Anchorage news

• Gardentalk – Hilling potatoes

  07-06-2017 23:52 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Close-up view of potato seedlings growing in a North Douglas garden. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  In this week’s edition of Gardentalk, Master Gardener Ed Buyarski describes how to mound loose, well-drained soil around your potato plants as they grow.
  “If we bring soil in around the plants — once when they get up three or four inches tall — then there is the potential for more potatoes to be formed,” Buyarski said.
  The lower leaves can be covered, but the t
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, June 7, 2017

  07-06-2017 22:54 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/06/newscast060717.mp3Stories include:
  NTSB’s preliminary report on the May 27 plane crash near Haines,
  Governor calling for compromise in legislative budget negotiations, and
  Tesoro changing its name to Andeavor after acquiring Western Refining.
  
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• Comey: Trump said ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty’

  07-06-2017 22:39
  
  Former FBI Director James Comey will say in public testimony Thursday that President Trump asked him to “lift the cloud” over him and the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
  Comey’s seven-page opening statement, released Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee at Comey’s request on the eve of his hearing, reveals key details about his interactions — a total of nine in-person meetings and phone calls — with Mr. Trum
  
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• Boy, 14, wounded in drive-by shooting

  07-06-2017 22:00
  
  Anchorage Police are investigating an overnight shooting in which a 14-year-old boy was shot.
  Around 1:20 Wednesday morning, a vehicle traveling northbound on Boniface Parkway approached the intersection at Debarr Road. An unknown vehicle pulled up along the left-side of the car, police say, and fired at least one shot into the victim vehicle before speeding away.
  Inside the victim vehicle were two adults and three minors, of which only a 14-year-old boy sustained a gunshot wound. He was im
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, May 10, 2017

  07-06-2017 21:43 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/05/051017noonnewscast.mp3Stories include:
  Reaction to the firing of FBI director James Comey,
  Update on the arrest of Reuben Yerkes in Sitka, and
  Results of a state report regarding the leak of natural gas condensate from a Hilcorp pipeline in Cook Inlet.
  
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• Cab driver charged in November pedestrian crash

  07-06-2017 21:37
  
  Anchorage Police have charged a taxi driver who struck three pedestrians, sending them to the hospital, back in November of 2016.
  Two males and one female were struck while crossing 3rd Avenue near Karluk Street around 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 30, when they were struck by a cab headed westbound on 3rd Avenue.
  The cab was driven by 70-year-old Amnon Benjamin, who, on Tuesday, was arrested by APD at his home and charged with first-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault and one count
  
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• Comey: Trump asked for ‘loyalty,’ wanted him to ‘let’ Flynn investigation ‘go’

  07-06-2017 21:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 3:07 p.m. ET
  Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that President Trump did ask him for “loyalty” at a January dinner and later told him alone in the Oval Office that he “hope[d] you can let” the investigation into his former national security director Michael Flynn “go.”
  The opening statement from Comey, released by the committee less than 24 hours before his testimony, effectively confirm
  
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• Workforce Wednesday: Healthcare apprenticeships

  07-06-2017 21:14
  
  Four new health care apprenticeships are now available through the Alaska Primary Care Association.
  They include:
  Certified Community Health Worker – 1-year program or 6 months with experience
  Certified Billing and Coding Specialist – 1-year program or 6 months with experience
  Certified Clinical Medical Assistant- 2-year program or 1 year with experience
  Certified Medical Admin Assistant- 1-year program or 6 months with experience
  Classes are conducted online, so, you can “earn
  
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• Registration deadline approaching for 25th Annual Alaska Run for Women

  07-06-2017 21:12
  
  The registration deadline is approaching for the 25th Annual Alaska Run for Women. You must register for the timed event by 5 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday for the untimed event.
  It’s one of the largest all-women’s races in the country, and about 70 percent of the money raised stay in the state and supports different programs for breast cancer.
  “There’s exercise programs, there’s– mammograms are a huge part of it, to serve women who can’
  
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• Play a round of golf, help people living with arthritis

