NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau is preparing to implement major sales tax changes as a result of Ballot Proposition 2, which exempts food and utilities from local sales taxes starting Nov. 20.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr says the city wants the transition to be as seamless as possible.
“Residents won’t have to do anything. You just simply won’t see sales tax on your receipts or your bills for food and utilities.” He said, “There’s a couple of exceptions for utilities that you buy in person, like wood or wood pellets or the retail purchase of fuel. For those specific exemptions folks will have to come downtown or go online and get a card number from us, because, while food is exempt for everyone, utilities aren’t.”
Barr said the city’s utility vendors are working to ensure that most billing adjusts automatically, though Barr noted some cases may require clarification between residential and commercial customers.
Below is the summary of what residents can expect, posted by CBJ;
Essential Food
Proposition 2 follows the same definition of “essential food” utilized by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and defined by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. § 2012(k). No action is required by residents to receive the essential food sales tax exemption. Residents do not need to obtain an exemption card or number.
Examples of exempt foods include dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, bakery items, cereals, snack foods, cold sandwiches for off-premises consumption, seeds and plants that grow food, and items with a Nutrition Facts label.
Non-exempt items include hot prepared foods, restaurant meals, foods intended to be eaten on-site, pet food, vitamins, cough drops, alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products, and items with a Supplement Facts label.
It may take merchants time to adjust point-of-sale systems to reflect the new sales exemption. For this reason, senior sales tax exemption cardholders are encouraged to continue carrying their card until this transition is complete.
Noncommercial Essential Utilities
Proposition 2 defines “essential utilities” as those sold to individuals for non-commercial use within the City and Borough of Juneau. This includes the sale of electricity, heating fuel, water and wastewater service, refuse and recycling collection at a City and Borough of Juneau resident’s principal place of abode, and the non-commercial use of landfill facilities by CBJ residents.
Because most, if not all, utilities already designate commercial and residential rates for billing purposes, and to ensure that the intent of the ballot sponsors and the will of the voters is honored, CBJ is working with utilities to utilize their definition of residential and commercial while maintaining the intent of the ballot initiative. CBJ also provided definitions for guidance where utilities do not already designate rates as commercial or residential.
In practice, this means that residents are not required to obtain an exemption number or card to receive the exemption for billed utility use (electricity, water, etc.). However, residents may choose to apply for an exemption card if they intend to make retail purchases of eligible essential utilities (wood pellets, propane, etc.). If residents believe they are mistakenly designated as commercial by billed utilities, they may also apply for a utility sales tax exemption card and submit their exemption card to the utility to receive the exemption. Essential utilities exemption card application details will be available at juneau.org/finance/sales-tax and at the CBJ Sales Tax Office prior to the November 20 enactment date.
CBJ is working with utility providers on the implementation process as quickly as possible. It may take time for providers to apply the new exemptions to their many thousands of accountholders.
NOTN- University of Alaska President Pat Pitney formally announced her retirement.
She was appointed the University system’s 17th president in 2022 and served as interim president in 2020.
Previously Pitney served as the state’s Director of the Division of Legislative Finance. She was the former Vice Chancellor of Administration, University of Alaska Fairbanks and worked at UA Statewide for 17 years. In all, Pitney spent 23 years with the University of Alaska before leaving to serve as the State Budget Director in the administration of former Governor Bill Walker.
Pitney moved to Fairbanks in 1987 from Billings, Montana. She earned her MBA from UAF and an engineering physics degree from Murray State University (Kentucky). She has three adult children and four grandchildren. All three of her children are UA graduates, with degrees from UAF, UAA and UAS.
Before moving to Alaska, she was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team and won a gold medal in women’s air rifle.
Below is the email announcing Pitney’s retirement;
Dear UA Community – It has been my honor and privilege to serve as University of Alaska president for the past five years. When the Board hired me in 2020, I wasn’t seeking either the interim or permanent president position, but I felt my skill set would be an asset to UA and our mission. I committed initially to two years of service, and more than five years later, I’m proud of how far we’ve come and excited about the opportunities ahead. There’s much to celebrate, but it is time for me and the UA system to be looking toward the next chapter. Several months ago, I informed the Board of Regents that I plan to retire after their May 2026 board meeting. I’m confident that the University of Alaska will continue to thrive long after I step away. As an alum, and the parent of alums from each of our three universities, it’s been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve all of you and the people of Alaska. Since 2020, we’ve made some incredible progress.
We’ve reversed enrollment declines and grown student headcount for three straight years.
We’ve stabilized our budget after a period of uncertainty compounded by a once-in-a-century pandemic.
We’ve substantially increased our competitive research position.
And we’ve reminded Alaskans of UA’s vital role in empowering our workforce, economy, and communities.
There’s still work to do, but the future is strong. The Board’s recent focus on student recruitment, retention, and graduation, along with expanded scholarships and financial aid, is already paying off and positioning UA for success. Retirement will be bittersweet. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my kids, my grandkids, and my mom, and exploring the state I love so deeply. But until May, I’ll remain full-speed ahead: advocating for our budget priorities in Juneau, and working closely with the Board to ensure a seamless leadership transition in my role and at the Universities.
