Alaska Grown vs Made In China
The past two budgets have included $84 million for a bridge…to somewhere in Alaska. Senators Wielechowski and French have written a letter to the Alaska Railroad with some concerns. ANCHORAGE- Today, Senators Bill Wielechowski and Hollis French are calling on Alaska Railroad officials to ensure steel products made only in America are used to build a bridge over the Tanana River near Salcha. The Senators say numerous constituents have recently contacted them, concerned that the Alaska Railroad Corporation is considering using foreign steel on the massive project. “Alaskan funds should be used for Alaskan and American jobs and goods,” said Senator Wielechowski,…
Locked Up or Locked Out?
Want to see the Arctic Ocean? Just start driving the Haul Road north of Fairbanks. You’ll pass through miles and miles of rugged, beautiful, unfenced land. The road is rough and there aren’t many amenities like gas stations, toilets or cell service. And before you make it to the ocean, there’s one other complication: the security gates. The gates belong to the oil companies. In the past few years, all of us have spent more than a billion dollars to “beef up” the road, which is owned and maintained by the State of Alaska and considered a “road to resources.”…
Liberally Loving Alaska
Last week a woman called my radio station. She squealed at my producer, “Who is this woman? She sounds like a LIBERAL!” There is a good reason I sound like a liberal: I am. And the caller would be surprised to learn that this puts me right in step with the history and the foundation of our state. So much of what I believe stems from equality granted by our constitution. It was written by more Democrats than Republicans yet delegates debated in a spirit of nonpartisanship. One delegate said, “we chose to put the good of Alaska ahead of…
So Long, Sarah! Anchorage Bids Farewell to the Governor.
Well, today was the second-to-last stop on the Quitter Tour. It was Abdication Eve here in Alaska. Today at 2pm Alaska time, the governor will officially hand over the state, and all it’s unresolved problems to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell. He’s known to us here as Caribou Ken, The Empty Suit, Sean Who? and Captain Zero. What is he going to be like? We’ll find out. I arrived at the Governor’s Picnic in what I thought would be plenty of time. Boy was I wrong. All available parking spaces were taken for what felt like miles around. I found a lucky empty spot about…