Anchorage news

• Newscast – Monday, July 10, 2017

  10-07-2017 23:17 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/20170710-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  State lawmakers may have a path to compromise on oil and gas taxes,
  Juneau’s new seawalk section briefly opens,
  the Juneau Community Charter School hires its first professional principal, and
  a Juneau man gets knocked out by a charging bison in a North Dakota national park.
  
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• Hollis French to chair state oil and gas commission

  10-07-2017 22:47 via ktoo.org
  
  Hollis French addresses the Alaska Legislature in 2014. The former senator will now chair the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. (Photo by Skip Gray/Gavel Alaska)
  Gov. Bill Walker has appointed Hollis French to lead a state agency that oversees oil and gas production and enforces industry safety rules.
  French took over as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on July 1, and will serve a four-year term. He’s replacing Cathy Foerster, who served the previous term a
  
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• After months of fighting, House offers Senate a compromise on oil and gas tax credits

  10-07-2017 22:34 via ktoo.org
  
  Caelus Energy’s Smith Bay rig. Caelus CEO Jim Musselman says tax credits are needed to help develop the find. (Image courtesy Caelus Energy)
  After five months of back and forth, the legislature may be close to compromising on changes to the state’s oil and gas tax credit system.Lawmakers in the House and Senate seem to agree that the state needs to overhaul a system that has it paying cash for tax credits to oil companies. It will owe nearly $700 million by the end of the year.But a
  
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• 2-month-old infant dies in New Stuyahok

  10-07-2017 22:32
  
  An infant died Friday morning in the Western Alaska village of New Stuyahok, according to Alaska State Troopers, who say the incident is under investigation.
  The child’s death was initially reported morning to the village public safety officer in New Stuyahok, about 52 miles northeast of Dillingham, troopers said in an online dispatch posted Monday.
  “Subsequent investigation revealed a mother woke up at approximately (9:40 a.m. Friday) to find her 2-month-old infant was not breathing
  
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• Driver cited in Sunday’s Seward Highway collision

  10-07-2017 22:18
  
  Anchorage Police said Monday they’ve cited the driver who caused the crash that critically injured one person and shut down the Seward Highway for hours on Sunday.
  Peter Jouflas was issued a citation for reckless driving in connection with Sunday’s crash. APD says there’s no indication that alcohol and drugs were contributing factors.
  APD’s preliminary investigation found Jouflas failed to slow or stop his 2017 silver Ford Expedition as it approached a stopped 2012 Chevy
  
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• Warmest temperatures of the summer forecast for Southcentral Alaska this week

  10-07-2017 21:24
  
  Warm summer temperatures in Southcentral Alaska are off to a slow start this year. So far this summer, the thermometer has only topped 70 degrees three times: on May 31, June 1, and July 6. The warmest temperature of the year so far is 75 degrees, recorded June 1, which means Anchorage has yet to hit the 80-degree mark this summer. Through July 10 of last year, Anchorage had already recorded one 80-degree temperature and 14 70-degree temperatures. Summer 2015 saw a dozen 70-degree highs thr
  
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• Gas station clerk stabbed in altercation

  10-07-2017 20:47
  
  An employee at a downtown gas station was stabbed after an altercation with a subject who they was trespassing.
  Anchorage Police were called to the Chevron gas station in the 800 block of East 6th Avenue around 3:15 Monday morning.
  Arriving officers found the suspect running from the area with a knife, APD says.  The suspect, 49-year-old Ronald Vaska, was found in the alley that runs between Hyder and Gambell Streets.
  APD says Vaska had been asked to leave the story by the employee and secu
  
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• 2 earthquakes hit Alaska, but no damage reported so far

  10-07-2017 20:23
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Two small earthquakes have hit Alaska, one on the state’s northern end and another in the south.
  The Alaska Earthquake Center says a magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck a spot 64.3 miles (103.8 kilometers) northeast of Arctic Village, a community of about 150 people, at 10:02 p.m. Sunday Alaska time. The earthquake had a depth of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers.)
  Earlier Sunday, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake has hit southern Alaska, but there are no reports of damage.
  The c
  
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• Kuskokwim King Crisis: Headed for Another Record Low

  10-07-2017 18:53
   
  It’s been an emotional roller coaster for communities along the Kuskokwim River. In 2013, they saw a record low run, with severe restrictions on subsistence fishing.
  The kings, or Chinooks as they’re also called, returned in stronger numbers last year – but this season, they are likely to be headed for another record low.
  Once again, strict conservation measures were put in place to protect the kings, which limited access to other species of salmon like chums and reds,
  
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• Changes proposed for subsistence hunting policies

  10-07-2017 18:03
  
  KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Subsistence hunters may soon be able to hunt deer anywhere on federal public lands in Southeast Alaska.
  The Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday the Federal Subsistence Board is now asking for comments through Aug. 4 on proposed changes to policies for the 2018-20 regulatory years. One of the proposals would change where subsistence hunters can harvest deer.
  For example, under the proposed policy, a subsistence hunter from the City of Saxman currently has a custo
  
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• Alaska Gov. Walker signs shutdown-averting budget

  10-07-2017 17:58
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker signed a shutdown-averting $8.8 billion state operating budget into law.
  The Juneau Empire reports Walker signed the budget Friday, one day before the start of the state fiscal year and eight days after the Alaska Legislature approved the budget.
  The budget uses $2.3 billion from Alaska’s Constitutional Budget Reserve to close a multibillion-dollar annual deficit, and it cuts the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend to $1,100. It fails to allev
  
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• Recent Kuskokwim openings leave boats heavy with chum

