no weed, no childcare

Anchorage's child care fund is coming up short because we stopped buying as much weed.

The city built a special fund to help struggling child care providers using cannabis tax revenue. But purchases came in lower than expected, and now there is nearly a half-million dollar gap to fill.

City officials have to close that hole before programs serving working families get cut. The child care sector in Anchorage was already stretched thin before this shortfall hit.

Here is what makes this story stick. The city tied a critical social service directly to how much legal marijuana people buy at dispensaries. When those sales dip, real programs that real kids and real parents depend on feel it. Families across Muldoon, South Anchorage, and the Hillside are watching what gets cut next.

This is one gap, and budget season is just getting started.