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Current Topics
Lack of crew continues to cripple Alaska's marine highways. KRBD
Hiring new ferry workers is a complicated process and can take months. There is a shortage of marine workers worldwide – the demand is outpacing supply. But Alaska has its own specific problems, including short-staffing on shore. Tornga says administrative vacancies are causing payroll issues for ferry workers every day. And that’s leading to a bad reputation when recruiting new workers.
Facial recognition remains unregulated in Alaska, even as it grown in use. Alaska Beacon
Alaska Airlines is planning to use facial recognition technology by summer 2024, part of a system intended to speed preflight check-ins.
Retirement out of reach. Axios
Scores decline again for 13-year-old students in reading and mathematics. Nation's Report Card
Compared to a decade ago, the national average scores declined 7 points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.
The gender pay gap is shrinking. Axios
Full-time working women had median weekly earnings of $1,001 last quarter, about 84% of the $1,185 male median.
(My comment: In Legislative service, there is wage equity- for legislators as well as staff.)
Alaska will start monitoring villages for PFAS in anticipation of new EPA rules. Alaska Public Media
Beginning this fall, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will test the drinking water in 193 Alaska Native villages to identify levels of PFAS contamination.
City of worms that can live 200 years discovered on seafloor off Alaska Peninsula. ADN
A vast city of tubeworms has been discovered thriving in near-freezing temperatures on the seafloor off the Alaska Peninsula, and some could be a few centuries old.
Alyeska Resort's newest attraction suspends you a half-mile high. ADN
In our Senate District E, there is an amazing new experience in Girdwood.
How we got interminable summer breaks from school- and what can we do about it. Governing
Our long summer vacation is a relic from an agricultural past when kids were needed for seasonal work on farms — or so we’ve been told. Since that’s no longer the case, we should lay the three-month summer break to rest, right?
Economy
Almost half of Alaska's Head Start programs could lose millions in federal funding due to unenrollment. Alaska Public Media
The potential loss of Head Start funding comes as the state faces a child care crunch, with lengthy waitlists and rising costs putting a burden on Alaska families.
After pandemic dip, women employment returns at record rate. Governing
In June, the national share of employed women ages 25-54, considered prime working age, hit 75.3 percent, the highest recorded since the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey started reporting the numbers in 1948. The share of women 25-54 working or looking for work also hit a new high of 77.8 percent in June, the third straight month it beat the previous record of 77.3 percent from 2000.
Politics
House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial. ADN
The idea — simple yet massively ambitious — revealed recent Republican thinking on how to address climate change. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists, yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers, weather disasters and rising sea levels that doesn’t involve abandoning their enthusiastic support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas.
University of Alaska picks Philadelphia-sized section of Interior Alaska to own under new law. Alaska Beacon
The land was previously selected for transfer to the state from the federal government, and the state is preparing to relinquish that request in order to have the Bureau of Land Management transfer the property directly to the university, part of a long-running plan to fulfill the University of Alaska’s federal land grant.
Dunleavy nixes Alaska e-bike bill with rare veto as sponsor says she will seek override. Alaska Beacon
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday vetoed just the fourth bill of his five-year tenure, canceling legislation intended to deregulate electric bike use in Alaska. The governor has frequently used line-item veto powers to shrink the state budget but has rarely vetoed policy bills.
Thirty-nine other states have passed laws similar to the bill the governor vetoed, and the Alaska Legislature approved House Bill 8 by a bipartisan vote of 57-2, but in his veto message and a statement provided by a spokesperson, the governor said it “creates unnecessary bureaucracy by regulating a recreational activity.”
Alaska sets rules for new nuclear facilities; vulnerable coasts are out. Alaska Beacon
The regulations arrive as the U.S. Air Force advances plans to build the state’s first microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base, southeast of Fairbanks. Copper River Electric Association, which supplies power to Glennallen, Valdez, and the surrounding area, is also considering construction of a microreactor. Microreactors are designed to function as a single, sealed module that could be transported on the back of an 18-wheeler.
Nonpartisan election administration is the norm in other democracies. Why not here? Governing
While it may not solve the distrust in elections percolating throughout the United States, moving to a nonpartisan election system might lessen it and increase overall confidence in our election system. The partisan control of election administration in the United States now serves to erode public trust and intensify partisan gamesmanship, which in turn further erodes public trust. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to join other democracies and implement its own nonpartisan election system.
Fisheries
What climate change and extreme temperatures could mean for Bristol Bay salmon. Alaska Public Media
The biggest challenge of climate change for Bristol Bay salmon isn’t necessarily warming temperatures right now. Bill Templin, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s chief salmon fisheries scientist, says it’s variability.
Bristol Bay fisherman up in arms over low salmon prices. Alaska's News Source
According to fisherman Cheyne Blough, the price of sockeye salmon hovered around $1.20-$1.50 per pound, but as of recently, the price dropped to 50 cents.
Health Care
Alaska Native Medical Center working on answers to federal governance questions. Alaska's News Source
ANTHC lost its “deemed status” on July 12. Deemed status means a medical facility is accredited and can bill the federal government for Medicare services. At this stage, however, despite losing that status, ANTHC is allowed to continue to treat Medicare patients and receive federal funding for those services. The ANTHC statement says the issues have nothing to do with the quality of care patients are receiving; rather, it says in the statement that “governance issues” are the reason for the federal action. The institution must submit a corrective plan and says that the plan will be delivered to the federal government this week.
Alaska Native Medical Center found to have deficiencies with emergency services. Alaska's News Source
This past June, CMA inspectors conducted a survey of the center and found that the facility was not in substantial compliance with federal regulations. As a result, the Alaska Health Facilities and Licensing unit will step in to conduct a follow-up to confirm compliance with regulatory requirements. If those corrections aren’t made, the center’s accreditation could potentially be in question.
FTC rescinds policy statements backing PBMs. Axios
The Federal Trade Commission sent another shot across the bow of the pharmacy benefit managers on Thursday, warning the companies against relying on "outdated" agency statements and studies that opposed more regulatory oversight and transparency of PBMs.
(My comment: SB 121, my bill, will rein in the ability of these PBMs (pharmaceutical middle men) to scoop up money from consumers and pharmacists.)
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