Anchorage news

• Coastal Studies marine debris initiative goes beyond the classroom

  24-07-2017 23:53 via ktoo.org
  The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies will wrap up a one-year grant aimed at teaching Kenai Peninsula classrooms about marine debris.
  Marine debris collected on Gore Point. (Photo by Aaron Bolton/KBBI)
  funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is coming to an end this fall, said Marine Debris Coordinator Henry Reiske, but the project is doing more than working in the classroom.
  
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• Newscast — Monday, January 24, 2017

  24-07-2017 22:25 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  Fish and Game has reopened the Juneau area summer personal use king crab fishery for the first time in six years.
  The Legislature is meeting in Juneau Thursday for a special session focusing on the capital budget.
  A Ketchikan man has been charged for the March murder of a local surgeon.
  
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• Underwater camera keeps an eye on Atka mackerel

  24-07-2017 21:21 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Atka mackerel caught near Homer, Alaska. (Creative Commons photo by wikimedia.org.
  Counting Atka mackerel became really important when Steller sea lions were declared endangered in 1997, according to National Marine Fisheries Service Biologist Suzanne McDermott.http://media.aprn.org/2017/ann-20170721-05.mp3“We learned that Atka mackerel are their main food item,” McDermott said. “That’s when we really started looking at them in relation to Steller sea lions.”
  McDerm
  
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• Major twist in legal battle over Charlie Gard, critically ill U.K. baby

  24-07-2017 20:46
  LONDON — The parents of Charlie Gard, whose battle to get their critically ill baby experimental treatment stirred international sympathy and controversy, dropped their legal effort Monday, saying tearfully that it was time to let their son die.
  At an emotional court hearing, a lawyer for the baby’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, said the couple was withdrawing a bid to have Charlie sent to the United States, where a doctor had offered to try to treat his rare genetic conditio
  
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• Bethel contestant hangs in to jump to next round of ‘Ninja Warrior’ primetime competition

  24-07-2017 20:45 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Bethel’s Nate DeHaan is a local pilot, musher, and contestant on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.” (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)
  Bethel resident Nate DeHaan took the next logical step in becoming a ninja this week.
  The local pilot and dog musher made it through a qualifying round Monday of “American Ninja Warrior,” a popular fitness competition on NBC.
  https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kyuk/audio/2017/07/170720_ninja_warrior.mp3Nate DeHaan was a man on a mission at 7 p
  
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• Trump son-in-law speaks after meeting investigators

  24-07-2017 20:34
  WASHINGTON — Senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, standing before cameras at the White House called his service there the “honor and privilege of a lifetime” and said he comes to work every day with “enthusiasm” for what can be. He reiterated part of a statement released earlier Monday, telling reporters that he “did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in campaign who did so.”
  He said he was “eager”
  
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• Female athletes are closing the gender gap when it comes to concussions

  24-07-2017 20:18 via ktoo.org
  Mazany is one of 60 female fighters and 700 male fighters enrolled in a Cleveland Clinic study that’s delving into how concussions might differ between women and men. (Photo by Bridget Bennett for NPR)
  Gina Mazany grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. And that’s where she had her first fight.
  “It was right after I turned 18,” she recalls.
  A local bar had a boxing ring, and Mazany decided to give it a shot. Her opponent was an older woman with a “mom haircut.”
  “S
  
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• Alaska Native poet Joan Naviyuk Kane to visit Santa Fe

  24-07-2017 19:54
  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Alaska Native poet Joan Naviyuk (nah-VEE’-YUK’) Kane is coming to Santa Fe to give a public reading.
  Kane is scheduled to read from her work on Tuesday at the Institute of American Indian Arts as part of the school’s “Summer Readers Gathering.”
  The Inupiaq poet will be joined by poet Carolyn Forché and short story writer Toni Jensen.
  Kane grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, with family from King Island and Mary’s Igloo, Alaska. She
  
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• Troopers: Man points gun at girlfriend after denied proposal

