Anchorage news

• Juneau Assembly weighs competing proposals for sales tax funding

  12-07-2017 23:40 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Voters in Juneau likely will be asked in October to extend 1 percent of the local sales tax for another five years.
  That would help raise about $47 million for capital projects. But first, the Assembly’s finance committee will meet Thursday to decide which projects would receive funding.
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/170712SALESTAX.mp3The Juneau Assembly has ranked wastewater treatment infrastructure as the top priority for future sales tax revenue. (Photo by Rosemarie Ale
  
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• EPA takes step toward ending ‘pre-emptive veto’ of Pebble Mine

  12-07-2017 23:33 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Members of the media walking to an exploratory drill rig at the Pebble Mine Exploratory site. (Photo by Jason Sear/KDLG)
  The Environmental Protection Agency announced its intention to reverse course on an action that would have thwarted the proposed Pebble mine in the Bristol Bay watershed.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170711-04.mp3The Obama administration’s Clean Water Act restrictions, if finalized, would have made it hard for Pebble Limited Partnership to develop a major gold a
  
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• Sport fishermen frustrated by king salmon management amidst banner sockeye run

  12-07-2017 23:24 via ktoo.org
  
  
  (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp/KDLG)
  The Nushagak River is having a near record return of sockeye salmon.
  Normally, the river is more famous for the strength of its king return, where many other Alaska rivers have struggled.
  This year, though the king run has struggled or at least run late, to the frustration of the anglers who line the river’s banks in June and July.
  Some sportfish operators say they would like to see some changes in the commercial sockeye fishery downstream to help protect
  
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• Review: Proposed Tesoro project won’t pose major harm

  12-07-2017 23:12
  
  SEATTLE (AP) – Local regulators say a proposed project at the Tesoro oil refinery in Washington state won’t pose major direct environmental harm despite concerns raised by Native American tribes, conservation groups and others.
  Tesoro Corp. is planning a $400 million project at Anacortes, including upgrades to help it meet upcoming federal gasoline emissions regulations. It wants to produce a new product xylene, a chemical compound used to make plastics and other synthetic products.
  
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• White House’s election fraud commission suspends request for Alaska voter information

  12-07-2017 23:09 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Secrecy folders for ballots and “I Voted” stickers at a polling place in the State Office Building for early and absentee voting, Aug. 15, 2016. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
  Alaska will not be providing voter information to the White House for the time being.
  http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170711-02.mp3The Trump administration’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has suspended its request for voter information from the Alaska Division of Elections.
  Th
  
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• Hotel owners interested in buying Sitka hospital

  12-07-2017 23:01 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The owners of the Sitka Hotel have approached the city about purchasing Sitka Community Hospital. Their interest is in unexpected development in Sitka’s ongoing effort to decide the future of health care in the community. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)
  The owners of a local hotel and restaurant are interested in purchasing Sitka Community Hospital.
  Their inquiry comes less than two weeks before the Assembly is scheduled to consider a competing offer by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Con
  
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• Lawsuit says it’s unconstitutional for President Trump to block critics on Twitter

  12-07-2017 22:46 via ktoo.org
  
  A free speech law center says President Donald Trump and his staff are breaking the law when they block his critics on Twitter. The Knight First Amendment Institute has filed a lawsuit saying the president’s Twitter feed is a public forum protected by the First Amendment.
  The suit, filed Tuesday, accuses the White House of suppressing dissent by excluding Twitter users who criticize Trump or his policies. It cites recent statements by White House staff that deem tweets from the president&r
  
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• Plan aimed at stabilizing Alaska insurance market approved

  12-07-2017 22:37
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved a proposal intended to help stabilize Alaska’s individual health insurance market.
  State leaders hailed the news. But U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said that work still remains in providing affordable health care for all Alaskans.
  Congress is currently debating overhauling the existing federal health care law.
  The state last year established a program to address claims for high-cost conditions in an effort t
  
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• Where are Koliganek’s king salmon?

