Anchorage economic report: Pain ahead, but not devastation

Anchorage Economic Development Corporation CEO Bill Popp addresses the crowd at the group’s annual economic forecast luncheon on Wednesday, July 27. (Photo by Graelyn Brashear, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)The Anchorage Economic Development Corporation’s annual forecast for the local economy is usually pretty sunny, but the steep drop in oil prices last year means Anchorage and Alaska are in the midst of the first economic downturn in nearly three decades. Still, the overall