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Good afternoon. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 9.

In today's newsletter:

While some residents have labeled her sales tax proposal as regressive, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance used her annual State of the City address to present it as a necessity.
As a relentless windstorm pummeled Mat-Su, residents hoping for relief Monday instead saw continued power outages and a second day of planned school closures.
Alaska Republican Party members have forwarded the names of possible candidates to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for filling two vacant House seats from districts in the Mat-Su.

It’s that time of the year when millions of people, bundled up and lugging gifts, fly for the holidays. It’s also the season when overhead bins tend to turn into hallway closets, stuffed with coats and other small items. Something to be aware of before you travel: Flight attendants are cracking down.

Anchorage weather

It's mostly sunny today with a high near 11 degrees. We'll see much of the same for the rest of the week, with sunny or mostly sunny skies and daytime highs in the low teens or single digits.

Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today.

— Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com

Anchorage Mayor LaFrance defends proposed sales tax during State of the City address →

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said the municipality has “come a long way” since she assumed office in 2024, citing reduced staff vacancies, efforts to improve snowplowing and work to rebuild Anchorage’s prosecution team. Yet, looking ahead to 2026, the city's financial picture presents a challenge, she said.

More school closures, blown-out windows and runaway sheds in the Mat-Su windstorm →

The storm battered a broad swath of the region, leaving outages from Talkeetna to Glacier View and serious damage including blown-out windows, downed trees and torn-off roofs. Fewer than 1,500 power outages were reported today.

Mat-Su Republicans forward candidate names to Dunleavy for filling 2 House vacancies →

Several dozen members of the GOP from two Mat-Su districts met behind closed doors to review the names of Republicans who applied to fill the vacancies, and submitted three names of candidates from each district to the governor.

After more than a decade, ‘Alaska State Troopers’ is returning to reality TV →

Officials say they hope a new season will help with recruitment. Past critics have said the kind of public safety issues troopers respond to — such as Alaska’s high rates of violent crime, homicide, suicide and sexual assault — are too serious to be fodder for television.

Anchorage couple convicted of criminally negligent homicide in toddler’s malnutrition death →

The mother of a 2-year-old girl and the woman’s boyfriend have been convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 2017 malnutrition death of the toddler.

More from the ADN

Rural America relies on foreign doctors. Trump’s visa fee shuts them out. →

Going back to school during the pandemic linked to improved child mental health →

The Rewind: Service sweeps team titles in ski season opener, Unalaska and Tanalian repeat as state volleyball champs →

Here are 10 of the best video games of the year →

Workplace advice: How job hunters can scrutinize management before accepting a position →

More games: Crossword | Really Bad Chess | SpellTower

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