Two hikers rescued from O'Malley Peak trail in separate weekend incidents: Two hikers were rescued from the same Chugach State Park trail in separate incidents over the Labor Day weekend, Alaska State Troopers said in an online dispatch. On Saturday, a woman hiking the O'Malley Peak trail called troopers at about 5:30 p.m. after falling and injuring her ankle. Chugach State Park rangers and a trooper from Girdwood hiked in on foot and met the woman, identified as Brittany Crutchfield, 25, of Anchorage, about a mile from the Glen Alps trailhead. Back at the parking lot, she "stated she'd make her own arrangements for medical attention." On Sunday at about 12:30 p.m. a woman hiking near O'Malley Peak called troopers to say she was stuck on a ledge. Troopers flew members of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group by helicopter to the ledge, where they "conducted a technical rescue of the female," identified as Stacy Skan, 41, of Anchorage. Skan was uninjured, according to troopers. She was dropped off at the Glen Alps trailhead.
New York Times nibbles on Alaska's growing locavore credentials: The New York Times has discovered Alaska's burgeoning local food scene. In an article published Sunday, the Times visits a Fairbanks farmers' market that doles out scallops served on locally-made chips with minted pea puree and describes farmers' efforts to make the best of a "compressed and frenzied" summer growing season. The story looks at the growth of incentive programs meant to put local produce in school lunches and the kitchens of food stamp users while giving farmers a steady market for their products. One fact worth chewing on: According to the article, "Alaska is now 16th in the nation -- up 11 spots in the last two years -- in the 'Locavore Index' created by a Vermont-based local-food advocacy group." Still, the story notes, Alaska imports about 95 percent of its food.