Anchorage news

• Bear surprises clerk inside Juneau liquor store

  30-06-2017 23:46
  
  Video courtesy: Pete Thibodeau — owner of Liquor Barrel and Deli
  A liquor store clerk in Juneau got quite the scare when a bear wondered inside the store Friday morning.
  Roger Thibodeau said he was working at the Liquor Barrel and Deli when a bear came inside the store around 8:30 a.m. At first, he thought it was a dog, but then he realized it was a bear, he said.
  Worried the bear wasn’t alone, Thibodeau said he and a customer started clapping and yelling, which seemed to get the be
  
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• Sitka makes plans for pilot bus project

  30-06-2017 23:15
  
  SITKA, Alaska (AP) – The city of Sitka will consider a free downtown bus service this summer on a trial basis.
  The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports the Assembly voted 6-0 Tuesday to have Interim Municipal Administrator Phillip Messina prepare a supplemental budget ordinance for the trial project.
  Pat Kehoe, a member of the Island Artists Gallery, says the proposal came out of a brainstorming session of downtown merchants and the Chamber of Commerce, who observed that despite increased num
  
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• Alaska’s largest needle exchange is rushing to keep up with demand

  30-06-2017 22:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Volunteer Zane Davis restocks alcohol swabs and other supplies at the Alaska AIDS Assistance Association’s Anchorage office. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)
  There is an abundance of jaw-dropping numbers when it comes to opioids in Alaska. Seventy-four percent of the state’s drug overdose deaths last year are attributed to prescription painkillers or heroin. Blood-born viruses like hepatitis C are exploding, and so are healthcare costs. One calculation estimated t
  
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• Man tried to lure kids to car with fidget spinners, police say

  30-06-2017 22:37
  
  OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — Police in New Jersey are asking for help identifying a man who allegedly tried to lure children to his car using fidget spinners.
  Police in Old Bridge said on Facebook that the man approached two children, ages 8 and 11, in a convenience store on Thursday. They say he tried to lure them back to his car by offering snacks and the twirling toy, which is popular among schoolchildren.
  Read more at CBSNews.com.
  The post Man tried to lure kids to car with fidget spinners, poli
  
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• City of Juneau names and shames sales tax scofflaws

  30-06-2017 22:27 via ktoo.org
  
  The City and Borough of Juneau’s tax office has released its latest list of sales tax delinquents.Thirty active businesses owe more than $68,000.There’s an additional 17 businesses that have failed to comply with a repayment plan – leaving more than $600,000 in outstanding sales tax due.
  “We send merchants several notices ahead of the time that you’re going to be on the list effective this date and a lot of merchants make the effort so that they do avoid the list,&r
  
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• Alaska Native civil rights leader commemorated on U.S. coin

  30-06-2017 22:23
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Mint has proposed a new $1 coin with designs honoring a landmark anti-discrimination law that passed in territorial Alaska in 1945, years before the U.S. Civil Rights Act.
  A commemoration of #ElizabethPeratrovich & AK’s anti-discrimination law will appear on a $1 @USTreasury coin in 2020 https://t.co/3at5Ue4SQ1 pic.twitter.com/RytLzUO9ta
  — Governor Bill Walker (@AkGovBillWalker) June 30, 2017
  The Alaska Native woman influential in the law&rsqu
  
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• Gunman dead after shooting at New York hospital

  30-06-2017 22:16
  
  UPDATE: “One shooter is deceased at the hospital,” NYPD spokesman says after incident at Bronx Lebanon Hospital https://t.co/apNwXZs5f4 pic.twitter.com/dcGlieYXqg
  — CBS News (@CBSNews) June 30, 2017 NEW YORK (AP) – The Latest on a shooting at Bronx Lebanon Hospital (all times local):
  4:11 p.m.
  A New York City police spokesman says the gunman inside the Bronx Lebanon Hospital is dead after killing at least one person.
  New York Police Department spokesman J. Peter Dona
  
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• Newscast – Friday, June 30, 2017

  30-06-2017 22:11 via ktoo.org
  
  In this newscast:
  A bear walks into a Lemon Creek liquor store, insert punchline here
  The City and Borough of Juneau releases its list of sales tax delinquents
  Sitka experiments with free downtown bus service
  An Anchorage store clerk suspected of shooting at a shoplifter faces charges
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/06/170630-midday-news.wav
  
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• Coast Guard, more help search for missing boaters near Kodiak

