Begich Says ‘Bring it on’
Now that former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan has won the Republican Primary, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is staking out his positions, emphasizing his record and his support of abortion rights.
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Alaska News Nightly: August 20, 2014
Begich Says 'Bring It On'; Oil Tax Referendum Opponents Declare Victory; Oil Vote Goes Down In State Record Books as the Most Expensive Issue Race; Report: Alaskans Aren't All That Healthy; A Susitna Valley Farm Sells Its Produce Close to Home; Yup'ik Voters Give Ballot Translation Mixed Reviews; Indian Village Totem Poles Come Down in Juneau; Peninsula Women Swim Across Kachemak Bay
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Oil Industry Puts $10M Into Oil Vote
The referendum was the most expensive issue race over a ballot measure in the state history, with the oil industry putting in more than $10 million to defeat the measure. Referendum sponsors spent a fraction of that amount, with a little over half a million raised.
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Report: Alaskans Aren’t All That Healthy
According to the recently released “Healthy Alaskans 2020,” - an assessment and strategic plan issued every decade, Alaskans aren’t all that healthy. A 15-page overview of Alaskans’ health status as of 2012 shows Alaskans are not doing as well as people in the U.S. overall in every category.
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A Susitna Valley Farm Sells Its Produce Close to Home
Most food Alaskans consume comes from Outside. There are quite a few producers who grow and sell locally, however. Last week, KTNA’s Phillip Manning visited one farm that has been operating in the Upper Susitna Valley for the past 30 years.
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Yup’ik Voters Give Ballot Translation Mixed Reviews
Alaska Native voters in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Western Alaska give the Yup’ik language primary ballot translations mixed reviews. All eight of the Yup’ik voters that KYUK talked with said they needed help understanding what they were voting on.
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Indian Village totem poles come down In Juneau
The two totem poles that stood for 36 years in Juneau’s old Indian Village have been hauled off. A work crew with a 12-ton boom truck pulled the delicate poles and hauled them to a warehouse Tuesday. They had deteriorated badly over the years, but were taken away more or less intact.
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Peninsula Women Swim Across Kachemak Bay
Early this past Sunday morning three Homer women joined the short list of athletes to successfully swim across Kachemak Bay.
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Sullivan Wins, Snubs Election Central Celebration; Treadwell Concedes
Dan Sullivan took 40 percent of the vote, handily beating Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell to win the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate. Sullivan, though, wouldn’t talk to reporters and didn’t come to Election Central at the Egan Convention Center, as winning candidates usually do.
Proposition 1 Opponents Declare Victory
A referendum to repeal Gov. Sean Parnell's signature oil tax law is trailing by nearly 7,000 votes, and its opponents are now declaring victory. When the first returns came in, the referendum was up by exactly five votes. The Vote Yes Repeal the Giveaway team marched into Anchorage's Election Central cheering enthusiastically and believing momentum was on their side.
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Dan Sullivan Wins GOP Bid; Results In for Other Races
Former Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. He will run against incumbent Democrat Mark Begich who easily won renomination Tuesday. Sullivan took 40 percent of the vote, 8 points ahead of Fairbanks Attorney Joe Miller. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell finished third with about 25 percent of the vote.
Dan Sullivan: 40.05%
Mead Treadwell: 24.91%
Joe Miller: 32.02%
Feige Losing, Stoltze Wins Mat-Su Legislative Races
Unofficial results of Tuesday's primary election are in, and it looks like there may be one upset in the Valley. Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Jim Colver could upset incumbent Eric Feige for the Republican nomination for the House District 9 race. Former state representative Bill Stoltze won the Republican nod for the Senate District F.
Dubey, Hadley, Vazquez Win GOP House Bids
Tuesday's Republican primary pushed three Anchorage candidates a little closer to Juneau. Anand Dubey had a clear lead over challenger Mark Fagnani for the Republican candidacy for House District 21. Don Hadley bested challenger Kevin Kastner for the Republican nomination in House District 16. Liz Vazquez won the Republican nod for House District 22 with more than 52 percent of the vote. Challenger Sherri Jackson finished with 47 percent.
Mallott, Parnell Easily Win Nominations
Incumbent Republican Sean Parnell easily won renomination for governor beating three other candidates. His Democratic challenger will be Byron Mallott who also coasted to victory Tuesday. Parnell and Mallott will face Bill Walker, who is running as an independent, in November.
Ballot Measure 1 – Oil Tax Referendum
Last year the Legislature narrowly passed Senate Bill 21, which offers tax cuts to encourage more drilling in the wake of declining oil production statewide. Today, Alaska voters have the opportunity to repeal the cuts laid out under SB 21. Those voting "yes" on Ballot Measure 1 are voting to repeal the cuts. Those voting "no" are electing to leave the tax reform as it stands under Senate Bill 21.
Current poll numbers are being pulled from the Alaska Division of Elections webpage.
YES: 47.78%
NO: 52.22%
98.6% of precincts reporting.
2014 Candidates for Alaska Legislature – Primaries
Two-term incumbent Eric Feige lost his race for House District 9 to challenger Bill Colver. Benny Nageak narrowly keeps his seat in House District 40 (Barrow/Kotzebue) after a tight race against Dean Westlake. Over in Fairbanks' House District 3, incumbent Tammie Wilson won over incumbent Doug Isaacson; the two were pitted against each other due to redistricting.
Steady Voter Turnout Reported In Primary
Elections workers are reporting a steady turnout for today’s primary. Nearly 10,000 voters cast their ballots early, compared to 5,000 voters in the 2010 primary.
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Modeling Indicates Fairbanks LNG Project is a Go
The state is a step closer to proving its North Slope to Fairbanks natural gas trucking project can work. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority lead Interior Energy Project is aimed at providing gas at about half the cost of heating oil, and officials say they’re honing in on the target.
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Federal Requirements Burden Small Medical Practices In Alaska
EHR, ICD-10 and PQRS may sound like alphabet soup to you. But most doctors around the country know exactly what those acronyms stand for. They are programs championed by the federal government to improve quality and bring medicine into the electronic age. But in Alaska, where small medical practices are the norm, the new requirements can be a heavy burden.
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Troopers Arrest, Charge Teen With Arson For Delta-Area Fires
Alaska State Troopers have arrested a 16-year-old male and charged him with arson for setting a house in Delta Junction on fire last weekend and for the May 15th fire that destroyed the Clearwater Lodge.
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