  24-07-2017 19:47
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Alaska State Troopers say a man who is accused of pointing a loaded gun at his girlfriend last week after she rejected his marriage proposal has been charged with felony assault.
  The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the man’s girlfriend of three years told troopers he became enraged when she turned him down, so he racked the slide on his loaded pistol and pointed it at her.
  The woman told troopers she ran out the back door of the Fairbanks roadhouse th
  
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• Alaska family files suit for wrongful death of man in jail

  24-07-2017 19:39
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The family of an Alaska man who died while in custody at a jail in Juneau has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state and staff responsible for his care.
  KTOO-FM reports the family’s suit claims 49-year-old Joseph Murphy was intoxicated in August 2015 and sought treatment for depression and suicidal thoughts when his ex-wife took him to an emergency room. Hospital staff determined Murphy needed to be monitored as a suicide risk, but a mental health eval
  
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• Kenai man dies while swimming at lake near Kasilof

  24-07-2017 19:13
  KASILOF, Alaska (AP) – A 24-year-old Kenai man drowned while swimming in a lake near Kasilof.
  Alaska State Troopers say the Central Emergency Services dive team recovered the body of Nickolas Thornton.
  Thornton was swimming Sunday near his paddleboat. Troopers say he removed his life jacket and continued swimming around the boat in the middle of the lake.
  The boat drifted away from Thornton and his swimming partner.
  Troopers say Thornton was unable to reach the boat or swim to shore.
  His n
  
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• After years of making calls, Anchorage umpire receives his own

  24-07-2017 18:31
  Keep this in mind the next time you feel the need to get on an umpire’s case: Mike Mack is a good guy. And now, the Anchorage man behind the mask is being rewarded for his demeanor, dedication and skill to call and keep a Little League game under control.
  He’s been selected to umpire in the Little League West Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, California, in August. It’s a call that’s been 24 years in the making.
  “We all spend a lot of time learning the rul
  
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• Man’s best friend: Dog saves owner suffering from seizures

  24-07-2017 18:26
  A real-life Lassie is earning praise in a Southeast community.
  Eric Skousen and his mobility service dog Thorr are spending some time in Sitka Community Hospital where they’re learning just how deep their bond really goes.
  Skousen has cerebral palsy. An infection put him in the hospital. Because Thorr is a certified service dog, he got to tag along.
  Thorr is trained to detect an impending seizure and get Skousen to sit down before he falls. He can also help Skousen move around and pic
  
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• 2 Haines food entrepreneurs are finalists in Southeast business contest

  24-07-2017 04:21 via ktoo.org
  Two Haines entrepreneurs are finalists in a regional business competition. The Path to Prosperity program offers support to small businesses and startups in Southeast Alaska. The contest is a partnership between Spruce Root Inc. and The Nature Conservancy. This year, Path to Prosperity is focused on local food.
  “Right now we are prepping for our upcoming lunch hour,” said Sarah Jaymot on a recent weekday morning. “So we’re making sure all our specials are in ord
  
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• In plea deal, charges dropped in alleged robbery for trespass convictions

  24-07-2017 04:09 via ktoo.org
  Taku Harley-Davidson on Franklin Street in downtown Juneau is the store Eric Rivera was accused of robbing on May 30. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  Felony charges have been dismissed against a Juneau man in an armed robbery case as part of a plea deal. He’s been released after time served for misdemeanor trespassing in several downtown businesses.
  Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson said they agreed with the decision made by the District Attorney’s office to drop the robbery and assault
  
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• People Mover holding public meetings to discuss new bus system

  24-07-2017 04:06
  Changes to People Mover’s bus route system won’t go into effect until October, but public meetings are happening this week to get riders on board with the transit overhaul.
  The system will go from having 15 routes to 13 shorter, more direct routes with buses arriving more frequently, route numbers and colors will change, and some people will have to walk further to get to a bus stop. (Click here to view the proposed routes.)
  The goal is to have significantly shorter waiting periods a
  
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• Climate scientist says he was demoted for speaking out on climate change

