Alaska Dispatch News
Debate on end of life rights and decision-making
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- Debate on end of life rights and decision-making
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Alaska Dispatch News and the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolf Debate team presented a debate Monday, Jan. 11 at the Bear Tooth Theatre on right-to-die legislation and whether eligible patients with a terminal illness should be allowed to obtain a lethal prescription from their doctor.
The motion: “Alaska should allow terminally ill patients to end their lives with the assistance of a physician," was debated by two participants from each side of the argument.
On the pro side: Alaska Rep. Harriet Drummond, D-Anchorage, and Dr. John Mouracade, a UAA philosophy professor. On the con side: Dr. George L. Stewart, Alaska director for the American Academy of Medical Ethics, and Dr. Mary Lanza, an anesthesiologist at Providence Alaska Medical Center.
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- Sebastian Schnuelle on the comeback trail
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Despite being one of the sport’s more accomplished dog drivers during his best years, Schnuelle decided after the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race— in which he recorded his fourth-straight top-10 finish — that he was done. The racing grind had become too much. Despite about $178,000 in Iditarod earnings, his money was dwindling, his kennel talent was aging and his puppy prospects were dim.
He knew he would have had to start from scratch with breeding. So he cut the number of his “monsters,” as he lovingly calls them, in half and returned to his roots as a sled dog tour guide and mushing coach working in Juneau and Two Rivers. He needed to rebuild his retirement account and reclaim his sanity.
Watch this video to learn what Schnuelle has been doing in his life after Iditarod.
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- Motherlode Lodge in Hatcher Pass burns
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The historic Motherlode Lodge in Hatcher Pass was engulfed in flames Friday evening, and firefighters were letting the building burn because it was outside any fire service area.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1SBsLyV
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- Search for the Lost Whaling Fleets of the Western Arctic
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- NOAA archaeologists have discovered the battered hulls of two 1800s whaling ships nearly 144 years after they and 31 others sank off the Arctic coast of Alaska in one of the planet's most unexplored ocean regions. The shipwrecks, and parts of other ships, that were found are most likely the remains of 33 ships trapped by pack ice close to the Alaskan Arctic shore in September 1871.
Video via NOAA.
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- Iditarod dogs rest under the northern lights
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The northern lights put on a show for Iditarod mushers and their dogs as they rested in Huslia on Saturday morning, March 14, 2015.
Just 300 people live in the Koyukon Athabascan village, but for those lined up along the street leading to the Huslia dog yard and cheering in race leader Aaron Burmeister -- the first Iditarod racer ever to arrive in the mushing mecca of Huslia -- it felt a whole lot bigger.
“This is like winning the Iditarod,” Burmeister said of the enthusiastic crowd as he bedded down his dogs, surrounded by the hundreds of villagers that came out to watch him be first into the checkpoint.
Burmeister didn't just collect the official GCI Dorothy Page halfway award and the $3,000 worth of gold nuggets that come with it. He collected an unexpected surprise when the community offered up its own award for the first musher-- a pair of beaded beaver mitts, a beaded cross and a marten hat.
Burmeister, who collected th...
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- 'Fairbanks Four' raise money for Anchorage plane crash widow and family
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The men known as the Fairbanks Four — Kevin Pease, Marvin Roberts, George Frese and Eugene Vent (not pictured) — hosted a family fundraiser Monday for the Anchorage attorney whose husband was killed in a fiery plane crash last week in downtown Anchorage. The attorney, Kate Demarest, had represented the men for free during recent court hearings and negotiations that led to the release from prison of three of the four men (one had already served his term). Supporters of the men say they were wrongly convicted for the 1997 murder of John Hartman., in part over racism — all four were Native Americans. But in the formal settlement of the case, the four agreed their convictions were properly obtained, but that new evidence could result in a new trial. The original convictions were set aside.
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- Watch this if you get manicures or pedicures!
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Nail technician and state-licensed manicuring instructor Tammy Dupree uses four types of disinfectants to sanitize manicure and pedicure utensils.
The most common is barbicide. It is widely used in nail salons for disinfecting. But Dupree says barbicide by itself is not enough. She insists that people who get their nails done should ask if hospital-grade sanitizers and sterilization machines are used in the facility. She says such practices are necessary to prevent the spread of fungal infections, hepatitis C and tuberculosis -- just to name a few possible health issues. Before and after each use, Dupree disinfects the tub, jets and hoses of her pedicure spa with bleach.
