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Friday was the last day law enforcement would not ticket drivers with studs in Kodiak, the Aleutians and Southeast Alaska, according to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch,

If you are pulled over with studded tires in those areas, troopers could fine you $50 and fines from other law enforcement may be even higher.

Alaska law forbids drivers’ use of studded tires and tires with chains outside of winter months in most of the state. Metal studs and chains could damage paved roads if there is no ice for them to dig into.

Alaskans across the rest of the state have until May 1 to remove their studded tires and tires with chains.

The Juneau School Board on Tuesday decided to reverse a 2013 decision forbidding middle school athletes to travel to sporting events outside Juneau.

Dan DeBartolo is one of the six board members who voted to lift the ban. He didn’t like that sports travel was singled out.

“It could be one thing to say, ‘You know, we’re not going to allow middle school travel for music and arts and activities,’” DeBartolo said. “But to have such a fine line for this one particular thing seemed to me inappropriate.”

Andi Story was the only board member who voted against the reversal. Story and Sean O’Brien are the only current board members who also served on the 2013 board that voted to put the original ban in place.

Story said there are still unanswered questions that she wants resolved. She wants to know how often students will travel and how students who don’t travel will be affected when their teacher leaves class to go on trips. She’s also worried that if travel is restored, not every student will have the same opportunity to go.

“Our policy says the activities athletic travel should be for as many students as possible at the least amount of resources as possible,” Story argued. “So, how do we have a plan to making sure when you’re 11, 12, 13, that, if we’re going to allow travel, that a wide variety of students are doing that and not just the same students doing it for the next three years and then four years in high school?”

The board’s vote Tuesday night does not guarantee middle school students will get to travel for sports. It means the board has effectively given the district administration the authority to decide.

“It is true,” DeBartolo said. “If we’re in a situation where funding or academic considerations would have to limit or prevent travel for a short period of time, we’re going to rely on the administration to look at that, but it’s no longer going to be, what I call this iron gate, this barrier that just said, ‘We’re going to ban it completely.’ And I think that with responsible regulations, you’ll find that some travel will happen. It might not be a lot, but I think some will.”

Andi Story said sports travel will cost more money and the board hasn’t changed the budget to allow for an increase, so she believes they are giving Superintendent Mark Miller and other district staff an unfunded mandate.

Two members of the public testified in favor of lifting the ban Tuesday. No one testified against the change.

The 86-lot Pederson Hill subdivision has been greenlighted by a key committee of the Juneau Assembly. The city-planned project is designed to create more entry-level housing and received unanimous support Monday evening.

The City and Borough of Juneau’s Lands Manager Greg Chaney said the next step is contracting design work for the $8.8 million project less than a mile west of the Mendenhall River.

“The Assembly definitely made a strong statement that they want to make a difference with the housing shortage in Juneau — that was very clear,” he said in an interview. “And as staff we’re going to proceed and try to get this out in the most efficient and economical manner that we can.”

The Assembly decided to approve the 86-lot subdivision all at once rather than in phases. That has the advantage of not having to return to the Planning Commission which approved a preliminary plan in February. But it will require the city to dip into its treasury reserves for about $2 million before the first lots are sold to private developers that will build the actual houses.

Before all that happens, contractors will have to bid on developing the subdivision’s infrastructure, which will give the Assembly a second chance to review any financial risks.

“If the bids come in too high, the Assembly can decide it’s not going to proceed with the project,” Chaney said. “We can cancel the project, vacate the plat and we can put the plans on the shelf if they want to be used in the future.”

The project has been met with skepticism by those who question the city’s role in influencing the housing market. The next political question will be how many lots would be sold at a time. Chaney said that decision is for another day.

“The Assembly has to approve all land sales,” Chaney said, “so we’ll be going back to them and I assume it’s going to be a fairly interesting proposal with a blend of: some lots for contractors, some lots for potential partners, some lots for individual homebuilders and then some for contractors who want to get blocks of four or five in a row and that they would be able to develop those more efficiently.”

The timeline of the project is fluid. But design work is expected to be wrapped up in the fall with a target for breaking ground next year.

After two short seasons due to low snow, Eaglecrest Ski Area closed out a full winter this past weekend with the traditional crowd favorite Slush Cup.

Participants are encouraged to dress up in wacky costumes as they ski or snowboard through a handful of gates, culminating in attempt to hydroplane across a waist deep artificial pond. Everyone gets one shot, and points are awarded for best costume, best accuracy, and of course to the biggest show-off.

Equipment, speed, skill and luck play a part in the difference between a splish and a splash.

Eaglecrest reported the winners of the 2017 Slush Cup in 3 categories:

Adults

1st place – Bruce Griggs
2nd place – Kent Hart
3rd place – Don Meiners

Teens

1st place – Ronan Davies
2nd place – Jaime Morao
3rd place – Jessica Greg

Kids

1st place – Florian Wade
2nd place – Gabi Griggs
3rd place – Nettle Hart

Don’t be surprised if you’re warned by diamond shaped signs to slow down on Egan Drive. The City and Borough of Juneau is replacing the water main downtown.

Paul Beck with CBJ said the work will span the road between the Centennial Hall Convention Center and the Hangar on the Wharf.

“The project is mainly happening at night. There will be some traffic revisions (we) may be down to single lanes in some cases. The peak hours of traffic, there shouldn’t be any impact at all,” Beck said.

Beck explained that the current water main is too old and CBJ wants to replace it before the Department of Transportation starts resurfacing Egan Drive between 10th St. and Main Street this fall.

He estimated the water main replacement will cost between $500,000 and $600,000.

Two other construction projects are underway downtown. Beck said crews are reconstructing Franklin Street between Admiral Way and Ferry Way and starting Monday, he said crews will work on a project near the downtown library.

Beck asks that people drive slowly and carefully through the construction zones. If you have any questions about the water main replacement, he said to contact him at 586-0882, or Mitch McGraw with Southeast Earthmovers at 738-8057.

Alaska Electric Light and Power believes a bird triggered the power outage in downtown Juneau Friday night.

Debbie Driscoll with AEL&P said power stopped flowing from the Second St. substation at 6:12 p.m. Friday.

“We didn’t see anything on inspection, but we were told by an eyewitness that they saw a bird make contact with the line and then fly away, and at that point is when the power tripped off,” Driscoll said.

Outage appears to have been caused by a bird. Power is back on. Enjoy Folk Fest & First Friday. If you’re without power call 586-AELP.

— AEL&P (@AELPJUNEAU) April 8, 2017

Driscoll compared the situation to a breaker flipping in a home. She said the system is designed to “trip open” when a problem is detected – cutting power and preventing further damage or injuries.

“And so what we do is we make sure that there’s no hazards in the line, that we don’t see any issues, and then we close that breaker back in to allow power to flow again,” Driscoll said.

She said 1,154 AEL&P customers lost power, including KTOO, and AEL&P had all power back up 41 minutes after it went out.

Driscoll added that it takes time to restore power because employees physically check the lines and equipment before they turn the lights back on.

If you’re looking for quick answers next time there’s an outage, Driscoll said check AEL&P’s Facebook and Twitter feeds for updates.