Anchorage news

• Coast Guard confirms new icebreaker will be homeported in Juneau

  15-08-2024 02:23 via ktoo.org
  
  The Aiviq anchored in Unalaska in August 2016. (Sarah Hansen/KUCB)
  The U.S. Coast Guard made an official announcement today that it plans to homeport an icebreaker in Juneau. 
  Plans to dock an icebreaker in the capital city have been discussed for a few years, but previous funding attempts were removed from federal legislation. 
  The vessel — the Aiviq — is privately-owned, and was built for oil exploration in the Arctic. The agency says the icebreaker will increase U.S. pre
  
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• State rules use of force justified in fatal downtown Juneau shooting

  11-09-2024 04:22 via ktoo.org
  
  A banner with a photo of Steven Kissack hangs at his memorial service in downtown Juneau on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The two law enforcement officers who shot and killed a Juneau man who they say lunged at them with a knife during a standoff earlier this summer will not face criminal charges. 
  The state’s Office of Special Prosecutions released a letter Tuesday clearing Juneau Police Department Sergeant Chris Gifford and Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sergeant Branden For
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024

  11-09-2024 03:38 via ktoo.org
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240910.wav
  In this newscast:The Juneau Parks and Recreation Office is moving operations into a downtown building vacated by the Juneau School District
  Juneau’s city leaders say they’re working with federal partners on strategies to prepare for future floods in the Mendenhall Valley, following a second year of record-breaking glacial outburst flooding. 
  The Tongass National Forest has a new online tool for subsistence users in
  
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• Juneau’s Parks and Rec Department is moving

  11-09-2024 02:48 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau School District office in January, 2023. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau’s Parks and Recreation Department is moving into a different building downtown this month. The building on the corner of Glacier Avenue previously housed the Juneau School District’s central office. 
  Right now, Parks and Rec is located at City Hall downtown. The school district vacated its building earlier this year amid its budget crisis. 
  During the move, the department will close to visitors
  
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• Juneau officials discuss short and long-term glacial flood preparation, as Suicide Basin fills again

  11-09-2024 00:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, City Manager Katie Koester, City Attorney Emily Wright and City Clerk Beth McEwen at a Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.  (Photo by Anna Canny/KTOO)
  City leaders say they’re working with federal partners on strategies to endure a future of flooding in the Mendenhall Valley, following a second year of  record-breaking flooding. 
  At Monday’s Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting, City Manage
  
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• Most University of Alaska faculty paid on time after paperwork mishap

  10-09-2024 22:30 via ktoo.org
  
  University of Alaska President Pat Pitney gestures while speaking to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce on March 11, 2024. She apologized to affected staff in an email last week.(Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
  An unspecified number of University of Alaska staff, mostly graduate students, went unpaid last week because of “paperwork issues” that the administration did not detail.
  Eighty-five of the University of Alaska faculty members affected by the paperwork problem were paid on
  
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• Repair ship working to mend cable break that took Sitka offline

  10-09-2024 21:53 via ktoo.org
  The Cable Innovator at work in Salisbury Sound 25 miles north of Sitka Monday morning. (Martin Becker photo)
  A cable repair ship is mending a broken fiber optic cable that took Sitka offline in late August, but it could be close to a week until repairs are finished.
  The British-flagged Cable Innovator arrived at the site of the break over the weekend.
  “So when a break like this occurs, GCI is part of a professional service group that allows for these repair ships to become available in the
  
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• Trump and Harris will meet face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday’s debate stage

  10-09-2024 21:43 via ktoo.org
  
  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (right) administers the oath of office to incoming Vice President Kamala Harris in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, as outgoing Vice President Mike Pence (wearing blue mask) watches. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
  Tuesday night’s presidential debate isn’t just the first matchup between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s their first time meeting in person.
  “I was a little bit surprised, p
  
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• Juneau Assembly candidates differ on natural disaster response, hiring strategies at public safety forum

  10-09-2024 03:51 via ktoo.org
  
  Assembly candidate Neil Steininger speaks to the audience during a forum at the Alaska State Museum on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The candidates who win the three open seats on the Juneau Assembly this fall will make critical decisions about the safety of residents. From figuring out how to mitigate natural disasters to hiring enough first responders — not all candidates are on the same page on how to tackle these issues. 
  Last week at the State Library and Mu
  
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• Newscast – Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

  10-09-2024 03:48 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240909-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Douglas Island issues got the spotlight at a Juneau Assembly candidate forum on Sunday
  New research hopes to find ways for bears and people to coexist more peacefully in Juneau
  A clinical mental health counselor in Sitka shares the unexpected upside of being out of touch thanks to the community’s ongoing internet outage.
  