“I’m afraid of ‘if’: If this person has a problem and they’re not saying anything because they want pretty feet,” she said, referring to fungal infections. “I’m going to make sure that (problem) doesn’t pass to another person.”
Dupree says she has worked as a n...
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- New Year's Eve fireworks display in Anchorage, Alaska
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Anchorage rang in the new year with music, fire performances, food trucks and a fireworks display above Town Square Park.
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- Small plane crashes in downtown Anchorage
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- A small plane crashed early Tuesday morning, Dec, 29, 2015, in downtown Anchorage, after hitting two buildings. The fire reached all the way across 4th. Ave. Video by Vince Maiorano.
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- 'Sandwich pub' opens in the old Woodshed space
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The “sandwich pub” moved to the building that previously housed the Woodshed Bar on Third Avenue last week and has big plans for the 7,000-square-foot space.
The upstairs will be a more family-friendly sandwich shop with the same menu of soups, sandwiches and juices as the old D Street location. But downstairs, owner Antoine McLeod and his wife, Brynn, have opened The Bar at Brown Bag, a full-service, late-night bar. The bar currently serves the same sandwich menu, but McLeod hopes to one day have a more distinct bar menu.
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- 600 Santas ski for free at Alyeska Resort
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Everyone knows how busy Santa is on Christmas Eve. But before he took off on his around-the-world sleigh ride, he stopped by Alyeska Resort to carve a few turns in the powder.
In reality, more than 600 skiers donned Santa suits, complete with red hat and white beard, and skied for free during Alyeska’s annual Santa Ski Free day. According to Alyeska Resort General Manager Di Whitney, the resort has been doing this since at least 1994, when she came to Girdwood to work as a lift operator.
As an added bonus for skiers and boarders, Christmas Eve marked the first day that the double-black-diamond Christmas Chute was open in two years, and the first time it has opened before Dec. 25 since 2009. The run is so named because traditionally it has opened in time for Christmas.
Alyeska is raving about what its website calls "fantastic" snow conditions on the mountain, reporting 204 inches total so far this season, with a current depth of 50 inches at the ...
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- How to make Spenard Roadhouse's holiday eggnog
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The Spenard Roadhouse in Anchorage is known for it’s annual Christmas eggnog. This year’s holiday cocktail features naughty and nice versions. Spenard Roadhouse assistant bar manager Orion Donicht shares the house recipe for you to create and enjoy in your own home.
Read the recipe on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/22r3ADA
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- Hawaiian holiday at the Dimond Center
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- The strings group, the Alaska Jumping Flea Society, performed Christmas music at the Dimond Center the afternoon of December 23, 2015. The Hawaiian word ‘ukulele’ roughly translates to ‘jumping flea’ in English. There are several Hawaiian stories associated with jumping fleas to explain how the ukulele got it’s name. One legend attributes the name to the movement of the player's fingers.The group plays each week at Guido's Pizza. They're always looking for new members of all levels of ukulele playing experience. Check their Facebook page for details.
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- Bean’s Café winter solstice candlelight vigil
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Tara Young / ADN Every winter solstice since 1988 Bean’s Café hosts a candlelight vigil to remember the homeless who have died in the past decade. Venita Tinker of Bethel Dec. 21, 2015 remembers the numerous friends and family she has lost over the years.
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- Sebastian Schnuelle's mushing dogs get a treat
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
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- Fighting holiday travel stress
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Anxiety brought on by air travel is real. Airports know it. Airlines know it. Air passengers certainly know it. And it's only heightened by the increase in flights and traffic around the holidays.
Ted Stevens International Airport has taken steps to mitigate this stress by bringing in special music and entertainment, and Alaska Airlines has a special weapon they use to calm and comfort their weary customers.
It’s an effort that is evident in December, but it also continues all year round. Passengers just need to know where to find it.
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- Freezin' for a reason: 2015 Polar Plunge
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- On Saturday, hundreds of Alaskans gathered once again to take part in the Polar Plunge, an annual fundraising exercise that sees costume-clad participants dive into the frigid waters of Goose Lake in Anchorage.
