Alaska broadcasting pioneer Augie Hiebert passes away at 90

Thu, September 13, 2007

Alaska broadcasting pioneer Augie Hiebert died this morning in Anchorage. He was 90 years old. Hiebert started his Alaska broadcasting career in Fairbanks long before statehood. KTUU (Channel 2) general manager Al Bramstedt has known Hiebert all his life. He says Hiebert first came to Fairbanks in 1939 to build radio station KFAR and Bramstad’s father soon joined him there.

Lori Townsend, APRN - Anchorage

 
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Bill Allen takes the stand, admits to bribing legislators

Thu, September 13, 2007

Former VECO chairman Bill Allen faced cross examination today on his testimony that he bribed former state legislator Pete Kott.

Steve Heimel, APRN - Anchorage

 
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Defense cross turns combative; Allen admits evidence overwhelming

Thu, September 13, 2007

Bill Allen will face more cross examination from Pete Kott’s defense team tomorrow morning. While he started the afternoon with a relatively innocuous line of questioning, defense attorney Jim Wendt went on the attack later in the day, questioning Allen’s motives for pleading guilty and suggesting that he pled out to protect his family and employees. Allen denied that and said the reason was because he saw the evidence against him.

David Shurtleff, APRN - Anchorage

 
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Kivalina evacuates as Arctic storm threatens

Thu, September 13, 2007

The Northwest Arctic coast community of Kivalina is being buffeted by a fall storm. Enoch Adams, Jr. is the Kivalina project coordinator for the Northwest Arctic Borough. He says the storm is gaining in intensity. Adams says more than 200 of the community’s 380 residents have been evacuated to either Kotzebue or the Red Dog Mine facility.

Lori Townsend, APRN - Anchorage

 
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30 of 54 Alaska school districts making ‘Adequate Yearly Progress’

Thu, September 13, 2007

Alaska’s local school districts continue to make progress in meeting the federal No Child Left Behind standards. Thirty of the state’s 54 school districts this year showed Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the most recent round of student testing. Les Morse, Director of Assessment, Accountability and Information Management for the Department of Education says the districts were evaluated on 31 different categories that distinguish ethnicity, family income, student disability and limited English ability. He says a high percentage of students in each category must pass the reading and math examinations and must graduate.

Dave Donaldson, APRN - Juneau

 
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Ninth Circuit definitively shuts down fall drilling plans for Shell

Thu, September 13, 2007

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today denied Shell Offshore’s request to reconsider a ban on oil exploration in Alaska’s Beaufort sea. The suit against the exploration plan had been brought by the North Slope Borough and several conservation groups.

Lori Townsend, APRN - Anchorage

 
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New record high oil price based on shortage speculation

Thu, September 13, 2007

Crude oil closed above $80/barrel for the first time today – with West Texas Crude ending up at $80.09 on New York markets. Oil from Alaska’s North Slope didn’t quite reach the same benchmark prices. The Department of Revenue reports it closed at $79.59. Department of Revenue Economist Michael Williams says the current high prices are based on an anticipation of a shortage of supply for U.S. markets. Hurricane Humberto made landfall early this morning along the Texas-Louisiana coastline, shutting down three refineries.

Dave Donaldson, APRN - Juneau

 
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Mauricio Escobar: An Immigrant’s Journey, Part 2

Thu, September 13, 2007

This week, we’re looking at the life of Mauricio Escobar, who grew up in war torn El Salvador and is now working for the National Park Service in Skagway.

John Hunt, KHNS - Haines

 
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Alaska News Nightly: September 13, 2007

Thu, September 13, 2007

An Alaska broadcasting pioneer — Augie Hebert — died today in Anchorage and we remember his remarkable radio and TV career that started long before statehood. Meanwhile Bill Allen takes the stand in the Pete Kott corruption trial, revealing details of the alleged bribery dealings amongst the former VECO chairman and several Alaska legislators — including Ben Stevens. Those stories and more on tonight’s Alaska News Nightly, broadcast statewide on APRN stations.

Individual news stories are posted in the Alaska News category and you can subscribe to APRN’s news feeds via e-mail, podcast and RSS.

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Allen testimony may spell trouble for Ben Stevens

Thu, September 13, 2007

Former VECO Chairman Bill Allen returned to the stand this morning in the Pete Kott corruption trial in Anchorage. And he provided some damaging testimony against the defendant, as well as against former Mat-Su representative Vic Kohring and former State Senate President Ben Stevens.

When asked who he had bribed, Allen named all three of the former legislators.  While Kohring has also been indicted, Stevens has not. While Stevens is widely known to be implicated, this is the first time his name has appeared in public legal proceedings.

Allen also testified that his original plea deal would have resulted in a 20-year sentence. But now he believes his lawyer has been able to get his sentence down to 11 years.

Get more news tonight on Alaska News Nightly on APRN stations statewide.

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