An early voting site is seen on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022 at the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
An early voting site is seen on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022 at the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s primary election just over a month away, and the deadline to register to vote in that election is Sunday July 19.
Alaska’s primary election is Tuesday August 18, when voters will mark their ballots to choose among candidates for governor, legislators in the Alaska House and Senate, and representatives in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. A sample of the primary ballot can be found on the Alaska Division of Elections website.
The top four vote-getters in the primary will advance to the general election on November 3.
To register to vote in the primary election, eligible voters must be at least 18 years old within 90 days of registering, a U.S. citizen and an Alaska resident. They may not be registered to vote in another state. Voters must be a resident in Alaska and the district in which they seek to vote for at least 30 days before the election.
Language assistance is available with voting information and ballots available in Tagalog, Inupiat, Cup’ik and Yup’ik variations. Language assistance is available at every stage of the voting process, and can be requested from the division.
Naturalized U.S. citizens are eligible to vote, but U.S. nationals and non-citizens are not allowed to vote.
Individuals who have been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude are ineligible to vote in all elections until the date they are unconditionally discharged. That means they have completed their sentence and are no longer in Alaska Department of Corrections’ custody or supervision, which includes halfway houses, sentenced electronic monitoring, probation or parole. Once an individual is unconditionally discharged, they can re-register to vote if they otherwise meet eligibility requirements.
Residents are automatically registered to vote or their voter registration information is updated when they apply for the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. Residents have 30 days to opt out if they do not wish to register.
Individuals are considered Alaska residents if they reside in the state and intend to remain a resident or if they leave the state and have an intention to return. Active duty military members and family are exempt from the intent to return requirement and can register and vote by absentee ballot.
Residents can register to vote online, by mail or in-person at regional Division of Elections Offices, Division of Motor offices, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation offices, participating Tribal government offices, Legislative Information Offices, United States Armed Forces Voter Assistance Offices, Division of Public Assistance agencies, city or borough clerk’s offices, participating public libraries, or voter registrars.
Residents need a current Alaska driver’s license or state ID to register or update voter registration. After registration, eligible voters will be issued an Alaska Voter ID card within four to six weeks.
Residents can apply to vote by absentee mail-in ballot by August 8 for the primary, and by October 24 for the general election. Eligible voters can apply by email, fax or in-person. Ballots must be postmarked by election day.
Regional elections offices will open for absentee and early voting in the primary election on Sunday August 16.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy talks to reporters during a news conference on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy talks to reporters during a news conference on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Amid a series of disagreements with lawmakers in the state House and Senate, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has set a record for the most vetoes by an Alaska governor during a single two-year Legislature.
Through Friday morning, Dunleavy had vetoed 29 of the 115 bills passed by the 34th Alaska Legislature.
The previous record, 25 vetoes, was held by Gov. Tony Knowles in the 19th Alaska State Legislature, which ran from 1995 through 1996.
Dunleavy’s record is particularly notable because the number of bills passed by the Legislature has dropped precipitously in recent years.
During the 19th Legislature, Knowles’ vetoes accounted for 8.9% of all bills passed by lawmakers. Dunleavy’s vetoes cover more than 25% — one in four — of all bills passed by the 34th Legislature.
Dunleavy is a Republican. During his first six years in office — the 31st, 32nd and 33rd Legislatures — either the state House or Senate was controlled by a solidly Republican majority. During the 34th, both the House and the Senate have been controlled by coalition majorities where Democrats and independents hold some leadership roles.
The Beacon asked the governor’s office why the governor has vetoed so many bills during the 34th Legislature and whether there is a fundamental disagreement between the Legislature and governor.
“The fact that Governor Dunleavy has vetoed a few more bills in a legislative session than previous governors does not necessarily indicate a fundamental disagreement between the executive and legislative branches,” said Jeff Turner, the governor’s communications director, by email. “Governor Dunleavy has always evaluated legislation on a bill-by-bill basis.”
Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, declined to speak at length about the vetoes issue because legislators are currently negotiating with the governor on perhaps the biggest bill of the 34th Legislature: A multibillion-dollar property tax break benefiting the developer of the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Legislators may vote next week on whether to send a revised version of the tax break to the governor for approval.
