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Current Topics
Alaska State Capitol visitors won't face airport-style security checkpoint. Alaska Public Media
Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, who chairs the Legislative Council, supported adding a security checkpoint. She said mass shootings like Monday’s at a Wisconsin school underscore the need for vigilance. "I'm disappointed [the proposal] didn't work out, but I'm hopeful that eventually we will have metal detectors, which would provide more security," Jackson said by phone. "For not just us, but our staff and the public — yeah, it's the public's house, but we want to protect the public entering into their house."
(My comment: I agree with Sen. Gray-Jackson. The public would not be restricted from access to the Capitol at all, just as there is no restriction on air travel. The restriction is on materials that would harm others.)
State partnering with firm to modernize PFD process by 2026, using AI technologies. Alaska's News Source
Through a competitive process, Saige Consulting was selected to partner with the State of Alaska Department of Revenue (DOR) to modernize the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application process.
Arctic Issues
Ship traffic steadily increasing in Canadian Arctic waters, research says. CBC
"The numbers from 2011 and 2024 show the total number of trips have increased from 319 to 466 so far," Lasserre said in French. This trend is also seen in other Arctic regions. According to data from the Arctic Council, the number of ships that entered the region increased by 37 percent from 2013 to 2023.
North Pacific, Nordic partnerships and Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy. Eye on the Arctic
The North Pacific is a critical gateway to the North American Arctic, a region of growing strategic importance, according to the white paper. Canada already has shared interests with Japan and South Korea on maritime security, sustainable economic development, and free trade and the new policy emphasizes strengthening ties with like-minded Indo-Pacific nations on Arctic issues, while remaining cautious about countries whose actions may conflict with Canadian interests.
Premiers push Ottawa to build northern infrastructure after Arctic foreign policy. CBC
Canada's northern premiers are pitching the federal government to dip into its defence budget as a way to bolster Arctic infrastructure and help meet the NATO spending target in the process. The calls come after Canada released its new Arctic foreign policy earlier this month, which committed to promoting investment in a wide range of sectors — including critical mineral development, transportation and energy — but didn't specifically make funding commitments in those areas.
National Security
China-Russia Arctic cooperation a US national security concern. VOA News
The United States and its NATO allies are paying increased attention to military cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic, where the two countries have conducted joint naval exercises, coast guard patrols and strategic bomber air training.
Chinese Arctic research expeditions inform military, economic goals, say experts. USNI News
“If the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] wants access to [the researchers’ findings], they’ll get access to it,” Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow at the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. “Keep an eye on the research vessels.” China sent five research vessels into the Arctic in summer 2024.
After a yearslong delay, Air Force agrees to send more refueling planes to Alaska. ADN
Aerial refueling is the military capacity to add fuel to various planes in mid-flight, thereby extending their range. Though Alaska’s fleet of cutting-edge fighter jets has grown in recent years with the arrival of dozens of F-35s, the number of Stratotankers used to gas them up during trainings and intercept missions has remained flat, straining existing planes and personnel.
Economy
Opinion: Burning more state money on a mythical North Slope gas pipeline. ADN
But unlike a real fire pit, which warms those who gather around, spending more money on a gas line dream will leave Alaskans in the cold and the state a little poorer.
Lower prices dim expectations for Alaska oil earnings in coming years, revenue forecast says. Alaska Beacon
The state’s total petroleum revenues in the 12 months that ended on June 30 were a little over $3 billion, the forecast said. That total will drop to around $2.2 billion in coming years before starting to rise in the early 2030s. A decade from now, Alaska’s total petroleum revenues will have rebounded – but only to a level about equal to the total in just-completed fiscal 2024. That would not account for inflation.
Aleutians see growth as Alaska's overall population is expected to decline. Alaska Public Media
Southwest Alaska has the fastest-growing population in the state, according to new predictions from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The Southwest region includes seven census areas: Kusilvak, covering the Lower Yukon River; Bethel; Dillingham; Bristol Bay; Lake and Peninsula; Aleutians East; and Aleutians West.
