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The price to plug in could become a little cheaper for electric vehicle owners in Juneau. That’s because the city’s privately-owned electric utility is trying to expand a program, aimed at shifting when those drivers juice their cars.

For electric utilities, the twilight hours are a relatively quiet time.

“The biggest thing that happens is people go to sleep so they’re not consuming energy at the same rate as they are when they’re awake,” said Alec Mesdag, a director at Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P).

He says when you power down most of your household gadgets at night, it leaves open an energy window. Essentially, there’s just not as much of a drain from the grid. So, it’s a perfect time to plug in the city’s growing number of electric vehicles.

About six years ago, the utility came up with a pilot project for 10 electric vehicle owners to incentivize this. Drivers charging their cars after 10 p.m. would receive a cheaper rate.

“It took a while to get started,” Mesdag said. “Then, once we saw those ten customers fill in, it wasn’t very long before I had twice as many people contact me about getting into the program but it was already full.”

In 2013, it’s estimated there were about nine fully electric vehicles on Juneau’s roads. That number has now ballooned to about 80, and it’s expected to increase even more — with the cars becoming more affordable.

Last week, the utility filed a request with Regulatory Commission of Alaska or RCA to expand the pilot project.

“We want to shift when people charge their vehicles,” Mesdag said. “So that we don’t create a situation where we have too many people.”

Mesdag says forming those habits now, reduces the risk the utility will have to build costly infrastructure later — as electric vehicles start to become the new norm.

He expects the average owner who signs up could save about $10 a month in the summer to charge their vehicle.

“And then in the wintertime, it will be about $12 to $13,” Mesdag said.

If approved by the RCA, the utility will began offering the new rate structure to electric vehicle owners in early 2017.

Kids played outside the assembly chambers last night during the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly regular meeting. They’d abandoned bags, coats, and papers on the hallway carpet. Their parents were likely among those who filled the assembly chambers for their chance to give comment on the conservation easements to Termination Point and Long Island.

During public comment, most audience members voiced support for the borough holding the conservation easements, which would prevent development and otherwise protect the natural resources on the two Leisnoi-owned properties.

The Great Land Trust, a nonprofit that identifies land that could benefit from conservation efforts, first came before the assembly asking for them to hold the conservation easements late last summer.

The contract would be free of charge to the borough, as the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council is the funder, but the Great Land Trust needs an entity to sponsor the easement.

Representatives from all the parties involved have come before the borough assembly multiple times since last summer.

At the assembly’s last work session, Assemblyman Kyle Crow expressed concern about the possible liabilities for the borough if it agrees.

Borough manager Michael Powers followed up at the regular meeting where the assembly was slated to vote on two resolutions, one to accept a conservation easement for Long Island and the other for Termination Point.

Powers said the attorneys had taken another look at the contracts and possible liabilities since the work session. They’d noted that the two state statuettes that provide liability waivers in the case of undeveloped land ownership may or may not apply to the borough in this case. Powers said that’s because the borough would be the recipient of the easements, not the owner.

“There is no case law on point, so they cannot go to case law, but they are cognizant that there are numerous easements recorded all over the state of Alaska that rely on those two sections of Alaska law for liability.”

Powers said the assembly has the option to pursue the inclusion of an indemnification clause, which would lay possible costs with another party.

When it came to discussion of the resolutions, Crow stated his intention of proposing an amendment to include that change.

“The state of Alaska has laws on their books that protect them … and the borough does not apparently, and for us to also perform due diligence to protect the city in perpetuity, my grandchildren and their grandchildren, perhaps from any liability that they would incur, I think that that is just good management and responsible.”

Borough Mayor Dan Rohrer stressed that making alterations to the contract at this point would be a lengthy process.

“This is a multiparty contract and the reality is that it took over a year to get here, and I think we need to keep that in mind as we’re voting. This would need to go back in front of the United States government via the Bureau of Land Management for approval as well as Leisnoi and its board of directors and its shareholders, and as well as the state of Alaska. And EVOS’s board of directors as well.”

