Anchorage news

• 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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• 4 people killed in St. Mary’s plane crash

  17-09-2024 03:11 via ktoo.org
  
  St. Mary’s, Alaska (courtesy of Walton Smith)
  Four people are dead after a plane they were traveling in from Bethel crashed short of the runway in St. Mary’s late Sunday night, according to transportation officials.
  The Cessna 207 was operated by Bethel-based Yute Commuter Service. The pilot and three passengers departed Bethel for the roughly 100-mile journey to the lower Yukon River community at around 9 p.m. Sunday, according to National Transportation Safety Board Alaska Chief Cl
  
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• U.S. Navy plans apologies to Southeast Alaska villages for century-old attacks

  17-09-2024 03:07 via ktoo.org
  
  Angoon students prepare to paddle the unity canoe they built with master carver Wayne Price on June 19, 2023. It is the first canoe of its kind since the U.S. Navy bombardment of Angoon in 1882 that destroyed all the village’s canoes. The Navy plans to issue apologies to Kake and Angoon residents in the fall of 2024. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
  Two Tlingít villages in Southeast Alaska will receive apologies for wrongful military action from the U.S. Navy this fall.
  The
  
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• Newscast – Monday, Sept. 16, 2024

  17-09-2024 03:04 via ktoo.org
  
  
  In this newscast:
  Four people have died after a plane they were traveling in from Bethel crashed short of the runway in St. Mary’s late Sunday (9/15) night.
  The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has received $15 million in funding via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program.
  Researchers have documented a hundred more cases of bird flu in Alaska, but some species are showing signs of immunity to the disease.20
  
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• $15 million EPA grant for Southeast composting projects latest in local expansion efforts

  16-09-2024 23:08 via ktoo.org
  
  In a commercial operation like Juneau Composts in Lemon Creek, items are sorted out before they are mixed into a compost pile. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  The Central of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has received $15 million in funding via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction grant program.
  The Tribe will use the money to expand composting in Juneau and tribal communities across Southeast Alaska. It’s part of a larger trend of funding
  
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• Lingít Word of the Week: Yéil — Raven

  16-09-2024 18:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Ravens sit near the seawalk in downtown Juneau on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Katie Anastas/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&rs
  
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• Visitors to Alaska’s national parklands pumped $2.3 billion into the state’s economy, report says

  16-09-2024 13:29 via ktoo.org
  
  The road entrance to Kenai Fjords National Park is marked by a sign, seen on Aug. 27, 2022. The National Park Service has released its annual report on the economic impact of park visitation. Alaska is among the states that reaps the most economic benefit from visitors to its national parks, according to the report. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
  Tourism to national parks in Alaska has rebounded from pre-pandemic levels after three years of lower numbers, according to a report released by
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: Wearable Art; Skate to Eliminate Cancer; SHI Lecture with Preston Singletary

  14-09-2024 03:59 via ktoo.org
  
  Cancer Connection’s second annual Skate to Eliminate Cancer at Treadwell Arena takes place on September 14 & 15.On today’s program:Preview of Wearable Art happening at Centennial Hall on Saturday, September 21 & 22Cancer Connection’s second annual Skate to Eliminate Cancer at Treadwell Arena on September 14 & 15SHI Lecture Series with Preston Singletary “Eagle’s Journey with Raven” on September 17 at NoonPreston Singletary website
  Volunteer Andy Kl
  
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• Young people in Juneau gather to protest Dunleavy’s “incomprehensible” contraceptive expansion veto

  14-09-2024 02:05 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Protestors gathered at the Alaska State Capitol after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would have expanded access to contraceptives. September 11, 2014. (Photo by Yvonne Krumrey/KTOO).https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/12bcrally.mp3
  Dozens gathered on the sidewalk across from the Alaska State Capitol building Wednesday holding pink and cardboard signs saying, “healthcare is a right, not a privilege” and “reproductive freedom by any means necessary.”&nb
  
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• Newscast – Friday, Sept. 13, 2024

  14-09-2024 01:56 via ktoo.org
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240913-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:The City and Borough of Juneau is asking voters whether or not to take out 12.7 million in bond debt to help replace the radio system that police and firefighters use to communicate.
  Juneau residents took to the Capitol this week to protest Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have expanded access to birth control.
  The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed the U.S. House candidacy of Eric Haf
  
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• Juneau’s public safety radio system hardly works. This election, Juneau voters are being asked to overhaul it for $12.7M.

