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Current Topics
NIST updates critical wildfire evacuation and sheltering guidance. NIST
NIST’s ESCAPE report is the first comprehensive guide for how to address no-notice wildfire evacuations at the community level. The latest version of the report makes improvements based on community feedback and research on recent wildfires.
Opinion: Without quality, affordable childcare, Alaskan's workforce can't work. Anchorage Daily News
Every morning across Alaska, tens of thousands of parents wake up, get their kids ready and head to work — thanks to the vital support of early childhood education and child care services. These services allow more than 50,000 Alaskans to participate in the workforce, generating an estimated $4.6 billion in earnings for our economy. That’s one in every seven workers in the state who rely on some form of child care just to get to work each day.
Opinion: Meals, family support, independence. What $3 million means to Alaska seniors. Anchorage Daily News
Alaska has the fastest-growing senior population in America. In order for this important group to continue living independently, avoiding costly state-funded care options, the state needs to step up. We need a $3 million increase for senior community grants so senior centers can maintain basic critical services such as meals, transportation, family caregiver support and information and referrals for older Alaskans in communities across the state.
1 fun thing: America's top state. Axios
Louisiana, Alaska, Mississippi, New Mexico and West Virginia were the bottom five.
(My comment: Alaska was 2nd from bottom!)
ATVs driven on public roadways must be street legal, troopers say. Alaska Public Media
“It can only be operated on roadways that have speed limits less than 45 miles an hour,” he said. “Have to have it registered with DMV. Have to carry insurance. Has to meet all of the standards that DMV has set for those vehicles.”
Arctic Issues
US eyes Aleutian military revival as Russia, China expand operations near Alaska. Alaska Beacon
Experts warn that, if Chinese nuclear-armed submarines reach the Arctic, it would significantly enhance Beijing’s second-strike capability against the United States. The shortest missile flight path to the continental US is over the Arctic. Russia’s air presence in the Bering and Arctic regions is also growing. A senior Alaskan commander told reporters in 2021 that US intercepts of Russian aircraft near or inside the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone had reached a post-Soviet high.
Alaska Legislature urges support for Alaska-Canada relationship. Anchorage Daily News
After being approved by the Senate, the resolution now heads back to the House for a concurrence vote. Lawmakers there are expected to approve the Senate’s changes, which would send a copy of the resolution to Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alaska’s congressional delegation, and others.
Alaska Legislature rejects call for Canada as 51st state, opposes 'restrictive trade measures'. Alaska Beacon
Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, noted the amount of trade that goes across the border between Alaska and Canada. “The purpose of HJR 11 is to remind Alaskans that we have an important relationship with Canadians, those shared values of Arctic partners, our relationship as good neighbors, and keeping our partnership with Canada alive isn’t just good policy, it’s critical to the way we live,” she said.
Economy
When the president does and doesn't, own the economy. Axios
The U.S. economy is a mighty tanker ship, slow to turn. So much so that presidents usually don't affect its short-term course. The exception is when they take sweeping, rapid action on a massive scale.
Manufacturing sector shrinks again. Axios
"The most important topic is tariffs," a respondent in the food manufacturing industry said — among the anecdotes that universally suggested tariffs were hurting business. "Supplier relationships are strained by pain-share negotiations, and competitors are gaining share by importing from lower-tariff regions."
Where gas is really just $1.98 a gallon. Axios
Last week, Trump triumphantly announced that "Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years," even as the average price at the pump was $3.18. Gasoline did touch $1.98 briefly in April, but not at any pump in the country.
How the trade war affected one container ship. Axios
Their calculations show that on a ship containing $564 million worth of merchandise, the tariffs amounted to $417 million over preexisting import costs.
To fund education programs, Alaska lawmakers look to tax Netflix and Amazon. Alaska Public Media
Opinion: Here's how Alaska can fund education using new revenue without creating new taxes. Anchorage Daily News
Senate Bill 113 would change the way many companies calculate their state corporate income taxes. Backers are pitching it as a tax on large, out-of-state businesses. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, told the House Finance Committee on Friday that the bill would change the state’s corporate income tax system to require businesses to pay taxes on the money they bring in from Alaska customers.
(My comment: The Alaska State Chamber opposes this internet sales tax. They are WRONG in asserting that it will tax small business. No small business is a C Corporation (IRS Tax designation).)
Energy
Short-term Energy Outlook. U.S. Energy information Administration
Global oil prices. We expect crude oil prices to fall over much of the forecast period. The Brent crude oil spot price averaged $68 per barrel (b) in April. In our forecast, increasing oil production outpaces annual oil demand growth, which rises by around 1.0 million barrels per day (b/d) in both 2025 and 2026, leading to the accumulation of oil inventories globally. We expect the rising inventories will result in the Brent price averaging $62/b in the second half of this year and falling to $59/b next year.
