of sorts, making a snow den just a few yards off a busy street near the Anchorage airport. She has two newborn cubs who can be seen on some days frolicking in the snow.
  Residents have been stopping by the bear’s den this week, snapping photos from the road and posting them to social media.
  Amateur photographer Eleanor Batchelder snapped photos
  
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• Gigantic geography: Eagle River students learn with massive map of Africa

  07-04-2017 21:00
  
  Students at Gruening Middle School in Eagle River got a gigantic geography lesson Thursday.
  Seventh-graders spent their social studies class period working with a massive, 875 square foot map of Africa. Several of the teachers are working to become National Geographic certified. As part of the program, the company sent the traveling map to Alaska.
  “I think it’s really cool because our teachers do so much for us to learn every day,” said seventh grade student Elijah Blaum.
  
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• Army: JBER’s 4-25 fully retained, preparing for deployment

  07-04-2017 20:46
  
  The Army announced Friday that they plan on retaining Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division as a brigade combat team, according to JBER spokesman John Pennell.
  “The plan to retain 4/25 is based on emerging mission requirements and the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) call for a Regular Army end strength of 476,000 soldiers,” Pennell explained.
  Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Gov. Bi
  
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• Russia says U.S. broke international law in striking Syria, citing ‘pretext’

  07-04-2017 20:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 2:13 p.m. ET with U.N. Security Council meeting details
  Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling the missile strike President Trump ordered against Syria on Thursday “an act of aggression against a sovereign state delivered in violation of international law under a far-fetched pretext,” the Kremlin says.
  At Russia’s urging, an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council began shortly after 11:30 a.m. ET Friday to discuss the attack, in which two U.S. guided-mis
  
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• U.S. Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court

  07-04-2017 20:22 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated: 11:59 a.m. ET
  Judge Neil Gorsuch was confirmed Friday as the 113th justice to serve on the nation’s highest court. In a largely party-line vote, Gorsuch received the support of 54 senators.
  His path to confirmation was relatively short by modern standards — just 65 days. But it was accomplished with a historic vote Thursday to end the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominees.
  Gorsuch takes the place of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative ico
  
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• BP Alaska reports $85 million profit for 2016; no more layoffs planned

  07-04-2017 20:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Pipelines lead to one of BP’s facilities on the North Slope. (Photo courtesy BP)
  In an annual report released on Thursday, BP’s Alaska subsidiary reported a profit of $85 million in 2016. That’s compared to a $172 million loss in Alaska in 2015.
  As oil prices plunged, BP cut about 260 jobs in Alaska last year, which was about 13 percent of its workforce. But according to a BP spokesperson, the company is not planning any broad-scale layoffs this year.
  The company currently empl
  
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• Commentary: LPGA bogeys the call to penalize Thompson

  07-04-2017 19:17
  
  Sometimes the pursuit of justice goes too far. Yes, that sounds more like a line for one of John Tracy’s “Reality Checks.”
  But there’s no sport more rule oriented, more hyper focused about protocol than golf.
  Its greens are manicured with toe nail clippers and works from a rule book that was written by guys who look like Professor Dumbledore. (My kids will be happy with the Harry Potter reference.)
  Which is why what happened on Sunday is so baffling.
  During the final roun
  
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• Dunleavy leaves Senate majority before voting against budget

  07-04-2017 18:43 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska state Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, answered reporters questions after leaving the Senate majority in order to vote against the budget. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO/Alaska Public Media)
  Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Dunleavy announced he’s leaving the Senate majority, before the Senate passed its budget on Thursday.
  Dunleavy joined five minority-caucus Democrats to oppose the $4 billion spending plan, which passed 14-6. He said he felt constrained in the majority, whic
  
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• Wasilla lawmaker goes against the grain on votes with racial undercurrents

  07-04-2017 18:41
  
  A seemingly non-controversial bill has sparked racial tensions in the Alaska Legislature after Rep. David Eastman (R-Wasilla) voted against legislation to honor black soldiers who contributed to the construction of the Alaska Highway during World War II.
  Senate Bill 46 dedicates Oct. 25 to the thousands of African-American soldiers who helped build the road in record time, while facing inferior working conditions than those of their white counterparts.
  The measure was sponsored by Sen. David Wil
  
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• Troopers investigate poaching of 2 muskox near Bethel

  07-04-2017 18:36
  
  BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Wildlife troopers are searching for whoever is responsible for poaching two muskox that were found along a snowmachine trail near Bethel.
  KYUK-AM reports Trooper Brett Gibbens says one muskox was found dead Sunday, while the other was found limping with several gunshot wounds and had to be put down.
  Both animals had been shot multiple times with small caliber firearms.
  No meat had been salvaged from either muskox, but troopers have since donated the meat to cha
  
