Anchorage news

• Audiogram: “Take Our Land, Take Our Life”

  23-06-2017 23:39 via ktoo.org
  
  The Trans Alaska Pipeline would cut through land where Alaska Native people had lived for millennia. And they were formally claiming that land as their own. How Alaska’s oil find led to a civil rights landmark and helped launch a social experiment in the far North.
  
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• Crow Pass Crossing race canceled over safety concerns

  23-06-2017 23:32
  
  The annual 24-mile mountain run from Girdwood to Eagle River has been canceled due to safety concerns, according to the University of Alaska Anchorage.
  UAA says university leadership engaged in extensive discussion regarding safety and the university’s responsibility to bring additional communication and medical support resources to the race.
  “This one-year pause will help ensure we can add the resources necessary to respond swiftly to incidents on the trail,” said race directo
  
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• Newscast – Friday, June 23, 2017

  23-06-2017 23:31 via ktoo.org
  
  
  In this newscast:
  University of Alaska’s president reacts to Legislature’s $8 million cut
  Two dozen of Wrangell’s unionized municipal workers strike over pay raise
  360 North’s documentary Inside Out: Leaving Prison Behind premiers tonight at 8 p.m.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/06/170623-midday-news.mp3
  
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• Massive fire at London high-rise started in a refrigerator, police say

  23-06-2017 23:21 via ktoo.org
  
  The fire that devastated a 24-story apartment building last week began by accident — and the source was a refrigerator, London police say.
  Investigators have also found that materials used on Grenfell Tower’s exterior failed safety tests.
  “We now have expert evidence that the fire was not started deliberately — the fire started in a fridge-freezer — the make and model is a Hotpoint FF175BP,” Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said Friday. She added that
  
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• No answers for low Kuskokwim king run

  23-06-2017 22:58 via ktoo.org
  
  
  King salmon at a market in Seattle. (Creative Commons photo by Jill /Blue Moonbeam Studio)
  The driving question over the last several years, and the one that’s being asked again as biologists warn that 2017 could be the lowest king salmon run on record, is: why is the king run on the Kuskokwim River so low?https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kyuk/audio/2017/06/170623_fish_talk_wrap_up_pkg.mp3“The simple answer is we really don’t know,” said Zach Liller, leading Kuskokwim res
  
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• Army Corps details Alaska city’s erosion mitigation cost

  23-06-2017 22:33 via ktoo.org
  
  KENAI — The cost of alleviating the Kenai’s erosion along a nearly 1-mile bluff would exceed its economic benefit, according to a new report by the Army Corps of Engineers, but can still be done
  The Corps will hold two public meetings about the report, Peninsula Clarion reported: the first on July 5 with the Kenai City Council, and the second for the general public on July 6.
  The report compares the costs and benefits of six possible ways to halt the bluff erosion, a goal t
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: The AnGry Brians

  23-06-2017 22:20
  
  Celtic fusion rock band The AnGry Brians will be playing at the 2017 Alaska Scottish Highland Games in Palmer. They will perform at the Alaska State Fairgrounds.
  The band’s latest album “We Came To Fight” is available on iTunes and Google Play.
  Tickets for the Highland Games are available at its website. The AnGry Brians will play twice on Saturday, June 24, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the Main Stage. For more of The AnGry Brians, visit their website.
  The post Mic Check in the
  
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• Feats of strength and skill at the 2017 Scottish Highland Games

  23-06-2017 22:19
  
  For the past 36 years participants at the Alaska Scottish Highland Games can cheer on professional and amateur athletes as they compete in events like the caber toss. That’s where athletes throw a log that resembles a telephone pole. Besides the games, event goers can enjoy scotch tasting, Celtic dancing, live music and two performances by The AnGry Brians. The scotch tasting is a separate ticket besides admission to the games.
  The 2017 Alaska Scottish Highland Games start at 8 a.m. on Sat
  
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• Anchorage newlywed victim of fatal bear mauling

  23-06-2017 21:50
  
  (Courtesy of the Johnson family)
  A black bear moved back and forth between two women in a ferocious attack earlier this week that left a newlywed dead and her co-worker injured a few miles away from the Pogo Mine, their employer said Thursday.
  Erin Johnson, a 27-year-old Anchorage woman who was married just two weeks before the attack, died on scene. Ellen Trainor, 38, of Fairbanks, sustained minor injuries in the attack Monday.
  Johnson and Trainor, employees of ABR Inc., an environmental servic
  
