It was the worst man-made environmental catastrophe in U.S. history — that is, until five years ago, when it was eclipsed by a disaster roughly 20 tim...
Private-Use Fishing Priority Bill
Seven times is the charm for building some momentum on a measure that aims to give personal use fisheries a priority over commercial and sport users. ...
Sullivan Shares the Partisan Battle He’s Facing in Washington
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan returned to Juneau and today gave his first speech as a senator to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature. The first-term Re...
Rick Halford: Let Economics Not Politics Move Gasline Forward
The House Resources Committee held confirmation hearings for Rick Halford, Joe Paskvan and Hugh Short, with much of the time focused on Halford and Pa...
Who Owns This Land? Bill to Get Feds to Give Up Theirs
Chenault, a Republican from Nikiski, wants to order the federal government to transfer upward of 166 million acres of federal lands to state ownership...
Reinbold Speaks Back
By Lora Reinbold ~ I took a solemn oath to defend and uphold the constitutions of the United States and Alaska. My responsibility is to those sacred d...
Lawmakers Look for Unspent Dollars from Old Projects
With state budgets under stress, lawmakers looking to keep up the spending are searching in new places for money to keep their favorite programs going...
Obama Keeps Using that Head Fake
By Senator Dan Sullivan ~ President Obama’s plan to designate 12 million acres as wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge did not fool Alask...
The Coffey Conversation Conniption
Mayoral candidate Dan Coffey has stated he doesn’t want the public to hear a private conversation he had with current Anchorage Assembly member Bill S...
Alaska’s Freedom of Information Law Worthless
The Alaska Public Records Act may have broad coverage, but a variety of exemptions and nonexistent penalties for refusing to release public documents ...
Could We Compromise at 30 Minutes?
After sailing through the Senate, a bill to exempt Alaska from daylight saving time has lost momentum in the House. At a press availability on Thursda...
President Suggests Mandated Voting
“It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract money more than anything,” President Obama said Wednesday in Cleveland.Jeff Rob...
Earning a Full Time Income in Three Months
Eleven of Alaska’s 20 state senators have no full-time job during the nine months of the year when the Legislature is not in session, according to fin...
What the Mayor’s Race Is Really About
An Anchorage mayoral forum on Alaska Native issues turned testy Wednesday when one front-runner, Andrew Halcro, referred to another, Dan Coffey, as th...
Army Investigates Alleged ‘Racial Thursdays’ at Alaska Unit
A platoon of soldiers in Alaska is accused of taking part in “Racial Thursdays.” Soldiers were encouraged to use racial slurs in communica...
Movies: An Alaskan Golden Egg
Ron Holmstrom ~ When the Alaska Film Incentive Program was introduced, major production companies across the nation took notice. Since Alaska had one ...
Two Alaskan Size Backroom Political Setups
By Mike Dingham ~ On Monday we saw two prime examples of old guard ugly politics on display. One was pretty obvious and more difficult to understand, ...
Separate Bill: Medicaid Expansion
After failing to expand Medicaid through a budget item, Gov. Bill Walker is trying again. He has introduced a standalone bill that would allow the sta...
Father-Son Champions
Dallas Seavey has won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father to the finish line in Nome early Wednesday after racing 1,000 mile...
The Oil Bust Replay from the 80s
In some ways our current oil price bust reminds us of what happened 30 years ago. In other ways, our economy is better prepared for it. The following ...
We Saw This 29 Years Ago, Too
Dozens of North Slope workers showed up Friday for what they thought was a special early-morning training session. Instead, 75 employees of ASRC Energ...
Reinbold Booted
Last week, Rep. Lora Reinbold voted against the operating budget, breaking one of the House Majority caucus’ rules for membership. Now, the Eagle Rive...
Legislators Unhappy with Regent’s Report
Members of the House Education Committee were less than pleased with work that’s been done so far to prioritize and trim down the number of prog...
Nikiski Prepares for It’s Small Town Boom
The following interview highlights the opportunities and the challenges Nikiski, Alaska faces in preparing for a huge LNG plant there. Excerpts from A...
Bill Would Remove Some Records from Online Court System
Republican state Rep. Tammie Wilson has proposed legislation that would remove certain criminal cases from the state’s online court-records syst...