  10-07-2017 05:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Summer chum. (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
  The numbers are in from the two recent gillnet openings on the Kuskokwim River. Although Monday’s opening stretched twice as long as Saturday’s, more people fished during the weekend window.
  From Tuntutuliak to Akiak on the Kuskokwim main-stem, an estimated 320 drift boats fished on Saturday, compared to 250 boats on Monday. The difference showed in the harvests. Approximately 30,190 salmo
  
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• Juneau charter school hires first principal

  10-07-2017 04:56 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau Community Charter School. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
  Juneau’s charter school, run mostly by parents and teachers for almost 20 years, has hired its first principal. The school has roughly 100 students in multi-grade classrooms for grades K-8. It provides project-based, interdisciplinary instruction.
  Ryan Stanley, an outgoing member of the committee that manages Juneau Community Charter School, said Caron Smith, a principal in Madras, Oregon, will handle administrati
  
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• New Anchorage power plant improves efficiency and reliability, increases rates

  10-07-2017 04:54 via ktoo.org
  
  Plant Superintendent Nat Lewis shows off one of Plant 2A’s new turbines. (Photo by Henry Leasia/Alaska Public Media)
  Last year, Municipal Light & Power completed a $300 million overhaul of their power plant in East Anchorage. The expansion aims to increase efficiency, reliability and environmental quality by replacing old technology.
  During a recent media tour of the new facility, Plant 2A Superintendent Nat Lewis showed off the new Siemens SST-400 turbine. It runs on steam generated f
  
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• Playground sandbox can be breeding ground for germs

  10-07-2017 04:48
  
  Kids love to play in sandboxes, and it helps them develop motor and social skills.
  But have you ever considered what kind of germs might be lurking in that communal sand?
  Sandboxes can be breeding grounds for bacteria, parasites and other infectious germs, whether brought in by animals using them as litter boxes or by kids interacting with other kids, researchers say.
  Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, describes sandboxes as “swimming p
  
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• Large wildfires force evacuations in California; 5,000 firefighters deployed

  10-07-2017 04:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Firefighters try to keep a wildfire from jumping a street near Oroville, Calif., on Saturday. Evening winds drove the fire through several neighborhoods, leveling homes in its path. Noah Berger/AP
  Hot and dry conditions in the West are feeding wildfires in the U.S. and Canada, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people. In California, some 5,000 firefighters are battling 14 large wildfires, state officials say.
  “The Whittier Fire, which is burning in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa
  
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• Captain medevaced to Cordova after fall

  10-07-2017 04:32
  
  The captain of a fishing boat was medevaced to Cordova after a fall.
  The U.S. Coast Guard says the captain of the “Coventina” fell in the fish hold, hurting his ribs Saturday. When he showed signs of shock, the crew radioed for help.
  They took the boat to Stockdale Harbor on the Northwest side of Montague Island and were met by the crew of a Jayhawk helicopter.
  The Captain was then flown to Cordova.
  The post Captain medevaced to Cordova after fall appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Teen drowns in waters near Fairbanks

  10-07-2017 04:25
  
  A teenager drowned in the Interior over the weekend.
  Alaska State Troopers say the 13-year-old was swimming with relatives at the Chena Lakes State Park. They say she disappeared after going into deep water.
  Salcha and North Pole Fire and Rescue teams found her body about 50 yards from the shore.
  She was given CPR, but she was pronounced dead at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
  The post Teen drowns in waters near Fairbanks appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• UAA’s Keith Hackett has final sit down with KTVA

  10-07-2017 04:11
  
   
  It’s fun and games to some, entertainment for others. But, for those who make a living in athletics, it’s clearly a business — though there are perks.
  UAA athletic director Keith Hackett has been in college athletics and academics administration for four decades. Last month, he resigned from his post as the University of Alaska Anchorage athletic director, after nearly four years, to take a similar post in Iowa, to be closer to his children and grandchildren.
  With his l
  
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• How NASA plans to knock asteroids heading toward Earth off course

  10-07-2017 02:28
  
  Since one of the biggest asteroids to strike Earth nearly 65 million years ago, our planet has been unarmed — until now.
  On the front lines of defending the planet is the newest technological advancement by NASA’s Planetary Defense team: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, otherwise known as DART.
  DART’s mission? To knock asteroids flying close to Earth off-course by striking them at a speed about nine times faster than a bullet.
  NASA plans on testing the DART system on the
  
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• Average US gas price drops a penny amid plentiful supplies

  10-07-2017 01:52
  
  CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) – The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline fell about a penny nationally over the past two weeks, to $2.31.
  Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the drop comes amid plentiful supplies of both crude oil and gasoline.
  She says gas prices have declined more than 15 cents since April.
  Gas in San Francisco was the highest in the contiguous United States at an average of $3.00 a gallon. The lowest was in Jackson, Mississip
  
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• Kenai police officers begin using overdose-reducing drug

  10-07-2017 00:58
  
  KENAI, Alaska (AP) – The Kenai Police Department is hopeful that they have saved the first of many lives with its recently acquired overdose-reducing drug.
  The Peninsula Clarion reports that Kenai police officers used a drug called Naloxone for time last Sunday on a woman who had overdosed on drugs. According to a press release by the department, the woman revived as she was being taken to get treatment.
  Officials say the drug also known as Narcan is used to reverse the effects of an overd
  
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• Alaska Men’s Run takes off to help those with prostate cancer

  10-07-2017 00:11
  
   
  Dennis Sullivan takes a stroll with friends — he’s part of the group, the “Running Gags.” Their walk starts at Anchorage Football Stadium. It’s for a good cause.
  “Lots of people I know have had prostate cancer and lots of people have survived it,” said Sullivan, as he included himself in that group. “15 years later, I’m doing everything, almost, I think it was the 15 years than it was the cancer.”
  The walk is part of the annual
  
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