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Current Topics
Alaska
Capitol to host military exercise including National Guard, FBI and
other agencies. Alaska Beacon
“Operation ORCA” will test
the readiness of first responders and members of the Alaska National
Guard for a terrorist attack that involves chemical, biological,
nuclear or explosive weapons.”
Alaska
detained 42 men arrested by ICE and flown in from out of state, amid
federal crackdown. Alaska Beacon
Gov.
Dunleavy addresses ICE detainees held in Alaska. Alaska's News Source
“My understanding is the
federal government reimburses for whatever use they have of our
prisons,” said Dunleavy. “This is not the first time, ICE has always
used prisons across the country in states, so this is nothing new.
It’s just being highlighted because of the issues being raised by
protesting.”
(My comment: The Dept
of Corrections has had huge expenses for overtime, with multiple
staff vacancies. How will this state be providing adequate
security in our prisons for added prisoners, without considerable
concerns about staffing and safety?)
ICE
pauses raids on farms, restaurants, hotels. Axios
In a surprise
turnaround, ICE agents were instructed to pause most raids and
arrests at farms, hotels and restaurants. "Effective
today, please hold on all work site enforcement
investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and
meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels," a
senior ICE official, Tatum King, wrote to regional ICE leaders
on June 12.
Things That I Found Interesting
Charted:
What we speak. Axios
Chinese, Tagalog and
Vietnamese are the three most commonly spoken languages in the
U.S. other than English and Spanish.
Economy
Don't
hold your breath for rate cuts. Axios
The new numbers are
the worst of all worlds for those hoping for Fed interest rate cuts —
including the guy in the Oval Office. The Fed is on high alert
for any meaningful deterioration in the labor market, which could
trigger interest rate cuts to try to fulfill its mandate for maximum
employment.
Alaska
Permanent Fund value reaches all-time high despite recent market
turmoil. ADN
Permanent Fund investment
earnings provide roughly 60% of state revenue each year. They fund
state services and the annual Permanent Fund dividend.
Oil is expected to provide around $1.6 billion in state revenue during
the fiscal year that starts July 1. The Permanent Fund will
contribute $3.8 billion over the same period.
(My comment: The Fund is
doing exactly what it was intended to do – make non-renewable oil
revenue into renewable investment income. It was never intended
to provide a dividend as its core mission. Its core mission was
revenue for state services. Our investment team, while
underpaid, is doing a fantastic job.)
The
World Bank's next steps on nuclear. Axios
The World Bank's board
yesterday ended the institution's longtime ban on nuclear energy
finance. The bank and other multilateral development banks are
important funders of development projects and can also provide
technical aid and other assistance.
Energy
Praise
but no firm promise, as Trump administration officials talk Alaska
oil and gas. Alaska Beacon
An expression of interest
isn’t a firm commitment, and no investors said this week that they
will back the project. Officials from Japan, Korea and other nations
— possible customers for Alaska gas — visited the state this week but
made no announcements.
Amid
gas crunch, Alaska could revoke leases from a company whose drilling
has stalled. Northern Journal
The company has held leases
at Cosmopolitan for more than a decade. It conducted initial drilling
several years ago but has not drilled any new wells since 2019,
according to state records.
Charted:
The coming LNG wave. Axios
A historically large
wave of new LNG is heading for global markets this decade.
Alaska's
Energy Failure. Alaska Landmine
Alaska’s energy crisis is
self-imposed. If we decided to invest in Susitna-Watana and the
gasline, we would all be far better off. Instead, we always want
someone else to pay, whether it be the federal government or oil
companies. For some perspective, since 2019 Alaska has paid out more
than $5 billion in dividends, nearly enough to build the
Susitna-Watana dam.
Offshore
in Cook Inlet, a 'silent economy' hunts for gas to keep Alaska
running. Northern Journal
“When you think about that
risk and that massive expense of drilling — the market's changing,
and I think people are becoming more aware that this is dangerous for
a company, and we can't put all the risk just on the producer,” John
Sims said, pointing to the need for the state-sponsored loan to
Furie.
Opinion:
Can an Alaska gas pipeline be built by 2028 or 2029 like the governor
says? Time for a reality check. ADN
(My comment: Answer:
No. The gas pipeline is another mirage from the Governor.)
