Tag: AK News

907 Updates December 12, 2017

By Kortnie Horazdovsky: Former Anchorage tutor sentenced for sex abuse of student
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A former Anchorage tutor was sentenced to serve 23 years in jail with 11 suspended after pleading guilty to sex abuse of a minor and distribution of child pornography.

Evan Fischer was initially investigated by Anchorage Police in 2015 for possessing and distributing child pornography over the Internet, but detectives discovered he had been in a sexual relationship with an underage student.

His total sentence for the two charges includes 10 years probation and registering as a sex offender for life.
 
 
 
 
By Samantha Angaiak: “Those are the murderers right there” accused shooter blames others at arraignment
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire & Leroy Polk: UPDATE: APD says video surveillance validates McDonald’s shooting victim
 
 
 
 
By KTVA Web Staff: Mom accused of child’s starvation death in court
 
 
 
 
Lose their license(s) for life or?
By KTVA Web Staff: ‘Hoverboard’ dentist in court for Medicaid fraud
The Department of Law also alleges Lookhart devised a scheme to send money collected from Medicaid directly to his home.

If convicted, Lookhart and Crandford face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,00.
 
 
 
 
By Associated Press: Flirting, sexting added to Alaska teachers’ code of ethics
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska education commission has added flirting, sexting and inappropriate touching to the list of things that teachers are not allowed to do with students.
 
 
 
 
Comments on telemedicine?
By Caslon Hatch: The Doctor is in, at downtown Anchorage mall
The 5th Avenue Mall was chosen as a location because there are no other medical service options within the central city grid.

The clinic officially opens Tuesday. Hours of operation will coincide with mall hours: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Another location will open at the Dimond Center Mall in the spring with plans to expand to more areas in the state.
 
 
 
 
By Patrick Enslow: Seawolf women honored in U.S. Senate
 
 
 
 
By Photojournalist Shawn Wilson: Homeless rehab program begins in the kitchen
 
 
 
 
By Rebecca Palsha: Free syringe program grows to include a mobile health unit
The woman whose husband is addicted to opioids has been able to keep a good job, but she’d still like him to stop.

“I worry every day, from day to day. I don’t know if something is going to happen to him or if he’s going to overdose, or if he’s going to get in trouble with the law. It’s hard to tell from day to day what’s going to happen.”
 
 
 
 
Insulating capabilities of glass?~~Who will take an engineering program seriously who’s building was poorly constructed for the climate/environment?
By Kortnie Horazdovsky: UAF Engineering building opens after year-long construction delay
“Most of the high bay facilities at other universities would be encased in concrete walls. Ours is encased in glass,” said Douglas Goering, Dean of the College of Engineering and Mines. “So people can see what engineers do and experience and become engaged with what engineers do.”
 
 
 
 
By Angela Cox: Rasmuson Foundation Awards $6.6 Million
 
 
 
 
By James Gaddis: Teacher of the Week: Frau Lucht
 
 
 
 
Moms Everyday Alaska: Double peppermint chocolate chip cookies

907 Updates December 11, 2017

By Leroy Polk: Weekend homicide suspect arrested after Anchorage police deploys SWAT
 
 
 
 
By Liz Raines: Harassment in Alaska’s capitol building: HR perspective
 
 
 
 
One Alaska Update A Note From Gov. Walker…

Coming This Week: Walker-Mallott Budget for FY 2019

This week, the Walker-Mallott Administration will unveil the budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2019. Budgets are moral documents, as they reflect the values and priorities we have for our state. Governor Walker and Lt. Governor Mallott envision a Safer, Smarter, and Stronger Alaska that is thriving for future generations. We can only get there if we get our fiscal house in order.


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What Do I Know?: AIFF 2017: The Awards Ceremony – UPDATE: All Winners Announced (Unless They Surprise Me)
 
 
 
 
Craig Medred: Explainin’ the rainin’
8 p.m. on Sunday, the temperature at 1,000 feet above Anchorage was an unseasonable 40 degrees and rain was falling steadily.

The normal White Christmas season was already long washed away. All that was left was the ice that clung to the ground anywhere snow had been compressed over the course of the past week.

Far below at Ted Stevens International Airport, the National Weather Service was reporting 41 degrees and forecasting temperatures to climb above freezing all through the week with snow, if there is snow, mixed with more rain.

It was all very odd, but climate scientist Daniel Swain – a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles – thinks he has an answer to what is going on.