In the weeks ahead, the Board will share more about the presidential search and how you can take part in shaping UA’s next chapter. I hope you’ll stay engaged in that process. For over three decades, I’ve seen how the University of Alaska empowers this state. Our education, research, and partnerships make a difference in every community. Serving as your president has been the honor of my career. I look forward to finishing this chapter strong and cheering you on as you continue UA’s work to empower Alaska. Thanks for all you do for our students and our state.
Research biologists pause among the wetlands of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, with the Brooks Range in the background. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)
AP- Alaska Native tribes and conservation groups sued the federal government Wednesday, seeking in at least three separate lawsuits to overturn a land exchange aimed at allowing a road to be built through a national wildlife refuge.
Legal challenges to the land exchange agreement reached last month between Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and an Alaska Native village corporation include claims that it was not properly analyzed, that it poses risks to sensitive habitats and that it could threaten migratory birds that some Alaska Natives rely on for food.
King Cove, a community of about 870 people near the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, has for years pushed to have a road built through the refuge for access to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) away.
Alaska’s governor and congressional delegation have supported the cause, calling it a life and safety issue that would allow for emergency medical evacuations. The delegation has said King Cove’s airstrip can frequently be closed for bad weather, and that high seas can make travel by water between King Cove and Cold Bay challenging.
Terms of the agreement include conveyance by the government of about 490 acres (199 hectares) to King Cove Corp. for a potential road corridor, while the corporation would convey about 1,739 acres (703.7 hectares) to the refuge and relinquish selection rights to additional land. A decision document, signed by Burgum, says the proposed road would be about 19 miles, much of which would be within the refuge. It says it would be up to the corporation to obtain the necessary permits and funding for a road.
Elizabeth Peace, an Interior Department spokesperson, said by email Wednesday that the department doesn’t comment on litigation.
One of the lawsuits was filed by the Native Village of Hooper Bay, Native Village of Paimiut, Chevak Native Village and the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group. The tribal governments are hundreds of miles north of King Cove but have expressed concern that a road could impact migratory birds they rely on that stop along the way at the refuge.
Angutekaraq Estelle Thomson, traditional council president of the Native Village of Paimiut, in a statement called the refuge’s eelgrass wetlands “a lifeline for emperor geese, black brant and other birds that feed our families and connect us to Indigenous relatives across the Pacific.”
“We are joining this lawsuit because defending Izembek is inseparable from defending our subsistence rights, our food security and our ability to remain Yup’ik on our own lands,” she said.
Lawsuits also were filed by a coalition of conservation groups, represented by Trustees for Alaska, and by Defenders of Wildlife.
A single caribou walks across the treeless tundra in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2019. (Photo by Alexis Bonogofsky/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
As Kristen Moreland waited for the livestream to buffer, her thoughts drifted to the years she’d devoted to defending Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the northeastern sweep of Alaska where the mountains give way to the coastal plain. On screen, the chatter of aides stilled as men in dark suits gathered behind a lectern. Then Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced plans to open the area, roughly the size of South Carolina, to drilling.
It marked another round in the decades-long tug-of-war over developing one of the country’s largest remaining protected areas — an effort that came to a head during President Donald Trump’s first term, and ground to a halt when President Joe Biden took office. Burgum also restored seven oil and gas leases that a state-funded corporation bid on during the final days of the first Trump administration, and that his successor later revoked.
Moreland, a Gwich’in leader and executive director of the tribal committee dedicated to protecting the Nation’s sacred coastal plain, sat stunned as the YouTube stream continued. The place she grew up — where generations have lived on the tundra alongside the caribou, weaving their history into the land — had been reduced to a line item on someone’s balance sheet. When Burgum said opening the refuge would benefit northern communities, “it felt like a slap in the face,” she said.
“They’ve never reached out to us to listen to how this would affect our livelihood,” she said. Moreland fears development will drive the herd that the Gwich’in rely on out of range and contaminate rivers in a region where hunting and fishing are a matter of survival. For her, it felt like erasure. “It’s another disrespectful action from decision-makers,” she said. “It ignores our voice as Gwich’in and violates our rights as Indigenous people.”
As the fight over development in the Arctic continues, federal officials are racing to fulfill Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda. Though the government is shut down and many employees are not getting paid, officials continue approving permits for extractive industries. In a wood-paneled Beltway office, Burgum framed his “sweeping package of actions” as a declaration that “Alaska is open for business.”
To that end, the administration also signed permits for the controversial 211-mile Ambler Road to mineral deposits, including one owned by Trilogy Metals — which the Trump administration now holds a 10 percent stake in — and authorized a land exchange that will allow for construction of a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, at the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula. “I told the president it’s like Christmas every morning,” Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy said. “I wake up, I go to look at what’s under the proverbial Christmas tree to see what’s happening.”