  12-07-2017 22:17 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Christian Mulipola reaches for king salmon strips his grandmother, Diane Ishnook, has hung up to dry. Her king salmon were caught far downriver from Koliganek.
  (Photo by Avery Lill/KDLG)
  More than 2.5 million sockeye have returned to spawn in the Nushagak River this year, one of the highest counts on record.
  They have filled pools and creeks, jumping and swimming their way to their spawning grounds.https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kdlg/audio/2017/07/koliganek_kings_7.11_pkg.mp3“I’ve seen
  
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• Vehicle found, Airport Police still searching for 2 suspects after officer-involved shooting

  12-07-2017 21:37
  
  Airport Police are asking for the public’s help finding two suspects that were in an officer-involved shooting near the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Wednesday morning.
  Officials say around 7 a.m., Airport Police Officers were doing a welfare check on the two males who appeared to be sleeping inside a running, 2006 maroon 4-door Chevy Silverado pickup that was parked outside the Coast International Inn. When one of the officers went to check on the suspects, the driver appear
  
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• 2 suspects and vehicle wanted in airport shooting

  12-07-2017 21:37
  
  Airport Police are asking for the public’s help finding two suspects and a vehicle involved in a shooting at the airport.
  Officials say the two males were driving a stolen 2006 maroon 4-door Chevy Silverado pickup when they fled from Airport police at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
  Police describe the driver as a white or mixed race male in his late 20s or early 30s, with a full “sleeve” tattoo on his left arm and possibly on the left side of his neck. He was
  
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• Workforce Wednesday: Marine coating

  12-07-2017 20:53
  
   
  Marine coating is a profession that protects Alaska’s ships from corrosion, marine growth and more.
  Mike Ritz, a co-owner of Alaska Marine Coatings, says there is a lot of surface preparation which means it’s a very physical occupation. He added that includes sandblasting, spraying, brushing, painting numbers and other job duties.
  Because of Alaska’s vast amounts of coastline, Ritz said job seekers can find a lot of opportunities in marine coating within the state. He s
  
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• Telling Tales – 7-12-17

  12-07-2017 20:53 via ktoo.org
  
  
   
  “Meeting the Mugger” by Norma Fox Mazer
  –In 1988 Mazer said:
  “I hesitate to say I’m delivering messages….I’m writing stories and novels. I hope there’s an underlying feeling for the reader — a hope, perhaps a moral. But I’m not preaching. I’m telling stories”. 
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/0711171.mp3
  
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• Anchorage Assembly approves $500,000 contract for ML&P to bring in expert witness

  12-07-2017 20:48
  
   
  All 11 members of the Anchorage Assembly approved ML&P’s request for half a million dollars in order to provide expert testimony in its rate case currently before the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
  “With any rate case that we do, we have experts that deal with a lot of complex and technical issues,” Mark Johnston, general manager for ML&P said. “We don’t necessarily have the staff to be able to do that.”
  The rate case is over whether ML&P
  
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• Ed Mercer promoted to chief of Juneau Police Department

  12-07-2017 20:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Ed Mercer is a 17-year veteran of the Juneau Police Department. He officially takes the top job on July 28. (Photo courtesy City and Borough of Juneau)
  The Juneau Police Department’s number two is being promoted to the top job. Deputy Chief Ed Mercer will lead the police department after Juneau’s police chief leaves at the end of the month for Idaho.
  City officials said Ed Mercer was a natural choice given his 17 years experience with the Juneau Police Department. He’s been dep
  
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• Fairbanks man faces murder charge in death of girlfriend

  12-07-2017 20:18
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A Fairbanks man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend.
  Fairbanks police on Tuesday announced the arrest of 37-year-old Roberto Leal Jr. in the death of 28-year-old Robyn Gray after an autopsy determined Gray had been strangled.
  Police and fire department responders just before 4 a.m. Saturday took a call of a woman not breathing and found Gray dead in her apartment. Leal and the couple’s two children, ages 2 and seven month
  
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• Fairbanks man faces murder charge death of girlfriend

  12-07-2017 20:18
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A Fairbanks man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend.
  Fairbanks police on Tuesday announced the arrest of 37-year-old Roberto Leal Jr. in the death of 28-year-old Robyn Gray after an autopsy determined Gray had been strangled.
  Police and fire department responders just before 4 a.m. Saturday took a call of a woman not breathing and found Gray dead in her apartment. Leal and the couple’s two children, ages 2 and seven month
  
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• APD investigating NE Anchorage gun fight

