KYUK in Bethel reports on the latest attempt to open a liquor store in the city:

The Brown Jug alcohol chain has a unique proposal to station a a sales rep and store front in Bethel in town, but the city council isn’t interested. By a 6-1 vote the council voted to preemptively protest their liquor license application. According to an opinion from the state’s Assistant Attorney General, John Novak, the basis for that protest is sound.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner describes the state's new net exchange program, and why one fisherman is skeptical that smaller net sizes will really lead to bigger kings on the Yukon:

FAIRBANKS — Like most commercial and subsistence fishermen on the Yukon River, Eagle resident Mike Sager will take advantage of a net exchange program meant to ease the impact of a new regulation requiring fishermen to use smaller gillnets.

Sager will trade in the webbing from his old 8-inch mesh gillnet for new 7 1/2-inch webbing, the largest size that will be allowed now.

Photo courtesy of Alaska SeaLife Center.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Here's two things I know about seals:

1.) They make good soup.
2.) They are world champs at cute.

Each of these facts makes it hard for me to enjoy the other.

Gouda here, named for the cheese, is the latest resident at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.

I'll let the SeaLife Center folks explain:

Gouda is a female harbor seal pup rescued in Seward this past weekend. The pup was first observed on Saturday, May 7th on the beach near the Seward boat harbor. When her mother had not returned on Sunday, May 8th ASLC staff rescued the stranded pup and brought her to the Center.

Every year there is a naming theme for Rehabilitation animals and this year's theme is wine and cheese. Gouda will be cared for until she can be released back into the wild.

When brought to the Center Gouda weighed 7.2 kilograms (15.9 lbs.) Gouda is fed five times a day with a milk matrix created specifically for harbor seals that contains all of the nutrients and calories she needs to grow. Gouda has also started to "swim" or splash around in a tote of slightly warm saltwater 2 times a day to slowly introduce her to swimming.

“Gouda is progressing well. She has transitioned nicely onto harbor seal formula and is steadily gaining weight,” says Brett Long, ASLC Husbandry Director.

Flooding at the village of Crooked Creek on the Kuskokwim River on May 9. Photo by the River Watch Team

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

The phones are out in Crooked Creek, where flooding this week destroyed homes and sent villagers running for higher ground. So I sent a note on Facebook to the school's lead teacher, Joanne Vanfleteren, asking how the people who stayed behind are doing.

Here's her reply today:

"Phones are still out, but the school is running a generator, so we can SKYPE people if necessary. There are still approx 60 people still in town.

"The village is divided into 3 sections. All are currently separated by the high water, so each section is isolated. There are about 20 folks staying back here at the school on high ground. The 'uptown' section is in worst shape and there are about 12 people over there. The last section is 'village' and there are about 30 people there. That section is high and dry, but cut off from the others.

"The flooding was quick. It must have risen several feet in an hour. Donlin Creek mine has been wonderful by sending their helicopter with supplies, gas, water, to each section. They also evacuated about 45 people to their camp 10 miles from here when we first flooded.

"Everyone is trying hard to keep their spirits up, but it's not easy to see all the devastation.

On reports that the ice jam may have broken:
"... (The) ice jam did not break, but the river ice moved very slowly for about 45 minutes, letting the water drop a little. Ice is not moving now and water is slowly coming back up.

"My best guess is that something must have shifted or melted. When the jam breaks the water will go out super fast.

"We have some folks sleeping in sleeping bags at the school and some at teacher housing with us. ... I have been part of this community for 8 years and raised my son here, so these are my friends as well as my students and their families. It just tears at my heartstrings to see them having to deal with all this.

"As far as help, we are receiving MREs, bottle water, fuel, and other much needed items. The support from outside Crooked is overwhelming and so fast! Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has been awesome. They are here 2 times per day arranging for anything we need. Just ask people to send their good thoughts our way."

-- Joanne Vanfleteren, lead teacher, Johnnie John Sr. School, Crooked Creek.

Photo courtesy of of Ruby Egrass: "Austin (Bro) W. was canoeing down the road in Red Devil during the flood yesterday. Waters rose to about 4 feet in the village. Flood water dropped too quickly before he could canoe home, and left him high and dry on the road."

CORDOVA - Two men signal a Coast Guard helicopter crew, alerted by the Alaska National Guard, to their need for rescue Sunday from the beach at Kayak Island southeast of Cordova. This is the second small plane crash the Coast Guard crew, forward deployed to Cordova from Air Station Kodiak, has responded to in less than a week. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Jon Bartel.

