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Current Topics
In effort to promote wildfire mitigation, Anchorage wood lots will be free for residents starting Saturday. Anchorage Daily News
The Municipality of Anchorage will begin offering free dropoff at city wood lots this spring in an effort to encourage wildfire mitigation efforts. Free dropoff starts Saturday at the Anchorage Municipal Wood Lot, operated at the Anchorage Regional Landfill, at 15500 E. Eagle River Loop Road. That wood lot will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
DMV urges Alaskans to get Real ID by May deadline. Alaska Public Media
Starting on May 7, every air traveler age 18 and older will need a REAL ID to board a flight within the United States.
Resolution pending in Alaska Legislature urges more federal support for NOAA weather buoys. Alaska Beacon
There is particular concern about outages at a Prince William Sound site called Seal Rocks. The buoy there is supposed to be transmitting critical information about winds, wave heights and other conditions that affect the safety of oil tankers using the Trans Alaska Pipeline System terminal in Valdez. That Seal Rocks buoy, an important source of weather data for marine-safety studies, has had intermittent outages for several years and is currently out of service.
Visitors to Alaska State Capitol will be screened under newly awarded contract. Alaska Beacon
Visitors to the state Capitol in Juneau will have to go through a metal detector under a policy adopted on Monday.
Arctic Issues
Amid U.S. tariff announcements, Alaska-Canada relationship sparks discussion in capital. Alaska's News Source
“I think it represents the alignment of Arctic people, Canadian and U.S.,” Giessel said, “which, sometimes, is disconnected from the East Coast of our two countries.”
Economy
Alaska legislators look to savings account for deficit fix. Alaska Beacon
About half of the deficit in this year’s budget is attributable to lower-than-expected oil revenue. The other half is due to budget changes proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, whom the Republican minority caucuses generally support. Among the budget additions: $10 million for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, millions for wildfire firefighting, and $2.7 million to cover missed payments by the state to employees’ retirement accounts.
Trump's Social Security check change could affect half a million Americans. Axios
The Social Security Administration is simultaneously rushing to cut phone services at the White House's request. But over-the-phone help is exactly the kind of assistance many affected recipients may need before September's deadline.
With two months to go, state lawmakers' budget priorities are on a collision course. Alaska Public Media
We’re coming up on the end of March, which means the complicated, time-consuming budget-writing process is well underway. But, looming over all of it: lower oil prices that mean lawmakers are facing deficits. And unlike the U.S. Congress, the state Constitution requires the Legislature to balance the budget every year. Current estimates for a status quo budget put it hundreds of millions of dollars underwater. So that’s for basically the same education funding as last year, and a roughly $1,400 Permanent Fund dividend.
Opinion: Worried about Alaska's budget crisis? Fix this obvious tax loophole. Anchorage Daily News
Opinion: The time to protect the Alaska Permanent Fund is now. Anchorage Daily News
Stocks stank in Q1. Axios
The S&P 500 ended the first quarter down 4.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 10.4% and the broad Russell 3000 fell 5%.
(My comment: This means 401(k) retirements lost money. A large pool, professionally managed defined benefit pension is the only secure retirement plan.)
Alaska budget progress stumbles in House Finance Committee. Anchorage Daily News
Currently, the House’s draft budget for the next fiscal year that starts July 1 is around $167 million in deficit, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Finance Division.
The ghosts of trade wars past. Axios
History, they say, may not repeat but it rhymes. America's periods of high tariffs dating back to the 1800s carry eerie similarities to today's trade war escalation.
Consumers, business owners hold their breath waiting for the Trump tariffs. Alaska Beacon
Trump’s tariffs on products from Canada, China and Mexico could cost the typical American family at least an extra $1,200 annually in price increases, according to a report Lovely co-authored. The dollar amount increases when calculating for universal tariffs on all imported goods, and when accounting for retaliation from other countries.
"Liberation Day" is here. Brace yourself. Axios
"Needless to say, it would result in a significant recession," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, tells Axios in an email. The consumer impact could be substantial. The Yale Budget Lab has estimated that a 20% tariff, with retaliation, could reduce the average household's purchasing power by up to $4,200.
Projected change in disposable household income under 20% broad tariffs, by income quintile. Axios
Tariff pain is not shared equally: The less money you make, the more Trump's proposed higher taxes on imports will hurt. Tariffs are another blow to lower-income earners already struggling with higher prices.
Energy
Idaho National Laboratory unveils first-of-a-kind molten salt test loop. U.S. Dept of Energy
Idaho National Laboratory recently debuted a new molten salt test loop that will support the development of advanced reactors using molten salts. It will also be used to help support the world’s first fast-spectrum, salt-fueled reactor experiment at the lab scheduled to begin in the 2030s.
What's behind the push to revive nuclear power? Governing.com
Two identical reactors are up and running in Georgia, a turn of events that could make it easier to attract investment to the Virgil C. Summer plant. “If you turn the problem upside down,” Little says, “it’s a real opportunity.” But it’s an opportunity that still faces obstacles based on cost, safety and long delays in construction. Much is under consideration; not much is being built yet.
New wave of nuclear reactors sends states racing to the industry. AP News
With the promise of newer, cheaper nuclear power on the horizon, states are vying to position themselves to build and supply the industry’s next generation as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and paving over regulatory obstacles.
