Juneau

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More than 70 educators and community members packed into the Thunder Mountain Middle School library last week during the Juneau School District School Board meeting.

During public testimony, teachers voiced their frustrations about contract negotiations.

“We’re now on the precipice of a true disaster. Dozens of your most experienced educators are waiting to see if they should stay or not,” teacher Amy Lloyd said.

 Auke Bay Elementary teacher Kelley Harvey also spoke.

“It is not fair. It is not right, and you all have the power to solve this,” she said. “If you do not choose to respect your educators, this is what will happen.”

Harvey then stood up and began walking out of the library. A wave of more than 70 teachers silently followed in a mock walkout. 

The teachers’ most recent contract ended at the end of June, but teachers are still working under its terms. The union and the district started negotiations for a new contract in February. Both parties declared an impasse in July and entered mediation, a voluntary process where a neutral third party facilitates discussions between both parties.

The parties had three mediation sessions before the mediator, a federal employee, was furloughed. 

During the government shutdown, the district escalated the negotiation process and announced on its website earlier this month that it was initiating advisory arbitration with the union. During an advisory arbitration, a neutral third party evaluates both parties’ proposals and issues a recommendation on what to do. 

Harvey, who also co-chairs the union’s negotiation support team, said the union was “completely blindsided” by the district’s announcement and that arbitration had not been discussed with the union prior.

“We do not feel that we’re at arbitration. We were still working with our mediator. They were furloughed, so we were forced to kind of stop, but we’ve been working,” she said. “We have a proposal.”

Harvey said in her 27 years with the district, she’s never seen the district move forward with arbitration without discussing it with the union.

In response to the district’s unilateral announcement, the union sent a letter saying it had not yet reached the point of arbitration.

In contract negotiations, the main sticking points for the teachers include salaries, health insurance and preparation time for middle school teachers, Harvey said.

The union’s latest proposal, which is for two years, increases salaries by 8% for the first year and 9% for the second year. It also increases the district’s monthly contribution to health insurance premiums by $25 for the first year and by another $271 for the second year.

In contrast, the district’s 1-year offer increases salaries by 3% and only includes a $10 increase to insurance contributions each month. It also cuts down how much time middle school teachers have to prepare lessons by 200 minutes each week.

The union is insured through the Public Employee Health Trust, and Harvey said insurance premiums have increased a lot for teachers, with some on family plans paying $800 more each month compared to last school year.

“Nationally, right, health insurance has gone up exponentially over the years, and contributions just have not kept up with that,” she said.

The district has increased its monthly contribution toward health insurance by $85 since 2016.

Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser said the union’s latest proposal would cost the district about $12 million over the next two years, rather than the $1.84 million for one year with its previous offer. He said the district felt it has reached the right time to move forward with arbitration.

“We have spent almost 100 hours negotiating, and the time has come to schedule an advisory arbitration as required by Alaska statute and we’re ready to move forward again,” he said.

Hauser said arbitration is not a negative step and can help each side articulate what their position is.

“When negotiations is difficult, and it always is when the resources are limited, it frequently takes some kind of external deadline or external accountability,” Hauser said. “Otherwise we’d be negotiating forever to no effect.”

The district and union aren’t required to take the arbitrator’s recommendation, and Harvey, with the union, said it could open the door for the union to strike if they still can’t settle on a contract.  But the union wants to avoid that “at all costs.”

The union and the district are scheduled to meet for another bargaining session Nov. 25.

Alaska State Commission for Human Rights chair Dorene Lorenz sued blogger Jeff Landfield of the Alaska Landmine on Friday. Lorenz accuses Landfield of defaming her by implying she stole state funding intended to preserve a historic building in Seward.

Landfield, whose irreverent blog often breaks significant political news, recently poked fun at a land acknowledgement Lorenz read at a United Nations gathering in Switzerland. In a social media post, he called the statement “super loose and bizarre” and labeled Lorenz an “absolute nut.”