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• New research hopes to find better ways to manage interactions between Juneau’s black bears and people

  10-09-2024 03:10 via ktoo.org
  
  A black bear eats vegetation in the Mendenhall Valley in July 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Juneau lies in the midst of prime black bear habitat. Bears and people have to share the city, and new research hopes to figure out how they can do that more peacefully.
  The number of bears killed in Juneau has quadrupled since the 1980s. Just this summer, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game euthanized two young bears downtown after they became aggressive while eating from trash cans.
  Roy Churchwell
  
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• Douglas issues get the spotlight at weekend candidate forum

  10-09-2024 02:06 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Assembly candidates Mary Marks, Dorene Lorenz, Nano Brooks, and mayoral candidate Angela Rodell at a forum at the Douglas Library on Sept. 8, 2024. (Photo by Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO)
  Candidates running in Juneau’s local election shared their stances on issues that affect Douglas Island residents Sunday at a forum at the Douglas Library.
  As they were asked about the maintenance of local graveyards, a potential second crossing over Gastineau Channel and Eaglecrest Ski Area’s gondola
  
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• Arguments are Monday in lawsuit that could upend Alaska’s U.S. House ballot

  09-09-2024 22:56 via ktoo.org
  
  Voters cast their ballots in the 2022 primary election in Anchorage on Aug. 16, 2022. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
  A state judge will rule as soon as Monday whether a man imprisoned in New York state will remain a candidate for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat.
  Eric Hafner, running as a Democrat, was the sixth-place finisher in Alaska’s primary election for U.S. House. However, after two other candidates withdrew, he was promoted to the state’s “final four” in th
  
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• Lingít Word of the Week: Héen — Water

  09-09-2024 20:57 via ktoo.org
  
  Cars cross the Juneau-Douglas bridge on Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  This is Lingít Word of the Week. Each week, we feature a Lingít word voiced by master speakers. Lingít has been spoken throughout present-day Southeast Alaska and parts of Canada for over 10,000 years.
  Gunalchéesh to X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation and the University of Alaska Southeast for sharing the recorded audio for this series.
  This week’s w
  
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• Tour bus accident on Klondike Highway causes injuries, delays race

  09-09-2024 19:28 via ktoo.org
  
  The starting line of the Klondike Road Relay in Skagway is mostly empty as Legs 1-3 are cancelled due to a traffic accident on the highway. (Photo by Melinda Munson/KHNS)
  A Skagway tour bus lost control and overturned on the Canadian side of the Klondike Highway on Friday. It happened late afternoon, near the Yukon Suspension Bridge. No other vehicles were involved.
  Skagway Police Chief Jerry Reddick says his team’s assistance was not requested by Canadian officials. Borough Manager Brad R
  
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• In internet-less Sitka, it’s both ‘mayhem’ and a ‘golden moment’

  09-09-2024 19:01 via ktoo.org
  
  A visitor relaxes at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. (Jeb Sharp/KCAW)
  In the Southeast Alaska town of Sitka, some hospital surgeries are on hold.
  Many shops and restaurants are operating on a cash-only basis. Contact with the outside world comes mostly through satellites.
  For the past week, a break in the sole cable that provides Sitka’s internet and phone service has wreaked havoc on residents and businesses — and, at the same time, effectively launched a massive social and ec
  
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• Governor vetoes bill that would have expanded Alaska women’s access to birth control medicine

  09-09-2024 18:49 via ktoo.org
  
  Members of the Alaska House watch for the vote tally on House Bill 17 on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill that would have eased access to contraceptives.
  Dunleavy on Wednesday vetoed House Bill 17, a measure that the Legislature passed with bipartisan support. The bill would have allowed women to receive a 12-month supply of prescription contraceptive medicine all at once. In Alaska, such medicine is typically distributed in inc
  
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• Ketchikan colleagues mourn landslide victim Sean Griffin

  07-09-2024 03:23 via ktoo.org
  
  A long line of city vehicles follows the remains of Sean Griffin from the Ketchikan Mortuary to the airport on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (Michael Fanelli/KRBD)
  A long line of garbage trucks, electric repair vehicles, fire engines and police cars idled outside the Ketchikan Mortuary last week as they waited to accompany landslide victim Sean Griffin’s remains to the airport.
  The dozens of city vehicles formed a procession Aug. 27 to honor the longtime public works employee. Griffin
  
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• Newscast – Friday, Sept. 6, 2024

  07-09-2024 03:10 via ktoo.org
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240906-News-Update.wav
  In this newscast:Juneau Police Department say they will release body camera footage from July’s fatal police shooting early next week, along with findings from the Alaska Office of Special Prospecutions Investigation into the incident.
  The Alaska Democratic Party is suing the state’s Division of Elections to remove Eric Hafner, a canidate running from the confines of a federal prison in New York State.
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: Cure for Cade walkathon, TV all-ages production camp, Mudrooms is back, and ‘Pickles & Onions’ art show

  07-09-2024 02:57 via ktoo.org
  
  
  “Pickles & Onions” art show from artists Christine Carpenter and Hollis Kitchen, running at Alaska Robotics for September (Flyer via Christine Carpenter)Cade Jobsis(Photo from Emma Jobsis)
  Juneau Live TV Production Camp for all ages (adults and families) begins September 17
  On today’s program:Cure for Cade walkathon on Saturday, September 7, at Mendenhall Mall from Noon to 5:00 p.m.Juneau Live TV Production Camp for all ages (adults and families) begins September 17Mudrooms
  
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• Juneau police plan to release body camera footage of deadly July shooting next week

