Written by Matthew Widmer and William Earnhart  On December 6, 2018, the United States District Court for the State of Alaska issued an order that could have a profound impact on the way municipal governments can spend certain fees. The case concerned two types of passenger fees imposed by the City of Juneau on cruise [...]

Written By Carissa Siebeneck Anderson & Jon M. DeVore The U.S. Small Business Administration proposed sweeping changes to the HUBZone Program regulations last week. Most of the proposed regulations will be considered welcome changes that seek to streamline and relax some compliance requirements, making it easier for firms to maintain and retain their HUBZone status [...]

Written by Leslie Wheelock The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the US Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service (RUS) are responsible for implementing the programs that provide funding for rural broadband. Two recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports note that lack of fair data collection methods as well as lack of tribal input and feedback [...]

Written by:  Jon M. DeVore   In 2006, Congress passed the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2005 (38 U.S.C. 501,513), this in part created the Vets First Contracting Program within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This program enabled approved firms to participate in Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) and Service Disabled [...]

Written by Anmei Goldsmith Last Friday, September 24, 2018, the Alaska Supreme Court issued opinions in three cases briefed and argued by the BHBC municipal team - with favorable decisions in two of the three. In each case, the municipal team, led by the practice group’s lead attorney Holly Wells, vigorously defended its client city’s [...]

Written by Kristy Garrett Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot recently held its biennial retreat as an opportunity for attorneys and paralegals to get out of the office together, in order to focus on the direction and future of the firm. One of the events on the agenda was an early morning yoga class, demonstrating the [...]

Written by:  Katie Davies For the second year in a row, members of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot competed in the Tour de Cure bike race in Anchorage to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Jack McKenna, Anmei Goldsmith, Katie Davies, Peggy Crowe, Rachel Crowe (l to r) Team BHBC proudly raised [...]

Written By: Aaron D. Sperbeck Child’s play is not just all fun and games; rather the act of play is a crucial component in the growth and development of the adolescent brain, body, and intellect. Numerous studies conducted over the years consistently demonstrate how young people learn and prove that, especially in children, they acquire [...]

Written by Lisa Ross According to American Bar Association (“ABA”) research,[1] many women are leaving the legal profession in record numbers at what should be the height of their careers.  Although women enter the legal profession in numbers equivalent to men, and outnumber men in law school,[2] a process of attrition occurs over the years.  [...]

Written by Will Earnhart On June 27, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31,  No. 16-1466 (June 27, 2018), forbidding states from enforcing mandatory union membership of employees, expressly overturning its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. This was [...]