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• Alaska lawmakers and veterans respond to US attack on Syria

  07-04-2017 18:22
  
  Alaska’s three representatives in Washington are commending President Donald Trump’s decision to launch missiles at a Syrian base following a deadly chemical weapons attack.
  Senator Dan Sullivan said in part, “I applaud the president for taking this decisive action which was focused on degrading Syria’s ability to undertake chemical attacks in the future.”
  Representative Don Young also praised the President, saying: “The Assad regime’s actions against in
  
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• Neil Gorsuch to be sworn in Monday

  07-04-2017 17:51
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court (all times local):
  12:10 p.m.
  The Supreme Court says Neil Gorsuch will be sworn in as the 113th justice on Monday in separate ceremonies at the court and the White House.
  Justices take two oaths, one required by the Constitution and the other set by federal law.
  Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the constitutional oath to Gorsuch in a private ceremony in the justices’ conference room at
  
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• Beer truck in Stockholm attack was hijacked

  07-04-2017 17:44
  
  The Latest on the truck crashing into a department store in central Stockholm. (all times local):
  5:30 p.m.
  Norwegian police, who are normally unarmed, have decided to allow officers in some major cities to carry weapons following an apparent attack in the center of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, national news agency NTB said.
  Oslo Police spokeswoman Marita Aune confirmed to The Associated Press that officers in Oslo will begin to carry weapons with immediate effect.
  Several people are believed
  
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• 4 dead, 15 wounded in Stockholm truck attack

  07-04-2017 17:44
  
  The Latest on the truck crashing into a department store in central Stockholm. (all times local):
  9 p.m.
  Stockholm police have raised the toll in the beer truck attack to 4 dead, 15 wounded.
  The news comes as Swedish police launched a nationwide manhunt for the person or persons who drove a stolen beer truck down a pedestrian street in the Swedish capital and crashed it into a department store Friday afternoon.
  Stockholm police say one person “that can have some kind of connection” t
  
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• Dunleavy leaves Senate majority caucus

  07-04-2017 17:31
  
  Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla) withdrew from the Republican majority caucus Wednesday after hours of debate on the Senate’s budget bill.“When it gets to a point where you’re thinking we can reduce more, you’re thinking we can cut more, and you have just a different view of the Permanent Fund, for example, you have two choices. You could be a problem inside the caucus, you could be a problem for yourself, you could be a problem for your constituents,” said Dunleavy o
  
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• What is the US, Russia ‘deconfliction line?’

  07-04-2017 17:22
  
  A communication link between U.S. and Russian military officials has protected pilots flying missions over the crowded skies of war-ravaged Syria, but now Moscow says it is suspending its cooperation over an American missile strike.
  The following is an explanation of the so-called “deconfliction line” and the possible consequences of cutting it.
  ___
  Flying the unfriendly skies
  A U.S.-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State-held territory across Syria, launching 24 strikes on Thu
  
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• Mat-Su school board hires new superintendent

  07-04-2017 05:50
  
  The Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) has a new superintendent.
  The switch up in administration comes in wake of Gene Stone’s sudden resignation at an emergency school board meeting last week.
  After Stone’s resignation, the school board unanimously approved Dr. Monica Goyette to be the interim superintendent. When they met again Wednesday night, Goyeete says she agreed to a more permanent position and signed a contract to be the district’s official superintendent through t
  
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• Anchorage Fire, public transit departments look to plan B after Prop 2 fails

  07-04-2017 05:38
  
  Just after 2 p.m. Thursday, every ambulance except the one in Eagle River was responding to 911 calls.
  It’s illustrative of the Anchorage Fire Department’s need for more ambulances, says Chief Denis LeBlanc.
  “The demand for ambulance services has grown tremendously,” he said. “Twenty-seven percent increase over the past five years.”
  LeBlanc says he was disappointed by the outcome of Tuesday’s election. The majority of voters said no to Pro
  
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• Reality Check w/ John Tracy: US Senate goes nuclear

  07-04-2017 04:26
  
  Any hope you may have had that members of Congress can put their country before their party is about to be blown apart by the so-called “nuclear option”.
  The floor of the House of Representatives has long reflected the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones. An unruly mass of ideologues who measure success, not so much on legislation passed, but legislation prevented.
  Whereas the Senate historically has been a place where the adults work. In the best of times, it was where skilled lawma
  
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• Low oil prices hit Sealaska dividends