Dunleavy has said he opposes the current version being discussed by a legislative conference committee. Asked this week whether he would veto the bill, he told Alaska’s News Source that it would be “tough” for him to accept it in its current form.
Eight other bills are awaiting the governor’s consideration. Those include House Bill 14, a comprehensive insurance bill; and House Bill 249, which changes the procedure for turning a car over to an insurance company after a wreck.
The governor has until Monday to act on HB 14 and until July 20 to act on HB 249.
The Legislature has not yet sent six other bills to the governor for action. Under the Alaska Constitution, that means the clock for final action has not begun.
While Dunleavy has the record for the most vetoes in a two-year Legislature, he does not hold the career record.
Gov. Jay Hammond, who served as governor from 1974 through 1982, issued 74 vetoes, the most of any governor during their career. Knowles vetoed 69 bills during his eight years in office. Gov. Bill Egan, who served 12 years in office, vetoed 56 bills. Dunleavy, who will leave office in December, has thus far vetoed 44.
Those figures do not include line-item vetoes in budget bills.
Portion of the brand new evacuation maps released by CBJ ahead of 2026 flood season
NOTN- Local, tribal, state and federal officials say Juneau is better protected but still at risk as the community braces for another glacial lake outburst flood from Suicide Basin in early August.
City Manager Katie Koester at a media briefing this morning, emphasized to reporters and media outlets that the purpose of the meeting as well as upcoming community events surrounding flood protection work is all about keeping residents informed and prepared ahead of this year’s Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, or GLOF.
She said the key takeaway however, was the need to evacuate during the event.
“We’ve done a lot to prepare for this event and we really appreciate the partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers in installing essentially between the city and the Army Corps $45 million worth of protective infrastructure for this year.” Koester said, “Nevertheless, it’s an unpredictable event, and if we have a breach, it will be a flash flood, and it will be very dangerous.”
The National Weather Service says Suicide Basin water levels are tracking close to 2024. Senior service hydrologist Aaron Jacobs said the basin is about 90 feet below the spillway and is most likely to fill between Aug. 1 and Aug. 9.
Forecasts point to a major flood similar to last year if the basin releases at full volume.
“We’re very close to the levels that we were seeing in 2024 and typically we’ll see about a three foot rise in normal inflow into the basin, and so right now we are about 90 feet below that spillway.” Jacobs said, “Right now that’s about 30 days out before we could see a full basin, and on our monitoring page we do update the conditions weekly, and if we see any other conditions change, we will update it more frequently.”
The City and Borough of Juneau has expanded its evacuation advisory zone to cover just over 1,900 residences, up from about 1,000 last year, based on new evacuation maps that account for blocked roads and responder access. Residents will be guided through a “ready, set, go” framework with Wireless Emergency Alerts, siren-style phone notifications and door hangers in affected neighborhoods.
“In years past, the CBJ and Unified Command have used inundation maps to communicate the risk from from potential flooding and the need to evacuate this year.” Said Emergency Programs Manager Ryan O’Shaughnessy, “We’ve worked really closely with all of our partners to plan for all scenarios, including the potential failure of the HESCO system. Our evacuation map this year, you’ll notice, has a lot more straight lines than an inundation map, and is generally aligned with streets and infrastructure, and the reason for that is we wanted to include areas that may not be directly inundated, but where access or travel, including by first responders, may be compromised. So in other words, if we wouldn’t be able to get to you during a breach scenario, or if you may not be able to get to safety, we are recommending that you evacuate.”
Engineers say roughly $45 million in temporary flood protection including HESCO barriers and a large pump system is now in place along the river through a partnership between the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“We have a very high level of confidence in the HESCO barriers, but this is a dynamic event… we really want to stress for folks to evacuate during this event,” said O’Shaughnessy.
Information on evacuation maps, sandbag events, and alerts is available on the Juneau Flood Ready page at juneau.gov.
A single caribou stands in 2019 amid cottongrass and other tundra plants near the Hulahula River in the Arctic National WIldlife Refuge. (Photo by Alexis Bonogofsky/U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service)
The federal government has agreed to permanently loosen rules for oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to a draft settlement agreement filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
Adam Gustafson, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a statement that the agreement “means more oil leasing, more domestic energy, and more independence from foreign sources of energy.”
