On Feb. 24, 1987, Former Gov. Jay Hammond defended the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend at the Alaska Legislature Monday. Hammond, who was Governor from 1974 to 1982 when the fund was created, spoke to the House State Affairs Committee, which was considering measures that would alter the program if passed. He argued that the public should be consulted more before any changes were made.
Back at the nation’s capitol, the U.S. Senate approved $150,000 to be spent over the following four months for the state to lobby Congress to approve exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a 17-0 vote after Gov. Steve Cowper requested $393,000 to fund two years of ANWR lobbying.
The Echo Bay Mining Co. started taking rock samples at the Alaska-Juneau gold mine to investigate a potential re-opening. The exploration, although one step out of many to determine whether the mine could open, officially launched considerations of the potential mine.
On Feb. 25, 1987, big changes regarding the state budget were announced. If the original budget plan passed without change, Juneau would lose an estimated net of 350 state jobs, which was 8 percent of the city’s total workforce. Also, the state House voted against giving a certain date to give Gov. Steve Cowper full access to the $426 million in the state budget reserve for the second time. The House had passed the measure allowing Gov. Cowper access to the reserve, which he planned on spending to alleviate the budget deficit, days earlier. However, because no specific date was voted for, the measure did not give Gov. Cowper access to the funds until after the date he planned to use the money.
The University of Alaska administration was put under pressure for not yet releasing the names of applicants. According to the Juneau Empire, they had not yet compiled a list and although the paper was assured by attorneys that the information would be available, it was not by press time.
“This Day in Juneau History” is compiled by Empire freelancer Tasha Elizarde, who sums up the day’s events — 30 years ago — by perusing Empire archives.