Crow went forward with his proposal of an amendment to each resolution and both times the motion failed. The assembly’s votes on the unaltered resolutions to hold the easements were the same for Long Island and then Termination Point. The motion carried 4 – 2 with Crow and Rebecca Skinner against.

In addition to showing up in person, members of the public submitted numerous letters of support.

Yellow crime scene tape, flashing lights and the Juneau Police Department’s Mobile Incident Command Center are simply out of place on quiet, rain-soaked Ocean View Drive.

The isolated neighborhood on the outskirts of Juneau woke to gunfire early Saturday morning when Juneau police shot a man they said didn’t comply with an officer’s instructions. The man is expected to survive.

According to the Juneau Police Department, this was Juneau’s first officer-involved shooting in almost 10 years.

Eric Forrer is building a house in the area and was awake early in the morning.

“4:30 in the morning … gunshot.” (It) got my attention, Forrer said. “I’m thinking, somebody spotted a deer somewhere. Then lots of lights, lots of traffic, I didn’t stick my head out the door.”

Forrer said he went out later at a “decent hour” and asked his son who lives next door, “What happened?”

“Well, I woke up to gunshots … gunshot, gunshots, (I’m) not really sure,” Leif Forrer said.

He held his baby boy as he recalled that he saw flashing “strobe lights” through his windows and realized that something was seriously wrong. He put on his clothes, went into the street and asked his neighbors what they knew.

“An officer arrived on scene shortly there after and asked me to go home,” Leif Forrer said. “He was real polite and answered my questions and made me feel safe in that I was wondering if they were looking for someone or had someone at large.”

He said the officer told him there wasn’t a manhunt and everything was under control.

“So I came home and locked my doors and basically just told my wife what was going on,” he said.

According to Juneau Police Department, a 38-year-old Juneau resident was shot by police after he and another man crashed into a ditch in the 16500 block of Ocean View Drive. They haven’t been identified.

Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson said at a press conference Saturday that the man who was shot did not follow officers’ orders and one of the officers felt he had to shoot him.

“The man who was shot has been medevaced to Seattle and is expected to survive. We understand he is in serious, but stable condition,” Johnson said.

Johnson said police did not find a weapon at the scene. He said the two officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave while their actions are investigated. Per department policy, he said their names won’t be released until Monday at the earliest.

“My detectives have been on scene since early this morning preserving and cataloging evidence,” Johnson said. “The investigators from the Alaska Bureau of Investigations will be in town shortly. They will have full and complete access to the scene and will conduct their investigation.”

Johnson said the Juneau District Attorney, James Scott, will also have access to the scene.

Scott said he will be joining the investigation alongside the state Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions, and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation as part of a new protocol for officer-involved shootings statewide.

“Unfortunately it’s a practice that the Office of Special Prosecutions has had an opportunity to develop with regard to officer-involved shootings in Fairbanks and Anchorage,” Scott said.

Johnson said he doesn’t know when the investigation will end. He estimated it could take several weeks – depending on the information they uncover.

“Our goal is to conduct a very thorough, very professional, very transparent investigation so we can give very clear answers for what occurred and why what occurred happened,” he said.

No charges have been filed against the man who was shot. Johnson said he has had run-ins with police before and he said in the past, the victim has made threats to harm police officers.

Police will be using the officers’ vehicle dash cam video and audio recordings to help piece together what happened. Police said road access to the part of Ocean View Drive where the shooting occurred would most likely be partially shut down until late Saturday.

Leif Forrer didn’t seem worried about the road closure. He said he was happy that the police reached the scene quickly and were doing their jobs.

Editor’s note: A line was added to this story to clarify that police did not find a weapon at the scene. 

Update | 6:48 p.m.

A Bartlett Regional Hospital spokesperson says the five people taken to the hospital from the car accident are all in stable condition.

Community Relations Director Katie Bausler said there were two minors and three adults admitted. All were evaluated in the emergency room.

Original story | 6:21 p.m.

The intersection of Egan Drive near Fred Meyer was closed Friday evening after five people were injured in a four-vehicle accident.

