A Coast Guard hearing began Monday to investigate the contributing factors that led to the New Year's eve grounding of the Shell Oil drilling rig Kulluk near Sitkalidak Island.

On Jan. 4, 2013, the Coast Guard launched its formal marine casualty investigation.  In the months that followed, the Coast Guard gathered evidence leading up to Monday's public witness testimony in Anchorage at the Loussac Library.

On day one of a 10-day hearing, the Coast Guard introduced 79-items of evidence that included Shell's tow plan, daily operation reports, photos, diagrams and video showing the failure of emergency tow lines.

In addition, officers took testimony of Norman Custard, Shell's emergency response team lead, for nearly three hours on day one. 

"On behalf of Shell Exploration and Production Company, I assure you of our full cooperation in this investigation as well as all your efforts to understand why the Kulluk went aground," said Custard.

Throughout Custard's testimony, Cmdr. Joshua McTaggart asked him to describe the procedures, contingency plans and other factors that led to the failed towing of the Kulluk.

Custard described the details of the events that occurred from the moment the tow line was established through the time the Kulluk ran aground.

Coast Guard officials say they plan to use the findings from the investigation to determine whether additional measures need to be taken to moving forward to prevent a situation like this from happening in the future.

Coast Guard officials say they hope to have the investigation completed by July 5.

Day two begins Tuesday morning at 8:30 at Assembly Chambers and is open to the public.

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An important ruling was made Monday in the trial of several Yupik fishermen charged with defying a fishing closure last summer.

Defendants had argued they had the right to fish last summer based on religious grounds. While the judge in the case agreed free religious exercise protections apply, the Chinook salmon need to be protected.

Last June, the Kuskokwim River was closed for seven days to subsistence fishing of king salmon. When that closure was extended another five days, some fishermen decided to fish anyway at the urging of elders.

The State charged 60 fishermen with using gillnets in violation of the emergency order aimed at allowing king salmon to meet escapement goals. Most of the defendants pleaded guilty or were fined.

On Monday, acting District Court Judge Bruce Ward read a seven page memorandum decision affecting the remaining 22 defendants.

He argued religion is involved with subsistence harvesting of king salmon, but the need to protect king salmon overcomes the argued free exercise exemption for religious practices.

Subsistence fishermen are watching the trial closely and some say despite the ruling against their defense, agreement by the state that subsistence practices are protected on religious grounds is a win. 

"In a nutshell, I think it's a good day for all of us and we made huge gains on our hunting and fishing rights," Mike Williams, a subsistence fishermen and tribal leader, said.

Defendants in the case are being represented by the Northern Justice Project free of charge. Defense attorney James Davis says he's extraordinarily excited by what the ruling supporting subsistence practices as a religious practice holds, but says he plans on appealing the charges.

On Monday, the first ten defendants took the stand to express how subsistence fishing is tied to their spiritual practices. When asked how they felt when they were prevented from fishing, many men became emotional.

"Most of the fishermen, even elders who'd been fishing their entire lives, old tough guys, would break down and crying in court - open court in front of their community, even though Yupik men pride themselves on never showing those types of emotions in public," Davis said.

Those charged on Monday were ordered to pay fines ranging from $50 to $500.

A brief power outage knocked out power to numerous customers in South Anchorage's main retail belt Monday afternoon, including the Dimond Center mall.

Chugach Electric spokesperson Sarah Wiggers says a substation near the intersection of Dimond Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway lost power at 3:35 p.m.

"We had a breaker tripped," Wiggers said. "We're not sure, but we think it was a blown fuse."

While the outage's effects didn't reach far beyond the intersection, Chugach says business customers were disproportionately affected due to its location.

"I would say about 98 percent of them were commercial customers," Wiggers said.

According to Wiggers, Chugach crews restored power to the area at 4:12 p.m.

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The Nenana Ice Classic's tripod fell Monday afternoon, bringing an end to one of the state's traditions for the year -- and hundreds of thousands of dollars to some lucky winners.

Cherrie Forness, the Ice Classic's manager, says the official time of the tripod's fall into the Tanana River was 2:41 p.m. -- the latest ever recorded for the event. Earlier Monday, Forness told Channel 2 she saw that a channel of water had opened behind the tripod, with a gap opening beneath one leg of the tripod, but the ice under the structure seemed relatively intact.

This year's jackpot is $318,500, but not everybody stood an equal chance to win. While Forness says 1,800 guesses in the Classic extended through May and June, at least a dozen were made for September through December -- with four predicting the tripod's fall in August.

