Matt Acuña Buxton

Our nomination for the worst tax policy idea of 2015 goes to Alaska Governor Bill Walker for his proposal to reestablish the state’s personal income tax.

As the start of the next legislative session nears Jan. 19, the governor said he has made plans this year to meet with the leaders of the House and Senate Finance and Resources committees every two weeks, “because just about everything goes through Resources or Finance,” as a way to improve communication between executive and legislative branches, he said.

The Alaska Republican Assembly says money from public employee union PACs has been the decisive factor in defeating local conservative candidates across Alaska. Now they are offering what they say is a solution.

I’ve been curious how average Alaskans, consumed by their daily lives and seemingly uninterested in policy minutiae, were digesting all of this budget talk. Since no broad-based statewide polling has yet been made public, I thought I would attend two very different budget presentations for audiences of opposing political views to see just how those audiences were taking it in.

Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting started off with a bit of a bang. Within the first 10 minutes Assemblyman Ernie Hall took the unusual step of apologizing to Muni staff for the disparaging comments towards them made by a fellow Assembly member in an email.

The latest television ratings are out and both significant competitors in the Anchorage television news war are crowing.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation say these attacks on the integrity of the Municipal Clerk and Municipal Attorney over the LGBT ordinance lead to the mass resignation from Demboski’s committee.

Tweet of the Week: Congress Less Popular Than Jar Jar

A poll released two days after Governor Bill Walker’s roll out of his state budget shows Alaska businesses are opposed to many forms of new taxation, but split on use of the Permanent Fund.

From the deposition it seems clear lawyers for Pfeffer believe Gottstein delayed filing a lawsuit or publicly raising concerns over the deal in order to receive financial compensation himself as owner of the building adjacent to the LIO.

Mike Wenstrup announced he will be stepping down to make way for his successor, Casey Steinau of the Mat-Su, as Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party ahead of the 2016 election cycle.

The AG is clampin down, Parnell is gettin paid, and Gov Walker's crib sheet fail. Its Friday in the Sun!!!!!!