Last week’s announcement may not end up being the gift the governor is hoping for.
The fight over drilling in the refuge began almost as soon as President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the site, once called Arctic National Wildlife Range, in 1960. The most recent volley began in 2017, when Trump signed a tax bill requiring two oil and gas lease sales there within seven years. When the first sale was held in 2021, the state corporation Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, was the only major bidder. It hoped to keep drilling prospects in the region alive, despite weak industry interest. The sale ultimately generated less than $12 million — a fraction of the nearly $2 billion projected by the Tax Act for the last decade.
The Biden administration later found the leasing program’s environmental review inadequate. It conducted a new analysis, then canceled the leases in 2023, citing “fundamental legal deficiencies” and its failure to “properly quantify” greenhouse gas emissions. The second mandated sale, in early 2025, received no bidders. Compounding the challenge, major banks and insurers have refused to finance or underwrite projects in the refuge, citing environmental risks. Oil majors have also steered clear: In 2022, Chevron and the company that took over BP’s leases on private land within the refuge paid $10 million to walk away from them. That same year, Exxon Mobil told shareholders it has “no plans for exploration or development” there.
Still, this spring Trump issued an executive order calling for the reinstatement of AIDEA’s leases, and a federal court ruled that their cancellation was handled improperly. The state-funded investment firm remains the sole holder of leases in the refuge.
The problem is AIDEA doesn’t have the capital or technical expertise to build out these areas on its own. It has authorized spending nearly $54 million to develop them and move permitting for Ambler Road forward. That includes hiring consultants for seismic testing to map oil and gas deposits. But first it must get permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to harass polar bears, something that has sparked viral protests in the past. AIDEA authorized another $50 million for Ambler following Burgum’s announcement.
Ultimately, the state corporation is spending public money on infrastructure that private firms would normally fund, while sidestepping oversight, said Suzanne Bostrom, a senior staff attorney at Trustees for Alaska. The watchdog legal organization accused AIDEA of having redirected money toward refuge leases and Ambler from accounts within its Arctic Infrastructure Development Fund, and later its Revolving Fund, to avoid the need for legislative approval. Randy Ruaro, AIDEA’s executive director, wrote in an email that it was not legally required to seek authorization.
All of that aside, AIDEA’s track record is pretty grim. Financial records suggest the corporation lost at least $38 million on its last oil and gas venture, the Mustang field on the North Slope west of the refuge. After oil prices fell in 2020, the corporation foreclosed on the project. The state provided another $22 million in a 2023 bailout before AIDEA sold the field for an undisclosed sum. Bostrom says AIDEA has “no actual plan for seeing a return” on its spending in the refuge. In fact, the people of Alaska often lose money in its deals; one analysis found that almost half of the agency’s investments have been written off as worthless. The economists who crunched those numbers found the state would have come out about $11 billion ahead if that money had been put to work elsewhere.
In an email, Ruaro called the analysis a “hit piece” and said the corporation has recorded its best financial performance in six decades over the past two years. He said that analysis “failed to account for the billions of dollars generated in economic benefits” by the Red Dog Mine, which produces lead and zinc in northwest Alaska. The corporation poured $160 million — about one-third of the project’s startup costs — into infrastructure to support the operation. At the same time, AIDEA’s own consultants concluded that the mine would be built regardless, and the investment was unnecessary. “AIDEA loves to point to the Red Dog mine as a shining example of their success,” Bostrom said, but even taking those claims at face-value “doesn’t erase that AIDEA still has no viable financial plan in place to cover the cost of building the Ambler Road.”
Ultimately, any plans for the refuge and Ambler Road — which the Bureau of Land Management has said would harm Indigenous and low-income communities — raise questions about who benefits from such development. AIDEA has, for example, proposed financing the private Ambler road through Gates of the Arctic National Park with bonds repaid by tolls, a plan critics call unrealistic, given the cost could hit $2 billion. “It’s hugely problematic for the state to issue bonds with no viable plan for repayment,” Bostrom said. “That’s not a good investment decision.”
But Ruaro wrote that is only one of several options, and that he is “confident the mines … have billions of dollars in minerals needed by the nation.” He also said AIDEA now estimates the cost at $500 to $850 million, and said the road can be built in phases.
Even with prudent financial strategies, the economics of extraction remain precarious — especially as domestic oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel this summer. Given the average breakeven price of $62, new Arctic production may not be profitable — though it would extend the life of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that carries crude from the North Slope. The U.S. is already the world’s top producer, and more output won’t necessarily lower consumer fuel prices, says Boston University’s Robert K. Kaufmann, because OPEC and other nations still influence global markets. (As to the “energy emergency” that Trump declared, Kaufmann said, “I want what he’s smoking.”) Instead, the leases will bring more production online when “any rational scientist is calling for reducing carbon emissions.
