Prince William Sound Natural History Symposium to be held May 13-14
The Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation (PWSSF) is hosting their sixth annual Prince William Sound Natural History Symposium May 13-14, 2024, at the City Building in Whittier and online.
This year’s theme is “Hope for a Sustainable Prince William Sound.” Sessions on Monday, May 13th, are from 1-5 PM at the City Building in Whittier; this half day is geared towards the outdoor education and guiding community. Sessions on Tuesday, May 14th, will be presented in hybrid format (9AM-5PM at the City Building in Whittier and online via Zoom) and will feature the latest PWS news and research, including cultural history, marine life, landslide updates, and more. Both days are free and open to the public. Please register at https://princewilliamsound.org/2024nhs2024nhs. Recordings will be posted on princewilliamsound.org in June.
“PWSSF initially started the Natural History Symposium to provide high-quality information for the guides and other educators bringing visitors to our region. It quickly became popular with the general public and is now a highly anticipated annual community event with attendees from communities around Prince William Sound (PWS), the state of Alaska, and the Lower 48, as well as international viewers online,” shares Dr. Charla Hughes, PWSSF Executive Director. “The Symposium audience is not limited to day-of attendees: the session recordings we post each year are an excellent free community resource for educators and anyone interested in learning more about PWS.”
"I am so happy to see the Natural History Symposium continue to grow and evolve each year. This year we are expanding to two days of presentations with more than 25 experts. If you work or spend time in Prince William Sound, there is no better way to get informed and excited about the year ahead," says PWSSF Board Chair William Melton.
The PWS Science Center will also be hosting a watch party in Cordova on Tuesday, May 14th.
PWSSF is grateful to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the Oil Spill Recovery Institute at the PWS Science Center, the PWS Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council, and their many partners and members for making this event possible.
(Article courtesy of Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation)
Girdwood Community Garden has room to grow
By: Brooks Chandler
Itching to get your fingers dirty and grow your own? Plots are available in Girdwood’s community garden. Though currently snow covered the Community Garden is soon to be a thriving green space located between the Girdwood Chapel and Girdwood Brewery on Girdwood Chapel property.
The garden is a project of Turnagain Community Services, Inc., a Girdwood-based non-profit organization. TCS President Alice Simmons said the garden aims to provide sustainability, unity and growth for Girdwood residents.
Betty Charnon, TCS board member and volunteer, manages the garden.
She said the garden includes one plot dedicated to growing produce for another TCS endeavor, the community Food Pantry.
The garden is more than just a place to grow food and flowers, According to Charnon.
“It serves as a gathering spot for neighbors to come together, share knowledge and build lasting friendships,” she said.
Annual fees to offset operating costs are $25 per season. Needs-based discounts are available.
Charnon said those interested in having a plot (which includes access to space in the new greenhouse!) can fill out the application form available at: https://www.girdwoodchapel.com/community-garden/ (or: email TurnagainCommunityServices@gmail.com or call 907-783-0127) to request an application form).
On May 18, the Community Garden is holding a plant sale fundraiser. The sale will feature mature and starter annuals and perennials and perhaps some veggi starts. The sale will be held at the Girdwood Brewery from 11 am to 4 p.m.
(The writer is a board member of Turnagain Community Services, Inc).
Girdwoodian Cabot Charles Christianson passes away
Change of Sitzmark Time is 12 to 3 pm Saturday.
Attorney and lifelong Alaskan Cabot Charles Christianson, 71, died on March 3, 2024, from cardiac arrest, while skiing with his family at Alyeska Resort. Cabot was born in Sitka, Alaska, on Dec. 20, 1952, where his parents homesteaded an island in Sitka Sound.
For Cabot, "The Island" was a magical place to grow up, which led to his lifelong passion for wild and natural places and the sea. He later moved to the Lower 48 to live with his mother during the school year, with summers in Sitka. Cabot graduated from high school in Norwalk, Conn. A scholar-athlete, he excelled in math, captained the chess team and won the Connecticut State Wrestling Championship. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1975, with a B.A. in economics with high honors. In 1978, Cabot graduated from Stanford Law School and moved to Anchorage, Alaska, to begin a 46-year law career specializing in commercial law and bankruptcy.