Education
'Chronic absenteeism' in Alaska: Education commissioner gives thoughts on connection to e-learning. Alaska's News Source
This week, Alaska superintendents were informed e-learning days “should not be expected to count as school days,” according to a communication from Bishop’s office. Icy conditions caused Mat-Su Borough School District to call a school closure Wednesday when they announced there would be no e-learning and school was canceled entirely. A district spokesperson confirmed this decision was in connection to Bishop’s communication and comments made during her presentation.
Anchorage School District aims to test a program that would provide affordable child care. ADN
The idea is to help solve two of the district’s crises at once — a teacher shortage, and a lack of affordable child care options for families — by contracting with providers to offer discounted child care to school staff, provider staff and possibly others.
UAA training for health care providers keeps victims of violent crimes from falling through the cracks. Alaska Public Media
The state already has a team that responds to sexual assaults and strangulations, called the SART or sexual assault response team. The course isn’t meant to replace that, but to train health care workers on how to gather evidence if someone can’t or doesn’t want to access the response team. The SART only gathers evidence within a seven-day window, and may not always be able to reach rural Alaskans within that timeframe.
Politics
Dunleavy says he plans to introduce education bill pairing funding increase with reforms. Alaska Public Media
The Governor called on the Legislature to pass two policy proposals. One would have created a new approval pathway for charter schools, allowing them to apply directly to the state rather than a local school district. The other would have created yearly retention bonuses for teachers of up to $15,000 per year. Both of the proposals faced skepticism in the House and Senate and failed to advance.
No women will lead House committees. Axios
Republicans stoked fears of voting by noncitizens. Ohio's experience shows how the rhetoric diverged from reality. ADN
The outcome and the stories of some of those now facing charges illustrate the gap — both in Ohio and across the United States — between the rhetoric about noncitizen voting and the reality: It’s rare, is caught and prosecuted when it does happen and does not occur as part of a coordinated scheme to throw elections.
U.S. Senate to vote on bill that would boost Social Security benefits for thousands of Alaskans. ADN
The measure would reverse what is called the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset Provision. The provisions, in place for more than four decades, have meant that many Alaskans who have worked both in the state’s public sector — including as teachers and public safety officers — and in jobs outside of Alaska’s public sector, could see their Social Security benefits increase.
(My Comment: This is a serious issue for folks in my district and all Alaskans. Teachers, in particular, are losing the majority of the benefits earned by their private sector spouses due to WEP and GPO. I am hopeful that Sen. Dan Sullivan understands this and hears the voices of Alaskans.)
Anchorage Assembly postpones vote on Girdwood Comprehensive Plan until new year. Alaska's News Source
The Anchorage Assembly unanimously decided to postpone a vote to approve a revised version of the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan during Tuesday night’s regular assembly meeting, pushing that vote into the new year.
Health Care
Alternative PBM's pressure on big 3 titans. Fierce Healthcare
One of a PBM’s most common tactics is to accumulate rebates for drugs on its formulary. Instead of the rebate going to consumers, the rebate instead is pocketed by PBMs or sent to other insurer-owned subsidiaries for the purpose of financial workarounds. The government also uses rebates for its general revenue fund or to lower the cost of federal healthcare programs.
Giant Companies Took Secret Payments to Allow Free Flow of Opioids. NYTimes
In 2017, the drug industry middleman Express Scripts announced that it was taking decisive steps to curb abuse of the prescription painkillers that had fueled America’s overdose crisis. The company said it was “putting the brakes on the opioid epidemic” by making it harder to get potentially dangerous amounts of the drugs.
The announcement, which came after pressure from federal health regulators, was followed by similar declarations from the other two companies that control access to prescription drugs for most Americans.
The self-congratulatory statements, however, didn’t address an important question: Why hadn’t the middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, acted sooner to address a crisis that had been building for decades?
One reason, a New York Times investigation found: Drugmakers had been paying them not to.
For years, the benefit managers, or P.B.M.s, took payments from opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, in return for not restricting the flow of pills. As tens of thousands of Americans overdosed and died from prescription painkillers, the middlemen collected billions of dollars in payments.
The skin's 'surprise' power: it has its very own immune system. Nature
The skin — once thought to be a mainly passive barrier — can produce its own antibodies that fight off infections, a pair of studies reports in Nature this week. The findings could pave the way for the development of needle-free vaccines that can be applied to the skin.
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