🌱 At-Home Tests In Anchorage + Reapportionment Map Released

Good morning, Anchorage! Like many of you, the Patch team is taking some time off to celebrate the New Year, so there will not be a newsletter in your inbox tomorrow. We appreciate your understanding of this slight pause in our schedule, and I will be back on Monday with the next edition of the Anchorage Daily! Now, here's everything happening around town today.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy with a little snow. High: 24 Low: 8.

Here are the top stories today in Anchorage:

1. On Wednesday, Dec. 29, a delayed shipment of tens of thousands of rapid at-home COVID tests has arrived in Anchorage. By Tuesday, 28,000 at-home test kits arrived. By Wednesday, the city had distributed 2,000 of them to each of the recreation centers in Fairview and Spenard. The tests are free to residents who want them and residents get two tests but must be physically present to pick them up. (Alaska Public Media News)
2. Here's a sampling of the newest batch of houses to go up for sale in and around Anchorage, including two Wasilla area homes around $540,000 from Redfin. (Anchorage Patch)
3. The first draft set of maps for the Municipality of Anchorage’s reapportionment has been released by the Anchorage Assembly and set forth the boundaries for each of the Assembly seats, including the new 12th seat that voters approved for downtown Anchorage. One of the five proposed maps takes JBER and puts it all in the Assembly seat that Assemblyman Chris Constant currently represents, robbing those voters from the Eagle River area, where they are currently linked. (Must Read Alaska)

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Today in Anchorage:

• Ring In the New Year With 15 Percent Off Beautiful Blooms From FTD! (9:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Anchorage Police Department reported that 33-year-old Crystalen M. Saccheus was intoxicated when she got into a Ford Explorer parked in her driveway. In the process of backing up, Crystalen struck an adult male family member who became lodged underneath the SUV and was drug several feet down the roadway. The victim was declared deceased by medics on the scene. Crystalen has been remanded at Hiland Correctional on the felony charges of driving under the influence and manslaughter. (Facebook)
• Join the American Heart Association for the Alaska Heart Run & Walk on Sat., April 23 at the Alaska Airlines Center to either run the 5K, walk the 3K or participate where you feel inspired. Early bird rates are now in effect until Jan. 16. (Facebook)
• Anchorage Museum recently launched a digital guide featuring Anchorage Museum exhibitions and programs to enrich both on-site and off-site visits. Our guide joins more than 20 iconic cultural institutions around the globe on the Bloomberg Connects arts and culture app. (Facebook)

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Events:

• Ring In the New Year With 15 Percent Off Beautiful Blooms From FTD! (December 31)
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That's it for today. See you all around for another 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.