Cabot was an outdoorsman and adventurer. He kayaked from Seattle to Sitka in college, a 40-day, 800-mile voyage with a friend in a two-man kayak, subsisting on peanut butter, chocolate and clams. He hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada and hunted mountain goat on Baranof Island.
In 1983, Cabot married Cynthia Pickering, also an attorney. For over four decades they skied, sailed and kayaked, and built and frequented their cabins, in Kliuchevoi Bay near Sitka, in Girdwood, Alaska, and in the San Juan Islands. One of their favorite trips was skiing and dogsledding at Wonder Lake. But, their biggest adventure was raising their three boys: Nicholas, Charles and Kieffer. Cabot is fondly remembered enjoying stories with his sons in the evenings, from Treasure Island to Sherlock Holmes.
Homestead life fostered the ingenuity and self-reliance which were hallmarks of the man Cabot became. His children refer to his ability to solve building and other off-grid challenges, as his "island boy skills." Cabot's work life as an attorney was no less creative, where his attention to detail and facility with numbers shone. Cabot was devoted to his clients and found great satisfaction in helping Alaskans with their businesses. From a recent client, "He took care of my company like it was his own."
Cabot believed in the power of education. He served as an elected member of the Anchorage School Board, and as trustee for schools and a children's camp.
Cabot was noted for his quiet charisma. His wife said "He had an elegant mind." Cabot's boys said that he challenged them to be the best version of themselves and encouraged them to attack seemingly insurmountable problems head-on.
Cabot is survived by his wife, Cynthia; children, Nicholas (Sarah), Charles (Courtney) and Kieffer (Josefin); grandchildren, August, Astrid and Estelle; mother, Faith Medlin; and siblings, Kord, Thor (Jessica) and Tanya. His father Warren Christianson predeceased him. A Celebration of Life will be held in Cabot's honor at the Sitzmark in Girdwood on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 3 p.m. A church service will be held at 10 a.m., on May 11, at Our Lady of the Snows in Girdwood. The family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions in Cabot’s name to the Sitka Conservation Society, the Food Bank of Alaska or WildSalmonCenter.org. (Obituary donated by the family)
Avalanche at Alyeska Resort prompts Closure of Tram and two lifts
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A small avalanche broke loose in the early morning hours from Alyeska's headwall prompting the ski resort to close two ski lifts and its tram on the last day of the company's spring Slush Cup carnival.
"Just in the manner of safety," said Duane Stutzman, mountain manager for the Resort. "There were no injuries, no damage, nothing like that. Just a pure safety and cautionary move on our part to enhance the safety of our guests and our resort employees."
The slide, which occurred at 2 a.m., will not impact Sunday's Slush Cup activities and the Resort will still have its "Passholder's Day" Monday, albeit with only Chairs Three and Seven open, Stutzman said.
He said closing the lifts and the tram was a collaborative decision of the Resort's snow safety team and its mountain operations department.
"It's not how we wanted to end the season," he said. "We debated whether to not continue those two events [Passholder's Day and an employee party] and thought we should just go ahead and continue it just on a limited basis."
The slide is the second on the mountain in a year. An avalanche May 11 swept down the mountain from its north face to just behind Alyeska's hotel, displacing pond water from two kettles above.
In its final forecast for the season, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Centerhas rated avalanche potential as "considerable" for the area.
"This is a spring wet slide, mother nature-triggered," Stutzman said.
LaFrance Carries Girdwood in April 2 Election
By: Brooks Chandler
Turnagain News Contributor
Suzanne LaFrance was the clear favorite among Girdwood voters in the April 2 mayoral election. LaFrance received 64 percent of the votes cast for mayor according to results certified by the Anchorage Assembly on April 23.
This compares to 36 percent of votes for LaFrance city-wide. Mayor Dave Bronson finished a distant second in Girdwood with 15 percent of votes cast.
Citywide Bronson received only 473 votes less than LaFrance, a difference of less than 1 percent. In Girdwood LaFrance received 387 votes more than Bronson.