The event, which raises money for Special Olympics Alaska (more than $300,000 this year, according to Anchorage TV station KTVA), begins with a hole cut in the frozen top of the lake, and culminates with wave after wave of brave divers leaping into the icy waters, while spectators and supporters cheer them on.
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- Fairbanks 4 arriving at celebration
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Fairbanks 4 arriving at celebration.
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- Charlo Greene speaks at 1st High Times Business Summit in D.C.
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Alaska’s cannabis queen Charlo Greene took the stage at the first ever High Times Business Summit in Washington, DC, Wednesday looking as TV ready as ever.
And that’s no surprise. Greene - legal name Charlene Egbe-- is the Alaska television news reporter whose final signoff took the internet by storm when she revealed herself as the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, and - live on a Sunday night newscast -- declared, “F--- it, I quit.”
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- Gingerbread extravaganza!
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Each year around Christmas, Diane Schenker makes an elaborate gingerbread house. Schenker's houses aren't anything like the pre-built boxed kinds people can pick up at Costco. They're intricate and detailed, and usually based on her own designs. Her sister Lorraine O’Neal insists the structures “rival any Martha Stewart creation.”
In almost 30 years of building houses, she’s made enough structures to fill a Christmas village, including a greenhouse with a hard candy roof, downtown Anchorage’s Voyager Hotel and even her own Stuckagain Heights home with a giant black bear peeking through the window.
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- An Alaska homestead made for partying
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- DeVere Pieschl first visited the small community of Ferry, AK in the 1970s but it wasn’t until 1983 that he made it his own private party town.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1ItwdJJ
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- Charlie Brown Christmas Party in Anchorage, AK
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Residents of Anchorage, AK enjoyed the 6th annual Charlie Brown Christmas ice skating party Dec. 13, 2015 at the Westchester Lagoon in Anchorage, AK.
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- Chilkoot Charlie's hidden museum
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Look closely, and you’ll see Anchorage institution Chilkoot Charlie’s is less like a bar and more like a museum, albeit one that smells of spilled beer.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1tZJ7Re
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- Pack llamas in Alaska
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- For the last 31 years, Phil Nuechterlein and his wife have been leading pack llamas through Alaska’s state and national parks. But recently, that lifestyle was in jeopardy.
Read the full article on Alaska Dispatch News: http://j.mp/1Mf8Sr4
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- New Anchorage Museum holiday display
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Anchorage Museum staff spend nearly two weeks preparing a new "Winter Up Here" atrium display for the holidays in early December, 2015. Designed by Chad Taylor beginning in late summer, the cabin-themed environment replaces the traditional displays that now move to other parts of the museum. "We wanted something people could engage with," said Director and CEO Julie Decker. Visitors will be able to make decorations to add to stylized wooden trees. Log walls, trees, a simulated fireplace and other amenities transform the space. Over 100 film clips featuring northern scenes and life are projected continuously on hundreds of fiberglass strips suspended over the fountain and stairwell. The exhibit will remain in place through mid-January of 2016.
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- Video: All aboard for holiday cheer
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Every Saturday in December before Christmas, the Alaska Railroad ushers in the spirit of the season with round-trip rides from Anchorage to Indian on the Holiday Train. Joining the merry hundreds on board this year are holiday carolers, a magician, balloon twisters and, of course, Santa Claus. Additionally, the Alaska Railroad offers snacks, a coloring contest and door prizes. Unfortunately, the remaining four planned excursions are all sold out. If you didn't make the trip last weekend and you don't have tickets, perhaps this video of the season's first two tours will provide a glimpse of the experience. And it could serve as a preview for next year!
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- Paul Gebhardt discusses rerouting Iditarod 2015
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- February 10, 2015 - Paul Gebhardt discusses rerouting Iditarod 2015
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- Cat recovering after getting stuck in ice
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Cat recovering after getting stuck in ice
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- Paige Drobny and Scott Smith compete at the very end
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Paige Drobny was certain she had 26th place wrapped up in the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Her dogs had other ideas. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- After 30 Iditarods, DeeDee Jonrowe reflects on her career
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Her blistered, frostbitten fingertips covered in tape, the iron lady of Alaska sled dog racing collapsed into a snowbank early Thursday morning in Nome and let out a deep, satisfied sigh. “It really feels good to get off my feet,” said Willow’s DeeDee Jonrowe, who finished 31st after nearly 11 days on the Iditarod trail. With 30 Iditarod finishes behind her, perhaps the most beloved musher in the field had earned a break.