The Argument in Support of Restricting Oil Drilling in Alaska
Some places in Alaska are simply too special to open up for oil drilling. In January, President Obama announced he will recommend that Congress perman...
Alaska’s Oil Dependence Pros and Cons
Here’s the first part of an excellent analysis of the difficult discussion on the oil revenue picture for the State of Alaska, by Dermot Cole of...
Changing Palates Affect Alaska Seafood Sales in Japan
Satomi Inaba grew up eating her mother’s boiled fish and mackerel sushi, but like many younger Japanese consumers today favors turf over surf in her o...
Oil Bosses Descend on Washington to Lift Export Ban
Chief executives from the lobbying group Producers for American Crude Oil Exports, or PACE, met with White House senior energy policy adviser Brian De...
“What’s Putin Up To” in the Arctic?
Senator Lisa Murkowski Wednesday questioned United States Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno about the recent surge in Russian military activ...
Alaska’s Weather Is Broken
Earlier this winter, Monica Zappa packed up her crew of Alaskan sled dogs and headed south, in search of snow. “We haven’t been able to train where we...
How Anchorage Mayoral Candidates Answer the Crime Question
In February, PIPELINE sent out a questionnaire to the candidates on a range of topics. One of the questions, was about Anchorage consistently having ...
House Advances Operating Budget with Broad Cuts
The Alaska House early Friday morning advanced a state operating budget that makes broad-ranging cuts as lawmakers attempt to downsize state governmen...
Not Enough, Sparks Rienbold Revolt
The Alaska House of Representatives has passed a $4.1 billion operating budget, reducing agency operations by 10 percent over last year. The vote happ...
Bill Would Exempt Alaska, Hawaii From Increase in Air Travel Fee
Sen. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, Democrats of Hawaii, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican of Alaska, introduced legislation Wednesday that would ...
Don’t Panic
Things are looking grim for Alaska this year… but Don’t Panic. Alaska Robotics News takes a look at Governor Bill Walker’s Voices for Visions Budget S...
Murkowski Ranks Lowest
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) has the lowest score of any GOP senator on the fiscally conservative Club for Growth’s annual scorecard, a sign the...
State Senate Votes to End Alaska Daylight Saving Time
The Alaska Senate has voted 16-4 to remove Alaska from daylight saving time, sending the bill to the state House for consideration.A 16-4 vote at midd...
Wrong Idea to Constitutionalize the Dividend
Tim Bradner – Sen. Bill Wielechowski has introduced a proposed constitutional amendment, SJR-1, that would constitutionalize the Permanent Fund ...
Alaska Supreme Court Hears Subsistence Fishing Case
The six year battle between three subsistence fishermen and the state of Alaska made its way to Alaska’s highest court Tuesday morning. Nearly 5...
Legislative Questioning Becomes Personal for New National Guard Leader
One of Sean Parnell’s final acts as governor was to remove the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard. The cause was a federal investigation do...
Alaska Teens Want Seat at Climate Change Table
A group of teenagers are calling on Gov. Bill Walker to create a climate change task force. Alaska Youth for Environmental Action delivered a petition...
Sen. Dan Sullivan Signs Letter to Iranian Leadership
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is among 47 Republican senators who signed a letter to Iran’s leadership Monday. The letter is intended to scuttle President Ob...
Coffey Is Winning the Fundraising Race
Anchorage mayoral candidate Andrew Halcro has put about $91,000 of his own money into his campaign ahead of the April 7 city election, a huge sum that...
Alaska’s Budget in an Ebook
In an effort to increase dialogue around the state’s current budget situation, Governor Bill Walker and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott today releas...
Driving Under the Influence of Pot Is Still Punishable
After a far-ranging discussion about the dangers of driving a four-wheeler while high or hosting pot parties on a sternwheeler, a Department of Law of...
Alaska Delegation Push to Keep Army Level High
As the U.S. Army launches a massive reduction in its troop levels, Alaska’s congressional delegation is arguing the state deserves more, not fewer, so...
Salmon Vs. Gold Splits Alaska GOP
There’s gold in them thar…. swamps. A lot of gold, in fact—up to $120 billion of it, lying within the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska. Which is why a ...
Americans for Prosperity Ad Attacks Berkowitz Mayoral Run
The first attack ads have appeared in the race for Anchorage mayor, with right-leaning political action committee Americans for Prosperity of Alaska t...