The document filed this week would settle lawsuits filed by the state of Alaska and its investment bank over the 2025 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil lease sale that drew no bids.
That sale, mandated by a 2017 law, took place after the Biden administration restricted the available acreage. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and the state of Alaska sued over the Biden-era limits.
This week’s agreement states in part that the federal government will not limit oil and gas leasing in ANWR until oil and gas equipment covers at least 2,000 acres in the refuge’s coastal plain.
“The 2017 Tax Act does not authorize (the Bureau of Land Management) to deny or unreasonably limit development of production and support facilities to the Coastal Plain until 2,000 surface acres are covered by production and support facilities,” it states in part.
That’s a small fraction of the size of the leases being put up for sale but could represent a significant length of pipeline and a large number of drilling pads.
AIDEA and the state remain in court against the federal government over the result of a 2021 ANWR lease sale. AIDEA won leases during that sale, but the Biden administration canceled those leases, then attempted to re-sell the affected land during the 2025 sale.
The ANWR leasing program overall has been challenged by a coalition of environmental groups, and that case also remains in court.
By email on Tuesday, an AIDEA spokesperson said it would be accurate to call the new agreement a victory for AIDEA and Alaska because it “includes a clear admission that the … Lease Sale ‘violated the 2017 Tax Act by preventing meaningful leasing, exploration, and development of oil and gas on the Coastal Plain, as Congress mandated.’”
Through a spokesman, acting Alaska attorney general Cori Mills noted that while Alaska’s attention has recently focused on a successful lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to the west of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, the state continues to be interested in ANWR, which is to the east.
The new settlement agreement increases the odds that ANWR will stay open to drilling even when a new president comes after Trump.
“While the State is ecstatic about the progress in the NPR-A, we cannot lose sight of the potential in ANWR. The problem is not a lack of potential or even lack of infrastructure; it is the lack of a stable investment climate without burdensome and unnecessary strings attached,” Mills said by email.
“The last administration did everything they could to shut down development in ANWR that our congressional delegation and numerous state administrations had fought long and hard for. But that doesn’t have to be the future. We are grateful that the federal government recognizes the unlawful actions taken previously and was willing to enter into the settlement and essentially admit the error,” she said. “There is still hope that ANWR can provide economic prosperity and crucial resources for local communities, the state, and the nation.”
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks on the House floor on Feb. 27, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
A legislative ethics committee found that Homer Republican Rep. Sarah Vance violated Alaska ethics law when she used official legislative letterhead to publicly condemn a Homer News story last September. The story was about a local vigil she helped organize for Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist who was assassinated last year.
The House Subcommittee on the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics launched a probe into Vance’s conduct after receiving 18 ethics complaints from September to December last year. On June 26, the seven-member ethics committee, by a majority vote, found probable cause that Vance violated the Legislative Ethics Act “by using Alaska State Legislature letterhead for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or support of or opposition to partisan political activity.”
The committee determined that Vance’s use of official legislative letterhead violated Alaska statute that states that legislators may not use “public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or support of or opposition to partisan political activity.”
The committee determined no corrective reaction is warranted, other than adhering to the authorized use of official legislative letterhead in the future.
Vance opposed the ethics committee’s decision, saying in an interview on Wednesday her letter was not partisan activity and it was within her free speech rights to communicate with constituents. “I respectfully disagree,” she said. “The letterhead is mine, and my free speech should not be limited on how I can speak on behalf of my constituency.”
At issue in the probe is how Vance responded to a Homer News story published on September 17, 2025 that covered a local vigil for Charlie Kirk. Kirk was shot and killed at a public event on a college campus in Utah the week before. One suspect was arrested and is currently standing trial. Kirk was a vocal ally of President Donald Trump focused on mobilizing conservative students on college campuses, and many conservative supporters staged vigils and events around the country to memorialize him.
Vance wrote to the newspaper’s publisher, Sound Publishing, Inc. owned by Carpenter Media Group, an international chain, on her official legislative letterhead condemning the coverage of the Homer vigil. She also posted the letter to her official legislative Facebook page. The story described Kirk as a “far-right activist and Christian-Nationalist icon,” and described his views as “often racist” and “controversial,” characterizations to which Vance objected.