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Our Third Thirds: Driver Ed: Third Third Style
Driver Ed in our First Third: harrowing films of terrible car accidents, screeching breaks, bodies burnt to crisps.

Driver Ed in our Third Third: harrowing statistics like, “Seniors aged 65 and over are more than twice as likely as younger drivers to be killed when involved in a crash;” that we need 20 times more light to see at night at age 40 than at age 20; that deaths in crashes start increasing around ages 60-64.

I decided to click on all those AARP emails about saving 30% for a limited time only – with a promo code! – on the Smart Driver™ online course so I’d get an insurance discount. It looked easy enough: there were six units, and it would take about four hours. I could do it on my own schedule.

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Little Big House Alaska: Catch 49 Halibut Giveaway
This is a Sponsored Post on behalf of Catch 49 and the AMCC.
Catch 49 Halibut Giveaway

One of the best things about living in Alaska is the abundant access to sport fishing. Salmon, trout, halibut, you name it, you can get on a boat or go for a hike and try your luck at catching dinner. Or catch enough fish to stock your freezer for the season. It depends on time and ability and sometimes budget. But what about if you don’t have time to go fishing or maybe being on boats makes you sick or you cant afford a charter to get you out to where the halibut are hitting hard? Whatever the reasons you CAN’T get to where the fish are, Alaska’s fishermen have you covered. And sometimes I have you covered, like with this Catch 49 Halibut Giveaway. Read on for details!

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Little Big House Alaska: Friday Frenzy
What a wild holiday time of year, we’ve been going going going for two weeks now and we’ll probably keep right on through the New Year. I don’t mind though I enjoy being busy. My hands are busy making Christmas presents and we’re busy taking in all the free entertainment our community puts on this time of year. We’ve been to a Robotics Competition, A Holiday Market (where my son sold Handmade Christmas Crackers to raise funds to go to DC in the spring, a Christmas Concert and looking at Christmas lights. Today we’re celebrating Colony Christmas in Palmer, there’s lots of events going on and we’re going to view Gingerbread houses, tour a Colony House, make paper cranes, crack the Cookie Cypher and go to another concert where our kids are playing in the orchestra. Fireworks follow after the concert. This coming week we have more concerts, plays with kids, parties and even a Christmas Cookie baking day. In between all these events I’ll be cranking out handmade gifts left and right!

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SANDRA’S BANANA-OAT-CRAISIN COOKIES
 
 
 
 
Coleen’s Recipes: EASY SESAME CHICKEN
 
 
 
 
Moms Everyday Alaska: Meal under $10: Veggie frittata with easy fried potatoes

907 Updates December 10, 2017

By Sean Maguire: The Mendeltna Creek Lodge near Glennallen is on fire
The lodge’s owners, Mabel and Russ Wimmer, are both fine but their pets, a cat and two mastiffs, both perished in the fire.
 
 
 
 
By AP: Weather Service cuts balloon launches amid staffing issue
The loss of any input data affects weather models, but the degree it hurts the accuracy of forecasts isn’t easy to quantify.

Weather Service Alaska Region Director Carven Scott says the Weather Service supplements data from weather balloons with data from satellites.
 
 
 
 
By Cameron Mackintosh: Snowmachiners practice for the worst with simulated crash course

On Saturday, a group of 25 snowmachiners put their search and rescue skills to the test, in a hands-on crash simulation organized by Learn to Return, a business that provides survival and first aid training.

Learn to Return director Brian Horner says he usually offers the course to employees in the construction industry or other similar fields. But Saturday’s class was comprised of people who work for events like the Iditarod, Iditasport and Iron Dog, as well as members of search and rescue groups and the Anchorage snowmachine club.
 
 
 
 
Another view: Wilderness Medical Training
By Scott Gross: New Anchorage course offers wilderness medical training

907 Updates December 09, 2017

By Sean Maguire: AST: Suspect tried to run over State Trooper during high speed chase on Glenn Hwy
 
 
 
 
By Kyle Hopkins: ‘He should resign. It’s that simple.’ Woman who says she was groped by Alaska lawmaker says apology is not enough
 
 
 
 
By Leroy Polk: With theft on the rise, Fred Meyer’s grocery store looks to police for help
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: Red Cross Alaska deploys 7 volunteers to assist with the California wildfires
 
 
 
 
By Heather Hintze: DOT buys properties, boards up buildings for Glenn Hwy expansion
 
 
 