No one predicted the exact minute the tripod would fall. But Warren and Yvonne Snow of Kenai were a minute off, guessing the time at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, meaning they were the closest.

The Associated Press, as well as Channel 2's Ashleigh Ebert and Kortnie Horazdovsky contributed information to this story.

This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates.

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The Army has scheduled a Wednesday court-martial for a Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier accused of sexual abuse, Anchorage's third military sex-crimes case to be publicly announced this month.

A Monday statement from U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson Maj. Joshua Camara says Chief Warrant Officer Guillermo Castillo, 33, was charged Dec. 13, 2012 with abusive sexual contact in connection with an Oct. 6, 2012 incident.

"Castillo is also being charged with violating the orders of two commissioned officers on Nov. 6 and Dec. 8, 2012, and with driving under the influence of alcohol on Dec. 8, 2012," Camara wrote.

According to Camara, Castillo is from California and has served in the Army since 2000, graduating from Warrant Officer Candidate School in 2009. He joined JBER's 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in June 2010, and was deployed to Afghanistan with the unit in 2012 from May to October.

Castillo waived his rights to an Article 32 hearing in January, allowing his case to proceed to a general court-martial. His trial will begin at 9 a.m. in JBER's military courtroom.

The Army said less than two weeks ago that Spc. Jose Nataren had been sentenced at court-martial to 12 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge, after being convicted of sexual assault and adultery for sneaking into a fellow soldier's barracks on base and assaulting her Sept. 20.

Nataren's conviction was announced two days after Anchorage police said a court-martial had sentenced Marine Gunnery Sgt. Nicholas Howard in a similar case to a reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge -- but no jail time. Howard, a recruiter who worked at the Dimond Center mall, was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and adultery after he assaulted a friend's girlfriend.

Capt. Charles Spears, a spokesperson for the 4th Brigade Combat Team, says Monday that further information on the case will not be released until the court-martial begins.

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The Obama administration has approved Alaska's request for a waiver from provisions of the federal education law No Child Left Behind.

In 2011, the administration announced it would let states avoid certain requirements, like students showing they're proficient in reading and math by 2014, if other conditions were met. Those conditions included states imposing their own standards to prepare students for college and careers and setting evaluation standards for teachers and principals.

Alaska applied for a waiver last year.

Critics of No Child Left Behind call it a one-size-fits-all approach to education that doesn't fit Alaska's needs.

The U.S. Department of Education says it has approved waiver requests from 37 states and the District of Columbia so far.

The latest approvals, announced Monday, were for Alaska, Hawaii and West Virginia.

Alaska is proposing a plan aimed at determining the true oil and gas potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The plan was announced Monday by Gov. Sean Parnell and Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan.

According to the announcement, the U.S. Department of Interior hasn't indicated it will address oil and gas issues in a new planning document for the refuge so Alaska is stepping up.

The multi-year proposal includes seismic surveys, environmental studies and exploration drilling on the coastal plain of the refuge, according to the announcement. Exploration would take place in winter, and Parnell says it would have a limited impact on the environment.

Parnell says he will ask the Legislature for up to $50 million toward the plan, if the federal government is willing to partner with Alaska.

STORY UPDATED AT 7:52 p.m. at 5/19/13:

Alaska State Troopers say weather continues to hamper the search for two snowmachiners near Kotzebue.

Shallain Adams, 23 of Noorvik, and Clifford Griest, 32 of Selawik, left Kotzebue early Wednesday morning on a black Polaris IQ snowmachine destined for Selawik. Over 70 searchers from Kotzebue, Selawik, Noorvik, Kiana, Noatak and Buckland have been involved in the ground search, but "efforts have been hampered by periodic bad weather.

On Saturday, an Alaska wildlife trooper flew for a couple of hours before fog and blowing snow turned the pilot back.

On Sunday, Beth Ipsen, Public Information Officer with Dept. of Public Safety, reported that the wildlife trooper was "fueled up and ready to go," however "freezing fog and blowing snow kept him on the ground."

Ipsen says the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue team remains the main team coordinating ground searches and that people on the ground were turned back by the weather.

According to troopers, if the weather breaks, then an aerial search will happen a area east and northeast of Kotzebue in the York Bay area.

"There are a lot of shelter cabins in the area, so it's possible they may seeking refuge from the wind and snow," Ipsen wrote in an emailed response. "Luckily it hasn't been cold, which works to their favor."

Ipsen says, "this area is pretty flat and open, but there are lots of rivers, creek and a few lakes, plus a lot of willows that could hide them."