  07-06-2017 21:10
  
  A golf tournament happening on the summer solstice is raising money to benefit the nonprofit Arthritis Foundation Alaska.
  There are about 125,000 people with arthritis living in Alaska, including 900 children, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
  “It was real obvious to me that they were the underdog when it came to charities,” said Kevin Turkington, owner of Midnight Sun Homecare, a sponsor of the Midnight Sun Charity Golf Classic. “We have kind of become family in
  
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• Trump says his FBI pick Wray is ‘gonna be great’

  07-06-2017 20:05
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump and choice for new FBI director (all times local):
  1:45 p.m.
  The American Civil Liberties Union says it has concerns about President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director.
  The group’s national political director, Faiz Shakir, says he questions Christopher Wray’s ability to be independent, given his representation of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie is a Trump ally and informal adviser.
  The White House touted Wr
  
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• General aviation isn’t cheering Trump’s air traffic control plan

  07-06-2017 19:37 via ktoo.org
  
  
  President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. (Image from Whitehouse.gov video)
  President Donald Trump announced this week he wants to privatize the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control operations, in part to speed up modernization.
  “After billions and billions of tax dollars spent and the many years of delays, we are still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesn’t work,” he said.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-201
  
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• Deaf singer wows crowd, judges on ‘America’s Got Talent’

  07-06-2017 19:21
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) – A deaf singer is moving on to the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent” after delivering a performance judge Simon Cowell calls “one of the most amazing things” he’s ever seen or heard.
  Mandy Harvey told the judges on the NBC reality competition that she suffers from a connective tissue disorder and she lost her hearing when she was 18. Now 29, the St. Cloud, Florida, resident says she taught herself to sing again using muscle memory an
  
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• Sole survivor of plane crash claims pilot intentionally shut off engine

  07-06-2017 19:05
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – According to a National Transportation Safety Board report, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle told investigators the pilot intentionally shut off one of the aircraft’s engines prior to the crash.
  Local media reported Tuesday that Chan Valentine, the only survivor of the May 27 crash, told authorities pilot David Kunat was attempting to show the passengers a procedure just prior to impact.
  RELATED: Locals use
  
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• ISIS claims responsibility in twin attacks that hit Iran’s parliament and Khomeini mausoleum

  07-06-2017 19:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Two teams of attackers used gunfire and explosives to strike Iran’s parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, according to state media. The twin attacks killed at least 12 people and wounded 42 others.
  “Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaqari said that the terrorists had entered the parliament in [women’s] dress,” Iran’s state news agency reports. It adds that a female assailant detonated herself outside the mausoleum.
  Th
  
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• Survey investigates Alaskan’s attitudes towards wildlife

  07-06-2017 19:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A survey conducted by Colorado State University hopes to measure Alaskans’ attitudes toward wildlife, such as these northern pintail ducks. (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
  Colorado State University is conducting a survey of Alaska residents to measure their attitudes toward wildlife.
  It is part of a nationwide study that began in 2005.
  Mark Burch, a wildlife biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said Alaska residents’ views differ from those in o
  
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• Tesoro to change name to Andeavor after billion-dollar deal

  07-06-2017 18:58
  
  NIKISKI, Alaska (AP) – Tesoro Corporation will change its name to Andeavor after acquiring the oil refiner and marketer Western Refining in a $4.1 billion deal.
  The Peninsula Clarion reports the deal closed Thursday and will double Tesoro’s nationwide workforce to 13,000 employees.
  Tesoro Government and Public Affairs Manager Kate Blair says the change won’t affect the 225 employees at the Nikiski refinery.
  Andeavor will have 10 refineries located in Alaska, California, Mi
  
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• In Southeast Alaska, the ferry system is a lifeline

  07-06-2017 17:00 via ktoo.org
  
  First Mate Aaron Isenhour steers the MV LeConte, a ferry heading from Haines, Alaska, to the state capital, Juneau. (Photo by Elissa Nadworny/NPR)
  Southeast Alaska is known as the Panhandle:
  It’s a long, narrow strip of mainland coastline, plus 1,000 islands and the braided waterways that surround them.
  In most places, there are no roads connecting the communities there, so Alaskans depend heavily on ferries: the Alaska Marine Highway System.
  The ferries connect 35 communities in all, and
  
