Anchorage pastry chef ices final gingerbread village after decades of tradition

And: Alaska campaign finance watchdog delays decisions in group’s effort to repeal ranked choice voting ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( Today's sponsor: [Today's sponsor: Sylvan Learning]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 29. In today's newsletter: - Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson [issued vetoes for 18 additions and changes]( that Assembly members made to next year’s city budget. - The Alaska commission charged with overseeing campaign laws has [delayed decisions that could impact the fate]( of an effort to repeal the state’s ranked-choice voting system. - The [only survivor of the Wrangell landslide]( found so far said the force of the mountainside slammed into her home and tossed her around “like a piece of weightless popcorn." A Virgin Atlantic flight that crossed the Atlantic Ocean from London to New York this week aimed to achieve what supporters called “jet zero” in order to make air travel more environmentally friendly. The Boeing 787 was [powered with an unusual fuel]( fat and sugar. It was the first commercial airliner to cross the Atlantic on a purely high-fat, low-emissions fuel. Anchorage weather It's mostly cloudy today with a high near 37 degrees. Thursday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of snow later in the day. Friday should be partly sunny before precipitation returns for the weekend. Daytime temperatures will gradually drop from the mid-30s to the low 20s this week. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, [mpacer@adn.com](mailtompacer:@adn.com) [Mayor Bronson vetoes several Anchorage Assembly additions to city budget →]( The vetoes cut about $7.8 million of the Assembly’s budget changes. However, most of the changes were passed with a supermajority of eight or more votes — the number needed to override mayoral vetoes. ADVERTISEMENT [Alaska campaign finance watchdog delays decisions in group’s effort to repeal ranked choice voting →]( The Alaska Public Offices Commission gave itself a six-week extension to decide whether a group seeking to repeal the state's ranked choice voting system via ballot initiative has violated state law. [After decades of sugary magic, Hotel Captain Cook pastry chef ices his final gingerbread village →]( Joe Hickel has put countless hours and pounds of sugar into his yearly gingerbread villages, which have brought holiday joy to downtown Anchorage since 1978. This year's creation will be his last. [Wrangell landslide survivor says force of impact threw her around ‘like a piece of weightless popcorn’ →]( Christina Florschutz is the only person so far found alive after the landslide destroyed three homes and left four people dead and two missing — including her husband. The road blocked by the slide [was reopened briefly this week]( to allow stranded residents to return home. [After election inquiry, Anchorage Assembly leaders propose new laws to prevent interference →]( After a monthslong [inquiry]( into a challenge to the city’s 2023 election and the involvement of a [now-resigned]( city director, Assembly leaders are proposing legislation they say could better protect elections from interference. [After 4 years, Thunderbird Falls murder case inches toward resolution →]( The case of an Anchorage teenager who authorities say was killed as part of a bizarre online catfishing plot is slowly moving toward resolution, with one of four defendants charged in adult court pleading guilty to second-degree murder last week. ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Data links Alaska’s sky-high maternal mortality rate to domestic violence →]( [Little Diomede city building slides into school →]( [As the nation’s largest landlord shifts its priorities, outrage ensues in Wyoming →]( [In reversal, conservation group supports formation of new Alaska Native corporations →]( [U.S. life expectancy rose last year but remains below pre-pandemic level →]( [A 6-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way →]( The ADN relies on readers like you. [Get digital access to the ADN for as low as $1.99 for the first month]( and help us cover the news that matters most here in Alaska. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News, 300 W 31st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503, United States