“In the letter Representative Vance expressed her displeasure with portions of the content of the article and her perception that the Homer News is biased, engages in partisan rhetoric and political talking points,” the committee wrote in their decision.
The committee identified several key phrases in her letter that violated Alaska statute, including that Vance noted a “growing movement to boycott” the Homer News that she said would result in potential financial repercussions. “If the paper continues to treat community events as opportunities for partisan spin, the consequence will be financial as well as reputational,” Vance wrote.
The committee members invited Vance to answer questions and appear before them, but she filed a request to dismiss the ethics investigation and declined to appear. On June 26, the committee held a public hearing with public comment, then moved to a nearly four hour executive session before announcing the majority vote finding probable cause that Vance violated ethics law.
Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, one of two House members on the committee, penned a dissenting opinion, which the committee issued with the decision. He questioned whether the authority of ethics law extends to official letterhead and defended Vance’s First Amendment right to free speech.
The committee dismissed three other statutory violations cited in complaints, related to political fundraising and campaigning, legislative employee political parties and campaigning, and donations. The 18 complaints are confidential, and were not made public with the decision.
In an interview, Vance said she believes the complaints were politically partisan and should have been dismissed. She said she is aware of the ethics rules barring the use of letterhead for campaigning for a specific candidate or fundraising. She rejected the finding that her letter was politically partisan.
“I called out the media for being biased and engaging in partisan activity, that doesn’t make me partisan, that’s just providing accountability,” she said. “Just like when I write letters to the Board of Fish for not following the public process, and I call them to account and say ‘you need to take a look at this and redo your actions.’ It’s the same advocacy on behalf of my constituents.”
Vance said she was expressing her free speech right and communicating with constituents with her letter and on her social media page. She said that includes noting the potential boycott and financial repercussions for the Homer News.
“I wanted them to know the seriousness of what was happening with their paper that had been for a long time, and it wasn’t a threat, it was just saying ‘you need to know what’s going on.’ I meant it more informational, but people perceived it differently,” she said.
Vance said she is still deciding whether to appeal or take further action on the issue.
Nationwide, Kirk’s killing prompted a pressure campaign by Republicans and conservatives to clamp down on language deemed critical of Kirk. A Reuters investigation found more than 600 people were fired, suspended or investigated for comments about Kirk’s death within the first two months of his killing. Some have successfully sued for First Amendment retaliation and have received large settlements or monetary damages.
The fallout from Vance’s letter was significant, though it was not mentioned in the ethics committee’s decision.
In response to Vance’s letter, the management of Sound Publishing, Inc. and parent-company Carpenter Media Group changed the story, removing some of the language Vance objected to without consulting the reporter or editor at the Homer News, who later resigned over the decision.
In a joint letter, four reporters and editors with the Homer News and the Peninsula Clarion — also owned by Carpenter Media Group — said they did not have a problem with Vance’s criticisms, but voiced strong objections to the management changing a story “at the behest of a local official.” They called the decision a betrayal of the journalists on staff and the company’s integrity.
“We believe this destroys the credibility the public has placed in us as reporters and editors,” they wrote. The group said they could not continue doing their job knowing the possibility of future pressure from an elected official could result in stories being changed without their consultation.
Vance said she was surprised that the publisher responded and changed the article, and learned later that reporters and editors were not consulted.
“It was never my intent for anyone to lose their job or to create a disagreement within the inner workings of the paper, but what it did do that was highlighted by those articles is it revealed there were long term issues that had been going on for quite some time,” she said.
“People say that I bullied and intimidated the media, I don’t believe that for one minute,” Vance said. “Sound Publishing is a pretty big corporation, and it was never my intent to bully, but just to say ‘no, this is wrong. You need to be aware of what’s going on in this community.’ And I’m going to speak up on behalf of my constituents, because their voice has been drowned out down here.”
Jake Dye, one of the reporters that quit the Peninsula Clarion, said by email on Wednesday that voters will decide whether they approve of Vance’s actions in the November election where she is running for re-election in House District 6. He said Vance’s comments implying financial repercussions crossed a line and “represents a problematic effort to explicitly intimidate the press.”
He said he doesn’t blame Vance for what happened and said Sound Publishing and Carpenter Media management are responsible for their response.
