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A $9.7 million bailout package to ensure that the Juneau School District can cover a nearly $8 million deficit this year and help toward resolving a projected deficit of nearly $10 million next year was approved March 4 by the Juneau borough assembly. The package, consisting of a loan and taking over some “non-instructional costs” from the school district, won final approval after several weeks of consideration by city and school leaders. The Juneau assembly voted to provide the district with an interest-free loan of up to $4.1 million dol...
A state Senate committee has advanced a measure that would block an executive order giving the governor total appointment authority over the entire Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. State statute currently provides that House and Senate leaders appoint four members of the nine-member advisory panel. The executive order removing legislative power to appoint members to the board is one of a dozen issued by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in mid-January. The orders, dealing with various state boards, will take effect unless the House and Senate meet in...
The last of this year’s record of 1,646,862 cruise ship passengers left Juneau on Oct. 25. It was dark, temperatures were below freezing and a steady wind was blowing. All of which suited Shane Carl, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just fine. “I wanted to experience cold,” he said. “I knew it would be cold because the summers I hear are warmish, I heard. And I wanted to see the northern lights. But also the prices were great. It was toward the end of the season and I knew there’d be a lot of sales. And it did not disappoint.” The 1,936-passenger N...
Three people died within a three-day period aboard a vessel anchored offshore at Sandy Beach in Douglas, across Gastineau Channel from Juneau, with drug use a possible contributing factor to their deaths, the Juneau Police Department reported June 3. The Dusky Rock, a 35-foot commercial sailing vessel built in 1984, was anchored offshore in Douglas for about a week, said Juneau Harbormaster Matthew Creswell, although it frequently anchored near a downtown Juneau harbor at night, according to boat owners at both harbor locations. The first...
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking suggestions for sustainably managing the Tongass National Forest, with a series of public meetings across Southeast Alaska through May 19. The Wrangell public meeting is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. May 5 at the Nolan Center. “Instead of commenting on a plan we present, we’re asking folks to help develop it,” according to a Forest Service announcement of the meetings. That means looking for input from individuals, groups, government agencies and Alaska Native tribes about ideas such as “wood products, clean w...
Alaska’s share of a $26 billion nationwide settlement with opioid distributors and a manufacturer is $58 million, the state Department of Law announced March 1. According to the Department of Law, 15% of the $58 million — roughly $8.7 million — will go to the nine cities and boroughs in Alaska that participated in the lawsuit. The remaining funds will be used by the state to help Alaskans recover from opioid addiction, the release said. The payments will stretch over the next two decades, under terms of the settlement. “All of us know someone w...
Boats and trailers lined the launch ramps, residents thronged the beaches, plastic ducks bobbed in Twin Lakes, and Juneau basked under the sun on a record-breaking weekend. The capital city has had a full week of temperatures at or above 70 degrees, and the weekend brought the warmest days of the year so far. Saturday’s high temperature of 81 degrees beat the old record of 80, set in 2009, and is the hottest day of the year to date. Sunday’s high was 78, beating the 1999 record of 75. Those temperatures were recorded at the airport, Jun...
The budget cuts aren’t easy this year. The easy cuts were done last year. Now, the Alaska Legislature’s job is to spread the pain and ensure everyone shoulders the burden of budget cuts equally. With the state facing an annual deficit of $3.7 billion a figure rising every day oil is below $56 per barrel there’s no other option. Even with higher taxes on Alaskans and spending earnings from the Permanent Fund, the state’s budget still must be cut to break even. We understand the difficulty of the job facing lawmakers, but we feel obliged to spea...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Here’s some good news for the residents of Kake who have for years feared the demise of the historic Keku Cannery: funding to stabilize the crumbling landmark has been approved Gary Williams, executive director for the Organized Village of Kake, said the tribe has been authorized to use its Bureau of Indian Affairs transportation funding to stabilize the building, which is located on BIA trust land. Once it’s stabilized, the tribe intends to move its transportation office into the cannery. “The stabilization that we’re t...
Sealaska Corp. saw both its gross revenues and net income rise considerably in 2012 from the previous year, according to an annual report released to Sealaska shareholders Thursday. According to the 2012 annual report, Sealaska’s consolidated gross revenues went from $263.7 million in 2011 to $311.6 million in 2012, while its net income almost doubled, going from $6.7 million in 2011 to $11.3 million in 2012. The data comes from an independent audit of Sealaska’s finances conducted by KPMG LLP, a Seattle-based firm. Chris E. McNeil Jr., pre...
