Alaska News Daily Brief, Monday, November 9

Alaska News, Monday, November ninth. Much of this brief was posted last Wednesday and sat quietly through the weekend. One part hasn't arrived yet, and it's due by 10 this morning.

0:12Analysis: Ranked-choice repeal trails, with less crossover voting than in 2024

Alaska's second try in two years at repealing ranked-choice voting is behind, with a lot of ballots still out. In the count the Division of Elections posted last Wednesday afternoon, No led Yes about 52 to 48 percent. That's a gap of about 7,600 votes. A No vote keeps the open primaries and ranked-choice general elections that voters adopted in twenty twenty. The Associated Press estimated at that point that roughly 75,000 ballots were left. To pass, Yes would need something like 55 to 58 percent of what remains. Yes has done best on Election Day, at about 51 percent. That compares with about 42 percent of early votes counted so far. And about 41 percent of absentee votes. About 51,000 of the uncounted ballots were early and absentee ballots. An Alaska News look at the ballot data also shows fewer people crossing party lines on this measure than in twenty twenty-four. About 1 in 8 ballots that ranked Republican Senator Dan Sullivan first voted to keep ranked choice. About 1 in 12 that ranked Democrat Mary Peltola first voted to scrap it. Two years ago, about 1 in 6 ballots that ranked Republican Nick Begich first voted to keep it. About 1 in 7 that ranked Peltola first voted to repeal it. Those patterns are early. They cover about 7 in 10 of the expected vote, and they leave out Election Day ballots from 144 mostly rural precincts. Those ballots may lean differently. The 2024 repeal failed by 743 votes after a recount.

1:47Medicare will cut its base pay rate for doctors about 2% in 2027, deeper than proposed

In health care, Medicare will pay doctors less next year. A final federal rule out last Wednesday cuts the base rate for most clinicians 2.31 percent, from thirty-three dollars and forty cents to thirty-two dollars and sixty-three cents. That's deeper than first proposed. What a doctor gets for a given visit can also shift with other changes in the rule. The main reason for the cut is that Congress approved a one-year, 2.5 percent raise for this year, and it runs out January first. Smaller increases already in federal law only make up part of it. In Alaska, people on Medicare already have trouble finding a doctor. At a 2023 meeting of the Alaska Commission on Aging, a member said it's a challenge to find a doctor to take Medicare statewide. A federal Medicare official told that same commission that Alaska providers complain the rates are too low. Hospitals are on a separate rule, and that one pays Alaska hospitals more for outpatient care next year to cover higher supply costs. Medical groups, including the Medical Group Management Association and the American Academy of Neurology, are asking Congress to stop the doctor cut. Anders Gilberg of the management association says it will further degrade an already fragile payment system.

3:15Winter storm watch warns of possible 70 mph gusts in Turnagain Arm and Whittier

Along Turnagain Arm and over in Whittier, a storm could bring gusts up to 70 miles an hour. A winter storm watch runs from 10 this morning until 4 Tuesday afternoon. It covers Portage, Whittier, Turnagain Pass, the interior Kenai Peninsula and western Prince William Sound. The worst wind is expected in eastern Turnagain Arm Tuesday morning, at 55 to 70 miles an hour. Those east winds come off Prince William Sound and push through Whittier and across the arm. The weather service says winds that strong could do serious damage to trees and power lines. It says they could also hit the commute tonight and Tuesday morning. Turnagain Pass to Tern Lake, including the Hope Cutoff, could get 5 to 10 inches of snow. Whittier, Girdwood and Moose Pass are looking at 3 to 7. There could also be some ice on the road toward Hope. Lower down, the snow should turn to rain, and that means slush and standing water on the roads. Anchorage and the lower Mat-Su are under a lighter advisory, with up to 3 inches of snow, some ice and slick bridges and overpasses. The Hillside and Eagle River could see 2 to 8 inches of snow, with gusts to 60 mainly on the southern Hillside. Thompson Pass could get blizzard conditions. Forecasters expect the storm to wind down Wednesday.

4:35North Stephens Passage king crab fishing closes Monday, eight days into a rare season

Now, quicker, around the state. In Southeast, the rare king crab season in North Stephens Passage closes today, just 8 days after it opened. The state expects boats to reach the catch target for the area today.

4:51Kodiak weighs borrowing up to $10 million more to replace its main sewage pump station

Kodiak got only one bid to replace its main sewage pump station, and it came in at twice the estimate. One digging item alone was priced near the whole estimate. The city council votes Thursday on borrowing up to ten million dollars more.

5:06Kodiak weighs selling a vacant city lot for a building with six apartments over six shops

The Kodiak council also takes its first vote Thursday on selling an empty city lot by the airport for two hundred thousand dollars. A local company wants to build 6 apartments over 6 shops there.

5:20Analysis: Most Alaska ballots so far went one of two ways at the top of the ticket

Another look at the state's ballot data shows most Alaska ballots counted so far went one of two ways at the top of the ticket. About 35 percent ranked Democrats first for Senate and governor, along with nonpartisan Bill Hill for the House. About 27 percent ranked Republicans first in all three races. Ballots that ranked a lesser-known candidate who shares the senator's name first, retired Petersburg teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., were more divided across the rest of the ticket. And how often people ranked only one candidate varied from race to race.

5:54Fish and Game forecasts a strong 49 million sockeye run in Bristol Bay next summer

In Bristol Bay, Fish and Game is forecasting 49.3 million sockeye next summer, which it calls a strong run. This year's run dipped below 50 million. The department's forecasts have tended to come in low.

6:10Kenai Peninsula voters back school board term limits that won't bite until 2032

Kenai Peninsula voters approved term limits for school board members with about 89 percent of the vote. The Borough Assembly certifies the result Tuesday. The limit won't actually stop anyone from running until twenty thirty-two.

6:26Alaska school boards group honors Nome board, citing reading gains

In Nome, the school board won the state's Outstanding School Board award for twenty twenty-six. Elementary students reading at grade benchmark went from 37 percent to 54 percent in a single school year.

6:40Prince William Sound salmon value falls 45% below average as pink harvest hits a 1970s low

In Prince William Sound, this year's salmon catch was worth 45 percent less than average. Pink salmon came in at their lowest since the 1970s. Seiners averaged seventy-four thousand one hundred dollars down from two hundred twenty-three thousand dollars last year.

6:58MEA warns of possible outages as storm brings ice and gusts up to 50 mph to Mat-Su

In the Mat-Su, Matanuska Electric Association is warning of possible outages. The storm could bring snow, ice and gusts to 50 miles an hour today into Tuesday.

7:10Anchorage Assembly chair would cut crime victim grants to shift pre-K to alcohol tax

In Anchorage, the Assembly chair wants to put half the cost of pre-K back on the alcohol tax. The money would come from cutting grants for crime victims. The Assembly votes November seventeenth.

7:23Wrap-up

Beyond the brief this morning: Bettles' snowiest October since its records began, and an Alaska Supreme Court case over state search warrants for Metlakatla tribal property. 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, Monday, November ninth, twenty twenty-six.