Editor's Note: KTUU's Neil Torquiano contributed to an update of this story.

STORY UPDATED AT 1:12 p.m. at 5/17/13:

Ground and air searchers are trying to find two snowmachiners near Kotzebue who have been missing for more than three days, according to Alaska State Troopers.

AST spokesperson Megan Peters says Shallain Adams and Clifford Griest, last listed by troopers as living in Kotzebue and Kiana respectively, left Kotzebue en route to Noorvik on a single snowmachine at about 2 a.m. Wednesday (May 15). It's not clear why they were headed there, or why they left at such an early hour of the day.

Adams and Griest were reported missing to troopers at roughly 2:30 p.m. Wednesday , initiating a search that has expanded to include aid from several communities in the region.

"There's ground searchers from Kiana, Noorvik, Kotzebue, Selawik and Buckland," Peters said.

"Weather has been hampering the search, and they have pockets of bad weather moving around them," Peters said.

Alaska National Guard spokesperson Maj. Guy Hayes says the 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center is providing aerial support as conditions in the area permit. An Air National Guard HC-130 Hercules search plane and an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter were sent to the region early Thursday, but weren't able to participate in the search.

"Due to weather in the morning, they had to turn around," Hayes said.

A second HC-130 flight was launched Thursday night and was able to spend some time looking for the snowmachiners, with a third flight scheduled to launch Friday. Hayes says the Guard is primarily using fixed-wing aircraft for the search, but can send in helicopters if necessary.

"If the request comes in, we can provide whatever support is needed," Hayes said.

In addition to the Guard aircraft, Peters says Alaska Wildlife Troopers aircraft are also involved with the effort.

"RCC is continuing to contribute air assets, and they are coordinating with AWT and other local air assets," Peters said.

Peters says she hasn't heard of any signs of Adams or Griest being found during the search, which has been in progress for more than 80 hours. She says no decision has been made to suspend the search, and there have been no calls for separate searches in the state which might draw resources from the Kotzebue effort.

"It's all taken in stride -- each case has its own circumstances surrounding it," Peters said. "We do the best we can with the evidence that we have at hand."

Editor's note: Alaska State Troopers say Adams' and Griest's locations of residence are the latest ones listed for them.

5-19-13: Date corrected for day snowmachiners went missing from Tuesday, May 14 to Wednesday, May 15 from info provided by troopers.

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After months of waiting, the State of Alaska and four other west coast states will soon receive $250,000 to help with tsunami relief.

Last fall, the Japanese government issued a $5 million grant to the United States to help with the monitoring, recovery and cleanup of an estimated 1.5 billion tons of marine debris after the 2011 tsunami.

The money will be dispersed by NOAA, with the remaining funds expected to be issued based on an application process.

Alaska officials say the state applied for an additional $750,000, a number they say is merely a drop in the bucket, due to the challenges cleanup crews face here in Alaska.

"In order to effectively deal with this, it's going to take money," said Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.  "It's going to be far in excess of $1 million as we attempt to deal with the tsunami debris that has come to our shore."

"I think this is a step in the right direction, but it's still clearly not enough," said Senator Mark Begich, D-Alaska.  "It's really like a prolonged disaster and we won't see the full results for years to come."

Gulf of Alaska Keeper has spent the last 12 years cleaning marine debris from Alaska's pristine coastline and just last summer cleaned more than 250 miles of coastline.

"We've been doing it on the cheap with volunteers and our own equipment and stuff, but we can't come even close to tackling this thing without a bunch of funding," said Chris Pallister, President of Gulf of Alaska Keeper.  "We really believe that the cost of this thing is going to approach or exceed $100 million."

The group says additional challenges like constant weather problems, the remoteness of some of the beaches, a short clean up season and the vastness of Alaska's coastline are reasons why the price estimate remains so high.

Sen. Mark Begich expects the results of the states application for additional grant money to be made within the next 60 days.

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Alaska State Troopers say a small plane, crash-landed at an airport in the Mat-Su Valley.

Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the plane crashed in the middle of the airstrip at Goose Bay Airport at about 11 a.m. Sunday.

Troopers say the pilot of the Maule M-5 four-seater aircraft was coming in for a landing on the airstrip when he had a gear failure.

One of the struts broke and dug into the ground during the landing and the plane tipped forward, damaging the nose, propeller and wing of the aircraft.

The plane came to a stop in the middle of the airstrip and only the pilot was onboard.

Ipsen says no injuries were reported in the incident.

Contact Samantha Angaiak