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• Red Carpet Concert: Tania Lewis & Christopher Behnke

  07-06-2017 16:00 via ktoo.org
  
  This spring, longtime friends and musicians Tania Lewis and Christopher Behnke released their first album “Live at the Outpost.” During the Alaska Folk Fest, the banjo-guitar duo recorded a Red Carpet Concert at the Alaskan Hotel. Here’s their performance of Lewis’s song “The Swell.”This video was made in collaboration between with Justin Smith of Rusty Recordings in Gustavus. Watch other Red Carpet Concerts with The Hannah Yoter Band 
  
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• Bell Creek Fire burns more than 500 acres

  07-06-2017 09:21
  
  Alaska is getting help from British Columbia and the Lower 48 to help fight wildfires across the state.
  The Bell Creek Fire is burning north of the village of Crooked Creek, about 110 miles southwest of McGrath.
  It began Sunday and is now more than 500 acres.
  Smokejumpers were called in, but, becase of extreme fire behavior, all, but, four have pulled back and are focusing on protecting the village.
  The post Bell Creek Fire burns more than 500 acres appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Alaska’s Zoe Hickel scores coaching opportunity in China

  07-06-2017 08:07
  
  As one door closed on Zoe Hickel this year, another one opened.
  “Perfect way to say it.” said Hickel.
  The 24-year-old Anchorage native missed the cut for the U.S. Women’s National hockey team. She later received an unexpected text from a college hockey coach. “‘Hey, this is an amazing opportunity,” the text read. “Sorry to hear about the Olympic team, but want to come to China?’”
  “‘Hey, this is an amazing opportunity,” the t
  
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• Governor asks for public’s help, after House Majority rejects budget compromise

  07-06-2017 07:03
  
  Governor Bill Walker is asking Alaskans to get involved, after the House Majority rejected his plan for compromise on a long-term budget agreement Monday.
  With the state now less than a month away from a government shutdown, lawmakers have yet to pass a state operating budget. Walker says Alaska is now in a time of crisis and lawmakers must compromise.
  “We’re in a time of crisis, you know, there’s no question about it when we’re facing, you know, twenty some days we shut
  
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• Caelus halts landmark oil project amid legislative uncertainty

  07-06-2017 06:40
  
  Caelus Energy has halted plans for a project it says could double throughput in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
  The project is slated for development on Alaska’s North Slope, but, the company told Alaska Public Radio Network Monday, it’s making decisions based on what’s happening in Juneau. Lawmakers are currently debating funding for oil tax credits and structural changes to the state’s oil tax structure as part of a long-term budget agreement.
  “Without knowing quite wh
  
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• New Study: Alaska polar bears working hard to keep up with drifting sea ice

  07-06-2017 06:19
  
  A polar bear study, unlike any before, is offering new insight into the challenges the animals face in Alaska.
  The study was led by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wyoming.
  Research Zoologist George Durner says they collected 27 years of data to determine what factors are affecting local polar bear populations.
  They discovered that sea ice drifts are moving faster than ever and the bears are draining their energy trying to keep up.
  “What that means for the polar bears is t
  
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• Fisher House Foundation breaks ground on second JBER facility

  07-06-2017 06:16
  
  Military and veteran family members will soon have a new and free place to stay on JBER while their loved ones undergo medical treatment.
  On Tuesday, the Fisher House Foundation broke ground on a two-story, 16-bed facility.
  The idea is to create a lifeline for families, as nearby long-term lodging can be an expensive obstacle during an already difficult time.
  The new facility will be the second of its kind at JBER. The foundation says there is a definite need.
  “For the last several years,
  
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• Gov. Walker tells opponents of his compromise package, produce your own

