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Week of Jun 22
A judge says Alaska can't keep the second Dan Sullivan off the Senate ballot
A judge put the second Dan Sullivan on the GOP Senate primary ballot, beside the senator he's named like. The state had no "good-faith" rule to keep him off.

A leaked plan to fire Alaska's gas-line developer surfaces in Juneau
A "stolen" state document laying out how Alaska could fire Glenfarne from its $44B gas line leaked — and the developer says it's now wondering whether Alaska can keep a secret.

Juneau fills its airport, harbor and ski-area boards
Juneau, the only U.S. capital you can't drive to, just appointed 11 unpaid volunteers to oversee its airport, harbors and ski hill — all without a single objection.

A refusal to explain a gift-funded trip exposed a hole in Alaska's ethics rules
A legislator and a staffer took a gift-funded Arctic Winter Games trip, then wouldn't explain why — exposing that the ethics committee had no power to make them.

Alaska's ethics committee wants out of harassment training so it can get back to ethics
Alaska's ethics committee voted to hand off harassment training, saying it's crowded out real ethics instruction. The training continues — just not under them.

A pass-through tax, not the pipeline, is the real fight in Juneau
A conference committee spent two days on Alaska's $44B gas line, and the sharpest fight was over a pass-through tax on Hilcorp that doesn't need the pipeline to exist.

An ethics panel found probable cause that Rep. Sarah Vance misused her office to pressure a newspaper
An ethics panel found probable cause Rep. Sarah Vance used state resources to pressure the Homer News, which then pulled the article and dropped the reporter's byline.

On Admiralty Island, undoing the clearcuts at Cube Cove
The Forest Service closed part of Admiralty Island while crews blast out logging-era debris at Cube Cove — undoing old clearcut damage to give the salmon their streams back.

More from Southeast
The number that quietly sets the state budget: a barrel of oil
Alaska's budget is a bet on oil — and the state's own forecast is banking on crude leaping to $91 a barrel by summer, so "coming out ahead" rides on a guess, not a high price.

Kodiak seiners back Kreiss-Tomkins for governor
A Kodiak seiners' group endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on a fisheries platform — though "restore balance to the Board of Fish" means very different things to different fishermen.

The Alaska State Museum throws a free 10th-birthday party
The building that holds Alaska's museum, library, and archives turns 10 — and Juneau's invited to the free birthday party Saturday, planetarium and cake included.

Tlingit & Haida Unveils Revitalized Veterans Totem Pole in Juneau
The Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes held a ceremony to unveil a revitalized veterans totem pole at Southeast Alaska

Why Alaska is giving out-of-staters more kings as the runs falter
Alaska just doubled out-of-staters' king limit in Southeast even as kings struggle elsewhere — because these are treaty-quota ocean fish, and visitors foot much of the state's fishing-budget bill.

A judge weighs whether Alaska gets two Dan Sullivans
Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? We're gonna have a problem here. Y'all act like you never seen two Sullivans before. J's all on the floor, like the "S" walked in and slammed the door.

Two Sitka men face child exploitation charges
A statewide task force arrested two Sitka men within a day of each other on separate child sexual abuse material charges; both are held without bail and presumed innocent.

Strangers on the Water Free a Tangled Humpback
A young humpback got snared in crab-pot lines near Juneau — and a relay of passing boat crews kept watch until rescuers could cut it loose.

Coming up
Alaska State Parks Southeast Region Citizen Advisory Board Meeting
Online only: Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID 252 102 001 646 565 7, passcode Xq3o7kf3) or phone +1 907-202-7104, conference ID 521 494 427#
Meeting
Energy in the North: Robert Venables on Southeast Conference Economic Development
Class
Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office Sealed Bid Deadline
Public notice
Southeast Alaska Geoduck Fishery Closure (Holiday Period 1)
Public notice
Directed Lingcod Fishery Season End
Public notice
About Southeast
Southeast Alaska is the panhandle region along the state's southern coast, an archipelago of islands and fjords that includes Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. Its towns, among them Petersburg, Wrangell, Haines, Skagway and Hoonah, are linked by the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system.
Its economy rests on commercial fishing, cruise tourism and the Tongass National Forest. Fish and Game manages dive fisheries for sea cucumbers and geoducks, salmon seine and gillnet fisheries, and rockfish openings across its inside and outer waters. Cruise docks, the decisions of city and borough assemblies, land use rules and heavy coastal weather are recurring local questions.
Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian communities are part of the region's life, and institutions such as Tlingit & Haida and Huna Totem run programs and businesses across it. Huna Totem ventures have built or sought to run cruise docks in Juneau and Haines.
More from Southeast
Saxman man arrested for felony DV assault with prior convictions
Alaska State Troopers arrested Floyd Jackson, 59, of Saxman on June 22 for felony domestic violence assault, elevated to a class C felony by prior convictions within the past decade.

