Thirty years of Alaska Business Monthly.

• Author: Harrington, Susan
• Position: FROM THE EDITOR - Editorial

Last month we wrapped up thirty years of Alaska Business Monthly, which began with its first issue in January 1985 and has evolved over the years. In reviewing past issues it became apparent some things have remained, though renamed. For example On The Move was the original Right Moves, featuring photos and briefs about new hires and promotions in the Alaska business and industry community. There was an earlier form of Inside Alaska Business. The Economy According To Safir was a precursor to Alaska Trends, with charts consisting of data tables and statistics, plus a regular column by Economist Andrew Safir, president of Recon Research Corporation in San Francisco, now located in Los Angeles.

Safir, who still has energy clients doing business in Alaska and travels here to sport fish, spoke briefly about his thoughts on the Alaska economy from his office in Los Angeles. He pointed out that the new group coming in (Governor Bill Walker and his administration) looks less favorably to the TransCanada gas pipeline. Safir says the philosophy is well vindicated with the Permanent Fund--it remains well funded with money from when oil was high and the investments have grown--it's not going away. He also assured me the price of oil won't stay low forever, it will come back up. Intrinsically we know that, though it is good to be reminded.

The magazine has continuously brought readers some form or another of Alaska Trends, including Alaska Trends: An Economic Perspective, which was another commentary with charts and numbers that featured in-depth facts and figures and data sets of economic indicators for Alaska. Eventually, Alaska Trends evolved into what is now produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Business and Public Policy--interesting facts and data as well as timely articles about some aspect of the economy.

As far as interesting stories, we've had thirty years of those, and expect thirty more. Many on the same themes and subjects, building a natural gas pipeline, producing coal in the Beluga fields on the western shores of Cook Inlet, petroleum development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, riding the economy up and down through times of busts and booms. From the death of the timber industry by environmentalists to the birth of real-time communications by telecom giants throughout the state--in 1985 we reported: "Twenty years later and millions of dollars later, every Alaskan community with twenty-five residents or more is...