Deadlines Aplenty

July 27, 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

A little family time and Sunday's single-day rain records in Juneau, Haines, & Skagway washed the newsletter a few days downstream of the usual publication deadline. But hey, there's some sun in the Southeast forecasts later this week!

Counting on You

I may have mentioned this once or five times before, but please fill out the census! If you haven’t yet, there’s still time. A complete census is critical for Southeast Alaska, from representation to federal funding. And the US Constitution requires it. It’s quick and easy—so get counted!

Vote AND Support The Postal Service

There’s still time to get your ballot by mail. You can fill out this form and mail it to the Division of Elections or use the online portal to request a ballot. Everyone can vote safely, and we can thin the crowds at the polls to keep our neighbors (and poll workers) safe.

Besides, your polling place may have changed! I was surprised to stumble over the fact that 1/3 of the voting locations in our district have changed. In case you'd rather figure out the new one (and wear a mask & gloves to vote) than get your ballot in the mail, here are the changes by precinct:

Gustavus
Old Location: Gustavus Public Library
New One: Gustavus Community Center
Juneau 2
Old Location: Northern Light United Church
New One: Juneau Douglas High School
Juneau 3
Old Location: Bartlett Regional Hospital
New One: Juneau Tlingit & Haida Community Council (Salmon Creek)
Lemon Creek
Old Location: Alaska Electric Light & Power
New One: Dzantik’I Heeni Middle School
Mendenhall Valley 2
Old Location: Aldersgate Methodist Church
New One: Thunder Mountain High School
Mendenhall Valley 3
Old Location: Glacier Valley Baptist Church
New One: Mendenhall River Community School

20,000 newsletters (weighing in at 756.6 lbs,) each with an absentee ballot form, will knock your tie askew.

Timelines for Uncle Sam

Our economy is in a rough spot. With rising COVID numbers, I don’t see us breaking out of it soon. I want to highlight some resources for Alaskans, but also raise an alarm about how quickly many programs are ending. I’ve talked to colleagues about getting the state legislature back into session to deal with some of them. So far, no luck. We also need to reach out to our federal representatives. Without their support, we’ll never be able to fund the programs keeping folks on their feet during these difficult days.

Right now, there’s expanded Unemployment Insurance. That means people are eligible for $600/week in addition to the regular state UI. While the state UI benefits will continue as normal, it's one of the skimpiest in the country. Without federal help, it subs in for only a small fraction of most folks' wages. The federal benefit is set to expire next week, but there’s a bill in the works to extend the program.

We need that bill, because the potential cut to UI comes just as evictions and foreclosures are restarting. The state paused foreclosures and evictions for three months as the pandemic began. That ended last month. The weaker federal protections for renters and homeowners expired last Friday.

There’s still state and local help for businesses. You can apply for a state CARES grant, and some communities (including Juneau, Skagway, Gustavus, and Haines) have business grants, too. The state rules will soon let businesses apply that got up to $5,000 from Uncle Sam. They’ll soon let commercial fishermen apply, too. But there’s no date yet for when the new rules take effect. The federal Paycheck Protection Program’s new deadline is Aug. 8 and it’s running out of money again. That’s waiting on Congressional approval too.

May I suggest reaching out to Sen. Murkowski, Sen. Sullivan, and Rep. Young? Please let them know how important these programs are to Alaskans.

All my best,