Alaska News Daily Brief, Thursday, November 5

Alaska News, Thursday, November fifth. From Skagway to Wasilla to Anchorage, local leaders are about to vote on things you can still weigh in on, and the first of those votes is today.

0:12Analysis: Ranked choices put Alaska’s Senate race near a tie as counting continues

Alaska's U.S. Senate race is close to a tie once voters' backup choices come into it. About 75,000 ballots are still uncounted, by the Associated Press estimate. As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by 637 votes among voters' top picks. Neither has a majority. So unless one of them passes 50 percent, the race goes to a ranked-choice count on November 18th. In that count, the last-place candidates are dropped, and their voters' next choices are counted, until two remain. Alaska News ran those rounds on ballot data the state posted Wednesday. Once the other two candidates drop out, Senator Sullivan comes out about 330 votes ahead. Most of that comes from Republican Gerald Heikes. About 44 percent of Heikes ballots ended up with Senator Sullivan. 16 percent went to Peltola, and the other 40 percent went to neither. The other candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., shares the senator's name. His voters leaned toward Peltola. But Heikes drew more votes, and his voters leaned harder. So in all, those voters' next choices gave Senator Sullivan about 960 more votes than Peltola. Still to be counted are early votes cast from October 30th through Election Day. There are also more absentee ballots, and questioned ballots. The early and absentee ballots counted so far have favored Peltola. Of the votes in those for either Peltola or Sullivan, she drew about 58 percent. Senator Sullivan won about 53 percent on Election Day. By the analysis, Peltola finishes ahead if she wins about 50.3 percent of the remaining votes for the two of them. At 52 percent, she would finish about 2,500 votes ahead. If the rest splits evenly, Senator Sullivan keeps a narrow lead. Those scenarios assume the remaining voters rank candidates the way the counted ones did.

2:10Wasilla council to decide Monday on $6 million state loan to expand sewage plant

In Wasilla, the city council decides Monday whether to take a 6 million dollar state loan to expand the sewage plant. The public hearing is at 6 at City Hall. The state Department of Environmental Conservation would forgive 1.4 million of the loan. The city would pay back the other 4.6 million over 20 years at 2.2 percent. The city's finance estimate puts the interest at about 1.3 million. The city has outgrown the plant. City notes from a public meeting in October of last year said the plant could treat only 5,000 gallons of sludge a day. That's less than two truckloads. Some commercial haulers were driving septic waste to Anchorage. The whole project runs nearly 13 million dollars, with grants and city money covering the rest. It adds new equipment to treat sewage sludge, plus piping and a new building. The loan would be repaid out of sewer revenue, with the general fund covering interest. Water and sewer rates haven't gone up since twenty fourteen. A rate study is underway, and the proposed budget projects about 20 percent more revenue under new rates. The engineers assume bidding this fall and a construction contract by the end of the year.

3:33Alcohol tax advocates ask Anchorage to put more into prevention and treatment

In Anchorage, the groups that helped pass the city's alcohol tax told the Assembly on Wednesday the tax isn't paying for any addiction treatment or prevention. Tiffany Hall of Recover Alaska put it this way. "In twenty twenty-five, zero. In twenty twenty-six, zero. In the proposed 2027 budget, zero." Hall said those uses have gotten about 2 cents of every dollar since the tax began. Most of the money goes to homelessness. The 2027 proposal puts about 9.6 million of the tax's 13.8 million there, including 4.6 million for winter shelter. The voter-approved rules allow that. They list homelessness in the same category as treatment and prevention. Hall said polling in twenty twenty found voters were most moved by protecting kids and families and getting people into treatment. The tax passed with 51.2 percent. "A shelter bed is where crisis lands," Hall said. "Not where it starts." The Alaska Children's Trust said the city moved pre-K and an early literacy program onto the child care fund, which runs on marijuana tax money. A surplus covered that at first, and it's gone now. Recover Alaska wants 2 million dollars in prevention and treatment grants. The money is shrinking. Alcohol tax revenue fell from 21 million in twenty twenty-two to a projected 14.2 million this year. The Assembly is continuing its budget hearings.

5:03Skagway budget would move $2 million in clinic costs to cruise tax fund

Quickly, around the rest of the state. Skagway's revised 2027 budget moves 2 million dollars in clinic costs off sales tax and onto the cruise tax fund. That fund holds the town's share of the state cruise passenger tax. The Assembly takes it up Thursday.

5:22Aleut Corporation seeks partner for 2027 Aleutian Islands pollock allocation

The Aleut Corporation is looking for a partner to catch its Aleutian Islands pollock in twenty twenty-seven. This year, federal managers moved the corporation's whole share to the Bering Sea, saying it likely wouldn't get caught in the Aleutians.

5:37ConocoPhillips' Alaska profit more than triples to $423 million on higher oil prices

ConocoPhillips' Alaska profit more than tripled in the third quarter, to 423 million dollars from 130 million a year earlier. North Slope production stayed about flat. The jump came mainly from a higher price for each barrel.

5:53Kuukpik and SAExploration seek state permit for a winter seismic survey near Nuiqsut

Kuukpik, Nuiqsut's village corporation, and SAExploration are seeking a state permit for a winter seismic survey near the village. It would cover 205 square miles, including ground the oil company Santos wants to develop.

6:09NovaGold shareholders approve trading stock for Paulson's share of Donlin Gold

NovaGold shareholders voted to trade stock for Paulson's 40 percent of the Donlin Gold project near Crooked Creek. That would put the whole project in one company's hands. Building the mine still waits on a study due in twenty twenty-seven.

6:23Kensington gold output falls 21%, leaving mine needing best quarter in five to hit forecast

The Kensington mine near Juneau produced 21 percent less gold last quarter, as ore grade and costs got worse. To hit its forecast for the year, the mine now needs its best quarter of the last five.

6:37State proposes more riverbed for Alyeska to protect buried pipeline near Coldfoot

North of Coldfoot, a river is wearing its way toward the buried trans-Alaska pipeline. The state is proposing to give Alyeska more of the riverbed to build a rock structure there.

6:48Matson's Alaska container volume fell 4.8% in the third quarter as less seafood headed south

Matson shipped 4.8 percent fewer containers on its Alaska route last quarter. The company pointed to less seafood heading south. Its full-year Alaska volume looks a little lower than last year.

7:01Anchorage Assembly delays Missing Middle housing vote again, this time to Dec. 1

The Anchorage Assembly has pushed its Missing Middle housing vote to December 1st. That's a plan to let property owners along transit routes build duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. The Assembly had set the vote for a Friday at noon, then took it off the schedule. That's the second delay in 4 weeks.

7:20State's draft plan would replace, not repair, Kodiak's Sargent Creek Bridge

Kodiak's cracked Sargent Creek Bridge had been lined up for a temporary fix. The state's draft road plan now calls for replacing it in twenty twenty-nine, at a cost of 6.8 million dollars.

7:31Fastwyre asks the state to let it end cable TV in Galena and Unalaska after 41 years

Fastwyre is asking the state to let it shut off cable TV in Galena and Unalaska on New Year's Eve, after 41 years. The company says new equipment isn't worth it for 70 accounts. Customers get to keep the box.

7:46Wrap-up

Beyond the brief this morning: Juneau's lower winter speed limit on Egan Drive is now in effect, and Fairbanks police officers are sewing beaver hats with elders at Denakkanaaga. That's all for this edition of the Alaska News daily brief. The full stories, and more, are at Alaska News dot com. And that's the way it is, Thursday, November fifth, twenty twenty-six.