‘It’s a blessing to have gone through such bad stuff’

Within weeks of landing in Anchorage, George McBee was learning how to be homeless on the streets of Anchorage. Camping on “Party Hill,” a slope of urban woods just a block from Bean’s Cafe, experienced street people showed him how to keep condensation out of his tent and taught him not to “party” alone. It […]

Alcohol & Me: ‘I don’t believe anymore that I’m nothing’

Looking back on the person she used to be, Donna Fischer isn’t sure whether she wants to slap that woman or just give her a hug. Starting at age 9, alcohol was her companion as she made choices that led her to juvenile detention and several prison terms as an adult. Felony drug possession and […]

A Military Discount on Beer? Not in Alaska

When a hostess at an Airport Heights buffet offered underage customers a 10 percent military discount on beer, she was breaking not one Alaska law, but two, according to charges filed this week in state court. Prosecutors on Wednesday charged Kogi restaurant owner Young Hyon Kim with perjury, failure to have a valid alcohol […]

Spenard liquor store to lose license for 7 days after underage sale

Spenard liquor store must stop selling alcohol for one week as punishment for selling to an underage buyer, state regulators decided Wednesday. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted 3-2 to fine In & Out Wine $500 and yank its liquor license for seven days, with 38 days suspended. The owner of the Spenard business, formerly […]

“We’re sharing the same nightmare”

On Friday evening, Jamey and Dayna Durr stood with Gary and Shanna McPheters in an icy parking lot along Abbott Road. Surrounded by about 50 of their friends and supporters, they lit candles in memory of their daughters, Jordyn Durr and Brooke McPheters, who died at that spot in August. The two 15-year-olds were struck […]