Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1985, 1995 and 2005.
This week in 1985, the first batch of the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend checks were hitting the mailboxes of residents across the state. The dividend that year was $404 (approximately $1,141 today).
This year’s Permanent Fund dividend was announced to be $1,312. Eligible Alaska residents who filed electronically or requested a direct deposit were told they would receive their PFDs the week of Oct. 5, paper checks are expected the week of Oct. 26.
Original Story: “Alaska fund checks to hit mail this week” by the Associated Press. 10/07/1985.
This week in 1995, summer tourists had reached an all-time high at the time, but local merchants said that visitors didn’t seem to spend as much in previous years. Preliminary data indicated about 373,000 passengers arrived in Juneau in 1995, about the same amount as the year before.
Today the cruise ship season in Juneau is still ongoing and will continue to run until late October when the final ship, the Norwegian Sun, is scheduled to depart on Wednesday, Oct. 25. As of mid-September, Juneau had welcomed more than 1.5 million passengers — nearing 92% of the record-breaking 1.67 million total number of visitors anticipated by city and industry officials this season.
Original Story: “It was a very good year — but the season didn’t match predictions and visitors didn’t spend as much” by Mark Sabbatini. 09/28/23.
This week in 2005, opposition to the then-proposed Dimond Park Aquatic Center was beginning to mount as longtime supporters took to rallying in support for the project set to appear on the 2005 municipal ballot. During the election, voters were asked whether to approve $26 million in sales tax (approximately $41 million today) toward the project.
The pool now exists in Juneau today, after it held its grand opening on June 4, 2011.
Original Story: “Groups fight for and against pool” by I-Chun Che. 09/29/2005.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
