When U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola stood in front of the joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Friday, she looked out at a group of legislators shaped by some of the same forces and energy that made her historic...
We’ve heard a lot of different reasons for Alaska’s workforce problems and ongoing exodus of Alaskans, but one of the common threads through all of it is the sorry state of Alaska’s child care system. High costs, low availability...
Wednesday was the deadline for Gov. Mike Dunleavy to deliver his amendments to the state budgets. This year didn’t bring the massive, red-alert shake-up we saw in the governor’s first year, instead bringing $117 million of new spending that...
On Tuesday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an executive order to review state jobs where a four-year college degree isn’t needed. It’s a largely welcome change to address the state’s ongoing high vacancy rate, which has also drawn efforts like...
Legislators this week heard legislation that seeks to make life a bit easier for women using prescription contraceptives.
House Bill 17 by Fairbanks Democratic Rep. Ashley Carrick would require insurance and Medicaid coverage of 12-month supplies of contraceptives. Currently, most...
Amid the growing mountain of controversy facing Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration—whose many controversies were encapsulated in the latest product of the Anchorage Daily News/ProPublica partnership entitled “From Penis Cookies to Spying: A Growing List of Allegations at Anchorage...
The day after Big Lake Republican Rep. Kevin McCabe told a freshman legislator that she didn't understand how the legislative process works because she is new, Soldotna Republican Rep. Justin Ruffridge announced the formation of the bipartisan freshman caucus,...
Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Winfree, the state’s first Alaska-born justice to hold the position, gave his farewell to the Alaska Legislature this week as part of the annual State of the Judiciary address, giving an impassioned defense...
Legislation to create a defined benefits pension plan for most publicly employed first responders in Alaska advanced from the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee on Thursday, over the bitter objections of far-right legislators.
House Bill 22, by Anchorage Democratic...
The Alaska Senate Majority has made education funding a priority for this year’s legislative session as schools grapple with what years of an unchanged base student funding formula and inflation mean for their future.
Today, the Senate Majority announced what...