Favorite Link Friday Week of April 21, 2016

Correcting the Record on Misinformation about State Jobs

Contact: Grace Jang, Communications Director – (907) 957-9451
Aileen Cole, Deputy Press Secretary – (907) 465-3985
April 21, 2016

· You may have heard that the state added 500 jobs from January to March 2016. Most of these positions are adjunct professors at the University coming back on payroll after the winter holiday break. (They’re not paid over the break.)

· So, yes, it’s true we added 500 jobs. But we also lost 700 jobs from November to January. These are seasonal swings.

· Alaska has a seasonal economy. March and April tend to be the annual high for state government jobs, as summer workers, like firefighters, start getting hired back.

· Comparing apples to apples, this March we are at the lowest March state employment levels in eight years.

· The university has 500 fewer employees than it did last year at this time.

· We are at the lowest number of state employees since 2008.

· We’re losing private sector jobs. We’re losing public sector jobs. We have a $4 billion budget gap. We need to focus on fixing our budget and strengthening our economy.

A 100-foot-wide water line to California? Juneau entrepreneur envisions a moneymaker

KETCHIKAN — A Juneau entrepreneur is asking the state to approve his plan to collect fresh water south of Ketchikan and transport it to drought-stricken California.

Steven Bowhay's application to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, which he filed four years ago, has gone through two public comment periods. The second ended Wednesday, the Ketchikan Daily News reported.

Under Bowhay's River Recycler System plan, a system of buoys, anchors and sheeting would be deployed to trap fresh water on the ocean surface in Boca de Quadra, an inlet between the Ketchikan and the Canadian border. The project would be spread across more than 6 million square feet.

Bowhay said he ultimately envisions a submersible, 100-foot-wide pipeline that would move fresh water between Southeast Alaska and California.

"(The system) uses gravity and floatation to create energy to generate electricity to purify water to drinking water standards," he said. "You don't have to dig any holes or do any filling."

The late Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel proposed creating a water pipeline to California in 1991 but was widely ridiculed for the idea.

Bowhay considers his plan as a solution to the impacts of drought and climate change on the West Coast. He said he has recently been in discussions with Gov. Bill Walker and Juneau Republican Rep. Cathy Munoz as well as California water authorities and energy producers. [Full Source]

Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill

Harriet Tubman is going to be the new of face of the $20 bill, replacing former President Andrew Jackson—and becoming the first black American to ever appear on US paper currency.

The Civil War-era abolitionist, who led runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, will also be the first woman to appear on American paper money since Martha Washington was featured on a $1 silver certificate more than 100 years ago.

“The decision to Harriet Tubman on the new $20 bill was driven by thousands of responses we received from Americans young and old,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew explained Wednesday, saying the new bills should be ready for release by 2020. The Treasury Department also announced that Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the $10 bill, but that members of the women’s suffrage movement—including Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul—will be added to the back. [Source]