Andrew Kitchenman, Alaska Public Media & KTOO - Juneau
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
State supplemental budget reaches $178 million, prompts Medicaid concern
Most of this cost — $92 million — is from Medicaid. Legislature is funding Medicaid at a lower level than state officials projected costs would run. On top of that, those projections were too low. Officials say more people enrolled in Medicaid due to the recession. Listen now
Sen. Wilson disciplined for retaliating against aide in press conference
Human resource manager wrote that Wilson undermined an investigation by claiming the incident didn’t happen.
Fansler hasn’t responded to House leaders’ resignation request
Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham Democrat, said in a press availability Tuesday morning that the caucus is giving Rep. Zach Fansler time. Listen now
Number of House members calling for Fansler resignation grows
The House majority caucus meets Monday evening and could remove representative, accused of assault, from the caucus and his committee assignments. Listen now
Republican candidates for governor meet in Juneau
The four candidates talked about party loyalty, sexual harassment and federal overreach on Friday. Listen now
Alaska lawmakers release draft harassment policy
The draft is modeled on Oregon’s policy, which is more detailed than the current version, adopted in 2000. Listen now
Alaska House Democrats confirm John Lincoln to District 40 seat
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon was enthusiastic about Lincoln’s appointment.
Southeast lawmakers agree on need for fiscal plan but differ on components
Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman, for example, doesn’t see the need to pass a broad-based tax now as part of the fiscal plan. But he does want to limit permanent fund draws. Listen now
Walker appoints Kotzebue resident John Lincoln to vacant House District 40
Lincoln is the vice president responsible for managing lands for NANA Regional Corp. Listen now
Walker faces Wednesday deadline to fill District 40 seat
There are two new candidate: Kotzebue resident John Lincoln and Utqiagvik resident Abel Hopson-Suvlu. Listen now
Permanent fund leader says budget plan puts fund’s future into question
Permanent Fund Corp. CEO Angela Rodell presented a study that predicts a nearly 50 percent chance of the fund losing value in the next decade, if it’s used to pay for state government as lawmakers have proposed. Listen now
Governor follows up on State of the State speech
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker gave the State of the State address Thursday night. His main message was that Alaska can control its own destiny if it follows through on policies he’s proposed. Listen now
State senators slam additional Medicaid costs
The rising cost of Medicaid to the state of Alaska has been the target of criticism during the first two days of state Senate Finance Committee hearings. Listen now
Top Republican, Democrat in Alaska Senate differ on income tax
Alaska Senate Republican leaders are pointing to rising oil prices as confirmation that their reticence to a proposed income tax was right. The chamber’s leading Democrat says relying on oil gains would be shortsighted. Listen now
House leaders aim for compromise, early school budget this year
The second session of the 30th Alaska Legislature began Tuesday, with the caucus leaders expressing hope that this year will be more productive than 2017. Listen now
Nominees for vacant House seat meet with Walker, describe qualifications
Gov. Bill Walker met Monday with the three nominees for the now vacant District 40 seat for the Alaska House. The district covers the North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs and is open because former Rep. Dean Westlake resigned after allegations of sexual harassment. Listen now
Petitions submitted to bar payments to lawmakers if they miss budget deadline
The group Alaskans for Integrity said it likely has more than enough signed petitions to put an initiative on the fall ballot that would accomplish that. More than 45,000 signatures were submitted for the Alaska Government Accountability Act. Listen now
Walker plans to meet House nominees before making pick
Gov. Bill Walker will pick one of three finalists to fill the Alaska House seat left vacant by Dean Westlake, who resigned after he was accused of harassing female aides. Listen now
New pretrial system scales back cash bail, increases monitoring
Alaska’s criminal justice system is scaling back the use of cash bail for many awaiting trials. Listen now
Alaska state regulators urge caution to investors eyeing cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are drawing interest as investments. State regulators issued a statement Thursday advising investors to approach them with caution. Listen now