The entrance to the Anchorage Forestry Science Laboratory is seen on April 2, 2026. The lab serves state agencies, Native corporations and private industry as well as federal agencies. The lab, in Anchorage’s Ship Creek neighborhood, is on a list of U.S. Forest Service facilities that the Trump administration plans to close. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Two weeks after the Trump administration announced a U.S. Forest Service “restructuring” that would close regional offices and most of the agency’s research facilities, impacts to Alaska – home to the two largest U.S. national forests – remain unclear.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on March 31 that the Forest Service’s national headquarters will move to Utah and that many of its facilities will be shuttered. Among the facilities on the closure list were two that are important to Alaska: the and the Oregon-based in Portland.
But other impacts on the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest and the 5.4-million-acre Chugach National Forest were not disclosed.
A statement from the Forest Service headquarters provided few details about the Tongass, the Chugach or the visitor and recreational facilities located in either forest.
“The transition will occur in phases. Employees will receive clear information about relocation timelines, available options, and resources to support their decisions,” the statement said. “The number of relocations beyond those already identified in the National Capital Region is unknown at this time.”
U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department oversees the Forest Service, outlined the restructuring plan last year. In a July 24, 2025, memo, she said the plan included the replacement of the Alaska regional office with “a reduced state office in Juneau.” The state capital is currently the site of the Alaska regional office managing both the Tongass and the Chugach.
Three people at Begich, Boggs Visitor Center in the Chugach National Forest look out at Portage Lake on Aug. 30, 2025. The U.S. Forest Service’s visitor center, a popular tourist destination, used to provide a close-up view of Portage Glacier’s ice. Now the glacier has retreated so much that it is around the right corner, requiring a boat ride or mountain hike to see it in summer. A bit of Burns Glacier, which has also retreated dramatically, is visible from the visitor center. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska has Forest Service facilities throughout the Tongass and Chugach regions, from the southern tip of the Southeast to Anchorage.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is also trying to learn about impacts to Alaska, a spokesperson said.
The senator and her staff are in a “fact-finding” mode and preparing to mount a “defense of the Forest Service in Alaska and make sure the employees are able to continue the good work that they’re currently doing,” said Murkowski spokesperson Joe Plesha.
The issue is expected to be managed through the Congressional appropriations process, Plesha said.
Murkowski is on the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs the appropriations subcommittee on the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.
The Anchorage lab that is scheduled for closure is located in the Ship Creek district of downtown Anchorage. It supports research in the Tongass National Forest, which is the nation’s largest, and the Chugach National Forest, the second largest. It also supports research on forests elsewhere, from the boreal forests of Interior Alaska to those on tiny tropical Pacific islands like Guam and Micronesia.
The lab is used not just by Forest Service scientists but by other federal agencies, state agencies, Native corporations, University of Alaska researchers and private industry, according to its website.
Tourists walk to and from a viewpoint at the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center on May 14, 2025. The visitor center in the Tongass National Forest is a top tourist destination. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Up to now, the lab has had a year-round staff of about 22 scientists and administrative workers, but the numbers increase during summer field seasons.
The planned closure of the century-old Pacific Northwest Research Station in Oregon is part of a consolidation of research functions into a single site in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Pacific Northwest facility, with about 250 employees, has an affiliated lab in Juneau. The fate of the Juneau lab remains unknown.
Among the Alaska projects undertaken by the Pacific Northwest Research station, sometimes with partner organizations, is study of the decline of yellow cedar in the Tongass and adjacent regions in the southeastern part of the state; the status of birds and rare plants in the Tongass; the study of rural Alaskans’ access to wild foods in the Chugach National Forest and the surrounding region; and the monitoring of human recreation’s impacts on brown bears.
The Forest Service closure plans follow deep cuts already made by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In the first half of 2025, the Forest Service lost 5,860 of its 35,550 employees, according to a Dec. 17, 2025, report by the Agriculture Department’s inspector general.
That includes losses in Alaska. As of January, Alaska’s Forest Service workforce was down to 467 from the total of about 700 before the DOGE-imposed cuts began, KTOO reported in January.
NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau is moving to terminate its revenue sharing agreement with Goldbelt, as discussed at a Committee of the Whole work session Monday night, over the proposed gondola project at Eaglecrest.
