Vote to draw from state savings account to pay for capital projects falls short
With large differences remaining over permanent fund dividends, that means the special session will likely end Thursday or Friday with more work left to do.
$20M state grant released to Alaska schools, but future funding remains unclear
School districts across Alaska are looking forward to a bump in their bank accounts from a $20M grant appropriated last year. But the overall outlook for state education spending is far from clear.
As the Alaska Legislature fights over the budget, a decades-old accounting quirk takes on new importance
At Alaska’s state Capitol this week, there’s a lot of talk about something called “the sweep.” What is it, and why is it such a big deal this year?
Capital budget, Power Cost Equalization, college scholarships are caught in PFD debate
If an amendment to the capital budget to pay full permanent fund dividends isn’t successful, the Republican House minority leader expects there won’t be enough votes to draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve.
Federal child pornography charges against Indiana man related to shooting of Anchorage teenager
Police say an Indiana man arrested on federal child pornography charges is connected to the shooting death of an Anchorage teenager earlier this month.
Alaska Senate sends budget to governor without PFDs
It’s not clear how deeply Gov. Mike Dunleavy will cut using the line-item veto. Medicaid, the university and school bond debt reimbursement are the areas with the biggest increases over what he proposed.
Will a new policing strategy make a dent in Anchorage’s crime?
After years of expanding its ranks, the city's police department is implementing a patrol strategy based on putting officers in the same neighborhoods every day. Is it working?
Could Arctic warming be behind gray whale deaths in Alaska, and elsewhere? Here’s why scientists are asking.
Scientists aren't calling climate change or declining sea ice the smoking gun yet. But they’ve seen enough other events that have come along with Arctic warming, like sea bird die-offs, that they’re asking questions.
Alaska House passes compromise budget, leaving action on PFD to Senate
If the Senate passes the budget bill on Monday as expected, it would go to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s desk later this week. If he signs it, it would avoid a state government shutdown on July 1.
Budget deadlock could delay Medicaid payments to health care providers
Health care advocates said nursing homes and behavioral health providers are among those who may not have large cash reserves to cover costs during a delay.
US House calls for more research on ocean acidification
The change in ocean chemistry is alarming to subsistence communities and the fishing industry.
PFD rally brings out governor’s ardent Mat-Su supporters
Governor Mike Dunleavy held a rally Thursday night in Wasilla in support of a Permanent Fund Dividend amount that adheres to the law established in 1982. There was no vocal opposition to Dunleavy from the crowd.
Governor’s top staff directed Alaska’s rollback of PFAS regulations
The Dunleavy administration’s decision to defer to the EPA over safe levels of PFAS chemicals in drinking water came at the direction of the governor’s top aides. That’s according to dozens of redacted emails released following records requests.
Can the youth climate lawsuit go to trial? A federal appeals court will rule.
“The courts’ view of it is that the case is unusual enough and novel enough that it would be wise to resolve some of the legal uncertainty before trial rather than after,” said environmental law professor Sean Hecht.
Have Alaska’s US lawmakers read the Mueller report? We asked.
You can get an “I read the Mueller Report” button for bragging rights. But no one in Alaska’s congressional delegation can rightfully wear that button. Not yet, anyway.
Tanker crash kills driver, spills 2,000 gallons of diesel on Dalton Highway
A tanker truck wrecked on the Dalton Highway 40 miles north of Livengood Monday and spilled 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Bill to fund full, $3,000 PFD fails narrowly in state Senate
The bill would require an additional $1.3 billion in combined cuts to state spending and savings.
Alaskans weigh in over Carnival Corporation’s deal with federal prosecutors
As Carnival Corporation executives appeared Monday in a federal courtroom in Miami to answer for felony probation violations, Southeast Alaskans penned letters to the court urging the judge to take tough action.
Bill would provide $1,600 PFD, with aim of growing fund
Senate Bill 1002 would allow state spending on the dividend to stay within the mandates of a law passed last year that aims to allow the fund to grow by keeping draws from fund earnings at a sustainable level.
A stretch of the Denali Park Road sits atop a creeping landslide. And it’s picking up speed.
Officials at Denali National Park and Preserve are studying whether the existing path of the park’s 92-mile road can be spared from a creeping landslide, in what scientists say could be a preview of Denali’s future as its permafrost thaws.