BRADNERS' ALASKA LEGISLATIVE DIGEST

Medicaid covers 210,000 Alaskans Alaska’s Medicaid population is now over 210,000 recipients, up from 123,335 in 2015 before Gov. Bill Walker expanded the program. The state Department of Health and Social Services is strug- gling with the administrative load with a processing backlog of about 15,500 new applicants. The cur- rent enrollment total constitutes about 24 percent of the state’s population. Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to reduce the program’s costs but there are no plans for now to roll the…

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It’s official – China wants to play China now considers itself officially as having an interest in Arctic matters. In a policy paper issued by the the State Council, China’s cabinet, officials said the nation is a “Near-Arctic State” with a stake in shipping, scientific research and resource exploitation. China’s growing interest is long known but the paper puts a policy stamp on it. The paper promised support for international Arctic cooperation, new shipping standards and prevention of environmental degradation.

Ucore plant in Ketchikan is possible In a new study, Ucore Rare Metals says Ketchikan is the best location for a rare earths processing plant that would use ore extracted from the company’s planned Bokan-Dotson Ridge mine on southeast Prince of Wales Island. There is no estimate of timing as to when the mine and plant would be built. The company has been exploring a large rare earths deposit for several years. The plant would employ 30 at its full…

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Big cut to Southeast king quota The state Board of Fisheries has sharply cut the quota of allowable king salmon harvests in an effort to help stocks recover. The move will affect troll, gillnet and sport fishermen. Trollers say they will be affected significantly because they make about half of their income from king salmon. *** Octopus plant in Unalaska Construction will start in June on a small octopus processing plant in Unalaska planned by local entrepreneurs, doing business as…

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Conoco: $283 million 4th quarter profit ConocoPhillips reported a $283 million in adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter, 2017, and $652 million for the year, the company said Feb. 1. Production was up 4,000 barrels per day in 2017 to an average of 167,000 barrels per day. ConocoPhillips owns major shares of the Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk River and Alpine fields on the North Slope. Also on Feb. 1, the compa- ny reported that it will acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s 22.45…

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Trend toward multi-family residential housing seen in Anchorage The bulk of Anchorage’s 2017 increase in residential housing came in multi-family and duplex units, according to the latest municipal building report. In total, 460 new residential units were added, up from 341 in 2016, but only six of those were new single-family homes. Total residential building activity was valued at $428.1 million, down from $466.9 million in 2016. The 2017 trend toward multi-family units in more urban, higher-density locations will likely…

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State deferred maintenance now totals $1.87 billion Deferred maintenance on public buildings in Alaska, state, university and schools, is on the rise again, with the total increasing $60 million last year to $1.87 billion, state officials told a legislative committee in Juneau. About $1 billion of the total is within the University of Alaska system. UA is budgeting $50 million a year against the backlog but the state itself is unable to do much with its minimal capital budgets. Gov….

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Juneau wants to expand to Admiralty The City and Borough of Juneau has led a request with the state Local Boundary Commission to expand its boundary and annex four areas on Admiralty Island and an area near Tracy Arm that borders the Petersburg Borough. If the boundary commission approves the request it will go to the Legislature for approval. Funter Bay, Glass Peninsula and Pack Creek on Admiralty Island would be annexed under the proposal. There are only recreational cabins…

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New report on health effects The state Division of Public Health has released a statewide assessment of the effects of climate changes, which are felt more in Alaska because of its northern location. One key effect is the threat to subsistence foods for rural Alaskans, where 34 million pounds of wild foods are harvested annually. Climate change has led to poor ice conditions for overland travel; thawing permafrost that affects food storage, and changing bird and animal migrations. Other impacts…

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Inventory underway on Inlet pipelines The Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory is working with state and federal agencies to inventory the Inlet’s pipeline network, much of which dates from the 1960s and 1970s, to determine what pipelines carry and the history of leaks. The Nuka Research and Planning Group is working with the CIRCAC. Draft reports are due to the CIRCAC board in May. *** A new look at Nome for Arctic port The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is…

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