Anchorage news

• House Democrats confirm Spohnholz to succeed Gruenberg

  09-03-2016 22:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Ivy Spohnholz. (Photo courtesy State of Alaska)Alaska House Democrats have confirmed Ivy Spohnholz to succeed the late state Rep. Max Gruenberg.
  House minority press secretary Mike Mason said the vote took place late Tuesday afternoon, after Gov. Bill Walker earlier in the day appointed Spohnholz to fill the vacancy. The minority plans a news conference to introduce Spohnholz on Thursday.
  Spohnholz was one of three finalists for the job.
  By law, when a legislative vacancy occurs, the appointee m
  
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• Alaska House committee advances, expands proposal to bar trans girls from girls sports

  16-04-2024 19:20 via ktoo.org
  
  An outdoor basketball hoop is seen in Bethel in October 2022. Alaskans will be able to play only on sports teams that match their gender at birth through college if a new bill becomes law. (Photo by Claire Stremple)
  Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded and advanced a bill that would limit Alaska students’ sports participation to teams that match their sex at birth. Twenty-four states have passed similar laws.
  House Bill 183 was amended in the committe
  
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• Suicides make up majority of gun deaths, but remain overlooked in gun violence debate

  16-04-2024 19:12 via ktoo.org
  
  Maura Condon Umble and her son, Alex Patrick Umble. (Maura Umble)https://play.podtrac.com/npr-191676894/ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2024/04/20240416_me_suicides_make_up_majority_of_gun_deaths_but_remain_overlooked_in_gun_violence_debate.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1003&aggIds=1241382501&d=436&p=3&story=1243924108&ft=nprml&f=1243924108
  It was an early summer morning in 2018, and Alex Patrick Umble’s family hadn’t heard from him. His mother, Maura Condon Um
  
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• Alaskans will have a chance to see a total solar eclipse… in 9 years

  16-04-2024 19:03 via ktoo.org
  During a solar eclipse, Baily’s Beads and solar prominences are seen just after totality in Dallas on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Keegan Barber/NASA)
  If you’re bummed out about missing the total solar eclipse in the Lower 48 this month, start planning now. The next total solar eclipse in North America will happen in 2033, in Alaska.
  University of Alaska Anchorage physics and astronomy professor Travis Rector said the world sees about one to two solar eclipses a year, but the next one in
  
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• A judge has thrown out a key part of Alaska’s homeschool system. Here’s what to know.

  16-04-2024 18:39 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska State Capitol on March 25, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
  A Superior Court judge in Anchorage has found a key benefit to families who choose certain types of homeschool violates the state Constitution. The ruling has to do with correspondence school allotments. Those are cash payments to families of homeschooled children meant to reimburse the cost of things like textbooks, services and even private school classes.
  Here’s what to know.
  What does this ruling say?
  The ruli
  
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• Downtown Juneau’s outdoor food court is expanding, with more restaurants and longer seasons

  16-04-2024 17:30 via ktoo.org
  
  Workers construct a retaining wall at the outdoor food court location on Franklin Street on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  An empty lot that once housed the now-demolished Elks Hall building in downtown Juneau will be getting a new life this summer. 
  Last week, the Juneau planning commission unanimously agreed to allow David McCasland of Deckhand Dave’s, a fish taco stand, to use the site to expand his seasonal outdoor food court on Franklin Street. 
  McCasland said
  
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• Newscast – Monday, April 15, 2024

  16-04-2024 02:41 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240415-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Peter Pan Seafood announced Friday that it was ceasing operations,
  A partisan brawl is about to erupt in Congress over the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Alaska’s US senators are seemingly split over it,
  Tongass Voices: Jeremy Kane on the philosophy of bowl-making
  
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• Capital Transit temporarily suspends 2 routes amid worker shortage

  15-04-2024 21:42 via ktoo.org
  
  A Capital Transit bus bound for the Mendenhall Valley parks at the downtown transit center on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau residents who ride Capital Transit buses to the airport, the University of Alaska Southeast and social service providers on Teal Street will need to find other means of transportation beginning Monday, April 22. 
  Last week, the city announced it would temporarily suspend routes 5 and 6, citing a shortage of drivers and maintenance workers. 
  