Feds Turning Tongass Land Over To Sealaska
Sealaska Corp. gets its new land on Friday. The federal Bureau of Land Managementwill sign paperwork that day turning over 70,000 acres of the Tongass...
U.S. to Begin Chairing Eight-Nation Arctic Council
On a perfectly snowy day in Washington, DC, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Ranking Member Maria ...
Obama’s Keystone Veto Stands
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, the first of many...
Alaska Republican’s Solution for Homelessness: Wolves
Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young offered an innovative proposal for addressing the problem of homelessness in America on Thursday: Release the wolves....
Federal Overreach Potential on Marijuana Legality
The debate in the state capitol building about Alaska’s new marijuana law has caused some conservatives to side with an entity they generally abhor — ...
Alaska’s Hidden Billionaire
Just south of the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska, there’s a seven-block mobile home park named Four Seasons, where rentals st...
Triple Triple A
Governor Bill Walker and Department of Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck today announced that the State of Alaska has received three separate AAA ...
“It’s dreary, and macabre, and dark.” …the Budget
Despite having to deal with a massive budget deficit, Alaska’s slightly more moderate House of Representatives is working pretty well. That’s the repo...
Legislators Push Back on Governor’s Gas Plan
Just as things seemed to be going reasonably well for the large Alaska LNG Project, the $45 billion to $65 billion gas pipeline and liquefied natural ...
Cuts Will Hurt
About 80 Juneauites filled House Finance chambers to speak on this reduction among other cuts during public testimony on the dramatically reduced stat...
Netanyahu and Rejoinders from Obama
Excerpts of remarks by both leaders: NETANYAHU: "I feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well threaten the survival ...
Daylight Savings Bill Changes Things
A bill that would eliminate daylight saving time in Alaska is now one step away from the Senate floor. But as the legislation has advanced, it has als...
“Let’s Settle This Guys”
Chenault and Walker Sorting It Out LNG Projects – Alaska House Speaker Mike Chenault introduced a bill Monday morning to stop Gov. Bill Walker f...
Five Times as Many Antlers as Usual Auctioned at Fur Rendezvous
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game held its annual “Hide and Horn” auction Sunday, selling off all the leftover animal products the state comes to...
$900 Million To Modernize Rural Sanitation Systems
Members of the Legislative Bush Caucus were told last week in a “Lunch and Learn” session on rural sanitation almost a billion dollars is needed to bu...
Obama’s Iran Deal Makes War More Likely
Fred Fleitz – The Obama administration and its supporters insist that, although the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program now taking shape may not...
6 In 10 Younger Republicans Favor Legal Marijuana
Nearly two-thirds of Millennials who identify as Republican support legalizing marijuana, while almost half of older GOP Gen-Xers do, according to a r...
Budget Cuts Still Headlining Legislative Work
More than a third of the way into the Legislative session and things are starting to get very busy in the capitol building. Even though there are plen...
Oil Price Decline Reveals New PFD Investment Opportunities
Low oil prices have Alaska’s leaders in a state of anxiety, but the investment managers of the Alaska Permanent Fund are responding in their own...
Women Leadership Is Good for Congress
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the new chairwoman of the Energy Committee, was at a reception in Hershey, Pennsylvania, last month when aides to Rep. ...
Legislature Gets Ready to Commercialize Marijuana
A bill to regulate commercial marijuana, including proposed business license types, was introduced in the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 20...
House Wants to See Medicaid Expansion as a Stand-Alone Bill
The Republican-controlled House is poised to strip funding to expand the Medicaid health insurance program from Gov. Bill Walker’s budget, the first s...
Governor’s Expanded LNG Project Causes Execs to Wait and See
Legislators and the state’s industry partners in the big gas pipeline project are still scratching their heads on the implications of Gov. Bill Walker...
Jewell-Murkowski Feud Puts Damper on Administration’s Agenda
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s relationship with a key Alaska senator remained on thin ice yesterday, complicating Jewell’s efforts to ...
Separate Marijuana Control Board to Be Created
Just one day before marijuana possession becomes legal in Alaska, Gov. Bill Walker has filed legislation to create a marijuana control board. The boar...
California Drought Fix: Pipe Them Alaska’s Extra Water
Californians are desperate for water, so you can’t blame them for greedily eyeing the storm-sodden east. Look at all that snow! That’s just frozen wat...