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Current Topics
Anchorage
Superior Court hands win to breweries, saying they can now host live
entertainment regularly. ADN
Anchorage
judge overturns state law limiting live music at breweries and
distilleries. Alaska Beacon
An Anchorage Superior Court
judge on Wednesday ruled against a portion of a state law that had
strictly limited entertainment options for Alaska breweries.
A
trip to Juneau can be a civic opportunity and a tourist's treat. ADN
(My comment: Its true!
Visiting Juneau is a great learning experience. I wish more of our
school kids could come on trips here, as they do in the Lower 48.
Homeschoolers could learn a lot!)
Alaska
DOT releases environmental assessment on proposed 4-lane Safer Seward
Highway project. ADN
Draft
plans for the project, intended to reduce fatal crashes along a 20-mile
stretch between Anchorage and Girdwood, show widening the highway to
four lanes is preferred. After reviewing a report
with the possible environmental impacts, some residents say the proposed design would
turn the scenic byway into a perpetual construction zone and degrade
public access to Chugach State Park.
Opinion:
Alaska can’t afford to walk away from transportation funding ADN
Things That I Found Interesting
Opinion:
Social work shouldn't be a loyalty test. ADN
Diversity is not a buzzword
here. The U.S.
census estimates that 15.5% of Alaskans identify as American
Indian or Alaska Native alone. We also serve rural villages, military
families, immigrants and multi-ethnic households. “One-size-fits-all”
practices fail in a state this complex.
Equity doesn’t mean that
everyone’s experience is the same. It is the observation that
Alaskans do not start from the same ground. Travel, housing, language
access, disability accommodations, broadband and the realities of
village life shape what “help” even means. Ignoring those conditions
would be negligent. Inclusion is about whether people feel safe
enough to tell the truth in a clinic, a school, a tribal office, a
shelter or a hospital. If a client expects judgment or dismissal,
they will withhold what matters and services collapse into paperwork.
5
things to know about Alaska Airline’s new Atmos Rewards program. Alaska Public Media
There are many changes
coming to Alaska Airlines in 2026. The company’s loyalty program was
rebranded to Atmos Rewards last
August, but
the change brings more than a new name. The airline is adding
Starlink internet to their entire fleet, and soon, passengers will
pick how they accrue mileage points. We talked about the program with
Scott McMurren of the Alaska
Travelgram. Here are five things to know.
Organic,
Vegetarian or Carnivore: Whatever you eat, my lab is working to keep
it safe. NIST
The levels of contaminants
in our food supply are, generally, decreasing. That’s the good news. But we still need
to measure those contaminants and make sure our food is safe. And
measuring tiny things (and big things) is what we do best here at
NIST.
DNA
tests reveal mysterious beluga family trees. EurekAlert!
Belugas are even harder to
study than most whales: it’s difficult to observe a species that
vanishes under the Arctic ice. But now DNA analysis has given
scientists a precious glimpse into the social life of a beluga
population living in Bristol Bay, Alaska. They found that males and
females mate with many different partners over the years, which could
be keeping this small, isolated population genetically viable.
Arctic
European
troops arrive in Greenland as talks with US highlight 'disagreement'
over island's future. ADN
Denmark announced it would
increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign
ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with
White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners
— including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the
Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on
Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.
The
U.S. Arctic is "woefully unprepared," Murkowski says. ADN
As White House rhetoric
escalates about taking Greenland by force or purchase, Alaska U.S.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski suggests attention should focus more on the
existing U.S. Arctic, where “we are woefully unprepared.”
Murkowski spoke
with Arctic Today in Copenhagen as she traveled with an expanded
bipartisan congressional delegation to reassure Danish and
Greenlandic officials and business leaders that they’ll prevent Trump
from taking hostile action against the Arctic nation.
