Bringing Out the Best in Juneau

What are the three biggest things affecting Juneau this year?  What's your top-three?  Here's what Emily thinks:

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1) School funding.  Last year was painful for everyone.  We cannot just wake up one morning to news of a $9.5 million deficit ever again.  JSD is independent from assembly, but that doesn't mean that assembly should leave our schools to figure things out on their own.  I intend to work with the school board to ensure we always know what our school budgets really are.

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2) Housing costs.  The whole country is watching housing costs rise, but in Juneau it hits harder than most places.  With limited space and high materials costs, every problem gets amplifies here.  So assembly needs to be pro-active, and we need an "everything on the table" approach.  But at the same time, we need oversight to make sure that when we invest in affordable housing, we actually get affordable housing.

3) Cruise ship tourism.  This is a tough one, I'll be honest.  Some people feel like they're losing the city they love for half the year, and some people wouldn't be able to earn a living without the floating hotels that come to visit every summer.  Finding the right balance for Juneau isn't going to be easy, but it's going to require communication with all stakeholders.  One thing that everyone can agree on is that we need to be working to make sure that as much value as possible from Juneau's tourism industry stays in Juneau.