Hey, it's Slavik.
New Sunday rhythm starts now: every week, what's moving in Alaska and what has a clock on it. Short on purpose.
The clocks:
Houston's 20,000 acres: closes Wednesday. Written comments on handing nearly 20,000 acres near Houston to the state's development agency close at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 19. Only written commenters keep the right to appeal later. Comment here: https://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/comment/submit/?topic=aidea_pcua
Anchorage school money: August 31. That's when the state decides whether last year's oil revenue triggers roughly $115 million for schools statewide, about $32 million of it for Anchorage. Oil has slid since spring, so it genuinely could go either way. The answer lands in your inbox when it drops.
Tuesday is election day, and there's a stowaway on your ballot. The August 18 primary picks candidates, but there's also a statewide question most people haven't heard of: bringing back limits on campaign donations. Alaska has had none since a court tossed the old caps in 2021. Any check, any size. The measure would cap individual giving at $2,000 per candidate, $4,000 for governor's races, and a simple majority decides it. Early voting runs through Monday, and if your name got caught in this year's voter roll cleanup, you can still vote with a questioned ballot and extra ID.
Trappers, check your booklet. The printed regulations list the Kenai lynx opener as January 1. Wrong. It's December 15, and that misprint is worth two weeks of season.
Also this week on The Daily Alaska:
the old Nordstrom building landed in court (the city wants the whole block sold so housing and retail can finally happen),
the WWII-era gold mines up Hatcher Pass sold for $18.75 million with the drills already turning, and
Anchorage is handing back the Town Square memorial bricks. Type your family's name into https://codeforanchorage.org/bricks and see if one is waiting. Pickup runs through October 10.
Which of these clocks matters most to you? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.
-Slav
P.S. New here? This is the deadline-first Alaska newsletter: hard dates that touch your land, your bills, or your neighborhood, in your inbox while there's still time to act.