JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow 18-year-olds to serve alcohol in some venues.

The Legislature passed an almost-identical version of the bill last year. It was approved by lawmakers after the constitutional deadline for the end of the legislative session. Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill, along with four others, arguing that they could face legal challenges.

Senate Bill 15 would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to serve alcohol under supervision in restaurants, breweries and hotels, but not bars or liquor stores. Currently, Alaskans must be 21 or older to serve alcohol in those venues.

The measure also adds a warning wherever alcohol is sold of its risks of causing cancer.

Supporters of the measure said lowering the age limit to serve alcohol would help address some of the Alaska hospitality industry’s labor challenges. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Zack Fields said the policy change would help the industry for the upcoming summer tourism season.

“For young adults who are attending college outside of Alaska, this bill increases the likelihood that they can return and work during the summer season and get really good-paying jobs,” he said before Wednesday’s final vote.

Anchorage independent Rep. Alyse Galvin supported the bill and said she worked in restaurants during college. She said being unable to serve alcohol meant she earned less money.

The House passed the measure Wednesday on a 32-8 vote. All eight no votes were by minority Republicans. They did not explain their opposition during floor debates. The Senate passed the measure unanimously in February.

Wasilla GOP Rep. Cathy Tilton voted against the measure. She said after the floor session that she supported a right to work, but she was concerned about introducing younger Alaskans to alcohol, considering the state’s high rates of addiction and abuse.

Only three U.S. states — Alaska, Utah and Nevada — require alcohol servers to be at least 21 years old.

Sarah Oates, president of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association, or CHARR, said that Alaska’s age limit has caused labor challenges for the hospitality industry.

“Employers struggle to promote or retain quality employees who are 18-20 years of age because they are prohibited from serving alcohol or supervising other employees who serve or sell alcohol,” she said. “Alaska is not competitive in this space, and our industry is experiencing an outmigration of young workers.”

The measure also requires new language to be added to warning signs wherever alcohol is sold. Currently, those signs say that drinking alcohol “during pregnancy can cause birth defects.”

SB 15 would require an additional warning about cancer risks, stating on signs that “alcohol use can cause cancer, including breast and colon cancers.”

Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in January called for cancer risk warnings to be added to alcoholic beverages. Adopting Murthy’s advisory nationally would require a measure passed by Congress.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andrew Gray, a physician assistant, supported adding the cancer warning signs last year. On Wednesday, Gray said he drinks alcohol, and that he isn’t trying to demonize alcohol.

“Rather, I just want Alaskans to make informed decisions about their health,” he said.

The Legislature has now approved two of five vetoed bills passed last year after the constitutional deadline for the end of the session. In February, lawmakers again approved a $75 million bonding package for a new cruise ship dock in Seward.

After Wednesday’s vote, SB 15 now advances to the governor’s desk for his consideration.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — In the days after wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area, a formerly stray dog named Jackie lucked into a new life. She was rescued from an overburdened shelter in Los Angeles County, where she faced possible euthanasia, and given a home far away in Juneau, Alaska.

But Jackie didn’t stay long.

The German shepherd-husky mix slipped her collar on the first day with her new family in mid-February and absconded to a pocket of forest. Since then, she has been living by her wits — eluding a trap that was set with food such as cheeseburgers or chicken by animal control workers and volunteers worried about her.

The forested area Jackie frequents is near a busy road. Further, black bears are starting to reemerge from hibernation, raising the potential the dog could have an unfortunate run-in. Volunteers have stopped putting out food and cat kibble to avoid attracting bears.

“Maybe this is what she wants, is to be free and feral like this,” said Thom Young-Bayer, a Juneau animal control officer. “It’s not a safe way for her to live here.”

Young-Bayer and his wife, Skylar, have been searching in their free time, often at night, for the skittish canine, painstakingly trying to build trust with her. Jackie has been known to burrow into the soft moss on the forest floor for cover and to avoid looking directly into the Young-Bayers’ headlamps, making it hard to detect her eyes in the dark.

On videos Thom Young-Bayer has taken with his infrared camera, Jackie’s red heat signature resembles something out of the movie “Predator.”

On a recent day, Young-Bayer caught a fleeting glimpse of Jackie in the lush forest, her dark coat helping camouflage her movements among the stumps and roots. He surveyed the undergrowth and surroundings but came up empty — as did a nearby trap he had been monitoring for weeks.

