Business

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Seawatch: State announces protocols for commercial fishermen and charters

Two more cases announced Thursday brings state total to 337

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a Monday, April 20, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
Homer area’s newest pot shop opens on 4/20

Homer area’s newest pot shop opens on 4/20

The Homer area’s newest and second retail cannabis store opened Monday — April 20, or course, or 4/20, known among pot lovers as “Weed Day.”… Continue reading

Homer area’s newest pot shop opens on 4/20
Peter Segall | Juneau Empire Patrons wait outside a cannabis business in Juneau on Monday.

Cannabis industry rolls along despite pandemic

It’s not all flower.

Peter Segall | Juneau Empire Patrons wait outside a cannabis business in Juneau on Monday.
Oil tank train cars sit idle Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in East Chicago, Ind. The world is awash in oil, there’s little demand for it and we’re running out of places to put it. That in a nutshell explains this week’s strange and unprecedented action in the market for crude oil futures contracts, where traders essentially offered to pay someone else to deal with the oil they were due to have delivered next month. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Oil production continues in Alaska even with low prices

Still not free at the gas station.

Oil tank train cars sit idle Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in East Chicago, Ind. The world is awash in oil, there’s little demand for it and we’re running out of places to put it. That in a nutshell explains this week’s strange and unprecedented action in the market for crude oil futures contracts, where traders essentially offered to pay someone else to deal with the oil they were due to have delivered next month. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Seawatch: Salmon harvest project to be low — if there’s a season
Seawatch

Seawatch: Salmon harvest project to be low — if there’s a season

The 2020 salmon harvest for Alaska is expected to be down compared to last season, mostly due to a lower forecast for pink salmon, but… Continue reading

Seawatch: Salmon harvest project to be low — if there’s a season
The Homer News offices at 3482 Landings Street, as seen on March 17, 2020, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Homer News, Peninsula Clarion and Juneau Empire win awards

Journalists and photographers with the Sound Publishing Inc. newspapers in Alaska — the Homer News, Peninsula Clarion and Juneau Empire — won awards last weekend… Continue reading

The Homer News offices at 3482 Landings Street, as seen on March 17, 2020, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File About 2½ oz. of dried marijuana is weighed in this 2015 photo.

Alaska to consider allowing curbside pot pickup

Decision could come before April 20.

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File About 2½ oz. of dried marijuana is weighed in this 2015 photo.
Cruise companies extend delay, cut trips to Alaska

Cruise companies extend delay, cut trips to Alaska

No tourist ships, no tourist dollars.

Cruise companies extend delay, cut trips to Alaska
Seawatch: Herring fishery is strong in Kodiak, down elsewhere
Seawatch

Seawatch: Herring fishery is strong in Kodiak, down elsewhere

It is a very unusual year for herring, to say the least. In addition to, and in some part because of, the crisis created by… Continue reading

Seawatch: Herring fishery is strong in Kodiak, down elsewhere
Commercial fishing boats are rafted together in May 2016 in the harbor in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Fishermen trying to salvage season amid COVID-19 pandemic

Facing an uncertain future as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, Alaska’s commercial fishing industry is looking ahead to the upcoming season with determination to salvage… Continue reading

Commercial fishing boats are rafted together in May 2016 in the harbor in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Seawatch: Fishermen get briefed on CARES Act
Seawatch

Seawatch: Fishermen get briefed on CARES Act

Alaska’s congressional delegation held a conference call with 65 of Alaska’s fishery leaders last week and laid out some details of the federal assistance available… Continue reading

Seawatch: Fishermen get briefed on CARES Act
Mariah Schloeman wipes down the counter at East Rip in Kenai on Wednesday. The store has implemented more stringent cleaning protocols, including wiping down surfaces after every transaction, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Trends: Pot industry looks for stabilization amid market, global uncertainty

“One thing that’s certain is that people want their cannabis.”

Mariah Schloeman wipes down the counter at East Rip in Kenai on Wednesday. The store has implemented more stringent cleaning protocols, including wiping down surfaces after every transaction, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

HEA rates hike goes into effect

Residents facing financial hardships due to the pandemic will not see their electricity shut off.

Aspen Hotel chain Owner George Swift cuts a ribbon officially opening the most recent building in Homer, Alaska, during a grand opening ceremony on May 29, 2019. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Trends: Tourism industry takes hit from COVID-19

‘Completely decimated travel in Alaska’

Aspen Hotel chain Owner George Swift cuts a ribbon officially opening the most recent building in Homer, Alaska, during a grand opening ceremony on May 29, 2019. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Seawatch: Scientific survey finds high catch numbers
Seawatch

Seawatch: Scientific survey finds high catch numbers

An international scientific expedition is trawling far offshore for Pacific salmon even though some researchers chose to leave the ship as worries escalated about COVID-19,… Continue reading

Seawatch: Scientific survey finds high catch numbers
FILE - In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area who became ill after returning from a trip to China has become the ninth person in the U.S. to test positive for a new virus, health authorities said Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (CDC via AP, File) In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). (CDC via AP, File)

SBA offers loans for struggling businesses in wake of COVID-19

Business owners encouraged to take peninsula-wide survey

FILE - In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area who became ill after returning from a trip to China has become the ninth person in the U.S. to test positive for a new virus, health authorities said Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (CDC via AP, File) In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). (CDC via AP, File)
Seawatch: Halibut, sablefish openings start strong
Seawatch

Seawatch: Halibut, sablefish openings start strong

As the novel coronavirus continues to dominate headlines worldwide, halibut and sablefish got off to a surprisingly strong start in terms of pounds, but not… Continue reading

Seawatch: Halibut, sablefish openings start strong
Seawatch: Seafood industry feels impact from coronavirus
Seawatch

Seawatch: Seafood industry feels impact from coronavirus

As the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disrupts all sorts of industries around the world, the seafood industry is already feeling the impact. Diversified… Continue reading

Seawatch: Seafood industry feels impact from coronavirus
Seawatch: Report claims mining harms fish
Seawatch

Seawatch: Report claims mining harms fish

As many Alaskans confront a governor who, according to CNN, lobbies foreign mining companies to invest in Pebble Mine, the environmental group Earthworks has released… Continue reading

Seawatch: Report claims mining harms fish
Seawatch: Sitka herring fishery likely won’t open
Seawatch

Seawatch: Sitka herring fishery likely won’t open

The Sitka Sound herring fishery will likely not open again this season, but at least this year it did not involve boats gearing up, traveling… Continue reading

Seawatch: Sitka herring fishery likely won’t open