AK: Ancient Shorelines
Most of us like to know something about our family history. And we might want to get some idea of who was here before us.
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Warming Arctic Likely Contributing To Erratic Worldwide Weather Patterns
A federal agency says the Arctic continued to warm in 2013 and may have entered a "new normal" of diminished sea ice and wilder swings in weather that affect lower latitudes.
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Study Investigates Two Decades Of APD Officer-Involved Shootings
A study released today of Anchorage police shootings over the past 20 years has produced conflicting data. Although minority citizens are disproportionately involved in police shootings, the majority shot by officers were white. The study attempts to show the recipe for officer-involved shootings and says vehicles are used as weapons in many cases.
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Canada’s Arctic Claim Includes North Pole
Canada's Canadaâs Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said today that Canada will make a claim to the North Pole, but has not finished the science around its Arctic seabed.
AK: Fortress of the Bear
In 2003, a Sitka couple proposed creating a bear rescue center from the remains of the townâs decommissioned pulp mill â a plan that raised some local hackles. Ten years later, the Fortress of the Bear is home to five brown bears and two new black bear cubs â and it has converted some skeptics, including a local biologist.
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Participants Voice Hopes And Realities At Domestic Violence Prevention Summit
The Second Annual Prevention Summit kicked off Tuesday in Juneau. Sponsored by the stateCouncil on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the three-day summit at Centennial Hall brings together teams from 19 communities with the goal of exchanging ideas about prevention.
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Alaska Groups Give Passing Grade To Reworked HealthCare.gov
Groups in Alaska working to sign people up for health insurance on the federal marketplace say the website is working much better. The Obama Administration re-launched an improved healthcare.gov marketplace yesterday. Now insurance agents and navigators have three weeks to help Alaskans enroll in insurance plans that start offering coverage January 1st.
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Officials Documenting Wreckage of St. Marys’ Crash
The chief of the agency's Alaska office, Clint Johnson, said an investigator with the NTSB and another from the Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday reached the site where a single-engine aircraft went down near the village of St. Marys.
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Seward Man Fined For Dumping Oily Bilge Water
Bilge water is the nasty stuff that collects at the bottom of a boat. It can contain engine oil and anti-freeze, and releasing it in state waters is illegal. But even though it's a crime, the state doesn't get too many chances to prosecute it. Last week, the Department of Law scored a rare legal victory when a bilge water case was decided in their favor.
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FAA approves UAS Above JBER, New Runway Installed
Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS, will soon be flying more often over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Soldiers assigned to the aircraft just tested out a new runway on the base earlier this month. Officials say it will allow more training on the remotely piloted aircraft in Anchorage.
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Teaching in the City Under One Roof
It takes a different kind of person to live in Whittier, Alaska. The town is accessible only by water or by tunnel, the weather is extreme, and the only housing option is an ugly apartment building. But the community has managed to win over grade school teacher Erika Thompson.Â
Alaska Public Media video producer Travis Gilmour spent a day with Thompson and found out life in this one-building town is unique, even by Alaska's standards.
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Two Bucks For A Turkey Huck
David Brabaw is clutching a frozen, 8-pound turkey in a pair of as-seen-on-TV Ove Gloves. Heâs got a bowlerâs stance as he eyes the pins at the end of the lane over the birdâs rump. Thereâs a hush as bird strikes the pins, then an eruption of cheers as the pins settle, including an ecstatic, guttural âYEAH!â from Brabaw â he got a strike. Brabawâs not at a rowdy bowling alley, but on the eighth floor of Juneauâs State Office Building. He was one of a handful of state workers turkey bowling on Wednesday during the lunch hour. That unmistakable sound of bowling pins getting knocked around echoed up several stories of the building.
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UAF Celebrates Ted Stevensâ Birthday With New Mapping Exhibit
Dozens of friends, former staffers and other well-wishers gathered Monday at UAFâs Rasmuson Library to celebrate what wouldâve been former Sen. Ted Stevensâ 90th birthday. Mondayâs commemoration also marked the opening of a new exhibit in the libraryâs collection of Stevensâs official papers generated during his long career as a U.S. senator from Alaska.
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The Legend Of Soapy Smith
Alaskaâs history is peppered with crooks, cons and other characters famous for running afoul of the law. One of them is Soapy Smith, whose travels brought him briefly to the Kenai Peninsula. Historian Jane Haigh has written about Smith, and on Thursday night, told his story at the Kasilof Regional Historical Association Museum.
AK: Tlingit Ventriloquism
Like many other indigenous languages, Tlingit is in survival mode. Revitalizing the language was the focus of this yearâs Tlingit Tribes and Clans Conference held in Juneau last week. A Juneau resident has one solution for how to keep the language alive. During a conference session, realtor and assemblyman Carlton Smith gave participants a lesson in how to teach Tlingit to children with puppets. And he does it with the help of a special guest.
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JBER Paratroopers Prep For Wide Variety Of Missions
Paratroopers of the 425 Brigade at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson have to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice to take on missions ranging from parachuting into a combat zone to providing humanitarian relief for natural disaster victims. On Tuesday, I had a chance to get a glimpse into the life of Alaska's Airborne soldiers.
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Fairview Residents Work To Re-Image Neighborhood
When I accepted a job in Anchorage more than a dozen years ago, my new boss told me the neighborhood I'd be working in was sketchy. She said signs of illicit sex and drug use, along with alcohol debris would be common in the parking lot. And that homeless people would sleep on the porch. It was all true. That was my introduction to Fairview. But last Saturday I glimpsed a very different version of the neighborhood through the stories of smiling residents who love Fairview, faults and all.
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âBig Blueâ Fire Truck Departs Unalaska For St. George
A big blue fire truck is on its way from Unalaska to the Pribilof island of St. George. The truck has been ready to go for almost a year, but until now, the two communities had no way to move it. They found their solution in a crab boat.
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Commentary: Remembering America’s Veterans
The gate agent announced to the passengers waiting to board it was my last flight through Fairbanks. While reviewing the flight paperwork, a gentleman approached, wanting to shake my hand, and wish me well in the upcoming retirement.
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AK: Live TV
Outside room 119 at Juneau-Douglas High School, a sheet of paper taped to the wall says, âFOG MACHINE IN USE.â Itâs the Friday before Halloween, and the usually no-nonsense control room and JDTV News anchor desk is dressed with spider webs, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, black lights, and strobes.
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