How
restoring kelp forests in the Arctic boosts marine life. DW
How
many military bases are there in the Arctic? Here are the facts. CBC News
The military buildup at the
top of the world began in the Second World War, and then receded as
the Cold War came to and end. But in the past ten years, with climate
change accelerating and Russia waging war in Europe, the Arctic has
been re-militarizing.
Yukon
earthquake reveals a fault line hidden beneath glaciers. CBC News
“What’s really unique about
the southwestern corner of the Yukon is that two of the most massive
plate boundary systems on Earth intersect at almost a right angle,”
said West. “We have a limited understanding of how that works. Some
people refer to this area as the 'train wreck of plate
tectonics.'”
Economy
Boomers
are staying in the job market as Gen Z struggles to break through. ADN
The average new hire was 42
years old in 2025, according to a Revelio analysis released Jan. 6,
versus 40.5 in 2022 and 4o in 2016.
Wall
Street bets on Washington policy plays. Axios
Investors usually expect
companies to focus solely on increasing shareholder value. Now,
companies are increasingly seeking an additional goal: pleasing
the White
House. Policies
from Washington are Wall Street's new buy signal. The
Trump administration is funding its ambitions through deals with
corporations rather than through the legislative process.
Opinion:
Repealing an outdated state statute could help grow Anchorage's
revenues. ADN
When Alaska became a state in
1959, we had a personal income tax that had been enacted by the
Territorial Legislature in 1949, and it remained in effect. In 1961
Alaska enacted AS
43.20.290, which simply says, “No tax may be levied and collected
upon the net income of resident or nonresident individuals by a
general law city or by a home rule city or any other political
subdivision of the state.”
In other words, it prohibits
local governments from imposing a personal income tax. The intent was
to keep income tax as a state-exclusive domain and not empower local
governments to adopt their own versions.
Fortune's
most-admired companies Axios
The top 10, according to a poll of 3,000+ executives,
directors and analysts.
Opinion:
Anchorage's futures lies in thinking North ADN
Education
Mat-Su
school bus workers vote to OK strike if contract talks collapse. ADN
Members of a union
representing Matanuska-Susitna Borough school bus workers have voted
to authorize a strike if contract negotiations are not finalized by
early next month. The near-unanimous vote came earlier this week in
response to bus maintenance concerns — including tire chains and
safety inspections — and gaps in new driver training, according to
officials with Teamsters Local 959, which represents the bus staff.
Lawmakers
eye continued education funding wins for 2026 session as Dunleavy
drops policy push. Alaska Beacon
Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage,
and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said it is still unclear
whether lawmakers will again take action this year to increase
education funding through the base student allocation. Tobin also
co-chairs the special task force on education funding created this
year.
An
early look at Alaska education bills for 2026: homeschool testing,
curriculums, student safety. Alaska Beacon
House
Bill 248, sponsored by Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage, would
require all school districts’ homeschool programs to maintain a
testing participation rate that meets or exceeds neighborhood
schools’ participation rates — that’s the number of students
completing statewide academic testing. If the district fails to do
so, the state will withhold funding from homeschool programs until
they comply.
Energy
Donlin
Gold becomes latest potential gasline customer. KDLL
Donlin
Gold expects 2027 final decision on proposed mine and
multibillion-dollar gas pipeline. Alaska Beacon
Developers are
proposing a
contract-carrier gas line, a change from the usual practice in Alaska.
Here, pipelines — including the trans-Alaska oil pipeline — have
tended to be common carriers, with shippers able to buy capacity as
needed. A contract carrier sells long-term deals for reserved
capacity in a pipeline, regardless of whether or not that space is
used. Though lawmakers have approved rules to govern contract carrier
gas pipelines, which would reserve space for long-term use, the
state’s regulators haven’t adopted those regulations yet.
The
AI power boom compared to history. Axios
This might be our
first AI race, but it's not America's first power boom.
Hilcorp
affiliate applies with federal regulators to bring LNG imports to
Alaska. ADN
Harvest Midstream, a
Hilcorp affiliate, acquired the Kenai LNG facility and Trans-Foreland
from its previous owner, Marathon Petroleum, last year. The federal
agency had originally authorized Trans-Foreland to build an import facility
in 2020. The new filing seeks to expand those plans.
