Alaska News

Alaska State Troopers say a human skull was discovered on a beach near Toksook Bay this past September.

The skull has been examined by archaeologist, Steven Street, with the Association of Village Council Presidents.

Street determined it could be from one of the nearby ancient gravesites in the old village of Umkumiute .

Troopers say a Toksook Bay Priest buried the skull on Tuesday.

Toksook Bay is one of three villages on Nelson Island along the Bering Sea.

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A resident of Snowshoe Lane describes the previous development plans for the Rabbit Creek Community Church. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage

A group of home owners in the Rabbit Creek neighborhood are concerned that non-residential development could drain their water supply. They say it could happen in many neighborhoods on the Hillside and are suggesting an amendment to Title 21, Anchorage land-use law as a preventative measure. Members of the Anchorage Assembly are in the final stages of a 10-year review of Title 21, which has been in the news for addressing issues like sidewalks, landscaping and stream setbacks. But the Rabbit Creek residents say, if it goes through without addressing water issues, the municipality could face problems down the road.

Beth Glottfelty holds one of her chickens inside a refurbished conex used as a coop. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage

Beth Glottfelty, her husband and three kids moved to the Rabbit Creek area in 2005, largely because they believed it was the perfect place to raise kids and chickens.

The chickens live in a refurbished conex container beside Glottfelty’s 1952 homesteader log cabin on the lower hillside. There’s lots of open space. On a clear day she can see all the way across Turnagain Arm to Hope.

“We love living in this area because of the rural aspect. We are on large lots, 2.5 acres in general. And we have a wonderful view and wonderful neighbors and it’s very remote yet close to Anchorage for all the amenities that Anchorage provides,” Glottfelty said.

In December of 2011, just before Christmas, something happened that got her concerned about her water.

“I was home with my kids. They were on Christmas break. And I went to turn on the faucet in the morning to get things ready for breakfast and air came out of the faucet,” Glottfelty said.

Dane Havard stands in the sanctuary of the Rabbit Creek Community Church. The church has been been trying to expand since 2004, but recently decided not to go ahead with the plans because of the water dispute with nearby residents. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage.

The water started flowing normally again after a few days. But after asking around the neighborhood, Glottfelty found out that many of her neighbors, connected to the same aquifer as a nearby church well had similar problems that day – in all, six wells were drained, she says, and one went permanently dry.

“That is when we banded together as a neighborhood to figure out what exactly had happened. And the more we found out the more frightened we got and the more we needed to probe and prod and request protection from the city,” she said.

The church ran a ‘drawdown’ water test that day in December because they were planning an expansion. They ran the water at 5 gallons a minute for 24 hours. The church has since dropped the idea of expanding. But as a result of their experience, Glottfelty and her neighbors have requested an amendment to Anchorage’s title 21 land-use law, protecting residential neighborhoods from large non-residential establishments that could harm their water supply.

Dane Havard is a Pastor at Rabbit Creek Community Church. Havard says they have tried to expand three times since 2004. Each time the neighbors appealed their applications to build. He admits, he also is concerned about the Hillside’s water supply – and not just for non-residential development.

The Rabbit Creek Community Church sits on the corner of Rabbit Creek Road and Snowshoe Lane. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage

“I do understand what their question is about. I don’t think it’s really about a particular type of use. I think the claim was that the kind of use that we had in mind would somehow have had a greater impact than residential use. And if the city or the state continues to allow residential development, the same issues are there,” Havard said.

Nancy Pease with the Rabbit Creek Community Council says that is a real concern.

“It’s anecdotal, but we do hear about people who have had to drill a second well. Or, in the case of my next door neighbor, had to use some sort of hydro fracking to enlarge the little seems that feed his well which is in bedrock. And I believe there is at least one subdivision, the Southpark subdivision, and they tapped into the city water supply when their community well wasn’t adequate,” Pease said.

Beth Glottfelty and her neighbor, Susanne Comellas, with boxes of documents they have collected regarding the water issues in their neighborhood. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage

Pease says the Hillside has some of the largest tracks of undeveloped land in the municipality, yet there has not been much mapping of the aquifers. And there are places where the water table is very low or is accessed through only through small seems in the bedrock, she says. Pease worries that could spell trouble without some protections for residents in Anchorage land-use law.

“And in these areas, there may not be enough water to build out to the full density that it’s zoned for. And their certainly may not be enough water to support more intensive uses such as school’s or group living or churches the kinds of uses that take a lot more water, at least periodically than a single residential home,” Pease said.