  07-04-2017 04:09 via ktoo.org
  
  Anthony Mallott is president and CEO of Sealaska, the Juneau-based regional Native corporation that’s distributing $10.6 million to its 22,000 members this month. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
  Lower North Slope oil prices are taking a bite out of Native corporation dividends 1,100 miles away.
  Sealaska, Southeast’s regional corporation, just announced it will pay out $10.6 million to its more than 22,000 members mid-month. That’s a third less than last year’s s
  
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• Rep. Eastman is sole lawmaker to vote against honoring black soldiers

  07-04-2017 03:58 via ktoo.org
  
  Historian Lael Morgan said the 10,000 U.S. soldiers who built the Alaska Highway included about 3,500 African-American troops, who mainly worked from Alaska southward into Canada. (Photo by U.S. Army/University of Alaska archives)
  All but one lawmaker voted to back new legislation that names Oct. 25 as African American Soldiers’ Contribution to Building the Alaska Highway Day.
  All 19 senators who were present and 39 of the 40 House members voted for Senate Bill 46.
  Rep. David Eas
  
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• U.S. launches airstrikes against Syria after chemical attack

  07-04-2017 03:52 via ktoo.org
  
  President Trump has launched airstrikes in Syria in response to deadly chemical attacks allegedly ordered by the country’s president, Bashar Assad, against his own people.
  “Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched,” the president announced from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla, where he is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “It is in this vital national security interest of the United
  
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• Trump calls on all nations to end Syria carnage

  07-04-2017 03:23
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the U.S. response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria (all times EDT):
  10:30 p.m.
  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Russia has “failed” in its responsibility to deliver on a 2013 commitment to secure Syria’s chemical weapons.
  Tillerson briefed reporters shortly after the U.S. launched cruise missiles against a Syrian air base in retaliation for a gruesome chemical weapons attack. The secretary says Russia has either been complicit
  
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• Pelosi says Congress should debate Syria action

  07-04-2017 03:23
  
  Last updated on Friday, April 7
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the U.S. response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria (all times EDT):
  10:05 a.m.
  House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling on Congress to immediately return to debate whether to authorize President Donald Trump to take military action against Syria.
  Pelosi supports Trump’s missile strike on a Syrian airfield in response to President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons attack against civilians.
  But the Calif
  
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• Study: Nearly half of US adults infected with genital HPV

  07-04-2017 03:13
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials say nearly half of U.S. adults have caught HPV, a sexually-transmitted bug that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts.
  About 45 percent of Americans ages 18 to 59 had some form of genital human papillomavirus, according to a report released Thursday that’s the most complete look at how common HPV is among adults.
  More concerning, about 25 percent of men and 20 percent of women had certain strains that carry a higher risk of cancer.
  There are mor
  
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• Charges filed after 11-year-old’s suicide

  07-04-2017 03:08
  
  MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) – Prosecutors have authorized computer-related charges against a juvenile after a Michigan mother says a social media and texting prank led her 11-year-old son to take his own life.
  Marquette police Capt. Michael Kohler said Thursday that the unnamed juvenile is being charged with telecommunication services-malicious use and using a computer to commit a crime.
  Katrina Goss says her son, Tysen Benz, was found March 14 hanging by the neck in his room after seeing social
  
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• Twitter challenges US order for anti-Trump user records

  07-04-2017 03:03
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – Twitter defied a U.S. government request for records that could identify users behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump account, and is challenging the order in court.
  The company filed a lawsuit against the federal Department of Homeland Security and its Customs and Border Protection office, charging that their efforts to “unmask” the people behind the account violated the First Amendment.
  Twitter says its users have a constitutional right to dissemi
  
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• Dems outraged over rules change for high court

  07-04-2017 03:01
  
  Neil Gorsuch. (Credit: The White House)
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the Senate debate on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch (all times local):
  4:55 p.m.
  Republicans have torn up the Senate’s rules to allow President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to ascend to the high court over Democratic objections.
  The confrontation could reshape the Supreme Court for generations.
  Outraged Democrats are denouncing the GOP’s use of the so-called nuclear option to put Judge Ne
  
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• Longtime Alaska basketball coach enters hall of fame

  07-04-2017 02:44
  
  George Houston led Juneau-Douglas to two state high school basketball crowns during his 14 years as the head coach of his hometown team, the Crimson Bears. He also won a state title there as a player in 1969.
  Houston won 279 games, 10 conference championships during his career, and is the only person to have coached basketball at all three major levels in Alaska; high school, college, and professional for the old Anchorage Northern Knights of the Continental Basketball Association.
  Those accompl
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 4-7-17

