Hometown, Alaska Alaska Public Media

The Fairview Community Recreation Center recently opened an indoor playground (Photo courtesy of Anchorage Parks and Recreation).The Fairview Community Recreational Center has been a community staple in the city for many years. The team behind the center bring a shining light into Fairview, and the recent inclusion of a new indoor playground is sure to leave an even brighter legacy for its residents. This episode discusses the impact, history, and legacy of the Center.HOST:Justin Williams GUESTS:Teri Desi: Recreation Superintendent, FCRCDorena Bingham: Recreation Supervisor, FCRCTaylor Keegan: Landscape Architect, Municipality of Anchorage PARTICIPATE:Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast.Post your comment or question below (Comments may be read on air).Prerecorded Show will air: Monday, March 21, 2022 at 10 a.m.RE-AIR: Monday, March 21, 2022 at 8 p.m.PODCAST: Available on this page after the program.]]>

Book cover of “Black History in the Last Frontier” by University of Alaska Anchorage history professor Ian Hartman.It’s February and Black History month is in full effect in Alaska. But what if educators here emphasized Black achievements and observed our darker history all year around? How would that affect economic diversity in Alaska, and raise the standard for how we observe and celebrate black culture? Hear this discussion on Black history and education in Alaska.HOST:Justin WilliamsGUESTS:Taylor Mitchell, Alaska Coalition for BIPOC EducatorsKen Miller, Denali FSP Fundraising ConsultantsBrian Belcher, Born and raised in Anchorage Alaska. Brian is a peer support specialist for Alaska Behavioral Health and a tumbling instructor at Studio 49 school of dance. Brian got into the peer support field because of his own recovery. Brian has been a part of the cheer and dance world for many years now and has trained and performed with Studio 49 and Momentum Dance as well as Alaska Athletics.LINKS:NAACP and Alaska P

Former high school seniors Kayden King, Shaun Peter, and Thomas Phelan in Bethel. (Katie Basile/KYUK)On this week’s Hometown Alaska, Anchorage teens describe how they have suffered, endured, and even grown through living under the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll hear from teens at the Alaska Teen Media Institute, Covenant House and MHATS, which stands for Mental Health Advocacy Through Storytelling, a student-founded and student-run non-profit in Anchorage.ATMI students began creating a series called “Podcast in Place, Youth Stories from Quarantine” recorded in their own homes due to constraints under COVID. Topics include individual student reactions to school closings and uncertainty, to interviews with Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink, and a multi-generational family interview (grandparents, their daughter and their grandchildren) about coping with vaccination information and commitment.Two Covenant House students talk about the emotional impact of isolation, and the loss of work due to restaurant cl

Seawolf, logo for UAA athletics,courtesy of UAA.The UAA Women’s basketball program is elite. Conference champs, sweet 16 appearances, perennial national championship contender, and of course – mayhem! What makes them so successful? How much attention are they getting locally, and nationally? Should they be getting more attention given their success? And what does the future hold for UAA basketball? This episode answers these questions and more as we chat with Head Coach Ryan McCarthy and senior players Tennae Voliva and Lauren Johnson.HOST:E.J. DavidGUESTS:Coach Ryan McCarthy was born in Anchorage, and is the winningest active coach in NCAA Div. II, making him one of the brightest coaching talents in the entire NCAA. Coach McCarthy has taken the UAA Women’s program to unprecedented heights in 10 seasons, producing almost 250 wins and just 40 losses. He has won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA West Region coach-of-the-year awards many times. McCarthy graduated from NNU in 2006 with a B.S. in so

Andrea Noble, executive director of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, has one word for the Alaska artists and arts organizations now tackling Year Three of life under Covid: “Resilient. They just don’t quit.”On today’s Hometown Alaska, we’ll hear from five arts groups on how they have adapted and persisted. What lessons did they learn? How did they change their process? What worked, what didn’t work? Were there unexpected silver linings? Unexpected disasters? How has their attitude shifted from year one to year three? Oh, and what do they hear from their audiences?If you are an artist, actor, musician, painter…. how are you faring? What have you learned? And if you are from the audience, how has the loss of arts affected you? What do you miss the most?Please join our conversation on how the Arts persist in the time of Covid, and why we care.HOST: Kathleen McCoyGUESTS:Sherri Burkhart Reddick, Executive Director, Anchorage Symphony OrchestraJudy Berry, Marketing and Development Director, Anchorage OperaJaso