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- In Juneau, four lawmakers explain their bills
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- With just days left in the 2015 session of the Alaska Legislature, lawmakers are busy discussing and voting on dozens of bills. Four legislators from the Alaska House of Representatives explain bills that they’ve sponsored.
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- Palmer Bike Park
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Palmer Bike Park is tucked off the Old Glenn Highway at Matanuska River Park, located on a former overflow parking lot just north of a playground and broad grassy picnic area.
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- Bulldog retires from years of service as JBER squadron mascot
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Bulldog retires from years of service as JBER squadron mascot
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- Sockeye Fire aerial view
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- June 15, 2015 -- A wildfire that swallowed homes and prompted a 15-mile-long evacuation order Sunday in and around the Southcentral Alaska community of Willow spent Monday sitting mostly stagnant at about 6,500 acres, though it remained dynamic enough to keep emergency responders on the move.
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- Sled Dog Sanctuary
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- When a rescued animal arrives at the Sled Dog Sanctuary, Vinter’s 40-acre property south of Talkeetna, each dog is given a new name. That way, it's less likely the dog will be recognized in Alaska’s relatively small mushing community. With past names and associations washed away, Vinter focuses instead on giving the dog a fresh start. (Video by Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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- NTSB interview at Iliamna plane crash site
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- NTSB aviation accident investigator Millicent Hoidal speaks to the media while conducting an on-scene investigation at the Iliamna crash site of the de Havilland DHC-3T Turbine Otter that crashed during takeoff from East Wind Lake in the background on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. The floatplane crashed early Tuesday morning with a load of fishing guides and clients killing three people.
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- Great Alaska Schools legislative protest
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Musicians, from left, Suzanne Little, teacher Patty Hamre, Miles Allen, and BP Teacher of the Year Mary Schallert and Great Alaska Schools supporters gathered in an "emergency protest" near the Legislative Information Office in Anchorage on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, demanding that the legislature "stop fiddling around with the PFD and fund public education in Alaska."
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- Spartan Brigade Airborne Operations
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- More than 400 paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, jumped from U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft from JBER, Joint Base Lewis-McCord and Altus A.F.B., as well as an Alaska Air National Guard C-130, on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, at the Malamute Drop Zone on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The large-scale airborne operation coincides with the Spartan Brigade Command Post Exercise. Residents in and near JBER may hear loud noises from 105mm howitzer artillery, mortars and small-arms fire intermittently both day and night during the brigade-wide exercise which continues through March 26.
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- Alyeska Resort vertical feet skiers
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Gary Mashburn, red coat, and Tim Marks crank out runs on groomers at Alyeska Resort in Alaska on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Mashburn has recorded over 2.8 million vertical feet this season, the most of any skier, and Marks has the second most vertical feet at 2.1 million.
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- New Hope in the Last Frontier
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- New Hope on the Last Frontier reopened their food pantry on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2015, a month after a water pipe burst and flooded part of the pantry. Pastor Adam Ziegler, executive director, said the pantry has been serving the poor and needy in Anchorage for 14 years and about 250 clients come every week (Tuesday's 10:30 a.m. - 1p.m.) "to get the groceries they need."
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- 2015 Hide and Horn Auction
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Auctioneer Arnie Hrncir takes bids on caribou antlers during the State Hide and Horn Auction at the Anchorage Fur Rondy on Sunday, Mar. 1, 2015.
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- Alex Davis head-shaving for a cause
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Adah Davis, 7, reacts to watching her father Palmer farmer Alex Davis have his head and beard shaved by barber Scott Theis in The Mall at Sears on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, to commemorate the birthday of his infant son Gideon who died three years ago from a rare pediatric cancer. Davis will host a head-shaving fundraising event in the mall on April 15 to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation which raises money for childhood cancer research. Davis said, "every three minutes a child is diagnosed with pediatric cancer."
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- Spice in Anchorage
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Ride along with the Anchorage Fire Department to see the impact the synthetic drug Spice has on Alaska’s largest city.
On Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, multimedia journalist Scott Jensen rode with Anchorage Fire Department emergency medical services battalion chief Michael Crotty to get a first-hand look at the city’s Spice problem.
