🌱 Anti-Discrimination Lawsuit Dismissed + 5.9 Alaska Earthquake

Good morning, Anchorage! It's Thursday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on today in Anchorage.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 27 Low: 10.

Here are the top 3 stories today in Anchorage:

1. A federal judge has dismissed a faith-based women's shelter's lawsuit challenging Anchorage’s anti-discrimination law. The Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center does not admit transgender women and cited its religious beliefs in the lawsuit, which accused the municipality of violating the First Amendment’s protections for free exercise of religion. In August, the municipality said it does not consider the shelter a “public accommodation” subject to the law and will not enforce the discrimination law against it. Alaska District Court Judge Sharon Gleason cited that interpretation as a reason to dismiss the Hope Center’s lawsuit, but said the shelter is eligible for damages for the three-month period in which the center declined to post its rules due to fear of prosecution. (Anchorage Daily News)
2. An earthquake with a reviewed magnitude of 5.9 shook Southcentral Alaska on Tuesday afternoon. It was centered near Iliamna Volcano about 138 miles southwest of Anchorage and reported at a depth of 98.4 miles. The quake, which occurred across Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula, was felt widely throughout much of the state, with reports from as far away as Fairbanks, Kodiak, and Valdez. (Anchorage Daily News)
3. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is announcing plans to open a Complex Behavioral Neighborhood serving people age 60 and older who experience complex behaviors related to dementia. The addition, on the newly remodeled 4th floor of the Anchorage Pioneer Home’s Southside Building, will serve up to nine elders and is expected to accept its first residents in early 2022. (Alaska Native News)

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Today in Anchorage:

• Mystery Book Club - Anchorage Public Library (2:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Anchorage Museum launched a new free digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects arts and culture app to enrich both on-site and off-site visits. (Facebook)
• Anchorage Police Department's K9 officer Midas made a special trip to Anchorage Animal Care and Control to donate doggie toys to pets currently in the shelter. (Facebook)
• Discover the Hotel Captain Cook's Gingerbread village, one of Anchorage's sweetest holiday traditions. (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you all tomorrow morning for your next update.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a freelance copywriter for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and as an assistant producer for a live-lit storytelling show in Chicago. She holds a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies from The University of Rhode Island. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.