Anchorage news

• Legislature passes bill to allow ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft in Alaska

  17-05-2017 23:52
  
  On the last day of the constitutionally-mandated legislative session, the Senate gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would open the door for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft to do business in Alaska.
  Throughout the legislative session, lawmakers have debated the balance of power between municipal and state regulation over drivers and the industry.
  In March, the Senate passed SB 14, which designates Uber and Lyft drivers as independent contractors — exempting them from wor
  
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• When will Anchorage hit 70 degrees?

  17-05-2017 23:46
  
  ANCHORAGE — As daylight grows across Alaska temperatures are quickly rising, but making it to 70 degrees is still rare this time of year.
  Juneau and Fairbanks made it to the 70s for the first time this season on Tuesday.
  Annette and Nenana recorded the highest temperatures in the state so far in 2017, both recording temperatures of 73 degrees.
  Tanana and McGrath are also among the short list of towns to make it into the 70s this month.
  Anchorage doesn’t typically see 70 until June 7
  
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• Update: Missing Fairbanks father, 2 sons located alive

  17-05-2017 23:31
  
  Alaska State Trooper have located a Fairbanks father and his two young sons, who went missing on Monday, according to an updated release.
  The three were found alive by rescue personnel upstream from the Nordale boat launch in Fairbanks.
  “All three were transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to be checked out and treated for what are believed to be exposure-related issues,” troopers wrote.
   
  Original Story:
  Alaska State Troopers are asking residents of the Chena Hot Spri
  
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• Troopers searching for father, 2 sons

  17-05-2017 23:31
  
  Alaska State Troopers are asking residents of the Chena Hot Springs and surrounding areas to be on the look out for 28-year-old Johnathon Eyre, and his two sons, Johnathon “LJ”, 7, and Jaxson, 4.
  On Monday, troopers first received a report that the three of them were missing. They were last known to be at their home, located near mile 12 of Chena Hot Springs Road, on Saturday, troopers said.
  When state law enforcement went to the home Monday, they said they found no sign of the man o
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, May 17, 2017

  17-05-2017 22:51 via ktoo.org
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/newscast051717.mp3Stories include:
  Prospects for an extended legislative session, and
  Legislature failing to confirm Drew Phoenix for a seat on the State Commission for Human Rights, and
  Possible homicide in the Palmer area, and
  Latest eruption of Bogoslof Volcano.
  
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• New Zealand quake scientists discover surprise: Hot water

  17-05-2017 22:50
  
  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – When researchers in New Zealand drilled deep into an earthquake fault, they stumbled upon a discovery they say could provide a significant new energy source for the South Pacific nation.
  The scientists found that the water in the Alpine Fault was much hotter than expected.
  It could potentially be harnessed to generate electricity or provide direct heating to industries like dairy farming.
  The finding was surprising because geothermal energy is usually associa
  
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• Police: Man wanted for Mountain View shooting

  17-05-2017 21:58
  
  The Anchorage Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating 23-year-old Myles Boomer Gilmer for a shooting that injured another man.APD said at 8:19 p.m. Tuesday, police dispatch received several calls that a man was bleeding and yelling for help. When officers arrived at the 3800 block of Peterkin Avenue, they found a man with a gunshot wound to his leg.
  The man was taken to the hospital to be treated for a non-life threatening injury.
  During the investigation, police sp
  
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• Trump: No politician ‘has been treated worse or more unfairly’ than me

  17-05-2017 21:54 via ktoo.org
  
  Amid several swirling crises engulfing his administration, President Donald Trump used part of his speech Wednesday to graduates at the United States Coast Guard Academy to complain about how unfairly he was being treated by the media.
  “Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair. You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted,” the president told graduates of the military service academy in New London
  
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• After stern state letter and a loss, lone Anchorage pot club closes