Mayor Beth Weldon said the Assembly’s Committee of the Whole voted to end the existing Revenue Sharing Agreement (RSA) with Goldbelt, citing mounting interest costs and concerns over the city’s fund balance.
At Monday night’s meeting City Manager Katie Koester introduced the Gondola issue, saying, “We have a 99% designed gondola, and all the parts and pieces for this mountain, and marketing that to an outside investor is certainly something that this body has expressed interest in. As a reminder repayment on May 1 is a little over $12 million. We have about $3.3 million left in the project account. However, there’s lots of moving pieces and encumbrances, and I’d like to leave at least, you know, half a million dollars in that account to cover some of those.”
“Goldbelt still wants to negotiate, but in the meantime, the revenue sharing agreement that we have keeps collecting interest, so we moved an ordinance to terminate the RSA with Goldbelt forward to the full assembly, accompanied by an appropriate ordinance for 9.5 million from fund balance and 2.7 million in the remaining gondola project. So we’re going to terminate the RSA agreement, but that doesn’t mean that we still won’t negotiate with Goldbelt or another entity to move forward.” Weldon said.
The city is advancing an ordinance to appropriate $9.5 million from its fund balance and $2.7 million from remaining gondola project funds. Those dollars would be used to satisfy the city’s obligations under the RSA.
“There was quite a bit of conversation that this will take our fund balance down considerably, but we have yet to do all of our work, and so we’re working on trying to put stuff back in the fund balance, and we have a ways to go.” She said.
The refund to Goldbelt could go out soon after the Assembly’s next regular meeting, Weldon said. “it will come in our next assembly meeting, if that passes, it will go through.” She added.
Weldon said she has already submitted budget-cutting ideas to help replenish reserves, though it will be up to the Assembly to decide what to adopt.
The gondola was one of three major financial and development topics discussed at the Assembly Committee of the Whole work session, alongside Telephone Hill development and child care funding.
Photo provided by CBJ following the installation of the HESCO barrier project
Photo provided by CBJ following the installation of the HESCO barrier project
CBJ- As the snow melts, City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) crews and contractors are now moving quickly to repair, raise and reconstruct the Phase 1 HESCO barrier project ahead of a 2026 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) event.
CBJ’s Engineering and Public Works department has spent months documenting damage, analyzing impacts and vulnerabilities, and utilizing the latest available hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to develop plans for the reconstruction of existing Phase 1 HESCO barriers. The CBJ Assembly has identified GLOF response, mitigation & preparedness as a top priority. The goal of this ongoing work, done in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is to ensure that these flood fighting projects provide as much protection as practicable until a longer-term solution is in place.
The project includes additional bank armoring and raising HESCO barriers to protect Mendenhall Valley residents from future floods up to 90,000 cubic feet per second or approximately a 20-foot lake stage flood. A map showing planned reinforcements and raising of Phase 1 is available at juneau.org.
“The HESCO barriers proved their value in 2025, but we had some close calls, we’ve learned a lot, and we aren’t taking any chances in 2026,” explains CBJ City Manager, Katie Koester. “By doing this major reconstruction work in 2026, we can have confidence in the protection of the HESCO barriers against larger flood events, with less future disruption to residents and lower annual maintenance costs to the community.”
The 90,000 CFS flow rate represents a 50-year GLOF event and is the number the USACE is using in their evaluation of mid-term flood fighting solutions for Juneau. Constructing to the 50-year event now, instead of annual incremental increases, will reduce future annual costs and minimize annual disruption to property owners. The “50-year event” is a probability-based number that represents the comparatively higher likelihood that a flood of 90,000 CFS may occur. Based on projections, it is possible that the Mendenhall River could experience a 90,000 CFS (20 ft) event within the operational life of the HESCO barriers. The 2026 Phase 1 reconstruction and fortification will not impact the Local Improvement District (LID) assessments for the original Phase 1 construction. This year’s project is a separate scope that is fully funded by CBJ funding and Alaska Department of Conservation State Revolving Loan funds. CBJ and agency partners are also actively seeking grant funding to support this project.
