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Repair Shops Websites:
- AAMCO Transmissions Centers - Transmission repair and clutch repairs. Includes a shop locator and troubleshooting tips.
- Auto Glass Plus - Mobile auto glass and windshield repair and replacement in TX, KS, IN, OH and MO.
- Cottman Transmission Centers - North American chain of transmission repair centers.
- Drivers Shield Auto Service - Offers annual memberships in a roadside and owner assistance program.
- 89 Glass - Nationwide windshield replacement and auto glass service. Instant online quotes and free mobile service.
- Brake Masters - Auto repair and brake parts chain located in the Southwest United States. Include store locator and franchise information.
- Car-X Muffler and Brake - United States nationwide shops service brakes, mufflers, exhaust systems, oil and lube, alignment and tires, includes store locator and coupons.
- Jiffy Lube - Chain of fast lube and oil change centers in the United States. Includes locations and contacts.
- Midas - Auto maintenance and repair services including brakes, exhaust, and suspension. Locations across the United States and Canada.
- Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. - Provides automotive undercar repair services, including muffler and exhaust system repairs, brakes, steering, drive train and other products and services for domestic and foreign cars, light trucks and vans. (Nasdaq: MNRO).
- Tires Plus - Operates auto service shops across the United States. Includes online coupons, description of services and a listing of locations.
- Pep Boys - Operates stores in 36 states, selling brand-name and private-label automotive parts and offering on-site service facilities. (NYSE:PBY).
- Oil Can Henry's - Lube and oil change chain, with locations in multiple states. Services offered, locations, business philosophy, and franchising information.
Wikipedia
In presidential elections, the state's electoral college votes have been won by the Republican nominee in every election since statehood, except for 1964. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska supported Democratic nominee Lyndon B. Johnson in the landslide year of 1964, although the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. Republican John McCain defeated Democrat Barack Obama in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was Sarah Palin, the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. The Alaska Bush, the city of Juneau and midtown and downtown Anchorage have been strongholds of the Democratic party. Matanuska-Susitna Borough and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing. As of 2004, well over half of all registered voters have chosen "Non-Partisan" or "Undeclared" as their affiliation, despite recent attempts to close primaries.
Because of its population relative to other U.S. states, Alaska has only one member in the U.S. House of Representatives. This seat is currently being held by Republican Don Young, who was re-elected to his 19th consecutive term in 2008. Alaska's At-large congressional district is currently the world's second-largest parliamentary constituency by area, behind only the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin became the first Republican woman to run on a national ticket when she became John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate. She continued to be a prominent national figure even after resigning from the governor's job in July 2009.
On November 19, 2008, Democrat Mark Begich, mayor of Anchorage, defeated long-time Republican senator Ted Stevens. Stevens had been convicted on seven felony counts of failing to report gifts on Senate financial discloser forms one week before the election. The conviction was set aside in April 2009 after evidence of prosecutorial misconduct emerged.
Republican Frank Murkowski held the state's other senatorial position. After being elected governor in 2002, he resigned from the Senate and appointed his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski as his successor. She won a full six-year term in 2004.
Cities, towns and boroughs
Alaska is not divided into counties, as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into ''boroughs''. Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's sixteen boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.
The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the U.S. Census Bureau in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation. A ''recording district'' is a mechanism for administration of the public record in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a State Recorder. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.
Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralizationstate/county/townshipmost of Alaska uses only two tiersstate/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the Unorganized Borough which, as the name implies, has no intermediate borough government of its own, but is administered directly by the state government. Currently (2000 census) 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.
For statistical purposes the United States Census Bureau divides this territory into census areas. Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the Fairbanks North Star Borough) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).
The state's most populous city is Anchorage, home to 278,700 people in 2006, 225,744 of whom live in the urbanized area. The richest location in Alaska by per capita income is Halibut Cove ($89,895). Yakutat City, Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four largest cities in the U.S. by area.
; Cities of 100,000 or more people
; Towns of 10,000-100,000 people
; Towns of 1,000-10,000 people
; Smaller towns
: Alaska has many smaller towns, especially in the Alaska Bush. These latter are generally inaccessible by road.