  12-07-2017 10:43
  
  The Anchorage Police Department is investigating a shooting that happened just before 10 p.m. at the intersection of East 5th Avenue and State Street.
  Sgt. Nate Mitchell said there was a gun fight that took place in the street and police are still trying to figure out who was involved.
  At about 11 p.m., officers were on scene bagging up evidence. Mitchell said there were between 30 to 40 shell casings collected.
  He confirmed one victim was taken to Providence Hospital with non-life threaten
  
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• Anchorage Assembly passes resolution asking Marijuana Control Board to allow onsite consumption

  12-07-2017 06:11
  
  In the summer, general manager of Alaska Fireweed Will Ingram says easily 50 percent of sales at the downtown marijuana retail store are to tourists, and he has to tell customers from out of town on a daily basis there’s nowhere for them to legally consume their purchase.
  “Unless you have your own property here, you really can’t legally consume it anywhere. You can’t do it in hotel rooms, you can’t do it downtown in the parks, you can’t do it on the street, s
  
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• As crime spikes in Juneau, neighbors, police point to opioid epidemic

  12-07-2017 05:04
  
  In the last two years, burglaries in the capital city are up 60 percent, according to the Juneau Police Department.
  JPD says it’s a symptom of the state’s opioid epidemic — which Gov. Bill Walker has declared a disaster.
  For the first time, neighborhood watch signs are cropping up around town. Police say people are stealing to fuel drug addictions, and if its petty theft, there’s not much the department can do about it. That’s why JPD and frustrated neighbors have
  
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• Local retailers work to keep customers in face of internet deals

  12-07-2017 05:01
  
  On Tuesday, Amazon offered deals for their third annual Amazon Prime Day that seemed hard to beat. New bargains every five minutes and, for Prime members, free delivery straight to your door. Many local retailers are finding it hard to compete with those internet deals on price alone. That’s why some say they’re working to keep customers in other ways.
  B and J’s Sporting Goods in Midtown is a good example. Manager Mike Olson said the store has been in business since the 1950s,
  
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• Habitat for Humanity breaks ground in Mountain View

  12-07-2017 04:57
  
  The Mountain View neighborhood is growing. Habitat for Humanity broke ground on an empty lot that will have a three-bedroom home come next spring.
  The specific homeowner has not been chosen yet, but, it has been narrowed down to five families.
  All of the material for the home and most of the labor is donated, but, the future homeowner is required to put in their own sweat equity– hours they put toward Habitat for Humanity.
  They can do this by helping build their own home, helping wit
  
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• Fast times and fat wallets – how Alaska got its pipeline | MIDNIGHT OIL: Episode 04

  12-07-2017 04:53 via ktoo.org
  
  The trans-Alaska pipeline was the largest privately-funded construction project in the world, built across the biggest U.S. state and faced with unprecedented natural obstacles. It came with an $8 billion price tag, but true costs and benefits of the pipeline are still being calculated.
  
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• Feds agree to shore up Alaska’s insurance market

  12-07-2017 04:30 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, left, talks with Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in the office of Sen. Dan Sullivan. (Photo by Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)
  The U.S. Health & Human Services Department has given the green light to the State of Alaska’s re-insurance program, which lowers costs for people who buy their own health insurance.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170711-01.mp3The head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  
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• Tongass timber sale short on timber

  12-07-2017 04:10 via ktoo.org
  
  
  The harbor at Thorne Bay on Prince of Wales Island. (Photo courtesy Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Division of Community and Regional Affairs’ Community Photo Library)
  A large timber sale on the Tongass National Forest is not as large as it was advertised.
  An environmental watchdog organization has uncovered a U.S. Forest Service document showing a 12-million-board-foot mistake on the Big Thorne timber sale on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.
  The U.S
  
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• Wrangell, workers reach new contract agreement

  12-07-2017 03:30 via ktoo.org
  
  Wrangell municipal employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers pose on the picket line June 22, 2017. They’ve since reached a new contract agreement with the borough, which now goes before the Assembly. (Photo courtesy IBEW )
  Wrangell has a new agreement with its unionized workers.
  If approved by the Borough Assembly, it will end three years of sometimes acrimonious talks over wages and benefits.
  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers members went
  
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• Former head of Alaska railroad workers union sentenced for felony embezzlement

  12-07-2017 03:26 via ktoo.org
  
  The former head of Alaska’s railroad workers union has been sentenced to a year in jail for felony embezzlement.
  According to the U.S. District Attorney’s office in Anchorage, Jeffrey Davies of Wasilla pleaded guilty to the charges last year, admitting he took $90,000 of the union’s money for personal gain over a three-year period. The case followed an investigation by the FBI.
  When handing down the sentence, District Judge Sharon Gleason said that “Davies had grossly abu
  
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• Amazon Prime Day: Does it make sense to sign up for Prime?

