Legislature in a stall
And a photo of the first floatplane lifting off of Lake Hood for the summer season
Good morning from Somewhere in Alaska!
Legislative notes
Train wreck coming down the tracks in Juneau
A storm is brewing in Juneau. The Alaska Senate is playing hardball, refusing to release the state operating budget, blocking the seating of a conference committee to reconcile differences in the Senate and House budget, and undermining the House's equal status. Let's face it: A special session is inevitable.
The clearest indication yet that there is a special session ahead is that both House and Senate floor sessions were canceled on Sunday, and there was little activity in the building, except for a surprise hearing in Senate Judiciary on a bill that reinforces the Second Amendment. It’s House Speaker Cathy Tilton’s bill to prevent the closure of gun stores during declared emergencies, and Sen. Matt Claman, chair of Senate Judiciary, is playing games with it until House Judiciary moves his bill that would allow the government to lock up people the government deems dangerous in psychiatric wards for up to two years.
Another sign is that the governor has hired the Legislature’s chef for the Governor’s House, which means he intends to be there a lot, trying to get the Legislature to negotiate and not have to oversee a government shutdown.
Wednesday is the 121st day, the constitutional deadline.
Senate green lights boost in education funding formula
Last week, the Alaska State Senate gave the nod to Senate Bill 52, taking funding from the PFD and using it for Alaska's public schools and correspondence programs by $175 million.
First floatplane of the summer season leaves Lake Hood after the surface ice finally melted over the weekend, (with piles of snow still in the background.)
Peltola sidesteps debt ceiling; Begich calls for fiscal transparency
Whether Rep. Peltola can truly grasp the enormity of a figure like $31.4 trillion remains unclear. While most of us struggle with the concept, our Democrat-led federal government seems keen on bursting through that debt ceiling, pushing us further into the abyss of debt. A classic example of socialist spending habits.
Redistricting board convenes to address the high court's redistricting takeover
Bethany Marcum is set to be sworn in as a returning member on the board, ahead of the day's main agenda: scrutinizing the Alaska Supreme Court's ruling. The court, in its decision, let Democrats draw political boundaries in Alaska to favor Democrats.
Service High School principal steps down
The media has been unusually tight-lipped about this development, cloaking the situation in secrecy. There's more to this than meets the eye—a scandal in the making.
Four consecutive frosty Alaska winters defy global warming claims
Contrary to its reputation as the proverbial canary in the global warming coal mine, Alaska has witnessed four consecutive colder-than-average winters.
One and done: ABC cancels ‘Alaska Daily’
It was never “Northern Exposure.” The world of Hollywood is almost as unforgiving as the world of politics. This show combined the weirdness in fictional Alaska.
Texas border counties declare disasters
The declarations were made as large groups of people, 15,000 Venezuelans and 15,000 Haitians, arrived in the Rio Grande Valley seeking entry to the U.S. An additional 23,000 are reportedly en route to Del Rio.
Downing’s Daily Caller: Democrats have a Zombie problem
It’s not fun to say this, but between Biden, Fetterman, and Feinstein, we’re being led by the downright ghoulish.
Question of the Week
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This day in history
May 15, 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot while campaigning for president, in Maryland. He was left paralyzed from the waist down and was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The shooter, Arthur Bremer, a Democrat, served 35 years in prison and was released in 2007. During his parole hearing in 1996, Bremer argued: "Shooting segregationist dinosaurs wasn't as bad as harming mainstream politicians.” His probation ends in 2025.
Columns
Kreig and Vazquez: Who to vote for in Chugach Electric board elections
There are three good choices for the future of Anchorage electric rates. And three really bad choices the greenies want you to vote for. This is the last week to vote.
Did Anchorage’s superintendent break promise to Family Partnership Charter School community?
He said the principal of Family Partnership would remain. Now he says she is leaving. That was fast.
Downing: Democrats have a zombie problem
Not to be unkind, but between Feinstein, Fetterman, and Biden (not to mention Sanders and Pelosi) it is the Night of the Living Dead running our country.
Glen Biegel: Choose your school wisely
Be in alignment with the school that your children attend. If you are not, you’re not going to like the results.
Doug Vincent-Lang: Another unjustified attack by the feds on Alaska
The National Park Service is once again dividing Alaska by unjustifiably undermining the state’s sustainable management of Alaska’s wildlife. In the latest attack, the National Park Service has proposed rule making that prohibits traditional methods and means of hunting throughout national preserves in Alaska.
Win Gruening: Connecting the dots on Alaska’s higher cost of living
According to a recent survey by the Alaska Department of Labor, housing became less affordable in all parts of Alaska in 2022.
Stephen Moore: Saving Alaska from the biggest tax hike in state history
Alaska is America’s Saudi Arabia when it comes to bountiful energy resources, but thanks to Biden’s anti- drilling and anti-mining policies, energy production in the state is way down. This red state is considering the worst possible fix: enacting one of the biggest tax increases ever seen in Juneau.
David Williams: Devastating Alaska’s oil industry won’t help taxpayers
Alaska is at a crossroads. The state is facing a challenging budget situation exacerbated by inflation, Covid, and the Biden Administration’s failed economic policies. Which road it chooses now will determine its economic future. One road leads to renewed prosperity. The other leads to more economic pain for consumers and taxpayers.
Linda Boyle: What will you do when the next ‘pandemic’ comes?
The last pandemic taught us a lot about what the government will do to suppress free speech and to wreck the lives of those who dare question the narrative.
Corri Feige: Bait and switch tax policies are killing Alaska’s reputation
Alaska has a credibility problem. We have a habit of attracting investment, especially in our oil and gas sector, and then changing the rules after companies have come and made a commitment, by investing and doing business in our state.
Tim Barto: Who is Alaska Baseball League’s new commissioner?
Seeing challenges from other summer wood-bat leagues, as well as concerns by college coaches about pitch counts and playing time, the ABL decided to hire Chip Dill. (He looks a bit like Kevin Costner, if we’re honest.)
Hans Rodvik: The need for servant leaders in politics
What do Lao Tzu, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Nordstrom all have in common? Each of these powerful leaders and brands adhere to the leadership model of servant leadership.
Bronson and Johnson: Let's make year-round shelter a priority
This is a warning call before next winter; we need year-round shelter. Cities and towns across the country struggle to provide adequate shelter to those in need, particularly during the winter months.
Alaska oil: $76.20
Henry Hub gas: $2.19
Alaska North Slope Production: 485,528
Permanent Fund (principal and earnings reserve): $76,835,200,000
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