News

The Aleutian Chain already gets a serious amount of vessel traffic, and the shipping route is set to get a lot busier as the Arctic warms up and as Canada prepares to increase oil exports to Asia.

Police have cracked down on gambling at an area seafood processing plant. Eileen Ceralde, Marlyn Baker, Luisa East, Amelito Maglasang, and Perla Salacup have all been charged with promoting unlawful gambling. The crime is a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum penalty for the crime is a $10,000 fine and a year in prison.

Family members of an Anchorage woman who went missing in July reported finding her sweatshirt near Six Mile Creek this Sunday, about half a mile from where she was last seen. A kayaker found what was thought to be Valerie Sifsof’s shirt in the same area in late August. State trooper reports say the area has been flooded with rains and high waters since then, but they will search the area with cadaver dogs as soon as conditions allow it. Forty-three year old Sifsof was last seen when on a camping trip near mile 64 of the Seward Highway on July 7.

A plane crash Sunday evening in the Wood Tikchik State Park north of Dillingham appears to have claimed the life of the pilot. A Grumman Widgeon piloted by 71-year-old Newt Ball crashed during a landing on Tikchik Lake at around 5:15 p.m. Ball was reportedly the only person on board, and is presumed to have died on impact.

A survey shows high rates of violence against women in Alaska. As KUAC’s Dan Bross reports the random phone survey indicates there’s a more serious problem than previously thought.

Alaska Airlines suffered a computer glitch Monday that caused long lines in Seattle and Anchorage, as travelers faced delays and cancelled flights. According to the airline’s spokeswoman, Maryanne Lindsey, the network outage was caused by the airline’s internet provider Sprint, after a fiber network cable was cut in the Midwest.

About 500 people are in Anchorage this week for the Alaska Travel Industry Association’s convention and trade show.

A couple of hundred people joined in a celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Alaska Native Brotherhood in Sitka last week.

State elections officials are denying findings in a national report. Entitled “Latino Voter Disenfranchisement in 2012″ the write up comes from a Washington, DC advocacy group, and it charges that Alaska is one of 23 states that make voting difficult for Hispanic citizens.

A Fairbanks man will serve 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in a shooting outside Ivory Jack’s restaurant. 26-year-old Sean Jeffers was sentenced Friday in the shooting death of 20-year-old Bryan Richardson.

To some, the term ‘living building’ may mean architecture for urban people with the bank accounts to afford it. In the Aleutian Islands, the regional housing authority is trying to bring living buildings to a population that is not that, but that’s easier said than done.

Federal lawmakers recently reported their quarterly financial statements to the Federal Elections Commission. Despite not being up for reelection this cycle, the political action committees aligned with Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski continue to raise and spend money.

Suzan Hess is setting up a beer tent as part of the Sitka Chamber of Commerce season-end celebration. She’s co-owner of the Baranof Island Brewing Company. The business began in 2010, so it’s still figuring out the tourism market. But Hess says it’s been great.

Just about every politician champions God, motherhood and apple pie. U.S. Senator Mark Begich is adding rubber boots to the list. Begich, who’s touring Southeast Alaska, says he’s heard numerous complaints about Xtratufs since production moved to China. He says what he jokingly calls “Sort-of-tufs” leak and the soles separate after just a few weeks of wear.

The Center for Disease Control says that Alaska is not one of the 23 states that received a contaminated epidural steroid injection product. The injection has caused fungal meningitis in 91 patients in the Lower 48. Seven have died. The company that produced the injection has voluntarily recalled all of its products.

A Fairbanks militia member is appealing his conviction on federal weapons charges. Thirty-eight-year-old Coleman Barney was convicted in June of conspiracy to possess unregistered silencers and grenades.

Two people were injured and taken to the hospital when an East Anchorage home caught on fire on Saturday evening. The Anchorage Fire Department said that smoke and flames were visible from the residence when the first of 15 fire crews arrived on scene at about 8 p.m. The small house sustained about $30,000 of damage. The cause is under investigation.

The State of Alaska will receive just over half a million dollars from an international health care company because the company illegally marketed a drug to nursing homes.

A new survey of Kodiak Island Borough says that at least 44 percent of the women there have experienced sexual violence, intimate partner violence, or both types. The University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center says that their survey estimates are conservative since they only spoke with 423 women who have either a cell phone or a landline and can speak English. The study states that instances of violence may be higher among women who were excluded from the study.