CBJ project managers have and will continue to coordinate directly with property owners and impacted residents along the Phase 1 and Phase 2 project areas. More information about flood fighting, flood emergency preparedness and the pursuit of an enduring solution is available at bit.ly/CBJGLOF. In addition to barrier reinforcement and fortification, CBJ is making improvements to drainage and stormwater management in the area. CBJ is coordinating with USACE to acquire over 40 industrial-grade pumps to deploy to strategic staging locations based on anticipated water intrusion risks. These pumps will be deployed to serve the community as a whole rather than individual properties. Importantly, they can operate for up to 24 hours do not require refueling during an event, allowing both staff and residents to safely evacuate inundation areas.
Phase 2 HESCO Barriers USACE – Alaska District, in partnership with CBJ, began the first phases of the Phase 2 HESCO barrier project installation along the Mendenhall River last month. USACE contractor Sealaska Constructors is leading the work. The Advance Measures scope includes riverbank armoring and installation of temporary (HESCO) flood barriers to construct a fortified, complete temporary flood barrier along the unprotected, populated riverbank areas of the Mendenhall River – referred to as Phase 2 – prior to July 15, 2026. For questions about the Phase 2 HESCO Barrier Project, please contact public.affairs3@usace.army.mil.
Safety CBJ and USACE are on a tight timeline to complete construction before the next GLOF. We ask that the public avoid the construction area for your safety and the safety of workers, residents and property owners, and to allow for efficient and expedient operations.
Reps. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, Zack Fields, D-Anchorage huddle with members of the House majority caucus during a break in debates on the operating budget on Apr. 9, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska House of Representatives advanced a draft budget for the state’s operations next year, with a $1,500 Permanent Fund dividend for eligible Alaskans. It includes a nearly $158 million one-time funding boost for public schools and tens of millions for disaster relief, transportation and public assistance programs.
Members passed House Bill 263, the operating budget bill, along caucus lines by a 21 to 19 vote on Tuesday.
Lawmakers spent four days debating amendments — additions, cuts and reallocations to the draft budget — on the House floor, amid deep political divides around state priorities, war-driven oil revenues and how to balance paying for government services versus distributing cash to Alaskans through the dividend.
The draft budget now moves to the Senate for consideration, where it’s likely to be further revised.
“I feel relieved,” said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the House Finance Committee that drafted the budget, after the vote on Monday.
Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the House Finance Committee which drafted the operating budget, speaks to what’s included in the budget on the House floor on Apr. 13, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“But the difficulty we’re in is that overall, the war in Iran, which is most unfortunate, is very helpful to budgeting,” he said. “But the Alaska people are hurting more, right, particularly when it comes to fuel prices. So that’s a problem as well.”
As Alaska has no personal income tax or state sales tax, more than 60% of funds for the general purpose budget comes from an annual draw from the Alaska Permanent Fund and roughly 30% comes from state oil revenues.
Lawmakers have been closely watching Alaska oil prices, as they surged in recent weeks due to the Trump administration’s war on Iran. State forecasters project a potential $500 million boost in state revenues next year, but lawmakers are divided on what that should mean for state spending.
The all-Republican House minority caucus advocated for putting money towards a statutory Permanent Fund dividend, but the multipartisan majority coalition pushed the balance towards spending on state services.
Members of the all-Republican minority caucus Reps. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, Frank Tomaszewski, R-Fairbanks are seen in the House during a break in the debate on the operating budget on Apr. 13, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
The House draft operating budget made revisions to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed $7.75 billion budget unveiled in December, which included a $3,800 Permanent Fund dividend and a $1.8 billion draw from state savings.
The House draft opted not to tap into the state savings account. The House draft does include a deficit of roughly $180 million, but that total may change depending on revisions in the Senate.
Fairbanks Republican Will Stapp criticized the deficit as an “unfunded” budget. “It’s underwater,” he said Monday.
The draft budget contains increased funding across divisions: nearly $158 million in a one-time funding increase for public education, including nearly $11 million earmarked for student transportation; $33.3 million for Medicaid rate increases; nearly $55 million for fire suppression and $38 million for disaster relief; $17.5 million in heating assistance; $23 million for Alaska Department of Corrections staffing and tens of millions in transportation, public assistance programs like child care, infant learning programs, senior services, public health and public safety grants, among others.
