Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
@ZachHughesAK About Zachariah
@ZachHughesAK About Zachariah
APOC Expediting Complaint Against Berkowitz Over Ad Using News Footage
Document alleges Berkowitz improperly used copyrighted material in campaign without disclosing any corporate donation.
Delving Into Anchorage’s Mayoral Runoff Election
With just a few days left before Anchorage voters head to the polls Tuesday for a runoff election to pick a new mayor the race is intensifying. On April 7th, Ethan Berkowitz and Amy Demboski took the most votes in the city-wide election. For the most part the campaigns were cordial, with the candidates sparing on policy disagreements, but respectful of one another. But in the last week or so new issues have been quickly popping up—both personal and policy related. Today we’ll be sorting through the mayor’s race stories appearing online and in the news, getting a handle on what coverage is substantial, and what’s superficial.
KSKA: Friday, 5/1 at 2:00pm and Saturday, 5/2 at 6:00pm
KAKM: Friday, 5/1 at 7:30pm and Saturday, 5/2 at 4:30pm
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Campaign Silent on Revelations of Military Service, Divorce, Forgery
New documents are coming to light that complicate the biography of Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski.
As PAC Money Pours Into Runoff, Some Numbers Still Missing
Candidate Ethan Berkowitz has an overwhelming lead in terms of donors and funds, but with no polling data released by either campaign, the results are difficult to predict.
Controversial Anchorage Budget Bumps Up Taxes for Public Safety, Veto Likely
The Assembly passed a budget adding a 5.61% rise in property taxes, splitting the body between those calling for fiscal conservatism, and others stressing a need for spending on public safety.
The Blind Spot: Beyond No-Man’s Land
In spite of high substance abuse rates across Alaska, state officials and non-profit workers see policy measures are dove-tailing with new evidence that perceptions about drinking are starkly different from realities on the ground.
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The Blind Spot: Quitting Meth, Together
This week we’re exploring the Blind Spot, it’s a focus on the teens who are abusing substances but aren’t being caught by the system that’s set up to help them. In this story, KSKA’s Anne Hillman spoke with two young women who are relying on each other rather than an organization to end their methamphetamine addiction.
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The Blind Spot: Harm Reduction at the Transit Center
If you're a teenager in Anchorage struggling with homelessness, hunger, or addiction there are few places to turn. One of the few organizations in Anchorage helping at-risk teens on their own terms is hidden in plain sight in one of the city's busiest buildings.
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The Blind Spot: A System of Order Over Chaos
This week Alaska Public Media is exploring the Blind Spot – how youth who are part of and outside of the juvenile justice system are getting help for substance abuse. One option is residential treatment, like the kind offered through the ARCH program in Eagle River, which Anne Hillman toured with one young resident.
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Cultivating Native Values, NYO Tournament Continues Growing
500 athletes from across the state were joined for the first time in decades by a foreign delegation from the Yukon Territory in Canada. Organizers say the tournament continues because of more deliberate efforts to promote traditional values across Alaska.
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The Blind Spot: Spaces Between Statistics
In Anchorage, the number of criminal offenses by minors referred to the Department of Juvenile Justice has dropped by nearly half in the past decade for almost every offense type – except severe drug and alcohol offenses. That number has stayed fairly steady. In fact, as a share of the whole, substance abuse cases in Anchorage are up, although as a share of the total they are proportionately small. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
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Bill Establishing Marijuana Control Board Poised To Become Law
In spite of the session extension in Juneau, the status of new legislation dealing with commercial marijuana for the year ahead is clear.
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Refined Fuel Tax Measure Heads To Governor’s Desk
Though discussion of new revenues hasn’t gone far in the Legislature this session, the Senate on Friday passed a measure taxing refined fuels.
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Battle Over Medicaid Spills Onto Capital Steps
The event is another strategy from the administration to get lawmakers to bring the issue to a vote in the Legislature ahead of session's end.
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Opt Out Bill Could Cost Alaska $97 Million in Federal School Funding
Senate Bill 89 aims to increase the authority of parents, allowing them to opt their children out of standardized tests, and educational programming dealing with sexual health.
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Anchorage Announces Fiscal Surplus
As law-makers battle over budgets in the closing days of the Legislature, the city of Anchorage is announcing a fiscal surplus.
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House Steps Towards Full Legal Marijuana Market
The bipartisan 25-to-15 vote creates a parallel marijuana body within the Alcoholic Beverages Control Board to oversee a permit structure for all parts of a full legal market.
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Major conservative political groups are stepping into the Anchorage mayor’s race. The May runoff between Amy Demboski and Ethan Berkowitz is drawing increasing attention...
National & State Level Conservative Groups Ramping Up Presence in Anc Mayor’s Race
The May runoff between Amy Demboski and Ethan Berkowitz is drawing increasing attention from groups like Americans for Prosperity that hope to help shape politics at the federal, state, and municipal level.
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Ethan Berkowitz, Amy Demboski Heading For Mayoral Runoff Election
Unofficial results show Ethan Berkowitz leading the mayoral race with 37 percent of the vote. But because Berkowitz didn't take 45 percent, he'll be in a run off with Amy Demboski, who, with about a quarter of the total votes, was the second place candidate.
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