“Nobody really wonders what I think, because I usually tell them,” Landfield said in an interview.

For her part, Lorenz said she gets it — as a public official, criticism comes with the territory.

“You can call people names, that’s fine. You can suggest that they did horrible things, that’s fine,” she said.

But the post went further. Landfield pointed to an episode in her past: “Remember when she got in trouble for using … state money for the Jesse Lee Home for herself?”

Landfield was referring to a 2015 move by Gov. Bill Walker’s administration to cancel a grant to a group Lorenz chaired seeking to restore the now-demolished Jesse Lee Home in Seward.

The state found the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home spent grant money on a wide variety of “disallowed and questionable” items — everything from stereo equipment, unapproved travel and an office remodel to a tub of bikini wax. A state official said that despite about $7 million in public funding spent on restoring the home, it was “painfully apparent that this project will not be successful.”

But Lorenz insists that she did not use the money for herself — and she said Landfield’s post crossed a line.

“You cannot say that a public figure stole public money when you know for a fact that they didn’t,” she said.

Proving defamation can be an uphill battle. For so-called “public figures,” including many government officials, a plaintiff has to meet a high standard — they have to show that the speaker either knew what they were saying was false, or willingly looked away from evidence that it was.

Lorenz said she thought she had a good shot at meeting that high bar.

In subsequent posts and livestreams, Landfield pointed to a 2018 Alaska Public Media article detailing the grant cancellation. But notably, in that article, a deputy commissioner with the department said he did not believe Lorenz or anyone else involved had pocketed the money.

“Obviously he’s aware that that is the statement and the conclusion of the state of Alaska,” Lorenz said.

Lorenz also named Alaska Landmine co-owners Paxson Woebler and Scott Jensen in the suit. Lorenz is representing herself and is requesting unspecified damages, a retraction and a correction.

“It’s a very open-shut case,” she said. “It’s not something that’s heavily nuanced.”

In an interview, Landfield stood by the statement. He called Lorenz’s use of state funds a “scam” and a “grift” that wasted millions of dollars.

He said he had yet to be served, but it was the first time anyone had followed through on a threat to sue him — and he said he was looking forward to fighting it in court.

“I’m going to be spending my immediate future … getting every single document, every single grant reimbursement request, and I’m going to show just what this woman did,” he said. “She really messed with the wrong one.”

This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.

S’eitlin Jamiann Hasselquist has been hosting weekly community soup nights this month in the Traditional Foods and Medicine Kitchen inside Sealaska Heritage Institute’s new Indigenous Science Building in Downtown Juneau. 

She and her team use traditional Lingít foods to make soup for anyone who wants to try some — and maybe bring home the recipe to make themselves.

Last week, the group prepared chili with beef, deer and mountain goat meat. The last soup night is Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. 

Listen:

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

S’eiltin Jamiann Hasselquist: Can you hear it sizzling? We have so many good things in here. We have g̱uwakaan, deer; jánwu, mountain goat and wasóos, cow.  

And then cow, you know, wasóos. Most of us know cow. But we don’t know that it’s called wasóos in Lingít, and so to share that part is kind of fun. 

Lingít x̱’éináxS’eiltin yoo x̱at duwasáakw. Yéilx̱ x̱at sitee. Deisheetaan áyá x̱at. Yéil S’aag̱i Hít dáx̱. My people come from Angoon and the Raven’s bones house and my Lingít name is S’eitlin. Most people know me by Jamiann. 

I think it’s a really beautiful way to bring community together, especially in a time of need, when SNAP benefits have been delayed or whatever it is, it’s putting our families and members of our community into very stressful positions where they’re having to make choices between food and whatever else is important.

And so being able to provide a night where we can gather together and share a meal and just enjoy each other’s company and show each other like we’re not alone, that we’re here to support each other. I think that’s really important. 

There was a child who was in here, I think last week. They had never tried deer meat before, so it was their first time. They were probably 10 years old, and others. I never tried mountain goat before. You know, I’ve been cooking with it now. It cooks a lot like deer, and it tastes pretty similar to deer, but a little bit different. 