House lawmakers rejected a roughly $3,800 Permanent Fund dividend proposed by the House Finance committee, which would have cost nearly $2.5 billion and was contingent on a draw from state savings, which requires approval of three-quarters of lawmakers.
House lawmakers instead approved a $1,500 Permanent Fund dividend that will cost the state $992 million.
Members of the multi-partisan House majority caucus expressed support for the draft budget that focused on public programs and services to enhance future benefits.
“Education, child care, parents-as-teachers, Head Start — moving upstream to try and give our youngest, our most precious resource in the state of Alaska, the best start that we can give them,” said Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, acknowledging that it is a balancing act for lawmakers.
Republican minority legislators also proposed spending increases, which included $2 million for the Alaska Department of Public Safety to establish a new Trooper post in Talkeetna, and $2 million for a sport fish hatchery in Fairbanks. Both failed along caucus lines by a 21 to 19 vote.
Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, criticized the House draft budget in a statement following its initial approval on Monday.
House Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, speaks on the House floor on Apr. 13, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“The budget passed by the Majority is a betrayal of the Alaskans we were sent here to represent,” said Johnson. “While Alaskans face one of the most unaffordable years of their lifetimes, this Majority has chosen to fund government agencies at record levels, while leaving families and communities behind.”
Minority lawmakers introduced nearly 50 amendments on the House floor over three days, which varied from cutting additional funding for education, funds for teacher recruitment and for community and regional jails, to cutting travel budgets and reallocating public employee salaries for vacant positions to add funding for school maintenance. Most of them failed along caucus lines.
The minority’s most strident call was for a maximum Permanent fund dividend.
“The removal of the statutory dividend that equates to removing $42.5 million dollars from the economy of my district,” said Rep. Sara Vance, R-Homer.
While lawmakers refer to the statutory dividend of roughly $3,800 per Alaskan, in 2017 the Alaska Supreme Court ruled lawmakers may ignore the formula since it’s not in the state Constitution. Since then, legislators have typically reduced the dividend to balance state expenses and avoid drawing from savings.
Boost to education funding
The House draft adds $158 million in one-time funding for Alaska schools, equivalent to an additional $630 per student.
That’s in the case that various education bills that provide a sustained increase to per student funding, through state’s formula boosting the base student allocation, fail to pass this year. Those bills are currently under consideration in education committees.
Lawmakers said they decided on the additional $630 per student after assessing the current deficits of the five largest school districts by student population. Many districts are grappling with decisions on school closures, staff cuts and increasing class sizes to address large budget shortfalls this month — including the potential closure of three schools in Anchorage, three schools in the Matanuska Susitna Borough, four schools on the Kenai Peninsula and two of the four elementary schools in Ketchikan.
Josephson said one-time funding this year for schools seems to be more viable than an attempt to permanently raise the per student funding formula, given the governor’s history of vetoing education funding increases — including three vetoes last year alone, one which the Legislature overrode in a special session last August.
Members of the House majority huddle with staff members in deliberations on the operating budget on Apr. 9, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“It’s far from a panacea, right? It’s far from anything that is the real solution. But I think if superintendents had it, they’d be delighted to have it,” he said.
Members of the House approved an amendment to earmark $10.9 million of that $158 million for school districts’ transportation for students, to help offset rising costs due to a war-driven rise in fuel prices.
Representatives from Northwest and Western Alaska objected to the transportation earmark, saying they were unsure if the funding would be allowed for student flights in their rural districts, which are off the road system. Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan, sponsored the amendment, and said all districts would be eligible for their transportation of students, whether by road, air or ferry. It was approved by a 33 to 7 vote.
Lawmakers also debated earmarking an additional $10 million from the remaining one-time education funding for career and technical education grants for school districts, but the proposal narrowly failed by a 20 to 20 vote.
With a little over a month left in the legislative session, the House draft budget now goes to the Senate for consideration and likely further revisions.
On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee introduced a draft capital budget, a proposed $247 million for state facilities maintenance and construction projects, including for deferred maintenance of schools. The draft will go to the House for consideration in the coming weeks.
The legislative session is set to conclude on May 20.
House Minority Leader Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer discusses procedure with House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham and House clerks during debate on the operating budget on Apr. 13, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the governor’s budget proposal, it was $7.75 billion not million.