Lt. David Campbell with Juneau Police Department said the accident was reported at about 4:15 p.m., but he didn’t know what caused it.

Campbell warned that traffic was slow and backed up. Inbound and outbound lanes were disrupted and diverted while emergency personnel worked the scene.

Campbell didn’t know the extent of the victim’s injuries.

As of 6:15 p.m., inbound lanes were flowing. Inbound access to Glacier Highway at Fred Meyer remained closed. Outbound lanes were diverted at Sunny Point up to Fred Meyer.

FBI statistics show the number of hate crimes is on the rise nationally, but very few are reported in Alaska.

Local officials say that’s not necessarily because they aren’t happening, they just don’t know about them. A recent class taught community members how to recognize and report a hate crime.

When someone commits a crime like vandalism or assault because of a bias against a certain group, that’s a hate crime.

That includes things like spray painting racist messages on a mosque or threatening to hurt a transgender person for moving into a certain neighborhood.

Some things – like harassment or vandalism at a school – are usually investigated at a local level.

Some are taken on by the FBI.

FBI special agent Steve Forrest, who taught the class, said it’s often really hard to prove that a violent act is a hate crime. Hate has to be an obvious factor – like someone shouting derogatory terms while assaulting someone else.

“Other hate crimes that involve violence, if you’re going to report those as a hate crime, we’re gonna need to prove that the individual targeted someone because of their race,” Forrest said. “So any sort of history, maybe, of racial animus toward a group. Maybe something we could use to build a case if it’s not more obvious than that.”

Forrest said only eight hate crimes were reported last year and none were reported directly to the FBI. But he doesn’t think that’s because they aren’t happening.

“I really doubt that we’re getting full reporting on the incidents that happen,” he said. “And that could be that they not being reported to the police properly or the police aren’t categorizing them as hate crimes. We don’t get a lot of calls about them, but I think the public in general has a lack of awareness that the public would investigate a hate crime.”

Forrest said he wants people to call him if they suspect a hate crime or see vandalism at a religious building. But some things that people may think fall into the category, like hate speech, are legally protected.

“People say a lot of horrible things, unfortunately, and there’s not much we can do about that,” Forrest said. “But it can evolve into threats and harassment. It can evolve into harassment, or some type of thing, but for the most part that’s going to be free speech, as bad as that may seem.”

Bajek Deng, from the South Sudanese community in Anchorage, attended the class so he could teach others about their rights.

He said he sees discrimination but many people in the community don’t know that they can report it to local police and the FBI.

“We need to learn the law and to tell our community that some people they don’t know their rights and some people do something bad to them but they don’t know where they go,” Deng said.

Lucy Hansen with the Polynesian Association of Alaska helped coordinate the event

“You know with what’s been going on around in the world and with our new leaders for America coming up, I think it’s an important time for everyone to learn and understand hate crimes and to know your rights as an individual,” Hansen said.

Hansen said oftentimes people don’t report hate crimes because they are afraid of interacting with the police but classes like this can ease the problem.

FBI agent Forrest said they want to know about potential hate crimes. Even if they don’t rise to the level of federal crimes, it can help the agency track potential trends and threats.

You can call the Anchorage field office at (907) 276-4441.

Juneau police said a Super Bear Supermarket employee trying to stop a thief Saturday morning was dragged after his arm was caught in the suspect’s car window.

According to the Juneau Police Department, 18-year-old Dylan Barger robbed the Super Bear and was trying to get away when an employee reached into the passenger-side window and tried to take back the stolen property.

Police reported that Barger rolled the window up trapping the employee’s arm, dragged him with the car and punched him several times in the face.

Police said Barger did not use a weapon in the robbery.

The store employee was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital where he was treated and released.

Witnesses described the vehicle for police and gave them a partial license plate number. Less than two hours after receiving the report, officers found the vehicle and Barger at a home in Mendenhall Valley.

Barger was arrested and faces a felony robbery charge and two misdemeanors, including fourth degree assault.