Alaska News Daily Brief, Wednesday, October 28

Alaska News, Wednesday, October twenty-eighth. A senator against her party, a utility against its regulators, a quake panel against a housing plan: today, people read the same facts and pull apart.

0:14Murkowski endorses Democrat Kreiss-Tomkins

A Republican senator is backing the Democrat for governor, and two Southeast towns are staring at much bigger power bills. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, has endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor. Murkowski announced it Tuesday. That was three days after President Trump called Murkowski a disgrace to Alaska and the country. In a statement, Murkowski said Alaska's future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions. Murkowski asked Republicans, independents and Democrats alike to take a close look at the Kreiss-Tomkins ticket. Murkowski has crossed party lines before. Murkowski backed Democrat Mary Peltola for the U.S. House in twenty twenty-two and again in twenty twenty-four. And Murkowski won her own seat in twenty ten as a write-in, after losing the Republican primary. The audience for that kind of appeal is big here. About 63 percent of registered voters in Alaska are nonpartisan or undeclared. The Republicans in the race pushed back. Bernadette Wilson said that as governor she'd work to unseat Murkowski, who's up again in twenty twenty-eight. Treg Taylor called the endorsement particularly disappointing. Dave Bronson said Murkowski is entitled to endorse whoever she wants. Wilson also accused Kreiss-Tomkins of backing an income tax. At a September forum, Kreiss-Tomkins proposed taxing online sales and applying the corporate income tax the same way across the major oil producers. Kreiss-Tomkins also called for a dividend that doesn't overdraw the Permanent Fund. Early voting is already underway. On November 3rd, voters will rank the governor's race and decide whether to repeal ranked-choice voting.

1:58Proposed Haines-Skagway cable fund could add almost 30 cents a kWh, state advocate says

Down in Haines and Skagway, power bills could jump because of the undersea cable that carries the electricity. The state's consumer advocate says a proposed repair fund for that cable could add almost 30 cents a kilowatt-hour. For a household using 600 kilowatt-hours, that's about one hundred eighty dollars more a month. Both towns get all their power from Goat Lake Hydro's three plants. The cable is the only line between those plants and the customers. The fund comes out of an insurance problem. Part of the cable failed in twenty nineteen, and insurance paid seven point eight million dollars toward replacing it. Then the insurer declined to renew. In May, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska found no commercial insurance was available. So the commission ordered Goat Lake to build a fund instead, to keep a future failure from hitting bills all at once. The advocate puts that fund at eight point four million dollars a year. Goat Lake's entire current revenue requirement is about one point seven four million dollars. The commission also ruled that Goat Lake's shareholders have to cover part of future replacement costs, because the company let its insurance lapse without telling regulators. Goat Lake appealed to Superior Court, arguing ratepayers alone should pay. The one hundred eighty dollars figure comes before the state's Power Cost Equalization subsidy. The advocate couldn't tell whether these costs would qualify. Nothing is approved yet. Goat Lake answered the commission's questions Monday. The commission says it will open public comment once those answers satisfy it.

3:45Fort Yukon says manganese and iron have made its water brown and unsafe for infants

Up the Yukon in Fort Yukon, the tap water has been brown for more than a month, and it isn't safe for babies. The city told the State Emergency Operations Center that high levels of manganese and iron are behind it. The state logged that in its daily situation report Monday. Babies are the worry because young infants can absorb more manganese and get rid of less. Formula also contains more manganese than breast milk. For babies under 6 months, the Environmental Protection Agency advises staying under 0.3 milligrams per liter. For everyone else, the agency's short-term level is 1 milligram per liter. The state report has no test results, so it's not clear how high Fort Yukon's levels are. The town's water system serves about 650 people through 287 home connections, drawing from two wells. Manganese and iron aren't on the system's public list of tested substances. Tanana Chiefs Conference has sent 24 cases of bottled water. A nearby radar site has also opened up as a source of safe drinking water. The state's drinking water program and a Tanana Chiefs maintenance worker are giving technical help. The report doesn't say what caused the change, or when it might be fixed.