  24-07-2017 04:04 via ktoo.org
  Melting ice of the Beaufort Sea near where Eni hopes to drill for oil. (Photo courtesy NOAA)
  A former head policy adviser at the Interior Department is accusing the Trump Administration of reassigning him to a lesser position for speaking out about the dangers of climate change.
  Joel Clement, a scientist who was director of the Interior Department’s Office of Policy Analysis for much of the Obama Administration, was recently reassigned to work to an “accounting office,” the age
  
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• Juneau man’s family sues for alleged wrongful death at prison

  24-07-2017 04:01 via ktoo.org
  Joseph Murphy (from left, first man kneeling) served in the Iraq War. (Photo courtesy Ed Irizarry)
  The family of a Juneau man who died while in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Department of Corrections and the prison staff who were responsible for his care.
  Joseph Murphy, 49, was transported from Bartlett Regional Hospital to be placed in protective custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Aug. 13, 2015. He died in his cell of an app
  
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• U.S. soldier in Hawaii is indicted on charges of supporting ISIS

  24-07-2017 03:49 via ktoo.org
  Army Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang is accused of pledging allegiance to ISIS on July 8 in Honolulu. Images taken from an FBI video and provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii show him kissing an ISIS flag (left) and holding it to his forehead.
  AP
  U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang is facing four charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS related to accusations of sharing secret information and supplying a drone and other gear to undercover FBI agents he bel
  
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• American student arrested in China has been freed, senator says

  24-07-2017 03:27
  Guthrie McLean seen in an undated photo. MCLEAN FAMILY PHOTO VIA KPAX-TV
  BILLINGS, Mont. — Chinese authorities have dropped charges against an American college student who was arrested and detained in the Asian nation a week ago after reportedly injuring a taxi driver who was roughing up his mother in a fare dispute, a U.S. lawmaker said Sunday.
  Guthrie McLean, a University of Montana senior, was released from a detention center in the central China city of Zhengzhou early Monday local tim
  
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• $53M to go to U.S. national park maintenance, infrastructure

  24-07-2017 03:02
  View of Denali National Park from the visitor’s center.
  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has announced more than $50 million for maintenance and infrastructure work at national parks.
  Zinke made the announcement Saturday at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. With him was Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.
  The funding would go to 42 parks in 29 states.
  The Interior Department says in a release that Congress has provided $20 million, and $33 million will come from outside organizations. Th
  
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• Initiative to regulate bathrooms likely to appear on ballot

  24-07-2017 02:45
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A new rule on sex, gender, and bathrooms looks likely to go before Anchorage voters next spring.
  Alaska Public Media reports a release by the Alaska Family Action Council states supporters submitted nearly 8,500 signatures Thursday to the municipal Clerk’s Office, backing a measure that seeks to regulate bathrooms, locker rooms and other “intimate spaces” on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity.
  The initiative needs 5,754 signat
  
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• Trump tweets frustration with Republicans

  24-07-2017 02:36
  WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is expressing his frustration with Republicans, saying they “do very little to protect their President.”
  In a tweet Sunday, Trump says this happens even with “some that were carried over the line on my back.”
  It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.
  — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2017
  The president isn’t ma
  
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• Dramatic video shows Starbucks customer fighting off armed robber

  24-07-2017 02:26
  FRESNO, Calif. — Police in Fresno, California, have released dramatic surveillance footage showing a customer stepping in to prevent an armed robbery at a Starbucks.
  Authorities said the video shows a hero taking down a man who will soon face many felony charges, CBS affiliate KGPE-TV in Fresno reports.
  Cregg Jerri, 58, was enjoying his Starbucks order and working on his iPad at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday when a man holding a yellow bag and wearing an Optimus Prime Transformers mask entered the
  
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• Parents arrested for giving newborn daughter meth, heroin, morphine, police say

  24-07-2017 02:03
  Colby Glen Wilde, 29, and Lacey Dawn Christenson, 26 / KUTV
  SPANISH FORK, Utah — Police said a mother and father were arrested after they gave their newborn daughter drugs on the day she was born, CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City reports.
  Colby Glen Wilde, 29, and 26-year-old Lacey Dawn Christenson face drug distribution and child endangerment charges, authorities said.
  “They administered the drug hours after baby was born,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon, a Utah County Sheriff&r
  
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