  17-05-2017 21:37 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The sign outside Pot Luck Events, located at 420 W. 3rd Ave. in downtown Anchorage. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  Alaska’s first marijuana club, Pot Luck Events, has closed its doors after a years-long legal skirmish with state officials.
  The club’s legality faced disputes from the beginning.
  The final straw was a cease-and-desist order from state regulators, and the passing of the club’s founder, just days apart.
  The closure comes while the state is still con
  
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• How to talk to your teen about alcohol abuse during National Prevention Week

  17-05-2017 21:07
  
  This week is National Prevention Week, and with summer vacation just days away, now is an important time to talk with teens about the dangers of underage drinking.
  Tiffany Hall, the executive director of Recover Alaska, says it’s not only risky behavior but it can cause long term physical damage. She added underage drinkers are at a higher risk for sexual assault, violence and suicide.
  “Their brains are still developing, so it really impacts them in a different way than it does adult
  
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• Alaska Legislature faces more time as session deadline looms

  17-05-2017 21:00
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Wednesday marked a constitutional deadline for Alaska lawmakers to end their regular session. But with a budget and plan for addressing Alaska’s multibillion-dollar deficit unresolved, more time is needed.
  Options include extending for another 10 days, which requires two-thirds support in each chamber, or looking to Gov. Bill Walker to call a special session.
  House Minority Leader Charisse Millett said Tuesday that her caucus was not inclined to support a 10-day
  
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• From gangs to a grad: A former inmate celebrates finishing college

  17-05-2017 20:55 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/16Grads.mp3This month, 30-year-old Marcos Galindo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science with a concentration in political science.
  Now, he’s working on a master’s of public administration and wants a Ph.D. in Chicano studies – a choice weighted by his early life on the streets and in the prisons of California.
  “Especially in the gang culture of California, it’s a lot of false propaganda about what i
  
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• Motocross park possibly coming to Alaska’s capital city

  17-05-2017 19:10
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Juneau Assembly has approved 23 acres (93,077 square meters) of Spike Bicknell’s property to be rezoned from rural reserve to industrial – and the result might be a motocross park.
  The Juneau Empire reports (http://bit.ly/2qwMtmx ) the rezoned property had once been home to the scenic “field of fireweed,” which some residents were sad to see go.
  Bicknell had tried to rezone his property twice before since purchasing it in 2011. This third a
  
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• Gallery: Bike to Work Day in Anchorage

  17-05-2017 18:57
  
  Rick Rysso/ KTVARick Rysso/ KTVA Rick Rysso/ KTVARick Rysso/ KTVA Rick Rysso/ KTVA Rick Rysso/ KTVA
  Wednesday, professionals from around Anchorage hopped onto their bicycles and road to work on Bike to Work Day. Fifty-three treat stations stayed open until 9 a.m. for riders.
  Bikers commuting home from work can stop at any of the 12 stations planning to be back up between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
  Did you bike to work today? If so, send us your photos; we’d love to see them and we’ll add the
  
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• Alaska strip club owner plans summer protests

  17-05-2017 17:30
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska man is resurrecting a strip club he operated on board his converted crab boat before he was convicted on waste disposal charges involving the vessel.
  This time, he’s billing the enterprise as a nightly protest.
  Darren Byler says he will begin his summer-long “First Amendment Freedom of Assembly” demonstrations Thursday on the 94-foot Wild Alaskan.
  He says the demonstrations will feature exotic dancers on the boat anchored off a harbor ne
  
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• Leonard Marshall, Matt Hasselbeck pledge brains to research

  17-05-2017 17:26
  
  BOSTON (AP) – Two more retired football stars have pledged their brains to research.
  Two-time Super Bowl champion Leonard Marshall and three-time Pro Bowl selection Matt Hasselbeck say they will donate their brains to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
  The announcements were made Wednesday as part of the second annual Brain Trust conference, which is hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  Marshall says he already has short-term memor
  
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• Police investigating Downtown shooting as a homicide

