by Senator Shelley Hughes The sound of the crowd is at fever pitch. The intensity is explosive. Reduce the budget versus find new revenues is the fier...
Budget Cuts Are Missing, Don’t Touch the Permanent Fund!
Representative Lora Reinbold – The State House and Senate just passed the Conference Committee Operating Budget bill and, to no surprise, it rev...
The Subsistence Hunting Set-up
When you allow the feds to set up a race-based regime for the management of fish and game, the federal appointees will quickly make race-based decisio...
Foster Care Supported
Governor Bill Walker thanked the Alaska Legislature today for passing HB 200 and HB 27, which reduce barriers for adoption and boost state efforts to ...
Oil Patch Leads Employment Losses in Alaska
Final 2015 employment data reported by the Alaska Department of Labor shows a clear trend of growth slowing over the year and turning negative in the ...
Last Second Budget Pruning Before June 1st
Late on Memorial Day, House and Senate negotiators completed their conference committee work on a proposed state operating budget. They were 26 hours ...
Alaska at the Top in Health Premium Cost Increases
Prices for the average health-insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act have been taking off lately, and this year is no different. The second larg...
Rubio Rolls for Trump
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio insisted Sunday he meant everything he said in attacking presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on the presidential camp...
Transgender in Alaska High School Sports
A transgender girl is competing in track sports at her Alaska high school despite attacks from anti-trans activists, KTVA reports. Alaska Schools Acti...
New Army Helicopter Battalion Our Enemies Don’t Want to Meet
Fort Wainwright’s new aviation battalion was created six months ago. The unit, the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, featur...
Sarah: “Suck it up, Cupcake!”
Friday in San Diego, CA, at a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) said it’s time for the “mainstrea...
A Rebound In Oil Drilling Is Unlikely
In 2016, it’s forecasted that oil output in the U.S., which includes production from the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, will come out to 8.60 millio...
Legislature Heads Swirling Over Tax Proposals
Gov. Bill Walker’s newly repackaged tax proposals have landed with a thud in the Alaska Legislature, with criticism over having all the pieces rolled ...
It’s Not the Mayor’s to Destroy
Tear down the fountain? Is this a joke? Editorial from Anchorage Daily Planet – Excuse us for noticing, but how is it that Mayor Ethan “Spendowi...
State Income Tax Revenues Going Down Across States
U.S. state personal income taxes tumbled in the key revenue month of April due to lower investment returns from weaker equities and energy prices in 2...
State Medicaid Payments Halted
The Alaska Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily suspend some Medicaid payments to providers due to ...
Still Very Little Support for Gov. Walker’s Tax Proposals
Gov. Bill Walker’s omnibus tax bill was no better received in its first Senate hearing Wednesday than it was a day earlier in the House. After n...
Alaska Corrections Officer Caught Bringing Heroin to Prisoners
An Alaska Department of Corrections officer suspected of a heroin-distribution plot at a state prison has been arrested on federal drug charges. Adam ...
Luke Hopkins to Challenge Senator Coghill
Former Fairbanks borough mayor Luke Hopkins has resigned from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation Board less than two months after he was narro...
“On the House!” State Subsidizes Beer Festival
On Saturday, downtown Anchorage hosted the first ever tasting festival made up exclusively of small brewing and distilling companies based in Alaska. ...
Alaska LNG Files Progress Update
Alaska LNG has filed its monthly progress report to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the period 1 – 30 April 2016. Alaska LNG co...
Earliest Snowmelt on Record in Barrow
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Observatory in Barrow reported a snowmelt staring on May 13. That’s 10 days earlier than the pre...
Will It Ever Be Returned?
Today I checked the mail and had my tax bill waiting for me. Included was a note from the Mayor saying we had a $15 million surplus, not that my tax b...
Bullish or Bearish on Alaska’s Future?
Some argue that S&P’s recent note re-enforces the argument for cutting the PFD in the coming special session. We strongly disagree. Read clo...
Governor’s Tax Tax Tax Measures
Gov. Bill Walker says a tax package he’s introduced for the special session is a necessary measure to address the state’s fiscal situation...
How “Special” Is It?
