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Current Topics
Snow weight on rooftops is not dangerous yet, muni official says. Alaska's News Source
Governor's proposed budget dedicates $915K to snow removal. Alaska's News Source
Under Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s 2025 proposed budget, he’s asking lawmakers for $915,000.
(My comment: Its Alaska. Why do we have to special appropriate money for snow removal? Isn’t that normal operations?)
Ferry officials 'hopeful' - but not certain - they'll have enough crew for seven-ship summer schedule. Alaska Public Media
AMHS Marine Director Craig Tornga said in an interview that the seventh ship would be the Kennicott, serving cross-Gulf routes connecting Whittier with Southeast Alaska and the community of Yakutat, which hasn’t seen a port call since the summer of 2022. But in recent years, crew shortages have forced the ferry system to scale back its schedule. So will there be enough deckhands, stewards, engineers and captains to run all seven?
Reindeer Sleep and Eat Simultaneously, Saving Precious Time in the Short Arctic Summer. Smithsonian Magazine
By monitoring the reindeer’s brain activity, Furrer and colleagues found that the animals were able to sleep while stoically chewing their cud. They enjoyed the benefits of sleep at the same time they nourished their bodies, according to a study published Friday in Current Biology.
Can seabirds hear their way across the ocean? Our research suggests so. Phys Org
Animals cover astonishing distances when they are looking for food. While caribou, reindeer and wolves clock up impressive mileage on land, seabirds are unrivaled in their traveling distances. Arctic terns travel from the Arctic to Antarctica and back as part of their annual migration. Wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) fly the equivalent of ten times to the moon and back over their lifetimes.
Energy
Win your EV road trip. Axios
EV road trips require advance planning — especially in colder weather, which can significantly diminish battery range.
Economy
Women have gained ground on the nation's highest-paying occupations, but still lag behind men. Pew Research Center
Women now make up 35% of workers in the United States’ 10 highest-paying occupations – up from 13% in 1980. They have increased their presence in almost all of these occupations, which include physicians, lawyers and pharmacists.
(My comment: On October 24, 2023 the women in Iceland went on strike. All the women - in corporate offices, retail outlets, childcare, even stay-at-home moms. There was a demonstration in Reykjavik which our Senator Lisa Murkowski attended. The purpose of the strike was pay equity. It was interesting to observe meetings in which men had to fill in for their women bosses, and men employees had their children in tow at work. Alaska needs a Women’s Strike Day!)
Politics
One year and $250,000 later, Alaska's new spending database has not been launched. ADN
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has missed a legal deadline to expand Alaska’s public spending database to some of its most heavily scrutinized state corporations, prompting a written complaint from the state senator who pushed the overhaul.
Alaskans would get big PFDs but no per-student education funding increase in governor's budget. Alaska Public Media
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy last week announced his budget plan for the next fiscal year, which would leave the state with a roughly $1 billion deficit. It’s a hefty document at more than a thousand pages long.
Reporter Nat Herz with the Northern Journal waded through those hundreds of pages and notes that the largest areas of spending would be for Medicaid, education and Permanent Fund Dividends.
For Christmas, Dunleavy gives himself the gift of abdicating his budget responsibility. ADN
States, Biden administration push efforts to aid renters, keep people housed. Alaska Beacon
Government rental assistance, a boon during the pandemic, has dwindled. Some states are working on their own solutions.
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