A wildfire is burning in Anchorage in a wooded area south of Tudor Rd. Also, Adak runs dangerously short of fuel. Plus, Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin join forces on energy plan, while Mark Begich releases his own energy plan. And Fred Meyer pulls suspect ground beef from its shelves in Alaska . Those stories and more on tonight’s Alaska News Nightly, broadcast statewide on APRN stations.
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Wildfire threatens Anchorage
Associated Press – Anchorage
Fire crews in Anchorage are battling a wild fire that broke out today in a wooded area south of Tudor road. The blaze grew quickly from a quarter acre to four acres this afternoon. Officials say no structures are in immediate danger.
Adak running dangerously low on fuel
Anne Hillman, KIAL – Anchorage
The city of Adak is running out of fuel to run their electrical generators. Adak City Manager Steven Hines says this morning they had enough to provide about 15 hours of electricity to the 300 person community. They’ve only been providing power for 11 hours per day since Monday.
Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin join forces on energy plan
Steve Heimel, ARPN – Anchorage
Senator Ted Stevens had a joint news conference with Governor Sarah Palin today to promote the energy plan put forward by Republicans in Congress, and Alaska’s role in it. Both of them said high fuel prices are swinging public opinion around to back measures to increase domestic energy supplies.
Mark Begich trots out his own energy plan
Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is hoping to be Steven’s democratic opponent in the general election. And he has his own national energy plan. Much of what he supports are ideas that have been tried before. But he says he can take them to the Senate with a fresh approach.
Fred Meyer pulls suspect beef off its shelves
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
Fred Meyer stores in Alaska have pulled certain packages of ground beef from their shelves as a precaution after cases of E Coli in Michigan and Ohio have been linked to a Nebraska meat supplier. Kroger Company is the parent organization of Fred Meyer. The stores buy meat from the same Nebraska supplier. Fred Meyer spokeswoman Melinda Merrill says the stores removed the meat from their shelves last night as the USDA continues investigating how the meat became contaminated.
Pilot error led to deadly crash in downtown Sitka
Robert Woolsey, KCAW – Sitka
A deadly plane crash in downtown Sitka almost a year ago was the result of pilot error. The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday released the results of its investigation into the August 6th crash which took the lives of the plane’s occupants, destroyed a home, but spared everyone on the ground in the dense downtown neighborhood.
Citizens’groups sue cruise ship companies
John Hunt, KHNS – Haines
Two citizen’s groups will sue a number of cruise ship companies for failing to comply with the state’s Cruise Ship Law, passed by voter initiative two years ago.
Copper River reds continue weak run
Dan Bross, KUAC – Anchorage
The sockeye return on the Copper River continues to come in weaker than forecast. That’s shut down commercial fishing on the Delta near Cordova, and will mean restrictions for dip netters at Chitina in coming weeks.
Kodiak non-profit takes on ocean garbage problem
Mary Donaldson, KMXT – Kodiak
A constant flow of ocean garbage washes up on beaches worldwide. In Alaska, the trash fouls coastlines and
interferes with wildlife habitat. A non-profit in Kodiak is working to address the problem.
IFA decides not to cut service
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
The Inter-Island Ferry Authority will plug a million-dollar hole by seeking additional funds, not cutting service. The authority’s board of directors decided yesterday to leave its sailings alone, at least for now.
