Licensing for use of Alaska Grown logo; fee for non-food retail use
State Division of Agriculture officials say they will begin a program of licensing and eventually a fee payment program for non-food retailers who use the popular “Alaska Grown” design logo, which is actually owned by the state. The logo is widely used on t-shirts, hats and other merchandise sold retail. Alaska food producers, who also register to use the logo, will not be charged a fee, officials said. The program will initially involve an educational effort among retailers next year with registration but also agreement they will be able to sell out any existing inventory with the logos. After that a fee will be charged. The amount is under discussion but 1.5 percent of gross sales is an initial idea. A second phase of this will involve a mechanism to ensure licensed retail products are made in America, and not imported. Since “Alaska Grown” is also a logo recognized by the federal government for “made in America” identification for Alaska specialty food products sold in export markets (and benefiting from federal export assistance programs) the state’s encouragement for non-food products to be shown as American-made will be important. Division of Agriculture officials say revenues from fees will defer costs of the Alaska Grown program with any surplus going for mini-grants to nonprofit agricultural groups.

University is set on its plan to consolidate three campuses
The University of Alaska is set in its plan to centralize functions and launched its “New UA” website Aug. 19 to explain options for consolidation of programs. The new centralization replaces the current separate institutions of University of Alaska Fairbanks; University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Southeast. UA President Jim Johnsen, with support of the Board of Regents, began the new initiative after Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered sharp budget reductions for the university, arguing in part there was too much duplication. Johnsen will present his plans at a mid-September Regents’ meeting.

Donors to UA jolted by letter that purposes may not be honored
Donors to the University of Alaska’s Foundation were jolted by a recent letter informing them that due to the university’s budget problems and consolidations it may no longer be possible for the intent and conditions of donations to be honored. This has angered at least some donors in the $200,000-plus category. In its consolidations so far the UA has formed one central group to conduct development work, or donations, ending the separate groups that solicited the separate campuses. People familiar with charitable giving say this is a short-sighted strategy because businesses and alumni like to give to their local campuses and now are not sure this will happen in working through a centralized group.

Marijuana Control Board to decide Fairbanks on-site consumption in September
Fairbanks’ city council opted not to oppose the state’s first on-site marijuana consumption site, which may also be the first such “pot lounge” in the nation. Final approval of the proposal by “The Fairbanks Cut” could come at the Marijuana Control Board’s meeting in Nome on Sept. 11-13. The board had earlier disapproved the application on a technicality but the proponents feel they have now corrected that.

After budget cut, Fairbanks’ Cold Climate Research Center hustles for partners
Fairbanks’ Cold Climate Research Center was a casualty of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s final budget vetoes. The center attracts federal and private funds for its research on housing and energy efficiency but a $750,000 state grant, which was cut this year, was core funding that helped attract other money. The center will now pursue other funds, such as partnerships with housing manufacturers.

July was Alaska’s warmest month, spawning drought, fires
July was Alaska’s warmest month on record, averaging four to five degrees Fahrenheit above long-term average, according the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The unusual heat made for record warm waters in rivers and streams that are believed to be linked to large die-offs of salmon in certain places and also set the stage for extreme drought conditions and wildfires in Southcentral Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula has gone 23 days without rain. Wildfires displaced some homeowners in the Parks Highway/Willow area, threatened Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula, and disrupted traffic, tourism and routine resupply of food stores on the Peninsula.

In the Interior heavy rains caused flooding and temporarily stranded 300 tourists in Denali National Park when road conditions became unsafe near Polychrome Pass and beyond the Eielson Visitor Center. These kinds of erratic weather events may become more common because they fit modeling of changes in Alaska due to climate change, say scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Arctic Science Center. Also, sea ice off Alaska’s northern and northwest shores is at extremely low levels. Overall summer ice across the Arctic is estimated at 2.9 million square miles, or 30,000 square miles less than the previous low-ice record in 2012.

