Wed, 12/23/2020 - 9:12am
Imagining 2021 could take even more twists and turns is difficult after a year like no other in recent memory, but few could be surprised at this point if it does.
So without further preamble, a stab at predicting events we could see in the New Year.
Anchorage Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson will take one COVID-19 test per week until she tests positive again. After proving people can get it twice, she will restrict households to no more than two people and move any extra members into the Golden Lion Inn. The Assembly will approve of this by an 8-0 vote after Eagle River members Jamie Allard and Crystal Kennedy are locked out of the meeting by a giggling Felix Rivera.
Latest Alaska unemployment numbers show continued economic stagnation Published December 18, 2020
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Print article New unemployment claims data shows Alaskans are continuing to lose work as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. The data for last week shows there were 4,809 initial unemployment claims, up 284 from the previous week. There were 19,980 continuing claims. “It’s confirmation that Alaska’s labor market is still in a pretty dark place,” University of Alaska Anchorage economics professor Mouhcine Guettabi said. On Friday, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced November employment was at 293,500 jobs, down 7.4% from a year prior. Leisure and hospitality jobs were down 22% a loss of 7,000 jobs from last November, the state said.
Print article United Way of Anchorage is working to get the remaining money for rental and mortgage assistance out the door before a Dec. 30 deadline to avoid having to send any money back to the federal government. As of Thursday, it had about $7 million left, and had disbursed $13 million. “Any way we can find ways to get the most money out possible, that’s what we are doing,” United Way spokesman Jason Grenn said. Over the past few weeks, United Way has been disbursing several hundreds of thousands of dollars per day, and so far has provided checks for more than 6,000 individuals and families.
Anchorage School Board makes it harder for superintendent to pause school reopening plans
Print article The Anchorage School Board on Tuesday passed a memorandum that directs the superintendent not to postpone current plans to begin reopening schools in January. It also passed a resolution asking the city to prioritize the superintendent’s plan to phase students back into schools before it relaxes current COVID-19 restrictions. Both the resolution and the memorandum aim to address the fact that public schools have largely remained closed to in-person learning during the pandemic while the rest of the community, including businesses, day cares and private schools, have continued to function.
Print article A group of restaurateurs this month met with Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson and her administration to pitch them on new safety measures, aimed at allowing participating restaurants to open during the city’s monthlong closure of bars and restaurants due to the pandemic. Both sides say the Dec. 8 meeting
was productive,
but Quinn-Davidson ultimately turned down the offer. The plan was based around more strict sanitizing practices, like having customers sanitize their hands upon entering and sanitizing bathrooms every 30 minutes. “They heard us, they listened, but the bottom line for us is we want to do this as soon as possible,” said Chris Anderson, president of Glacier Brewhouse and ORSO in downtown Anchorage.