Business

Interior Alaska is losing its last local television newscast, as the corporate owner of NewsCenter Fairbanks downsizes its news operation and lays off employees.

KTVF Channel 11 and KXDF Channel 13, known together as NewsCenter Fairbanks, are collectively owned by Gray TV/Gray Media, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Gray, which also owns Anchorage TV stations KTUU and KAUU under the name Alaska’s News Source, bought the Fairbanks stations in 2017.

In a Nov. 8 conference call with investors, the company announced a plan to cut expenses by consolidating some its stations and reducing staff.

It is unclear if the downsizing at Gray TV means some local jobs will be lost. Reporters for KTVF and KXDF say they have been told not to comment, and to refer any media questions to Kevin Latek, Gray’s chief legal and development officer. Latek did not return calls or emails.

However, NewsCenter Fairbanks anchors let the public know about the change in their goodbyes on Saturday.

“Before we go, I would like to take a moment to thank our loyal and amazing viewers in the community,” said Stephanie Woodard, who has worked as a reporter and anchor on and off since 2010.

“I say goodbye to the evening news desk tonight and thank you to Fairbanks because you truly are the Golden Heart City that I have grown to love,” she added.

Some small segments of Fairbanks news will now be delivered as part of a newscast from Anchorage.

Skyler Lewis included that in his goodbye over the weekend.

“As you may have heard, NewsCenter Fairbanks is joining forces with Alaska’s News Source, our sister station in Anchorage, to bring you news from across Alaska,” Lewis said.

Starting this week, KTVF and KXDF will air news as Alaska’s News Source instead of NewsCenter Fairbanks. It means there will be no more local news or sports anchors, like Alex Bengel or Alex Johnson.

“It has been an absolute honor and a privilege to present your local news every night. Thank you so much for choosing NewsCenter Fairbanks as your source for news,” Bengel said.

“It’s time for me to sign off of Sports for the final time,” Johnson said. “To the friends I’ve made at the games I’ve been at, thank you for the memories made. I always appreciate it. I’ve gotten to cover some amazing events that before I came up here, I’d never even heard of. Whether that be the YQA at 52 Below or the Midnight Sun game. And that’ll do it for the final Middle of the Bench Sports Report tonight. Thank you so much for tuning in, everyone.”

Calls to the general managers of KTVF and KXDF, as well as the Anchorage TV stations, were not returned over the weekend.

Residents might be able to order a glass of beer or wine at more restaurants in Juneau soon.

On Monday, the Juneau Assembly approved petitioning the state to increase the number of alcohol licenses in town.

Restaurant or Eating Place Licenses allow restaurants in the state to serve beer and wine. Some restaurant owners say the licenses will help attract more visitors to their businesses and create more venues for local artists. 

Right now, Juneau technically has more licenses than the state limit for a town of its size. But, that number doesn’t necessarily take into account how many visitors come to Juneau, especially in the summer cruise season. 

A growing number of restaurant owners, like Mar y Sol co-owner Richard Bloomquist, say they want a license – but they’re all taken. He said not having one means their eatery loses business. 

“Multiple times per week customers come to our restaurant, sit down, look at the menu, and later leave because we do not carry beer or wine,” he said. “This happens more in the summer than in the winter, since many locals are aware of the menu. But this points to the loss for us in terms of business.”

Though Juneau is at its capacity, a recent change to Alaska’s alcohol laws allows for cities to petition to add more licenses by getting approval from their local governing body. The change was made in part to recognize the surplus of non-residents coming into local communities, like tourists or seasonal workers. 

At Monday’s meeting, the Juneau Assembly approved petitioning the Alaska State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to add eight new licenses in the capital city.

Zach Pease, the technical director for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, testified that the additional licenses will increase the number of venues in Juneau for local artists. 

“More beer and wine licenses would allow restaurants and similar establishments to host events, and provide affordable, accessible venues for small groups and emerging artists on tight budgets,” he said. 

Pease said right now, popular venues like Centennial Hall are often booked months to a year in advance, and they can be too big or too spendy for smaller artists to afford. That often leaves local bars as their only performing option. But, that’s not ideal for families or people who don’t drink. 

“New licenses would not only foster more inclusive event spaces for under-served groups but also support a broader range of affordable, creative events,” Pease said. 

Taylor Vidic, a well-known musician and event producer in Juneau, agreed. She said allowing more places in Juneau to sell beer and wine can help offset the costs of renting spaces and make sure artists can get paid well for their work. 