 
One bullet.
By KTVA: Appeal denied for mom convicted in son’s death
 
 
 
 
By Scott Gross: Struggling Veterans gain some ‘peace of mind’ during holidays
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: VIDEO: Alaska SeaLife Center seal released into the wild

907 Updates December 08, 2017

By Leroy Polk: Anchorage woman shot inside home by someone outside her window
 
 
 
 
By Leroy Polk: Alaska man chases 4-wheeler thieves on his snowmachine, kicks one off
 
 
 
 
By Associated Press: Alaska suffers resurgence of beetle that causes tree deaths
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: Western Alaskan village placed on lockdown for 5 hours
Johnson is set to be remanded at the Yukon Kuskowkim Correctional Center. “Bail is set at $5,000 cash plus a court approved third party custodian,” say Troopers.
 
 
 
 
By Beth Verge: DOC, Salvation Army unveil new $2.2M plan to help end substance abuse
 
 
 
 
By Laurel Downing Bill: Story Time with Aunt Phil: Eskimo Scouts emerge after Pearl Harbor
 
 
 
 
By Beth Verge: Salute to Gold Star families: Alaska mountain peak naming proposal heads to D.C.

907 Updates December 07, 2017

By Leroy Polk & Cameron Mackintosh: UPDATE: Father allowed to plan son’s funeral outside of jail while facing charges
A U.S. magistrate judge has agreed to release Anthony Johnson from jail for a few days while his family plans the funeral of Johnson’s 5-year-old son.

Johnson is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, after his son found and fatally shot himself with a gun in the family’s master bedroom.
 
 
 
 
By Caslon Hatch: ‘Bathroom Bill’ enforcement, vehicle thefts discussed at Assembly public safety meeting
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – At an Anchorage Assembly public safety committee meeting Wednesday, Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said it would be extremely difficult to enforce Proposition 1 if passed during the April Municipal election.
 
 
 
 
APD investigating armed robbery on Debarr Rd.
 
 
 
 
By Kalinda Kindle: Opponents of Pebble Mine plan speak out at town hall meeting
 
 
 
 
Bad news?
By Jack Carney: Age of Alaska’s fishermen on the rise
According to a study by the University of Fairbanks, the average age of an Alaska commercial fisherman is now 50 years old.

Paula Cullenburg, Director of Alaska’s Sea Grant Program at UAF, says that’s bad news for sustaining the state’s economy, especially for those in coastal communities.

 
 
 
 
By Lauren Maxwell: Property owners near Brother Francis Shelter say they’re staying put in the neighborhood
 
 
 
 
Moms Everyday Alaska: Chocolate popcorn reindeer

907 Updates December 06, 2017

By Leroy Polk: Richardson Highway closed following avalanche and extreme snow
 
 
 
 
By KTUU Staff: UPDATE: Man identified in Tuesday night shooting incident According to police, the suspect is Jeffery Cosgrove, 35.

 
 
 
 
Women In Safe Homes Receives $5,000 Basic Needs Grant
 
 
 
 
By Associated Press: Alaska edible pot maker suspended amid product testing probe
 
 
 
 
By Becky Bohrer: Alaska lawmaker takes fight over conflicts to the voters
Rep. Jason Grenn of Anchorage is helping lead a bipartisan effort to put a proposal on the 2018 ballot. It would provide greater scrutiny and limits on lawmakers’ conflicts of interest, travel and pay.
 
 
 
 
By KTVA Web Staff: Young named to key tax-bill role, takes prominent House title
 
 
 
 
One way to pay for government.
By Kyle Hopkins: What this cash-filled fish box says about the Alaska drug trade
The shipper, who is not being named here because he has not been charged with a crime, can fight the complaint and argue that the money is not subject to forfeiture. If the U.S. Attorney’s office succeeds, the city of Kodiak would be eligible to apply for up to 80 percent of the seized money for local government use.
 
 
 
 
Why not have a Girdwood Parking Authority? Less costly than a police officer.
By Rebecca Palsha: Voters may decide if Whittier Police can write parking tickets in Girdwood
 
 
 
 
Comments on your experience with Meth/toxic chemical infestation and removal?
By Kyle Hopkins: In some stolen cars, Anchorage laboratory finds invisible meth residue

 
 
 
 
Ordinance will take effect in 2021~
By Kalinda Kindle: Anchorage Assembly passes quicker clean-up time for homeless camps

 
 
 
 
Looking Back — Nov. 29, 2017
 
 
 
 
Moms Everyday Alaska: Holiday wreath popcorn treats

907 Updates December 05, 2017

On 12/05/17 12:24 a.m., Dispatch received a report of child death in the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court.