  30-06-2017 21:44
  
  The Coast Guard, a good Samaritan vessel and a team of nine pararescuemen joined the search for two missing boaters in Marmot Bay, Alaska.
  Crews began searching Thursday for one male and one female who was reported missing from fishing vessel Miss Destinee that capsized in Marmot Bay, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
  The Coast Guard said A mayday call was made to watchstanders in Anchorage from the good Samaritan around 7:30 a.m. Thursday to coordinate a search for the two
  
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• Coast Guard, good Samaritan vessel searches for missing boaters near Kodiak

  30-06-2017 21:44
  
  The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan vessel are searching for two missing boaters in Marmot Bay, Alaska.
  Crews began searching Thursday for one male and one female who was reported missing from fishing vessel Miss Destinee that capsized in Marmot Bay, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
  The Coast Guard said A mayday call was made to watchstanders in Anchorage from the good Samaritan around 7:30 a.m. Thursday to coordinate a search for the two missing boaters. The crew reported
  
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• No joke: A bear walks into a Lemon Creek liquor store

  30-06-2017 21:12 via ktoo.org
  
  A Lemon Creek liquor store got an unexpected customer Friday morning.
  Roger Thibodeau, a Liquor Barrel clerk, posted a video of a bear walking through the store’s front door about 8:30 a.m.
  At first glance, Thibodeau said it looked like a dog coming into the store, but then he saw its snout.
  “Oh my god,” Thibodeau said. “I think that was the closest I’ve ever been to a bear. I was basically kind of stunned when I saw it.”
  A juvenile bear walked
  
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• Mic Check in the Morning: Alaska Button Box Gang

  30-06-2017 20:53
  
  The Alaska Button Box Gang is all about promoting the history and enjoyment of button box accordion music.
  The group plays traditional Slovenian, German and Polish accordion music, and they stopped by Daybreak Friday morning.
  The Alaska Button Box Gang will be playing at the Alaska Zoo Friday night at 7 p.m. as part of the Alaska Zoo’s Summer Family Nights.
   
  The post Mic Check in the Morning: Alaska Button Box Gang appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Understanding the Cold War’s importance to Alaska relations

  30-06-2017 20:52
  
  Long-time Alaska Political Aide and Journalist David Ramseur joined Daybreak Friday morning to talk about his book, Melting the Ice Curtain: The Extraordinary Story of Citizen Diplomacy on the Russia-Alaska Frontier.
  Ramseur said his book is about “a 30‑year renewal in relations across the Bering Strait between Alaska and the Russian far east.”
  He wants his readers to understand the Cold War was an important era for Alaska relations.
  “I think the main lesson of the book i
  
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• People warned to stay off streets after second fatal stabbing

  30-06-2017 18:43
  
  It appears to be a rather ominous warning — stay off the streets because they’re not safe. Those words from the Executive Director of Bean’s Café after another deadly stabbing near campus, the second one this month. No one has been caught in either stabbing
  Lisa Sauder with Bean’s told KTVA 11 Thursday night that clients can be preyed on and wants them to come to Bean’s during the day and sleep at the Brother Francis Shelter next door at night. Sauder says be
  
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• Alaska Regional Community Clinic in Mountain View closes after six months

  30-06-2017 18:28
  
  A new health clinic in the heart of Mountain View has closed its doors after just six months. A sign posted on the door Thursday told patients the sudden closure is “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
  In a press release, Alaska Regional Hospital said the community health clinic is shutting down temporarily due to “shortfalls in the planned operational structure and financial losses far exceeding original projections.”
  Alaska Regional Hospital CEO Julie Taylor says the clin
  
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• Notah Begay III tees off in Alaska to help Afognak Native Corporation

  30-06-2017 05:20
  
  You had the good, with the not so good at the Anchorage Golf Course. Not even rain could dampen the mood as golfers hit the course Thursday for a good cause.
  The Afognak Native Corporation hosted its second annual Youth Tournament. Proceeds help fund a culture camp on Afognak Island.
  Board Chairman Gerad Godfrey told KTVA Sports, Tribal members go there to learn more about how their ancestors lived.
  “Subsistence lifestyle, utilizing what Mother Nature provides for you, survival techniques
  
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• Legislature’s inaction could stall ‘life or death’ safety improvements to Haines highway

  30-06-2017 05:14
  
  The Haines Highway is one of the several projects statewide that would be immediately impacted if lawmakers don’t pass a capital budget before July. The federal government is slated to spend between $40 to $50 million on safety improvements this summer, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation. But, lawmakers must first approve funding for a 9 percent state match on the project.
  For residents, the project is about more than convenience. Between narrow roads, fast-changing weath
  
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• Will Murkowski and Sullivan live up to the promises they made on the health care bill?