Despite the risks, some communities in the region support new oil and gas projects. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sits within North Slope Borough, which is larger than 39 states. Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat — a nonprofit funded by the regional Alaska Native Corporation — notes that 95 percent of the borough’s tax revenue comes from the industry, funding things like schools and clinics. Fossil fuel royalties directly benefit Indigenous communities like Kaktovik, funding essential services. “When Uncle Doug [Burgum] calls, I answer,” Josiah Patkotak, the borough’s mayor, said in a statement praising the Interior secretary’s announcement.
It can be difficult to disentangle genuine local support from efforts quietly backed — or directly compensated — by the industry itself. During a legislative hearing earlier this year, state Representative Ashley Carrick said one person who testified as a community advocate was paid by AIDEA, something Ruaro confirmed to her that it routinely does. This can create the impression these projects are widely embraced.
“There’s this wide consensus that [Iñupiat] people all want the oil and gas projects. It’s not true,” said Nauri Simmonds, executive director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic. Many of those adversely impacted by drilling stay silent for fear of losing work or social standing, she said — and some who have spoken out have faced threats and violence.
Simmonds says what might be lost by developing the refuge can’t be counted in dollars. AIDEA now holds leases in a part of the refuge where the Porcupine caribou herd gathers to bear its young. The Gwich’in name for the region, where cool coastal winds protect the newborns from insects and heat, translates to “the sacred place where life begins.” Beyond its shelter, calves are 19 percent more likely to die. Scientists and Indigenous peoples fear the clamor of development will drive the herd away, severing a bond that has sustained people and animals alike for millenia. Even as climate change reshapes one of the country’s last undisturbed ecosystems, it is political forces that now endanger it most.
“One of the most wounding pieces is that this wouldn’t be something that the companies would have gone after on their own,” Simmonds said. “It is the enticements from Alaska, from the corporations, from the political landscape, that creates the appeal.”
President Donald Trump signs the funding bill to reopen the government, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The signing ceremony came just hours after the House passed the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. The Senate had already passed the measure Monday.
The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.
Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time.
Here’s the latest:
Trump’s new ambassador visits head of Greece’s Orthodox Church
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the first female U.S. ambassador to Greece and a close ally of President Trump, visited the head of Greece’s Orthodox Church on Thursday, telling him he was the first person she called after being nominated to her new post.
Guilfoyle’s visit to Archbishop Ieronymos II came just over a week after she took up her new position in Athens. A former California prosecutor and Fox News host who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr, the 56-year-old presented her diplomatic credentials to Greece’s president on Nov. 4.
“It’s wonderful to be here and I’m just very grateful that President Trump has blessed me with the opportunity to serve the United States here in Greece, for the relationship that we have and for that growing and blossoming going forward,” Guilfoyle said during the meeting with the 87-year-old archbishop.
Ieronymos extended his thanks “to the president for the opportunity that he gave us today. May God bless these relations.”
Medicare telehealth waivers that allow millions of older adults to get virtual health care without leaving home were restored through Jan. 30 in the government funding bill, after lapsing during the 43-day shutdown.
Patients and caregivers reacted with relief — but called for more action.
“We are pleased that Congress has worked together to temporarily restore the telehealth funding, but we hope they can make this a permanent part of the healthcare system,” said Martha Swick, a full-time caregiver for her husband Bill, who uses the program for speech therapy to treat his degenerative brain disease.
The deal also restored funding through Jan. 30 for a Medicare program that allows some patients to receive hospital-level acute in-person care at home.
Essential federal workers expected to get backpay soon, White House official says
Federal workers deemed essential, including Capitol Police officers, TSA workers and air traffic controllers, had been forced to work without pay during the shutdown.
But Kevin Hassett, chair of the National Economic Council at the White House, said their checks should soon be on the way.
“I think that the payments will come probably come in the next week,” Hassett said. “Maybe even before.”
Health care debate ahead
It’s unclear whether the parties will find any common ground on health care before the December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.
Some Republicans have said they’re open to extending the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits as premiums will soar for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies. Some argue the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals rather than go directly to insurance companies.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Monday that she was supportive of extending the tax credits with changes, such as new income caps. Some Democrats have signaled they could be open to that idea.
A bitter end after a long stalemate
The frustration and pressures generated by the shutdown was reflected when lawmakers debated the spending measure on the House floor.
Republicans said Democrats sought to use the pain generated by the shutdown to prevail in a policy dispute.
“They knew it would cause pain and they did it anyway,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
Democrats said Republicans raced to pass tax breaks earlier this year that they say mostly will benefit the wealthy. But the bill before the House on Wednesday “leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their health care,” said Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.
Federal workers deeply felt the impacts of the shutdown
The shutdown created a cascade of troubles for many Americans. Throughout the shutdown, at least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, while about 730,000 others were working without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The plight of the federal workers was among several pressure points, along with flight disruptions and cuts to food aid, that in the end ratcheted up the pressure on lawmakers to come to an agreement to fund the government.