Alaska trains its firefighters
As would be fitting for such a heavy wildfire year, University of Alaska Fairbanks graduated 29 people in its “Summer Fire Academy,” a two-month 12-credit program which trains entry-level firefighters who can now apply for their Alaska Firefighter 1 certification, which is also recognized by 49 other states. Typically the program draws 50 to 70 applicants yearly and normally 30 complete the course.

Kenai voters may raise cap on sales tax
Kenai Peninsula voters will decide whether to raise the cap on the borough’s sales tax from $500 to $1,000 in October municipal elections. The increase, if it happens, would bring $3.1 million to $3.4 million in new revenues to the borough. Sales tax on the Kenai include sales, rentals and services, but residential rentals will be excluded from the increase. The cap on the sales tax was last raised in 1965

Kenai schools in contract talks with teachers, other workers
The Kenai Peninsula School District is in contract negotiations with two unions, the Kenai Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association. Teachers there might strike: Seventy-five percent have voted for a walkout if talks deadlock. The school district wants to raise employees’ health insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Current agreements give employees two options, a 10 percent out-of-pocket maximum with a high-deductible plan and a 15 percent maximum in a “traditional” plan with a lower deductible.

Alaska’s arts and cultural activities worth $1.4 billion in 2016
Alaska’s arts and cultural activities were worth $1.4 billion in 2016, according to data compiled by the National Endowment for the Arts. This amounted to 2.7 percent of the state’s economy. Alaska still lags other states in the value of arts and culture, however. In Montana arts and culture were worth $1.5 billion, or 3.3 percent of the economy; in Idaho they were worth $1.9 billion, or 2.8 percent of the state’s economy, and in Washington state arts and culture totaled $41.8 billion in value or 8.3 percent of the state’s economy, according to the national association.

Petroleum: NPR-A Willow oil project expected to produce 130,000 barrels per day
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is expected to produce 130,000 barrels per day at peak with production to last for 30 years. Recoverable reserves are estimated 590 million barrels. This is the first specific production and reserve figure published for Willow. The numbers were in BLM’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was just published.

Alaska trains its firefighters
As would be fitting for such a heavy wildfire year, University of Alaska Fairbanks graduated 29 people in its “Summer Fire Academy,” a two-month 12-credit program which trains entry-level firefighters who can now apply for their Alaska Firefighter 1 certification, which is also recognized by 49 other states. Typically the program draws 50 to 70 applicants yearly and normally 30 complete the course.

Kenai voters may raise cap on sales tax
Kenai Peninsula voters will decide whether to raise the cap on the borough’s sales tax from $500 to $1,000 in October municipal elections. The increase, if it happens, would bring $3.1 million to $3.4 million in new revenues to the borough. Sales tax on the Kenai include sales, rentals and services, but residential rentals will be excluded from the increase. The cap on the sales tax was last raised in 1965

Kenai schools in contract talks with teachers, other workers
The Kenai Peninsula School District is in contract negotiations with two unions, the Kenai Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association. Teachers there might strike: Seventy-five percent have voted for a walkout if talks deadlock. The school district wants to raise employees’ health insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Current agreements give employees two options, a 10 percent out-of-pocket maximum with a high-deductible plan and a 15 percent maximum in a “traditional” plan with a lower deductible.

Alaska’s arts and cultural activities worth $1.4 billion in 2016
Alaska’s arts and cultural activities were worth $1.4 billion in 2016, according to data compiled by the National Endowment for the Arts. This amounted to 2.7 percent of the state’s economy. Alaska still lags other states in the value of arts and culture, however. In Montana arts and culture were worth $1.5 billion, or 3.3 percent of the economy; in Idaho they were worth $1.9 billion, or 2.8 percent of the state’s economy, and in Washington state arts and culture totaled $41.8 billion in value or 8.3 percent of the state’s economy, according to the national association.

Petroleum: NPR-A Willow oil project expected to produce 130,000 barrels per day
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is expected to produce 130,000 barrels per day at peak with production to last for 30 years. Recoverable reserves are estimated 590 million barrels. This is the first specific production and reserve figure published for Willow. The numbers were in BLM’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was just published.