5:03Nova Minerals says state approved its antimony mine and Port MacKenzie refinery plans

Now, quickly, around the state. Nova Minerals says the state has given final approval to its antimony mine and its refinery plans at Port MacKenzie. The state hasn't posted the signed decision yet, so for now the approval rests on the company's word.

5:21Anchorage geotechnical panel urges caution on housing density in seismic hazard zones

In Anchorage, the city's Geotechnical Advisory Commission is urging caution on dense housing in two earthquake-prone zones. The Assembly votes November 4th on a citywide housing overlay, and the panel wants that quake risk weighed first.

5:35Alaska Airlines plans nonstop flights between Anchorage and Tokyo starting in May

Alaska Airlines plans nonstop flights from Anchorage to Tokyo starting May 13th, pending approval. Introductory round-trip fares start at nine hundred ninety-nine dollars.

5:46Anchorage Assembly to take up heavy industrial rezone of Laurel Acres wetland lot

The Anchorage Assembly will also see an ordinance November 4th to rezone a Laurel Acres lot to heavy industrial for an equipment storage yard. City planners say most of that lot is protected wetland. The public hearing is set for December 1st.

6:01Alaskans won 81 pieces of state land, from $255,000 in Big Lake to a $7,500 cabin site

The state's land auction produced 81 winning bids. The top one was two hundred fifty-five thousand dollars for 40 acres in Big Lake. The cheapest was seven thousand five hundred dollars for a river cabin site you can only reach by boat or snowmachine.

6:17Alaska optometrists can hand routine tasks to unlicensed staff starting Nov. 26

Starting November 26th, optometrists in Alaska can hand routine tasks to unlicensed staff. The state asked the public what it thought of the new rules, and nobody answered.

6:28Whittier wins largest federal port grant as Alaska projects take nearly $105 million

Whittier is getting fifty point six million dollars to replace its aging DeLong Dock. That leads nearly one hundred five million dollars in federal port grants to Alaska, the most of any state. Kodiak, Nome, Anchorage, Kake and Unalaska also won money, bringing Alaska to about two hundred twenty million dollars from the program this year.

6:49New Copper River Basin plan could put more state land up for sale

The state's new Copper River Basin land plan makes 200,000 more acres eligible for private ownership. The plan also closes 306,000 acres to new mining claims.

7:00An Angoon weaver tells the story of the Navy's 1882 bombardment of her village in 10 robes

In Angoon, weaver Shgendootan George has made 10 robes that tell the story of the Navy's 1882 bombardment of her village. The robes will be danced first, then shown in Juneau on November 6th.

7:13Juneau task force's whale-watch recommendation no longer commits to a license or cap

Juneau's tourism task force still calls the current level of whale watching unsustainable. But its new draft no longer commits to a license or a cap on boats,

7:24Geoduck divers get two more days near Ketchikan under a smaller Southeast harvest target

only to weighing them. Geoduck divers near Ketchikan get two more days of harvest this week. The Southeast harvest target is about 40 percent below last year's, and two areas remain closed.

7:34Fairbanks borough panel backs grant bids for a Chena Lake loop and a Tanana Lakes trailhead

In Fairbanks, a borough panel backed grant applications to start a paved loop around Chena Lake. The panel also backed a bid for a toilet and better parking at the Flicker Trailhead at Tanana Lakes.

7:46Wrap-up

Early voting is open now, and Election Day is November 3rd. If you have a view on the Laurel Acres rezone in Anchorage, the hearing is December 1st. Also today: a federal judge hears a bid Thursday to cancel Arctic Refuge oil leases, and near Nome, ice in culverts could push water over roads. That's all for this edition of the Alaska News daily brief. The full stories are at Alaska News dot com. And that's the way it is, Wednesday, October twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-six.