Throughout the six-week shutdown, officials in President Trump’s administration repeatedly used the federal workers as leverage to try to push Democrats to relent on their health care demands. The Republican president signaled that workers going unpaid wouldn’t get back pay. He threatened and then followed through on firings in a federal workforce already reeling from layoffs earlier this year. A court then blocked the shutdown firings, adding to the uncertainty.
Federal workers question whether the longest government shutdown was worth their sacrifice
Jessica Sweet spent the federal government shutdown cutting back. To make ends meet, the Social Security claims specialist drank only one coffee a day, skipped meals, cut down on groceries and deferred paying some household bills. She racked up spending on her credit card buying gas to get to work.
With the longest shutdown ever coming to a close, Sweet and hundreds of thousands of other federal workers who missed paychecks will soon get some relief. But many are left feeling that their livelihoods served as political pawns in the fight between recalcitrant lawmakers in Washington and are asking themselves whether the battle was worth their sacrifices.
“It’s very frustrating to go through something like this,” said Sweet, who is a union steward of AFGE Local 3343 in New York. “It shakes the foundation of trust that we all place in our agencies and in the federal government to do the right thing.”
The Office of Personnel Management posted on X that federal workers are expected to be back to the grind on Thursday, with Trump signing a measure ending the record 43-day shutdown.
“Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area are open. Employees are expected to begin the workday on time. Normal operating procedures are in effect,” the OPM posting says.
City planners are asking Juneau residents to help shape the community’s future as work continues on a major update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
Senior planner Minta Montalbo said the plan, which covers topics ranging from housing and transportation to natural hazards and economic development, is one of the most important planning tools the city has.
“Juneau’s had Comprehensive Plans on the books for decades, since the 1900s, so it’s basically a big picture guide that helps us decide where and how to develop, usually, over the next 20 to 30 years.” Montalbo said, “I think it’s important to keep in mind that the Comprehensive Plan reflects community priorities, and it connects our values and goals with CBJ decision makers, with policies and actions. It’s like a reference point for decisions on how to best use our land and where to focus our resources.”
After lengthy public engagement, Montalbo said there are three distinct community priorities; hazard mitigation, housing, and economic diversification.
“Folks are focused mainly on flooding and protecting the homes in the valley, but we’re also hearing renewed discussion about landslide dangers and avalanches, so we’re going to want to be looking at that in the new comp plan.” Montalbo said, “Not surprisingly, housing for all definitely remains a huge priority, and when we’re talking about housing, housing options that suit a variety of needs. And then I think the third biggest category is economic diversification. Again, not a new topic, but we’re hearing a lot of concern about trying to strengthen year round industries, and find a balanced approach to tourism. We want to recognize the economic contribution, but people are also asking that we care for Juneau’s unique small town characteristics at the same time.”
While the Comprehensive Plan is long-term in nature Montalbo said it directly impacts daily life.
“It’s a guide for decisions about what types of housing we have in this town, what kind of housing in different neighborhoods, how much access to trails and parks do we get? How are we getting to school and to work? It’s these kinds of things that have a tremendous impact on our daily lives.” She said.
The city is currently hosting a series of workshops, with the next one taking place November 19, designed to help residents weigh tradeoffs in future development. Participants work in small groups to assess land use options and test how different strategies might perform under unpredictable conditions, such as increased flooding or loss of federal funding, Montalbo says it’s a way to “future proof” the Comprehensive Plan.
“We’re asking people to basically put yourself in the seat of a planner.” Montalbo said.
Residents who can’t attend in person can weigh in and provide feedback through an online survey available here.
For more information or to join the city’s update list, residents can email OurFuture@juneau.gov.
This article has been edited to adjust punctuation errors.
Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. The Trump administration is planning an oil and gas lease sale in federal territory of the inlet. It is set to be the first of at six Cook Inlet lease sales that Congress has mandated by held between now and 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The Trump administration on Monday outlined its plans to auction 1 million acres of federal offshore territory in what it has called the “Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale.”
The lease sale, to be held early next year under terms detailed in a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, is to be the first of at least six mandated for Cook Inlet through 2032 under the sweeping budget bill that Congress passed this summer. The bill also mandated 30 lease sales through 2040 in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“President Trump’s signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act marked the beginning of a new chapter for oil and gas development in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet,” Matt Giacona, acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said in a news release issued Friday. “BOEM is now moving forward with a predictable, congressionally mandated leasing schedule that will support offshore oil and gas development for decades to come.”
In the statement, the agency, which is the Department of the Interior division that oversees offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, touted the 12.5% royalty offered in the lease sale as an incentive to bidders. The agency statement noted that 12.5% is the lowest royalty rate allowed for offshore oil and gas production in federal territory.
Lease sale bids are to be opened on March 4.
Cook Inlet lease sales held in recent years, whether in federal or state territory, have drawn little industry interest. That is despite the use of some incentives, such as royalty-free terms.
There are only eight active leases in federal waters of Cook Inlet, all held by Hilcorp, the inlet’s dominant operator. One of those leases was acquired in a sale held at the end of 2022 under a requirement inserted into the Inflation Reduction Act; Hilcorp’s bid was the only one in that lease sale.
