Housing

City Manager Rorie Watt says the owner was given “ample time to become compliant to little effect.”

The City and Borough of Juneau has been offered a site for a winter campground for homeless people. But whether the city wants to take on that responsibility next year remains undecided.

The retired neurosurgeon’s nomination raised eyebrows, given his lack of experience in the field, but the Senate voted 58-41 to confirm him.

A unanimous Juneau Planning Commission approved the first phase of the Pederson Hill subdivision, clearing a major hurdle for the city’s housing initiative. Now it will be up to the Juneau Assembly to decide how it will offload the 86 lots.

Boosters of Pederson Hill see scores of moderately priced homes for middle class families. Private developers fear competition from the city. Balancing free market principles against the barrier to home ownership experienced by middle class families is something the Assembly will have to grapple with.

The 2014 federal Farm Bill allows states to grow and harvest hemp through pilot programs. Sen. Shelley Hughes is sponsoring legislation that would establish such a program in Alaska. Supporters see it as a way to diversify Alaska’s economy.