Readers pour the love on F Street

Truth on a chalkboard at an Anchorage dining spot

Jan 30, 2023

Welcome to the Must Read Alaska newsletter for Monday. Check out www.mustreadalaska.com for more great stories later today. But first…

F is for Free Speech, unless you are a bar in Anchorage

You can’t have an opinion without the political correctness police trying to destroy you. Readers have declared their loyalty to this historic bar and restaurant. Anyone else in the mood to head to F Street this week? Save me a seat.

Protecting freedom has never been more important. Be the next Alaskan to support Must Read Alaska as we continue into 2023:

Filthy and the gang sentenced to life for murder

If you see a guy with “Kill Cops” tattoos on his head, steer clear. Gang members got life in the pen. They’ll die there.

Legislative bits and pieces

Committee on Committees: Sen. Loki (Umlaut) Tobin was added to Judiciary, and Sen. Donny Olson is subtracted.

Pro-Life hot potato: Pro-life bills usually go to H&SS, but Sen. Shelley Hughes’ pro-life bill went straight to Judiciary. Senate Prez. Gary Stevens chose not to put it in H&SS first, where such bills usually start. Instead, Sen. Matt Claman will abort the bill. Read the bill at this link.

Alaska Mental Health Trust: The trust has $37.68 million available to spend, the most in history. Most goes into state programs. Glance through the presentation to Senate Finance here.

Looking for more detail on budget? Subcommittee books are at this link.

Supplemental budget due Tuesday: Jan 31 is the 15th day of session, and the supplemental bill is due. The governor can request supplemental appropriations, which are usually divided into "fast-track" and a "slow-track" bills.

North Slope crude production up: North Slope crude oil production, which averaged 476,490 barrels per day in fiscal year ‘22 is expected to increase to 490,000 barrels per day in fiscal year ‘23, and continue to 549,000 barrels in fiscal year 2028.

Price of Alaska oil: $82.65
Price of Henry Hub gas: $3.11
Alaska North Slope Production: 488,345
Permanent Fund (principal and earnings reserve): $78,705,200,000

Sen. Giessel, once Alaska’s pro-life champion…

It’s a rare occurrence when people go from pro-life to, shall we say, pro-death. Almost always, as people age, they understand life as sacred. Not Cathy Giessel, though. She has done a 180 on abortion.

Killer pill: Report shows fentanyl in Alaska was enough to kill us all

Report to Legislature shows 13.4 million fatal doses were seized in 2022.

Rep. Peltola skips out on vote to protect Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Mary voted on the amendments — all 77 of them. Then she cut class. Where is the courage of Don Young?

But wait … there’s more: Peltola had to use the bathroom

When asked by a reporter, Rep. Peltola said she had to pee. We ran the timeline on that — it must have been a full bladder.

Downing’s Daily Caller column on the SPR

Biden has created a national emergency by draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. My weekly column at the Daily Caller.

Pete Kaiser wins seventh Kuskokwim 300

Pete Kaiser, who is married into the Sen. Lyman Hoffman clan, won his seventh Kuskokwim 300 title on Sunday in mushy, wet conditions.

Must Read Alaska Show podcast wins gold medal

Nearly 300 episodes later, and we’ve won our first award for podcasting. We’re proud of that. This show was the one that caught their attention.

Awkward family photos

Sarah Palin, a harsh critic of the Alaska Republican Party and the party in general, showed up as a guest at the RNC’s winter meeting at Dana Point, where she and Alaska GOP Chairwoman Ann Brown, (who heads up what Palin calls a good-ol’ boy network), were photographed.

Repeat: Ronna McDaniel wins historic fourth term leading GOP

Grassroots activists are dismayed, but McDaniel has the support and won decisively. Alaska’s three votes went for Ronna.

Institute for Justice: Parent group brings swift response to NEA lawsuit over public funding of correspondence schools

NEA would take away parent and student choices, and these families say they’ll fight. Can they win? Institute for Justice usually wins.

Speaking of NEA … A reminder of who is funded by this union:

Six Senate Republicans and two House Republicans (Stutes and Ruffridge) join the list of Democrats in office who are beholden to the NEA…

Listicle: Race is on for Anchorage Assembly, School Board

Candidates have until 5 pm on Jan. 31 to withdraw. One who never filed for office is Suzanne LaFrance, chair of the Assembly.

Monday: I’ll be stopping by this event tonight. See you there?

Carbon conversation: Dunleavy hopes for carbon storage revenue

Alaska has geological formations that can store carbon and help make our natural gas more attractive to world markets sensitive to carbon footprints. The governor is jumping in with both feet.

Venmo tax: Senate bill would repeal Biden $600 IRS reporting threshold

Eight Republicans are trying to roll back the IRS requirement that hits poor and middle class the hardest. The Democrats are in charge, so don't hold out hope.

Mark your calendar: Joe Biden State of the Union

President gives his third State of the Union address Feb. 7. Who can forget when Speaker Pelosi ripped up Trump’s third State of the Union on Feb. 4, 2020? Watch that piece of history here.

Arab and North African: Biden Administration revising Census forms

America’s government is obsessed with race. All the government you can afford.

Utah bans puberty-blockers and transgender surgeries on kids

Leading the nation this year to tighten up protections. There will be lawsuits, but the governor is resolute.

Anchorage schools add half hour to school days starting Monday

School Board extended days to make up for December’s epic snowfalls. Watch those traffic patterns in the late afternoons.

COLUMNS

Ted Spraker: National Park Service rule on hunting is a big lie

The federal government is trying to apply “sport hunting” rules to Alaskans. The author is one of the top experts on hunting in Alaska and he calls BS on the NPS.

MUST READ ALASKA SHOW

Tune in to hear Kelly Tshibaka talk about her new nonprofit that will educate the American public about the reality of Ranked Choice Voting.

Tune into the Must Read Alaska Show for an interview with Wall Street Journal's Kimberly Strassel. You can watch it here on Facebook.

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