Hospital moves jobs Outside: Anchorage TV station KTUU is reporting that Providence Hospital will relocate 42 jobs outside of Alaska, mostly in billing. Those positions will move to Washington and Oregon, and the current employees have the chance to apply for them. Those employees were also given employment counseling, which included resume-writing guidance. Some billing phone calls from patients will also be sent out of state, starting at the end of May, when the 42 jobs are officially finished in Anchorage.
Spenard stabbing: Police are investigating a stabbing in Spenard, which could be drug-related they say. According to a police brief posted Saturday evening, police found a man, near the Longhouse Hotel, Friday at 8:34 p.m., with two stab wounds. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. APD said they were unable to find the suspect in the area, but are still investigating.
Aurora set to dance: Weather and daylight permitting, the northern lights will be putting on a show tonight, according to the NOAA Geomagnetic Forecast. The prime viewing time will be this evening and lights may be seen overhead across the state from Barrow, to Anchorage and Juneau, as well as on the horizon from King Salmon and Prince Rupert. If the conditions are right, it's possible to capture the beauty of the active aurora display. The location you chose to shoot from, the forecast, camera quality, the lens choice, shutter speed and exposure are all key factors to capturing the northern lights, but there's no need to go out without a few pointers.
Forecasters predicting early ice-out on most Alaska rivers: National Weather Service hydrologists predict an early break-up for most Alaska rivers this spring. At selected rivers throughout the state, ice thickness has ranged from 2 to 8 inches below normal for this time of year. Forecasters said the warm autumn of 2013, combined with a late freeze-up are contributing factors in the lower-than-average ice thickness this spring. Last year's break-up, by contrast, was exceedingly late on many rivers, including the Tanana River, home to the famous Nenana Ice Classic guessing game. That river went out at 2:41 p.m. on May 20 last year -- the latest since records began being kept in 1940. But don't bet the house on an early spring. Forecasting is an unpredictable business. "We are expecting to see (breakup around the state) a couple of days earlier," said National Weather Service senior hydrologist Ted Moran. "But who knows? That could change depending on what happens with the temperature."
Judge allows convicted murderer to have hair samples retested: An Alaska judge granted a Fairbanks man his request to have hair samples from a 1988 murder case retested using modern methods, KTUU reported. Michael Alexander, who has reportedly spent more than a quarter century in jail for the rape and murder of a West Valley High School student, hopes to have a nearly 200-year sentence exonerated following years of legal arguments between the state and the Alaska Innocence Project, an organization that works to set free Alaska inmates it believes were wrongly convicted. According to KTUU, a Federal Bureau of Investigation hair-and-fiber expert testified during Alexander's trial that two head hairs and a pubic hair found on the victim's body came from the defendant, though testing technology was still being developed at the time. State prosecutors also have said it could not be guaranteed the DNA evidence has been preserved enough to maintain the state's Department of Public Safety standards, and they argue other evidence presented in the case indicates Alexander's guilt.
KTOO and 360 North to tackle homelessness and housing in Alaska: KTOO and 360 North in Juneau are partnering with the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness as well as the Alaska Mental Trust Authority to spend the next year covering homelessness and affordable housing in Alaska. The project is funded through KTOO's Public Affairs Fund for Homelessness and Appropriate Affordable Housing, which includes funding from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. KTOO General Manager Tim Olson said the organization hopes to secure $100,000 to cover the cost of the project, which will include several town halls across Alaska, a dedicated reporting staff and full coverage of the 2014 Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness conference. KTOO will retain editorial control of the project, though stories and posts will be available to all public broadcasting stations in Alaska.