Editor's note: "This Week in Alaska Business History" revisits events that shaped our past.
"Those who cannot
remember the past are
condemned to repeat it."
-- George Santayana, 1863-1952
20 years ago this week
The Anchorage Times
Jan. 15, 1981
Railroad sale in Carter budget
Times Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- President Carter's proposed 1982 fiscal budget calls for the sale or transfer of the Alaska Railroad by 1983 and attempts to block reconstruction of the Alaska Highway.
The spending plan, released today, says Alaska is the only state that benefits from the two transportation systems. It also says the state can afford to bankroll the railroad.
"The benefits from operating the Alaska Railroad are largely concentrated in that state, making continued federal funding inappropriate," the document says. "Moreover, the state has sufficient funds with which to support and improve the railroad's operation."
The Alaska Railroad is operated by the federal government under a law enacted in 1914. The 1982 budget for the railroad is $7 million, down from nearly $10.7 million in 1981.
The Anchorage Times
Jan. 19, 1981
Northwest Pipeline spokesman says no to all Alaska line
By John Knowlton
Times Writer
A proposal to build an all Alaska natural gas pipeline was rejected three years ago by the federal government for economic, safety and environmental reasons and would be rejected again today, a spokesman for Northwest Alaskan Pipeline Co. says.
"Our proposal was selected for many sound and valid reasons. The all-Alaska route was rejected for very sound and valid reasons," said Joe Vallely of Northwest, the firm which intends to build the Alaska Highway Natural Gas Pipeline.
Vallely was responding to the possibility that state officials may want to renew talks about building a natural gas pipeline through Alaska rather than connect it with the Lower 48 by going through Canada.
10 years ago this week
Alaska Journal of Commerce
Jan. 14, 1991
Alaska mining outlook
It may turn out to be a pretty busy year
By the Alaska Journal of Commerce
Alaska mining activity could increase substantially in 1991, depending on whether several major new projects go from advanced exploration into actual construction, according to sources in the mining industry.
Two companies developing the medium-size higher-grade Kensington Mine north of Juneau have started raising capital for development and production, while permitting and feasibility assessments continue at the larger AJ Mine in Juneau itself.
Both projects could further boost Juneau's economy, already basking in strengthened state employment and a new local payroll from the Greens Creek Mine on nearby Admiralty Island.
Alaska Journal of Commerce
Jan. 14, 1991
An Asian supermarket for Anchorage
By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce
A one-time supermarket bag boy who invested his pipeline construction earnings in an Asian food shop plans major expansion of Sagaya Oriental Groceries at a shopping center he has purchased.
"We've outgrown this place and to keep growing, we need more room," said Paul Reid, who plans to open The New Sagaya sometime in March at the remodeled Geneva Woods Mall in Anchorage.
"This is really good business, but I had no idea it would turn out this way," said Reid, who owns the present Sagaya store on Spenard Road with his mother, Hiroko Nito.
... The family also has a subconcession at the Duty Free Shoppers Limited Partnership at Anchorage International Airport and is a major exporter of roe on kelp.
-- Compiled by Ed Bennett.