All 4 crew rescued after Coast Guard Jayhawk crashes near Sitka
All four crew members were rescued after a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crashed near Sitka.

Klehini River flows elevated near Klukwan as snowmelt continues in Chilkat Valley
Elevated snowmelt is pushing the Klehini River near Klukwan above normal through Monday evening, with flows exceeding 6,000 cubic feet per second.

Daniel J. Sullivan sued the state today over a denied Senate ballot spot
Denied a Senate ballot spot, Daniel J. Sullivan sued today. Lawmakers held a hearing on the same question the same afternoon.

Juneau Power Bills Could Jump 20 Percent This Summer
Juneau's only electric utility wants to raise bills about 20 percent — and thanks to "refundable" interim rates, you start paying the higher price before anyone decides it's fair.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed on Harbor Mountain above Sitka
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter went down on Harbor Mountain above Sitka Monday. The road is closed, and the crew that rescues others needed it

A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, the Alaska Native village corporation for Hoonah, is expanding its cruise business by adding its own vessels to a fleet that already operates ports across Southeast Alaska.

$2.2 million in federal trail money will fund 15 Alaska projects
Alaska handed trail money to its highway department, rebranded it ATLAS, and split $2.2M across 15 projects, from a new snow groomer to an Iditarod bridge.

TCC hands its lobbying reins to a familiar face: Joy Huntington
TCC's new government affairs director already knows the building — Joy Huntington used to be the consortium's lobbyist in Juneau.

This Juneau utility filing won't change your bill, but the rate case behind it could
Alaska Electric Light & Power filed some "housekeeping" for Juneau bills. Boring, sure, but don't confuse it with the separate case where it actually wants more money.

Week of Jun 15
Alaska Senate digs in on gas tax bill, sends it to conference
Alaska Senate refused to back down on HB 381, sending the natural gas pipeline tax bill to a conference committee to resolve how to tax the Alaska LNG Project and fund municipalities and schools.

Alaska House recesses 10 days as gas line conference committee begins
We all know they're trying, but they very well may be intending for different outcomes when it comes to Alaska's LNG.

Coeur Alaska's Berners Bay dock got federal approval for pile driving
Coeur Alaska got federal approval to disturb marine mammals during dock repairs at Berners Bay — one of Southeast Alaska's richest bays.

NOAA Fisheries declined to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook under the ESA
NOAA decided Gulf of Alaska Chinook don't qualify for ESA listing — even as Chinook closures pile up across Alaska systems.

Petersburg trades a sliver of land for a place to put its 911 gear
Petersburg sold a 0.23-acre scrap of public land so it wouldn't have to build its own tower. 300 signatures couldn't stop the 6-0 yes.

Juneau moves to extend its seawalk to the farthest cruise dock
Juneau's spent 20 years building a waterfront path it still can't finish. Now it wants the stretch to the far cruise dock. Mind the gap.

Juneau clerk certifies 1% seasonal sales tax petition, Assembly has 45 days to act
Juneau citizens got a 1% seasonal sales tax to the brink of the ballot. The Assembly has 45 days to pass it or let voters do it.

Dunleavy called a second special session over the unresolved LNG tax bill
Long Friday in Juneau: LNG tax bill stuck, second special session called, two vetoes overridden, three failed. Round three starts Saturday.

Juneau declares a glacier-flood emergency — in 16 minutes, without debate
Juneau assembly did not move glacially in response to glacier-flood emergency

Juneau's federal court office keeps closing, with no end in sight
Alaska's capital has a federal court counter. Staffing it is apparently optional — closed again this month, with no word on when it reopens.

A Senate vote on the federal lands maintenance fund has major Alaska stakes
The Senate is reauthorizing the fund that pays to fix trails and visitor centers across Alaska's federal lands. Murkowski's staff stayed up.

Anchorage commission to review mayor's salary for first time since 2020
Anchorage's Commission on Salaries and Emoluments voted Tuesday to review the mayor's $145,392 annual salary for the first time since 2020, after noting some unionized city employees now earn more than their boss.

NOAA Sets West Coast Halibut Season Opening June 23 With 261,211-Pound Cap
NOAA opened the 2026 commercial halibut season for West Coast waters June 23 with a 261,211-pound catch cap, a fraction of Alaska's much larger allocation under international management.

Alaska elections office denies Daniel J. Sullivan's U.S. Senate filing
Alaska election officials denied Petersburg resident Daniel J. Sullivan's U.S. Senate candidacy, finding his filing mimicked incumbent Dan S. Sullivan's name and campaign to confuse voters.
