By Editor, on May 15th, 2012 by Becky Bohrer | ADN
JUNEAU — The Alaska Redistricting Board on Monday made what its executive director called significant changes to Southeast Alaska’s political boundaries in an effort to win court approval for the plan.
Taylor Bickford said the board adopted new districts that pair state Reps. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, and Bill Thomas, R-Haines, together. Reps. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, and Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan, who had previously been paired, would no longer be. Sens. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, and Albert Kookesh, D-Angoon, would remain paired.
Read the full story in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on April 18th, 2012  by Andrew Halcro
JUNEAU–As the Alaska State Legislature begins a special session today on oil tax reform, things are a little chilly in the Capitol. Between the House, the Governor and the Senate, there are more ill feelings than in all of Bartlett Memorial.
The biggest sticking point of the two year battle over oil tax reform has been the debate over the legacy fields on the North Slope. While the Governor and the House want to include these fields in tax reform, the Senate has balked thus creating a show down.
Read Andrew Halcro’s full opinion piece at andrewhalcro.com.
By Editor, on April 6th, 2012 By Lisa Demer | Anchorage Daily News
As an internal city review of what went wrong in Tuesday’s Anchorage election moves forward, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is calling for a special counsel to investigate the matter.
So far, 59 of 121 voting precincts have been reviewed by the city clerk’s office and just over half, 31, ran out of the preprinted ballot cards at some point, according to the clerk’s office.
A vote for mayor and a hotly contested, emotional gay rights measure were among the issues on the ballot.
Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/04/05/2409681/aclu-calls-for-special-counsel.html#storylink=cpy
By Editor, on April 1st, 2012 Press Release
ANCHORAGE–The Alaska Redistricting Board today adopted, by unanimous vote, a new plan for the redrawing of Alaska’s state legislative districts.
“We believe that the new plan deviates from the requirements of the Alaska Constitution to the least degree reasonable necessary to ensure compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act,” said Board Chairman John Torgerson.
A preliminary statewide map is available for download here*. Additional maps and data will be added to www.akredistricting.org and distributed via email on Monday, April 2nd.
The Board intends to meet via teleconference next week to formally adopt a new Proclamation of Redistricting and accompanying report along with findings as mandated by the Court.
*All district boundaries are subject to technical changes pending staff and legal review prior to the formal adoption of a new Proclamation of Redistricting.
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Editor’s note: None of the Southeast Alaska districts were affected by this action.
By Editor, on March 31st, 2012 PRESS RELEASE
ANCHORAGE–ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP and TransCanada, through its participation in the Alaska Pipeline Project, announced today that they are working together on the next generation of resource development in Alaska.
The four companies have agreed on a work plan aimed at commercializing North Slope natural gas resources within an Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) framework. Because of a rapidly evolving global market, large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from south-central Alaska will be assessed as an alternative to a natural gas pipeline through Alberta.
Read more->
By Editor, on February 20th, 2012 From KINY News:
Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski will tour a host of Southeast Alaska communities over the President’s Day recess.
According to a press release from Murkowski’s office, the Senator will kick off her Southeast swing Tuesday in Skagway for a roundtable discussion there.
From Skagway, Murkowski will travel to Haines on Wednesday for another roundtable discussion at the Bald Eagle Museum before heading to Yakutat where she will meet with state and local officials at the ANB Hall there.
Senator Murkowski will visit Juneau on Thursday for her annual address to the Alaska State Legislature before leaving for Ketchikan for a press conference on Friday.
By Roger Maynard, on February 15th, 2012 By SEN. CATHY GIESSEL
The Alaska Legislature is currently considering a bill that would join Alaska in an interstate compact changing the way the United States president is elected. I have serious concerns about its true, negative, effects. The bill’s supporters promote the change as a way to ensure that “the person with the most votes wins.” I have participated in two hearings on Senate Bill 39 in the Senate State Affairs committee, and have researched the issue extensively. Again, I have serious concerns about the negative effects of this legislation on Alaska.