Opinion: Clean energy tax credits are working for Alaskans. Congress needs to continue the program. Anchorage Daily News
Village hopes to offset power costs with solar energy. Alaska's News Source
Although clean technologies can pay for themselves over time through utility bill savings, upfront costs remain a barrier. Rooftop solar can cost upwards of $20,000, a storage battery runs between $8,500 and $10,000, and highly efficient electric appliances such as heat pumps can be a few thousand dollars more than less efficient gas models.
No, Glenfarne is not operating two LNG export projects. Reporting from Alaska
Glenfarne is not operating LNG export projects in Louisiana and Texas because they have not been built. They are in the works, but the company has yet to make a final investment decision to build either one. Duval said he hopes to make a final investment decision on building the Texas LNG project by the end of 2025. That would be the same time frame on which he hopes to make a final investment decision on building a 42-inch gasline from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula, costing more than $10 billion.
Education
Alaska Supreme Court asks lower court to weigh in on legality of using public funds to cover private school tuition. Anchorage Daily News
In an opinion issued Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court asked a lower court to consider “whether it is constitutional to use allotment funds to pay for private school tuition.” The question is at the center of an ongoing court case that seeks to determine whether Alaska’s public homeschooling programs can be used to subsidize private school tuition.
Anchorage's school language immersion programs - among the nation's most robust for a city its size - are at risk. Anchorage Daily News
Students, parents and administrators are holding out for Alaska lawmakers to change their fate: The school board’s budget cuts came with a promise of near-total reversal, should the Alaska Legislature substantially increase its per-student funding before May 15, the district’s deadline for issuing layoff notices. A reversal would save the immersion program from cuts, but also restore middle school sports and some high school sports, the gifted and talented program and other beloved school programs.
Alaska school officials say layoff notices are going out, budget uncertainty costing districts. Alaska Beacon
School districts across the state are starting to issue “pink slip” notices to teachers and staff that they may be laid off, in what has become a difficult spring tradition in Alaska, as legislators debate how much the state will allocate to education funding next school year.
Cuts & displacement: A waiting game in Southcentral for education funding. Alaska's News Source
The Anchorage School District (ASD) announced on Monday that it could be seeing hundreds of positions displaced due to a lack of education funding. In a letter sent out to ASD families on Monday, the district wrote, “If we do not receive any additional funding by the end of the year, targeted layoffs for some job titles will likely be necessary.” Further north, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) said it is also facing major cuts. “These cuts will be significant,” Mat-Su Superintendent Randy Trani said.
Politics
Alaska elections chief 'reviewing' Trump order that clashes with state voting deadlines. Anchorage Daily News
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday to change the way elections are administered clashes with several of Alaska’s voting laws. Trump’s order, which is likely to face legal challenges, aims to require votes to be “cast and received” by Election Day.
Kansas lawmakers override veto to shorten window for voting by mail. AP News
Republican legislators in Kansas on Tuesday shrunk what already was among the nation’s shortest windows for voting by mail, arguing that problems with the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of ballots required the move. Critics called it voter suppression. The GOP-supermajority Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill eliminating an extra three days after Election Day for voters to return mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. The change will take effect in 2026.
(My comment: Yes, we depend on USPS to deliver mail ballots and the vote-in-person ballots from polling places around our state. This last November 2024 election, a contract air carrier actually dropped a bag of ballot materials on the side of the road. Mercifully there were no voted ballots in that bag (only unused materials) but nevertheless it demonstrates our reliance on multiple handlers of our ballots. To require shortened ballot delivery in Alaska is truly voter suppression. It is, in my opinion, unacceptable.)
Trump says he's considering ways to serve a third term as president. Anchorage Daily News
President Donald Trump said Sunday that “I’m not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029.
A tiny library straddling the border is caught up in U.S. - Canada tensions. Anchorage Daily News
With the frontier a flash point, Boudreau wondered what it might mean for the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, where she is president of the board of trustees. For 120 years, it has straddled the Quebec-Vermont border, with tattered black tape marking the line as it cuts across a children’s reading room. Its location was no accident. Its founders wanted the tiny library to be enjoyed by both Canadians and Americans, as a physical embodiment of the friendly coexistence of the two countries.
Health Care
Alaska House votes to increase oversight and limit time for foster youth in psychiatric facilities. Alaska Beacon
The bill would require foster youth hospitalized in psychiatric facilities to have a court hearing within seven days, a reduction from the current requirement of 30 days.
HHS turned upside down. Axios
Veterinarians, population researchers, records officers and neuroscientists were all swept up in a chaotic series of layoffs Tuesday that effectively ended the government's health establishment as we know it.
Alaska's public health programs lose millions in federal grand funding. Alaska Public Media
The federal government notified the state that Alaska’s division of public health won’t receive millions of dollars in public health grants it was expecting over the next two years. The state department of health, which oversees the division, did not agree to an interview for this story, but spokesperson Alex Huseman said by email that the grants were terminated March 24.
More than 5M could lose Medicaid coverage if feds impose work requirements. Stateline
Under an emerging Republican plan to require some Medicaid recipients to work, between 4.6 million and 5.2 million adults ages 19 to 55 could lose their health care coverage, according to a new analysis. The study, conducted by Urban Institute researchers with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, calculated that up to 39% of the 13.3 million adults in that age group who became eligible for Medicaid when their states expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act would lose coverage if Congress required states to impose work rules.
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