Birders traveling to Alaska spent about $378 million in 2016, supporting about 4,300 jobs, totals similar to those for the state’s mining and telecommunications industries, said the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.
“I think our responsibility here in the Legislature is to provide opportunity,” he said. “Not opportunity for a few, but opportunity for all.”
Without help, coronavirus could leave long-term scars on Alaska’s economy.
“A large drop in consumer spending is certain as tens of thousands of Alaskans will simply have less to spend.”
Without significant fixes to the state-run relief program, Alaska could find itself returning as much as $200 million to the feds while Alaska businesses are left out in the cold.
With the Legislature nearly complete with approving nearly $1 billion in coronavirus relief spending, state officials say they’re ready to start putting that money out…
“We don’t direct how people should live their lives,” said Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer.
It’s all hands on deck.
Legislators hope to hold the first hearing on the bill by the end of the week, but that would require minority Republicans to sign off on the meeting.
Alaska doesn’t have a single reported case of COVID-19, yet economically it may be at its mercy.