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 […]
With $30 million about to hit Barrow, a bootlegging crackdown
In a small house in the middle of this oil-rich whaling town lives a former bootlegger and drug dealer. He stopped selling illegal booze sometime last summer, yet hopeful buyers still knock at the door all night looking for a jug. “I could have sold 10 bottles last night. People […]
Barrow mayor proposes city-run liquor store
Although alcohol sales are banned in Barrow, thousands of pounds of alcohol legally arrive every month at a city distribution center. That’s because voters elected in 1997 to go “damp,” meaning a limited amount of booze can be shipped to Barrow by holders of city-issued permits approved by the borough police department. Each […]
‘Limitless amounts of money, as long as they’re not caught’
In the northernmost city in the United States, Barrow police say enforcing the local ban on alcohol sales is a top priority for detectives like Det. Sgt. Nick Sundai. Head of investigators for the North Slope Borough Police Department, Sundai said his unit has several unique tools to suppress bootleg booze. Among them: – The […]
‘I think about my past and it hurts me inside’
At about age 14, Thomas Ahtuangaruak, Jr., was confused when someone in Wainwright offered to pay $100 to a family member for juice. “No, not that kind of juice,” the family member explained. T.A., as he is known, walked away with $50 for handing off a bottle of liquor. “That got me started, right there,” […]