The recession is continuing to soften with job losses in 2018 estimated at 2,000, or 0.8 percent, state economist Neal Fried told the Resource Development Council’s annual conference Nov. 14. Job losses are expected to even out in 2019, with slow growth resuming. Still, there’s a lot of catching up needed to reach 2015 peak levels. Employment in the oil industry has essentially leveled out after two years of reductions and construction is actually up, Fried told the RDC. Retail is down substantially but that has more to do with corporate decisions on the national level and not so much the state’s economy. The loss of sales to e-commerce is also a factor, but that is a national trend. Essentially the state is where it was in 2011. However, unemployment, at 6.5 percent in September, is actually below the state’s 10-year average of 7.1 percent. A surprising number of employers cite difficulties in finding qualified workers, Fried told RDC.

Alaska Airlines opens its $50 million new hanger in Anchorage

Alaska Airlines opened its new Maintenance and Engineering Facility and Hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after starting construction in August 2016. The $50 million facility more than doubles the size of the older hangar, which is unable to accommodate the airline’s next-generation aircraft. The new hanger covers over 100,000 square feet and large enough to house two 737 jet aircraft.

Vector Launch to use Kodiak for test of new rocket

Vector Launch Inc. will do a test launch of its new Vector-R rocket from the Kodiak Launch Complex next April, the company told federal agencies. The company is one of several new space-technology companies carving out a market niche for smaller satellites and rockets. The first launch is intended to test the launch vehicle and will not carry a satellite payload. Alaska Aerospace Corp., a state-owned corporation that owns the launch facility, is positioning itself to serve this new market.

Cost of living decrease for Fort Wainright soldiers

U.S. Army personnel at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks will experience a cost of living expense drop in their pay because surveys showed prices dropped between 2016 and 2017 compared with the Lower 48. The cost of groceries, recreation and household items were included in the survey. The decrease amounts to about $1,200 a year for an enlisted many living on the Army post and about $1,900 per year for a soldier living off post. Other Interior military installations are not experiencing pay reductions because the COLA surveys didn’t show cost decreases. The survey will be done again next year.

New Eielson military arrivals to increase Fairbanks borough population 5.4 percent

The Fairbanks North Star Borough estimates that the arrival of new military personnel and families at Eielson Air Force Base will increase the borough’s population by 5.4 percent with 85 percent of new people arriving desiring to live in the North Pole area east of Fairbanks and near Eielson. The projections are in a 454-page Eielson “growth” plan published by the borough to help the community plan for the new arrivals, most coming in 2019 and 2020. Agnew:Beck prepared the report.

About half of Eielson military personnel interviewed for a local “quality of life” portion of the study gave a “B” grade, citing lack of sports and recreation, particularly indoors. They were particularly concerned with lack of shopping opportunities in the North Pole area and said they would like “big box” stores like Fred Meyer, Walmart, Target and Costco.

Trend of homes owned by nonresidents plagues small rural communities

Housing shortages in rural communities aren’t unknown but a worrisome trend is the amount of housing stock owned by nonresidents of a community who will not make homes available or who do not maintain the properties. Of 140 properties in Larson Bay, listed on Kodiak Island Borough tax rolls, 74 are owned by residents and 66 are owned by nonresidents of the city, 31 who live elsewhere on Kodiak and 34 who live elsewhere, mostly outside Alaska. The trend is for nonresidents to purchase homes for vacations or seasonal use, or for local residents who retire to move away but retain ownership of their homes. The trends make it difficult to attract or retain young people in Larson Bay, Kodiak Borough officials say. More troubling is that the loss of families with school-age children led to the closure of Larson Bay’s school this year.

Aircraft mechanics to be trained in Bethel

Bethel workforce nonprofit nonprofit Yuut Elitnaurviat is starting an aircraft mechanic training center to offset an acute shortage of mechanics among regional aviation operators. The first class is to begin in February. It will run for a year and a half.

United Airlines to offer summer Fairbanks-San Francisco service

United Airlines will offer summer-only nonstop flights between Fairbanks and Denver and Fairbanks and San Francisico, the airline said. The flights will operate three times weekly from early June to late August. Fairbanks’airport received a $750,000 federal grant to help United promote and market the San Francisco route, part of a federal program to entice air carriers to serve more smaller markets with direct flights. Fairbanks-area businesses have agreed to spend $200,000 on tourism marketing and advertising.

Alaska aviation equipment company buys Arctic fabric manufacturer

Airframes Alaska, an Alaska manufacturer of aviation and airframe equipment based in Chugiak, north of Anchorage, purchased Alaska Tent & Tarp, a maker of Arctic-grade industrial fabrics. Alaska Tent & Tarp operates facilities in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The acquisition will allow Airframes Alaska to better develop several new products, the company said.

$1 million arts development grant to Anchorage, from Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation of billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, awarded a $1 million grant to convert a downtown Anchorage building into a workspace for artists and designers. The refurbished building would be known as SEED Lab (Solutions for Energy and Equity through Design). It will serve as a meeting place where artists, designers, engineers and community members could come together to discuss the future of the city and to look at issues such as climate, food, transportation, housing and migration, said Julie Decker, the Anchorage Museum director. The Museum will lease the building and will work with the city to develop the space.

Bloomberg, in Anchorage for the award, said investment in culture and public art spurs economic growth. “Culture attracts capital (investment) and capital brings culture,” he said in an announcement event with Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. “Public art can really deliver a message,” Bloomberg said. “Think of the impact of the Statute of Liberty in my own city,” of New York, he said.