Ketchikan landslide victim was city employee clearing storm drains on his day off

And: In reversal, National Guard exempts Alaska from restructuring that leaders warned would upend staffing ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( Good afternoon. It’s Tuesday, August 27. In today's newsletter: - The person killed in the landslide in Ketchikan on Sunday was [a city public works employee of 17 years]( who was in the area clearing stormwater drains in the area on a day off from work. - Military officials announced that Alaska’s Air National Guard [will be indefinitely exempt from staffing changes]( that local leaders said would have devastated the force’s core operations. - Supermarket chain Albertsons [told a federal judge that it might have to lay off workers]( close stores and even exit some markets if its planned merger with Kroger isn’t allowed to proceed. In his[most recent column]( Alaska historian David Reamer tells the story of Nome-area prospector Frances Ella "Fizzy" Fitz. She finally struck it rich with her Hidden Treasure claim, but along the way she had a variety of jobs and adventures that were chronicled in her book “Lady Sourdough” and on film. Anchorage weather It's cloudy today with a high near 57 degrees, and rain is likely later this afternoon and evening. We're likely to see more precipitation on Wednesday and Thursday before a brief break from the rain on Friday. Daytime temperatures will hover in the high 50s and low 60s for the next few days. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [Ketchikan city employee who was clearing storm drains on his day off died in landslide →]( The [Third Avenue landslide]( struck a densely populated neighborhood in Ketchikan, killing 42-year-old Sean Griffin, a longtime city public works employee. [The landslide occurred on a day of heavy rain following a rare dry spell, but a state geologist said it’s too soon to say whether that was a contributing factor.]( • Timeline: [A decade of deadly and destructive Alaska landslides]( ADVERTISEMENT [In reversal, National Guard exempts Alaska from restructuring that leaders warned would upend staffing →]( The members of Alaska’s congressional delegation have been aggressively lobbying the National Guard Bureau to postpone or scrap the initiative, which would have reclassified the job categories for about 80 members of the state’s Air National Guard. [Reigning giant pumpkin champ wins again at the Alaska State Fair →]( Dale Marshall of Anchorage continued his winning streak with a pumpkin weighing in at a whopping 2,035 pounds. [Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against regulators’ objections →]( In the three-week hearing that began Monday, the FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block the merger while its complaint goes before an in-house administrative law judge. [Anchorage police identify man killed at homeless camp →]( Anchorage police identified 48-year-old Carl Washington as the person who was [fatally shot last week at a homeless camp]( just off a busy stretch of East Fifth Avenue. ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Stebbins man dies in ATV rollover →]( [Environmental group wants RFK Jr. investigated for reportedly sawing off head of dead whale →]( [Book review: ‘Signals’ affirms Kris Farmen’s status as one of Alaska’s finest historical novelists →]( [After raising complaints, Trump says he’ll participate in debate with Harris →]( [On anniversary of attack during Afghanistan War withdrawal, Trump makes it political →]( [The Rewind: Bartlett football bounces back, East and Dimond stay undefeated and South flag football returns victorious from Nike Kickoff Classic →]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News, 300 W 31st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503, United States