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• Truck loses load, spills paint on roadway

  23-06-2017 21:30
  
  About 40 gallons of paint spilled onto the roadway Friday morning in Anchorage after a truck lost its load.
  Around 9:30 Friday morning, a truck hauling epoxy paint rounded a corner and lost its load at the intersection of Dimond Boulevard and Old Seward Highway.
  Approximately 40 gallons of paint spilled onto the roadway.
  The cleanup is expected to take several hours.
  Dama, the company which owned the paint, has been cited for improperly securing their load.
  The company’s owner, Mike Anders
  
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• Training the next generation of TAPS workers

  23-06-2017 20:57
  
  Alaska kids can’t escape childhood without a tale or two about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
  Eirik Henry heard the stories. He knew he was going to be a welder before he could walk.
  “I think it’s a lot of fun to put something together that someone else can’t.”
  Henry says he may not have understood the economics of the pipeline, but he knew it was a big deal for the state. Henry is in his second year as a welding apprentice at the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center. Whi
  
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• Flint airport stabbing suspect tried to buy gun in U.S., FBI says

  23-06-2017 20:41
  
  Amor Ftouhi is suspected of stabbing an officer at the Flint airport on June 21, 2016. U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
  DETROIT — The man suspected of stabbing an officer at a Michigan airport Wednesday unsuccessfully tried to buy a gun in the U.S. before the attack, but he did buy a knife here, the FBI said on Thursday.
  David Gelios, head of the FBI in Detroit, made the disclosure at a news conference. He did not elaborate.
  Amor Ftouhi, 49, is charged with
  
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• Light shines bright on annual Midnight Sun Baseball Game

  23-06-2017 16:44
  
  Eager fans celebrate as they enter Growden Park in Fairbanks. Others wait to enter the historic stadium on an atypical game night. It’s the Midnight Sun Game, the 112th edition. That draws plenty of first-time fans to the ballpark, including, South Dakota’s Jason Roberts.
  “I heard it’s the place to be! Why not take in a baseball game while on vacation,” asked Roberts.
  Jackie Washack and friends traveled all the way from New Jersey.
  “We’re here in Al
  
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• Alaskan senators react to health care bill

  23-06-2017 16:28
  
  Alaska’s senators have yet to take a stand on the health care bill saying they need more time to read through it.
  Senator Lisa Murkowski released a statement saying, “I remain committed to ensuring that all Alaskans have access to affordable, quality health care and will vet this bill through that lens.”
  One thing Murkowski hasn’t commented on is a provision in the Senate bill that would de-fund Planned Parenthood for one year. In the past, Murkowski has said she would no
  
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• Big turnout for Douglas library’s first Drag Queen Story Hour

  23-06-2017 16:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Story night at the Douglas Public Library played out like any other monthly family night: free food, some crafts, and a very special guest reading books. More than 100 adults, teenagers and children attended Juneau’s first Drag Queen Story Hour hosted by Gigi Monroe of Juneau. http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/06/23DRAG-mon.mp3She introduces herself to the kids, and explains, “I’m a drag queen, and if you’ve never met a drag queen, this is what we look lik
  
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• Two of three Mat-Su Senators now in the minority

  23-06-2017 07:11
  
  In an unexpected move Thursday evening, Rep. Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) voted against a compromise budget bill put forward by the operating budget conference committee.
  Voting for the budget is a requirement for remaining in the Republican-led Majority caucus. Hughes now becomes the second Matsu Senator this year to leave the Majority.
  In April, Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla) voted against the Senate’s original version of the operating budget bill. Dunleavy lost his seat on the Senate Finan
  
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• 3 key things to know about the Senate health care bill

  23-06-2017 04:36
  
  The Senate’s health insurance bill is finally available for scrutiny. While Washington watchers analyze its chances for passage, let’s take a look at the consequences for consumers. Here’s what you should keep an eye on as the bill moves forward toward inevitable tweaks and an expected vote next week.
  Subsidies. The Senate bill has edged away from the age-based tax credits in the House bill in favor of Affordable Care Act-style income-based subsidies. Under the ACA, subsidies a
  
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• UA system takes $8M cut in proposed agreement

