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Current Topics
Alaska child care advocates want subsidies and tax credits caught in legal limbo - and more. Anchorage Daily News
Child care providers and workers have long struggled with low wages, high turnover and meager benefits. Parents have complained of long waitlists and soaring costs at child care centers.
Long lines and canceled rentals: Firings bring chaos to national parks. Anchorage Daily News
President Donald Trump’s purge of federal employees is not only upending the lives of National Park Service workers, but is also threatening to harm the visitor experience at national parks across the country. The problems are expected to escalate during the summer season, when more than 100 million Americans and international tourists typically visit the 63 national parks in the United States.
Arctic Issues
To safeguard the Arctic, Trump should work with Denmark and Greenland. Atlantic Council
Today, Greenland operates as an autonomous entity within the Kingdom of Denmark, a complex relationship reflecting both shared heritage and evolving geopolitical dynamics. Approximately 17,000 Greenland-born people live in Denmark, while many thousands of Danish-born residents live in Greenland. This extensive personal and familial connection underscores the intertwined histories of the two nations, with centuries of interaction between Inuit and Danes shaping modern Greenlandic society.
Economy
Alaska House lawmakers begin hearings on high priority pension bill. Alaska Public Media
"This is structurally so different that it's barely recognizable," he told the House Finance Committee. "It’d be like comparing a rotten apple on an old tree to a robust pear on a living tree — they're both fruit, but it ends there."
(My comment: This proposed retirement program would actually save employers and the state money, as it retains skilled, experience employees.)
Alaska beer prices could go up, trade association president worries about aluminum, steel tariff hike. Alaska's News Source
'Catastrophic': federal disabilities act in jeopardy has Alaskans concerned. Alaska's News Source
Money becomes more precarious. Axios
Money is the bedrock of our capitalist system, but recent moves from the Trump administration have made that foundation feel a bit squishier. When the public loses faith in money objects, that unmoors us and can make things feel dangerously uncertain. Driving the news: When New York City Comptroller Brad Lander checked one of the city's 26 bank accounts on Wednesday, he noticed that $80.5 million had disappeared, clawed back by its sender, FEMA, seemingly on the orders of Elon Musk.
Which states get more federal money than they send. Axios
Each state's balance of payments reflect how much federal money is distributed there (in the form of programs like Medicaid and SNAP, for example) versus how much money residents and businesses send to the federal government (via income or employment taxes, for instance).
Alaska Marine Highway System 'going the wrong direction' on staffing, director says. Anchorage Daily News
The state can’t compete with other employers’ compensation, meaning that many wheelhouse workers leave as soon as they are trained, he said. Pilot positions in Washington state’s ferry system pay 25% more than Alaska does. “We have a lot of employees that tell me, ‘I’m here because I’m tier one or tier two (of the state pension system). If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here,’” he said. “That benefit has been an anchor for a lot of our employees.”
How a risky state investment in seafood cost Alaskans millions and left a fishing town in crisis. Alaska Beacon
The trustees of Alaska’s Permanent Fund, an $80 billion savings account whose earnings provide residents with annual dividends and help pay for government services, decided to invest more money in companies with ties to Alaska. More than $29 million went to Peter Pan, according to figures provided by the Permanent Fund’s current board chair. The deal ended disastrously last year with the company’s liquidation, hundreds of unpaid creditors and a likely total loss for Alaskans on their investment.
Education
State spent $47M on correspondence allotments last year, new report shows. Anchorage Daily News
The state reported that students and their families used $47.2 million during the 2024 fiscal year. Some students are eligible to bank unused allotments for future school years until graduating. Other students use less than the total funding available to them — which ranges from $3,953 to $1,600 per year, depending on the program. Of the expenses aggregated by the state — $26 million, or 55% — were reported as falling into the category of “supplies, materials and media.” Further details on the kinds of supplies, materials and media purchased were not collected by the state.
Opinion: The Anchorage school budget deficit is drowning opportunities for students. Anchorage Daily News
Students are the future of Alaska. If we want our state to progress, we need to fund the single most important thing that develops better citizens: education. Investing in our schools is investing in Alaska. It is unjust and illogical for our state to devalue education. These cuts lie in the responsibility of our representatives and legislation. Delving further, this matter ultimately lies in the responsibility of the voters: Alaskans.
Health Care
Sen. Stevens holds out hope to address ongoing issue of high rates of Alaska's vaping teens. KMXT
The Kodiak Island Borough School District’s superintendent Cyndy Mika said in an emailed statement of support that, “As educators, our top priority is the health and well-being of our students. Raising the legal age for purchasing and possessing e-cigarettes and cigarettes to 21 through Alaska SB 24 and HB 49 is a critical step in protecting young people from the dangers of nicotine addiction and lifelong health risks. These measures help keep harmful products out of the hands of our youth and reinforce the importance of making healthy choices.”
(My comment: I’m told that the Anchorage School District had to suspend a 1st grader for vaping at school. Folks, vaping is another addictive action that starts a young person down a destructive path. This bill passed last year and was vetoed by the Governor; hard to believe a governor could be so out of touch.)
Reducing federal dollars for Medicaid expansion could cut millions from the rolls. Alaska Beacon
One idea under consideration by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is to shrink the current 90% federal funding match for states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Under the proposal, Congress would reduce the federal match for the expansion population to the percentages states get for the traditional Medicaid population — 50% for the wealthiest states and 77% for the poorest ones.
DTap and Tdap Effectiveness in Children. SOA Epidemiology Bulletin
Vaccination proved an effective safeguard for kids during Alaska's pertussis spike, report says. Alaska Beacon
The full course of vaccination was about 93% effective in preventing the disease among young children during last years’ dramatic increase in cases, according to a bulletin released by the Alaska Division of Public Health’s epidemiology section. Children who were partially vaccinated had about an 85% protection rate.
9 states poised to end coverage for millions if Trump cuts Medicaid funding. Stateline
With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block. More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That’s because the states have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls.
Mapped: Medicaid coverage by state. Axios
About 1 in 5 Americans have Medicaid, ranging from about 11% of people in Utah to 34% in New Mexico, per a KFF analysis.
(My comment: In Alaska, 1 on every 3 people are covered by Medicaid.)
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