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• Tongass Voices: Jeremy Kane on the philosophy of bowl-making

  15-04-2024 21:30 via ktoo.org
  
  
  University of Alaska Southeast ceramics professor Jeremy Kane demonstrating bowl-making for his intermediate class. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
  This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond. 
  The University of Alaska Southeast’s ceramics classes in Juneau are hard to get into — because so many people want to take them. 
  Jeremy Kane has been teaching ceramics for 20 years. Each year, the
  
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• Lawmakers weigh whether to reduce or acknowledge rights of growing Alaska homeless population

  15-04-2024 18:31 via ktoo.org
  
  TJ Beers holds a sign to advocate for the rights of people experiencing homelessness outside the state Capitol on April 9, 2024. Beers was homeless for four years and in three states. “I don’t know how I survived,” he said. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
  TJ Beers stood across the street from the Capitol in a navy suit and held a sign that caught the late afternoon sun on Tuesday. It was printed on a large piece of cardboard, reminiscent of what an unhoused person may sleep on,
  
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• Sitka’s housing crunch hits tribal citizens hardest, study says

  15-04-2024 07:28 via ktoo.org
  Baranof Island Housing Authority, which constructed this four-plex in the Kaasda He’en Shanaa’x, is hoping to solicit ideas and input from community members on how to expand affordable housing in Sitka. (Robert Woolsey/KCAW)
  Tribal citizens in Sitka are being squeezed out of Sitka’s housing market, and some are leaving town, according to a new study commissioned by Baranof Island Housing Authority, with support from Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Now, they are hoping the data – a
  
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• Alaska judge strikes down state’s cash payments to families using correspondence school programs

  15-04-2024 07:06 via ktoo.org
  
  The Boney Courthouse in downtown Anchorage, across the street from the larger Nesbett Courthouse, holds the Alaska Supreme Court chambers. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
  An Anchorage Superior Court judge on Friday struck down an Alaska law that allows the state to distribute cash payments to the parents of homeschooled students on the grounds that it violates constitutional prohibitions against spending state money on private education.
  “This court finds that there is no w
  
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• What biologists see from the shores of the drying Great Salt Lake

  15-04-2024 07:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Scientists Carly Biedul, Bonnie Baxter and Heidi Hoven look for migratory birds on the eerily dry south shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. (Lindsay D’Addato for NPR)https://play.podtrac.com/npr-191676894/ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2024/04/20240413_wesat_what_biologists_see_from_the_shores_of_the_drying_great_salt_lake.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1167&d=298&p=7&story=1244169234&ft=nprml&f=1244169234
  SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Drive west of this sprawling hi
  
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• Alaska House rejects constitutional amendment guaranteeing formula-based PFD

  15-04-2024 06:52 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks on the House floor on Feb. 28, 2024 during debate on House Joint Resolution 7. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
  The Alaska House on Thursday rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would guarantee Permanent Fund dividends paid out according to a formula in state law. House lawmakers had been waiting for more than a month to take a final vote on the measure, one of several elements of a long-term fiscal plan for the state p
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: The Daquiri Queens, Misner & Smith, and Shonti & Will live from the Red Carpet Stage

  13-04-2024 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Misner & Smith on the Red Carpet Stage in Studio 2K at KTOO. (Bostin Christopher/KTOO)Friday, April 12, 2024 — Full EpisodeOn today’s program:The Daiquiri Queens from Lafayette, Louisiana, are the featured dance band at the 49th Alaska Folk Festival. They will play dance sets at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center on Friday night, April 12, at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 13, at 9:20 p.m. Before the Friday show, they will give a short primer on Cajun dance
  Misner & Smith are
  