  07-06-2017 04:13 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Gov. Bill Walker listens as Department of Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck discusses a budget compromise package with reporters in the cabinet room of the Capitol in Juneau on Tuesday. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Gov. Bill Walker told lawmakers opposed to his compromise proposal to resolve the state’s budget crisis that they should produce their own compromise ideas.
  “It may not be a perfect compromise,” Walker said on Tuesday. “It’s the only compr
  
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• Clinical trials may improve cancer treatment in Alaska

  07-06-2017 03:58
  
  Breast cancer is a scary diagnosis for anyone, but the last few years have brought a number of advancements when it comes to treatment. Doctors say a lot of those treatments wouldn’t be available without clinical trials.
  Dr. Latha Subramanian, an oncologist with Providence Hospital’s cancer center said breast cancer, in particular, has benefited from clinical trials where patients volunteer to undergo treatment with a new drug or procedure to see if it benefits the treatment of their
  
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• Police looking for runaway teen

  07-06-2017 03:12
  
  Anchorage police are asking for the public’s help in locating a runaway teen.
  Police say around 9 p.m. Monday, 16-year-old Sofina Ponack left her East Anchorage home on foot after being punished. She never came home and did not show up to summer school Tuesday morning.
  Sofia has run away before but usually returns after a few hours, police say. There is concern for her wellbeing, as she has medication that needs to be taken daily — which she does not have with her.
  Sofia took a chan
  
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• CBJ Assembly Meeting – 6-5-17

  07-06-2017 02:35 via ktoo.org
  
  
  CBJ Meeting
  June 5, 2017http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/06/CBJ-06-05-171.mp3
  
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• Tustumena’s return delayed until August

  07-06-2017 02:29 via ktoo.org
  
  The Tustumena docked in Homer in 2009. (Creative Commons photo by Isaac Wedin)
  The F/V Tustumena’s return to service has once again been delayed.
  The Alaska Marine Highway announced Monday more of the vessel’s steel structure would need to be replaced.
  The Tustumena has been in Ketchikan for scheduled maintenance since March, and its return to Western Alaska was set for May 27. Staff found the first batch of damaged steel in early May, cutting the vessel’s scheduled sailings in
  
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• Peacock takes out $500 in wine after crashing liquor store

  07-06-2017 02:27
  
  ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) – A female peacock has ruffled more than just feathers at a Los Angeles-area liquor store.
  The peahen walked into the Royal Oaks Liquor Store in Arcadia on Monday. Store manager and college senior Rani Ghanem says he tried to guide the sharp-clawed bird outside but that she spooked, at one point flying directly toward him and then up onto a top shelf of the store.
  Ninety minutes and $500 worth of broken champagne and wine bottles later, an animal control officer and Gh
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 6-7-17

  07-06-2017 02:06 via ktoo.org
  
  Wednesday, June 7, 2017
   
  8         Crosscurrents with the John Gaguine
  10      Soundings   Jazz & Blues with Jim Hale
  12       Roots of Smooth
  1         Performance Today – Classical music
  3        From the Top – Classical music performed by youth
  4        Juneau Afte
  
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• Gov. Walker urges compromise for a budget deal

  07-06-2017 02:06
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A day after offering a coolly received budget plan, Gov. Bill Walker invited Alaska legislators to come up with a compromise of their own. But he says everyone must be willing to yield.
  Walker says Alaska is in a time of crisis, with no plan to address the state’s deficit and a potential government shutdown looming.
  He urged members of the public to tell their legislators it’s OK to compromise.
  Walker offered a plan Monday after he said legislative negotia
  
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• Bill Cosby’s accuser takes the stand in sexual assault trial

  07-06-2017 01:54 via ktoo.org
  
  Andrea Constand has said Bill Cosby drugged and assaulted her in 2004 while she was working for Temple University’s women’s basketball team. On Tuesday, in a Pennsylvania courtroom, she told her story publicly for the first time.
  “In my head, I was trying to get my hands to move or my legs to move, but I was frozen,” Constand said, according to The Associated Press. “I wasn’t able to fight in any way. … I wanted it to stop.”
  Cosby, the 79-year-old
  
