(Teen) Underground Filmmakers
Today we take a look inside Teen Underground, a place for teenagers meet at the Loussac library to work on creative projects.
The first kids I meet are Alexis and Patricia. They’re best friends, and they inform me that when they first came to Teen Underground they just knew they were going to hate it.
The Bird House: A Bar History
Although Fairbanks had the Malemute Saloon, Juneau had the Red Dog Saloon and even little Homer had the Salty Dawg Saloon, Anchorage had no bar with an authentic Alaskan theme.
In 1967, some high school friends and I bought the Bird House Bar, a funky Alaskan themed bar on the Seward Highway.
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Governor Parnell Signs Energy Bills
Governor Sean Parnell signed into law Tuesday two bills that he says will have a huge impact on young Alaskans and on Alaskans of the future. SB 21, the hard fought oil tax reform bill, and HB 4, a bill authorizing an in - state gasline, were created to increase oil production in the state and to give Alaskan's access to the state's natural gas resource.
Opponents of Oil Tax Reform Say They’ll Keep Fighting
Protesters and petition gatherers lobbied outside Anchorage's Denaina Center while Governor Sean Parnell was inside signing SB 21, the state's oil tax reform legislation. Opponents of the bill are seeking petitions to get a referendum on the 2014 state election ballot.
Girl Scout Camp Builds Character
There's no question, camp is fun.
But, for girls who attend Girl Scout camp in Alaska, there's also important work happening – the work of character development. 
Time for a Big Picture Break
Alaska Public Library Director Mary Jo Torgenson just released the 2012 report for the library.
This document is a great reminder of the importance of stepping back and looking at the big picture. Though filled with numbers, the overall arc of the report emphasizes why the library does what it is doing.
Read more. 
Think, Work & Play at Anchorage Community Works
Anchorage Community Works is a concert venue, art studio, shared classroom and collaborative workspace that is opening in Anchorage this summer.
With a mission to provide a community center for local creatives and small business owners, “The Works” will connect and collaborate with locals who care about art, music, culture, learning, politics, and health.
Learn more. Kulluk Hearing Sheds Light on Fuel Problem
The US Coast Guard Thursday continued it's probe of what went wrong when a Shell drill rig beached near Kodiak Island last December. This morning, the chief engineer of the tug Aiviq which had been towing the drilling barge Kulluk before it broke away, told a story of failed fuel injectors, while raising unanswered questions about suspected fuel contamination.
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Oil Tax Revision Signed Into Law; And APU Announces Dramatic Tuition Cut
Governor Sean Parnell signs the oil tax revision into law. Anchorage’s public testimony ordinance gets shelved. Former Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller is ordered to pay $85,000 to the Alaska Dispatch for legal fees. Alaska Pacific University announces a dramatic cut in tuition.
KSKA: Friday, 5/24 at 2:00pm & Saturday, 5/25 at 6:00pm
TV: Friday, 5/24 at 7:30pm & Saturday, 5/25 at 5:00pm
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AK: Girls On The Run
To a lot of us, running seems like work, or at least exercise. But for a group of girls in Sitka, running is actually pretty fun. They’re part of an after-school program that combines running with learning important life lessons. It’s encouraged one fifth-grader to dream about her future.
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Riding the Singletrack at Kincaid Park
Today we’re biking in Kincaid Park. The mountain bike trails, known as singletrack, are one of the park’s most popular features, and draw all kinds of riders.
Diana Maioriello is here today with her family, who range from age 12 to about 50. They’re all avid bikers, and today they’ll be trying out the single track for the first time.
Teri Rofkar Named 2013 Rasmuson Distinguished Artist
Sitka basket and textile weaver Teri Rofkar has been named the 2013 Rasmuson Distinguished Artist.
The $40,000 award recognizes an artist with stature and a history of creative excellence.
Learn more.
Veteran Spotlight: Jim VanOss
Jim VanOss is a U.S. Army Veteran, drafted during the Vietnam War who served as a military police officer and an embassy guard in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.
During his Veteran Spotlight interview, VanOss recalls being 20-years-old when he was drafted into the Army after failing a college class.
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Miracle Months of Summer
Karen Nickoli is a playful 10-year-old from Russian Mission, a small Yup’ik village near Bethel. She woke up with a fever one day and found out she had cancer the next.
Providence houses the only children’s hospital in the state so Karen would be staying in Anchorage for her care. Scared and far from home, Karen and her mom could hardly wait for the rest of their family to join them.
Learn more. 
Discover Yourself at Clark James Mishler’s Portrait Alaska Exhibition
On a May afternoon while our spring blizzard was slowly melting, I sat in the atrium of the Anchorage Museum eating my sandwich and looking.
I was looking up and around at Clark James Mishler’s portraits of Alaskans. Old, young, tattooed, the local famous and infamous, were all staring down at me and I returned their piercing glances.
More. Wood Bison Spurs Species Debate
Are Wood bison and Plains bison two different subspecies, or are they the same subspecies? That's a question that is raising some questions of it's own, now that a University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher has co-authored a paper that could affect the threatened designation of Alaska's Wood Bison.
Flooding Continues Throughout Alaska; And Kulluk Testimony Wraps Up
Flooding continues throughout Alaska. A suspect in an Anchorage double homicide and sexual assault has a significant criminal history and is a registered sex offender. The Coast Guard wraps up testimony in its probe into the grounding of the Kulluk.
KSKA: Friday, 5/31 at 2:00pm & Saturday, 6/1 at 6:00pm
TV: Friday, 5/31 at 7:30pm & Saturday, 6/1 at 5:00pm
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AK: Making Music
In a small white house at the end of gravel road near Anchor Point, Ray DeMeo has been making instruments in an attached workshop for nearly a decade. He carefully crafts violins, violas and mandolins, mostly from local wood, some of it found in his own backyard.
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Bringing Arts and Culture to Ship Creek
The Ship Creek area is mostly known for its fish and trains, but this group is hoping they can expand that.
Anchorage Community Works was founded by four friends who decided to renovate an old warehouse off Ship Creek Road for their building. The plan is for the building to be a shared workspace for local artists.
Alaska Cultural Connections: Adoption
As part of an on-going series on Alaska’s cultural connections, we’re taking A Closer Look at cross-cultural adoption. Last winter, Anchorage resident Sarah Gonzales and her husband adopted a beautiful healthy baby boy; they met him when he was one day old at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She shares her thoughts about how to integrate his birth culture in their family life.
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