  07-04-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday on A Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline hosts.
  We’ll talk with the Hannah Yoter Band;
  Nora Laughlin will talk about free tax preparation help;Guest Dance Caller, Susie Kendig, will be here to preview her dances during the Alaska Folk Festival;
  And we’ll get a preview of Saturday’s Alaska Originals concert, at 360 by The Lost Lakers
  At 4, tune in to KTOO for All Things Considered, followed at 6 by Alaska News Nightly. At 6:30, it’s Marketplace. At 7, it’s Left, Righ
  
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• Narcan saves lives in opioid epidemic but it’s only the first step

  07-04-2017 01:38 via ktoo.org
  
  Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie “Nurr’araaluk” Davidson and Nichelle Willams pulls stickers off boxes with on a Narcan kit assembly line at Covenant House in March. (Photo by Anne Hillman/Alaska Public Media)
  The state’s Department of Health and Social Services is starting to distribute Narcan kits around Alaska. The nasal spray stops opioid overdoses.http://www.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/06-NARCAN-KITS.wavLate last month a g
  
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• Is Bogoslof Volcano done erupting?

  07-04-2017 01:18 via ktoo.org
  
  Bogoslof Volcano is back at a low-level “advisory” for the first time since it began erupting more than three months ago.
  The Alaska Volcano Observatory downgraded Bogoslof’s alert level Wednesday, bringing it just one notch above “normal.”
  It has been weeks since the Aleutian volcano showed any sign of life, Observatory geophysicist Dave Schneider said.
  “With volcanoes, you’re never quite sure whether or not the eruption is over for good,” Schneid
  
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• Share your thoughts on Town Square Park

  07-04-2017 01:17
  
  Town Square Park.
  Anchorage Parks and Rec wants your input on their plan for redeveloping Town Square Park as they work to develop a master plan to show a 20-year vision for the park.
  Park officials want to know of any issues or concerns the public may have so they can clearly identify strategies to make sure the park is a safe and thriving place to visit.
  To take a short survey and provide your thoughts on the park, click here.
  The post Share your thoughts on Town Square Park appeared first on
  
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• Payless to shut down Northway Mall store

  07-04-2017 00:54
  
  Anchorage will soon have one less Payless shoe store.
  Payless Shoe Source announced it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after struggling sales in stores and online.
  The retail chain will shut down roughly 400 stores across the country, including the location inside the Northway Mall.
  Four stores will remain in Alaska: three in Anchorage and one in Wasilla.
   
  The post Payless to shut down Northway Mall store appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Fans rally to try and save Kenai River Brown Bears hockey team from extinction

  07-04-2017 00:51
  
  The Kenai River Brown Bears have more support as they try to remain in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
  The team wrapped up what might have been its final season last weekend in Fairbanks. Volunteers formed Save the Brown Bears in an effort to keep the team going. Organizers said they have raised more than half the $300,000 in pledges needed by April 15, to keep the team on the ice next season.
  The NAHL is the nation’s oldest junior hockey program. Organizers feel more confide
  
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• All-female ensemble Queens to serenade Folk Fest stage

  07-04-2017 00:47 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Taylor Vidic rehearses with Queens, an eight-woman vocal ensemble playing the 2017 Alaska Folk Festival. (Photo by Jack Sanders/KTOO)
  Thursday night eight Juneau vocalists will blend their voices together on the Folk Fest stage. The all-female ensemble made up of Rashah McChesney, Kylyn Machier,  Celia Montalto, Elizabeth Ekins, Alyssa Abrams, Cate Ross, Cameron Brockett and Taylor Vidic are appropriately named Queens.  KTOO Arts intern Jack Sanders has this audio postcard from rehears
  
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• 1 injured in east Anchorage shooting

  07-04-2017 00:44
  
  Anchorage Police are investigating shooting involving three men in a trailer park in east Anchorage.
  Around 2 a.m. Thursday, police began receiving reports of shots fired in the 3300 block of Boniface Parkway. Upon their arrival, officers found one man suffering a gunshot wound to the shoulder; the man was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.
  A second man, who left the scene before police arrived, later returned and showed officers where a bullet had grazed his boot; police say h
  
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• Anchorage voters elect first openly gay assembly members

  07-04-2017 00:25
  
  If the numbers hold, a large majority of the Assembly will be aligned with the direction Mayor Ethan Berkowitz is taking the city.
  With incumbents Pete Peterson and Tim Steele keeping their seats in East and West Anchorage districts, Christopher Constant as the sole representative for the Downtown district, Felix Rivera sweeping the Midtown race and a surprise finish in the historically conservative South Anchorage, putting Suzanne LaFrance ahead of right leaning candidate Albert Folge, the new
  
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