People shop for groceries at a Walmart store in Ohio. New research suggests SNAP work requirements won’t enhance employment and will push more people off of food assistance. (Photo by Marty Schladen/Ohio Capital Journal)
As states enact stricter work requirements for the federal food stamp program, a new analysis suggests those requirements won’t enhance employment and will push more people off of food assistance.
The researchers conducted a review of studies on work requirements and concluded that “the best evidence shows they do not increase employment. Moreover, this research finds work requirements cause a large decrease in participation in SNAP.”
The research from The Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative at the left-leaning Brookings Institution, comes at a time of major upheaval for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Participation is already declining as states implement changes mandated by the president’s major tax and domestic policy law enacted last summer.
Since the fall, states and counties that administer SNAP have been notifying residents who rely on food stamps that they must meet work requirements or lose their food assistance. Those changes affected exemptions to work requirements for older adults, homeless people, veterans and some rural residents, among others.
Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the law mandated cuts to social service programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.
While SNAP enrollment is declining nationally, more people will likely lose food assistance as states continue to implement the work requirements and recertify participants, said Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at Brookings Institution and the associate director of The Hamilton Project.
“Everything that we know about work requirements is that they do not increase employment among the groups that are subject to them,” she told Stateline. “All they do is make it more likely that they are disenrolled from the program. And so, should these work requirements continue to be rolled out and implemented, we would expect to see declining enrollment and no changes in employment.”
Bauer said the growing body of research on SNAP has changed her mind about its ability to affect employment. While food stamps reach millions of people each year, the program’s work requirements have proven ineffective, confusing and burdensome, she said.
“I am now of the mind that SNAP should be an anti-hunger program, and there are many, many ways to do workforce development, career ladders, career training, job search — all of those things. That’s not an anti hunger program and it shouldn’t be associated with it.”
What’s more concerning to her is how the stricter work requirements will affect people who lose jobs in an economic downturn. Traditionally, SNAP has been one of the most effective social supports for the unemployed, helping people who lose their jobs quickly gain food assistance. But laid-off workers will increasingly be told they cannot receive benefits without working.
“It’s just this dissonant, unhelpful interaction that you have with the government,” Bauer said. “I lost my job, I need food benefits. Well, you can only get food benefits if you have a job.”
At least 2.5 million low-income people, or 6% of those enrolled, have lost SNAP benefits since the legislation was signed into law, according to a study by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published Wednesday.
Bauer said it’s unclear how much of that decline is directly related to the federal legislation. That’s because SNAP participation generally declines during times of economic prosperity and increases during downturns.
But the program is facing unprecedented changes: Under the new law, states have also lost funding for nutrition education programs, must end eligibility for noncitizens such as refugees and asylees, and will lose work requirement waivers for those living in areas with limited employment opportunities. States are also forced to cover more of the costs of the program.
Earlier this week, a USDA spokesperson applauded the drop in SNAP participation, noting the program’s rolls had fallen below 40 million for the first time since the pandemic. The spokesperson told States Newsroom the program would continue “to serve those with the greatest need while also strengthening program integrity.”
Republicans, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, have defended the legislative changes to SNAP, arguing they will help eliminate waste and fraud in the program.
In a June news release, he characterized SNAP as a “bloated, inefficient program,” but said Americans who needed food assistance would still receive it.
“Republicans are proud to defend commonsense welfare reform, fiscal sanity, and the dignity of work,” Johnson said in the release.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Alaska Beacon, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, speaks Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Haley Lehman, Alaska Beacon
Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, speaks Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that would grant back Permanent Fund dividends to Alaskans whose convictions are vacated, reversed or dismissed.
Under current Alaska law, people who were sentenced or incarcerated as a result of a felony conviction or certain combinations of multiple misdemeanors forfeit their dividends that year and any following years of incarceration. An amount equivalent to the incarcerated person’s dividend is deposited into a restorative justice account.
Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, the sponsor of Senate Bill 167, said Monday, “The state has a duty and obligation to rectify harm done to those who might have been wrongfully convicted and to those who have been exonerated of a crime.”
The bill would grant past dividends to people whose charges were later dismissed or if their conviction was vacated, their case was retried and they were acquitted. Individuals who qualify would have one year after their charges were reversed or dismissed to apply. Individuals whose charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement in another criminal case would not qualify for back payment of dividends.