When Young-Bayer returned to a trail where a fellow animal control officer had been waiting, he learned Jackie had trotted past on a frozen pond.

Lately Young-Bayer been encountering Jackie on every visit. Young-Bayer says that’s progress. Weeks ago, if Jackie saw someone, she would flee. He and his wife aren’t trying to sneak up on the dog and want to help her feel safe, he said.

Juneau Animal Rescue, a local pet adoption agency that also handles animal control and protective services, has asked that people who see Jackie report their sightings. Given the dog’s skittishness, officials want to limit those searching for her.

Little is known about Jackie’s history. She was brought into a California shelter as a stray in early January, days before deadly wildfires swept through the Los Angeles area. She is believed to be 2 to 3 years old. Her intake forms listed her as quiet with a moderate anxiety and stress level.

Skylar Young-Bayer, who has volunteered with rescue groups in that region, helped arrange for Jackie and two other dogs at risk of being euthanized to be transferred to Juneau for adoption. Jackie was with a foster home before her adoption placing.

Other dogs have gained fame as fugitives, including Scrim, a 17-pound, mostly terrier mutt who was recaptured in New Orleans in February — in a cat trap — after months on the lam.

Mike Mazouch, animal control and protection director for Juneau Animal Rescue, noted Jackie didn’t have much time to bond with her new family before bolting. Officers deemed trying to tranquilize her as too risky because they didn’t know if they would be able to find her once she was sedated.

Mazouch accompanied Thom Young-Bayer to the forest last week to disassemble the trap when Jackie came within 50 feet (15 meters) of Mazouch on the frozen pond. Mazouch snapped a photo of her as she appeared between the skinny, tall trees. He called efforts to capture her a “battle of wills.”

“She is not willing to give up, and we’re not willing to give up, either,” Mazouch said.

Vicky Ho, who was serving as the interim editor of the Anchorage Daily News following the retirement of longtime newsroom leader David Hulen in March, has been named its editor.

President, CEO and Publisher Ryan Binkley announced the change Tuesday, effective immediately.

“Running the most powerful newsroom in a state like Alaska is a unique job in journalism and we were lucky to have a robust slate of candidates,” Binkley said in an email to staff. “In the end it was clear that the person most qualified to lead the newsroom into its next phase is Vicky.”

Ho had been the newsroom’s managing editor since 2022 and previously served as deputy editor/online in addition to other roles. In her new position, she will be responsible for content and the overall direction of the newsroom in addition to overseeing the management of day-to-day news operations across platforms.

She succeeds Hulen, who retired as editor in mid-March after 10 years in the role and 39 years overall at the Daily News.

Tuesday’s announcement comes in the wake of other changes to Daily News leadership earlier this year. Binkley stepped into the role of publisher after the departure of predecessor Andy Pennington, who had overseen overall company operations since 2018. Kea Cuaresma, formerly the chief revenue officer, is now the vice president of revenue and community engagement, overseeing sales, subscriptions, events and community relations.

Ho joined the ADN in 2015 after working at the Steamboat Pilot & Today in Colorado, where she held the role of evening editor. At the Daily News, Alaska’s most-read news site and newspaper, she has helped lead online coverage and strategy initiatives that resulted in significant increases in paid digital audience as well as growth in Alaska readership. She’s also worked to develop partnerships with other news organizations and identify other opportunities for collaboration, capacity-building and development.

“I’m honored to be stepping into this role at a critically important time for the ADN, Alaska journalism and the news industry overall,” Ho said. “The work of independent local journalists is as important as ever. Every day, I’m inspired by my colleagues’ deep commitment to our community and readers’ strong connection to our journalism.

“As we continue to work toward building out a newsroom team aligned around the mission of serving Alaskans, I remain hopeful for the future of our organization and optimistic about what the next era of the Daily News may bring.”

In addition to her work at the ADN, Ho has coached newsrooms from across the country that worked to transition to a sustainable digital publishing model, as part of an intensive program hosted by the Poynter Institute. She is a member of the Alaska Press Club’s board, as well as a member of the Online News Association and Asian American Journalists Association.

“These next few years will be critical as we execute the final stages of our digital transition, and as new tools, products and platforms come online that will change the work of news-gathering,” Binkley said. “We are facing a time of great disruption and we’ll be lucky to have Vicky’s steady hand on the rudder as we navigate it.”