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• Newscast – Friday, March 12, 2024

  13-04-2024 03:01 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240412-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Cancer patients in Juneau who need gynecological surgery no longer have to leave town to get it,
  The Alaska House of Representatives passed its $6 billion operating budget today
  
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• Washington man sentenced to 99 years for murder of Ketchikan surgeon

  12-04-2024 22:33 via ktoo.org
  
  Jordan Joplin is escorted out of a Ketchikan courtroom following sentencing on April 9, 2024 (Jack Darrell/KRBD)
  A Superior Court judge sentenced a Washington man Tuesday to 99 years in prison for murdering a prominent Ketchikan surgeon.
  Judge Michael Wolverton handed down the maximum possible sentence to 39-year-old Jordan Joplin for the murder, saying it was one of the most “brazen and craven” acts he’d seen in his 40 years on the bench.
  The front row of the courtroom was pac
  
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• Alaska delegation nominates longtime Native leader to be co-chair of the Denali Commission

  12-04-2024 22:25 via ktoo.org
  
  Julie Kitka, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, at a June 28, 2022, news conference held by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Members of Alaska’s congressional delegation have nominated her to be the next federal co-chair of the Denali Commission. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
  Julie Kitka, the longtime president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, has been nominated by Alaska’s congressional delegation to be a new co-chair of the Denali Commission, which oversees a variety of fede
  
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• Garden Talk: Why silverweed is ‘a beloved plant all throughout the Pacific Northwest’

  12-04-2024 21:48 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Silverweed in bloom. (Courtesy of Khalil English)
  For this week’s Garden Talk, KTOO’s Chloe Pleznac spoke with Khalil English about his research on silverweed, a seemingly inconspicuous plant with deep roots in Pacific Northwest history. English spoke about silverweed’s importance as a food source across the North — and where you can find it in Juneau.Listen:https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GT-2-FINAL-EDIT.mp3
  This transcript has been lightly edited for c
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: Alaska Folk Festival features bluegrass legend Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands

  12-04-2024 04:46 via ktoo.org
  
  Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands in Studio 2K (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Thursday, April 11, 2024 — Full EpisodeOn today’s program:Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands – Alaska Folk Fest Featured ArtistThursday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. at Centennial HallSunday, April 14 at 9:00 p.m. at Centennial Hall
  Workshops with the entire band on Saturday, April 13 (Schedule)
  The Casey Smith Project out of FairbanksThursday, Aprill 11 at The Crystal SaloonFriday, April 12 at The Alaskan
  Live music wi
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, April 11, 2024

  12-04-2024 02:47 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240411-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:City officials in Juneau have proposed a municipal spending plan for next year that slightly raises the property tax rate,
  Many Alaskans have to travel a long way for certain healthcare treatments, but a bill in the state House aims to close that distance by expanding the list of providers Alaskans can see remotely,
  And from Wednesday night’s Alaska Folk Fest mainstage: Costa’s Poets Thieves
  
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• Alaska Women’s Cancer Care expands service to Juneau

  12-04-2024 01:35 via ktoo.org
  
  Nurse practitioner Sarah Lucas, gynecological oncologist Dr. Melissa Hardesty and registered nurse Marlowe Dunker stand in the lobby of Bartlett Regional Hospital’s oncology center. (Katie Anastas/KTOO)
  When Suzanne Luken learned she had cancer, it came as a surprise.
  “There was no pain. There was nothing at all — no indication,” she said. “I was tired, but I’m 77.”
  Then, after other symptoms appeared, she went to the doctor.
  “I thought I had a kid
  
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• Juneau Assembly faces looming problems as it heads into city budget process

  12-04-2024 01:19 via ktoo.org
  
  Bartlett Regional Hospital administrators chat with Assembly members during a break at an Assembly finance meeting on Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  City officials in Juneau have proposed a municipal spending plan for next year that slightly raises the property tax rate to balance out the costs of taking over closing school buildings and maintaining current city services.
  On Saturday, the Juneau Assembly met for a day-long meeting to begin building the framework for next year&rsq
  