Read the full opinion piece in the Juneau Empire.
By Editor, on February 6th, 2012 By Becky Bohrer  | AP
JUNEAU — The Alaska Redistricting Board must redraw three Fairbanks-area House districts and another in the Aleutian chain, a state court judge ruled Friday.
Read full article in the Juneau Empire.
By Editor, on February 5th, 2012 by Dermot Cole | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS — In a wide-ranging decision that touches on such far-ranging subjects as the Peloponnesian War and Balto’s role in the serum run to Nome, Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy has set the stage for what could be a major reshuffling of proposed election districts in Alaska.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
By Roger Maynard, on February 4th, 2012 By Andrew Halcro
One of the bedrock arguments proffered by critics who oppose reforming oil taxes is that compared to other oil producing regions, Alaska is right in the middle. This is false.
Read full opinion at andyhalcro.com.
By Roger Maynard, on January 28th, 2012 By Becky Bohrer | ADN
JUNEAU — Alaska’s revenue commissioner doesn’t anticipate a repeat of 2010, when Gov. Sean Parnell vetoed a measure that would have changed the state’s system of taxing oil and gas production together.
Bryan Butcher told the Senate Finance Committee he’s thinks Revenue can work with lawmakers to develop a plan that’s agreeable to both sides.
Read the full story in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on January 27th, 2012 Alex DeMarban | ALASKA DISPATCH
Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens said Thursday that the Senate will soon hold a hearing on its own oil-tax reform bill, essentially declaring dead House Bill 110, legislation passed last year by the state House and fervently backed by Gov. Sean Parnell.
Read full story in the Alaska Dispatch.
By Editor, on January 19th, 2012 By Amanda Coyne | ALASKA DISPATCH
In a wide-ranging State of the State address Wednesday night, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told Alaskans that much of the future of this state will be determined by the actions of legislators in the upcoming session.
Read full story in the Alaska Dispatch.
By Editor, on January 7th, 2012 By Becky Bohrer | AP
JUNEAU — An explicit ban on texting while driving and a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap state spending and force saving were among the 30 measures filed Friday in advance of this month’s legislative session.
The ban on texting or typing while driving is from Reps. Les Gara and Bill Thomas. It comes as the state’s intended ban, passed in 2008, faces a legal challenge, with a magistrate in Kenai recently saying the Legislature should have been explicit if it truly meant to prohibit the activity.
Read the full article in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on January 6th, 2012 AK DOL Press Release
JUNEAU—The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s annual job forecast is 1.2 percent job growth in 2012, a modest gain in Alaska for a third straight year. The state’s employment levels dropped briefly in 2009 due to the national recession. Read more->
By Editor, on December 31st, 2011 By Andrew Halcro
JUNEAU–According to the Alaska Department of Revenue, the state will depend on oil & gas revenues to fund 92% of state spending this coming fiscal year. With increasing government costs and decreasing oil production, Alaska’s economic engine needs an overhaul.
In 2007, just weeks after successfully pushing through the largest tax increase on the oil & gas industry in the state’s history (ACES), the Palin administration proudly predicted that oil production would be 675,000 barrels per day in 2011. The actual production number turned out to be 603,000 barrels per day.
In fact, according to the optimistic projections after the tax increase was adopted, the Palin administration didn’t forecast Alaska’s daily oil production would drop to current day levels until 2022.
Looks like we arrived at their projected decline destination ten years early.
Read Halcro’s full editorial opinion at AndrewHalcro.com
By Editor, on December 30th, 2011 by Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS — Filing for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend check is a happy ritual for most Alaskans, but this year some residents have been a little too eager to get their paperwork in the mail.
The Alaska Department of Revenue has received hundreds of applications this week for the 2012 PFD and expects as many as 1,000 could arrive in Juneau by the end of the year.