LaFrance was also favored by 46 percent of Indian/Bird Creek voters receiving 59 votes compared to 39 votes, or 30 percent, for Mayor Bronson, LaFrance's closest competitor.
The results in other South Anchorage precincts, many of which LaFrance represented as an Assembly member, were more mixed. The certified results show Bronson outpolling LaFrance in the majority of South Anchorage and Hillside precincts.
According to the Municipal Clerk’s office, 808 of Girdwood’s 1,949 registered voters participated in the April 2 election. That equals a 41 percent turnout. Indian/Bird Creek did even better turning out 43 percent of 302 registered voters. City wide turnout was 30.4 percent.
Mayoral preference was not the only result where Girdwood votes varied widely from Anchorage votes. Proposition 7, the Cemetery Bond, was favored by 455 of 792 Girdwood voters (57.4 percent). Area wide only 43.5 percent of voters favored Proposition 7.
Proposition 7 included bonding to create a cemetery in both Eagle River and Girdwood plus make improvements to the existing cemetery in downtown Anchorage. Because cemetery service is an “area-wide” service all property owners in Anchorage would have repaid the proposed bonds through property taxes.
No Eagle River precinct supported Proposition 7. All 7 downtown Anchorage precincts plus Government Hill joined Girdwood in voting yes on Proposition 7.
The official certified results by precinct can be found at www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Election%20Results/2024-0423%20StatementOfVotesCastRPT.pdf
Girdwood 2023 Budget Shows Surplus
By: Brooks Chandler
TN Contributor
Girdwood's local government had a surplus of nearly $400,000 in its 2023 budget, savings that are a result of lower than expected costs for road maintenance, lower expenses for parks and the fire department's decision to hold off on buying a new fire truck.
Actual expenses for the Girdwood Valley Service Area in 2023 were $388,288 under budget.
This happy state of Valley financial affairs was reflected in a budget report prepared by Service Area Manager Kyle Kelley. The report was presented to the Girdwood Board of Supervisors on March 20.
Kelley identified several causes of the surplus, including lower than expected “intra-governmental charges”, a decision to retain $74,821 the fire department originally budgeted for an initial payment on a new truck, and lower than anticipated payments to the road contractor Western. Intragovernmental charges are what one Anchorage department charges the Girdwood Valley Service Area for work performed that either directly or indirectly benefits the service area. One example is maintenance work on buildings and equipment done by the Public Works department.
The fire chief had been concerned her department would run short of operating funds so the capital transfer for the fire truck was not made, Kelley told the Girdwood Board of Supervisors.
Ordinarily when it turns out the operating costs were on budget the planned transfer to capital would have been made before the end of the year. In addition, the budgeted initial loan payment of $80,000 anticipated to be paid in 2023 will not be due until the new vehicle is actually delivered in either late 2024 or early 2025.
Accounting staff shortages in the Anchorage Fire Department plus the need for the Anchorage Assembly to officially approve fund transfers prevented the pre-year-end transfer, Kelley said, adding that he anticipates the transfer will be made in 2024. The spread between budgeted and actual expenses for law enforcement was miniscule. The $807,619 police budget had a surplus of $3,703.14, an excess accounting for less than one-half of one percent of the budget. Mr. Kelley told GBOS the contract with the Whittier Police Department enables precise budgeting.
The Parks and Recreation budget had a 10 percent surplus of nearly $40,000. This surplus resulted in part from lower-than-expected intra-governmental charges and from the award of a grant from the Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area. The grant offset budgeted costs for work on the Beaver Pond trail.
Despite the vast amounts of snowfall in late 2023 the are road maintenance budget also had a 10 per cent surplus of $131,000. The road budget covers both plowing, grading and capital projects such as culvert replacements.
There will be a change in how capital projects are accomplished in 2024. Instead of working directly with the GVSA road contractor under the terms of a road contract, larger capital projects will be competitively bid Kelley told the board. He said this process is less efficient and whether it is more costly remains to be seen.
The entire $388,288 surplus is available for spending if GBOS makes a specific request to use the funds that is approved by the Anchorage Assembly.
