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OPINION: A new name and strong progress for the Alaska Long Trail

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OPINION: A new name and strong progress for the Alaska Long Trail


By Mariyam Medovaya and Sam Dinges

Updated: 1 hour ago Published: 1 hour ago

By now, you have likely heard of the Alaska Long Trail — a 500-mile conceptual trail connecting Seward to Fairbanks. Alaska Trails, a statewide nonprofit, is coordinating this ambitious project, working with a wide coalition of partners including representatives from each region along the route. Since the coalition began working on this trail concept in 2021, the name “Alaska Long Trail” has served as a placeholder. During the past year, Alaska Trails gathered ideas and feedback to select a new name, and finally, this month, the trail became the Alaska Traverse (AKT). Work will begin soon on a trail logo and signage.

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Apart from the new name, there are other exciting Alaska Traverse developments to share.

For two years in a row, the Alaska Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy have supported Alaska Traverse projects. During the most recent session, the Legislature funded three Alaska Traverse projects in Chugach State Park for $1.4 million. These funds will rebuild the Indian Valley Trail along a more sustainable route, repair damaged motorized and non-motorized sections of the Eklutna Lakeside Trail, and support feasibility and alignment research for reestablishing public access to Ram Valley. Much gratitude goes to Sen. Bill Wielechowski for championing this project and Gov. Dunleavy for retaining these worthy projects through the veto process. Support from Sen. Kelly Merrick and Rep. Dan Saddler was also instrumental in keeping the two Eagle River-area projects in the budget.

In the Mat-Su, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources recently issued a preliminary approval for a Mat-Su Borough application for a trail connecting Government Peak Recreation Area (GPRA) to Skeetawk and 16 Mile. This segment, the GPRA Traverse, will create 12 miles of new trail in Alaska’s second-most-visited state park and connect the large parking lots at GPRA and Skeetawk to the main Hatcher Pass trail network. Fundraising for this project is currently underway, and this long-awaited decision by DNR is an important step toward connecting the Alaska Traverse to the Mat-Su Borough.

On the federal funding side, Alaska Traverse capital projects in Chugach National Forest and Denali Borough have received over $10.3 million in federal appropriations since 2021. With these funds, Chugach National Forest will construct several missing segments of the Iditarod National Historic Trail and install necessary bridges to complete that section of the Alaska Traverse. Denali Borough, with the help of the Alaska Dept. of Transportation, is completing design and engineering for a section of separated pedestrian pathways along Parks Hwy. Much gratitude is due to Sen. Lisa Murkowski for championing the Alaska Traverse project and helping to secure the necessary funding through federal appropriations.

Thus far, much of the funding that Alaska Trails and other partners have secured has focused on closing small gaps between existing trails, rerouting unsustainable trail segments and repairing damaged sections of trails. This approach has helped to both advance the Alaska Traverse project and reduce the backlog of maintenance on our state and federal lands.

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Clearly, momentum is building for the Alaska Traverse. Alaska Trails is grateful to the legislators, funders, donors and volunteers that have helped move this project forward. Together we are improving the existing trails and outdoor recreation infrastructure along the Alaska Traverse and building new trails to create a continuous 500-mile adventure! Learn more at the project website: https://www.alaska-trails.org/alaska-traverse.

Mariyam Medovaya is the Alaska Long Trail (now Alaska Traverse) Project Manager at Alaska Trails.

Sam Dinges is the Alaska Long Trail (now Alaska Traverse) Mat-Su Coordinator at Alaska Trails.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.





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Alaska

Flight attendant sacked for twerking on the job: ‘What’s wrong with a little twerk before work’

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Flight attendant sacked for twerking on the job: ‘What’s wrong with a little twerk before work’


They deemed the stunt not-safe-for-twerk.

An Alaska Airlines flight attendant who was sacked for twerking on camera has created a GoFundMe to support her while she seeks a new berth.

The crewmember, named Nelle Diala, had filmed the viral booty-shaking TikTok video on the plane while waiting two hours for the captain to arrive, A View From the Wing reported.

“I never thought a single moment would cost me everything,” wrote the ex-crewmember. TikTok / @_jvnelle415

She captioned the clip, which also blew up on Instagram, “ghetto bih till i D-I-E, don’t let the uniform fool you.”

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Diala was reportedly doing a victory dance to celebrate the end of her new hire probationary period.

Unfortunately, her jubilation was short-lived as Alaska Airlines nipped her employment in the bum just six months into her contract.