  07-09-2024 02:28 via ktoo.org
  
  Caution tape blocks off an area of downtown Juneau after witnesses say police shot a man on July 15, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  The Juneau Police Department announced Friday that it will release the body camera footage from a deadly July shooting next week at the same time that the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions will deliver its findings from the investigation into the incident. 
  The announcement comes more than 50 days after police officers shot and killed Steven Kissack, a man who
  
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• Alaska Gov. Dunleavy vetoes work quota rules for Amazon-like warehouses

  06-09-2024 21:27 via ktoo.org
  
  Rep. George Rauscher, R-Sutton, speaks during a session of the Alaska House of Representatives on Sunday, May 12, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill that would have required the operators of large warehouses to provide their employees with a written work quota and would have forbidden them from instituting quotas that are so high that an employee would lack time to use the bathroom.
  The Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 88 this year with
  
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• The unseen factor driving Alaska’s migration losses

  06-09-2024 21:12 via ktoo.org
  
  Shipping containers are stacked up in the Port of Alaska area in Anchorage on Aug. 15, 2023. (Dev Hardikar/Alaska Public Media)
  This year is shaping up to be the 12th in a row in which Alaskans leaving the state outnumber new people moving in.
  Dan Robinson, the Alaska Department of Labor’s research chief, said the streak is unprecendented in Alaska history, and he cautioned against misreading it. For instance, it may seem like people are leaving Alaska in droves, but Robinson said that&rsq
  
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• Alaska’s public libraries sound alarm over abrupt loss of state grant funds

  06-09-2024 21:02 via ktoo.org
  
  Janet Bentley sits in the Cooper Landing Community Library on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Ashlyn O’Hara/KDLL)
  Libraries across Alaska are scrambling after learning a key state grant was being slashed six weeks into the fiscal year. Small libraries stand to be hit the hardest and, in some cases, may be forced to close their doors entirely.
  There’s no running water at the community library in Cooper Landing. The log cabin was built in the early 1980s and is next to the Kenai River, which
  
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• As Juneau residents dry out from the flood, some wonder which repairs are worth it

  06-09-2024 17:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Sam and Amanda Hatch circle their house on Meander Way (Photo by Anna Canny/KTOO)
  Sam and Amanda Hatch can’t reach the knob on their front door. It’s suspended in mid-air, along with the rest of their home, which towers above the others on Meander Way.
  During last year’s glacial outburst flood, water filled the Hatch’s crawl space and saturated the silty land beneath their house until it was wiggly, like quick sand. The whole building sank back towards the river. The four
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: AK Hip Hop Showcase, playreading fundraiser from Theatre in the Rough, and Douglas Candidate Forum

  06-09-2024 03:26 via ktoo.org
  
  
  WORDPLAY presents the AK Hip Hop Showcase, on Friday, September 6 at The Crystal Saloon.On today’s program:AK Hip Hop Showcase preview with event producer and artist WORDPLAYFriday, September 6 at 9:00 p.m. a The Crystal Saloon“Rough Reads” a new event from Theatre in the Rough, is serving as a fundraiser for the recent glacier overflow floodingFour plays presented beginning Thursday, September 12 at McPhetres HallDouglas Candidate Forum via Friends of Douglas, Sunday, Septembe
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Sept. 5th, 2024

  06-09-2024 03:08 via ktoo.org
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240905-News-Update.wav
  In this newscast:Homeowners in the Mendenhall Valley are cleaning up and making repairs after last month’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood. They say it’s hard to know what kind of flood mitigation will protect them next year.
  Advocates for the “Ship Free Saturday” ballot initiative hope try to drum up support before the fall election.
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024

  06-09-2024 03:08 via ktoo.org
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240905-News-Update.wav
  In this newscast:Homeowners in the Mendenhall Valley are cleaning up and making repairs after last month’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood. They say it’s hard to know what kind of flood mitigation will protect them next year.
  Advocates for the “Ship Free Saturday” ballot initiative hope to drum up support before the fall election.
  
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• Alaska Democrats ask judge to remove imprisoned out-of-state U.S. House candidate from November ballot

  06-09-2024 00:51 via ktoo.org
  
  Voters cast their ballots at the Anchorage Division of Elections Office on Election Day, November 8, 2022. The polling place served as a an early voting location for districts 1 to 40. (Elyssa Loughlin/Alaska Public Media)
  The Alaska Democratic Party is asking a judge to kick a convicted felon serving a 20-year sentence in a New York federal prison off this November’s general election ballot. Eric Hafner is challenging Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola for Alaska’s lone
  
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• Juneau activists make case for “Ship-Free Saturdays” as opposition campaign grows

  05-09-2024 22:14 via ktoo.org
  
  Karla Hart speaks to a crowd at a forum in support of the Ship-Free Saturdays ballot proposition downtown on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Advocates for a proposition set to appear on Juneau’s local ballot this fall say they want one day a week during the summer cruise season when there are no ships in port. 
  And the proposition would do just that — if they can convince enough Juneau voters to pass it.
  Steve Krall is a Juneau resident who attended a forum at Go
  
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