  23-06-2017 03:46
  
  The University of Alaska Board of Regents is moving forward after the legislature announced a funding agreement for the university system.
  The House and Senate agreed to a $317 million budget for the university and the regents voted to approve it. It’s a cut of $8 million, less than the regents asked for, but also less than the $22 million cut originally proposed by some lawmakers.
  Board Chair Gloria O’Niell said the system has taken heavy cuts over the last few years. They’re
  
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• Legislature passes budget compromise to avert shutdown

  23-06-2017 03:19 via ktoo.org
  
  Update | 8:49 a.m.
  The Legislature passed a budget that avoids a state government shutdown Thursday night.
  The part of the budget directly controlled by the Legislature includes $4.1 billion. The spending plan avoids cuts to school funding. It sets permanent fund dividends at $1,100 – about half of the amount set under state law.
  Bethel Democratic Sen. Lyman Hoffman said both House and Senate negotiators gave ground to reach a compromise.
  “No one got what they fully wanted,” Ho
  
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• Compromise to avoid state shutdown could happen soon

  23-06-2017 03:19 via ktoo.org
  
  State workers protested a possible government shutdown outside of the Capitol, June 22, 2017. The House and Senate appeared close to a budget compromise to avoid the shutdown. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO and Alaska Public Media)
  State lawmakers are working on a budget compromise to avoid a government shutdown that could be completed as soon as tonight.
  The outline of an agreement became clear Thursday afternoon. The primary source of school funding would not be reduced. Alaska Permanen
  
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• Investigators probing if Trump campaign got info from Russian hacks

  23-06-2017 03:04
  
  CBS News has confirmed that congressional investigators are interested in whether Trump campaign associates obtained information from hacked voter databases.
  A source indicated it is still early on in the process of scrutinizing the issue, but the House Intelligence Committee is said to be scrutinizing relevant documents to see if there is a connection. TIME was the first to report the development, attributing it to two sources familiar with the investigations.
  CBS News has learned that so far,
  
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• EggFest, Strawberry Festival, Quidditch this weekend

  23-06-2017 02:39
  
  Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak Farm Strawberry Festival
  When: June 23 and 24
  Location: Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak Farm
  4350 Bodenburg Loop, PalmerPrice: $7 to $25
  Houston Music Festival
  When: June 23 through 25, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  Location: Zero Lake Road, Houston
  Price: $10 to $90
  GPS Scavenger Hunt
  When: June 23, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  Location: Mountain View Library
  Price: Free
  Alaska EggFest
  When: June 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  Location: Alaska Airlines Center Parking Lot
  Price: $10, kids 10 and und
  
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• ASD teachers likely keeping positions

  23-06-2017 02:16
  
  New developments out of Juneau are leading to optimism among Anchorage School District officials.
  A conference committee agreed on a budget to fully fund K-12 education and it could mean the 220 teachers from the district who were given layoff notices will likely get to keep their jobs.
  Superintendent Dr. Deena Bishop says it’s good news for families and their children.
  “I just want them to know, the teachers that left their schools — in their neighborhoods and other schools &m
  
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• Telling Tales – 6-20-17

  23-06-2017 02:04 via ktoo.org
  
  Telling Tales with MsG. celebrating Juneteenth
  was joined by guests Bill Merk and Alayna Duncan from Woosh Kinaadeiyi.
   
  “Sorrow of the Moon” by Charles Baudelaire — recited by Alayna Duncan
   
  Emily Wall’s Freshly Rooted: “Cowboy Crows” — recited by Bill Merk 
  “This Man” by Mildred Kiconco Barya — recited by Ms.G
   
  “Untitled” by Alayna Duncan
   
  “Jet” by Tony Hoagland — recited by Bi
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 6-23-17

  23-06-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Friday, June 23, 2017 on KRNNFriday at 3 on a Juneau Afternoon, Andy Kline will host;
  We’ll talk to Roger Healy from the CBJ, with an update on the recent Water Quality Report;
  That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, live at 3 on KTOO, repeated at 4 on KRNN, and available on demand via ktoo.org
  
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• Legislature passes budget, averts government shutdown

