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Alaska’s Future campaign urges lawmakers to tap Permanent Fund
Josh Edge, APRN – Anchorage
An unlikely coalition of Alaskans, ranging from business and union leaders, to Alaska Native Corporations and past politicians, are launching the Alaska’s Future campaign. The initiative is promoting long-term solutions to the state’s fiscal crisis, and the group says the Permanent Fund needs to play a crucial role.
Alaska job forecast holds steady despite plunging oil prices
Rachel Waldholz, APRN – Anchorage
In its annual forecast, out this month, the Alaska Department of Labor predicts modest job losses in the year ahead. Those losses are expected to be concentrated in the oil and gas industry; in state government and in the construction industry. If the forecast is right, it will be the first net job loss the state has seen since 2009. But the Department anticipates the decline will be less than one percent.
Proposal to boost min. enrollment makes little headway
Hannah Colton, KDLG – Dillingham
A controversial proposal to increase minimum school enrollment seems unlikely to pass this session, if such a bill even materializes.
Rash of car thefts unnerves Anchorage
Zachariah Hughes, KSKA – Anchorage
Sixteen cars were stolen in a single 24-hour period in Anchorage, starting yesterday and running through this morning.
Juneau weaver adds to family legacy of Chilkat robes
Elizabeth Jenkins, KTOO – Juneau
The Portland Art Museum in Oregon has commissioned a Tlingit Chilkat robe from a Juneau weaver — adding a fourth generation to a lineage of weaving students and teachers.
Bronze artist Pat Garley received Governor’s Award
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
The technique of bronze casting goes back thousands of years, but it has found a more recent home in Alaska. Sculptor Pat Garley, a former contractor, has switched to art for his livelihood, and he is now populating Alaska buildings and parks with his metal designs. Garley is one of the recipients of the 2016 Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities.
