Cruise tourism expected to increase 6 percent in 2020
Cruise tourism to Alaska, will jump 6 percent next year, an industry trade group told Southeast Conference delegates at the regional development group’s annual meeting in Sitka. Cruise passengers increased 200,000 between 2018 and 2019 and are projected to reach a record 1.44 million in 2020, said Cruise Lines International Association. Tourists are expected to spend $793 million just in Southeast Alaska next summer. CLIA is the industry trade group that helps coordinate cruise companies’ work with coastal ports. Ten new cruise ships are expected in Alaska waters next year, and an additional 29 port calls are planned. The largest increase in visitors is expected at Hoonah, which has developed into a popular stop for ships. Huna Totem Corp. is building additional capacity.

Out-of-state investment in marijuana will now be considered
In a policy reversal, Alaska’s Marijuana Control Board will now consider investments by non-Alaska residents in the state’s growing marijuana industry. A set of proposed new regulations to be considered by the board would allow limited investment from outside the state. To date, out-of-state investment has been prohibited. A particular problem has developed around testing labs which must conduct tests on marijuana products before they can be sold in retail. There are now only three test labs in the state, in Anchorage, Wasilla and Ketchikan. A fourth lab, in Juneau, may be approved for opening soon. Startup costs for labs are high and include requirements to employ a scientific director with a degree in chemical or biological science and have post-graduate laboratory experience.

Court block Dunleavy move against public employee unions
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Gregory Miller approved a Temporary Restraining Order stopping state officials enforcing an order by Gov. Mike Dunleavy for the state to stop collecting dues for union public employees’ member- ships. Attorney General Kevin Clarkson had advised that a U.S. Court decision could be interpret- ed to bar automatic collections of dues from union as well as non-union employees. Judge Miller said Dunleavy and Clarkson went beyond the bounds of the so-called Janus decision. Conservative action groups pushed Dunleavy to set up a first-in-the-nation test case. Here is part of Miller’s decision: “The State advances a position contrary to the express wording of Janus, contrary to the memorandum opinion issued by his predecessor in office, contrary to all known opinions from other States’ Attorneys General, and contrary to nine federal court decisions, two administrative agency decisions, and two arbitration awards.”

Homer boat yard completes first 74-foot vessel
Bay Welding of Homer completed a 74-foot catamaran passenger vessel, the Seawolf, for Juneau-based Goldbelt Transportation Inc., which will use the vessel for transporting workers to and from the Kensington gold mine at Berner’s Bay north of the capital city. The company was able to offer a competitive bid for the construction, which it hopes will open the way to building larger crafts in Homer.

Alaska minimum wage set to rise
The minimum wage in Alaska will be $10.19 per hour in 2020, increasing from the current $9.89/hour due to an automatic inflation escalator in state law. Inflation in 2018 was 3 percent, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said. Alaska must increase the minimum wage through legislation and while incremental increases have been approved over the years business groups fought hard against an automatic inflation escalator sought by organized labor. The automatic escalator was finally approved under a ballot initiative in 2014. Most businesses in Alaska pay above the minimum wage.

Permanent Fund Dividend checks roll $1 billion into economy
The state Department of Revenue calculated the 2018 Permanent Fund Dividend at $1,606 and automatic deposits to Alaskans’ bank were made Oct. 3, revenue officials said. Paper checks will be issued in the following weeks for applicants not requesting automatic deposit. Payments will go to 631,000 Alaskans who applied this year. The amount approved for the PFD by the Legislature is about $1.2 billion. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is still pushing for a higher $3,000 PFD payment and may call a special legislative session in hopes of getting legislators’ approval. Most legislators are resisting the higher payment, arguing the state cannot afford it.

New data soon on teacher turnover in state
The state Department of Education and Early Development will release new data on turnover among Alaska teachers Oct. 15. The report is not expect- ed to be encouraging if data on turnover among school district superintendents is any guide. The state Board of Education reported recently that 25 superintendents in the state’s 54 school districts have been in their jobs for less than two years and that 13 began work at the start of the 2019 school year. Rural school districts suffer particularly high turnover and most teacher replacements come from the Lower 48. Out-of-state recruitment and the turnover impose high costs on rural districts.

Meanwhile, an effort to expand teacher training in Alaska is foundering after the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents closed the University of Alaska Anchorage’s education school following its loss of accreditation. UAA faculty groups say the loss of accreditation resulted from a poorly-managed consolidation of UA’s three separate teacher education programs in 2016 which resulted in inadequate management attention being paid to the re-accreditation at UAA. Education groups in the state say lack of competitive salaries and benefits in Alaska contribute to turnover.

Koch brothers weigh in on bars’ fight with brewers
Americans for Prosperity, the Koch Brothers’ conservative political-action group, is entering the fight between Alaska bar owners and operators of brew pubs, wineries and distilleries. The bar owners are pushing a new set of state rules that would block their competitors from sponsoring games and events. Americans for Prosperity is opposing the new rules.

New recreation ski facility in Mat-Su’s Hatcher Pass
A nonprofit is rushing to complete facilities for a new recreational downhill ski facility at Hatcher Pass, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough north of Anchorage. “Skeetawak,” being built by Hatcher Alpine Xperience on the lower slopes of Government Peak. It provide access to 1,200 feet of beginner to intermediate terrain with a 400-foot vertical drop, and will cover an area roughly equal to Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage, another medium-size facility that offers beginner slopes.

This should be viewed as a first step. Hatcher Alpine Xperience is scaling its plan to fit the local Mat-Su population, building a lower-cost yurt structure as a lodge, a more economical approach than several earlier plans for downhill ski development in Hatcher Pass which did not come to fruition. The earlier plans had solid backers, including Mitsui, a major Japanese company, on one project and Anchorage-based Davis Constructors on another. Mitsui’s project was deemed too large for the available market and Davis’ plan was linked to nearby real estate development which prompted local opposition. Hatcher Alpine Xperience plans a future expansion into higher, more challenging terrain as its market develops.