This today from the U.S. Coast Guard on a Super Cub that ran out of fuel and made a hard landing on Kayak Island:

CAMP DENALI — The U.S. Coast Guard successfully rescued two people Sunday after it received word from the 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) that a small plane had suffered a hard landing on Kayak Island, approximately 49 nautical miles southeast of Cordova.

Around 5 p.m. Alaska State Troopers contacted the RCC, manned by Alaska Air National Guardsmen, about an experimental Super Cub that was in distress on Kayak Island. The passengers on the plane had activated their SPOT personal locator beacon. The SPOT beacon has a 911 emergency feature that contacts the International Emergency Rescue Coordination Center, which then contacts local law enforcement when someone is in need of assistance. Troopers got word that the small plane had run out of gas and took a hard landing.

The RCC tasked the Coast Guard, which has assets staged in Cordova this time of year, to rescue the two people.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Are gasoline prices soaring in your town or village? Are they about to, as fuel barges arrive?

Sen. Mark Begich today is asking Alaskans to send photos of the price they're paying at the pump in order to "tell Alaska’s story to the rest of the country."

His team has put together an interactive map that shows pictures of the cost per gallon in villages across the state.

You can share the pics on Facebook or Twitter or by e-mailing gasprices@begich.senate.gov.

As of this morning, there are just a few photos: $8.60 in Anaktuvuk Pass, $5.50 in Tanana and $5.45 in Bethel.

From troopers:

Type: Third-degree Assault

On 4-25-11 at about 2 p.m., Alaska State Troopers in Bethel received a report that Kevin Nevak 23 yoa, of Toksook Bay had assaulted family members with a claw hammer. Kevin left his residence with a firearm looking for family members when he was confronted near the Toksook Bay School by school staff. Kevin discharged his firearm into the ground and returned to his residence. While the Alaska State Troopers were responding from Bethel Kevin left his residence again unarmed and was taken into custody by the Village Public Safety Officer.

NOTE: The headline in this post has been corrected to show that the confrontation was in Toksook Bay, not Quinhagak.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Earlier this year a pair of documentary filmmakers who travel from state to state shooting scenes of life within a single square mile turned their cameras on Barrow.

Here's the result. A series of short videos that hop from the Serbian musician who owns two pizza joints to old Arctic Grocery to the KBRW radio studios.

Some of the clips are downright melancholy, like this grocer who sounds bone-tired of being in the Barrow grocery game:

Others just introduce you to the local characters:

Find many more of the videos on the filmmakers'
Vimeo page.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

A maintenance worker for the Bethel-based Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corp. was killed yesterday in an electrical accident, says YKHC chief executive Gene Peltola.

Peltola referred all questions about the accident to the Bethel police department. An employee with the state labor standards and safety division was in Bethel today investigating the death, the division director says.

I'll update when I know more.

We're working on a story today about a trio of Glennallen residents who have been indicted by the feds for scheming to buy & sell walrus tusks and polar bear hides.

Prosecutors say two of the defendants bought 500 pounds of walrus tusks in Savoonga, which begs the question, still unanswered: Who sold them the animal parts?

Reporter Casey Grove was at the federal courthouse this morning, where prosecutors refused to talk about that part of the case.

Here's the initial story on our crime blog, which will be updated soon.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

A new documentary film about sexual abuse of Alaska Native children by Catholic church officials will screen 8 p.m. Thursday at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub.

Tickets are $7.

“The Silence” premiered earlier this month on PBS’s FRONTLINE. A panel discussion featuring the filmmakers, Alaska Native elders, a psychologist and others will follow tomorrow’s Spenard screening. (1230 West 27th Ave.)

“We’re beyond just making it OK (to talk about). We are at a point now where we can listen and we can come up with a plan of healing,” said Elsie Boudreau, a victims advocate who settled her claims involving Jesuit priest James Poole in 2005.

Boudreau appears in the half-hour documentary, which tells the story of boys and girls in St. Michael and other villages who were secretly abused by church workers and volunteers throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Told through fresh interviews with victims, the film culminates with a tense visit from Fairbanks Diocese Bishop Donald Kettler to St. Michael, where Kettler meets adults who were sexually abused by the church as children.