Anchorage-based entrepreneur LeeAnna Chronister is a mother and artist who has operated several small businesses and community projects (Image provided by LeeAnna Chronister)The gig economy isn’t exactly a new income stream for individuals, but the paradigm shift of the market due to COVID and other factors have launched gig work and entrepreneurship into an undeniable macrolevel behemoth. One artist and businesswoman shares her story of how she established her brand to The Last Frontier and how we can support self-employed creatives.HOST:Justin WilliamsGUEST:LeeAnna Chronister is an Anchorage-based homeschool mother, wife, photographer, author, and graphic designer. She has owned an operated several small businesses and community projects, including her current AlaskaLeeAnna art studio & design business.PARTICIPATE:Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10-11 a.m.)Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (E-mails may b

The opening image to a slideshow in Spanish aimed at providing accurate information to the Latin community on Covid and vaccinations. Find the full slideshow here.January 2022 marks the world’s third year working to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic. For many different and valid reasons, people hesitate to get vaccinated. Yet broad and successful vaccination rates are necessary to avoid giving the virus time to mutate and create another variant, as it has done with Omicron.Alaska Public Media has joined 20 community groups —including cultural, informational, and health organizations—working to ensure vaccine-hesitant Alaskans can find accurate information from community members they trust. APM will offer a series of programs called “Talk to your Neighbor” to highlight this community outreach, and to provide a channel for Alaskans to ask their own questions and tell their own stories.Today you will hear about a nonprofit network that provides donated medical care to the under-served. A network member will tell

In this 2007 photo, a sailor shares his Thanksgiving meal with his baby son at a special event aboard the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in San Diego. Storekeeper 1st Class Andy Zhang serves his son alongside 500 of his fellow crew members and their families during the special holiday event. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Camarynn Miller.Arguments over mandates, pandemic death, disruptive politics, climate change disasters. We’ve seen them all this year; we’re worn out. The battles and struggles will continue, but this week’s Hometown Alaska seeks to console. Our topic today is celebrating our good habit of gathering together for food and camaraderie, whether that is Christmas, birthdays or Sunday supper. Our guests are convinced that cooking and serving food to others is an act of love, and that this good habit might help us over hurdles we face.Last summer, PBS offered a 3-part series on food called Food is Love. The chef behind the series, Lasse Sorrensen, said this about the title

Red Cross nurses in the Philippines. (Photo via WikimediaCommons)If you’ve ever been to a hospital or a medical clinic or some type of medical facility, which most of us probably have, you may have noticed that a lot of health care workers are Filipino. They can be doctors, or home care providers, or some type of health care worker, but most of them are nurses. This is not just your imagination, as statistics show that Filipino nurses do compose the largest share of immigrant nurses in the United States. In fact, the Philippines is the world’s biggest supplier of nurses. In this episode, we talk to some Filipina nurses – members of an organization called Philippine Nurses Association of Alaska, Incorporated – to hear their journeys and experiences in the American healthcare system – particularly during the time of COVID – and how this impacts their families, and the entire Filipino American community. HOST:E.J. DavidGuests: Lorna Hermogino Garcia, Founder and first President of the Philippine Nurses Associati

The Anchorage landfill countdown on the municipality’s web page shows less than 50 years of capacity. Recycling and composting keeps reusable items out of the landfill. What do you need to know, and where can you find out?UPDATE: Since the recycling/composting program aired Monday morning, here’s a bit of useful info for Mat-Su Valley residents interested in curbside recycling. Alaska Waste began curbside recycling in the Valley last February, including within the city of Palmer, in an effort to divert recyclables away from the landfill. Here’s a link to their FAQs. We’ve added them to the list of useful links below. Thanks for calling, Alaska Waste!And here’s a next level question. We love our dogs, but how do you keep Fido’s poop bags out of the landfill? Well, you could ask a Denali National Park Ranger.So, going green is in the news every day. Alaska Airlines just announced it won’t use plastic water bottles anymore, opting instead for water in a box made with some recycled material. Global leaders are in

