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Legislators are being held after school this month and the state is paying for the extra time because the governor did not do his homework. If that seems backward, you’re right. Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered lawmakers to stay late after class ended because he insists that they approve major big-time relief from property taxes for the owners of the proposed, possible, maybe someday Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline and export project. The governor believes the multi-multibillion-dollar project will go ahead if the state House and Senate a...
“Petersburg is straight-up beautiful,” said State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, pausing to appreciate the labrador tea and the muskeg wildflowers while walking the Hungry Point trail after a community potluck last Saturday. After the close of the 34th session of the Alaska Legislature, Himschoot visited Petersburg – part of House District 2, which she has represented for the past two terms. On the walk she reflected with the Pilot on the legislative session – it’s highs, lows, and painful vetoes. Three major bills — two vetoed Himschoot identified...
A high-stakes quid pro quo deal fell apart in the Alaska Capitol on Monday as legislators failed to approve a tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline and Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would have restored public pensions in the state. The failure leaves public employees with a 401(k)-like retirement system and legislators likely to head into a special session for further work on a gas pipeline bill. Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage and the Legislature’s lead negotiator on the planned deal, said on Monday night that ... Full story
On Thursday, May 7, the Alaska Judicial Council will hold a public hearing to solicit public comment on 21 Alaska District and Superior Court judges, plus one Alaska Supreme Court Justice, who will be on the ballot in this year’s judicial retention election. A retention election determines whether each judge will spend another term in office via voters’ decisions to vote “yes” or “no” on their retention. Retention elections are nonpartisan and they occur in evenly numbered years. The Alaska Judicial Council invites community members, including...
The Alaska Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to reform the state’s pension system for public employees, ending months of debate on future retirement benefits for Alaska’s state and municipal employees, including teachers and police officers. The measure aims to address the consequences of a 2006 decision by Alaska lawmakers to eliminate the state pension plan that guaranteed income in retirement, and replace it with a 401(k) style plan that has since left many public-sector workers without the funds to retire securely. Union leaders and oth...
Conflict in the Middle East is sending shockwaves through global energy markets. And yet again, Alaskans are wondering why, with a huge amount of North Slope natural gas, we are going to increase our dependence on some of the world’s most unstable regions. The answer, in part, is that we have failed to develop our own energy resources— including vast natural gas reserves that could supply our households, fuel our industries and military bases, and reliably deliver energy to trusted allies abroad. The good news, however, is that we are on the...
In 2019, after being selected as Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year, I worked with other award-winning educators to pen an op-ed: “Why teach in Alaska?” At the time, we eagerly co-signed as we believed in dedicating a career to Alaska students and that our legislators and community wanted a thriving public education system. My answer now is a heavy “I can’t.” My wife, Catherine Walker — the 2024 Alaska Teacher of the Year and one of four National Teacher of the Year finalists — and I are leaving. When two people recognized among the most d...
The Petersburg School District is wrapping up a lengthy roof replacement project and moving into the security upgrade phase of campus improvements funded through a 2024 voter-approved bond. CBC Construction, the contractor handling the roof replacement at Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School, is in the final stretch of that project. As of last week, Superintendent Robyn Taylor said the contractor is waiting on a shipment of 20 remaining vents before completing installation. “Once they arrive, [and once the roof is cleared of snow] i...
If the governor really wanted to improve state ferry service for the 33 coastal communities that depend on the ships, he would get out of his office and go on a national recruiting tour to help find new hires to fill the crew vacancies that jeopardize service. The crew shortage started during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s first year in office, when he cut the Alaska Marine Highway System budget, driving workers to leave for other jobs or retire. The ferries have never fully recovered from the kick in the propeller end, though the state has closed the g...
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins - former state legislator who represented Petersburg and much of Southeast for a decade - is running for governor, he said Tuesday. Kreiss-Tomkins, frequently known as "JKT," served in the Alaska House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023. He becomes the 16th candidate and third Democrat to enter this year's gubernatorial election. Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term. In Alaska, the top four vote-getters, regardless of... Full story
Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. “Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing. Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway... Full story
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in the final year of his 2,918-day, two-term career in the job, is picking at the plate of a long-term fiscal plan for the state, much like a kid skips the broccoli and wants to move straight to the dessert. The governor talks about a full menu of legislation to build a balanced budget for years to come, with enough revenue to meet expenses — a goal which has eluded Alaska for much of the past decade as the state has burned through its savings. It’s a goal which the governor pretty much ignored in his first seven years on th...
