|
Current Topics
What AI does to the future of work. Axios
Automation, accelerated by the needs of the pandemic era, has already begun displacing low-wage workers across four different fields. Those include jobs in office support, food service (waiters/waitresses/fast-food checkout), customer service (retail clerks), and production workers who move material or work machines.
Alaska's volunteer firefighting force halved over the last decade. KFSK
This situation will sound very familiar to Alaska fire chiefs. The number of volunteer firefighters across the state plummeted by 45% since 2014. That’s more than double the decline seen nationwide. Justin Boddy is the president of the Alaska State Firefighters Association. He says the huge drop in volunteers is particularly stark when he thinks back to volunteer training sessions a decade ago.
How whale poo could be making the planet cleaner. Alaska Public Media
Humpback whales could be growing their own food supply and fighting climate change in a very unusual way — with their poo. Biologists are conducting Alaska research this summer on what’s called the “whale pump hypothesis.”
Alaska natural resources agencies OKs bigger off-road vehicles on most state land. Alaska Beacon
In late July, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources issued new general permissions that allow vehicles up to 80 inches wide and up to 2,500 pounds on land managed by the DNR Division of Mining, Land and Water. Old restrictions, based on the size and weight of a 6×6 Argo, allowed vehicles of up to 1,500 pounds, DNR staff said in an explanation of the change. (My comment – Now you can drive your Sherman Tank anywhere you want! Just ask DNR for special permission.)
GCI will shut down its longtime email service. ADN
Alaska telecommunications company GCI will end its longtime email service next year, a move that will affect many customers who must transition to new email providers.
Economy
Book Preview: Economic arsenals. Axios
For the next decade, the U.S.-China rivalry will likely be characterized not by military struggle but by economic statecraft- using economic means to achieve geopolitical outcomes, in the book, "Beijing Rules," coming Aug. 1. Why it matters: The U.S. and China are rolling out targeted measures to wall off key industries and products. Most recently, China placed export restrictions on rare earth minerals- which are key to the production of advanced computer chips- after the U.S. and several allies restricted the sale of such chips to China.
America's Top States for Business 2023: The full rankings. CNBC
Alaska ranks Last as place to do Business
Alaska gas prices among the highest in nation, according to AAA. Alaska's News Source
According to American Automobile Association, Alaska has the fifth-highest average gas price in the country, trailing only California, Washington, Hawaii and Oregon. On Monday, AAA reported the national average for gas prices at $3.757.
Alaska to use crowdsourcing website to distribute $2M in COVID-19 relief money for public school supplies. Alaska Beacon
Alaska public school teachers short of supplies this year have a new source to turn to for funding, and it’s not the local school budget. Each teacher could receive $650 to $750 from the state in federal pandemic relief money.
Walmart= world's largest company. Axios
For the 10th year running, Walmart is No. 1 on Fortune's Global 500, which ranks the world's largest corporations by revenue for fiscal year 2022.
Politics
Former Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop named state education commissioner. Alaska Public Media
The Alaska Board of Education and Early Development has selected Deena Bishop as the state’s new education commissioner. Bishop will officially begin her role on Aug. 9.
The White House makes its move on permitting. Axios
The White House is floating plans to speed reviews of infrastructure proposals- including transmission to help integrate renewables onto power grids. The Council on Environmental Quality is releasing draft regulations that implement provisions in the recent debt ceiling deal aimed at accelerating permitting.
Oregon self-serve gas bill become law as Kotek declines to veto. Oregon Live
Gov. Tina Kotek will allow a bill allowing self-serve gasoline across Oregon to become law, ending a 72-year ban on most drivers pumping their own gas. After the Oregon bill becomes law, New Jersey will be the only state that bans self-serve gas.
Alaska pays $350,000 to settle last wrongful-firing lawsuit form loyalty-pledge scheme. Alaska Beacon
The state of Alaska has paid $350,000 to settle a four-year-old lawsuit that found Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his former chief of staff personally liable for illegally firing a state attorney.
Health Care
Alaska Department of Health moves to ease parts of child care licensing burden. Alaska Beacon
The state government is taking aim at eliminating one of the most common barriers for people who want to open child care centers in remote communities: The state requirement for a special internet connection called a “static IP address.”
Alaska's food stamps backlog continues, with delayed appeals and Medicaid issues on the Horizon. Alaska Public Media
The state office that manages food stamps has been making progress working through a backlog delaying the benefits for thousands of Alaskans, but new problems have cropped up.
Family caregivers are election deciders, in Alaska and beyond. Alaska Beacon
In Disability Pride Month, Alaska advocates celebrate progress and look to a more accessible future. Alaska Beacon
Reinhart said he’s excited about a bill the governor is slated to sign this Saturday that will allow Medicaid to pay for people with disabilities to have care and support from people within their own households — even their legal guardians or family members, and will also allow the state to license private homes in the same way they would license a care center. (My bill, SB 106, was merged with SB 57.)
Sexual assault survivors in Alaska can now track their rape kits online. Alaska Beacon
A new online tool will allow survivors to check the status of their sexual assault kits, Alaska’s Department of Public Safety announced last week. The department developed a tracker so survivors can stay up to date on their case in “the least intrusive and traumatic way possible.”
(My comment: thanks goes to former Rep Geran Tarr. She relentlessly fought for attention to these rape kits (which were sitting in a corner, untested). She relentlessly fought for transparency on processing.)
New law authorizes programs to help adults with disabilities and elders get at-home care. Alaska Beacon
Elders and adults with disabilities will have more opportunities to get care at home or in a home-like setting under a bill that became state law when Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed it on Saturday. My comment: "Alaskans struggling with dementia and other complex medical needs will be able to remain in their familiar home surroundings cared for by family members, who are trained and paid to provide that loving care. Tis is particularly beneficial for rural Alaskans in locations where home care agencies are not available."
|