Education
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development administers many school districts in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka; and provides partial funding for other boarding schools including, Nenana Student Living Center in Nenana, and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in Galena.There are more than a dozen colleges and universities in Alaska. Accredited universities in Alaska include the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, and Alaska Pacific University. 43% of the population attends or attended college.
Alaska has had a problem with a "brain drain". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. The University of Alaska has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.
Public health and public safety
Alaska residents have long had a problem with alcohol use and abuse. Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.Domestic abuse and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse.
Culture
: ''See also List of artists and writers from Alaska''Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Alaska Hummingbird Festival in Ketchikan, the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in Wrangell. The Stikine River features the largest springtime concentration of American Bald Eagles in the world.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to enhance self-esteem among Native people and to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people. The Alaska Native Arts Foundation promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, both on the internet; at its gallery in Anchorage, 500 West Sixth Avenue, and at the Alaska House New York, 109 Mercer Street in SoHo.
Alaska Natives - Inuit, Inupiaq or Yupik drummers and dancers - give informal performances in the lobby of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage on weekday evenings.
Libraries
The four main libraries in the state are the Alaska State Library in Juneau, the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library in Fairbanks, the Z. J. Loussac Library in Anchorage, and the UAA/APU Consortium Library, also in Anchorage. Alaska is one of three states (the others are Delaware and Rhode Island) that does not have a Carnegie library.Music
Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer Jewel, traditional Aleut flautist Mary Youngblood, folk singer-songwriter Libby Roderick, Christian music singer/songwriter Lincoln Brewster, metal/post hardcore band 36 Crazyfists and the groups Pamyua and Portugal. The Man.
There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the Alaska Folk Festival, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival the Anchorage Folk Festival, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival, the Sitka Jazz Festival, and the Sitka Summer Music Festival. The most prominent symphony in Alaska is the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Juneau Symphony are also notable. The Anchorage Opera is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.
The official state song of Alaska is "Alaska's Flag", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the flag of Alaska.
Movies filmed in Alaska
Alaska's first independent picture all made on place was in the silent years. The Chechahcos, was released in 1924 by the Alaska Moving Picture Corp. It was the only film the company made.
One of the most prominent movies filmed in Alaska is MGM's Academy Award winning classic ''Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent'' starring Alaska's own Ray Mala. In 1932 an expedition set out from MGM's studios in Hollywood to Alaska to film what was then billed as "The Biggest Picture Ever Made." Upon arriving in Alaska, they set up "Camp Hollywood" in Northwest Alaska, where they lived during the duration of the filming. Louis B. Mayer spared no expense in making sure they had everything they needed during their stayhe even sent the famous chef from the Hotel Roosevelt on Hollywood Blvd (the site of the first Oscars) with them to Alaska to cook for them. When ''Eskimo'' premiered at the famed Astor Theatre in Times Square, New York, the studio received the largest amount of feedback in the history of the studio up to that time. ''Eskimo'' was critically acclaimed and released worldwide; as a result Inupiat Eskimo actor Ray Mala became an international movie star. ''Eskimo'' is significant for the following: winning the very first Oscar for Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards, for forever preserving Inupiat culture on film, and for being the first motion picture to be filmed in an all native language (Inupiat).
The 1983 Disney movie ''Never Cry Wolf'' was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film ''White Fang'', starring Ethan Hawke, was filmed in and around Haines, Alaska. Steven Seagal's 1994 ''On Deadly Ground'', starring Michael Caine, was filmed in part at the Worthington Glacier near Valdez. The 1999 John Sayles film ''Limbo'', starring David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Kris Kristofferson, was filmed in Juneau.
The psychological thriller ''Insomnia'', starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams was shot in Canada, but was set in Alaska. The 2007 horror feature ''30 Days of Night'' is set in Barrow, Alaska but was filmed in New Zealand. Most films and television shows set in Alaska are not filmed there; for example, ''Northern Exposure'', set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, was actually filmed in Roslyn, Washington.
The 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, ''Into The Wild'' was partially filmed and set in Alaska. The film, which is based on the novel of the same name, follows the adventures of Christopher McCandless, who died in a remote abandoned bus in Alaska in 1992.
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External links =; State Government
; U.S. Government
; Other
Arctic Ocean
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States of the United States
States and territories established in 1959
West Coast of the United States