The Trump administration last Thursday, Nov. 20, released a plan for offshore oil and gas leasing that would open up almost all Alaska marine waters to development, along with the entire Pacific coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The Alaska portion of the plan proposes 21 lease sales through 2031, five of them in Cook […]
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“I told the president, it’s like Christmas every morning,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at last week’s staged event in Washington, D.C., where the Department of Interior secretary signed off on federal approvals to expand oil drilling, mining and road building in Alaska. “I wake up, I go to look at what’s under the proverbial Christmas […]
Read MoreI’ve spent much of my career advocating on behalf of Alaska’s small and independent business owners at all levels of government. While this sometimes meant championing specific policy proposals to help Alaskan businesses and their employees, I found that, frequently, the best thing government can do is step out of the way. Unfortunately, there is […]
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Five months after the Trump administration canceled a series of environmental grants for Alaska, including an erosion-control grant that was to have gone to one of the villages hardest hit by ex-Typhoon Halong, the fight over the money continues. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in her speech Saturday to the annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention, […]
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The sun shone bright in a clear blue sky over more than 700 Kenai Peninsula residents gathered Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Sterling Highway and Lake Street in Homer for the second “No Kings” protest to occur this year. Homer’s protest, organized by Homer Women of Action, coincided with demonstrations that took place in […]
Read MoreTo understand why the role of the U.S. in the world is threatened, take climate change: China now is producing more solar and wind power capacity than the rest of the world combined and is exporting its green technology throughout the world by building electric vehicles and batteries. Through congressional embrace of Trump’s budget bill, […]
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Certainly, Alaska’s three-member congressional delegation by themselves cannot stop every bad idea pushed by the Trump administration. It takes a majority of the House and Senate to block a presidential action, but a majority of both chambers seem more scared about their reelection chances and President Donald Trump’s social media postings than anything else. However, […]
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KBBI AM 890 and KDLL 91.9 FM join public radio stations nationwide who are impacted by Congress’s rescission of $1.1 billion in federal funding that was previously approved for the next two fiscal years for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. For the two peninsula stations, the rescission means the loss of 40% of each of […]
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The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is one of the most transformative pieces of legislation for Alaska in decades. This comprehensive package is the product of years of relentless, focused work, delivering historic wins for our state. The legislation contains numerous provisions to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource economy, deliver tax relief for hard-working Alaskans and […]
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Among all the sections in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill that will drive up the federal deficit, pour billions into defense and border security and cut federal spending on Medicaid is one item that shows Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was thinking ahead. The senator said she successfully negotiated to add a provision that delays until […]
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It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska. The latest evidence of it is his vote for the House tax bill, now passed to the Senate for reconciliation. The congressman said the bill is great for Alaska, but clearly it is not. The bill is predicted to harm the 250,000 Alaskans […]
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Library organizations nationwide — and in Alaska — are cautiously optimistic about the return of the Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants to States program following developments in multiple court challenges to President Donald Trump’s March 14 executive order dismantling the institute, and an announcement from IMLS on June 2 appropriating federal funding to […]
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The City of Homer has halted pursuit of adoption or implementation of building codes for the foreseeable future, per a resolution passed by the city council on Tuesday, May 27. The decision comes after the city received notice in April from the Department of Homeland Security that a federal grant application submitted by the city […]
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