“There are three fewer journalists on the Kenai Peninsula today than there were a year ago,” Dye wrote. “That’s not because Vance wrote a letter, but because our corporate overlords chose to fold under her pressure and let down the talented people they employed to do reporting in the state.”
According to the proposed ordinance, when an officer-involved shooting occurs that causes death or serious injury to an officer or someone else, Juneau Police Department would release body-worn camera footage no later than 30 days after the incident. (Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)
(Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)
The Juneau Police Department says a recent Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Task Force investigation resulted in an arrest and the seizure of suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, below is JPD’s press release.
JPD- On June 24, 2026, members of the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) Task Force executed a search warrant on a box van in the 9000 block of Gee Street in Juneau as part of an ongoing narcotics trafficking investigation.
The investigation began in late May 2026 after investigators identified the location as a source of fentanyl distribution within the community. During the execution of the search warrant, investigators contacted and arrested 39-year-old Jonathan Henry Smith of Juneau.
Search of the vehicle associated with Smith resulted in the seizure of the following suspected controlled substances:
Approximately 17 grams of fentanyl
Approximately 54 grams of methamphetamine
Approximately 44 grams of cocaine
Total estimated street value of seized narcotics: $23,600
Smith was arrested and lodged at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on the following charges:
Four counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a Class A Felony
One count of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B Felony
The SEACAD Task Force remains committed to disrupting the trafficking and distribution of illegal narcotics throughout Southeast Alaska. This investigation highlights the continued cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together to protect our communities from the harmful impacts of illegal drugs.
SEACAD, Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs, is a regional task force comprised of municipal police departments from Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Haines, Skagway, Petersburg, Hoonah, Wrangell, Craig, and Yakutat, the Alaska State Troopers, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Coast Guard Investigative Service. Together, they work to investigate drug importation and distribution in the Southeast Alaska region.
CBJ- The Eaglecrest Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of Julie Jackson Piper as the next General Manager of Eaglecrest Ski Area. Piper was appointed to the role at the July 7 Eaglecrest Board special meeting.
“I am excited to welcome Julie Jackson Piper back to Eaglecrest as our ski area’s general manager,” said Brandon Cullum, Eaglecrest Board President. “Julie is the right person to lead our staff, support the board, and help inspire confidence with the Assembly as we move into the 2026/2027 ski season and work to address Eaglecrest’s longer-term sustainability concerns.”
Piper is currently employed as the Recreation Manager for the City of Richland, Washington, where she has served in that role since 2018. Her prior experience includes being the Aquatics Manager for the City and Borough of Juneau and Youth & Community Outreach Coordinator & Snowsports School Supervisor at Eaglecrest. Piper also has a Bachelor of Science in Ski Area Business Management from Northern Michigan University.
“I am honored to join Eaglecrest’s dedicated staff and engaged Board of Directors as we build upon the mountain’s remarkable legacy,” Piper said. “Together, we have an incredible opportunity to strengthen our connection with the community, enhance the year-round mountain experience, and ensure Eaglecrest continues to thrive for generations as we begin its next 50 years.”
Piper will begin her new role on August 31, 2026 and be paid an annual salary of $134,014.40.
The Eaglecrest General Manager is selected and supervised by the Eaglecrest Board. Following an initial applicant screening by the City and Borough of Juneau Human Resources Department, the Board Human Resources Committee interviewed candidates remotely before selecting a finalist for an in-person interview at the Eaglecrest Board meeting last week.
For more information, contact Dallas Hargrave, CBJ’s Human Resources/Risk Management Director, at dallas.hargrave@juneau.gov or 907-586-0225.
Fireweed blooms on either side of the trans-Alaska pipeline near mile post 86, Dalton Highway in 2006, two years after the 2004 Dall City fire. (Photo by Craig McCaa/BLM Alaska)
If built as proposed, the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline is expected to create thousands of jobs. Many, if not most, will go to people who don’t live in Alaska.
A six-year-old study, commissioned by the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. as part of the project’s environmental statement, says “an estimated 22 to 68 percent of the construction jobs would likely be filled by non-residents, depending on the construction year.”
The difference is likely because specialty jobs needed during construction — pipeline welders, for example — aren’t common in Alaska. Last year, more than 42% of all welding jobs in the state were held by nonresidents, according to figures published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, said that while new hires might not all be Alaskans, they will have the opportunity to become Alaskans, just as the builders of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline system did.