“The best way to create sustainable arts events is by utilizing a wide range of revenue streams, and that’s what this resolution is about for me,” she said. “Restaurants that can serve a glass of wine have another revenue stream to support and honor the artists in our town.”

But, not every local business wants to add more licenses. Some bars and restaurants paid high prices for them due to their scarcity – sometimes upwards of $50,000 – while the state only charges a $1250 fee. 

Mitch Falk, the owner of Bullwinkle’s Pizza, asked the Assembly to keep the status quo. He argued there’s already enough out there and increasing the number of available licenses would devalue the current ones that can be sold from one business to another. 

“If we’re trying to give these licenses, which it sounds like that’s what the intent is, you’re trying to put somebody in business in competition with somebody that had to buy a license – like myself, that bought two of them,” he said.  “It seems like a little bit of unfair competition.”

The number of licenses approved on Monday could have been higher – the city originally proposed adding 20 more. That would have nearly doubled the amount currently available in Juneau. 

The Alaska State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board still needs to approve the petition before the licenses can be distributed.

Silver Bay Seafoods will acquire processing plants in Dillingham and Port Moller, along with fishery support sites in Dillingham and North Naknek.

Silver Bay announced the acquisition from Rodger May, the former co-owner of Peter Pan Seafoods, in a press release Wednesday. The Dillingham and Port Moller plants are Silver Bay’s fourth and fifth plant acquisitions this year. It also took over Peter Pan’s plant in Valdez last spring, and Trident Seafoods plants in Ketchikan and False Pass.

Silver Bay said for the latest deal, both parties agreed to immediately transfer control of the facilities while the actual transfer of ownership is finalized. Silver Bay says this will “ensure a seamless transition for fisherman, communities, and employees.”

In past years, the former Peter Pan Seafoods processing facility in Dillingham employed roughly 320. Its affiliated fishing fleet included 180 drift fishing boats and 110 set netting boats. The Port Moller plant employed 140 people during its peak, and supported a fleet of 105 drift gill netters and 30 set netters.

Peter Pan’s assets went to auction after financial trouble earlier this year. May won these facilities, among others, at auction in September.

May narrowly outbid Silver Bay Seafoods in a bidding war over the facilities. Local fishermen and investors disputed the outcome, but a judge eventually upheld the results in early October.

The particulars of the deal aren’t public and little is known on what caused the reacquisition of Peter Pan’s assets following Rodger May’s successful bid. Reached by email Thursday morning, May said he wasn’t ready to comment yet. Silver Bay also declined to comment for this story.

But Cora Campbell, president and CEO of Silver Bay Seafoods, made a statement thanking May for “prioritizing certainty for fishermen and communities in making this transition.”

Silver Bay operated the facilities in Dillingham and Port Moller during the 2024 fishing season. Campbell said the season was successful, which lends itself to a smooth transition.

“By permanently adding these facilities into the Silver Bay Seafoods network, we not only stabilize processing in these communities, we also create synergies, efficiencies and product form diversity that benefit our fishermen,” said Campbell.

The fate of the former Peter Pan facility in King Cove, which has been closed since before the 2024 fishing season, is still uncertain. However, according to the press release, Silver Bay agreed to participate in a working group May established to address its future.

Someone made a $10 million mistake buying steel for a critical dock project in Haines. The dispute about who’s responsible for the bill – Haines taxpayers or the construction contractor – is now almost a year old, and continues to delay the project.

For nearly a year, the municipality has been in a $10 million disagreement with Turnagain Marine Construction, the company contracted to upgrade Lutak Dock for $25 million. The money for the project comes from a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation – Maritime Administration, or MARAD. To meet grant requirements, purchases must follow federal guidelines and need prior MARAD approval.

In spring of 2023, Turnagain purchased approximately $10 million of steel piping for the project. MARAD deemed that steel ineligible for grant reimbursement.

Last December, Haines Mayor Tom Morphet said the assembly was surprised to learn that Turnagain had already bought the steel. Haines maintains that Turnagain wasn’t authorized yet. Turnagain says the pipe purchase was included in a schedule that the borough approved “upon execution of Phase Two Amendment on March 1, 2023.”

The dispute is headed toward mediation between borough staff and Turnagain. But it came up on Oct. 31 at a Port and Harbor Advisory Committee meeting.

In part, the purpose of the meeting was to allow assembly members to ask questions about the dock design. Assembly member Craig Loomis had questions about who authorized the steel purchase.

Port and Harbor committee member Don Turner, Jr. said that in February 2023, then-Mayor Douglas Olerud suggested Turnagain had permission after the city signed the contract to start that second phase.