Hilcorp also was the sole bidder in a 2017 federal Cook Inlet lease sale, when it acquired 14 leases. Last year, it relinquished seven of those leases.
A map shows the planning area for the federal Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale scheduled for early 2026. The lease sale is the first of six mandated under the budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July. (Map provided by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)
There is no pending exploration plan for Hilcorp’s eight federal Cook Inlet leases, according to the BOEM website.
Muted industry interest in past sales
Annual areawide Cook Inlet lease sales held by the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas, for both offshore and onshore state territory, have also produced few bids in recent years.
The 2025 state sale drew five bids, according to results released by the division in June. The 2024 sale drew three bids. The 2023 state sale drew six bids. Each sale offered more than 700 tracts spread over about 3 million acres, and in two of those lease sales, Hilcorp was the sole bidder.
The agency’s Federal Register notice kicked off a 60-day comment period — but only for Alaska’s governor and for local governments. It is unclear whether tribal governments or any other organizations are included among those invited to comment; a question posed to the Department of the Interior press office was not answered by Monday afternoon.
An automatic emailed message from BOEM spokesperson Jennifer Russo said she could not respond to questions on Monday because of the federal government shutdown.
One environmental group that opposes the lease sale plans to submit public comments nonetheless.
“They’re not asking for comments from the public. But we are still planning to make sure that the people who live in Cook Inlet and Alaska and around the country, their voices will be heard,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
There appears to be no prohibition on public comments, Freeman noted.
Even though recent Cook Inlet lease sales have drawn little industry interest, he said the center has worries about future leasing.
“We hope that there’s no bids, but we’re taking it very seriously,” he said. “All it takes is one drill rig, one pipeline to burst, and it would be over for the inlet.”
The upcoming Cook Inlet lease sale process is separate from a court-mandated review of the 2022 lease sale.
A lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and other organizations resulted in a federal court ruling last year that found the presale analysis to be flawed. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ordered BOEM to conduct further analysis of leasing impacts to endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales and other natural resources.
BOEM, in a Federal Register notice published in September, said it plans to complete the supplemental impact statement by the end of the year.
The agency said that it will not release the draft study for public comment and will hold no public hearings on the draft, a departure from procedures followed in past environmental studies.
The lack of public comment opportunities or planned public hearings has angered some Cook Inlet area organizations.
Cook Inletkeeper, an environmental group, has launched a petition drive calling for the normal public process to be reinstated.
The Alaska state crime lab in Anchorage seen on May 6, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
State and local law enforcement officials announced a breakthrough on a more than 25 year old cold case in Juneau this summer, thanks in part to a DNA analysis tool at the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Lab.
Darryl Bruce Fawcett, an Alaska Native man, was 28 years old when he went missing in 1999. His remains were found by divers in the Gastineau Channel in 2004. In July, with the help of a tool that analyzes DNA from bones, officials said they were able to compare a sample with a family member’s DNA and identify Fawcett.
Darryl Bruce Fawcett was identified in July of 2025, after going missing in 1999. (Photo from Juneau Police Department’s missing persons page)
“It is pretty rare, especially (with) that amount of time to have passed,” said Juneau Deputy Chief Krag Campbell, in August. “So I’m just happy that the family was able to get some closure on this.”
The forensic method is not new, but the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory was able to adopt it with new federal grant funding, said crime lab chief David Kanaris. Forensic scientists are able to extract DNA from bones or teeth, which can be compared to DNA of a missing person or relative to make an identification.
Previously, bone samples would be sent out-of-state for testing, usually to the University of North Texas, Kanaris said. The state may continue that practice as needed. “We saw real value in bringing on an ability to do most of the work here in Alaska, where we can,” he said.
Cheryl Duda, a forensic scientist and DNA technical leader at the crime lab, said this forensic method is one of many that investigators use when unidentified remains are recovered.
“For many years now, our laboratory has been able to do testing on a very wide variety of body tissues like blood, saliva, hair roots and skin cells, but all of those are very soft tissue types,” she said. “What is different about this technology that we’re bringing online is it’s a method to extract DNA from bones.”
Duda said that first, any unidentified remains reported to the state go through the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office, which determines first if they are human or animal. If deemed human, and a bone or tooth is recoverable, the agency will send a sample to the crime lab for analysis. The DNA is then entered into a national DNA database, the Combined DNA Index System, commonly called CODIS, where investigators can search for a match.
The database can compare the sample with samples of known missing persons, family members, or other samples that law enforcement has collected from crimes or that have been submitted by the public.
“That’s the big first step for us, is generating this profile in the hopes of getting that match or that association in state, so that we can report those results,” Duda said.
Jennifer Foster is a forensic scientist and supervisor at the crime lab, and said that the next step requires coordination across agencies. State employees work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that governs CODIS, other forensic labs, and local and state law enforcement departments conducting investigations. “So there’s a lot of communication,” she said.