Kelley said he recommends GBOS keeps $250,000 in “undesignated” funds for unanticipated expenses such as an equipment failure. Any amount above this could be kept in the bank, used for the first payment for the new fire truck, or spent on a capital project, Kelley said
During the March 20 work session GBOS members universally praised the fiscal management of Kelley and Margaret Tyler.
The full year end report can be accessed at https://www.muni.org/Departments/operations/streets/Service/GBOS/GVSA%202023%20Year%20in%20Review%20packet.pdf
Four Valleys Community School seeks women for Alaska ‘Run for Women’ Team
By Brianna Sullivan
TN Contributor
Four Valleys Community School is organizing a team for participants from Girdwood. This is a free event with a fundraising goal for Breast Cancer Resources for women in Alaska.
The event is on Saturday, June 8. Register at AKRFWRegistration.org/team.
For information, email Beks at BBrumley@fourvalleys.org.
Alaska Long Trail BLM comment period open
By Barb Crews
Girdwood Trails Committee Chair
At the Alaska Long Trail BLM listening session last Monday evening in Anchorage, it was announced that people can comment on the possible National Scenic Trail designation only until April 19.
Here's the link to the map comment site:
https://logansimpson.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/reporter/index.html?appid=c2de6a60f56a474083849ebb9896b7ba
‘Corduroy Crush’ Nordic Ski Races held with 85 athletes
By Jeff Samuels
TNews Contributor
The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club (GNSC) and Kenai Mountains- Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area (KMTA) teamed up again this year to host the 3rd annual Corduroy Crush Nordic Skiing event on Sunday, April 7th at Girdwood’s 5K Nordic Loop.
About 85 athletes of all ages participated in three events: a 2K snowball biathlon, a 5K timed race, and a team relay.
KMTA’s Executive Director, Rachel Blakeslee, and GNSC’s board member, Briana Sullivan, coordinated logistics and volunteers to manage the event. Participants were greeted by a bluebird spring day and warm temperatures, with a deep winter base of snow still covering the skiing trails. Families basked in the sunshine as the races took place.
Skiers were fueled by hot drinks and sweet rolls from the Alpenglow Coffee House and The Bake Shop.
“Every year we host this race I’m astounded by the selflessness of those who come out to support with their time, energy, and resources,” said Rachel. “This year, we had 33 volunteers from Girdwood, Anchorage, Seward, Moose Pass and more show up on the most beautiful, sunny Sunday to help out… We talk a lot about preserving and celebrating our living heritage in the KMTA. This is what it’s all about.”
As a fundraiser, about $2,000 was generated from registration fees to support KMTA’s youth outdoor school programming.
In addition to Alpenglow Coffee House and The Bake Shop, other sponsors included Powderhound Ski Shop, Birch & Alder, The Ice Cream Shop, Mooses Tooth, Girdwood Brewing, and Alyeska Resort.
For more information on The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club, visit their website at: https://skigirdwood.org/. For more information on the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area, visit their site at: https://kmtacorridor.org/.
KMTA hosts additional race events each summer at the Spencer Whistlestop and on Hope's Palmer Creek Road. Find more information on upcoming events on their website.
(Click on the story title to see more pictures)
Getting ‘In The Loop’ for Girdwood’s First Friday Art Walk
By Chase Berenson
TNews Contributor
On the first Friday of every month, six businesses on Girdwood’s Olympic Mountain Loop welcome the new month by opening their doors from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday evening for an art walk titled Girdwood’s First Friday in the Loop.
Typical participants are Alpenglow Coffee House, Girdwood Center for the Visual Arts (GCVA), Jack Sprat, La Bodega, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, and Powder House Ski and Bike Shop. The businesses are going to try to maintain these events on first Fridays through the summer, and we checked out the event on Friday, April 5, to see what the experience is like.
There is no wrong way to approach the Loop on a first Friday, but we planned on starting at GCVA since it is arguably the most arts-focused of the participants and it’s conveniently located on the top of the Olympic Mountain Loop. We were surprised to see that GCVA was closed and wasn’t participating in this month’s event, and that feeling was shared by many people we ran into throughout the evening.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/getting-in-the-loop-for-girdwoods-first-friday-art-walk
Alaska Civil Rights Group supports lawsuit to protect people who sleep on the streets
By Claire Stremple
Alaska’s American Civil Liberties Union has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against allowing local governments to punish people who sleep outside when adequate shelter is unavailable.