  23-06-2017 01:58
  
  The legislature has approved the budget compromise the conference committee delivered Thursday,  avoiding Alaska’s government shutting down for the first time in state history.
  Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) was the lone no-vote in the Senate. Shortly after, she announced she is leaving the majority caucus.
  Among the agreements are fully funding education, limiting the PFD to $1100 this year, $57 million in tax credit reimbursements to the oil industry and paying for the operating bud
  
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• Committee compromise slashes PFD, funds schools

  23-06-2017 01:58
  
  The Alaska conference committee reached a tentative compromise Thursday that could help the state avoid a government shutdown.
  Among the agreements are fully funding education, limiting the PFD to $1100 this year and paying for the operating budget out of the Constitutional Budget Reserve rather than Permanent Fund earnings. The latter is something Governor Walker had hoped to avoid as the State works to fill its multi-billion-dollar deficit.
  Now, the operating budget must be passed by both the
  
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• Committee compromise caps PFD, funds schools

  23-06-2017 01:58
  
  The conference committee reached a tentative compromise Thursday that could help the state avoid a government shutdown, and the Senate passed the budget bill.
  Sen. Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) is the only one who voted against it. Shortly after, Hughes announced she is leaving the majority caucus.
  Among the agreements are fully funding education, limiting the PFD to $1100 this year, $57 million in tax credit reimbursements to the oil industry and paying for the operating budget
  
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• Photos show close encounter between armed Russian jet, U.S. warplane

  23-06-2017 01:31
  
  An armed Russian jet came within five feet of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE/UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND View of an armed Russian SU-27 aircraft near a U.S. war plane. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE/UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND A Russian aircraft came within five feet of a wing tip for a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane, U.S. officials said. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE/UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND
  Military officials have released images showing a Russian je
  
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• U.S. missile defense test fails to intercept target over Pacific

  23-06-2017 01:23
  
  A SM-3 Block IIA guided missile during its first live-fire test on June 6, 2015. (Credit: Missile Defense Agency)
  A joint missile defense test conducted by the U.S. and Japan failed to intercept a targeted rocket over the Pacific on Wednesday, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said.
  The failed attempt was the second intercept test of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile, which is being developed by the U.S. and Japan to intercept medium- and intermediate-range ballistic rockets. T
  
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• ‘Making a Murderer’ confession coerced, judges rule

  23-06-2017 01:16
  
  CHICAGO – The confession of a Wisconsin inmate featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer” was improperly obtained and he should be released from prison, a three-judge federal appeals panel ruled Thursday.
  Brendan Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 in photographer Teresa Halbach’s death on Halloween two years earlier. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family’s Manitowoc County salvage yard
  
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• “Doesn’t he know it’s frozen?” How Alaska almost overlooked Prudhoe Bay

  23-06-2017 01:11 via ktoo.org
  
  Tom Marshall was a geologist and a land selection officer for Alaska in the 1960s. He was the driving force behind the state’s Prudhoe Bay selection. (Photo by Elizabeth Harball/Alaska’s Energy Desk)You could argue — and a lot of people do — that  Alaska would be a completely different place if it weren’t for a man named Tom Marshall.
  Marshall’s now 91 years old and lives in a little brown house in Anchorage. He won’t bring it up himself, but for ma
  
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• 360 North documentary “Inside Out: Leaving Prison Behind” premieres Friday

  23-06-2017 00:45 via ktoo.org
  
  The documentary “Inside Out: Leaving Prison Behind” premieres 8 p.m. Friday, June 23, on 360 North. (Still courtesy 360 North)
  “Inside Out: Leaving Prison Behind,” a nearly 30-minute documentary, follows three Lemon Creek Correctional Center inmates re-entering society.
  The film premieres 8 p.m. Friday, June 23, on 360 North.
   
  “In and out, in and out, in and out, feel like what’s the point of getting out, getting a job, coming back and burning
  
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• What’s the ferry Taku’s new price? It’s a secret

  23-06-2017 00:27 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Taku is in storage at Ketchikan’s Ward Cove. The former Ketchikan Pulp Co. mill site, including ferry headquarters, is in the background. (Photo by Leila Kheiry/KRBD)
  The Alaska Marine Highway System is advertising the ferry Taku again.
  The state listed the ship earlier this year at $1.5 million, then at $700,000.
  This time, there’s no advertised minimum said spokeswoman Meadow Bailey.
  “We have put the vessel out for open bid two time
  
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