Alaska Mining Project Threatens Salmon, Water, and Native Communities
Trump Administration officials have fast-tracked permits for the largest open-pit mine in North America. The proposed Pebble Mine had previously seemed paralyzed, after more than a decade of relentless opposition by Alaska Native elders and youth. Now, plans for the mine are being rushed forward. The final public comment period for the proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permits ends on June 29, 2019. Under the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wrote that it would result in a “complete loss of fish habitat” (PDF) in a proposed determination to block Pebble Mine. The mine is planned to…
Governor’s Appointments – Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Dunleavy/Babcock administration The Governor’s appointments and how they went down THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN Well, that was a whopper. The governor’s appointees to commissioner positions and to boards and commissions were up for confirmation yesterday, and the joint floor session with members of the House and Senate took 7 hours and 48 minutes to wind up. At the end, all of the governor’s picks for Commissioner positions (even the most controversial) were passed with a majority of votes, but 6 appointees to the many boards and commissions in the state were rejected. And…
TALL TALES from Juneau – The Catastrophic Failure Edition
**This post is reprinted with permission from the Alaska Democratic Party** If you miss the musings of Jeanne Devon, creator of The Mudflats, the good news is that she’s still writing – only this time it’s for the Alaska Democratic Party. She’s got a weekly (sometimes more) newsletter that will fill you in on all the “you can’t make this shit up” goings on in the great state of Alaska. If you originally came here for the Palin shenanigans, let’s just say you’re going to feel right at home. This is like the old “Oyster Roundup” Mudflats’ feature on steroids….