Adelyn Baxter

Juneau’s state legislators hosted a town hall Thursday to hear from the public and talk through concerns. The 2018 legislative session begins next week.

In a packed room at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library, Sen. Dennis Egan and Reps. Justin Parish and Sam Kito III struck a somewhat pessimistic tone as they fielded questions from constituents.

“We are getting to the point where we are almost out of savings in our constitutional budget reserve account,” Kito said.

He said oil revenue went from making up 90 percent of state earnings to now between 20 percent and 25 percent, forcing the state to draw on savings.

“We still have to provide for education and public health according to our constitution,” Kito said. “We have to provide a transportation system. All of those things cost money.”

The state needs to find ways to cover that deficit, he said, whether through a proposed state income tax, dipping into the Permanent Fund or some other solution. Budget reserves won’t last.

Egan shared his own reservations about the upcoming session.

“It’s an election year, and a lot of times every two years a lot of things don’t happen because people are running for re-election and they’re afraid to tackle major issues,” Egan said. “And that concerns me. It shouldn’t be about election years, it should be about solving Alaska’s problems.”

Helen Unruh asked if there was anything to be done about legislative inaction. Parish suggested leaning on other Alaskans.

“Do you have any friends in Fairbanks? If you have any friends who are represented by a senator who’s in the majority, please have them call their senator,” Parish said. “I know that when I get a call from a constituent, I take it very seriously.”

Still, several community members echoed the feeling that Alaska’s fiscal future is being held hostage by the Republican-led Senate majority.

Juneau’s legislators are all Democrats.

Egan didn’t contest one constituent’s observation at the town hall:

“We’re not talking and there’s just not enough being done during the session,” the young man said. “Lord knows the governor has tried to force you guys to work it out, calling you guys back over and over again, but to no avail.”

“But we do nothing,” Egan replied.

Afterward, Egan said the partisan politics that have overtaken the Legislature weren’t always the norm.

“Well I thought we functioned really well when we were a bipartisan working group,” he said. “We did a lot of great things for the people of the state, but we worked together, Republicans and Democrats, and an independent. But we got things done. But lately, I don’t like it. I mean, I don’t like the way it’s been functioning.”

The 30th Alaska Legislature reconvenes Tuesday.

The City and Borough of Juneau hopes to find a new tenant or buyer for a property that has served as a youth shelter for more than 50 years.

Juneau Lands and Resources Manager Greg Chaney led tours Monday of the city-owned complex just off Egan Drive in the Mendenhall Valley.

“It’s a building from the 1960s. It wasn’t built to a real high quality institutional standard, so any organization that comes in is going to have to expect to do some upgrades, maybe some maintenance, you know, that kind of thing,” Chaney said. “But basically it’s in pretty good shape.”

The lot at 9290 Hurlock Ave. is surrounded by tall trees. The single story, 6,400-square-foot facility there includes a newer portable classroom attached to the main building by a walkway and two small out-buildings used for storage.

It served as an emergency shelter for runaway, homeless and at-risk youth for decades. The city leased it to Juneau Youth Services for only $1 a year.

“We’ve had a wonderful partnership with the city and borough at the Hurlock campus for over half a century,” said JYS Interim Executive Director Walter Majoros. “That being said, the buildings on that campus, particularly the shelter, is old and requires a lot of ongoing maintenance.”

Juneau Youth Services decided to consolidate the program into its existing campus on Montana Creek Road to cut utilities and maintenance costs and streamline services. They notified the city and were out by New Year’s Day.

Chaney said it’s rare for a city-owned property like this to become available. He said the city hopes to see a similar community-oriented organization take over the space, such as one providing child or elder care.

“It depends on the program,” Chaney said. “The idea of $1 a year was basically in exchange for Juneau Youth Services providing a program that the city didn’t have to provide and really augmented what’s available in our community. We’re excited about that type of a program.”

Bruce Van Dusen is the executive director of Polaris House, a nonprofit that works with people with mental illness. He toured the facility Monday.

“The only con I can see, in one sense, is it’s very large,” Van Dusen said. “But if we give some considerations to other types of programs we can put here, then it’s the right size.”

Polaris House currently leases space in Willoughby Place downtown, but Van Dusen said the possibility of subsidized rent made the Hurlock property appealing.

“That would allow us to hire another staff person actually so we could do better, we could do more,” he said.

If the city does not receive enough interest, the property could be sold at fair market value. Chaney said the property was recently appraised at $350,000.

Applications to lease the property are due by 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16. City staff will review lease proposals and make a recommendation to a Juneau Assembly committee Jan. 29.

The final decision on who takes over 9290 Hurlock Ave. will be left to the full Assembly.