“There will be, just as it was on TAPS — most of those were not Alaskans, they became Alaskans. That’s one of the opportunities to look at here,” she said.
As the Alaska Legislature debates a multibillion-dollar tax break for the pipeline project, legislators are considering whether to tie that tax break to labor requirements that could require pipeline developers to hire more Alaskans.
Last month, the Alaska Senate voted 16-4 to mandate a certain level of apprentice hiring, something that could increase the number of jobs available to new Alaskans or those starting to learn a trade.
The latest version of the tax-break bill, released last week by legislative negotiators, eliminates that mandate but requires project-labor agreements that maximize opportunities for Alaskans who already have needed qualifications, said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau and author of the apprentice hiring proposal.
Hall said she hopes the apprenticeship mandate returns, but even if it doesn’t, the project would offer young Alaskans a chance to be trained as electricians, plumbers and in other construction-related trades.
They would be able to keep those skills and replace retiring construction workers.
“We are going to have such an opportunity to get these jobs … and then they can go on to full careers,” Hall said. “The graying of the construction workforce is such a big problem, and this is an opportunity to change that graying.”
Current estimates suggest the project would create a large number of temporary and permanent jobs but significantly fewer than were created by the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in the 1970s.
“I’ve read that during the development stage, there’ll be something like 12,000 jobs attached to this project,” said Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, in a June 27 hearing.
Adam Prestidge, president of Glenfarne Alaska, jumped in.
“Just to clarify, when we talk about jobs created, it’s approximately 7,000 for the construction of the pipeline, an additional 5,000 for the construction of the LNG facility. When it goes into full operation, you’re looking at a much lower number, around 1,000 permanent, 1,500 permanent operational jobs,” he said.
Tim Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for Glenfarne Alaska, confirmed the figures by email and added: “These are direct jobs and these numbers do not include additional indirect jobs. Glenfarne has not provided an update to the in-state/out-of-state estimates.”
In 1978, the Alaska Department of Labor concluded that more than 23,000 people were simultaneously employed at the peak of oil pipeline construction.
As currently planned, the gas pipeline project would be built in two phases, with the pipeline first and supporting infrastructure second. That means the 12,000 jobs expected by the project won’t come all at once, and peak employment will be well below what happened during the oil pipeline boom.
In addition, Alaska’s population is much larger than it was during the 1970s, further diluting the impact of construction employment. Last year, the state had 321,500 workers in January and 360,000 in July — the boom created by pipeline employment will be smaller than the one that already occurs each summer with tourism and fishing jobs.
What would be different is the value of each job — lawmakers are planning to mandate agreements that would require workers be paid high wages.
“There’s going to be a level of rearranging of the workforce that’s going to be pretty dramatic. If you’re a guy working at the Jiffy Lube, you could probably go … and be dispatched to do the same job on the pipeline and make vastly more money,” Hall said.
A successful project would create permanent, high-paid jobs.
“Project operation would require about 980 permanent personnel per year,” AGDC estimated in 2020, predicting that most jobs would be based in Anchorage and would go to in-state residents.
For the moment, those benefits remain hypothetical, and the state’s 1978 study provides an inadvertent cautionary note.
“Construction of the proposed gas pipeline project is planned to begin in 1981 – less than three years from now,” it said. “Alaska citizens and lawmakers are now meeting to lay out guidelines in preparation for pipeline construction in an attempt to maximize stable growth and to minimize the disruption which will result from such a large scale construction project.”
NOTN- The Eaglecrest Board will hold a special meeting this afternoon to consider the lone finalist for the ski area’s next general manager.
The meeting will run from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and will be held online only through Zoom, with the agenda available on the City and Borough of Juneau’s Civic Clerk webpage.
The finalist? Former Eaglecrest manager Julie Jackson Piper.
Piper previously worked at Eaglecrest from 2009 to 2015 and later managed Juneau’s public pools before becoming recreation manager for Richland, Washington. She was also a finalist for the position in 2024, finishing as the runner-up.
Her potential hiring comes during a challenging period for Eaglecrest, which has faced financial losses, equipment failures and closure uncertainty after the city canceled plans for a new gondola project because of soaring costs.