  30-06-2017 05:05
  
  In this week’s Reality Check, John Tracy explains why the vote on health care could have a big impact on Alaskans, and the politicians who approve it.
  In the 2014 election, Mark Begich was one of the several Democratic Senators portrayed as the final vote that inflicted Obamacare on America.
  It was a factor in losing his seat after one term.
  Three years later, Alaska’s Senators may actually hold the key to the attempted repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
  Senate Majori
  
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• Eagle River Blockbuster location begins blow-out sale

  30-06-2017 05:03
  
  Eagle River is losing one of the few Blockbuster stores left in the state.
  Customers lined up to buy stacks of movies Thursday during the start of a blow-out sale. The sale will last through July.
  General manager Kevin Daymude says whatever is left in the store, is available for customers to purchase. Daymude says the movie rental business has held on in Alaska for a lot longer than other states, but the tough economy has had a negative impact.
  “The economy is a huge benefactor for any kin
  
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• Senate Majority proposes to end oil cash tax credits on July 1

  30-06-2017 05:02
  
  Alaska’s Senate majority wants to end cash payments to oil and gas companies by this Saturday, July 1 — a move they say would save the state millions of dollars. It’s outlined in a proposal in part of HB 111, a bill relating to the production taxes for oil and gas companies.
  “The cash payments to oil companies when the state itself is in deficit revenue is actually urgent,” said Senator Cathy Geissel (R-Anchorage). “It is the hemorrhaging of cash.”
  Inste
  
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• When is shooting justified? Firearms expert weighs in

  30-06-2017 04:35
  
  A shot fired during a theft Wednesday is raising questions about when deadly force is justified.
  Anchorage police say a clerk at Smoker’s Choice fired a shot at an unarmed thief as he was running out of the store with a carton of cigarettes.
  Some are praising the clerk, but Mark Guy, chief instructor at Copacetic Firearms Training, said shooting at someone who isn’t threatening anyone is illegal — even if they’re breaking the law.
  Alaska does have a stand-your-ground law
  
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• Youth workers prevent erosion with Campbell Creek restoration project

  30-06-2017 04:30
  
  Campbell Creek is getting some TLC from Anchorage youth.
  A crew from the Anchorage Park Foundation’s Youth Employment in Parks program is working on erosion control on a portion of the creek near Dowling.
  “When the creek flows and it hits corners, it erodes more of the bank and we’re trying to save that from coming down,” said 18-year-old Kylie Barham. “We want to help the earth and the land and save plants and trees.”
  They’re installing “core logs
  
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• Report: Senate health reform cuts $3.1B from Alaska’s Medicaid

  30-06-2017 03:16 via ktoo.org
  
  Protesters at the U.S. Capitol in May. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  A new state-commissioned analysis of the U.S. Senate health care bill said it would lower Medicaid payments to the Alaska by $3.1 billion over six years.
  That’s an even bigger cut than in the bill the House passed.
  The report by Manatt Health said the 34,000 Alaskans now covered by Medicaid expansion could lose coverage after 2020, and the state may have to make cuts elsewhere, too.
  In Washington thi
  
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• Senate to return to Juneau on July 10 to focus on oil and gas tax credits

  30-06-2017 02:59 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, testifies before the Senate Finance Committee in April. She would like to see the end of oil and gas tax credits for which companies receive cash payments. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  The Senate plans to reconvene in Juneau on July 10 to try to overhaul oil and gas credits. But it’s not clear if there’s room for compromise with the House, which has different goals.
  Neither chamber has held a voting session since it passed the state budget on J
  
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• An expert’s guide to Mount Marathon

  30-06-2017 02:25
  
  Looking up from downtown Seward, Mount Marathon looks pretty daunting, and the people who run up this mountain will tell you — it is.
  Flip Foldager knows the mountain about as well as anyone can. The 60-year-old Seward resident has climbed it since he was a kid.
  “Hundreds of times,” he said. “Maybe even approaching a thousand. You need to come here, you need to train, you need to know what you are doing.”
  Flip Foldager prepares to descend from the summit of Mount Ma
  
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• Medicaid cuts in Senate bill could have dire effects at Ohio opioid clinic

  30-06-2017 01:43
  
  AKRON, Ohio — For the last 15 months, 33-year-old Eric Hinman has been coming to Oriana House, a drug treatment center, to help end an opioid addiction that could kill him.
  “You go from feeling dope sick to wanting to kill yourself to living life again,” he said.
  Hinman and Leah Cohen, also a recovering heroin addict, credit their progress to counseling and monthly injections of a drug called Vivitrol, which costs $1,200 a dose. They get it for free because, like 2,500 other pa
  
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