But Assembly member Debbie Ossiander, who chairs the Title 21 committee says the amendment is unlikely be included. She says she forwarded the request for an amendment to a municipal board that handles water and waste water issues but they have not gotten back to her. She wants the board to send her wording for the new code.

Ossiander says Friday is the deadline for all amendments to Title 21 to be turned in to the Assembly. The Assembly will take their final vote on Title 21 Feb. 26.

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The second running of the Paul Johnson Memorial Norton Sound 450 Sled Dog Race began Wednesday at noon. The race follows the historic portage trail from Unalakleet to Kaltag and back and continues on to the finish line in Nome.

Last year – during the inaugural running of the race, the top five teams got stuck in the middle of Norton Bay when they encountered ice ridges that they could not maneuver around. But trail conditions look much better this year.

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Yukon Quest race officials have extended the mandatory 36 hour layover in Dawson City by four hours. It’s the second major change to this year’s race.

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The summer cruise ship season is like Christmas for a lot of coastal retailers, and they depend on the tourist income to stay open. But because the stakes are high, business has the potential to get dirty. For the first time, the State of Alaska is cracking down on third-party contractors that are allegedly treating local stores unfairly.

It’s a winter afternoon, and the Mt. Juneau Trading Post is quiet. Four carvers are up in the loft area working on masks, and the only other person in the store is at the cash register. But in the summertime, tourists pack the store to buy bentwood boxes, drums, and soapstone figurines.

Jack Tripp is the owner, and it’s a point of pride for him that the trading post doesn’t need to advertise with cruise ships to get their business.

”The store’s been there for 45 years, so it’s kind of a downtown institution and it’s the Native trading post in town,” Tripp said.

But Tripp says that in the past, he’s been approached by cruise ship advertisers to see if the trading post wants to be part of their onboard shopping program. In exchange for a fee or a percentage cut of his sales, these third-party companies would advertise his business in store guides and in maps for passengers. They would also have their onboard representative – or “port lecturer,” in industry speak – promote his store directly to passengers.

”If you pay money, they’ll pitch your business in a favorable light and steer customers your way,” Tripp said.

I visited six stores in downtown Juneau, and Tripp was the only person who would speak about port lecturers on tape. But the other store owners and employees still had plenty to say. A couple talked about the exorbitant fees they charged, running into the tens of thousands of dollars. One person described it as a kickback scheme. Others alleged that the port lecturers had a reputation for saying bad things about stores that didn’t play ball with them. And a few explicitly stated that the reason they didn’t want to talk on tape was because they didn’t want these companies to blackball them, since so much of their business is dependent on tourism.

Tripp, on the other hand, says he doesn’t fault the cruise ships or even the advertising companies for a situation “run amok.” As an established business, he says he’s never felt real pressure to buy into the arrangement.

”But I could see if you were a more marginal store or if you were highly competitive — like if you sell t-shirts or jewelry where there are many, many options — it could be a very favorable tool to have the port lecturer talk about your store,” Tripp said.

The darker side of the port lecturer operations recently caught the attention of the state. On Monday, the Department of Law and the three Florida-based advertising groups that put port lecturers on board cruise ships reached a settlement over unfair business practices.

The agreement serves more as a warning than anything else, and it doesn’t include any admission of wrongdoing from Onboard Media, the Royal Media Group, or the PPI Group. But it does require them to pay over $200,000 for future enforcement of the state’s consumer protection act.

Ed Sniffen is an assistant attorney general, and he says the agreement also creates mechanisms for monitoring the companies’ activity. Their port lecturers are now required to make video or audio recording of their shopping presentations, and the Department of Law has the authority to request and analyze those tapes if they suspect the contractors are lying to consumers about which stores have the best deals or have warranties on their items.

“The big penalties will come down the road if we find out there are violations, and if that’s the case and we become aware of them there are penalties of up to $50,000 that we can assess,” Sniffen said.

The settlement also lays out what qualifies as disparagement of businesses that don’t participate in the cruise line shopping program. Port lecturers aren’t allowed to suggest that stores that aren’t part of their shopping program are “risky or unsafe,” and they can’t actively discourage passengers from visiting those stores.

The state is also giving port lecturers a script to read about how they pick which stores to mention at the start of every shopping presentation.

That’s to make sure: “They aren’t misleading and that they’re not deceptive and that there’s full disclosure that these stores have actually paid to be featured in these programs, and some of them pay big commissions to the port lecturers and these shopping ambassadors that are giving these presentations on board the cruise ships,” he said.

Sniffen adds that the companies will also have to file two reports over the next cruise season on their efforts to comply with consumer protection law.

