Alaska Dispatch's Best of the Week: Aug. 12-18 | Alaska Dispatch

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Alaska Dispatch

Alaska Dispatch's Best of the Week: Aug. 12-18

Alaska Dispatch staff

August 18, 2012

A look at some of the biggest news in Alaska for the week of Aug. 12-18, 2012.

1 Hallmark Valley feud under way in Mat-Su GOP Senate primary
Family feud: Republican primary for Alaska Senate District D, in the Mat-Su, pits the incumbent moderate Linda Menard against neo-fiscal conservative Mike Dunleavy. This rivalry's got history.
2 Photos: Alaska's first Chassidic Jewish wedding
Alaska's first Chassidic Jewish wedding drew guests from all over the world. Held at Anchorage's Dena'ina Center, the wedding was a joyus celebration of culture and tradition.
3 Interior Alaska, honeybee Eden under Midnight Sun
Long days spur the queen to increase the amount of eggs she lays, creating huge colonies in comparison to hives close to the equator. A good hive in Fairbanks will have as many as 60,000 worker bees come July.
4 Limbless Frenchman plans swim from Alaska to Russia
Almost exactly 25 years after the first person to ever swim the Bering Strait captured world headlines, a 44-year-old French man will attempt the same feat without any arms or legs.
5 In Nome, Alaska pilots face urban wildlife threat from Ice Age musk oxen
August to October may be the most dangerous season as Nome sees less and less daylight in the weeks before snowfall. Any collision between musk oxen and aircraft could be catastrophic.
6 Shell's oil spill-containment barge for Arctic operations was once for the birds
Royal Dutch Shell's quest to explore for oil off Alaska's Arctic coast, after years of preparation to the tune of more than $4.5 billion, hinges on an icebreaking barge that sat idle so long it literally went to the birds.
7 Teeth gnashing follows Cook Inlet fisheries disaster declaration
Some Kenai set netters have already filed for bankruptcy. Other problems -- domestic violence, food security and the like -- may follow before federal aid arrives.
8 Unhappy camper: Alaska man hogtied for acting strange at campground
An "erratic" hiker accused of random dirt digging and attempting to tackle other campers in the Nancy Lake area near Willow, Alaska, was subdued with ropes and Zip-Ties, according to a report from state troopers.
9 Sexual assault case involving airman shocking even to Anchorage police
Blackmail plot: Eagle River woman allegedly sexually assaulted U.S. Air Force airman twice while he slept, then threatened to call his wife if he denied other sexual encounters, police said.
10 Alaska wild berries: Tips on how to find and prepare them
Alaska berry mania: Where to find them, what to do with them, and the super-charged nutrients that make wild berries a potent source of vitality.

Multimedia

Photos: Bethel fisherman trials, day two

Alaska News

In hindsight, manager of ill-fated Kulluk says 2 tugs were needed