Alaska Lawmakers Frustrated After Meeting With Interior Secretary Jewell
After President Barack Obama announced a plan to designate most of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, Alaska lawmakers seized a chance to meet his Interior Secretary on their own turf. A team of nine legislators took a break from session work in Juneau to travel to Kotzebue this week to confront Sally Jewell about those actions. But while the meeting was hyped, neither the delegation nor the Secretary described it as a showdown.
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Sen. Murkowski Says Protecting Lands Is Top Priority
Beyond filing lawsuits and requesting meetings with administration officials, there's little Alaska's legislative or executive branches can do to influence President Barack Obama's approach to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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Brent Sass Outduels Allen Moore For Yukon Quest Win
The bells of the historic Immaculate Conception Cathedral in downtown Fairbanks rang in honor of legendary musher George Attla who died this week as Eureka musher Brent Sass cruised across the finish line to win this year’s Yukon Quest.
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Jewell, Governor, Delegation Descend on Northwest Arctic Borough
Instead of Juneau or Anchorage. For two days, the Northwest Arctic Borough is suddenly Alaska's seat of power, with the governor, the lieutenant governor, the whole congressional delegation, and 10 legislators all descending on the region. But the most high-profile visitor is Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior and a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet.
Republican Lawmakers Express Doubts On Medicaid Expansion
House Republicans expressed skepticism over Governor Walker's plan to expand Medicaid in a hearing this morning. The subcommittee hearing of the House Health and Social Services Committee was the first chance for lawmakers to publicly question Health Commissioner Valerie Davidson on the subject.
“Justice Not Politics Alaska” Fighting Changes To Alaska’s Judge Selection Process
A statewide group is fighting a proposed change in Alaska’s judge selection process pushed by a Fairbanks Senator.
Judicial Council Proposal Draws Pushback
A statewide group is fighting a proposed change in Alaska’s judge selection process pushed by a Fairbanks Senator. “Justice Not Politics Alaska” director Heather Arnett says the group is opposed to Republican Pete Kelly’s resolution, which proposes doubling the number of public members appointed by the governor, to the Judicial Council, which selects state judge candidates.
Upon Filing Settlement Legislation, Walker Drops Point Thomson Lawsuit
Gov. Bill Walker has introduced legislation clarifying the powers of the attorney general when settling litigation related to Alaska’s oil and gas resources.
House Passes Arctic Policy Bill
The bill lays out the state’s values concerning the Arctic, and provides a general sense of direction for how lawmakers would like to see it developed.
Murkowski Turns Sec. Kerry’s Gaze North
Sec. of State John Kerry’s agenda these days is dominated by the world’s hot spots: Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski met with him this week to move his focus to a cold spot: the Arctic. "The secretary is very focused on issues as they relate to climate, so that aspect of the Arctic, I think it’s fair to say, he is engaged, " she said after the meeting. "I don’t think that he has the bigger Arctic picture, the other Arctic pictures."
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Corps. of Engineers Recommend Expanding Nome’s Deep-Water Arctic Port
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is set to unveil its first steps toward expanding deep-water Arctic ports, and Corps officials say the main focus will be expanding the existing Port of Nome.
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Haines Police Department Faces Serious Shortfall In State Budget
The Haines Borough Police Department and dispatch services could face a dramatic funding loss under Gov. Bill Walker’s proposed budget. It would eliminate funding the state Department of Corrections, or DOC, gives each year to law enforcement in 15 small communities. That funding is meant to help communities run local jails, but in Haines it supports more than that.
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Facing First Cuts In Years, Alaska Lawmakers Tackle The Budget
Right now, the Legislature is facing a deficit that some leaders are describing as a “$4 billion problem.” With oil prices half what they were a year ago, lawmakers are having to cut agency budgets for the first time in years. Today, the finance committees in the House and the Senate held their first hearings on the operating budget. APRN’s Alexandra Gutierrez was there, and joins us to talk about the Legislature’s approach.
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Child sex abuse survivor wants to shatter the silence with Erin’s Law
Alaska raised writer David Holthouse has told his story of being sexually abused as a child before. It’s appeared in newspapers, on the radio and on stage in New York City.
But when he spoke in the Alaska Capitol building today, it was to support Erin’s Law, a bill that would require public schools statewide to provide age-appropriate K-12 sexual abuse education.
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BOEM Assessment Suggests Shell’s Chukchi Leases Remain Intact
Federal regulators are recommending that Shell’s disputed oil leases in the Chukchi Sea be left intact. That’s the conclusion of a new assessment of Lease Sale 193 – the 2008 auction where Shell picked more than $2 billion worth of Arctic drilling prospects.
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In Rare Appearance Before The Legislature, Walker Announces Plans For Point Thomson Lawsuit
Gov. Bill Walker has announced that on Friday, he will drop his Point Thomson lawsuit against the state and instead try to address his concerns with the settlement through a piece of legislation. It’s exactly what legislative leaders have been calling on him to do for the past two weeks. But the way Walker went about it left some of those same lawmakers less than amused.
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Chief Justice Stresses Need For Rural Presence
With lawmakers reviewing the state budget for cuts, Chief Justice Dana Fabe made the case for preserving the judicial branch’s funding in her annual speech to the Legislature on Wednesday.
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Alaska Aerospace Corporation CEO Pitches Privatization
The CEO and board president of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation were before the Senate Finance Committee this morning, making a pitch, not so much for funding, but for the opportunity to move on. CEO Craig Campbell even raised the possibility of taking the state-owned corporation private.
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Lack Of Snow Pushes Iditarod Restart To Fairbanks
The lack of snow in the Alaska Range has persuaded the Iditarod Trail Committee to move the race start to Fairbanks. After a flyover, mushers say the Dalzell Gorge is impassable and the Farewell Burn area is, again, completely bare.
Lawmakers Consider Repeal Of Some Credits And Subsidies
Every year, the state of Alaska forgoes roughly a billion dollars because of tax credits, subsidies, and fee exemptions. With the state facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, the Legislature is taking a closer look at these potential revenue sources.