In this newscast:

• State Sen. Mike Dunleavy plans to resign his seat in order to run for governor,
• Juneau police responded to two separate stabbings late last week,
• and a report warns that Alaska’s 20 officially recognized Native languages are at risk of losing their last fluent speakers by the end of this century.

The Juneau Police Department responded to two separate incidents involving stabbings at private residences late this week.

In the first incident, a 44-year-old male was stabbed multiple times Thursday night after getting into an argument with a man who refused to leave his home on the 300 block of Fourth Street downtown.

Police later located and arrested Lucas Schneider, who is being held at Lemon Creek Correctional Facility without bail for assault. The victim was treated for his wounds at Bartlett Regional Hospital and released.

In the second incident, police received a call Friday night about a stabbing on the 3400 Block of Foster Avenue in West Juneau. A 37-year-old male sustained multiple stab wounds to his arms, head, back and abdomen.

According to a release, it appeared an argument between the victim and a neighbor resulted in a physical fight between the neighbor’s boyfriend and the victim. Police also recovered guns and knives that were reportedly involved in the incident.

The victim was treated at Bartlett for injuries that were not life threatening. The case is still being investigated and no arrests have been made.

“We have to look into it further before we can make a decision on an arrest,” said JPD Sgt. Ben Beck.

Beck said the two stabbing incidents were not related.

Juneau’s Year of Kindness, an initiative that began last January, officially ended Sunday with a celebration at Thunder Mountain High School.

It was Lt. Kris Sell’s last day in uniform for the Juneau Police Department, and she can’t think of a better way to go out.

“I’ve actually turned in all my gear except what I’m wearing,” Sell said. “It’s my last Juneau thing, and I’m very torn with how I feel about that. I’m so happy that this was so successful and so sad that it’s ending.”

Sell, other volunteers and community members are celebrating an idea that began as a dream to make Juneau a kinder place. In the fall of 2016, the presidential election was winding down, and much of the country was reeling from a year that included terror attacks, violent protests and mass shootings. Sell found herself wondering what could bring the community together.

“The inspiration that came to me, out of nowhere, was that kindness is something we can agree on,” she said. “You might think that love is the antithesis to the hate we see in the world, but love is a complicated concept and we don’t all agree when we see love what it actually looks like, but I think we have a wide understanding across our culture as to what kindness is.”

She and another JPD employee formed a committee and turned to the community for help. What they got, she said, was an overwhelming flood of support. They asked community groups to host different kindness events through the year. Sell said the calendar was full by April.

“Sometimes it was a book club, sometimes it was a boxing club, it was the Department of Corrections, it was the Alaska Peace Officers Association, it was Grateful Dogs,” said Sell. “Every group took a week and it really formed the backbone of the year of kindness.”

Steering committee member Carol Kell said Sunday’s celebration honored the success of the initiative and the work still to come. Last year, they kicked things off with a bonfire on Sandy Beach. People wrote down things they wanted to let go of and then burned them in the flames. On Sunday, they were asked to do the same on rice paper. Then the paper went into bowls of water.

“The words roll off onto the water and the paper dissolves underneath it,” Kell said. “So we’ve gone from fire to water, just to bring it full circle. And so we’re celebrating.”

They also honored kindness standouts in the community. Antonio Prescott was nominated for helping the homeless downtown in his spare time by handing out food and supplies.

“I hope that everybody sees that there is some problems that are happening and we can help,” Prescott said. “We can come together and help this community.”

Sell said it’s hard to quantify how much of an impact the year of kindness has had on Juneau. Comparing crime statistics from the past year may not paint a perfect picture, but she feels from what she’s heard, there were more random acts of kindness.

“So maybe for some people it was that little nudge that gave them that push to do something they wanted to do anyway,” she said. “You know, sometimes we get a little shy in our lives, and this gave people something to initiate that conversation.”

The year may have come to an end, but the effort to make Juneau a kinder place will not. ROCK Juneau, a community organization that wants to improve the welfare of children and youth, plans to continue working in the community for the Year of Kindness for Kids in 2018.

The National Weather Service in Juneau has issued a winter storm warning for the region beginning tonight.

Juneau and northern Admiralty Island could see about 6 to 8 inches of snow between 6 p.m. tonight and 9 a.m. Monday, with the highest accumulations expected late this evening through early tomorrow morning.

The snow is expected to turn to rain later Monday morning.

Looks like a white start to the New Year for much of the Panhandle! Those of you planning on getting out and enjoying the New Year’s Eve festivities should plan for periods of snow to cause hazardous travel especially for interior and northern parts of the Panhandle #akwx pic.twitter.com/m9r6GZsbW8

— NWS Juneau (@NWSJuneau) December 31, 2017

A front moving off the Gulf of Alaska will combine with cold air in the region to produce the heavy snow.

Visibility could be reduced below one mile during the heaviest snowfall, which could produce difficult driving conditions for those out enjoying New Year’s Eve.