Onboard Media, the Royal Media Group, and the PPI group did not respond to requests for comment.

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A Palmer man faces multiple charges for a wild incident last month on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. Kyle Hansen, 25, is charged with illegally entering a military base, destroying government property and assault. On Jan. 19, a federal complaint says, Hansen rammed the gate of the base and after trying to get out another gate, was chased all the way back across the base and out the same gate he came in. A law enforcement officer was assaulted and the officer’s vehicle was damaged while trying to block Hansen’s pickup.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came out against a controversial proposed road through the Izembek National Wildlife refuge today. Residents of the Aleutian community of King Cove are disappointed, but as KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce reports, they’re not giving up on the project.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to issue a final report this year on the impacts of large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay region. That’s according to regional director Dennis McLerran.

EPA last year released a draft watershed assessment, which underwent peer review. Some panelists raised concerns about things like missing data and incomplete information. EPA announced in November that it would address the concerns raised by the panel, first with a revised draft.

McLerran, in prepared remarks to the Alaska Forum on the Environment, says the agency is arranging to have the original experts review the revised assessment and evaluate whether it is responsive to their comments. EPA plans to release the draft to the public for comment concurrently.

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A new report from an oil and gas trade association is predicting a windfall for Alaska if the government opened federally owned lands and water to drilling.

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Two identical bills in the state house and Senate seek the creation of a state fund to supplement toll revenue shortfalls related to the Knik Arm Bridge in the initial years after the bridge is constructed.  That is, if the bridge linking Wasilla and Anchorage ever becomes reality.  There are still serious concerns about the cost of the bridge.

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The first two teams have arrived at the half-way point along the Yukon Quest trail.  Hugh Neff came in first.  He’ll win 4 ounces of gold if he makes it all the way to Fairbanks. Allen Moore’s team came trotting into the checkpoint chute two hours later. Neff maintains that’s Moore’s is the team to beat.

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Several earthquakes have shaken up Southeast Alaska since last fall.  KSTK’s Shady Grove Oliver spoke with an earthquake physicist about why these latest quakes are of particular interest to scientists.

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People packed the Anchorage Education Center Monday night to testify against budget cuts. Photo By Daysha Eaton, KSKA

The Anchorage School Board passed their preliminary 2013-2014 budget Monday (2/4) night after hearing testimony from the public.

The public packed the Anchorage Education Center to testify about proposed cuts to support staff at the Anchorage School District. Many testified that school counselors should not be cut.

“Since Christmas the Anchorage School district has has three student suicides. My job is to intervene and its a critical role in student safety. The argument will be made that these crises can be handled through community resources. Unfortunately crises cannot be scheduled and this is is very unrealistic,” Tracie Ashman, a counselor at Dimond High who works with many special education students, said.

Kim Duke has worked as a counselor at ASD Elementary Schools for six years. She says counselors are needed, even for the youngest students.

“They have parents divorcing, family in jail. They have been emotionally, physically and sexually abused by those they should be able to trust. They have lost parents to illness, accidents, illness, suicide and crime. Sometimes they consider harming themselves. Interviewing elementary students for a suicide risk assessment is a sobering experience. Some as young as 5 have told others that they wish they were dead. Others have considered using kitchen knives to stab themselves. These are both situations that I have dealt with this year,” Duke said.

Students also testified. Ebony Brown, a senior at Service High School said high school counselors should not be cut because of the critical role they play.

“If you’re gonna make budget cuts, don’t cut counselors. They’re like the mom’s of high school. They have the soothing words. They can calm people down and they can take charge like a mother would. And their little Lion cubs, they want to see them succeed and progress in the educational world,” Brown said.

Emily McKenzie who is the IGNITE gifted program at Baxter Elementary said she was worried about cuts to the program which has become so important to her learning.

“At IGNITE we get to learn a bunch of things that we don’t get to learn in our normal classes like I got to go to the Body World Exhibit and do a unit on the brain, which I didn’t get to do in my normal classes. And Ignite shows kids different ways of thinking from different kids at different schools and if we stop bussing and cut things in IGNITE then kids wouldn’t have that opportunity,” McKenzie said.

Susie Whitehead is a school nurse at Dimond High School. She testified in support of nurse’s aides.

“Why we need nurse aides, number one: documentation. Without thorough and complete documentation ASD is more vulnerable to lawsuits. The Nurse Aide documents every student who walks through the nurse office door. This allows the school nurse to spend more time thoroughly documenting the students for whom he or she has to provide significant intervention. In a word it’s a liability issue. Eliminating nurse aides exposed the district to increased risks, not to mention bad outcomes for students,” Whitehead said.