  17-05-2017 17:17
  
  The Anchorage Police Department says it’s investigating the death of a woman, who was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound in downtown Anchorage Tuesday.
  According to the Anchorage Police Department, at 8:15 p.m. police dispatch received a 911 call about a disturbance in the 200 block of Denali Street. When police arrived, they discovered the woman with the fatal wound.
  Police say several people were taken to police headquarters for questioning. The agency said there are no outstanding su
  
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• Retired Alaska Supreme Court justice to receive Sandra Day O’Connor Award

  17-05-2017 15:15 via ktoo.org
  
  Chief Justice Dana Fabe
  Former Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe will receive the 2017 Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education.  The award is from the National Center for State Courts.
  “I was just surprised by the award, but I’m thrilled and honored, of course, particularly because it’s in Sandra Day O’Connor’s name, and she’s one of my heroes,” Fabe said.
  Fabe supported and helped expand the Supreme Court LIVE p
  
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• Transgender pick for anti-discrimination commission alleges discrimination

  17-05-2017 07:11 via ktoo.org
  
  Drew Phoenix in 2012. His appointment to the State Commission for Human Rights was defeated Tuesday. (Photo by Daysha Eaton/KSKA)
  The Alaska Legislature approved 101 of Gov. Bill Walker’s appointments Tuesday – and voted down one. The only rejection was of Fairbanks resident Drew Phoenix. He has served as a member of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights since February. He’s also a transgender man.
  His appointment was defeated, 35 to 24. Phoenix said the vote i
  
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• Pitch count means mandatory time off

  17-05-2017 07:09
  
  In Alaska, there’s a call to arms– and it has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. It’s all about preservation of another type of arm: the one on a pitcher’s mound.
  The Alaska School Activities Association says some kids have thrown as many as 160 pitches in a high school game– a ridiculously high number and one which invites serious injury. Now, they’re joining an effort to curb how often the curve can be thrown with a pitch count. They’re common in
  
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• House bundles manicurist, vet regulations into fast-track bill

  17-05-2017 06:53
  
  As the clock winds down on the constitutionally mandated 121-day session in Juneau, lawmakers in the Alaska House are shifting attention to non-budget, priority bills.
  One of them aims to reduce coursework and testing requirements for manicurists working in nail salons across the state. On Tuesday, the House tied the measure’s fate to a bill that extends the Board of Veterinarians in hopes of smoother passage in the Senate.
  Representative Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) says as many as 900 nail
  
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• Legislature approves Hollis French for AOGCC spot

  17-05-2017 06:46 via ktoo.org
  
  Hollis French addresses a joint session of the Alaska Legislature in 2014. The former senator was approved for an Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission seat at a similar session Tuesday. (Photo by Skip Gray/Gavel Alaska)
  The Legislature approved Gov. Bill Walker’s appointment of Hollis French to serve on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Tuesday. French, who served on the commission since July, was confirmed by a 35 to 24 vote.
  Anchorage Democratic Rep. Les Gara said 
  
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• Sullivan calls for White House ‘discipline’; Murkowski mulls special prosecutor

  17-05-2017 04:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Both of Alaska’s U.S. senators said Tuesday they’re concerned by reports that President Trump shared classified intelligence with top Russian officials in the Oval Office.
  U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks with supporters of U.S. Sen. John McCain at a campaign rally in Phoenix, on May 6, 2016. (Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore)
  Sen. Dan Sullivan said the White House needs more discipline. He also said it would help if the president stops the morning Tweets and focu
  
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• Lawmakers deny transgender man for human rights post

  17-05-2017 04:22
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature has rejected the appointment of Drew Phoenix, a transgender man, to serve on the state’s human rights commission.
  Leading up to Tuesday’s vote, some conservative groups sought to paint Phoenix, who has advocated for LGBT rights, as too political for the post.
  Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who supported Phoenix’s nomination, noted during debate that Phoenix is transgender.
  Wielechowski asked whether the state is
  
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• Southeast winter king salmon troll catch falls short of limit at record price