Education
1
big thing: Brain drain begins. Axios
But professors
say this isn't entirely realistic."In hard sciences, in
astronomy and physics and computer science, for example, there's no
way you would fill that hole with local applicants of comparable
quality," says Chris Impey, an astronomer at the University of
Arizona.
(My comment: Our
University of Alaska draws many excellent foreign students into
engineering and science programs. They enrich the programs and raise
the competition. Everyone is challenged to excel then.)
Opinion:
UAA's College of Health is empowering Alaska's future one nurse at a
time. ADN
As Alaska’s flagship
institution for health education, UAA’s College of Health (COH) is
not only preparing students for high-demand careers — it is
transforming lives and strengthening communities across the state.
Politics
1
big thing: GOP backing for wind and solar is cratering. Axios
Nuclear support is growing
across the aisle. Sixty-nine percent of GOP and GOP-leaning
respondents want to see more nuclear power, up from 51% in
2016. Among Dems and Dem-leaners, it's at 52%, up from 38% in
2016.
1
big thing: MAGA base waits for payoff. Axios
But so far, the
clearest financial rewards of Trump's tenure are flowing upward — to
wealthy donors, family members, insiders, and the president himself.
Five
months after Trump order, most federal agencies are using 'Gulf of
America,' Mount McKinley. Alaska Beacon
On Friday, the federal agency
in charge of offshore oil and gas drilling announced that it will be rewriting its core
regulations to replace all references to “Gulf of Mexico” with “Gulf
of America.” That order also
officially renamed Denali to Mount McKinley, the name used by the
federal government between 1896 and 2015 for North America’s tallest
peak.
Canada
plans to meet NATO spending target early and reduce reliance on US
defense, prime minster says. ADN
Canada will meet NATO’s
military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense
spending away from the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said
Monday, asserting that Washington no longer plays a predominant role
on the world stage.
Begich
joins U.S. House Republicans in voting to claw back public
broadcasting. Alaska Beacon
The rescission would be
enormously significant for Alaska’s public broadcasters, particularly
those in rural Alaska. High
Country News has reported that many of Alaska’s rural public radio
stations are heavily dependent upon funding from the federal
government.
Health Care
1
big thing: Medicaid work rules' bureaucratic nightmare. Axios
“The experience in Arkansas
was that the people who lost coverage because of the work
requirements for the most part became uninsured," said Jennifer
Tolbert, deputy director of the Medicaid program at KFF. "There
was no increase in the share of those working." "In all of
these states, we see time and again that the people hurt include
workers who are supposed to be exempt, including people with
disabilities who are supposed to be exempt."
'Nothing
you can do except stand here': Public assistance office keeps
Alaskans waiting. ADN
The division for years has
been struggling to follow state and federal laws governing the
programs they administer. According to a recent report from the division, less than half of SNAP
applications between November and April were processed within
federally required timelines — seven days for expedited applications
and 30 days for other applications.
Opinion:
We need Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan to stand with Alaskans on
Medicaid. ADN
After federal budget
reconciliation legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives
by a single vote, Alaskans are counting on Sens. Murkowski and
Sullivan to block a devastating attack on Medicaid health coverage.
The stakes could not be higher. If this legislation passes, tens of
thousands of Alaskans will lose their healthcare benefits.
Opinion:
The Big Beautiful Bill would be a disaster for Alaska health care. ADN
Make no mistake: this bill
would gut the Affordable Care Act, slash Medicaid funding and force
Alaska to implement costly bureaucratic hurdles that make it harder
to access care. According to the nonpartisan Joint
Economic Committee, as many as 33,000 Alaskans could lose their health
coverage if this bill becomes law.
The
false promise of Medicaid work requirements. Governing
Millions are likely to lose
health insurance, and there is no credible data that imposing such
rules would save money. They would hurt rural communities and red
states as much as blue ones.
Florida
moves to make Medicaid benefits permanent for some disabled. Governing
A proposal under the state
budget would end the need for people with intellectual or
developmental disabilities to qualify annually. Instead, they would
be considered permanently eligible unless their circumstances or
conditions change.
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