inside today ax a3 tardy buses again plague school district · pdf filetardy buses again...
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PHOENIX — President Don-ald Trump blamed the media Tuesday for the widespread condemnation of his response to a Charlottesville, Virgin-ia, protest organized by white supremacists that led to the killing of a counter-protester.
Trump opened his political
rally in Phoenix with a call for unity, saying, “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America and tonight, this entire arena stands unit-ed in forceful condemnation of the thugs that perpetrated hatred and violence.”
But he quickly trained his ire on the media, shouting that he
By Erin [email protected]
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said the health care dis-cussion in Con-gress is moving forward nearly a month after the failed Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“ T h e c o m -mittee process, which is something that I had been pounding the drum on for months and months, is underway,” Murkowski said at a Monday interview with the Daily News-Miner editorial board.
Murkowski, a Republican who was re-elected in November, was one of the deciding votes in blocking the repeal attempt in late July. One of several rea-sons she cited for her consistent ‘no’ votes was the lack of proper procedure in running the repeal through committees.
The Senate is set to go back into session Sept. 5. Hear-ings in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will begin that morning with a presentation from commis-sioners or directors of insur-ance from across the country, Murkowski said.
Later that week the HELP Committee will host a panel of governors. More hearings will follow, Murkowski, a member
First-half 2017 Real Property Taxesare due Friday, September 1, 2017• To make payments on-line visitwww.fnsb.us(note: a convenience fee ischarged for this service)
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NOTICE TO REAL PROPERTY TAXPAYERS
If you have questions call the FNSB Treasury & Budget Division at 459-1441
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• Borough lobby will be open until12 midnight on September 1stfor public access to the taxpayment dropbox.
• Prior year delinquenttaxes must be paid bycashiers check, moneyorder, or cash.
DUE11/01/17
F17522198
DUE09/01/17
Classified » B7-10 | Comics » B5 | Dear Abby » B6 | Food » B4 | Markets » A8 | Obituaries » A3, A5, A7 | Opinion » A6 INSIDE
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. » AXInside Today Fairbanksan reminiscences about the early days of Denali National Park. » A3Inside Today
SOURDOUGH JACK:
“I’ve always been a late sleeper, myself.”
The weather.
Mostly cloudy with
scattered rain show-
ers morning, then
partly sunny. Tonight:
Mostly cloudy with
isolated rain showers.
High today ..............59
Low tonight ............ 47
Sunrise: 6:07 a.m.
Sunset: 9:38 p.m.
WEATHER » A9
GOODMORNING
• • •
• • •
SWEET TREATSMarlo’s Bakery offers
pastries with a
Filipino flair.
FOOD
B4
• • •
GOOD STARTSHutchison, West
Valley open their
volleyball seasons
with wins.
SPORTS
PageB1
One dollar newsminer.comWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017
T H E V O I C E O F I N T E R I O R A L A S K A
MURKOWSKI » A7
Tardy buses again plague school districtBy Amanda [email protected]
At least 26 of 137 public school bus routes were late on Monday, the start of the first full week of the new school year, according to a listing on the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District website.
Tuesday was better, but a top school district official said she is “beyond frustrat-ed” with students arriving late to school and that the
school district is continuing to pressure First Student, the transportation contrac-tor, to improve.
“It’s a big problem,” said Lisa Pearce, chief financial officer for the school dis-trict. “We have been very clear that this isn’t going to fly.”
The problem — tied to a nationwide school bus driver labor shortage — is not new. What is being done to fix the problem is not clear. First Student, based in
Ohio, has not responded to multiple requests for inter-views since June.
Buses were late on and off throughout last year at the school district. Pearce said the situation has not improved.
Bus driver pay in Fair-banks is almost $3 above the national average of $16.90 an hour, according to School Bus Fleet, a trade publica-tion.
A First Student school bus travels along Geist Road on Tuesday afternoon. School bus transportation continues to be a problem for public schools as the driver shortage persists. ERIC ENGMAN/
NEWS-MINER BUSES » A7
Murkowski: Bills will advance via committee process
Health
reform
revived
Murkowski
Standoff with felon ends
By Dorothy ChomiczDCHOMICZ
@NEWSMINER.COM
An investigation of a motor vehicle accident Tuesday sparked a standoff with local law enforcement involving multiple units, a K-9 officer and an armored tactical vehi-cle before the incident was resolved Tuesday night.
Alaska State Troopers issued a Nixle alert at 9:12 p.m. that allowed area residents to get back to normal.
Kelo Ronan Smoke — known to be hostile to law enforcement and to have an
active felony arrest warrant for probation violations in Idaho — reportedly is in cus-tody, but no further details were available at press time.
The incident started about noon, when Alaska State Troopers went to a Prospect Road address looking for a person they believed was involved in the accident, Lt. Brian Wassman said. They were met at the door by two people, one of whom was believed to be Smoke.
Smoke previously had fled from police when they tried to stop him for driving an ATV
erratically near Sheep Creek Road in 2015. During that incident, Smoke was armed with a loaded 9mm pistol and a records check showed he was on felony probation for methamphetamine traf-ficking in Idaho, according to charging documents in that incident. Smoke also had been arrested by troopers in March 2016 and charged with felony driving under the influence.
When troopers arrived at his door Tuesday, Smoke retreated into the house and refused to
Tactical team members install a battering ram while parked several hundred feet from the home of Kelo Ronan Smoke. Troopers were attempting to serve Smoke a felony arrest warrant from Idaho when he refused to leave his home. DOROTHY CHOMICZ/NEWS-MINER
Incident began as troopers were investigating a vehicle crash
STANDOFF » A7
TRUMP » A10
When troopers arrived at his door Tues-
day, (Kelo Ronan) Smoke retreated into
the house and refused to come out. Addi-
tional units were called in because of
Smoke’s history of violence.
President Donald Trump reacts to
the song as he arrives at a rally
at the Phoenix Convention Center
on Tuesday in Phoenix.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Trump blames media for condemnation of comments on VirginiaBy Julie BykowiczASSOCIATED PRESS