Chamber car, airline ticket
raffle winners announced
The Homer Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of the car and airline ticket raffle:
• Charlie Kauffman, from Anchor Point was the winner of the car raffle. He chose to take the $15,000 voucher instead of selecting a car or truck from the Stanley Chrysler showroom. Kauffman moved here in 1982 and ran the Homer Cleaning Center frrom 1995-2014.
• Frank Faucette from Marionette, Wis., was the winner of the Alaska Airline Raffle ticket for a gift card valued at $2,000 to fly anywhere that Alaska Airline flies. Faucette and his wife, Clarissa, enjoy taking the cruise ship that docks in Homer for a day and have been on 14 cruises to Homer. They were on both the May and September cruise ship this year and stopped at the Homer Chamber Visitor Center where they bought their winning raffle ticket.
• Mark Hemstreet, Save-U-More Manager, was the winner of the Ravn Air Commuter Coupon booklet with eight one-way flight tickets coupons valued at $1,100.
Two Alaska newspapers
sold to Snedden foundation
FAIRBANKS (AP) — The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and another Alaska newspaper are being sold.
The News-Miner announced Monday that the newspaper and the Kodiak Daily Mirror are being purchased by the Fairbanks-based Helen E. Snedden Foundation.
The foundation was created by the late wife of former News-Miner publisher Charles W. Snedden.
The deal is expected to close early next year. The sales price was not immediately disclosed.
The current owner, William Dean Singleton, and late business partner Richard B. Scudder bought the Fairbanks paper from Snedden heirs in 1992.
The Snedden family owned the News-Miner between 1950 and 1992.
In announcing the deal Monday, Singleton said the “Singleton and Scudder families grew to love these newspapers and the Alaska communities they served during our 24 years of stewardship.”
Lawmakers may move
from offices costing
$4 million to lease
ANCHORAGE — Lawmakers are a step closer to moving out of office space in Anchorage that costs $4 million to lease. The Legislative Council voted Saturday to recommend that lawmakers pull funding for the lease, while also carving out 45 days to try negotiating a competitive purchase price.
The office space was renovated and priced almost six times more than what had been a $680,000 lease.
This year, lawmakers expect a $3.5 billion state budget deficit. Developer Mark Pfeffer said he was willing to drop his asking price by $1 million from $36 million.
“We know you need to save money,” Pfeffer said. “We believe there are reasonable ways to do that.”
A spokeswoman for Pfeffer said in a statement that they believe it’s possible to save state dollars without breaking the lease, which she called a drastic step.
A legislative attorney estimated a possible lawsuit over breaking the lease could cost $2 million. An ongoing lawsuit challenges the legality of the state’s no-bid lease extension following the renovation.
Cost estimates vary for buying the renovated offices versus moving into the state’s Atwood Building.
One estimate by state debt manager Deven Mitchell says Alaska could generate a $1.2 million return in 10 years by buying the building through a particular type of financing.