And then cow, you know, wasóos. Most of us know cow. But we don’t know that it’s called wasóos in Lingít, and so to share that part is kind of fun. 

I think it’s really nice to be able to share these out with people in the community, because it should be a part of our regular diet, and because of, you know, harms that have happened, distances between relations of the Earth and us as people, and what we ate in our diets, what we use for plant medicines, there’s  been a huge disruption in that. 

And so to be able to bring it into a dish like chili, to share it with everyone and have them try it, I hear things like, “Oh, I remember tasting this when I was a kid,” or “I’ve never had this in my entire life.” So there’s a wide range of emotions that go along with feeding this traditional food to our people. 

That animal, they had a life going on, and they give that life to be here. And so um I will thank it for its life and its spirit still being with us through this process, and tell it the healing that it’s bringing to the people.

That some people have never tried you before. They don’t know the taste. Some people, it’s going to transport them back to when they were children, 30 years ago. Maybe, you know, some people think that they never were going to try this again. 

It makes me emotional when I’m talking to them, but I also feel it’s very appropriate, and it’s something that has to be done to be able to respect the spirit of whatever that is that’s here, to help us learn, to help us return, to re-remember.

Marc Wheeler has worn a lot of hats in Juneau – from serving on the Juneau Assembly, to founding a beloved Juneau coffee shop and working with youth at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska, he’s no stranger to public service. 

Now, he’s taken on a new role as the city’s new Parks and Recreation Director. His first day on the job was Nov. 3. And he comes at a tough time as the city faces potential budget cuts following the outcome of this year’s local election. 

Listen:

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Mike Lane: As everybody knows, the city’s facing some potential big budget cuts following the results of the recent local election, and how is that going to impact Parks and Recreation? Do you have that insight yet?

Marc Wheeler: Yeah, we don’t exactly know yet. We’re still getting some direction from the city manager’s office, and then also it’ll be up to the Assembly in the end. But I think at this point, it’s pretty clear that we’re going to have to reduce services or increase fees – or both. The magnitude, the impact of the [ballot] initiatives is great, and it’s really affecting our operating funds for the community. Parks and Rec is a big part of the budget, so I’m assuming we’ll have some real direct impacts that the public is going to feel.

Mike Lane: That kind of covers my next question: What changes will Juneau residents see?  There is the possibility of rate hikes and that sort of a thing.

Marc Wheeler: Yeah, I think we have to look at both revenues and expenses to meet the budget. Just coming from the private sector, (CBJ is) a lean organization, and there’s not a lot of places to cut that are going to be easy. So it’s going to have a lot of hard decisions. So ultimately, [it’s] up to the Assembly, but really, we hope the community is really involved in that process and really gives some good direction to the Assembly.

Mike Lane: Okay, and how are you going to balance the community expectations with the financial constraints that we know are there?

Marc Wheeler: Yeah, it’s going to be a balancing act. And, we really want to serve the public as much as we can with Parks and Rec, and that’s our mission, is to really provide a great service to the community. So I think we have to get creative, but also the community is going to need to get involved and prioritize what they want to see from us.

Mike Lane: Immediately, if I think Parks and Recreation, I immediately go to the swimming pool, to softball, to different organized sports. But it’s more than that. How many different areas does Parks and Rec cover? How many facilities?

Marc Wheeler: Yeah, so Parks and Rec not only does the parks, the trails, our facilities, our recreation facilities, the youth sports — we operate a youth shelter. I don’t think many people know about the Shéiyi X̱aat Hít, the Spruce Root House. It’s a place for teens that are experiencing homelessness (to) come and find shelter. So we’re doing everything from that to hosting pickleball now at Floyd Dryden three times a week. But also Parks and Rec, we oversee building maintenance for all of the city’s facilities. So we have at least 44 city buildings — I don’t think people know that —but we run buildings, from the warehouse and thing where we have the cold weather shelter to our IT department in an old NOAA building in Auke Bay. And, we’re servicing these buildings with our city staff. It’s a lot of facilities. It’s a lot of facilities. And then there are parks all over the place. We have parks. There are 42 trails in Juneau that the city is involved with. We also manage the parking garages and some parking lots downtown. We have just some great, hard-working staff, and I’ve been super impressed by the dedication and the heart and all the hard work that our staff is putting in.