  13-09-2024 23:41 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Police Department Officer Terry Allen talks into a radio while on patrol duty in downtown Juneau on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/13radiobond.wav
  City officials say the radio system that police and firefighters in Juneau use is outdated. It was only designed for an eight-year lifespan and that expired a decade ago.Though the system still operates, police officers like Terry Allen say it’s hardly reliable anymore. 
  
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• Alaska’s U.S. Attorney under scrutiny in disgraced federal judge’s sex scandal

  13-09-2024 23:06 via ktoo.org
  
   
  S. Lane Tucker, U.S Attorney for the District of Alaska, speaks at a press conference in Anchorage on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)
  The fallout from former U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred’s inappropriate relationships with two federal prosecutors continues to unfold.
  Kindred resigned July 3. Days later, the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit released the results of its investigation into Kindred’s bad behavior, which included
  
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• NORAD detects, intercepts 2 Russian aircraft off Alaska’s coast

  13-09-2024 21:03 via ktoo.org
  
  A U.S. F-22 jet fighter accompanies a Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance/antisubmarine warfare plane through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone in March 2020. (From NORAD)
  The North American Aerospace Defense Command tracked and intercepted two Russian military aircraft Wednesday in international airspace near Alaska.
  A NORAD news release said the Russian aircraft remained in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, and did not enter American or Canadian soverei
  
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• After a string of fatal landslides, is this a new normal for Southeast Alaska?

  13-09-2024 16:00 via ktoo.org
  
  A house on Second Avenue in Ketchikan is flipped sideways and destroyed by the Aug. 25 landslide. (Jack Darrell/KRBD)
  Ketchikan gets more rain than almost anywhere else in Alaska. It’s the kind of rain you have to dump out of your coat pockets before you come inside. Mountainsides across the channel on Gravina Island are streaked with scars from landslides in years past.
  But even so, landslides never felt like a threat, said Ketchikan mayor and local historian Dave Kiffer.
  “If you as
  
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• Alaska Supreme Court rejects Democrats’ attempt to remove candidate from U.S. House ballot

  13-09-2024 07:04 via ktoo.org
  
  The Alaska Supreme Court is seen in session on June 27 in Boney Courthouse in Anchorage. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)
  The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed the U.S. House candidacy of Eric Hafner, a Democrat imprisoned in New York state.
  The court, in a split 4-1 decision, upheld Anchorage Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles’ decision to dismiss a lawsuit by the Alaska Democratic Party that had challenged Hafner’s eligibility.
  The decision means Hafner will appear on the N
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: Muskeg Collective, ‘Cruise Boom’ to air on PBS, National Concussion Awareness Day, USDA Forest Service

  13-09-2024 04:00 via ktoo.org
  
  “Cruise Boom” will begin airing on PBS and KTOO 360 TV.On today’s program:Juneau’s own Muskeg Collective calls in live from Ireland to share adventures in music touringAn interview with Ellen Frankenstein whose film “Cruise Boom” will air on PBS and KTOO 360 TVBartlett specialists share important resources in support of National Concussion Awareness Day on September 20USDA Forest Service on the Tongass Forest Revision Plan and a new subsistence dashboardSubsis
  
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• Newscast – Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024

  13-09-2024 02:52 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240912-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Ballots for Juneau’s local election are being mailed to registered voters Thursday.
  Landslides are nothing new among Southeast Alaska’s steep mountainsides and heavy rain. But the idea that every few years, another Southeast Alaska community has to dig its way out after a fatal disaster — that is new.
  Trail Mix, Inc.’s Meghan Tabacek shares how the makeup of the nonprofit’s
  
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• Local election ballots headed to Juneau voters’ mailboxes

  12-09-2024 23:08 via ktoo.org
  
  A municipal election ballot is placed in the drop box at the Douglas Library in September 2023. (Clarise Larson/for the Juneau Empire)
  Ballots for Juneau’s local election are being mailed to registered voters Thursday. 
  It marks the start of the City and Borough of Juneau’s municipal election this year, which features three ballot propositions, two recall questions, nine Assembly and six school board candidates.  
  City Clerk Beth McEwen said people should start receivi
  
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• Sitka tourism documentary ‘Cruise Boom’ to debut on PBS