  17-05-2017 04:17 via ktoo.org
  
  King salmon at a market in Seattle. (Creative Commons photo by Jill /Blue Moonbeam Studio)
  Commercial salmon trollers in Southeast Alaska fell short of their limit of king salmon for the winter season that closed in April.
  The preliminary harvest total is just over 43,000 kings. Around 40,000 are fish managed under the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and Canada. Those fish mostly come from hatcheries in Canada and the Pacific coast of the U.S. The rest come from hatcheries in Southea
  
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• Heroin overdoses spike in Anchorage

  17-05-2017 04:11
  
  The Anchorage Fire Department reports a dramatic increase in the number of suspected heroin overdoses in the first two weeks of May.
  Assistant Fire Chief Erich Scheunemann said the department is using a lot more of the life-saving drug Naloxone to revive people who have nearly died.
  According to Scheunemann, November of 2016 was the month last year when paramedics used the drug the most for suspected heroin overdoses. That number was 17. But, in just the first two weeks of May of this year, Sche
  
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• Crew of USS O’Kane honors WWII sailors killed in USS Juneau sinking

  17-05-2017 04:10 via ktoo.org
  
  Crew from the USS O’Kane, a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer making a port call in Juneau this week for rest and relaxation, paid their respects on Tuesday the sailors who died during the sinking of the USS Juneau.
  The USS Juneau was a light cruiser that participated in the battle of Guadalcanal, one of the fiercest naval battles of World War II. When the vessel was torpedoed and sunk on Nov. 13, 1942, 687 sailors perished.
  Only 10 sailors survived shark attacks and expo
  
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• New markers aim to make trails safer, more user-friendly

  17-05-2017 04:03
  
  The Municipality of Anchorage and several park advocacy groups are working to make trails more bike and pedestrian friendly and safer for users.
  On Tuesday, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, as well as members of the Anchorage Park Foundation and Alaska Trails, were at Gorilla Park for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for new trail markers.
  The wayfinding project has been in the works since 2014. Crews installed the markers every half mile of the Chester Creek Trail from Westchester to Russian Jack.
  Each shows
  
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• New makers aim to make trails safer, more user-friendly

  17-05-2017 04:03
  
  The Municipality of Anchorage and several park advocacy groups are working to make trails more bike and pedestrian friendly and safer for users.
  On Tuesday, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, as well as members of the Anchorage Park Foundation and Alaska Trails, were at Gorilla Park for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for new trail markers.
  The wayfinding project has been in the works since 2014. Crews installed the markers every half mile of the Chester Creek Trail from Westchester to Russian Jack.
  Each shows
  
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• Wildfire danger on the rise in Southcentral

  17-05-2017 03:35
  
  Governor Bill Walker has proclaimed May 14 through 20 Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness week in Alaska.
  It’s perfect timing, according to folks with the Division of Forestry, who say the chance of you starting a wildfire in Southcentral right now is on the rise.
  “Today and tomorrow they are predicting the higher winds, and those gusty winds are the ones that can catch people off guard,” Mat-Su Fire Management officer Norm McDonald said.
  McDonald says his crews have responded
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 5-16-17

  17-05-2017 02:13 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Tuesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon, Laury Scandling will host;
  We’ll learn about Community Day on Campus;
  We’ll hear about the upcoming Afternoon of Ave Marias;
  Julie Diane, from the Juneau Dance Theatre, will be here with details about their Spring Showcase.
  We’ll also hear from some students exploring current issues.
  That, Writers Almanac, Bird Note, music & more, live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN; and available on demand via ktoo.orghttp://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.c
  
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• Legally blind sled-dog racer plans to run for congress

  17-05-2017 02:03
  
  BEND, Ore. (AP) – A legally blind woman who has competed in four of Alaska’s Iditarod sled-dog races has announced she will be running for congress.
  KTVZ-TV reports 32-year-old Democrat Rachael Scdoris-Salerno filed paperwork Monday to run for Oregon’s Second Congressional District seat.
  Scdoris-Salerno plans to unseat incumbent Rep. Greg Walden. She says she is frustrated with politicians representing special interests.
  Scdoris-Salerno had been born with an uncorrectable visua
  
