A midtown Anchorage apartment building caught fire early Wednesday morning, killing two people and injuring 16 others. A portion of the three-story Royal Suite Lodge on Minnesota Drive in midtown has collapsed from the blaze, and the cause is currently unknown.
Housing
Juneau Assembly bans homeless from sleeping downtown
Downtown merchants have complained of the homeless using shuttered storefronts as shelters. Those concerns were heard by a majority of the Assembly that voted 5-4 to pass the ordinance.
Juneau count identifies homeless as predominately older, Alaska Native
In the data released Friday, 238 people were counted, including 50 people living in a place federal housing authorities says are not meant for habitation.
Juneau’s proposed ‘camping ban’ could affect HUD funding
The Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness has warned that a camping ban targeting the homeless could imperil Juneau’s access to federal grant dollars. This is an issue some Assembly members want addressed before the ordinance goes to a vote on Feb. 13.
Vote postponed over Juneau’s controversial ‘camping ordinance’
The Juneau Assembly heard more than 90 minutes of testimony from dozens of residents including merchants, social workers and homeless people themselves who all agreed on one thing: Juneau has a serious homeless problem. But speakers had radically different viewpoints.
ACLU: Juneau’s proposed ‘anti-camping’ law could be unconstitutional
Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch introduced the ordinance following complaints from merchants that the numbers sleeping in front of doorways was hurting commerce in Juneau’s historic downtown.The ACLU of Alaska’s urges Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch to reconsider his position saying criminalizing homelessness is unconstitutional.