A Letter to the Legislature
The Alaska State Senate is about to reconvene on the matter of the governor’s oil tax giveaway. Earlier in the day a series of amendments from Democratic legislators was shot down by the Republican controlled body. As we prepare for a potential final vote in the Senate, a letter to the legislature was sent from former First Lady Bella Hammond, and a series of former legislators and political leaders in the state. March 20, 2013 Dear Senate President Huggins, Speaker Chenault, and Members of the State Legislature, We are writing with respect to Senate Bill 21 and proposed changes to…
Dems Denounce GOP “Crap Shoot”
Welcome to the day of reckoning. Monday came and went without a vote on SB21, the highly controversial oil tax bill in which the governor and the governor’s hench-legislators would like us to give away almost $2 billion a year to Big Oil in exchange for … nothing. You know, just to be nice, so that then they might decide to be nice to us. If they want. No pressure. The vote is scheduled to happen Wednesday, and Democratic members of the Alaskan Senate say they remain hopeful a series of amendments can prevent Alaska from falling off its…
Sen. Calls Oil Giveaway “Crapshoot”
Senator Kevin Meyer conceded that it is not known whether Senate Bill 21 will actually lead to significant oil production increases, despite a giveaway of billions of dollars from state coffers. “Realistically, we all would expect new oil,” Meyer said. But he added, “It’s kind of a crapshoot. You really don’t know, and the industry certainly isn’t going to say one way or the other, because you know their motivation is to try to keep the rates down as low as they can.” A billion dollar a year crapshoot! Yay! Anyone want to play? I didn’t think so. Oh, and…
GOP’s Slash & Burn Values
“Family values.” It’s something we hear a lot around election season from the Republican Party. It’s code for “queers are bad and ladies are baby ovens.” It has nothing to do with healthy families. Case in point: This past week, the Republicans in the Alaska House of Representatives, on some sort of “look-how-fiscally-conservative-we-are” display, slashed and burned the state operating budget. The hypocrisy of their campaign stances comes into pure light when you see how they are spending our money. Pre-kindergarten education was slashed, as was funding for Best Beginnings early education and the Parents as Teachers program. A two-year…
Parnell Withholds Oil Tax Information
Sean Parnell got his wish for a Republican-controlled state senate this time. Last session, the bipartisan coalition prevented the massive $2 billion a year no-strings-attached oil wealth giveaway. This time, preventing our coffers from being drained into the pockets of the world’s most profitable multi-national corporations will require even more effort from Democratic legislators, fiscally responsible Republicans, and Alaskans themselves. Doing his part, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) today called on Gov. Sean Parnell to release information he has withheld regarding his proposed oil tax legislation. Two weeks ago Gara filed a public records request for important oil tax information…
Poke’s on You!
Look! We got a poke suggestion from Facebook. This is not photoshopped, we promise. It’s Rep. Lindsey Holmes (D—>R – Anchorage)! May it be in the virtual eye?
$8.3 Million to be Cut from Health Budget
In its ongoing quest to make Alaska an unpleasant place to live, the House Health & Social Services Finance Subcommittee has recommended an $8.3 million reduction to critical Behavioral Health Services. The Republicans are trying to teach us slow-learners that the best way to deal with a problem is to ignore it, and then it will go away. If we don’t allow abortion, women just won’t have them. If we don’t fund public schools, then we can all just be rid of them and send our kids to church 6 days a week. And, if we don’t fund local, community…
Parnell Chickens Out – Again
If you squint really hard, and clear your mind, you’ll be able to see a new sign in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau. The author of the legislative fisheries newsletter Laws for the Sea, Bob Tkacz, is one of my favorite reporters in our state’s capital right now. He and several others attended the Governor’s press availability in the Capitol last week. He, like many Alaskans, had watched in dismay as the Governor’s Cruise Ship dumping bill as it sailed through the legislature, despite massive amounts of misinformation. One particular example Tkacz cited in his question for the…
They Think We’re Idiots. Are We?
BY: SHANNYN MOORE I will admit to outrage fatigue. The “Shock and Fraud” campaign in Juneau is working. Legislators, drunk on one-party power, are trying to jam so much crazy through — well, it’s mind-boggling. We’ve just passed the halfway point of the session — think of it as solstice; Alaska’s future only gets darker from here. We had it too good for too long and didn’t even realize it. The petty, preposterous, personal-issue bills were ignored for years. But now that we’ve solved our energy issues, jobs are plentiful and every education challenge is behind us, the Legislature has…
GOP Senators vs. Polar Bears
In case you missed it today, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the capital of our fair Republic (Washington DC, not Juneau) upheld the 2008 decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to include polar bears on the list of threatened species. Because they are. But like another Wasilla Republican we know, Senate President Charlie Huggins finds himself disappointed with the facts. “The federal appeals court decision is incredibly disappointing,” he sniffed. “America could be on its way to energy independence if only the federal government would free us to develop our vast natural resources. Federal overreach is…