Since mid-July, the department has reported a major increase in suspected Spice-related emergencies.
In October, nearly one-fifth of all transports were thought to be Spice-related, draining resources from other emergency calls.
“There (are) lots of times that we will not have enough resources to go to a lot of different calls because we have so many tied up on the Spice users,” fire department dispatcher Andrea Hutzel said.
Adding to the stress of first responders is uncertainty around how a person on Spice will respond, Crotty said. Some users fight and struggle with medics; others are complet...
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- One man's positive outlook after spending years in prison
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Having served nearly two decades behind bars, Marvin Simpson said he is ready for serious life changes. At 44, he believes returning to a criminal life “on the streets” is out of the question.
“There’s a saying I heard: ‘The streets ain’t made for everybody. That’s why they make sidewalks.’ I’m on the sidewalk now. I bypass the streets,” Simpson said. “On the sidewalk I’m safe, but once I venture off that curb into the streets, that’s when it gets all bad for me. It’s like I’m brainwashing myself. I’m not, but I killed that old ‘Messy Marvin.’ That’s what they used to call me. I’m Marvin Simpson. Messy Marvin is dead and gone and he’s never coming back.”
Simpson moved to Alaska at 17 with his sister, her husband and their children. Things went well for a while. He got good jobs, he said.
He was 21 when he was first arrested for a serious crime, brandishing a gun. He spent time in prison for felony assaul...
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- The 33rd Athabascan Fiddle Festival evolves with a younger generation
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The 33rd Athabascan Fiddle Festival was held at the Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks, AK Nov. 11-14, 2015. When the festival began thirty-three years ago it was a mix of Athabascan musicians from across Interior Alaska, contributing different styles of fiddle music from their respective villages.
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- Life-sized statues invade the waters of Cook Inlet
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Volunteers shrugged off 7 inches of new snow and a stiff wind that made near-whiteout conditions on Point Woronzof Road to set up a sprawling outdoor art installation titled “100Stone.”
At 9 a.m. Saturday, three dozen people were busy with shovels and snowblowers clearing a path to the beach below the Point Woronzof Park parking lot, adjusting rebar stakes and setting up tripod hoists to lift dozens of human statues into position along the shore of Cook Inlet.
Conceived by Anchorage artist Sarah Davies, “100Stone” uses forms taken from body casts of people affected by mental illness over the past two years. Davies, who has suffered from acute depression herself, said she hoped the installation would lead viewers to a realization of how many people struggle with various forms of mental illness and perhaps provide a sense of release from the loneliness that sufferers often feel.
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- UAA Seawolves women's volleyball team has record turnout for matches
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- The Seawolves swept Western Oregon in three sets to win sole possession of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, end the regular season on an 11-match winning streak, send their seniors off with a Senior Night triumph and put themselves in good position to host the West Region playoffs.
UAA has been seeing record turnout for the Seawolves games, topping over 2,000 attendees a few weeks back.
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- East High student dances past her differences
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Taylor Haines has used a prosthetic leg since she learned to walk. Now she's a student leader on East Anchorage High School's proficient Dance Contempo company. Taylor and her family describe the challenge and impact her differences have had on her life.
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- Farmers of the sea
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- HALIBUT COVE, ALASKA — The shimmering surface of the briny water is, on some days, broken by the massive breach of humpback whales, releasing audible exhalations and glistening geysers of steam from their blowholes.
Other days, slate-colored seals slide through the salt after baitfish, and, on at least one occasion, they witnessed an orca gulping down an unobservant sea otter, not 300 feet from their skiff.
Rockwell and Vera Bates — 7 and 5 years old, respectively — have no idea that the 7-mile skiff ride they take to school is exceptional, even in Alaska. Nor is the mariculture life forged by their parents here.
“They were born into it, so it’s all they’ve ever known,” said their mother, Weatherly Bates, 33. She and husband, Greg, 34, are year-round commercial shellfish farmers in Kachemak Bay, providing oysters and mussels for local, state and nationwide distribution.
Read more: http://www.adn.com/article/20151027/farm...
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- Alaska Gov. Bill Walker introduces Walt Monegan
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Gov. Bill Walker announced former Anchorage police chief and former Alaska Public Safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, will take over as acting commissioner for the Department of Corrections on November 16, 2015.