“Punishing a person who is forced to sleep in public because they have nowhere else to go violates our Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment,” the ACLU of Alaska wrote in a news release.
The organization joined a friend of the court brief in support of a lawsuit, Grants Pass v. Johnson.
Read the entire story at:
TRUCK DELIVERING DIESEL FUEL SPILLS 590 GALLONS AT ALYESKA RESORT
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A fuel transfer accident at Alyeska Resort in November caused one of Girdwood's largest ever fuel spills when an overfilled tank spewed nearly 600 gallons of diesel onto a gravel pad near a popular ski trail and above a small creek.
The spill has been mostly cleaned up, according to a state report, but a wooded hill near the site descends into a small creek and an oil sheen could be seen on the water weeks after the spill was reported. The creek, Moose Meadow Creek, flows into Glacier Creek.
"They're not done with [the cleanup] yet," said Mike Evans, an environmental program specialist for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/truck-delivering-oil-spills-590-gallons-at-alyeska-resort
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/truck-delivering-oil-spills-590-gallons-at-alyeska-resort
OPINION: The National Foundation for Governor’s Fitness Councils brings its multi-million dollar ‘Don’t Quit’ campaign to Alaska
Continuing his goal of ending childhood obesity and fighting mental illness, fitness icon Jake “Body by Jake” Steinfeld, Chairman of the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC), has kicked off the year by selecting the State of Alaska for its 2024 DON’T QUIT! Campaign. The NFGFC will deliver a state-of-the-art DON’T QUIT! Fitness Center to threeelementary or middle schools. School nominations will be accepted starting today until April 12. Visit www.natgovfit.org/apply-now, then click on your state seal to download the short application. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, so nominate your school today!
“In 2024, we are fulfilling our mission of putting fitness centers in every state of this great nation of ours,” said Jake Steinfeld. “For the last 40 years I’ve led the charge regarding the importance of physical activity as a way to combat childhood obesity. But the benefits don’t stop there. Exercise has also been proven to provide a positive affect on a child’s mental health as well. In fact, the most underutilized antidepressant is exercise! Our kids are our most precious resource and by providing them with a strong foundation in health and fitness, we will be helping them excel beyond their wildest dreams. It’s inspiring to see elected leaders like Governor Mike Dunleavy champion the DON’T QUIT! vision by jumping onboard and welcoming us into the great state of Alaska.”
Read entire story at:
Work underway on Girdwood to Indian power line
By Chase Berenson
TNews Contributor
Chugach Electric is anticipating 45-60 days of traffic control on the Seward Highway this May, June, and August to replace a transmission line between Girdwood to Indian, according to a March 12 presentation in Indian.
The 11-mile Girdwood to Indian section runs along the Seward Highway and is part of a 90.4 mile line running from Cooper Landing to Anchorage.
This line was built 62 years ago and is reaching its end of life.
Chugach has been replacing the line in sections. Thirty-six miles of the line and five sections have already been replaced. Once completed, this sixth piece of critical infrastructure will ensure reliability between hydroelectric plants on the Kenai Peninsula and power plants in the Anchorage area, according to a Chugach Electric spokesman.
The two primary presenters at the public meeting were Mike Miller of Chugach Electric and Jason Hodges of Northern Powerline Constructors (NPC), the project’s construction company.
They told 16 audience members that there will be only one planned outage to customers along the Turnagain Arm lasting 2-3 hours next year, there will be some travel disruptions on the Seward Highway this summer, and that safety is their top concern through the project. Work began earlier this month and is scheduled to conclude in April 2025.
Because the transmission line is fed by power sources to the north in the Anchorage area and the south on the Kenai, the flow of power into the Turnagain Arm communities largely won’t be directly impacted while the line is being replaced, presenters said. Girdwood, meanwhile, will still receive power from the south while Bird Creek and Indian will still receive power from the north.