Jessica Stern is a teacher at the newcomer’s center. She said she is concerned about cuts to English Language Learner Counselors, especially where she works.

“In our situation at the Newcomer’s Center, we have a counselor whose official duties are counselor and teacher in charge. We have no designated principal and our director is off site. Without having a counselor at the Newcomer’s Center basically you’re a ship without a captain. And I would not be able to teach from when the bell rings to when it stops if I don’t have a counselor their to support me,” Stern said.

Liane Minster spoke in support of Career Resource Counselors.

“The quest for information about colleges, financial aide, scholarships – it’s overwhelming. The CRC staff is as much a resource to the parent as the student. I’m going through this daunting task myself with a senior and I realize the value of these resources in the CRC. It is a full-time job and it directly impact the opportunities our graduates will have for post-secondary education. And may I remind you that when our kids lose, we all lose,” Minster said.

Dale Miller spoke out against cuts to the ASD warehouse and maintenance departments, where works.

“Cuts to preventive maintenance only increases cost down the road. If we’re looking to the taxpayer when we bond for major maintenance we ought to at least be showing them that we’re being responsible and that we’re going to maintain the investment up front,” Miller said.

In all, nearly 50 people testified. The School Board passed the preliminary budget 6-1, with Tam Agosti Geisler the only nay vote. School Board members tasked the Superintendent and his staff with answering a dozen or so questions they had about the budget within the next few days. School Board President Jeannie Mackie said, despite the impassioned testimony of so many, that she did not expect to make many amendments to the budget. The School Board will take their final vote on the the budget on February 21st.

• Anchorage School Board

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Senator Mark Begich is introducing a bill that would grant the state a share of revenues from offshore drilling.

The concept is nothing new. The Alaska delegation has long sought the chance to reap royalty payments from oil producers drilling off Alaska’s shore.

Senator Begich’s bill would grant the state 37.5 percent of the royalty bids. Right now, the federal government collects the entire sum.

He says the state needs to be rewarded for assuming some of the liability.

“We know already after this first season, season and a half of exploratory drilling in the Arctic, there is impact,” Begich said. “Housing costs have gone up, water and sewer is reaching capacity in some of the communities along the coast because there are so many new people there.”

“There’s a lot of impact, and we get not one penny from outer continental shelf development.”

Of the money the state would collect, 40 percent would go to the state, 25 percent to local governments, another quarter to Alaska Native corporations and 10 percent directly to tribes.

The numbers vary from past revenue sharing bills, but Senator Begich says he’s willing to change numbers to assure the delegation presents one plan.

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The Air Force is beginning a series of public meetings on its proposal to move an F-16 squadron from Eielson Air Force base in North Pole to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage.  Meetings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Anchorage and Palmer, and in Fairbanks and North Pole Wednesday and Thursday. Fairbanks is rallying to protect the local Air Force installation from downsizing.

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An explosion rocked a Fairbanks neighborhood over the weekend.  Alaska State Troopers say the blast occurred on a makeshift shooting range on private property in the Chena Ridge area Saturday afternoon. Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says no injuries were reported, but there was damage to area homes.

Troopers say at least a dozen residences were affected by the explosion, with at least half reporting structural damage, including blown out windows and soffit vents. Troopers are being assisted in the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

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Hugh Neff is leading the Yukon Quest. He left the Stepping Stone hospitality checkpoint at 9:47 this morning. Two Rivers musher Allen Moore followed at 11:25. Brent Sass, Jake Berkowitz and Scott Smith round out the top five.

Over the weekend, the trail was shortened by 50 miles to eliminate the climb over American Summit, which is too icy, according to Race Marshall Dough Grilliot.

Teams still have more than 600 miles to travel before they get there though. And as KUAC’s Emily Schwing reports, the competition will be stiff along the way.

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Arguments will be heard this week in federal District Court in Anchorage regarding wetlands permits for the Port MacKenzie rail spur. The environmental group Cook Inletkeeper has filed suit in an attempt to block the link between the port and Houston. The Matanuska Susitna Borough is behind the rail spur project, although the Federal Surface Transportation Board must approve it.

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The Northern fur seals that breed on the Pribilof Islands have been on the decline for decades, a smaller colony just 200 miles away is thriving. A new study of these colonies is challenging scientists’ assumptions about what marine animals need from their environment — and how they get it.

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An environmental research program with a long history of working in Alaska is breaking new ground by partnering with state universities to find out why an area in the Chukchi Sea is so biologically productive.

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