  12-07-2017 02:53
  
  There may be Amazon-sized hoopla about the company’s Prime Day, which means the roughly half of the American households who don’t have a Prime membership may be feeling left out.
  The deals offered on Prime Day, which started Monday night and runs for 30 hours, are only available to the company’s Prime members. About half of U.S. households participate in the e-commerce giant’s popular shopping program, according to an estimate from digital research firm L2. They tend to b
  
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• Ask a Climatologist: Remembering the record breaking July snow

  12-07-2017 02:52 via ktoo.org
  
  The Climate log from the July 19, 1970 record snow event at the Summit weather station.
  When it comes to weather in Alaska, anything is possible — including snow in July.
  According to Brian Brettschneider with our Ask a Climatologist segment, Alaska holds the North American record for most snow on a single day in July. Back in 1970 on July 19, it snowed 9.7 inches at the Summit weather station just south of Cantwell on the Parks Highway.
  Brettschneider says 16 stations in Alaska have recor
  
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• Seal pup found near Egegik progressing well

  12-07-2017 02:30 via ktoo.org
  
  (Alaska Sealife Center)
  An orphan harbor seal found near Egegik is progressing well. The seal was found at the end of June and was very dehydrated and underweight.
  She also had an infection at her umbilical cord site. The seal’s mother was found dying on the beach.
  Hallee Warner, an animal care specialist with the Alaska Sealife Center, said the seal will eventually be released.
  “Going forward our ultimate goal is always to release harbor seals whenever we possibly can,” W
  
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• Border wall funding folded into House GOP bill

  12-07-2017 02:28
  
  House Republicans are proposing to allocate $1.6 billion for the next fiscal year to fund “physical barrier construction” on the U.S.-Mexico border.
  The provision, Republicans say, will provide the necessary resources for the Trump administration to begin building President Trump’s promised border wall. The allocation is part of a $44.3 billion funding bill released Tuesday that would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal 2018, which begins on Oct. 1.
  “
  
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• No injuries reported after cement truck rolls over near Dredge Lake

  12-07-2017 02:26 via ktoo.org
  
  A cement truck rolled over at the corner of Mendenhall Loop and Back Loop roads.
  Photos from the scene show the truck off the roadway with police and fire officials. The cab of the truck was partially crushed, though Juneau police dispatch reports no injuries.
  As of noon Tuesday, authorities were working the scene, trying to right the truck.
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 7-12-17

  12-07-2017 02:17 via ktoo.org
  
  Wednesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon,
  Laury Scandling will host.We’ll talk about Saturday’s bowling fund-raiser, Street Vs. The Beat, with guest Rebecca Service;Charli Gribbon will be here to highlight the upcoming Infection Prevention event;Alison Gillum and Crystal Cudworth, from the SE Alaska Land Trust, will be here with a Trust Update;And we’ll hear some live music with Ukulele Russ.
  That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, Wednesday on A Juneau Afternoon,
  
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• EPA taking comments on lifting proposed mine restrictions

  12-07-2017 02:11
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken the first step toward reversing its proposed restrictions on large-scale mining near the headwaters of a major salmon fishery in southwest Alaska.
  As part of a legal settlement reached in May with the Pebble Limited Partnership, the EPA pledged to initiate a process for withdrawing the proposed restrictions.
  EPA announced Tuesday that it would hold a 90-day comment period on the intended withdrawal.
  The agency also sa
  
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• S​enator calls for regulation of ‘snortable chocolate​’

  12-07-2017 02:05
  
  (Credit: Via LegalLean.com)
  U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is urging federal regulators to look into a “snortable chocolate” powder, saying he’s worried that it could prove harmful and is being marketed like a drug.
  In a letter Saturday, the New York Democrat asked the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the use of caffeine in inhalable food products such as so-called Coco Loko. It’s gotten buzz in recent weeks.
  Schumer, the Senate minority leader, says there are too m
  