Trump plans nuclear power push. Axios
The White House is planning executive action soon to try to speed nuclear reactors' deployment. One or more orders will likely lean heavily on the Defense and Energy Departments as a way to meet soaring energy demand.
(My comment: Eielson AFB micronuclear reactor could be propelled forward if the White House puts money into the effort. This would be a game changer for energy in the Interior.)
Education
For Alaska legislators, it's try, try, try again on big public education funding effort. Alaska Beacon
Alaska Legislature broadly approves compromise education bill that legislators day could survive Dunleavy veto. Anchorage Daily News
House education funding bill with $700 BSA increase heads to governor's desk. Alaska's News Source
Bipartisan vote sends $700 school funding boost to Gov. Dunleavy's desk. Alaska Public Media
Career academy courses available to Anchorage students next school year. Alaska Public Media
Starting next fall, 10th-12th graders can begin taking career-focused courses through the Academies of Anchorage program at each of the district’s eight comprehensive high schools. Students will be able to choose from elective courses in construction, health services, leadership in law and public service, and many more.
How money matters: Education funding for student outcomes. Learning Policy Institute
First, the U.S. has one of the highest child poverty rates among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Additionally, compared to peers in other industrialized nations, U.S. children living in poverty have less access to social supports such as universal health care, housing subsidies, and universally available high-quality preschool. As a result, U.S. schools carry a larger share of the responsibility—and costs—for ensuring students have the necessary supports to learn and grow.
Opinion: We need heroes. Alaska after-school programs are full of them. Anchorage Daily News
When we think of superheroes, we often picture capes, secret identities and world-saving powers. But if you walk into an after school program at 2:30 p.m., you’ll find a different kind — one without a costume but with just as much power to change lives. Afterschool staff are the unsung heroes of our communities, quietly shaping futures and saving the day for families, students, schools, and communities alike.
Politics
Musk Interview: DOGE here to stay. Axios
Musk insisted his transition doesn't mean DOGE was done. "DOGE is a way of life, like Buddhism," he said. "Buddha isn't alive anymore. You wouldn't ask the question: 'Who would lead Buddhism?'"
How Trump wants to reshape federal spending. Axios
The administration's discretionary spending proposals are a story of winners and losers. The homeland security budget proposal boosts spending by 64.9%, or $42 billion. It boosts the defense budget by 13.4%, or $113 billion. It slashes spending for the State Department and international aid programs by 83.7%, or $49 billion; Housing and Urban Development by 43.6%, or $34 billion; and Health and Human Services by 26.2%, or $33 billion.
Golden Age... for Trumps. Axios
President Trump warned American families this week that they may have to make do with fewer — and more expensive — holiday toys. But for Trump's own inner circle, a veritable Golden Age is well underway
Alaska governor's staff warns executive branch away from state Capitol in session's last days. Alaska Beacon
As the Alaska Legislature enters the last weeks of its regular session, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has warned department staff against entering the state Capitol unless they have special permission from the executive branch.
(My comment: Not only has the Governor been absent from Juneau nearly the entire session, he is now prohibiting any staff from being present in person. Why? What does he fear?)
Health Care
Hospitals grapple with tariff fallout. Axios
The pandemic spawned more domestic manufacturing of medical gear — and an anticipated reduction in dependence on overseas suppliers. But many of the startups have since disappeared, the New York Times reported, leaving the health system once again vulnerable to supply shocks amid threats like measles outbreaks and avian flu. The situation could be further complicated by tariffs on pharmaceuticals that could weigh particularly hard on imported generics.
Republicans oppose Trump health cuts: poll. Axios
A majority of Republican adults say they oppose cutting funding for health programs including Medicaid and tracking disease outbreaks, a KFF poll released Thursday found.
Out-of-pocket drug spending hit $98B in 2024. Axios
Prescription medicine use increased 1.7% last year, the report found. Overall, retail and long-term care prescriptions reached 7.1 billion, a nearly 1 billion increase since 2019. Prescription opioid use fell to the lowest level since 1999, and overdose deaths decreased 29% in 2024.
ACLU sues Alaska Department of Corrections for failing to provide adequate health care. Alaska Public Media
The Alaska Department of Corrections is the largest provider of health and behavioral health care in the state and about 4400 Alaskans are under its care. The department is legally required to provide adequate health care to people who are incarcerated. But Megan Edge with the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, of Alaska said that isn’t happening.
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