Mike Lane: Speaking of staff, how many staff are you responsible for?

Marc Wheeler:  Parks and Rec is over 200 staff, but a lot of them are part-time or seasonal employees, and we have a lot of lifeguards working part-time. It’s over 90 FTEs, so there’s a lot of part-time staff.

Mike Lane: What other big issues do you see your department facing as director of Parks and Recreation?

Marc Wheeler: I think working with a smaller budget, trying to meet the needs in the community — that’s I think our biggest challenge. But also, supporting our workers. Like, I really want to highlight all the people that are behind the scenes making these services so valuable. People think, ‘Oh, it’s just some abstract budget.’ Well, most of our budget are people, people that are working in the city. Those are your friends and neighbors, and they’re working hard. From our shelter staff, who are working like 24/7 in the youth shelter, to our landscape crew, who are responding to downed trees that might be in people’s yards. Those are your friends, those are your neighbors and they really, they really are important.

Thousands of Alaskans who rely on the federal marketplace for health insurance are experiencing sticker shock as they apply for coverage for the coming year. That’s because key health care subsidies that have helped millions of Americans afford their insurance are set to expire.

As Congress continues debating whether or not to extend the tax credits, some Juneau residents are growing increasingly worried about how sharp premium hikes will hit their wallets, and their access to life-saving health care.

David Elrod books performers for the Crystal Saloon in Downtown Juneau. He’s worked in bars for nearly 20 years, and he’s never had a bar job that offered health insurance. Right now, he pays about $60 a month for a basic plan through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

When he went to apply for his 2026 plan, he got quite a shock. The number on the screen said $1,030 a month. 

“It was pretty scary to see,” Elrod said. “And that’s not even including dental, which I’m obviously going to skip this year.” 

He said the plan still had a $2,500 deductible — the amount he would have to pay each year before insurance kicks in.

“This is not like a Cadillac health insurance plan,” he said. 

He isn’t the only one seeing a massive jump in their premium payments. Federal subsidies that keep plans in the health care marketplace affordable are set to expire if Congress doesn’t act to extend them by the end of the year. In fact, the question of whether or not to extend the subsidies was the fundamental debate behind the recent, record-breaking government shutdown. 

The state estimates that 27,000 Alaskans buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act. KFF Health News reports that nationwide, enrollees who benefit from federal subsidies will see monthly payments increase on average by 114% if federal subsidies disappear. But Alaskans could see much higher jumps. 

The Alaska Beacon reported earlier this fall that the average monthly insurance payment for Juneau residents using federal insurance will rise from $124 to more than $1000 if the subsidies expire – likely causing some to opt out of insurance

For Elrod though, going without insurance isn’t a good option. 

He has a condition that requires expensive medication to prevent blood clots from forming.

“If I don’t take this medication, yeah, blood clots will come back. They will kill me,” he said. “I’m gonna try to cut back to one pill a day instead of two pills a day. You know, it’s like, those are the decisions that I’m having to make right now.”

For people in Juneau struggling to afford the health care they need, Heidi Adams says she and her team may be able to help. Adams is a care navigator with JAMHI Health & Wellness.

“Everyone’s situation is so very different, and so by coming in, we can assist them with connecting,” she said. “But also if we can’t meet those needs, who might be able to in a way that’s affordable or easily accessible.” 

JAMHI is a health nonprofit in Juneau. It provides primary care services and behavioral health treatment, regardless of insurance. With Alaska having some of the highest health care costs in the nation, care is often already out of reach for many Juneau residents. 