Alaska lawmakers opened the second year of their regular legislative session on Tuesday with an ambitious agenda but low expectations amid a tight budget that appears likely to draw the lion’s share of legislators’ attention. “It’s one big log jam,” said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka. The Alaska Legislature operates on a two-year cycle between elections; bills are carried over from the first year to the second, but if they don’t pass the Legislature by the end of the second year, they expire and must start all over again. Speaking Tuesday, me... Full story
A lot of time, energy and legal fees have been spent on political and court fights to limit donations to political campaigns. Supporters of campaign contribution laws say unlimited donations buy favorable treatment for people and business that write the big checks — effectively buying elections to protect and promote their own interests. Opponents of campaign finance limits say it’s a matter of free speech, and it just so happens that rich people and companies can afford to buy more free speech. In their view, the not-so-rich need to make mor...
Petersburg is feeling the impact of the federal government shutdown leaving families without their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. But local organizations are responding quickly to ramp up food distribution efforts. "It's already hitting our community hard," said Veronica Ware, the Johnson O'Malley and Social Services Director at the Petersburg Indian Association. "I've already had calls from citizens in tears because they don't have any food and they don't have any...
The state had received close to 1,100 applications for individual assistance from residents of Western Alaska affected by storm damage from ex-Typhoon Halong, according to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Oct. 25. Applications are open on the state’s website through Dec. 9. As many storm evacuees left behind or lost identification or essential documents, the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health have booths at emergency evacuation shelters in Anchorage to assist with r... Full story
Search and rescue efforts continue in the Kuskokwim River delta in the aftermath of devastating storm surge and hurricane-force winds brought by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. The storm tore homes from their foundations and sent them floating away. One woman was found dead in Kwigillingok on Monday, according to Alaska State Troopers. The search for two more people unaccounted for in that community will continue, by boat and air, the state troopers said on a Facebook post. Search and rescue is... Full story
A shutdown of the federal government is beginning Wednesday after Congress failed to find agreement late Tuesday to continue funding operations. Essential services — including Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and food-stamp benefits — won’t stop while airports will continue to operate. But the impacts in Alaska, home to a large federal workforce, could be significant. Alaska has been through federal shutdowns before, said Dave Owens, the representative in Alaska for the American Federation of Government Employees, in an interview on Tuesd...
The Alaska Legislature, meeting in special session, has overridden Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of more than $50 million in public school funding. The vote was 45-14. At least 45 of 60 legislators are needed to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto. The override eliminates a 5.6% year-over-year cut to public school funding, leaving districts with a small funding increase. Since July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year, oil prices have significantly exceeded the state’s spring forecast, and if that trend continues, the state would have mo... Full story
The Alaska Legislature overrode Governor Mike Dunleavy’s veto of state education funding at a special session on Saturday. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a $700 increase in the per-student funding formula known as the base student allocation (BSA). Using his line-item veto power, the governor reduced that increase by $200. The override undoes the governor’s veto. Both of Petersburg’s state lawmakers, Senator Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) and Representative Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka) voted in favor of the override. Petersburg Super...
The state is taking money that was appropriated for one bad idea almost a generation ago and spending it on an equally wasteful idea. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Department of Transportation, which manages the Alaska Marine Highway System, has signed a $28.5 million contract to start work toward a new ferry terminal at Cascade Point, 40 long road miles north of downtown Juneau. The money is coming from a kitty left over from a long-ago appropriation to build a longer road between Juneau and Haines or Skagway. The billion-dollar road was never b...
In a new administrative action, Gov. Mike Dunleavy is ordering “efficiency reviews” of state agencies and asking departments to use artificial intelligence software as part of an effort to identify budget cuts. The reviews will take place annually, according to Dunleavy’s new administrative order, published Monday, and would become part of the state’s annual budget process. The reviews will initially focus on “grants to non-State of Alaska entities” and “accounts payable,” according to a copy of the text available online. The reviews are int... Full story
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced his policy priorities for the Alaska State Legislature for when they reconvene for a special session scheduled to start on Saturday. On Monday, the governor called for legislators to address what he called "Alaska's chronic education outcome crisis" and to reconsider his executive order they had previously voted down, creating a new Department of Agriculture that he said would strengthen food security in Alaska. Separately, the Alaska State Legislature... Full story
The administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy has signed a $28.5 million contract for work on a new ferry terminal north of Juneau, days after an oversight board said the state had not proved that the project is economically viable. Dunleavy administration officials say the new terminal at Cascade Point, located 30 miles north of an existing terminal in Auke Bay, will cut ferry time from Juneau to Haines and Skagway by two hours. But the chair of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board — which was created by Dunleavy four years ago — says the...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has canceled a broadly supported bill proposed by a legislative task force and intended to help commercial fishers in Alaska. The governor issued his veto of Senate Bill 156 on Wednesday, marking his seventh veto of a policy bill this year. Legislators will have an opportunity to call for an override vote on most of those vetoes when they meet Aug. 2 for a special legislative session. SB 156, which was inspired by policies drafted by a joint House-Senate task force intended to evaluate the state’s commercial fishing industry,... Full story