It definitely was a short day. There wasn’t much action, at least in public. The House met for about 20 minutes and the Senate met for less than 15 mi...
“Outside Agitator” Doesn’t Rattle Paul Ryan
“I’m used to that sort of thing,” Ryan responded when asked about the possibility of Sarah Palin campaigning in his district, during an interview on ...
Demboski to Co-Chair Trump Campaign in Alaska
Anchorage Assemblywoman Amy Demboski now serves as a co-chair for Donald Trump’s Alaska Campaign. Demboski explained, “Truly when we look at this ele...
It’s Fiscal Nuts, Really…
As the newest member of Alaska’s Legislature, there have been a lot of things that have surprised me about our political process. One of the biggest s...
Walrus Ivory Bans in Lower 48 Hurt Alaska Native Artists
California joins New Jersey in banning walrus ivory. More such bills are working their way through the Hawaii and Massachusetts legislatures. A New Yo...
#1 Place to Retire in Alaska Will Surprise You
When the time for retirement comes you take into consideration moving to a new place, starting a new adventure, trying out new things, so we’re going ...
Inside Tactics for Alaska’s June 1st Filing Deadline
Getting opponents to sign up by June 1, always difficult, is much harder with the Legislature still in session. We still don’t know the outcome ...
House Democrats Moved the Goal Posts
On Legislative Day 121, the goalposts moved when we received a new, “final” list of House minority budget demands. The governor then calle...
New Superintendent for Mat-Su
The Mat-Su Borough School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the position to Gene Stone, the district’s current assistant superintendent of in...
New Tribal Court Programs Aim to Reduce Recidivism
Two new tribal court programs are getting off the ground at Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. They’re focused on reducing rec...
NASA Doesn’t Want You To See This Giant Hole At North Pole
Conspiracy theorists claim to have stumbled upon NASA images that prove the controversial Hollow Earth theory. The Hollow Earth theory claims that the...
Welcome to 2016
The federal government will no longer use the terms “Negro” and “Oriental” after President Barack Obama signed a bill into law...
Murkowski Blasts BOEM Director for Tweet
The Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Abigail Hopper, said her department has met with groups and individuals who both support...
Taj MaHawker Needs New Buyer
The Alaska Legislature has begun drafting a purchase agreement to buy the Wells Fargo building in Spenard and move the current Legislative Information...
‘Fairbanks Four’ Talk of a New Life
“I definitely feel like a celebrity,” Kevin Pease said, after speaking at the event. “Everywhere we go, especially in Fairbanks, a lot of people will ...
Alaska’s Economy Still Humming Along
The state Department of Labor says Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 percent in April. The department says Alask...
No Pink Slips, Please
The special session also will differ from the regular session because the state is facing a deadline to avoid shutting down the state government on Ju...
New Industry for Alaska
The US imports roughly 90% of its seafood, and, according to Perry, the trade deficit is even greater when it comes to seaweed. “Seaweed is a bo...
Wildlife Education Video Upsets Greenies
While the footage presents a sombre scene and is particularly upsetting for animal lovers, such a practice is not illegal in Alaska. Natives are allow...
Villages Can Decide
House and Senate negotiators have advanced legislation that would give unincorporated communities the ability to hold elections to decide whether to p...
Budget [Crisis] Yawn…
Alaska’s budget talks have failed. The cause of the budget logjam is a disagreement in the House between the majority and the minority over the state’...
Losing Hair over Last Minute Cut to Education Funding
In a surprise move Tuesday, a legislative conference committee stripped close to $13 million in public education funding. Many legislators did not see...
How Norway Handles Low Oil Revenues
For starters, Norway’s economy is far more diversified, Aas said, pointing to the maritime industry, fisheries, IT, tourism — and one sector anathema ...
Midnight [Sun] Oil
A minute past midnight, Walker called for legislators to return to Juneau on Monday. He asked them to consider the capital and operating budgets. The ...
PFD Earnings to Fill the Squeeze in Juneau?
Alaska’s government has never in 40 years used permanent fund earnings to balance the state budget. That could change this year. How the Legislature a...
