Termination dust hits the Chugach Mountains: There's no way around it -- winter is coming to Anchorage, the largest city in the largest state. Snow was visible in the Chugach Mountains rimming the town Thursday morning, the result of below-freezing temperatures overnight. The National Weather Service reports those freezing temperatures are expected continue through the weekend, though no snowfall is expected below the 3,000-foot level. According to the weather service, the earliest measurable snowfall in the Anchorage lowlands occurred on Sept. 20, 1947. The average first snowfall is Oct. 16.
Beaten 18-year-old identified: In an effort to identify his attacker, Anchorage police have released the name of an 18-year-old found beaten Monday night in the basement of a small house owned by Covenant House, the shelter for homeless youth, and set for demolition Thursday. 
City police found the battered teenager, James Clinton, unconscious late Monday in the basement of the small house at 807 Barrow Street after someone pushed an anonymous note under the door at the University of Alaska Anchorage Police Department, police said. Medics took Clinton to a hospital, where he was still listed in critical condition as of Wednesday. Police described the house as abandoned and said officers had not responded to the address this year. The property is owned by Covenant House and was to be demolished Thursday. "Detectives have gathered the evidence they need from the building, therefore the demolition will continue as planned," police spokeswoman Anita Shell said. Anyone who knows Clinton, who went by nicknames and hung out downtown, is asked to call police at 786-8900.