Now, with subsidies potentially ending and upcoming restrictions to Medicaid, Adams said she thinks the nonprofit will see an increase in people seeking medical care.

“We can assume we’re going to see a much larger population coming in because they can’t afford it any other way,” she said.

Randy Garcia also works at JAMHI. He assists in the intake process and supports medical providers.

He said JAMHI is a safety net for moments like this, when nothing else feels like an option. 

“It’s a scary moment, especially when things that are expected are being taken away or stopped, and you don’t know where to turn,” he said. “Well, you can always turn to JAMHI.” 

Open enrollment on the federal marketplace lasts until Jan. 15. For coverage that begins with the new year, the deadline is even sooner – on Dec. 15. 

In the meantime, Elrod said he’s waiting as long as he can to finish his application, in the hopes that something changes. 

Correction: This story has been updated to correct that the Beacon reported that federal insurance will rise from $124 to more than $1000 if the subsidies expire.

Listen to this story: 

Juneau’s sole electricity provider, Alaska Electric Light & Power, is appealing the Regulatory Commission of Alaska’s decision to approve Juneau Hydropower as a new public utility. Last week, AEL&P requested that the Superior Court of Alaska consolidate two separate cases involving disputes between the hydroelectric companies.

The appeal follows more than a decade of disputes between AEL&P and Juneau Hydropower — a company that plans to increase the borough’s hydroelectric capacity by nearly 20%. The company plans to shuttle power to rural parts of Juneau in the next few years through its Sweetheart Lake Hydroelectric project. This summer, the commission ordered AEL&P to facilitate Juneau Hydropower’s connection with its existing electricity infrastructure and the two utilities hashed out agreements to make that happen.

Alec Mesdag, the CEO of AEL&P, disputes the commission’s decision to exempt Juneau Hydropower from a requirement to have at least 10 customers when it certified the company as a public utility. The company has one contracted customer: Coeur’s Kensington Mine.

Mesdag also has outstanding complaints about the agreements the commission ordered AEL&P to sign, which he hopes the Superior Court will help resolve. Namely, AEL&P is required to reserve 8.5 megawatts of transfer capacity in its system, even before Juneau Hydropower is up and running, without compensation. 

Mesdag said he worries he could incur additional costs if, in the meantime, AEL&P’s existing customers increase their power use enough to eat into that reserve. 

“Do I have to build upgrades to ensure that we can, you know, transfer another eight-and-a-half megawatts on top of that?” he said. 

But once operating, he says Juneau Hydropower has to pay AEL&P $1.2 million per year for using the system.  

Mesdag also disagrees with the commission’s decision to approve of Juneau Hydropower’s design of the interconnection point, where electricity generated at Sweetheart Lake will join AEL&P’s Snettisham power line to Juneau. 

“It is a bad precedent that any entity who disputes the utility’s position on what creates a safe and reliable interconnection that protects its customers can simply insist that their project will die if the commission does not order the utility to accommodate their every wish,” Mesdag said.

Duff Mitchell, the managing director at Juneau Hydropower, said the appeal is “frivolous.” The two utilities spent more than a week in hearings before five commissioners, who decided to approve Juneau Hydropower’s public utility certificate and the Sweetheart Lake project plan.  

“Basically, their case is, you know, we got our butt kicked in the hockey game five to zero, and now we’re a sore loser and we’re blaming the ref,” Mitchell said.

He called AEL&P’s disputes mere “quibbles” and said he’s “charging forward” with financing and building the new hydroelectric plant at Sweetheart Lake. 

“We’re proceeding with the lawful order we have, and we’re moving on to put this project into construction,” Mitchell said. “We’re bringing the power for Juneau’s prosperity.”

Mitchell said he plans to break ground next year. According to Juneau Hydropower’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license restrictions and commission certificate, construction must begin by September 8, 2026, and be completed three years later. 

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska declined to comment.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the cases were already consolidated.