When Kawasaki served in the House of Representatives, he sponsored a similar bill in 2017 that passed in that chamber 38-1.
Kawasaki told the Senate that this change would impact “very few people annually,” and would provide a “modest, essential source of income.”
The Department of Revenue was not able to determine the fiscal impact of the proposed legislation since the Permanent Fund Dividend Division does not know how many Alaskans with past vacated sentences will apply for a past year’s dividends. Funding for past PFDs comes from a reserve for prior years’ dividends in the budget.
The bill received support from Tanana Chiefs Conference and the nonprofit After Innocence.
Kawasaki estimated last year that Marvin Roberts, Eugene Vent, George Frese and Kevin Pease, known as the Fairbanks Four, would receive approximately $103,450 in back PFDs after they were wrongfully incarcerated in connection with the 1997 death of John Hartman.
Juneau's Telephone Hill neighborhood is seen at center right, beneath the State Office Building, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. The neighborhood, owned by the state of Alaska, is being transferred to the City and Borough of Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Juneau’s Telephone Hill neighborhood is seen at center right, beneath the State Office Building. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
NOTN- Juneau’s Assembly narrowly rejected a plan during last night’s Committee of the Whole work session, to carve up the city-owned Telephone Hill property and sell most of it “as is,” choosing instead to stay the course for the time being.
“So spending time with all of you, a lot lately with the budget, and spending a lot of time in the office with budget stuff and the flood coming upon us, and an election coming upon us, I think it’s nice to get Telephone Hill off our plate.” Mayor Beth Weldon said, “However, my main reason for doing this is just the public outcry not to spend any more money on Telephone Hill.”
On a 5–4 vote last night, members voted down Weldon’s proposal to divide Telephone Hill into three lots, reserve one for potential Coast Guard or workforce housing, and sell the other two with existing homes still standing.
The draft plan envisioned minimum bids of about $1 million and $2 million for the properties.
Members argued the change would undercut years of planning for higher-density housing in the downtown core at a time when the city faces a severe housing shortage and an influx of Coast Guard families. Several members said splitting up the property now could limit the city’s ability to pursue a cohesive, larger-scale project.
“I object to this. It’s funny, I object to this on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start.” Said Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs,”I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but my read on the motion that passed at the last meeting was to bring this back and talk about, where are we going? Do we still feel good? How are we going to get there? And then we have this from the mayor, I will say crazy idea with love, I wouldn’t say that to anyone else. I don’t understand at the heart of this, the sponsor statement is that this is about not spending any more funding on this project, this seems to try to care for other issues, which is to leave some of that land back to where it might not turn into what our current plans are for it. It does preserve a small amount for our housing goals, but even that, I don’t see how that coincides with the goal of not spending any more money. I don’t see this, if that is indeed your intended goal, as the best way to move forward with that.”
In a separate 5–4 vote, the Assembly agreed not to award a roughly $2.3 million demolition contract until after it sees responses to a Request for Qualifications from potential developers, expected later this year.
“I understand and see where the mayor is trying to go.” Said Deputy Mayor Greg Smith, “This has been a challenge for us. I have an idea, I would move, or someone else could move, to not award the bill to demolish until after the results of the RFQ have been returned, to see what people think and hear and, you know, get real proposals on how to develop this, see what can be done. There is uncertainty now that will provide more, getting the RFQ back, because this could be a transformative project for downtown and for our housing crisis.”
The city is also defending a lawsuit filed by several Assembly members seeking to halt demolition; a jury trial is set for August, though no court order currently blocks the work.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 2, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump on Friday called on Alaska voters to repeal ranked choice voting at the November election.
“The Wonderful People of Alaska desperately want to restore Free, Fair, and Honest Elections in their Great State, and get rid of their disastrous, and very fraudulent, “Ranked-Choice Voting,” Trump said on Truth Social.
An effort to repeal ranked choice voting in 2024 failed by just 737 votes. A separate repeal initiative, sponsored by figures aligned with the Alaska Republican Party, is set to appear on the 2026 general election ballot.
Trump gave his “complete and total support” to supporters of the repeal effort, including U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Congressman Nick Begich, both Alaska Republicans running for reelection in November.
