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Current Topics
New agreement would limit cruise passengers in Juneau. A critic says it doesn't go far enough. ADN
The agreement, finalized late last week, seeks a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays. However, officials said that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be that many people every day.
(My comment: when 5 of those huge cruise ships cruise ships come to own, all the internet services are very slow or nonexistent.)
State Supreme Court prepares for vacancy as Alaska's Chief Justice set to retire. Alaska's News Source
The Alaska Judicial Council is accepting applications to serve as a justice on the Alaska Supreme Court after it announced Friday that Chief Justice Peter Maassen will retire in January 2025.
Stuff I Found Interesting
Average price of orange juice frozen concentrate in the U.S.. Axios
Florida orange production plummeted 92% over the past 20 years due to natural disasters and disease, according to a report last month by Citrus Industry Magazine. A USDA forecast last year said the Florida orange crop would be the lowest since 1935.
How a 12-year-old got an Anchorage street named after a Harry Potter location. Alaska Public Media
A previously unnamed West Anchorage street sits between West 29th and 31st avenues and Doris Street and Lois Drive. The street serves 10 lots and the city determined that it needed a name to better guide emergency services. That got 12-year-old Janna Wilcox thinking.
In Juneau, years can pass without a thunderstorm. Why are they so rare? Alaska Public Media
It was an exciting day for Juneau’s meteorologists because thunderstorms rarely happen here. On average, they only happen once about every two years. But on June 4, all the right ingredients came together.
ANSEP transformed my future. I want to expand that opportunity for others. ADN
As a young student, I never envisioned the path that would lead me to where I am today. I’ve earned multiple degrees as an Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program student, including being the first Alaska Native with a Ph.D. in civil engineering, and held many roles as an ANSEP staff member.
Economy
Women's employment hits a new record high. Axios
A record share of working-aged women are employed, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's a remarkable comeback story. Women have not only regained their pandemic losses in the job market, they've been exceeding those numbers month after month. In May, 75.7% of all women 25-54 were working — a record high.
How equitable are 401(k) plans? Marketplace
But a new report out of the investment advisor Vanguard, which oversees a lot of retirement accounts, says these plans are inequitable. More than 40% of employer matches go to the richest 20% of workers — and it’s not just because they have the highest salaries.
Education
Fairbanks math teacher provides essential charter school analysis the Dunleavy administration has studiously avoided. Dermot Cole Reporting from Alaska
When I first saw the results of the Harvard study concerning charter schools I was simultaneously unsurprised and skeptical. I was unsurprised as I have seen many very bright young students in my Advanced Placement classes who have come from charter schools. I was skeptical as I suspected much of this performance could be attributed to the type of student attending Alaska’s charter schools.
Politics
Alaska Legislature passes comprehensive local tax exemption legislation to benefit farmers and homebuyers. KSRM
This legislation, a result of extensive discussions with realtors, farmers, and municipal representatives, prohibits local governments from adding transfer taxes to the sale of houses and other real property, improves the program that provides property tax breaks to farmers, allows municipalities to defer taxes on property used for economic development, and improves the required assessor qualifications and property tax appeals process.
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy will be asked to pick fourth state Supreme Court justice. Alaska Beacon
On Friday, the Alaska Judicial Council announced that it is accepting applications from attorneys and judges interested in replacing Justice Peter Maassen, who will turn 70 — the age limit for Supreme Court justices — early next year. When Gov. Mike Dunleavy picks Maassen’s replacement from a list of finalists chosen by the Alaska Judicial Council later this year, the governor will have selected four of the five judges on Alaska’s high court.
Sponsors of petition to repeal Alaska's ranked choice voting score a partial win in court. Alaska Public Media
Alaska ranked choice repeal measure wins first round of legal challenge, but trial awaits. Alaska Beacon
Judge Christina Rankin ruled last week that the Division of Elections acted properly early this year when it gave sponsors of a repeal petition an opportunity to correct problems with petition booklets they submitted to the division.
Healthcare
A new lawsuit over Alaska's Medicaid backlog asks a judge to order faster processing. Alaska Public Media
Last month, state officials told Alaska Public Media more than 15,000 Medicaid applications were caught in a backlog that the state blamed on the expiration of pandemic-era requirements that prevented states from removing people from the insurance program. The Department of Public Assistance said the state’s outdated computer systems made it difficult to comply with new federal requirements preventing children from being kicked off Medicaid, leading the state to temporarily pause application processing.
A fundamental tension. Axios
One fascinating debate underway is whether there's a nurse shortage at all, despite undeniable staffing issues. The distinction lies in the question of whether the U.S. doesn't have enough registered nurses, or whether they just don't want to work in certain settings or have soured on the industry entirely because of poor working conditions. Some nurses allege that hospitals are keeping staffing levels low as a form of cost cutting. "We don't have a 'nurse shortage,' but we do have a staffing crisis in our hospitals, brought on by the lack of good nursing jobs," National Nurses United president Nancy Hagans wrote to the Senate health committee last year, adding that hospitals "deliberately refuse" to staff enough nurses to increase profits. A JAMA Health Forum study found that the number of full-time nurses was actually 6% higher in 2022 and 2023 than in 2019, despite tens of thousands of nurses leaving their jobs during the pandemic.
Sugar substitute xylitol linked to increased risk of heart attack, stroke. ADN
As pharmacies shutter, some Western states, Black and Latino communities are left behind. AP News
Residents of neighborhoods that are largely Black and Latino have fewer pharmacies per capita than people who live in mostly white neighborhoods, according to an Associated Press analysis of licensing data from 44 states, data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs and the American Community Survey. It’s consistent with prior research that documents where urban “pharmacy deserts” are more likely to be concentrated.
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