Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

In this newscast:

• City workers have been collecting samples of Juneau’s sewage to test for the coronavirus.
• After a summer without cruise ships, many people in Southeast Alaska are desperate to see tourists return. But not everyone.
• Gov. Mike Dunleavy debuted a budget proposal for next year that will lean heavily on earnings from the Permanent Fund to help Alaska recover from the pandemic.
• The U.S. Coast Guard’s second-highest ranking officer has assumed some of the blame for Russian military intimidation of Bering Sea commercial fishermen last summer.

In this newscast:

• The wrongful death lawsuit against the Juneau police officer who fatally shot 34-year-old Kelly Stephens last year is over.
• The updated concept for a new arts facility in Juneau would expand Centennial Hall and could help boost the city’s economic recovery.
• Canadian developers behind a proposed massive metals mine 20 miles from the border seek another permit extension from B.C. regulators.
• More Alaska Natives have died of COVID-19 in the state than whites even though they make up 16% of the state’s population.

The updated concept for a new arts facility in Juneau would expand Centennial Hall and could help boost the city’s economic recovery.

Public works director Katie Koester says the project is still in its early stages, but that it may serve as a community center, conference hall and performing arts center to replace the current Juneau Arts and Culture Center (JACC).

“The JACC would be demolished and Centennial Hall itself would be expanded and take on all those functions,” Koester said.

Koester says the concept is a different vision from the $4.5 million proposal for a standalone facility that voters rejected to fund in 2019.

This one serves a broader purpose. Koester wrote in a memo that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting job losses also gives the community an opportunity to address the city’s economic concerns.

The Juneau Public Works and Facilities committee met on Monday to discuss asking the assembly to spend $75,000 to pay an architect to further develop the concept, create a timeline and cost estimate, as well as finalizing the design.

Koester noted that the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, Travel Juneau and the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, who had opposed the previous ballot measure, are all on board.

City manager Rorie Watt also says he’s for it, too.

“My take is, is that at this point in time, given that we have those three organizations working together collaboratively and agreeing on the process forward, that I definitely support the concept,” Watt said.

But assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, who’s also part of the public works committee, had some reservations.

“I have real concerns about this just because it feels like a little bit of a slap in the face of voters who fairly recently and fairly decisively if I remember, voted against a new JACC,” she said.

If the plan does move forward, it would still be up to voter approval. Koester says a question could be on the ballot as soon as Oct. 2021.

“It is not a commitment to the project, it’s really a commitment to exploring that concept with some more, you know, resources and just being able to do some public outreach,” she said.

The committee agreed to ask for approval of the $75,000 at the next assembly meeting on Dec. 14.

In this newscast:

• The Juneau Assembly on Monday will consider declaring a local disaster due to damage from last week’s record rainstorm.
• For more than a year, Juneau teens in need of temporary shelter had nowhere to go.
• There were rumors going around Juneau yesterday that Donald Trump Jr. was in town for a hunting trip.
• Juneau officials expect to get almost 1,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week.

In this newscast:

• The Juneau School District is getting ready for students to return to in-person classes in January.
• Public health data shows COVID-19 case counts appear to be trending down in Juneau once again.
• The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could be here as soon as next week.
• Heavy equipment operators have been clearing mudslides off roads in Haines over the past week.

The Juneau School District is getting ready for students to return to in-person classes in January.

This follows divisive public discussions over an earlier plan in November. That plan fell through after Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s urgent warning to Alaskans about the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.

The district says, as of now, start dates for kindergarten through twelfth grade are staggered throughout January, beginning on the 11th.

• Kindergarten/1st grade: January 11
• 2nd/3rd grades: January 19
• 4th/5th grades: January 25
• 6th-8th grades: January 11
• 9th-12th grades: January 11

According to the district, other programs like the Tlingit Culture Language Literacy, Montessori Borealis, Juneau Community Charter School, Yaakoosgé Daakahídi High School and Integrated Preschool plans are still being developed. Families participating in these programs will be contacted directly by their school.

Superintendent Bridget Weiss says the district has various strategies in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“We have communicated to parents, and to staff that we do expect a symptom free environment,” she said. “So when a person is experiencing a symptom, then we ask that they not come to work if they’re an adult, and not to send their child if it’s a student.”

There’s a symptom checklist families have to fill out for each student every day. Schools are also requiring students and staff to wear masks covering their nose and mouth in schools.

There are additional questions for families if they plan to travel for winter break or during the semester.

Families who prefer online learning for the remainder of the school year will still have the option.

The district posted more info for families on its website.