Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 441
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend was finalized at $992 and distribution is expected to begin early this year because of economic impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, state department officials said. The state Department of Revenue made the announcement Friday, saying payments are expected to begin July 1 instead of in October. “We are in extraordinary times. We need to make sure that the people of Alaska have cash in their hands to help in this economy,” Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in May. “I can’t t...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Department of Administration audit has found that the state’s National Guard units improved the handling of sexual assault and sexual harassment since 2014, but some problems remain. The administration department’s oversight unit said the National Guard increased sexual assault and prevention training, set up new procedures for addressing complaints and created a new military judicial system under laws passed by the Alaska Legislature, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. Citing the results of anony...
With the upcoming expiration of the state's health mandate that requires anyone arriving in the state to quarantine for 14 days, Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at the COVID-19 community update Wednesday that the borough hasn't received much information from the state on what will happen next. Last Friday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced plans to change state health mandate #10 in a press conference. He mentioned that the Petersburg and Wrangell airports would be supported by state...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has announced that checks from the state’s oil-wealth fund will begin going out to residents three months early because of “extraordinary times” brought on by the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus. “We need to make sure that people of Alaska have cash in their hands to help with this economy,” Dunleavy, a Republican, said Wednesday evening. This year’s check is expected to be about $1,000 and Dunleavy’s office said the Permanent Fund Dividend Division, which determines annual eligibil...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced on Tuesday that phases three and four of his Reopen Alaska Responsibly Plan will take effect Friday morning, but Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said communities are still waiting for more details on what businesses can expect to happen later this week. "[Dunleavy's] obviously making some leaps here to move the state ahead and jumpstart the economy, but the details of how or what restrictions are expected of every business hasn't been released," said...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislature reconvened Monday for the first time since recessing in late March over coronavirus concerns, with new screening protocols aimed guarding against the virus. Under the protocols, details of which were released Monday, legislative staff and reporters were required to undergo screening, consisting of a temperature check and questions about travel, contacts and symptoms. Screenings were done by Capital City Fire/Rescue, and badges with a colored sticker were issued to be worn in the Capitol noting that a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House abruptly adjourned Tuesday after ratifying plans for using more than $1 billion in federal coronavirus relief aid, one day after reconvening to take up the issue. The Senate passed its own ratification bill but stayed in session to consider the House version, which aides said is identical. A vote is expected Wednesday, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration moves ahead with plans for distributing funds, including community and small business aid. Payments to communities could begin as early as Friday onc...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has no income or statewide sales taxes, and it cuts residents a check every year from its oil wealth. But the future of that unique payout is in question amid low oil prices and an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic. The size of the check — expected to be about $1,000 this year — has become a political battle in a state that already struggled to pay its bills. Many of Alaska’s 730,000 people see the money as a right. For some, the checks go toward vacations, vehicles or college savings. For others,...
On Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy released state health mandate #18, which eases previous restrictions on intrastate travel. The newest health mandate supersedes state health mandate #12, which had limited travel between Alaskan communities to critical infrastructure or critical personal needs. State health mandate #18 now opens up all purposes of travel for communities connected by the road system and the Alaska Marine Highway System. Travel between those communities does include the use of boats...
We are sport, subsistence and commercial fishers in Bristol Bay, and we want to ensure the fisheries we rely on are healthy for generations to come. We write in protest of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s recent nomination of a Pebble Limited Partnership employee to the state Board of Fisheries. Since taking office, the governor has worked to advance the interests of a foreign mining company ahead of the interests of Alaskans. His recent nomination of Abe Williams, the Pebble Limited Partnership’s director of regional affairs, is another example of thi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A legislative committee set aside lingering legal questions and agreed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plans for $1 billion in federal coronavirus relief aid. Many Legislative Budget and Audit Committee members Monday said getting the money out was more important than haggling over legal authority for the spending, KTOO Public Media reported. The committee, made up of House and Senate members, previously agreed to Dunleavy’s plans for about $125 million, a fraction of his total request, while working through remaining items...
The borough assembly passed an ordinance adopting the borough's fiscal year 2021 operating budget in its first reading on Monday. Expenditures for the general fund in the proposed budget total $9,838,846, but it's balanced out equally by $9,838,846 in revenues. The current 2020 fiscal year budget has a total of $9,533,511 in revenues and $9,467,855 in expenditures. There were several challenges facing department heads in creating the upcoming fiscal year's budget. Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed 100...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Organizers of the Southeast Alaska State Fair said Friday that the summer event in Haines has been canceled this year due to COVID-19. In a statement, fair officials said it was a difficult decision but the right one to make. “For us and many across Southeast Alaska and the Yukon, the Fair is something to look forward to at the end of the summer, a moment of congregation and fun separate from the rest of the year,” the statement reads. “2020 has instead united us with the common goal of preserving the health and safety...