“The main response thus far from people that I’ve heard from in Alaska is ‘Thank God this is finally out there in a national level,” said producer Tom Curran, who was raised in Anchorage and created the documentary along with reporter Mark Trahant.

Audiences outside the state, many hearing the story for the first time, are shocked to learn the extent of the abuse in Alaska, he said.

The panel will be moderated by former KTUU reporter Megan Baldino. Read about the panelists here.

From Tommy Bayayok in Bethel --

Gladys Jung Elementary students in Bethel recreated this Yup'ik story as told by Maggie Lind using green screen technology. "How the Crane got it's Blue Eyes."

All photos by John Creed, journalism/arts & letters professor for the Chukchi College, a Kotzebue branch of the University of Alaska.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

The Kobuk 440, which caps the annual mushing season in Alaska, is off and running.

Be sure to follow the leaders online and check out these photos taken by John Creed at yesterday's start in Kotzebue.

Meantime, here's video of Hugh Neff talking pre-race about the contest and about Kotzebue Iditarod champion John Baker proving that a big man can win the big race. (It's toward the end of the clip.)

...

The Kobuk 440 sled dog race is about to start in Kotzebue. The field of 18 mushers includes four top-20 Iditarod finishers – Hugh Neff, Pete Kaiser, Ken Anderson and Robert Nelson -- and others competing for a top prize of $12,000.

You can listen to live coverage on KOTZ radio here. And track the mushers by GPS here.

Mush on!

A 51-year-old Grayling woman died while attempting to walk to the Yukon River village of Grayling after the snowmachine she was riding ran out of gas, troopers say.

The body of Linda Pflugh was found April 6 about five miles from the community of roughly 200 people. Pflugh had been traveling to the village from Anvik, which is about 18 miles away by plane.

A troopers report says Pflugh “succumbed to the weather conditions” as she walked between the villages. Her body was flown to Anchorage for an autopsy. Troopers say alcohol appeared to play a role in the incident.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

A 27-year-old Central man started three separate fires at two cabins in the small Interior town over the past month, troopers say.

Nathan E. Dewey faces three counts of second-degree arson and four counts of first-degree burglaries. All felonies.

No one was hurt, troopers say.

"There were only two cabins involved," Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in an e-mail. "The first incident we responded to on the 21st of March. The actual incident was approximately 10 days prior. The cabin was only damaged.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Check out this new clip from language arts students in the Norton Sound village of Elim:

The students, mainly 8th-graders, have been working on the song since January as a way to share a commonly used Inupiaq expression with a larger audience, said teacher Jonathan Crocker.

"It's already started to work," Crocker wrote in an e-mail. "I've found that Rick Holt (former Elim teacher and Iditarod musher) has shared the video on his blog and now kids in Colorado are starting to say 'alappaa' when it's cold outside."

The lyrics:

No, you'll never really know what's going on outside Unless call up a friend or let 'em stop by Gotta wait until 11 before it's light so you can have a snowball fight if you start to get cold, better go back in and have a cup of hot, hot chocolate When it's time to make a tunnel better make it big You've gotta dig, dig, dig, and dig Being in a tunnel is never a drag You can play hide and seek or a game of tag When you start to get tired of being underground You can jump off a box and onto a mound Or you can tie a rope to the front of your sled Then you take the other end and you tie it to your dog He runs really fast and you might fall off No, we don't say "it's cold," we say "Alappaa!"

You don't need a sled to go so fast
You just need to sit down and slide on your pants When the snow is soft we go too slow We'd better pack it down before we go The cliffs are the best place to go and slide The steeper the cliff, the better the ride You start at the top, look down the side Push yourself over and feel the glide If the cliffs weren't enough to get your fill Then maybe you should try to slide Elim Hill It's still very steep and a little bit bald The trees are pretty small but the hill is pretty tall The view from the top is pretty nice You can see the trees, the town, and the ice When we crash in the snow, it feels so soft No, we don't say "it's cold," we say "Alappaa!"

Elim is a village of about 330 people. It's about 1 degree outside today, Crocker said.

Want more Inupiaq-flavored hip-hop? That's rapper Allison Warden performing in front of the burled arch in Nome moments after John Baker won the Iditarod this year.

The students of Gusty Michael School in Stony River.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

There’s no grocery store in Stony River, an Athabascan and Yup’ik village of a few dozen people on the Kuskokwim River.