  12-09-2024 22:42 via ktoo.org
  
  Summer tourists in Sitka, seen in the documentary “Cruise Boom.” (Courtesy ArtChange, Inc.)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240912104821-10CRUISEBOOM.mp3
  Sitka-based filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein’s latest documentary, “Cruise Boom,” premieres nationwide Saturday on PBS.
  The national debut culminates years of work on the part of Frankenstein and her co-director Atman Mehta, who explored both the potential benefits and downsides of cruise tourism&rsq
  
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• Juneau Afternoon: ‘Romantische’ from Con Brio Chamber Series to play Saturday, September 14

  12-09-2024 05:49 via ktoo.org
  
  
  “Romantische” from the Con Brio Chamber Series plays at the Alaska State Museum on Saturday, September 14, at 2:00 p.m.On today’s program:Preview of Con Brio Chamber Series’ upcoming concert “Romantische” with Doug Smith and William Todd HuntElection preview with KTOO’s Clarise Larson and Adelyn BaxterThe Medicare and Social Security seminar is open to the public on Friday, September 13, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
  Bostin Christopher hosts the conversat
  
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• Alaska Supreme Court considers legal challenge to imprisoned out-of-state Democrat’s U.S. House run

  12-09-2024 03:09 via ktoo.org
  
  Case files for a legal matter referred to the Alaska Supreme Court are seen on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  The Alaska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday morning in a lawsuit seeking to remove Eric Hafner, an imprisoned, out-of-state Democrat, from the state’s November election ballot.
  Under Alaska’s elections system, the top four finishers in the August primary election advance to the general election ballot. Hafner, who finish
  
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• Newscast – Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024

  12-09-2024 03:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240911-News-Update.mp3
  In this newscast:Bartlett Regional Hospital’s board of directors has named Joe Wanner as its new CEO
  Assembly candidates in Juneau’s upcoming municipal election discussed public safety issues during a forum last week
  A documentary examining the impact of the explosive growth of cruise tourism in Sitka will debut this weekend on national television
  
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• Joe Wanner will be Bartlett Regional Hospital’s new CEO

  12-09-2024 01:47 via ktoo.org
  
  Bartlett Regional Hospital’s CFO Joe Wanner talks to staff at a meet and greet as a finalist for the hospital’s CEO position on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)
  Bartlett Regional Hospital’s board of directors has named Joe Wanner, the hospital’s chief financial officer, as its new CEO. 
  Wanner was one of three finalists. He will begin the new role at the end of this month. He takes over from Ian Worden, who has held the position in the interim since la
  
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• Alaska librarians hopeful state will restore ‘massive’ cut in vital grant

  11-09-2024 23:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Many members of the community, tourists and other visitors turned out in May during the Delta Community Library’s annual open house. (Courtesy Tiki Levinson/Delta Community Library)
  Alaska librarians are cautiously optimistic that a state agency will restore a big cut in funding for an annual grant that smaller rural libraries depend on. The abrupt reversal of last month’s cutback followed an outcry by librarians and the public.
  The director of the state Division of Libraries, A
  
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• Tongass Voices: Trail Mix’s Meghan Tabacek on what it takes to be in trail work

  11-09-2024 20:53 via ktoo.org
  
  Meghan Tabacek is the executive director of Trail Mix, Inc. Juneau’s trail maintenance nonprofit. August 30, 2024. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO).
  This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.
  Meghan Tabacek has been with Trail Mix, Inc. for four years now, and she’s done a lot of the dirty work. The nonprofit has maintained many of Juneau’s beloved trails since 1993, and she says the
  
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• Anchorage Daily News newsroom planning to form union

  11-09-2024 19:19 via ktoo.org
  
  The Anchorage Daily News print edition for Monday, July 8, 2024. (Casey Grove/Alaska Public Media)
  The newsroom at the Anchorage Daily News, the most widely read newspaper and news website in Alaska, plans to unionize.
  At the top of the would-be union’s list of goals is better pay.
  Sixteen out of 20 eligible newsroom employees – that’s 80% of reporters, photographers and editors not in management – recently signed cards supporting the formation of a union, according to a
  
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• Anchorage judge rules that imprisoned Democrat will remain on Alaska’s U.S. House ballot

  11-09-2024 19:13 via ktoo.org
  
  An early voting station is set up in the atrium of the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the first day of early voting for the 2024 Alaska primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
  An Anchorage Superior Court judge said on Tuesday that out-of-state imprisoned Democratic U.S. House candidate Eric Hafner is eligible to appear on November‘s election ballot.
  In an 18-page ruling, Judge Ian Wheeles firmly dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Alaska Democ
  
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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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