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• How to file your tax returns: 6 things you should know this year

  11-04-2024 21:05 via ktoo.org
  
  
  (d3sign/Getty Images)https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510338/traffic.megaphone.fm/NPR8722974258.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1018&aggIds=1092864813%2C676529561&p=510338&e=1158816222&size=12279685&d=767&t=podcast&ft=nprml&f=1158816222
  Updated April 11, 2024 at 11:17 AM ET
  For something that’s legally required, taxes can be tough to figure out. The U.S. system is complicated — and unfortunately, most of us never learned how to do our taxes in school.
  The deadline
  
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• In seismically active Alaska, plans for statewide residential building codes are on shaky ground

  11-04-2024 20:50 via ktoo.org
  
  Damage to Anchorage’s Minnesota Drive from 2018 earthquake is seen from the air. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck on Nov. 30 of that year. (Photo by Alaska Aerial Media provided by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
  Sixty years after North America’s most powerful earthquake on record ripped through Alaska and five-and-a-half years after a different earthquake caused costly damage to structures and roads in the Southcentral region, there are no stat
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: Juneau musician Kennedy Jo performs live on the Red Carpet Stage

  11-04-2024 05:29 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Musician Kennedy Jo performs live on Juneau Afternoon, April 10, 2024(Clarise Larson/KTOO)Wednesday, April 10, 2024 — Full EpisodeOn today’s program:Juneau musician Kennedy Jo performs live in the studio on the Red Carpet StageKennedy will perform on the Alaksa Folk Fest mainstage on Sunday, April 14 (Schedule)KTOO Reporter Clarise Larson on the beginning of cruise ship seasonEmpty Bowls fundraiser, benefiting the Glory Hall shelter and soup kitchenJuneau Audubon Society presents &ld
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, April 10, 2024

  11-04-2024 02:39 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240410-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:A group of activists in Juneau filed paperwork in the hopes of putting a question on the 2024 local election ballot about whether the city should begin enforcing “Ship-free Saturdays,”
  The Sitka Assembly is calling for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium to reconsider a decision it made to close the home health department,
  A taste of the 49th annual Alaska Folk Festival
  
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• Advocates want to ban large cruise ships from visiting Juneau on Saturdays, starting next season

  11-04-2024 00:41 via ktoo.org
  
  City and Borough of Juneau Clerk Beth McEwen (left) hands over paper work to Stacy Eldemar (middle) and Karla Hart (right) after filing a proposed ballot initiative on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  A group of activists in Juneau filed paperwork on Tuesday in hopes of putting a question on the 2024 local election ballot about whether the capital city should begin enforcing “ship-free Saturdays.”
  About 20 people gathered at Marine Park downtown to rally for the proposed
  
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• EPA puts limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

  11-04-2024 00:22 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://play.podtrac.com/npr-191676894/ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2024/04/20240410_me_epa_puts_limits_on_forever_chemicals_in_drinking_water.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=222&p=3&story=1243775736&ft=nprml&f=1243775736
  The Environmental Protection Agency announced new drinking water standards Wednesday to limit exposure to a class of chemicals called PFAS.
  “There’s no doubt that these chemicals have been important for certain industries and consumer uses
  
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• Biologists describe freeing Unalaska whale from ‘life-threatening entanglement’

  10-04-2024 21:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Experts say the whale looked good and that it was swimming normally. Once it got further out, it picked up some speed and took a nice deep dive. (From NOAA)
  On April 1, a young humpback whale was found tied up in what was likely fishing line and anchored down in a busy area in Iliuliuk Bay. Four days later, a group of whale entanglement experts carefully cut the line wrapped around the humpback’s mouth and tail.
  Ed Lyman, an entanglement response coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpba
  
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