AK Rundown: March 15^th-16^th, 2008

“Under Water (Part One)”

Host: Rebecca Sheir

Intro/News/Credits

Tsunami Story: Lituya Bay. AK’s Scott Burton speaks with Howard Ulrich, a survivor of the 1958 tsunami that rocked Lituya Bay. Package. 4:33 (5:04 with intro)

Tsunami Warning Center. When the mega-tsunami hit Lituya Bay, the US had just one facility dedicated to alerting the public about tsunamis: the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. But after the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, Congress provided funds to build another one - this time, in Palmer. AK host Rebecca Sheir speaks with geologists Cindi Preller and Bruce Turner at the Pacific Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. Package. 4:57 (including intro)

Tsunami Story: Indian Ocean. Sonja Marshall was teaching in Dillingham when she decided to spend winter break 2004 in Thailand. She was lying on a beach when the now legendary tsunami hit. In this interview from the AK archives (January 2005), Marshall shares her story with reporter Jody Seitz. Interview. 1:07 (1:57 with intro)

Break #1: “Underwater” by Danny Elfman from Big Fish: Music from the Motion Picture

Southeast’s Atlantis. Scientists are finding evidence that Southeast Alaska’s outer coast used to have another layer of islands and peninsulas. The now-sunken ground could harbor hidden evidence of the region's first human inhabitants. CoastAlaska’s Ed Schoenfeld spoke with Forest Service geologist Jim Baichtal, geology professor Cathy Connor and anthropology professor Daniel Monteith of the University of Alaska, and New Mexico-based anthropologist James Dixon, and brings us the story. Package. 5:44 (6:13 with intro)

Music Button: “Wade in the Water” performed by Herb Alpert from Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Port MacKenzie Ferry. The MV Susitna, a state-of-the-art icebreaker being built in Ketchikan, is already making waves. The Mat-Su Borough and the city of Anchorage can’t agree on where to land the vessel. In this story by AK’s Ellen Lockyer, we hear from project front man Lou Madden, Anchorage Economic and Community Development head Mary Jane Michael, Mat-Su Borough manager John Duffy and Steve Ribuffo, deputy director of the Port of Anchorage. Package. 4:02 (4:20 with intro)

AK’s Calendar of Events. AK’s weekly rundown of community events. (Music: “Agua de Beber (Water to Drink)” by Antonio Carlos Jobim from The Man From Ipanema) 1:12

Blood’s Thicker Than Water. The Zahaski family lives together, home-schools together, travels together and works together… in a most musical way. AK’s Scott Burton recently had breakfast with the members of The Alaska String Band. Package. 5:42 (6:03 with intro)

Break #2: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from A Bluegrass Tribute to Simon & Garfunkel: Homeward Sound

Tsunami Story: Chenega. Chenega was the oldest continuously inhabited native community in the Prince William Sound area. Roughly 120 people resided there -- on the side of an island, below a mountain -- practicing a subsistence lifestyle and maintaining a deep devotion to the Russian Orthodox Church. After the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, the ensuing waves wiped out the village, and more than a quarter of the population was lost. AK’s Rebecca Sheir brings us the story of tsunami survivor Paul Timothy Selanoff. Package. 7:05 (with intro)

Music Button: “Song of the Black Swan” by Pink Martini from Hang On Little Tomato

300 Villages.  AK’s weekly trip around the state. This week, Seward and Saint Mary’s. 4:09

Tsunami Story: Seward. Seward resident Doug McRae was 20 years old when the 1964 earthquake hit. His whole family piled into the car -- his mom and dad, sister and brother, wife and new baby -- and drove out of town, away from the burning fuel tanks. They went to his in-laws’ house at the head of the bay - and ended up in the path of a tsunami. He shared his story with AK producer Jessica Cochran. Interview. 4:01 (4:58 with intro)

Music Button: “Zissou Society Blue Star Cadets/Ned's Theme Take 1” by Mark Mothersbaugh from The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Soundtrack

Close: “Tsunami” by DJ Egoiste from Trance Generation