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• 2 freed in Butte trench collapse

  17-05-2017 01:37
  
  Two people became trapped after a trench collapsed Tuesday afternoon in Butte.
  The Anchorage Fire Department conducted a confined space rescue on private property off North Witherspoon Road off of Maude Road.
  The Mat-Su Borough Fire Department says the two trapped individuals were found to be alive and were in good spirits and talking with first responders.
  Emergency personnel worked to stabilize the trench and set up scaffolding to hoist the trapped persons out of the trench.
  2 workers trapped
  
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• 1 freed, 1 trapped in Butte trench collapse

  17-05-2017 01:37
  
  Two people became trapped after a trench collapsed Tuesday afternoon in Butte.
  The Department of Emergency Services for Mat-Su is conducting a confined space rescue on private property off North Witherspoon Road off of Maude Road.
  The Mat-Su Borough Fire Department says the two trapped individuals were found to be alive and were in good spirits and talking with first responders.
  Emergency personnel worked to stabilize the trench and set up scaffolding to hoist the trapped persons out of the tren
  
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• Ex-‘Deadliest Catch’ star faces hearing over arrest warrant

  17-05-2017 01:33
  
  Jacob Harris. (Credit: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
  PHOENIX (AP) – A court hearing is scheduled Friday over an arrest warrant for a former reality television star accused of vehicle theft and drug possession in Phoenix.
  Jacob Harris, who used to be on the Discovery channel’s “Deadliest Catch” series about crab fishermen in Alaska, was arrested April 22 after Phoenix police say he was possession of Xanax pills and crystal meth.
  The 31-year-old Harris also was ac
  
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• Addiction experts: Health secretary’s comments on opioid treatments unscientific and damaging

  17-05-2017 01:13 via ktoo.org
  
  Tom Price speaks at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference. He was a Georgia Congressman at the time and is now secretary of health and human services in the Trump administration. (Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore)Addiction experts are up in arms following remarks from Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, in which he referred to medication-assisted treatment for addiction as “substituting one opioid for another.”Nearly 700 researchers and practitioners sen
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Sizing up Alaska’s Summer

  17-05-2017 01:06 via ktoo.org
  
  (Graphic courtesy of NOAA)
  Summer in Alaska is full of endless daylight, a few mosquitoes and also some pretty amazing or terrible weather, depending on the year. So how are forecasters sizing up the long term outlook for June, July and August?
  For an answer to that question, we turned to Brian Brettschneider for our segment, Ask a Climatolgoist.
  He says it looks like summer will be warmer than normal for most of the state.
  Interview Transcript:
  Brian: If you look at the long range outlooks
  
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• Trump’s expected pick for top USDA scientist is not a scientist

  17-05-2017 00:50 via ktoo.org
  
  Sam Clovis speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 19, 2016. President Trump is likely to appoint him to a an undersecretary position in the USDA that serves as the agency’s chief scientist — though he’s not a scientist. (Creative Commons photo by Alex Hanson)
  The USDA’s research section studies everything from climate change to nutrition. Under the 2008 Farm Bill, its leader is supposed
  
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• Sitka murder defendant pleads not guilty; trial set for January

  17-05-2017 00:17 via ktoo.org
  
  Defendant Reuben Yerkes sits by public defender Jude Pate in Sitka Superior Court on Monday. Judge David George advised Yerkes he had the right to trial within 120 days, Yerkes waived that right to examine the state’s evidence against him.
  (Photo by Robert Woolsey/KCAW)
  A Sitka defendant formerly of Juneau pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. His trial has been scheduled for January of next year.
  The Sitka Superior Courtroom was standing room only, packed with friends of 28-year o
  
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