Taquka’aq B-Duk Took Drum Group at the Alaska Native Heritage Center (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)Since 1990, federal, state, and local governments have recognized November as Native Heritage Month to celebrate and honor America’s Indigenous Peoples. November is such an interesting time for Native peoples, though, as it is right after Halloween when folks still commonly dress up in stereotypical Native costumes, and it is also when Thanksgiving happens, a holiday that is fraught with many problematic portrayals of history and Native Peoples. In this episode, we talk about these and many other relevant issues pertaining to Native Heritage Month.HOST:E.J. DavidGUESTS:Ayyu Qassataq is Iñupiaq from Uŋalaqłiq, currently residing on Dena’ina lands in Dgheyey Kaq’ with her four children. She is an activist for the self-determination of Alaska Native peoples, and currently serves as the Vice President & Indigenous Operations Director for First Alaskans Institute. She works closely with the leadership team to ce

Cosplayers at Senshi Con, Alaska’s largest fandom convention, spent the day as their favorite comic book and anime characters last weekend at the Dena’ina Center. (Photo by Ammon Swenson)In Alaska pop culture and entertainment serve as a means to escape the dark, chilly winters that conquer the final months of each year. The politics and popularity of film, comic, game, and novel franchises have brought folks together in ways we did not know possible, bringing a sense of irony to the isolated Last Frontier.HOST:Justin WilliamsGUESTS:Braxton Bundick, director of Senshi ConStephanie Cabiness, registered nurse by day and the Queen and President of Amtgard of Alaska by nightPARTICIPATE:Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10-11 a.m.)Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (E-mails may be read on air).LIVE (RECORDED) : Monday, October 25, 2021 at 10 a.m.RE-AIR: Monday, October 25, 2021 at 8 p.m.]]>

The Tagiumiut Dancers perform at the 2019 Alaska Federation of Natives Conference at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. (Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media)Indigenous Peoples’ Day strikes the intersection of beauty and triumph, controversy and pain. Many have fought to reclaim its purpose and name from Columbus, to the people of the land he claimed to discover.The history of this day has shown the power of the voices of the marginalized as we largely no longer recognize this day as Columbus Day. South Dakota became the first state to recognize what was then called “Native Americans’ Day” in 1990. The earliest known date of the celebration is in 1792 and it became a national holiday in 1934, and federal holiday in 1971, and considering those dates you can feel how recent of a change this is.As it pertains to Alaska, what does Indigenous Peoples’ Day truly mean?Listen to our latest episode of Hometown Alaska:HOST:Justin WilliamsGUESTS:Lisa WadeMeda DewittLINKS:Recover Alaska resources and frequently asked quest

The month of October has been recognized by the U.S. Congress and by several state legislatures as Filipino American History Month, to celebrate the long history of Filipinos in the United States. When we think about Filipino Americans, however, the states that people most easily think of are California and Hawaii; very few think of Alaska. But Filipino Alaskans have just as long and just as rich of a history as any other Filipino American community.On this week’s episode of Hometown Alaska, we’re focusing on Filipino Alaskan history, along with Filipino Alaskans’ many achievements and contributions, because Filipino Alaskan history is Alaskan history, and Filipino American history is American history.HOST: E.J DavidGUESTS:Marie Husa: Marie was born in Manila, Philippines and has been an Alaskan since 1984. She is an investigator for the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, investigating discrimination complaints. She holds a Masters degree in counseling psychology from Alaska Pacific University and is a licens

(Image from Flickr)Addiction and recovery are two sides of a heavy coin. September is National Recovery Month, so this week on Hometown Alaska, we’ll learn how substance addiction contributes to recidivism and how to celebrate recovery and support sobriety and sober-curious lifestyles.HOST:Justin WilliamsGUEST:Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation ServicesLINKS:Recover Alaska resources and frequently asked questionsAnchorage Health Department substance misuse resourcesAlaska Department of Health and Social Services Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction PreventionPARTICIPATE:Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10-11 a.m.)Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (E-mails may be read on air).Post your comment or question below (Comments may be read on air).LIVE (RECORDED) : Monday, September 27, 2021 at 10 a.m.RE-AIR: Monday, September 27, 2021 at 8 p.m.]]>