That prompt attention comes with a drawback: Applications aren’t valid unless they’re signed and delivered after Jan. 1.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Mailing glitch results in early PFD filings
By Editor, on December 20th, 2011 AP | ADN
JUNEAU — Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell estimates a proposed coastal management program would cost $5.4 million a year. The program is being proposed as a ballot initiative.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on December 15th, 2011 by Andrew Halcro
Bristol Bay–The recent television ads created by the opponents of Pebble Mine have reached an absurdly new low. Unfortunately, that’s not surprising for this crowd.
Read Halcro’s opinion at andrewhalcro.com.
By Editor, on December 13th, 2011  By Becky Bohrer | AP
JUNEAU–A state court judge on Monday ruled against the city of Petersburg in its challenge to Alaska’s newly drawn political boundaries.
Petersburg argued that the new House District 32 in southeast Alaska is not “compact” under the state constitution. But Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy, in a written order, said it is compact enough to satisfy constitutional requirements, and he found in favor of the Alaska Redistricting Board.
Read more in the Juneau Empire.
By Editor, on December 12th, 2011 Press Release
December 9, 2011, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell today announced that his Fiscal Year 2013 budget will prioritize disaster and emergency preparedness. The governor’s budget proposal will include $4.9 million for emergency food supplies to be distributed and securely stored in several locations throughout the state. This appropriation, in conjunction with funding provided in last year’s capital budget for emergency power and water purification, will help communities prepare and provide critical emergency services. Read more->
By Editor, on November 21st, 2011 by Becky Bohrer / ASSOCIATED PRESS
It’s not clear how much gold there is yet to be found in Alaska, partly because the state’s geology is still being learned. But what is known points to great potential across Alaska for a variety of metals, including gold, copper and platinum, said David Szumigala, a senior minerals geologist with the state.
Over the last 20 years or so, about 200 million ounces of gold have been discovered, he said, and there’s likely potential for at least a couple hundred million more. That prospect, combined with gold prices nearly quadruple what they were in 2005, about $1,720 an ounce earlier this week, is driving renewed interest in searching for gold in Alaska.
Read the full article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
By Editor, on October 19th, 2011 By Andrew Halcro
October 19, 2011: After the ballots had been counted Monday evening, and it appeared voters of the Lake and Peninsula Borough had narrowly approved a controversial anti-mining initiative, the look on Bob Gillam’s lawyers face said it all; they had their lunch eaten.
Even though the measure passed, and even though Gillam appeared to be rewarded for his half million dollar campaign investment, the narrow 34 vote win represented a huge loss for Gillam and his anti-mining crusade and a huge win for the Pebble Partnership.
Read full opinion in AndrewHalcro.com.
By Editor, on October 10th, 2011 by Dermot Cole | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
The chances of getting moving on a major pipeline project in Alaska over the next decade for natural gas exports are close to zero, according to Pedro Van Meurs, unless the state does something dramatic.
Even then, the odds are not good. Getting buyers in Asia or anywhere else to buy 3 billion cubic feet of gas per day for the long term is a daunting challenge when the prospect of cheaper alternatives creates a desire by buyers for deals that don’t lock them in for decades.
His summary of the Arctic oil and gas fiscal systems in the report purchased by the Legislature says the state could improve the economics of a gas line by lowering the government take on a gas project.
Read full article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
By Editor, on September 28th, 2011 By Becky Bohrer | AP
JUNEAU — A Superior Court judge in Anchorage has sided with the state in a legal battle over the Pebble Mine project.
Judge Eric Aarseth, in a written ruling Monday, found that the state was not required to give public notice before issuing exploratory permits for the project site. He also found the state didn’t need to study the potential impacts of the activity first.
The plaintiffs, who include a coalition of Alaska Native village corporations, said they are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
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| Nate Beeler
The Columbus Dispatch
May 16, 2012
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Lynn Canal Map & Marine Traffic (refresh for current ship positions)
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