Currently the City and Goldbelt are discussing a potential partnership such as a long term lease.
Additional information on the meeting and other public meetings is available through the CBJ public meetings calendar.
Spring Creek Correctional Center is seen in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Corrections)
Alaskans who have been wrongfully convicted can now apply to claim Alaska Permanent Fund dividends that were withheld while they were incarcerated, under a new law.
The Alaska Legislature passed Senate Bill 167 by a combined vote of 58 to 2, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy allowed the bill to pass into law without his signature last month.
Under current Alaska law, those who are incarcerated or sentenced as a result of a felony or certain combination of misdemeanor convictions are ineligible for the Permanent Fund dividend. The amount equivalent to those dividends is deposited into a restorative justice fund each year.
Under the new law, past dividends will be granted to people whose convictions were vacated or reversed, or those who had charges against them dismissed. People who were found not guilty after their case was retried are also eligible. Individuals whose charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement in another criminal case would not be eligible.
Exonerees have two years after a dismissal or not guilty finding — or two years after the bill’s effective date — to apply for the past dividends through the Permanent Fund dividend office with the Alaska Department of Revenue. The bill is set to take effect on September 16.
Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, speaks Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, sponsored the bill and told lawmakers at a May hearing that the state has a responsibility to those the justice system has failed.
“When an Alaskan has been wrongfully convicted, and then later has had their judgment vacated or reversed, then the state must go beyond merely unlocking the cell,” he said. “We have a duty to make amends for those who have endured an injustice under our laws.”
Prior to the law’s passage, Alaska was one of 12 states that did not provide compensation for wrongful convictions, according to a sponsor statement prepared by Kawasaki’s office. Many states provide financial compensation, or college tuition or job training assistance for exonerees.
Kawasaki said it’s a small step to restore dividend payments. “These funds represent a loss of personal property during that period of time,” he said. “(The bill) is about restoration and not compensation, because really the amount of time that a person has been behind bars can just never be repaid.”
The bill was supported by the Tanana Chiefs Conference and non-profit advocacy groups, including the Alaska Innocence Project and After Innocence, a national advocacy non-profit that provides post-release assistance for those wrongfully convicted.
Jon Eldan, the executive director of After Innocence, said in an interview Monday that the restored PFD money is helpful.
“Because people who have been incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit typically face a wide range of barriers to rebuilding their lives after that horrible experience, and money helps,” he said. “And so not only is it good because it’s something that is due to them, but also because every dollar matters when you are trying to come back from having your liberty taken away.”
The number of Alaskans who have been wrongfully convicted, or who may be innocent and are in the process of fighting their prior conviction to be overturned is unknown.
The National Registry of Exonerations is a national database of false convictions compiled by Michigan State College of Law, University of Michigan Law and University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science and Society. The registry lists over 4,300 wrongful convictions since 1989 nationwide, including nine known cases in Alaska. Those nine cases represent a total of 76 years of incarceration.
“How many more people in Alaska who are incarcerated are factually innocent? And the difficult part is we don’t know,” Eldan said. “Except when these cases resolve in a systemic finding that their conviction needs to be overturned, and have the charges dismissed, etc. and so we don’t know what we don’t know.”
The most infamous cases of wrongful conviction in Alaska are known as the Fairbanks Four — when Marvin Roberts, Eugene Vent, George Frese and Kevin Pease were wrongfully convicted for the killing of a teenager, John Hartman, in 1997. The four Alaska Native men served 18 years in prison each, and were exonerated in 2015 when another man confessed to the killing.
Researchers with the National Registry of Exonerations point to a variety of factors that contribute to wrongful convictions, including police and prosecutorial misconduct, like concealing evidence and witness tampering, false or misleading forensic science, eyewitness testimony or confessions, or inadequate legal defense.GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.SUBSCRIBE
Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated nationwide. Researchers with the National Registry of Exonerations estimate Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted of crimes.
In Alaska, while Alaska Native people make up less than 20% of the state’s population, they made up 40% of the prison population last year.
“We see an over-representation in our prisons of people of color and minority groups,” Eldan said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised at all — although the numbers are quite small in Alaska, so far, in terms of identified wrongful conviction or innocence cases — to find an over-representation of minority groups, including Alaska Natives.”