Jeff Bumagat-Hidalgo, co-owner-manager at Jeepney Filipino Hawaiian Fusion Food, prepares an order of butter garlic shrimp on a weekday afternoon in April. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)Alaska’s food and restaurant culture is a massive and ever-shifting adhesive for the local economy, serving and effecting both customers and business owners alike. But why is it so crucial? And how are local restaurant and food truck owners riding the wave back to success during COVID? Join host, Justin Williams, with two champions of the local restaurant community to discuss our food culture here in Alaska.HOST: Justin WilliamsGUESTS:Sheena Goughnour, Owner of Gelatte Jason Anderson, Owner of MELTLINKS:MELT websiteMELT FacebookGelatte websiteGelatte FacebookPARTICIPATE:Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10-11 a.m.)Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (E-mails may be read on air).Post your comment or question below (Comments may be

Cover of Welcoming Anchorage’s roadmap manual. (Courtesy of Welcoming Anchorage)Alaska’s ethnic and cultural diversity has grown significantly as more immigrants and refugees make Alaska their home. How are new Alaskans adjusting? How can the government help in their transition? What are the ways through which immigrants and refugees enrich Alaska? Join host E.J. David for conversation about a collaborative community project called “Untapped Talent.”HOST: E.J. DavidGUESTS:Nyabony Gat, Health Education Coordinator with Southcentral Alaska AHEC & APCA, focusing on workforce development of community health workers and integrated health career pathways for the ESL population. In addition, she is a Program Coordinator for the Peer Leader Navigator Program at Alaska Literacy Program which focuses on health outreach, connection and navigating healthcare and social services. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from UAA in 2019 and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®). She is very p

This cover of the new “Alaska Women Speak” anthology is artwork by Teresa Ascone that first graced the cover of the WINTER 2014 journal.Ember Press, a Palmer-based small independent publisher specializing in Alaska non-fiction, adventure, conservation and history, has just released an anthology collecting the first 25 years of the journal “Alaska Women Speak,” from 1992 to 2017.The journal is still publishing today. Find out more about the contemporary journal here.But this week’s Hometown Alaska program is focused on the new anthology. Our guests are its editors, MaryLee Hayes and Angie Slingluff. Both also served as managing editors for the journal for chunks of years while they also held down jobs and busy lives.The work that went into the journal all those many years was done by volunteers. So MaryLee’s eight years as managing editor (1994-2003) and Angie’s 17 years (1997-2014) were unpaid labors of love, as was their time and energy spent pulling together the new anthology.So what’s in here? The voices o

‘One Headlight’ by Matt Caprioli and ‘Pluto Cove’ by Arran Forbes.UPDATE: Writer Matt Caprioli, featured in this episode, has changed his last name to Frye Castillo. His website can be found here. Hometown Alaska is back after its short summer hiatus, and we return Aug. 23 at 10 am with a program featuring two Alaska writers with first books.In the first half of the program, we’ll meet Matt Caprioli, author of “One Headlight,” a memoir of growing up gay in Alaska, a story that captures his restlessness but also his close ties and resilient relationship with his supportive single mother. Caprioli is a graduate of UAA with degrees in English literature and psychology, as well as an MFA in creative nonfiction from Hunter College at the City University of New York. He is a lecturer in professional writing at Lehman College at the City University of New York. He describes himself as “a Queens-based writer by way of Anchorage, Alaska.” He is published by Cirque Press, which grew out of the literary journal, Cirque,

The Juneteenth flag was raised on June 11, 2021, at Anchorage City Hall. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)Juneteenth has been called America’s second Independence Day. But surveys show only about half of Americans know what Juneteenth is.What exactly is Juneteenth? Why is it important, and how should it be celebrated? With community leaders Jasmin Smith and Dino Allen, we will discuss Juneteenth’s history and modern-day significance on the next episode of Hometown Alaska.HOST: E.J. DavidGUESTS:Jasmin Smith is lifelong Alaskan business owner, community activist, and event planner. In addition to running Umoja Coworking, a business services space dedicated to empowering underrepresented entrepreneurs by supporting culture, collaboration, community and events; and Baby Vend LLC, she is the proud mother to six-year-old twins. She’s been a very active leader in the community and she has planned Anchorage Juneteenth celebrations for the past four years.Dino Allen came to Alaska in 1989 with a background in US. Army-P