The president’s post was seized on by Republican candidates for Alaska statewide office who echoed his calls to strike down the voting system.
Alaska voters narrowly approved a ballot measure in 2020 that implemented ranked choice voting for state and congressional elections, alongside open primary elections and tougher campaign finance disclosure requirements.
Ranked-choice voting in Alaska lets voters pick candidates in order of preference rather than choosing just one. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and those votes are redistributed until someone surpasses 50% of votes.
However, the new election system has been controversial. Opponents argue that ranked choice voting is unnecessarily complicated, while supporters say it has led to more moderate and consensus candidates elected.
Ranked voting, open primaries and the tougher campaign finance disclosure requirements would all be struck down if the 2026 ballot measure is approved by a majority of voters.
Alaska for Better Elections is a group running voter education campaigns in support of retaining ranked choice voting and open primaries. Executive Director Juli Lucky said Alaska’s election system has allowed policymakers across the political spectrum to work together without fear of challengers in partisan primaries.
“I think Alaskans will reflect on the results we’ve seen to decide whether our system of open primaries, ranked choice voting, and the strictest campaign finance laws in the country works for them,” Lucky said by text message after Trump’s post. “Ultimately, Alaskans created and enacted this system, and Alaskans will decide whether we keep it.”
This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey looks up Tracy Arm fjord to the terminus of the South Sawyer Glacier about 80 miles southeast of Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 13, 2025, days after a landslide in the area. (John Lyons/U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey looks up Tracy Arm fjord to the terminus of the South Sawyer Glacier about 80 miles southeast of Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 13, 2025, days after a landslide in the area. (John Lyons/U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
AP- For years, a popular part of many cruises in southeast Alaska has been sailing up Tracy Arm, a long, narrow fjord marked by steep mountains, glittering waterfalls and calving glaciers.
But this season, major cruise lines are skipping it. A massive landslide last summer sent parts of a glacier crashing into the water, generated a tsunami and pushed a wave high up the opposite mountain wall. Several companies opting out cited safety concerns with the still-hazardous slopes.
“Tracy Arm is the majestic princess, you know, she is the queen of fjords,” said travel agent Nate Vallier.
The destination cruise and tour companies have chosen as an alternative — nearby Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier — is “still beautiful by any means, but it’s just not the same,” he said.
Tracy Arm, southeast of Juneau, is a roughly 30-mile (50-kilometer) fjord that features two tidewater glaciers — the North and South Sawyer — and wildlife, including seals and bears.
Early on Aug. 10, 2025, a landslide originating high on a slope above the toe of the South Sawyer, near the head of the fjord, sent water surging more than a quarter mile (more than half a kilometer) up the mountain wall opposite the slide and out Tracy Arm.
No ships were in the fjord, officials said, and no deaths or injuries were reported. But kayakers camped on an island near where Tracy and Endicott arms meet had much of their gear swept away by the rushing water.
Southeast Alaska, largely encompassed by a temperate rainforest, is no stranger to landslides. And while it’s long been known the fjord network in the Tracy Arm region has been susceptible, the slope that failed had not been identified as an active hazard before last summer’s collapse, said Gabriel Wolken, manager of the state’s climate and ice hazards program.
Scientists are working to understand not only what caused the slope to collapse but to understand what other hazards might exist in the fjord, he said.
The area remains unstable, said Steven Sobieszczyk, a U.S. Geological Survey spokesperson. Steep landslide areas continue to change for years after an initial slide, he said by email.
“Continued rockfall and small-scale sliding from the exposed landslide scar are expected and could impact the water, potentially causing a future localized tsunami,” he said.
Major cruise companies, including Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean said in response to inquiries from The Associated Press that they are replacing a Tracy Arm visit with Endicott Arm. MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages and regional tour company Allen Marine also are doing Endicott and Dawes Glacier instead. Norwegian Cruise Line said it does not have voyages sailing by Tracy Arm.
Endicott already has been a stop for some ships previously and an alternative when conditions in Tracy Arm, such as excess ice, have been unsafe.
Vallier, who owns the Alaska Travel Desk, said he would have liked cruise companies to give travelers more advance notice about itinerary changes.