Nuclear
energy, reconsidered: What's changed, and why it matters for Alaska. Alaska Beacon
Politics
Ballot
group submits signatures to tweak Alaska's noncitizen voting ban. ADN
Existing law states, “A person may vote at any election who is a
citizen of the United States.” The petition, sponsored by an Outside
billionaire who has donated to a slate of conservative causes, seeks
to amend the statute to read, “Only a person who is a citizen of the
United States … may vote at any election.”
(My comment: With all respect
to the 3 former legislators who are the sponsors of this – this is
silly. The law is present. Its being enforced, as evidenced by the
situation in my district, in Whittier, where some American Samoan
folks were misled by poll workers to believe they had full
citizenship. This ballot measure probably lays the groundwork for
something else, yet unknown.)
Alaska
lawmakers prefile 41 measures ahead of legislative session. ADN
A bill from Anchorage
independent Rep. Alyse Galvin seeks to require correspondence
students — homeschoolers who receive money from the state — to participate
in statewide testing at rates equivalent to those among traditional
public school students. A bill from Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andrew
Gray would allow the state to use vaccine
recommendations for children from the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
Why
the "Sell America" trade is not as bad as it sounds. Axios
The "Sell
America" trade is in focus after President Trump has
threatened to take over Greenland, leading to declines in the U.S. dollar, bonds
and stocks. The trade isn't being talked about because investors
are so worried about that threat or because they think the American
economy is crashing. It's because they think they can make more money
abroad.
1
big thing: Living history - and the future axios
DAVOS, Switzerland — In a 24-hour span in the Swiss Alps,
we're witnessing what future historians might mark as a hinge moment:
The people building civilization-altering AI, a prime minister
declaring America's global order dead, and an expansionist, defiant
American president all sharing the same tense global stage.
Trump
says people will 'find out' how far he’s willing to go to acquire
Greenland Alaska Beacon
Trump’s insistence that the
United States gain control of the Arctic island from Denmark came
just hours before he was set to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to meet
with other world leaders at the World Economic Forum.
Opinion: what voles in the
snow can teach us about fear, power and Ice encounters in Minneapolis ADN
Opinion:
Empire building or energy security? Trump’s Greenland fixation misses
what Alaska has to offer. AND
Health Care
HHS
abruptly cancels then restores mental health, addiction grants,
officials say. ADN
One day after slashing
hundreds of millions in federal grants that supported mental health
and addiction care, the Trump administration is backtracking and
plans to restore the funds, according to two officials with knowledge
of the decision.
The reversal came
after intense backlash to the nearly $2 billion in cuts by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA,
which sent termination letters to hundreds of nonprofits on Tuesday
night. The letters said their grants had been cut because their
programs “no longer effectuate” the agency’s priorities but did not
explain how, according to recipients.
Initial
Obamacare enrollment drops by more than 3,000 Alaskans after
subsidies lapse. ADN
The drop comes amid the
expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, which were implemented in
2022 to reduce the cost of health insurance purchased on the federal
exchange. For many Alaskans who relied on the subsidies, their
elimination meant a doubling
or tripling in the cost of premiums.
At
rural health convention, Outside companies rush to claim a share of
Alaska's funding. ADN
Ultimately, the impact of
the Rural Health Transformation Program could be curtailed by limits
on the use of the money. For example, the funding cannot be used to
build new facilities, despite the fact that in some rural
communities, new hospitals or clinics are among the most pressing
needs. It also cannot be used to pay for the state’s Medicaid
program, which serves one in three Alaskans, and an even higher share
when counting the state’s most rural population. The funding cannot
be used to pay for broadband internet access, even where its lack
means many of the technologies discussed would be unusable. And the
funding must be obligated by the end of each yearlong funding cycle
or else the federal government could claw it back.
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