“And Mayor Olerud told them at the time when they signed, that we’re signing that contract so you can buy the steel before the price goes up,” Turner said.

“I did not direct Turnagain to buy the steel for Lutak Dock, in either written or verbal form,” Olerud responded in an interview with KHNS.

Olerud said as mayor, he didn’t have unilateral authority to grant such permission. He explained the context of the statement the port member zeroed in on.

“I think the comment that Mr. Turner was referring to was one meeting in February ‘23, at an assembly meeting, where we’re discussing a resolution to authorize moving into phase two of the contract for the dock,” Olerud said. “And by moving into phase two, that would allow Turnagain to purchase this steel, once they had the pre-authorization from MARAD. And so that was still needing MARAD pre-authorization before they could proceed.”

Olerud was not at the Port and Harbor meeting and says anyone with concerns should speak with him directly.

Port and Harbor committee member Shawn Bell redirected the Lutak Dock conversation.

“I don’t know that this particular conversation is helping anything at the moment,” he said. “…I don’t see a benefit in arguing with what’s already occurred.”

Port and Harbor Advisory Committee Chair Jake Eckhardt said the steel issue isn’t his committee’s responsibility to resolve. The committee continues to back its design of an encapsulated dock.

“I’m not sure how much I want to spend trying to unweave some kind of tangled web that happened after that fact,” Eckhardt said. “That’s me personally … Let the weavers of that tangled web figure it out.”

Morphet said mediation is the next step. So far, there are no dates scheduled.

The Lutak Dock was built by the U.S. Army in 1953. Today, it’s Haines’ main off-loading point for fuel and freight. A grant to rebuild the dock was approved in 2021. Lutak Dock has become a political hot point as some citizens are concerned it could eventually be used to ship ore.

Newsroom staff at the Anchorage Daily News, the state’s largest newspaper, have voted to unionize, according to election results published Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board.

The vote was 13-4 in favor of unionization, with two eligible voters not participating.

The Anchorage News Guild, which will represent newsroom staff, had requested that management voluntarily recognize the union, but the newspaper’s ownership declined and requested the federally managed election.

Anchorage Daily News owner Ryan Binkley did not have an immediate comment on the result.

The successful vote gives the ADN the only unionized newsroom in Alaska. Union members have said they intend to advocate for fair wages, financial transparency and a sustainable workplace environment.

The new union will be part of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a member of the AFL-CIO.

Megan Pacer, an employee who voted in favor of the union, said the next step will be for union members to meet, elect officials and create a bargaining committee charged with negotiating an employment contract.

Pacer said union members will decide their requests, which could include raises, access to ADN financial information, changes to the employee health plan, and time off.

She said that union members haven’t yet heard from management, but she expects that a contract negotiation could take from one to three years, at the longer end of things.

Photographer Bill Roth, who has worked at the Daily News for more than 40 years, said he cast one of the “no” votes because while he doesn’t oppose unions, he doesn’t feel a union would benefit him so late in his career.

Kyle Hopkins, a longtime ADN reporter, is paid by the journalism organization ProPublica as part of a cooperative agreement. He voted in favor of the union to help newer reporters.

“My generation of reporters, I feel like we just kind of expected to be doormats, and my professors told me — they’re like, look, you’re taking a vow of poverty when you start this career,” he said.

He doesn’t want new journalists to feel that way when he’s recruiting for a job opening or encouraging someone to enter journalism.

“Nobody expects to get rich or even be anything beyond kind of middle class or even lower middle class, but I just want the people I work with — and myself, if I lose the ProPublica connection — to be able to pay for child care and health care. Just the bare minimum,” he said.

Change is coming to Juneau’s local convenience store chain following new ownership. 

According to a sign posted on the door of Breeze In locations, the Douglas and Lemon Creek stores will now close at 10 p.m. starting this Friday. 

At the moment, the Douglas Breeze In is open until midnight seven days a week, while the Lemon Creek Breeze In is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. It’s open till 11 p.m. the rest of the week right now. 

The Mendenhall Valley location’s hours remain unchanged, with the grocery side of the store open 24/7 and the liquor side open from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. otherwise. 

According to the Juneau Empire, a new company bought Breeze In this year. The Myers Group is based in Washington state and also owns Juneau’s Foodland and Superbear IGA supermarkets and DeHart’s Auke Bay Store.

A subsidiary company, Juneau Fresh Food, is listed at Breeze In’s Lemon Creek address. 

The registered agent for that company, Rick Wilson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.