After leaving Seattle, the first ships of the season are due April 21 in Ketchikan and in Juneau the following week.
Seeing a glacier — particularly a dynamic, calving glacier — is a bucket-list item for many tourists, and that’s what has made Tracy Arm so popular, he said. While the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau is a major attraction for the capital city and cruise port, many visitors view it from across a large lake, and it has diminished or entirely retreated from view from some hiking overlooks.
Kimberly Lebeda of Wichita, Kansas, was excited when she booked tickets for a Tracy Arm excursion for her family last year. Lebeda, who researches areas she visits, said she was sold on the scenery.
But the night before the stop, they were told that due to ice in Tracy Arm, they would go up Endicott instead. Her family and others who’d booked the excursion got off the ship and onto a smaller boat with glass windows, abundant seating and snacks. They saw seals on ice floes, waterfalls and “a wall of ice” calve from Dawes Glacier, she said.
She called it “an amazing thing to witness.”
“Was it worth it? Yes, because I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do that trip again,” she said. “Again, I haven’t ever been to Tracy Arm so I can’t really compare. But to me, was it worth it and was it exciting? Absolutely.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters on Thursday, April 17, 2025, with Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, looking on in the background. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed off on a supplemental budget bill that authorizes nearly $450 million in additional state spending this year.
The budget bill covers additional costs incurred by the state this fiscal year ending in June, including funds for disaster relief, education, corrections and transportation.
The bill was approved by the Alaska State Legislature two weeks ago. Dunleavy signed the budget on Apr. 2, and transmitted it back to the Legislature on Thursday.
“I appreciate the Legislature’s support of these proposals,” Dunleavy said in a letter announcing his signature on the bill. “The supplemental budget I have signed into law today enables the State to meet current fiscal year responsibilities and represents prudent and fiscally responsible investments in emergency and fire response, public safety and statewide transportation needs.”
The budget includes $75 million for disaster relief to address the response to the Western Alaska storms last fall, and nearly $100 million for fire suppression, particularly in Interior Alaska. It includes $20 million for the Alaska Department of Corrections overtime expenses, as well as $70 million in time-sensitive funding for transportation — sought by the construction industry to unlock a federal match of $630 million for state construction projects.
It also includes $130 million for the Alaska Higher Education Fund which provides grants and scholarships for students, as well as $34.4 million for Medicaid and $12.8 million for other public assistance programs through the Alaska Department of Health.
The governor’s office submitted an additional $11.6 million request, but it was submitted too late to include in the budget bill, and will be rolled into the proposal for next year’s budget.
Additionally, the state is waiting on an appeal decision after failing a federal disparity test for education funding, and could potentially be liable for $72 million in K-12 funding for next year, according to officials with the Legislative Finance Division.
Oil revenues still uncertain
In the Legislature, the bill was delayed this year amid ongoing debate in the House of Representatives on whether to pay for the larger than usual budget bill out of state savings — an act that requires the approval of three-quarters of legislators.
Members of the House Republican minority caucus objected to spending from a state savings account, the Constitutional Budget Reserve. After the Alaska Department of Revenue projected the state would see an additional $500 million in oil revenue due to a surge in oil prices driven by the Iran war, they argued the state would not need to pull from savings to pay its bills.
Members of the multipartisan House majority caucus objected to the uncertainty of revenue forecasts and future oil prices, and argued for a draw from state savings to fund the budget bill immediately.
If oil-driven state revenues from now until the end of the fiscal year are not sufficient to cover the $450 million supplemental budget, then lawmakers agreed to draw from state savings. That means oil prices must average approximately $82 per barrel of oil through June for state revenue to cover spending, according to officials with the Legislative Finance Division.
House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, was among legislators who supported the draw from savings several weeks ago, instead of banking on uncertain future oil revenues. On Friday, he said it seems revenues will cover the budget bill.
“As appears now, oil prices are continuing to move in an upward trajectory, which means that the bill at the very end could be fully funded,” Edgmon said. “But there’s still a fair amount of time in front of us for oil prices to, you know, continue to be volatile.”
Edgmon said barring a dive in oil prices, he doesn’t expect another vote on drawing from the state savings this session.
“That’s pending a dramatic drop in oil prices, of course, which doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.”