Read entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/work-underway-on-girdwood-to-indian-power-line
POACHER’S LAST RUN
By Jim Sweeney
TNews Contributor
The helicopter hovers eighty to hundred feet above the valley floor creating a tornado of snow. Each time it tries to land, it is engulfed in white, so that the pilot has to pull back to see.
The helicopter is small, with a blue bottom, a white top and an Alaska State Trooper badge on its side.
The helicopter flies off, circles once and comes back for another try. No cigar this time, either. The obnoxious bird takes off on another loop and this time slows down as it flies over. The garble from the helicopter’s loudspeaker is swallowed by rotor wash but Mark Norquist and Matt Howard get the message. It’s too dark and there is too much snow flying around for the helicopter to land.
Dave "The Poacher" Pettry will spend the night of March 14 next to Tincan Creek.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/poachers-last-run
OPINION: Support the Cemetery Bond before the public cemetery runs out of space for affordable burials
By Tommy O’Malley
Do you consider yourself a forever Alaskan? If so, you will want to support Prop. 7, the public cemetery bond, in the Municipal election on April 2.
Anchorage Memorial Park, the Municipality’s only public cemetery, was established by President Woodrow Wilson and has served Anchorage since it opened in 1915, providing affordable burial space for all residents. Walking through the cemetery is a lesson in the city’s history. It also provides a sense of permanence to our community. But, now, there is a pressing need for more public burial space.
Read the entire opinion:
Persistence Plus Pandemic produces plan
Girdwood Area Plan Funded From Multiple Sources
By Brooks Chandler
TNews Contributor
Comprehensive planning costs money, and more than expected.
The total cost of the draft Girdwood Area Plan now out for public comment through March 31 will exceed $200,000, according to Imagine!Girdwood Treasurer Amanda Sassi.
The final funding originated from a source no one would have envisioned in 2017 when the update effort began. Regardless of the price, readers can now review and comment on the draft at imaginegirdwood.org.
Read more at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/persistence-plus-pandemic-produces-plan
KMTA and Girdwood Nordic Ski Club join in celebrating spring skiing with Corduroy Crush event
By Jon K. Scudder
TNews
The third annual Corduroy Crush Ski Race is just around the corner Nordic skiers!
“The event is a collaboration with Girdwood Nordic Ski Club and Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area to highlight the history and trails in Girdwood valley, which are of course right in the Heritage Area,” said Briana Sullivan, Secretary of the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club.
This year she and Rachel Blakeslee, Executive Director of KMTA, are organizing the event. The groups together recognize the significant history here and one of the main objectives of KMTA is to share in the access of the corridor, so this is one small example of that in a celebratory way.
Read the entire story at:
OPINION: RCCC challenges broad rezoning and planning changes
By: David Nyman
The Rabbit Creek Community Council voted at their Feb. 8 meeting to oppose the implementation of Assembly Ordinance 87(S), which would consolidate residential zoning districts across the Anchorage Bowl.
The RCCC opposes the area-wide residential rezoning on numerous grounds, as summarized in this document and its attachments. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/y5j5lyrt3uaph5qz4i00e/all-RCCC-w-attach.pdf?rlkey=b3v7v9f0txmh66fz9so18vyov&dl=0
The RCCC says 87(S) is not ready for a decision and that insufficient information prevents accurate scrutiny under rezoning criteria of 21.03.160.E
Read more at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/opinion-rccc-challenges-broad-rezoning-and-planning-changes
Alaska newspaper publishers worry about bill ending some public notice requirements
By James Brooks
The Alaska Senate voted without dissent Monday to allow the Department of Natural Resources to stop publishing some public notices in local newspapers.
Senators approved Senate Bill 68 by a 17-0 vote. It now advances to the House for consideration. Sens. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel; Bert Stedman, R-Sitka; and Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, were excused absent.
Before the final vote, newspaper publishers unsuccessfully asked legislators to reconsider their plans. Allowing the state to control its public notice process poses transparency risks, they testified, and it likely will harm papers’ finances, potentially reducing the amount of independent reporting available in Alaska.
Read more at:
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