Thumbs up:
• COVID-19 on decline: Case rates are falling statewide.
• Events: Several in-person events are returning. Time to party like it’s 2019.
• Cruising: Congressional delegation, governor, POTUS deliver for Alaska; some cruise ships will make a return in 2021.
• Willow: Huge new ConocoPhillips project moving forward. See above.
• Voters: Anchorage’s city election sees record turnout.
Thumbs down:
• Trash bears: Bears are back in the ‘burbs’ — time to stash the trash. Bears and garbage don’t mix.
• Emergency declaration: Anchorage ends its emergency declaration 14 months after it went into effect.
• Rental car shortage: Good luck finding one in Alaska this summer. Shortages abound.
– Sarah Erkmann Ward, Blueprint Alaska