The preliminary investigation found the child died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The child found the gun inside the drawer of a bedroom nightstand.

The victim has been identified as Christian Johnnson (5-years-old).

This is a death investigation. The case will be referred to the Anchorage District Attorney’s office for possible charges.

This is a tragic reminder about gun safety and children. Don’t leave guns unattended and easily accessible, use a gun lock or secure guns in a safe.

APD Case: 17-49834
 
 
 
 
By Leroy Polk: Earthquake wakes Anchorage, Mat-Su residents early Tuesday
 
 
 
 
By Daniella Rivera: New details released in ‘chilling’ Mat-Su murder
Palmer Superior Court Judge Vanessa White referenced a case she presided over that recently gained media attention.

“It so happens, I just finished a trial for a young man who was charged with some assaults and slipped his very well-intentioned third parties in the middle of the night and went out and kidnapped and assaulted the same victim again, so, I’m sort of hyper-vigilant at this point, perhaps more hyper-vigilant than I’ve been in the past,” said White, while considering the arguments of both parties.

Jordan King awaits sentencing after re-victimizing the woman he originally assaulted after running away from his parents, who were serving as his third-party custodians.
 
 
 
 

By KTVA Web Staff: Stolen delivery truck crashes into Church of Love
 
 
 
 
By Chris Klint: Troopers investigating Anchorage man’s Jim Creek death
An online dispatch identified the man found Saturday as 36-year-old Weston Gladney
 
 
 
 
By Kalinda Kindle: A neighbor says she is worried about the crime in her community
 
 
 
 
By Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media: University of Alaska’s first Rhodes Scholar: A voracious reader with deep King Cove roots
 
 
 
 
By Beth Verge: Lawmakers, AGDC discuss latest in AKLNG developments
 
 
 
 
By Associated Press: Premera to reimburse Alaska state insurance program $25M
 
 
 
 
Nurse-Family partnership program
 
 
 
 
By Melissa Frey: Icy start for Anchorage as rain turns to evening snow
 
 
 
 
By Heather Hintze: ACS to lay off 30 people
 
 
 
 
Congratulations Natalia Sears!
By Megan Mazurek: Teacher of the Week: Natalia Sears
Natalia Sears sees math as a universal language that’s applicable in real-world situations.

“There’s no reason to be scared of math,” said Sears, a high school math teacher at Dimond. “I just want them to build the confidence in math, rather than just memorize formulas.”

907 Updates December 04, 2017

Christmas tree fundraiser brings awareness to human trafficking
 
 
 
 
By Blake Essig: UAF holds its first ever drone races
 
 
 
 
By Cameron Mackintosh: Iditarod developing new kennel management program
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: Alaska Communications set to lay off 5 percent of its workforce
 
 
 
 
By Associated Press: Community meets to address broadband need in Fairbanks
 
 
 
 
In rare move, Alaska GOP jumps into Anchorage race for mayor
 
 
 
 
Moms Everyday Alaska: Festive popcorn trees

907 Updates December 03, 2017

Man dead in late-night Muldoon shooting
 
 
 
By Victoria Taylor: Bethel Police investigating death of woman discovered lying in snow
 
 
 
 
Alaska GOP moves to block rogue lawmakers from party primary
 
 
 
 
Has your State forbid selling/cultivating toxic plants? What sprays do they recommend? We’ve tried several and nothing seems to stop them. Actually the moose seems to consider these sprays a flavor enhancer~
By Cameron Mackintosh: Two moose calves likely die after eating poisonous ornamental plants

“Some plants have cyanide in them like Japanese Yew and Chokecherry and other things that we plant to make our houses look good but unfortunately it poisons moose pretty quickly,” Dyer said.

Chokecherry trees are a common culprit in moose poisonings. According to horticulturist Steph Daniels, Chokecherry is sold at some Anchorage nurseries, and is a common feature in many lawns across town.
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: Snow tubing opens for the season at Arctic Valley
 
 
 
 
Congratulations Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Erik Bjornsen and Scott Patterson!
By Patrick Enslow: Another podium performance for Bjornsen at the World Cup
 
 
 
 
By Sean Maguire: Mumps outbreak spreads with 71 confirmed cases in Anchorage
 
 
 
 
Alyeska to open skiing season on December 9