The fanny-wagging flight attendant feels that she didn’t do anything wrong.

Diala was ripped online over her GoFundMe page. GoFundMe

Diala has since reposted the twerking clip with the new caption: “Can’t even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive. What’s wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before.”

The new footage was hashtagged #discriminationisreal.

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The disgraced stewardess even set up a GoFundMe page to help support the so-called “wrongfully fired” flight attendant until she can land a new flight attendant gig.

“I never thought a single moment would cost me everything,” wrote the ex-crewmember. “Losing my job was devastating.”

“Can’t even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive,” Diala wrote on TikTok while reacting to news of her firing. “What’s wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before.” Getty Images

She claimed that the gig had allowed her to meet new people and see the world, among other perks.

While air hostessing was ostensibly a “dream job,” Diala admitted that she used the income to help fund her “blossoming lingerie and dessert businesses,” which she runs under the Instagram handles @cakezncake (which doesn’t appear to have any content?) and @figure8.lingerie.

As of Wednesday morning, the crowdfunding campaign has raised just $182 of its $12,000 goal.

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Diala was ripped online for twerking on the job as well as her subsequent GoFundMe efforts.

“You don’t respect the uniform, you don’t respect your job then,” declared one critic on the popular aviation-focused Instagram page The Crew Lounge. “Terms and Conditions apply.”

“‘Support for wrongly fired flight attendant??’” mocked another. “Her GoFund title says it all. She still thinks she was wrongly fired. Girl you weren’t wrongly fired. Go apply for a new job and probably stop twerking in your uniform.”

“The fact that you don’t respect your job is one thing but doing it while in uniform and at work speaks volumes,” scoffed a third. “You’re the brand ambassador and it’s not a good look.”

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As Alaska sees a spike in Flu cases — another virus is on the rise in the U.S.

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As Alaska sees a spike in Flu cases — another virus is on the rise in the U.S.


FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska has recently seen a rise in both influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. Amidst the spike in both illnesses, norovirus has also been on the rise in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s highly contagious and hand sanitizers don’t work well against it.

Current data for Alaska shows 449 influenza cases and 262 RSV cases for the week of Jan. 4. Influenza predominantly impacts the Kenai area, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the Northwest regions of the state. RSV is also seeing significant activity in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Anchorage.

Both are respiratory viruses that are treatable, but norovirus — which behaves like the stomach flu according to the CDC — is seeing a surge at the national level. It “causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines,” as stated on the CDC webpage.

This virus is spread through close contact with infected people and surfaces, particularly food.

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“Basically any place that people aggregate in close quarters, they’re going to be especially at risk,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent.

Preventing infection is possible but does require diligence. Just using hand sanitizer “does not work well against norovirus,” according to the CDC. Instead, the CDC advises washing your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. When preparing food or cleaning fabrics — the virus “can survive temperatures as high as 145°F,” as stated by the CDC.

According to Dr. Gupta, its proteins make it difficult to kill, leaving many cleaning methods ineffective. To ensure a given product can kill the virus, he advises checking the label to see if it claims it can kill norovirus. Gupta said you can also make your own “by mixing bleach with water, 3/4 of a cup of bleach per gallon of water.”

For fabrics, it’s best to clean with water temperatures set to hot or steam cleaning at 175°F for five minutes.

As for foods, it’s best to throw out any items that might have norovirus. As a protective measure, it’s best to cook oysters and shellfish to a temperature greater than 145°F.

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Based on Alaska Department of Health data, reported COVID-19 cases are significantly lower than this time last year.

See a spelling or grammatical error? Report it to web@ktuu.com



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Sky Watch Alaska: planets align plus the aurora forecast

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Sky Watch Alaska: planets align plus the aurora forecast


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – This is a great time of year to do some star gazing. If you have clear skies in your part of Alaska, take the time to check out the night — and morning — sky.

After sunset, look toward the southwest. Saturn and Venus are snuggled up together (of course, they are more than 800 million miles apart) in the evening sky. They set at about 9:40 p.m. in Southcentral.

Before 9:40 p.m., you can see four planets with the naked eye — Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. Jupiter and Mars stick around through the morning. Mars is very close to the moon right now.

The Aurora forecast is fairly weak for the next few weeks. That’s not to say there won’t be the occasional burst but overall, solar activity is expected to be fairly low until the beginning of February.

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If you get great pictures of the planets, the sky, or the aurora, don’t forget to send them to Alaska’s News Source.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com



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