Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
Sullivan Allowed to Keep In-State Tax Credits in Maryland
Maryland tax collectors had good news for Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan today, and perhaps bad news for his campaign. Maryland authorities say he doesn’t have to repay about $5,000 in homestead tax credits he received from 2006 to 2008, for a home he owned in Bethesda. Only owners claiming a home as their principal residence are entitled to the credits.
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How Should U.S. Lead in the Arctic?
Arctic experts and policymakers gathered at a Washington, D.C. think-tank today to focus on how the U.S. might wield its leadership when it assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council next year. Recommendations ranged from the lofty to the concrete.
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Another Begich Ad Alleges Alaska’s U.S. Senators Co-operate
Sen. Lisa Murkowski keeps trying to shake him off, but Sen. Mark Begich continues to insist they have a good working relationship.
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Seismologist Says It’s Time to Talk About Earthquake Early Warning
Yesterday’s 6.2 earthquake in Southcentral Alaska struck without warning. Because that’s what earthquakes do here in Alaska. But state seismologist Michael West says now is the time for Alaskans to discuss the possibility of building an earthquake early warning system.
US Chamber of Commerce Pledges “Full Weight” to Sullivan
A new Dittman Research poll shows Republican Dan Sullivan is six points ahead of Democrat Mark Begich in the U.S. Senate race. The research was funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It ran a pro-Sullivan ad in April and today officially announced it’s endorsement of Sullivan.
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Forrest Dunbar: The Millennial Who Aims to Unseat Don Young
The Alaska Congressman's Democratic challenger is a Yale-educated attorney, raised in Eagle and Cordova. Dunbar is a first-time candidate running a serious campaign on a relative shoestring.
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Murkowski Backs Sullivan in TV Spot
U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan has a new campaign ad featuring the person he hopes to call a colleague: Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
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Murkowski Presses FDA To Clarify Spent-Grain Rule for Brewers
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, along with beer-makers around the country, is celebrating a recent clarification from the Food and Drug Administration about spent grains.
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Alaska Delegation Review 113th Congress
The U.S. House and Senate are on recess now. When lawmakers return it’ll be after the November election for a lame duck session that will end the 113th Congress.
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Alaska Delegation Divided on Arming Syrian Rebels to fight ISIL
Congress today approved President Obama's request to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight the terrorist group known as ISIL, but no one in the Alaska delegation was happy about it.
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Sullivan Supports State Minimum Wage Boost He Once Opposed
In a reversal, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan says he supports a ballot measure that would increase the state minimum wage.
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Outside Money Favors Begich, But He Assails It
The U.S. Senate this week blocked a constitutional amendment aimed at reversing Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision allowing corporations, unions and associations to spend unlimited amounts on elections. Sen. Mark Begich, who has railed against outside spending in the race, voted for the amendment, although so far the outside spending has tilted heavily in his favor.
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Alaska Delegation Critical Of President’s ISIS Plan
President Obama outlined a plan Wednesday to defeat the terror group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. He is calling for airstrikes, as well as for the U.S. to support the Iraqi military and Syrian fighters attacking ISIS on the ground.
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Russia Builds Military Bases in Arctic
Russian news outlets report ships have unloaded pre-fabricated buildings to create military installations on Russia’s Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt. Both are about 300 miles from Alaska’s Point Hope.
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Bill Aims To Create Arctic Port on Bering Sea Coast
A U.S. House subcommittee today considered a bill aimed at creating a deepwater dock at Point Spencer, a narrow curlicue of land on the Bering Strait, just south of the Arctic Circle. Alaska Congressman Don Young says his bill would divide the 2,000 acre spit among the Coast Guard, the state and the Bering Strait Native Corp., creating a partnership to build a port.
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U.S. House Passes Bill to Allow Sale of Feathery Art
The U.S. House today passed a bill to allow Alaska Natives to sell handicrafts that include the feathers of migratory birds. Alaska Congressman Don Young, who sponsored the bill, says it will end a "bizarre policy" that allows Native people to hunt the birds and make handicrafts from feathers but not sell their creations.
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Support Alliance Endorses Sullivan for Senate
U.S. Senate challenger Dan Sullivan has won a rare endorsement from the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. Sen. Mark Begich nets the purse seiners.
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Dems Ask Maryland to Investigate Sullivan Tax Breaks
Maryland tax authorities said this week they’ll investigate whether Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan improperly benefited from tax breaks intended for Maryland residents for a house he owned in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
As it turns out, Sullivan’s history of voting in Alaska elections may cost him.
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Politifact Rates Begich Ad “Pants on Fire”
The fallout continues after U.S. Sen. Mark Begich aired a campaign ad blaming his opponent for a sentencing error that freed a sex offender now charged in a double homicide.
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Begich Campaigns Removes Controversial ‘Crime Scene’ Ad
The campaign of Sen. Mark Begich has taken down a controversial TV ad entitled “crime scene” that began airing Friday. The ad featured a retired Anchorage police officer who says Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan let sex offenders off with light sentences.
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