Nathaniel Herz, Alaska's Energy Desk - Anchorage
Bob Penney spent more than $300,000 to get Gov. Dunleavy elected. Then his grandson got an $8,000-a-month no-bid contract.
Clark Penney's company, Penney Capital, was hired to help a Dunleavy administration initiative to bring new businesses to Alaska and expand existing ones. Officials justified the no-bid contract by citing its urgency and Penney's experience working with wealthy investors.
Big parts of Gov. Dunleavy’s agenda remain unfinished. But he still has time, tools at his disposal.
With the legislative session winding down, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has gotten traction with some of his ideas, but many others have stalled. The governor's office is still holding out for more, but his allies say Dunleavy can still declare victory without passage of specific bills or initiatives.
Dunleavy administration pick for $94,000-a-year labor relations manager comes without labor relations experience
Jared Goecker started as the state’s labor relations manager last month – a job that includes helping to supervise negotiation of union contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. His boss said she interviewed several candidates for the job and that Goecker was the best fit.
An international airplane feud could crimp one of Alaska’s most lucrative fisheries
A new twist in a decade-long trade war over airplanes could crimp one of Alaska's most lucrative fisheries: The European Union is threatening new import taxes on Alaska pollock.
As Capitol reporters dwindle, Alaska lawmakers grapple with rise of political blogs
The newest member of the Alaska Capitol press corps isn't your average reporter -- he once made the news for posing for photos in a Speedo. But he's one of a growing number of political bloggers who are trying to fill in gaps left by Alaska's shrinking mainstream media.
As his crime bills languish, Gov. Dunleavy renews the idea of a special session
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, at a news conference Monday, again suggested he could order Alaska lawmakers into a special session unless they start advancing his batch of criminal justice bills.
The special ingredient inside these new gluten-free noodles? Fish, from Alaska.
The featured ingredient in the new gluten-free “protein noodles” stocked at Costco might surprise you: It’s pollock, the unassuming whitefish caught by the millions in the Bering Sea, off Alaska’s coast.
Candidate Dunleavy said he had no plans to cut ferries, schools, university. Then Gov. Dunleavy proposed deep reductions.
Dunleavy’s shifting positions on state spending and budget cuts have left critics fuming; they argue that the governor was able to make dubious claims on the campaign trail that were never debunked by a weakened mainstream media, and that that might have changed the election's outcome.
Dunleavy says money set aside for Alaska schools is subject to veto. Lawmakers disagree.
A new fight is erupting in Juneau about spending on Alaska's public schools. It centers on whether Gov. Mike Dunleavy has the power to veto money state lawmakers set aside for schools last year, for the upcoming school year – a practice called "forward funding."
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy’s red veto pen looms over this year’s budget debate
In Alaska, the governor wields line-item veto power stronger than in all 49 other states. And the high bar to override such vetoes, combined with Mike Dunleavy’s desire for spending cuts, is drawing new attention this year to the constitutional power.
Former Gov. Bill Walker lands at political ally’s law firm
Former Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has a new job. Walker, an attorney, has joined the law office formerly known as Brena, Bell and Clarkson -- now known as Brena, Bell and Walker, according to a document filed Friday in a federal case.
Aboard Alaska’s endangered ferries, passengers fear a “giant step back in time”
Step onboard the MV LeConte, where a single trip last week showed how Southeast Alaska residents have knit the state's ferries into their lives – and how they would adapt if the ships stopped running, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing.
Virginia GOP group helps boost conservative Anchorage school board candidates
An independent political group with money from a national Republican organization is running radio ads boosting conservative candidates in Anchorage’s local school board races.
For decades, the government stood between the Unangan people and the seals they subsist on. Now, that’s changing.
The tribal government of St. Paul island, in the Bering Sea, has pushed the federal government for years to relax strict subsistence rules that have blocked access to seals and forced residents to buy expensive groceries. New rules could take effect soon, but they face opposition amid a decline in the seal population.
Regulators: Top Dunleavy administration official can’t conceal consulting firm’s clients
Staff at the Alaska Public Offices Commission this week said Mary Ann Pruitt, Dunleavy's contract communications director, is required to disclose the clients of PS Strategies, an advertising and political consulting firm she owns.
As Dunleavy’s budget looms, two Alaskans see diverging futures for Mat-Su
Alaskans on both sides of the budget debate weigh in on the proposal to dramatically cut state spending to pay full Permanent Fund dividends.
Alaska GOP Gov. Dunleavy disbands state climate response team
Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has formally disbanded the task force formed by his predecessor to guide the state's response to global warming.
Two veterans of Alaska politics land contract jobs with Gov. Dunleavy
Two veterans of Alaska politics have signed contracts to work with GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and one of them is maintaining ownership of her advertising, marketing and political strategy firm even as she works...
Tourism, courts, pensions, oil tax credits: Where Alaska Gov. Dunleavy wants to spend more cash
Dunleavy is proposing to increase spending on a handful of projects and programs. They represent some of the governor's core priorities, like public safety and criminal justice, along with non-negotiable obligations, like the system that pays pensions to retired teachers and other public employees.
Gov. Dunleavy faces political, legal obstacles to enacting far-reaching budget cuts
Governor Dunleavy's power to reduce Alaska's budget only goes so far – there are legal and political obstacles that stand between the governor and his goal of a balanced budget.