Tourism booms – Summer passenger growth sharply up in Anchorage
Tourism is booming in Alaska. Summer passenger travel through Ted Stevens International Airport, a key indicator for summer tourism, saw 2.5 percent growth between May and September. It was the second straight year for strong passenger traffic growth at the Anchorage airport. Because the state’s non-tourist economy is still struggling although a three-year recession has ended, what was propelling passenger traffic is the strong 2019 visitor season. New services by an airline new to Alaska, Allegiant Airlines, was a factor in growth along with expanded services with larger aircraft by United Airlines and American Airlines.

There is one worrying trend in tourism
The National Park Service reported that visitors to Denali National Park, a major tourism draw, dropped from 643,000 in 2017 to 595,000 in 2018 despite growth in total visitors to Alaska. The reasons for the decline aren’t clear but wildlife advocates say poor game management by the state of Alaska on state lands adjacent to the park, particularly for wolves, has resulted in a worsening wildlife-viewing experience for tourists. Of all wildlife, the opportunity to see wild wolves is a huge draw for visitors. This year only 1 percent of Denali Park visitors saw a wolf, the lowest sighting statistic on record, compared with 45 percent of visitors seeing wolves in 2010, before the state removed a protected no-hunting buffer along a strip of state lands adjacent to Denali. The protection was important because wolf packs are migratory and hunting pressure sharply reduced populations. In contrast, wolf viewing success had reached 70 percent of visitors to Yellowstone National Park where wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and have been protected since.

Sale of Vigor, Ketchikan shipyard operator, is completed
Carlyle Group and Steller Capital Management closed on their purchase of Vigor Industrial, owner of Vigor Alaska, the Ketchikan shipyard operator. The two private equity firms also closed on a purchase of MHI Holdings, which owns a ship repair yard in Norfolk. Va. The plan is to bring Vigor Industrial and MHI under a new holding company, Titan Acquisition Holding. No effects on Vigor’s operations at the Ketchikan shipyard are seen. The shipyard is owned by the state through the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, with Vigor Alaska as the contract operator.

Fairbanks says state overvalued personal property values
Fairbanks says state assessors overvalued personal property values in its borough for the fourth year and is considering legal action. The state does the assessment annually to be used, among other purposes, to help set the amount of the state contribution to local schools. The overestimate would cost the borough $850,000 in state education funding, local officials said. A total value for property in the borough was set at $11.4 billion with $1.8 billion in personal property, which would include airplanes, boats and machinery.

Ketchikan sees tax windfall in on-line sales tax collections
Ketchikan said the proposed Alaska Remote Sellers Sales Tax Compact, a project of the Alaska Municipal League, could bring it $400,000 to $1.2 million a year in new tax revenue from on-line sales. AML has been working for some time on the plan, which would give municipalities a way to tax sales on the internet. The Alaska plan is based on South Dakota’s Stranded Sales Tax Use Agreement, which is used in that state and 11 others. There are 106 sales tax jurisdiction in Alaska. Ketchikan’s upper-range estimate of $1.2 million a year is no doubt optimistic but the lower range $400,000/year is likely realistic, people familiar with the project say. AML plans more discussions of the proposal at its upcoming annual meeting. A contractor to develop needed software has been selected.

“Tax free” sales tax days gaining popularity, but some municipalities push back
Southeast municipalities are holding “tax free” days, with no local sales tax, to boost local retail The Haines Borough held its first “Buy Haines” day on Oct. 19 with most retailers reporting a boost in sales. The second tax-free day is planned next March. The idea is based on the Wrangell Borough’s program of two tax-free days per year that have been in place for 10 years. Petersburg curtailed its tax-free days, saying that a two-day local tax holiday cost it $50,000 in lost revenue.

Dunleavy veto cuts weatherization assistance in rural areas
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of $5 million in rural home weatherization services is leaving 16 low-income communities in western Alaska without weatherization assistance. The governor’s cut was of state funds for Alaska Housing Finance Corp. which contracts for home weatherization work through the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, or RuralCAP, as well as other organizations. AHFC’s services can be continued in many parts of rural Alaska by combining federal and other funding, but in the 16 villages in the Bering Straits region there are few alternative sources of money. Weatherization that improves home heating efficiency lowers fuel bills, which can consume as much as 40 percent of family cash income at certain times of the year, University of Alaska studies have found.

Hoonah wants to create its own borough in Southeast; eyes new fish, sales tax collections
Hoonah wants to create its own “Xunaa Borough” in Southeast, taking in a large 35,000-square-mile area including Chatham Strait, Icy Strait and parts of Chichagof Island. The community also wants to include Excursion Inlet, which has fisheries operations and is now part of the Haines Borough. Hoonah projects $800,000 in new revenues mainly from fisheries taxes, which the community wants to use to help fund its $3.3 million local school budget.

$52 million in federal funds now allocated to boost rural public safety, justice
The U.S. Department of Justice will provide $42 million in grants to Alaska Native tribes to support rural police and crime victim services, the DOJ announced in late October. The money is in addition to $10.5 million in previous federal money made available to Alaska by the justice department. U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the grant during the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks. An Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica investigation found that one in three Alaska Native villages have no effective law enforcement. The money will be administered by the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Program, which coordinated previous federal grants.

Alaska Aerospace Corp. now shops for new site for equatorial orbit launches
The state-owned Alaska Aerospace Corp., or AEC, lost out on a proposal to build a new satellite launch facility on the island of Hawaii after landowner, W.H. Shipman Co., backed out of the deal, citing opposition from local residents over noise and safety concerns. AEC now operates its Kodiak facility, which is ideal for launches to polar orbits, but hopes to build a launch site at a southernly location to offer customers the option of launches to equatorial orbits. The state corporation, which is funded mainly by launch revenues, said it hopes to secure another site.