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• Measles kills 35 children in ‘unacceptable tragedy’

  12-07-2017 01:55
  
  LONDON — The World Health Organization says measles has killed 35 children in Europe in the last year, calling it an “unacceptable tragedy” that deaths are being caused by a vaccine-preventable disease.
  The figure is nearly a threefold increase since 2016, when measles killed 13 children in Europe. In 2015, it killed three.
  In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said the most recent death was a 6-year-old boy in Italy, where there have been more than 3,300 cases and two
  
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• Gustavus city council reinstates fired librarian after mayor quits

  12-07-2017 01:49 via ktoo.org
  
  
  There’s been another shakeup of local government in the City of Gustavus.
  The city hall has been struggling following the resignation of key staffers.http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/170711GUSTAVUS-PKG.mp3For the past month, Gustavus city hall has been staffed by city council members following the abrupt departure of its entire administrative staff.
  The resignations of the two employees followed the firing of a longtime librarian by Mayor Connie Edwards, who was sworn in last
  
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• Spring Creek correctional officer charged in 20-count child pornography case

  12-07-2017 01:35
  
  Spring Creek Correctional Center | Department of Corrections
  An Alaska correctional officer has been charged with a series of child-pornography offenses following a recent investigation, according to Alaska State Troopers.
  Charges filed in Palmer court showed Stewart Lee Blakeslee, 34, was charged with two counts of distributing and 18 counts of possessing child porn. The distribution counts stem from a May 2 incident in Wasilla, and the possession counts are dated June 15 in Kasilof.
  Charging d
  
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• Man convicted in Campbell Creek sexual assault

  12-07-2017 01:31
  
  An Anchorage man has been convicted of raping a woman near Campbell Creek back in 2015.
  A jury found 31-year-old Michael Westlake guilty of sexual assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, theft in the second degree and assault in the fourth degree.
  According to information presented in court, Westlake approached a woman near the Alaska Native Medical Center and asked her if she’d like to join him for a walk.
  The pair began walking towards Campbell Creek when Westlake trie
  
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• Peratrovich dollar coin will either have her likeness or a symbolic Tlingit raven

  12-07-2017 01:22 via ktoo.org
  
  Ryan Strickland, a security and information specialist for the state of Alaska, works the front desk of the Alaska Capitol on Tuesday in downtown Juneau. In the front lobby a bust of Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich greets capitol visitors. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
  The 2020 dollar coin honoring Elizabeth Peratrovich will either have a literal image of the Alaska Native civil rights leader on it, or a Raven holding a key — a symbol of her Tlingit Raven moiety an
  
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• UA Fairbanks hockey coach resigns, takes minor league job

  12-07-2017 00:35
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – University of Alaska Fairbanks head hockey coach Dallas Ferguson is resigning to take a minor league professional coaching job.
  The university in a release says Ferguson will become head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, a Western Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
  Ferguson’s affiliation with Alaska-Fairbanks began as a player from 1992-96. A defenseman, he remains ranked within the top-25 on the team’s all-time scoring list.
  Ferguson
  
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• American Samoa woman charged with tax returns fraud

  12-07-2017 00:32
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A 54-year-old American Samoan woman suspected of filing $1.3 million in fraudulent U.S. tax refund claims has been arrested.
  Coriana Ifopo is charged with 28 counts of making false claims to a government agency for tax years 2013-15.
  She was arrested Tuesday in Honolulu. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward says Ifopo will be prosecuted in Alaska, where Ifopo claimed some of her tax filers lived.
  Online court records do not list her attorney.
  An indictment says I
  
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• Kodiak Pacific Spaceport Complex participates in missile defense test

  12-07-2017 00:23 via ktoo.org
  
  A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak during flight test on July 11, 2017. The THAAD weapon system successfully intercepted an air-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile target. (Public domain photo by Leah Garton/Missile Defense Agency)
  Kodiak Island’s rocket launch facility was one of the players in a missile defense test this week.
  The Alaska Aerospace Corporation is in a multi-year agreement with the U.S
  
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