Alaska Aces Don’t Make It Back After 3 Down
It was the fourth time in the last 6 conferences and the third straight conference that Alaska advanced to the finals only to come away without a cham...
Alaska’s Main Port Needs Makeover
An enormous share of Alaska’s food, fuel, and supplies comes through just a single entryway: the port in Anchorage. Even small communities in distant ...
Life and Death Rescue on Tape
“I thought I was literally going to die,” the driver can be heard saying after police and passersby rally to free him from the flaming vehicle. ...
Laura Rozen Shrill Exposed as Part of Corrupt Web of Liberal Journalism
As a conservative fed up with how so-called “mainstream” reporters and national security experts have been in the tank for President Obama’s disastrou...
Second Special Session Likely
The Governor could call them back for a special session and then the Legislature, in that special session, which could start as soon as Thursday, coul...
Governor Cozy with Medicaid Judge
A past business relationship between Gov. Bill Walker and a judge is being called into question by Republican legislators who are locked in a legal ba...
Gambling-Lite
Governor Bill Walker signed into law today SB 157, which promotes greater economic development and job growth in Alaska. Sponsored by Senator Lesil Mc...
Alaska Calls for U.S. Constitutional Convention
The resolution, approved in April, calls for Congress to convene a convention of the states to draft a constitutional amendment creating a “counterman...
Oil & Gas Tax Overhaul Lands with a Thud in the Senate
Oil and gas industry advocates and Senate Finance Committee members gave a cool reception to a bill overhauling industry tax credits. Armstrong Oil a...
Debbie Wasserman Not a Hit at Dem Convention
The anger over Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was highlighted when more than 25 Sanders supporters walked out of her keynote speech Saturday night at t...
Major Hurdle Now Lifted to Finish Session
After a month of debate, the Alaska House of Representatives has approved legislation that cuts the annual state subsidy for the oil and gas industry....
Bare Bones Construction Budget Passed Senate
The Alaska Senate has voted 16-4 to send the state’s $1.6 billion capital construction budget to the House. The $1.6 billion budget is in many ways a ...
Alaska Democrats Not Happy with Super Delegate Weight
“This year especially, we’ve seen a lot of concern about super delegates and the weight they’re given in the party. And some people would really like ...
His Was a Fight for the Land
Tlingit leader John Borbridge Jr. died Tuesday. He was a significant player in the campaign for Alaska Native land rights. “We wanted land. That was t...
ADN to Say Goodbye to AP
As an AP client, ADN reportedly provided about half of the AP’s in-state revenue before ruling “the essential global news network” unessential. As an ...
To Credit or Not to Credit…
Lawmakers say cutting tax credits to oil and gas companies may be a necessary step to close the state government’s budget deficit. Bill Armstrong, pre...
UA President Says We Can Do More with Less
Facing a massive budget cut from the Legislature, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced on Thursday that he will push to combine the sy...
Troopers Vindicated in Amazing Recording
The taped final minutes of the lives of Johnson and Rich were replayed in Fairbanks Superior Court Tuesday. Unlike the notorious police tapes that hav...
Moose Plays with Wind Chimes
Britta Schroeder shot video of a moose playing one-part harmony with the wind chimes on the porch of her rural cabin near Denali National Park and Pre...
Susan Carney to Alaska Supreme Court
Susan Carney will be the next Supreme Court Justice following Justice Dana Fabe’s retirement. Governor Bill Walker announced his appointment Thursday ...
Obama Staffers Who Lied About Iran Are Running Foreign Policy
‘So the Obama administration lied about the nuclear deal with Iran. We knew that already.” That’s the message several conservative friends e-mailed me...
Simply Doing What the Left Has Been Doing
Alex Gimarc – I have adopted Limbaugh’s characterization of Facebook as FAKEBOOK. The renaming came as a result of a series of stores out about ...
Criminal Justice Reform Bill: “Most Vetted Ever”
Senator John Coghill – SB 91’s entire focus is on improving public safety and getting better public safety outcomes for each dollar we spend. T...
Split the Nenana Ice Classic Pot 44 Ways
There were a whopping 44 winners of the Nenana Ice Classic, evenly splitting the $300,000 jackpot. The annual game is a prediction of when the ice wil...