The borough assembly approved a public health emergency directive at a special meeting on Tuesday that implements a temporary quarantine and isolation program for first responders, healthcare works and homeless individuals and families to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the community. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said just after the formation of the Emergency Operations Center, the team identified a need to create a plan on how the borough could help the homeless populatio...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration announced plans to begin allowing this week the limited reopening of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses that were shut down amid coronavirus concerns. Starting Friday, restaurants, retail outlets, hair and nail salons and businesses that fell under the category of nonessential will be allowed to reopen, with limited services. Bars, theaters, bowling alleys and bingo halls will not be allowed to reopen yet, the state's health...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska ferry system is expected to receive an initial injection of $10 million in federal coronavirus recovery funding, officials said. The allocation for the Alaska Marine Highway System is part of $29 million in funding that the state received for rural transit needs from the Federal Transit Administration, CoastAlaska reported Saturday. The state had initially said the amount was $5 million but corrected the figure to $10 million on Monday without providing further...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss a list of questions from Gov. Mike Dunleavy on the state's decision to reopen the state and local economies; however, the assembly's discussion on those questions was scrapped, because the governor would only be taking feedback from smaller communities to be used when creating a plan to reopen the economy. During a teleconference between Dunleavy and other state officials with Alaska's municipal mayors and managers...
Last week, the Petersburg School District distributed 3,946 meals to 310 kids in the district as students continue to attend class remotely. The district's food service department first began delivering meals on March 23. That was the day students were supposed to return from spring break, but they were given an extra week off while staff prepared for distance learning. Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued his first state health mandate on March 13, which required public schools statewide to make school da...
The Petersburg Borough confirmed the second positive result for COVID-19 in the community on Saturday in a joint statement with Petersburg Medical Center. While this is the second case to officially appear in the community, it is the only active case of COVID-19 present at this time. The first individual who tested positive for the virus has since recovered. Another local resident, Delbert (Pete) Erickson, passed away from the virus in Washington last month, but the Alaska Department of Health...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Some midsize coastal towns in Alaska have voiced opposition to state rules barring the communities from establishing their own restrictions on workers arriving for the fishing season. Updated guidelines issued by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy say only the smallest, most isolated towns and villages can restrict travel or require mandatory quarantine for workers in industries the state deems critical during the coronavirus pandemic, CoastAlaska reported Wednesday. The April 9 amendment allows special rules to be drafted o...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Initial unemployment claims in Alaska are down slightly from a historic high, but they are about 12 times what is typical for this time of year amid the economic fallout from coronavirus concerns, according to a state official and government figures Thursday. Initial claims for the most recent reporting week totaled 12,007, said Lennon Weller, actuary for the state’s unemployment insurance system. That compares with 14,590 claims the prior week, which the state labor department said far exceeded anything in Alaska’s histor...
During a virtual Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter recommended that the board postpone talks on the Alaska Reads Act, which is a senate bill being put forth by Alaska legislators to address early childhood education. If passed, Senate Bill 6 would mandate school districts offer a preschool program and ensure students are reading proficiently by third grade. Kludt-Painter recommended further discussions on the topic be postponed because of local and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state forecast released Monday shows projected revenues down sharply from an estimate issued several months ago, with low oil prices and economic impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak cited as factors. The state Revenue Department projects unrestricted general fund revenue of $1.6 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, and $1.2 billion for the year starting July 1, excluding scheduled transfers from earnings of the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. That is down from projections of $2.1 billion and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will work with communities, industry leaders and others as it makes decisions on how to proceed in reopening sectors of the economy impacted by the coronavirus. Dunleavy said key to this will be monitoring case numbers. As of Tuesday, Alaska had reported 285 total cases of COVID-19, and nine deaths related to the coronavirus. The health of Alaskans will be a top consideration, Dunleavy said, adding he doesn’t “want anyone to get the wrong idea that we’re going to put the economy ahe...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced wide-ranging budget vetoes Tuesday amid a collapse in oil prices, citing expectations that many of the larger cuts, including aid for schools and local governments, would be offset through use of federal funds tied to COVID-19 relief. Some legislators questioned whether the money can be used that way. “There is no guarantee that the federal government will pick up the tab. This approach is incredibly troubling to me,”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, said in a state...