Officials at the crime lab say they’re working on a list of remains to be tested from the Alaska Medical Examiner’s Office, and cases are prioritized as they come into the lab. Once DNA samples are entered into the national database, the search continues.
“So that profile routinely searches every night,” Duda said. “It does missing persons searches monthly. Relatives of missing person searches monthly. So as long as it doesn’t need to be removed for whatever reason, it stays in there and will search.”
Austin McDaniel, director of communications for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said the state has analyzed three more cases since August, but no identifications have been made.
McDaniel said each case of unidentified remains is prioritized as it comes in through the Medical Examiner’s office, and investigators pursue and coordinate leads for identification. He said the new tool won’t necessarily unlock the state’s cold cases.
“If pulling DNA from bone fragments would have been helpful before, you know, either the crime lab or the medical examiner could have sent that out to other labs to have it completed. So I wouldn’t say there’s, like, this huge backlog of cases that just haven’t ever been worked,” he said.
There are currently 60 unidentified persons cases open in Alaska, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Database, which goes back to 1968. The most recent unidentified remains on that list are bones found in a creek on Aug. 24 in Anchorage.
McDaniel said new DNA samples also get shared with the national database by the public through commercial at-home genetic testing, which can be shared with law enforcement. “That’s usually a box people can check, something like that might happen. Or maybe we go through and have family members reach out to us and offer familial DNA samples that can be compared against,” he said.
McDaniel said local law enforcement investigators can request the DNA analysis as they pursue leads. “An investigator from any number of agencies, not just the Troopers, as they’re trying to go through and maybe work on some of these cases they might go through to reach out to a family member proactively that they suspect might be related to the decedent, and see they can collect a voluntary sample from from them,” he said.
Kanaris, as head of the crime lab, acknowledged these are sensitive cases, especially as Alaska grapples with a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Alaska Native residents are disproportionately victims of violent crime. At least 27% of the 1,268 known cases on the state’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse database, managed by the Alaska Department of Public Safety, involve Alaska Native people.
“We have worked with the tribal liaisons, understanding that a lot of these bones may come from Alaska Native remains,” Kanaris said. “And so we want to handle these samples as sensitively as we can and be as culturally aware as we can.”
He said another benefit of having this DNA analysis tool in the state’s crime lab, is handling cases more promptly.
“They’re going to involve less transit time. The bones are going to stay in state, and they will, hopefully, be able to be returned to the families for closure as soon as possible. That would be one of the benefits of this,” he said.
“I’d like to see us be able to work as many of the samples, not just with bones, but across the board, with forensic science samples in Alaska, at the Alaska crime lab,” he said. “So I think this is a big step forward for us.”
Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, speaks at a March 19, 2024, news conference held by the Senate majority caucus. Claman on Monday became the 14th candidate and second Democrat in the race to become Alaska’s next governor. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
There are now 14 candidates vying to become Alaska’s next governor.
State Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, announced his candidacy on Monday. He is the second Democrat in the race, after former Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich, also of Anchorage. The other 12 declared candidates are Republicans.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, is term-limited and not running.
Claman, an attorney and former Anchorage Assembly chair and acting mayor, has served in the Legislature since 2015. He served first in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2022. He is among the leaders of that body’s bipartisan majority caucus and chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In a statement, Claman referred to his experience in the bipartisan caucus.
“As Governor, I’ll work every day to ensure our state government reflects the values we all share: safe streets, great schools, business-friendly regulations, and a growing economy that works for businesses and working families,” he said in the statement. “Our state deserves a leader who listens to and works together with the people of Alaska, leads with care, upholds our constitution, and sets partisanship aside to deliver real results. That’s exactly what I’ve done in the Legislature and what I’ll do for you as your governor.”
Claman, who represents West Anchorage, was reelected to the Senate last year. He would not be up for reelection until 2028.
In a brief interview Monday, Claman said he timed his announcement with fundraising rules in mind.
“It’s basically a year before the election. Because of the limits on fundraising – and I’m not going to resign – I need to get started before the session,” he said.
Under state law, sitting legislators may not raise campaign funds during legislative sessions, which in 2026 is scheduled to run from Jan. 21 to May 20.
Claman said he started sending out fundraising solidifications after he filed his notice of intent to run for governor.
Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola is considered by observers to be the strongest potential Democratic candidate for governor, but she is also a possible candidate for U.S. Senate. Several Democratic leaders have urged her to challenge Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who is up for reelection next year.
The primary election date is Aug. 18, 2026. The candidate filing deadline is June 1.
Alaska’s gubernatorial candidates will compete in an open primary, with the top four finishers facing off in the general election under the state’s ranked-choice system.
The Alaska and American flags fly in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
AP- The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing an end, but not without leaving a mark on an already-struggling economy.
About 1.25 million federal workers haven’t been paid since Oct. 1. Thousands of flights have been canceled, a trend that is expected to continue this week even as Congress moves toward reopening the government. Government contract awards have slowed and some food aid recipients have seen their benefits interrupted.
Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered when the government reopens, as federal workers will receive back pay. But some canceled flights won’t be retaken, missed restaurant meals won’t be made up, and some postponed purchases will end up not happening at all.
“Short-lived shutdowns are usually invisible in the data, but this one will leave a lasting mark,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at accounting giant EY said, “both because of its record length and the growing disruptions to welfare programs and travel.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a six-week shutdown will reduce growth in this year’s fourth quarter by about 1.5 percentage points. That would cut growth by half from the third quarter. The reopening should boost first-quarter growth next year by 2.2 percentage points, the CBO projected, but about $11 billion in economic activity will be permanently lost.
The previous longest government shutdown, in 2018-2019, lasted 35 days but only partially shut the government because many agencies had been fully funded. It only nicked the economy by about 0.02% of GDP, the CBO said then.
The current shutdown is adding to the economy’s existing challenges, which include sluggish hiring, stubbornly elevated inflation, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have caused uncertainty for many businesses. Still, few economists foresee a recession.
About 650,000 federal workers didn’t work during the shutdown, which will likely boost the unemployment rate by about 0.4 percentage points in October, or to 4.7% from 4.3% in August, when the last report was released. Those workers would all then be counted as employed once the government reopens.
Here are the ways the government closure is weighing on the economy:
Missed paychecks
All told, federal workers will have missed about $16 billion in wages by mid-November, the CBO estimates. That has meant less spending at stores, restaurants, and likely reduced holiday travel. Large purchases will probably be postponed, slowing the broader economy.
Trump had threatened during the shutdown to not provide back pay but the deal struck in Congress would replace those lost wages once the government reopens.
The shutdown has added to the Washington, D.C. area’s economic woes, where the unemployment rate was already 6% before the shutdown, after Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce this spring caused job losses. While the Washington, D.C. area — including the nearby suburbs in Virginia and Maryland — has the highest concentration of federal workers, most live and work outside of the nation’s capital.
Federal workers make up about 5.5% of Maryland’s workforce, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. But they also comprise 2.9% of New Mexico’s workers, 2.6% of Oklahoma’s, and 3.8% of Alaska’s.
Then there are the federal contractors. Bernard Yaros, an economist at Oxford Economics, estimates they could total as many as 5.2 million, and they are not guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends.
Flight disruptions
Airlines scrapped more than 2,000 flights by Monday evening after canceling 5,500 since Friday on orders from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is seeking to reduce the burden on overworked air traffic controllers, who have now missed two paychecks.
Even before the flight cancellations, Tourism Economics, an economic consulting firm, estimated that the shutdown would reduce travel spending by $63 million a day, which means a six-week standoff would cost the travel industry $2.6 billion.
The canceled flights also mean less business for hotels, restaurants, and taxi drivers. And federal employees have already pulled the plug on upcoming trips, according to Tourism Economics, which may not be able to be rescheduled even when the government does reopen.
Consumer sentiment
The shutdown has worsened Americans’ outlook on the broader economy. Declining consumer sentiment can over time reduce spending and slow growth, though in recent years Americans have kept shopping even when their outlooks turned grim.
Consumer sentiment dropped to a three-year low and close to the lowest point ever recorded in a survey by the University of Michigan, reported Friday, with pessimism over personal finances and anticipated business conditions weighing on Americans.
The November survey showed the index of consumer sentiment at 50.4, down a startling 6.2% from last month and a plunge of nearly 30% from a year ago.
Federal spending
While the shutdown hasn’t cut off all federal government spending, it has reduced purchases of equipment and has cut off the issuance of new contracts.
Yaros estimates that about $800 million in new contracts were at risk of not being awarded each day of the shutdown.
“The federal award spigot has all but turned off at the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Department of Homeland Security,” Yaros wrote.
SNAP benefits
The shutdown delayed the payment of $8 billion in monthly SNAP food aid to 42 million recipients in November, creating a significant financial disruption for many households that likely reduced spending. Some states have managed to pay full benefits for this month, though the Trump administration is still fighting over the issue in court.
The deal currently under consideration in Congress to reopen the government includes full funding of SNAP benefits.
Interest rate cuts
The government shutdown cut off the flow of economic data on unemployment, inflation, and retail spending that the Federal Reserve depends on to monitor the economy’s health. Even as the government reopens, some of that data will still be delayed. As a result, the Fed may not deliver a third interest rate cut at its December meeting, which was widely expected before the shutdown.
“What do you do if you’re driving in the fog? You slow down,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference late last month.
Powell said the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee is deeply divided over whether to reduce its key rate, partly because the economy’s health is unusually cloudy right now. The government has missed two monthly jobs reports and the October inflation data, scheduled to be published Thursday, will likely never be issued.
Powell said a rate cut in December was not a “foregone conclusion” and added that the lack of data could contribute to a decision by the Fed to skip a rate cut at its next meeting December 9-10. Fewer rate cuts could discourage borrowing and spending and weigh on the economy in the coming months.
