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Current Topics
Lawmakers have less than a week left in Juneau. Here's what to know. Alaska Public Media
Here's what to expect in the final days of Alaska's legislative session. Anchorage Daily News
State lawmakers have less than a week left in the 121-day legislative session. The Alaska Constitution gives them until midnight next Wednesday, May 21, to finish up their work for this year.
Film about Filipino nurses resonates in Alaska. Alaska Public Media
It's a theme that resonates in Alaska, where Filipinos are the largest immigrant group. They can be found at work in hospitals, nursing homes and in many jobs that are hard to fill. Filipino nurses have a long history of filling in the gaps in the nation's healthcare system that go back more than a century, when the U.S. colonized the Philippines and the military Americanized training for Filipino nurses.
(My comment: For this reason I am opposed to the immigration bans set by the present Federal government. Not only are my Filipino healthcare professionals quality clinicians and people, but there are equally great teachers coming to Alaska. The visa restrictions harm Alaska.)
As Alaska warms, Arctic Geese are skipping their southern migration. Alaska Public Media
Out on Izembek Lagoon, the water was flat and clear. Alison Williams, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, dipped her paddle in and steered her kayak toward the center of the lagoon, where the seagrass below runs thick.
Lawmakers adopt 3 bills caught in legal limbo in effort to avoid constitutional challenge. Anchorage Daily News
Former representative's lawsuit prompts Alaska Legislature to redo bills in session's final days. Alaska Beacon
The Alaska Legislature adopted several bills Friday in an effort to resolve a legal dispute that arose from last year’s legislative session.
Arctic Issues
Canada's military plans to be in the Arctic 'on a near permanent basis,' says commander. CBC
“We want to be in the Arctic on a near permanent basis," Boivin told CBC News in a recent interview. "The current approach to Operation Nanook puts us in the Arctic for five to six months a year. We're looking at being there 10 plus months per year."
Economy
Opinion: Alaska is leaving $100 million a year on the table. Senate Bill 92 can fix that. Anchorage Daily News
We can get well over $100 million per year by closing a loophole in our state’s tax code that primarily benefits a Texas billionaire.
Opinion: Is Alaska getting shorted on oil and gas taxes? We don't know. Anchorage Daily News
I read with dismay the article published on May 7 regarding the Department of Revenue’s (DOR) refusal to disclose oil and gas tax collection information to the state of Alaska’s auditors. There is growing fear that the department has not been collecting all of the oil tax revenue the state is owed over the past several years. The concern is that massive, international corporations might be getting an illegal break at the expense of hard-working Alaskans.
Help for child victims of sex abuse, other child services may lose funding in Alaska budget crunch. Alaska Public Media
Programs affecting the well-being of children were among the differences that must be addressed by a conference committee composed of three members of the Senate and three from the House.
What loosing billions in federal grants means for universities, and the nation. Alaska Public Media
In the past four months, the total, at universities across the U.S., is about $11 billion. The cuts affect things like cancer research, diabetes treatments, new wearable technology, farming solutions and studying domestic violence: research across nearly every discipline and subject. More than two dozen universities have been affected.
Energy
The U.S. nuclear base hidden under Greenland's ice for decades. The Wall Street Journal
The base was part of an ambitious and clandestine Pentagon plan, known as Project Iceworm, to build a network of nuclear-missile launch sites beneath the Arctic ice. The underground site, which was designed to store 600 medium-range ballistic missiles, reveals the extent of U.S. involvement in Greenland going back over half a century.
Politics
The price tag for Trump's June military parade could reach $45 million. Anchorage Daily News
A massive military parade and festivities planned in Washington next month will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million and will involve dozens of warplanes, hundreds of Army vehicles and thousands of soldiers from across the country sleeping in downtown government office buildings, an Army spokesperson said Thursday. The parade, to commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, will be held June 14, the same day as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
Republican tax bill on track to add more than $2.5 trillion to U.S deficit. Anchorage Daily News
The Republican tax proposal emerging in the House of Representatives would add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to nonpartisan estimates and budget experts. That fiscal hit has triggered criticism from House conservatives, who have at times vowed to vote against legislation that adds to the national debt, which is already over $36 trillion. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) may have trouble reducing the bill’s price tag, as that would require either making fewer tax cuts or steeper spending cuts in ways unpalatable to his conference.
Sky high nuke bill. Axios
The U.S. will spend an estimated $1 trillion maintaining and upgrading its nuclear weapons over the next decade — more per year than we spend on the State Department, NASA and the CDC combined, from a new Congressional Budget Office estimate.
Health Care
Sweeping Medicaid overhaul approved. Axios
If the legislation isn't significantly changed, Medicaid enrollees ages 19-64 would have to show they're working or participating in community engagement for 80 hours per month to continue receiving benefits.
Overdose deaths drop to pre-pandemic level. Axios
The drop in overdose deaths is partly due to the wider availability of naloxone, which reverses an opioid overdose, per CBS News. Narcan, the best-known version of the drug, was made available over the counter in 2023. It is standard issue for first responders and available in other public places.
14,000 Alaskans could loose health insurance with Medicaid work requirement. Alaska Public Media
As Alaska lawmakers ask Congress to protect existing federal health care programs, Begich remains noncommittal. Anchorage Daily News
As Republicans weigh Medicaid work requirements, Georgia offers a warning. Anchorage Daily News
An estimated 14,000 Alaskans, and millions of Americans, would lose their health insurance from one feature of the Republican budget reconciliation bill now pending in Congress. That element is a requirement that certain Medicaid recipients prove that they worked at least 80 hours each month. “It’s going to be creating this administrative bureaucracy and devastating amount of poor people who, despite being eligible, are going to lose coverage so that Congress can fund tax cuts for the wealthiest.”
Alaska Legislature urges DC lawmakers to extend health insurance subsidies. Alaska Public Media
Tribal leaders say cuts to federal health programs could harm Native Americans. Alaska Public Media
As many as 23,000 Alaskans would see their health insurance premiums rise, in some cases by four or five times, if Congress doesn’t act, said Rep. Genevieve Mina, the Anchorage Democrat who introduced House Joint Resolution 9.
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