Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

In this newscast:

• The Alaska Supreme Court rules unconstitutional a 2005 law that diminished or impaired state employees’ retirement benefits.
• In the roughly 100-person town of Tenakee Springs, the storm in December destroyed a bridge that provides vital access for a handful of residents.
• Members of the public who are barred from the state Capitol complex due to pandemic safety rules attended a social gathering with legislators in a complex building last week.
• Preliminary results show Assembly member Forrest Dunbar with a slight lead in the race for Anchorage mayor.

In this newscast:

• Federal public health authorities have taken a step towards allowing cruises to resume in U.S. waters but there’s still no clear timeline for cruises to resume in Alaska.
• How Alaska’s tribes spent their CARES Act funds last year and what about the mountain of new cash that’s coming at them soon.
• If you’re in Juneau and undecided about getting vaccinated against COVID-19, there’s now a cash incentive to get the jab.

In this newscast:

• A tribe in the Southeast community of Wrangell has been working to recycle electronics to reduce e-waste.
• The state of Alaska should be spending more on building maintenance for its K-12 schools, according to a recent study from the Institute of Social and Economic Research.
• Fan-favorite snowmachine racer Mike Morgan of Anchorage added to his collection of wins this past weekend with his victory on the Archie Ferguson/Willie Goodwin memorial snowmachine race.

In this newscast:

• Some Juneau elementary school students are returning to a nearly normal school schedule starting on Monday.
• Contractors plan to break ground on a multimillion-dollar airport project in Gustavus this month but toxic chemicals discovered at the site make the project more complicated.
• House Bill 123 would amend state law to officially recognize Tribes that the federal government already recognizes.

Some Juneau elementary school students are returning to a nearly normal school schedule starting as soon as Monday.

Most schools are just finishing a full week of distance learning as a precaution after spring break travel. So, it came as a surprise to some parents when the Juneau School District announced that it plans to have elementary students attend in-person classes four full days a week.

Auke Bay, Riverbend, Montessori Borealis, Juneau Community Charter School, Mendenhall River and Sayéik: Gastineau Community School will start the new schedule on April 5. Harborview Elementary students in second- through fifth-grade, all Tlingit Culture Language and Literacy students, and students at Sitʼ Eeti Shaanáx̱ Glacier Valley start on April 12.

Wednesday will continue to be an independent learning day.

For Sanjay Pyare, it’s welcome news. He said his kids have been tapped out on remote learning after a full year of distance learning.

“It’s going to be a lot more effective for the teacher,” Pyare said. “And for the teacher to go back and ask questions and zero in on students and whatnot, and how much they’re picking up.”

Pyare also said it will give his kids more of an opportunity to have a social life.

“Just being able to goof off and be kids in a normal environment is a healthy thing,” he said.

Superintendent Bridget Weiss said the decision is an important step toward students’ academic, social and emotional recovery.

She said the district will be flexible as families adjust to the change in the next few weeks. Distance learning will still be available for families who have decided not to return to in-person classes.

Kristin Bartlett with the school district said the minimal risk level in the community and recently updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contributed to the decision.

The district is going by the CDC’s recently updated guidelines to keep students at least three feet distanced, instead of six feet, throughout most of the day. Mitigation measures such as masking will continue to be implemented.

In this newscast:

• Avalanches are still likely in Juneau, even while Eaglecrest Ski Area is closed.
• What the economic impacts of the pandemic look like in Alaska one year after it all started.
• The Alaska House passed a resolution urging Congress to allow an exemption for cruise ships to bypass Canada and sail in Alaska again.