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• Man dies after flesh-eating bacteria infects new tattoo

  07-06-2017 01:52
  
  Last Updated Jun 6, 2017 4:02 PM EDT
  A 31-year-old man from Texas died after contracting flesh-eating bacteria through a new leg tattoo while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
  According to a paper published in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, the patient – who was only identified as a Hispanic man – was admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas with severe pain in both legs and feet. He also had fever, chills, and a reddening over his tattoo and other areas of his skin.
  Th
  
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• Uber dismisses over 20 employees after law firm’s probe

  07-06-2017 01:31
  
  DETROIT (AP) – Uber has fired more than 20 employees after a law firm investigated complaints of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and other violations of company policies.
  An Uber spokeswoman says the firm Perkins Coie was hired after former engineer Susan Fowler posted a blog in February about sex harassment at the ride-hailing company. Fowler wrote that on her first day at work her boss propositioned her in a series of messages.
  The Perkins Coie probe is separate from one bein
  
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• Trump to nominate David Pekoske to lead TSA

  07-06-2017 01:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump will nominate David Pekoske as the next administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
  The former vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard most recently held leadership roles at PAE and the National Security Group at A-T Solutions.
  He also served as commander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area and assistant commandant for operations at Coast Guard headquarters.
  Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement that Pekoske
  
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• Witness to Cabin Tavern shooting wanted by police

  07-06-2017 00:51
  
  Anchorage police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a witness to an April shooting.
  According to a Nixle alert sent Tuesday afternoon, Police responded to a call at 2:17 a.m. on April 15 reporting a large physical fight taking place in the parking lot of the Cabin Tavern at 264 Muldoon Road. Two minutes later, police were alerted of shots fired.
  Two bystanders — who were not involved in the altercation — were shot, police said. Medics transported an adult male to
  
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• APD seeks potential victims in child sex case

  07-06-2017 00:33
  
  Anchorage Police have arrested a man they say sexually abused at least two children, and they’re worried there may be more victims.
  Eugene Elmer Young, 56, was arrested last Thursday and charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and five counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The arrest came after allegations of assault between 2009 and 2011 were made against Young back in May.
  During the course of their investigation, APD says the came into contact wit
  
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• Denali climber rescued after 14 hours in ice crevasse

  07-06-2017 00:30 via ktoo.org
  
  Alaska Air National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Brett Wilson traverses lower Kahiltna Glacier in this file photo while conducting winter rescue and glacier training on Mount McKinley. Denali climber Martin Takak fell into a crevasse on Monday, spending 14 hours wedged deep in the ice.(Photo courtesy of the Alaska Air National Guard)
  A Denali climber was rescued Monday after spending 14 hours wedged deep in a crevasse.
  Martin Takak, 38, of Slovakia, fell un-roped into the crevasse while descen
  
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• Laid off Anchorage teachers in limbo as legislature debates state budget

  07-06-2017 00:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Until lawmakers in Juneau settle on education funding levels for the coming school year, 225 teachers who received layoff notices this year from the Anchorage School District remain in limbo.
  Shoshana Keegan, left, and Rosalind Worcester, both teachers in Bowman Elementary School’s first- and second-grade optional program, dress up for a school spirit day. (Photo courtesy Rosalind Worcester)
  The Tuesday before school ended for the year was what’s called a “Field Day”
  
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• Sunken tugboat Powhatan to be raised on crane barge

  07-06-2017 00:01 via ktoo.org
  
  The barge Salvation, the KP-2 deck barge, and two tugs tied up at Samson’s dock. The Powhatan tug remains underwater, surrounded by containment boom. The owner plans to raise the tugboat on Thursday, June 8. (Photo courtesy Samson Tug and Barge Company)
  Updated | 3:26 p.m. Tuesday
  A sunken Sitka tugboat will be hoisted to the surface on Thursday, June 8.
  The Powhatan, a decommissioned tugboat, sank at its dock on April 19 and remains underwater in Starrigavan Bay.
  The cause of the sin
  
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