Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his temporary budget director complained about the size of the subsidy for the ferry system and said it is not sustainable. Had Dunleavy not said the exact opposite as a candidate, he might have a tiny bit of credibility on this issue. He does not.
Read MoreThe temporary budget director and the Alaska revenue commissioner need to retire their false talking point about the percentage of instruction spending, along with their deceptive campaign to portray public schools as failing institutions.
Read MoreThe limited entry system used to control attendance at the Koch Network/Dunleavy budget meetings came under criticism in Nome by those who said they wanted a more open process. Melanie Bahnke raised her hand and waited for a chance to speak.
Read MoreThe words “predatory tax” keep popping up during the Koch Network/Dunleavy budget meetings when state officials talk about Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan to prohibit Alaska voters from raising taxes through an initiative.
Read MoreAt a time when much of state government lacks inspiration and a vision for Alaska’s future, the speech given by University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen Tuesday offered an ambitious and optimistic path forward.
Read MoreThe hundreds of Alaskans who have shown up in meetings across the state to complain about extreme budget cuts aren’t representative of average Alaskans, the governor claims.
Read MoreThe Dunleavy administration would have you believe that Alaska schools are the worst in the United States. What the governor and his staff won’t say is that the enormous achievement gap among Alaska Native students is a crisis that can’t be solved with his budget cuts.
Read MoreIt’s been clear for a month that the Dunleavy administration used a flawed statistic to try to justify elimination of a program that helps Alaskans attend medical school and has been vital in attracting doctors to practice in the 49th state.
Read MoreNow that he doesn’t need any votes from Southeast Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has concluded that the ferry system should be done away with. It’s no wonder that he won’t hold public meetings in Southeast Alaska to explain his broken promises.
Read MoreThe main qualification of Donna Arduin’s former partner for the Federal Reserve is Stephen Moore’s unceasing flattery of Trump. With every utterance he confirms the old Russian proverb that “it is better to bow too low than to not bow low enough.”
Read MoreContrary to a requirement in the Alaska Constitution, Dunleavy says he won’t pick a judge from the names given him by the Alaska Judicial Council. Contrary to a requirement in state law, he has failed to make a pick in the required 45-day window.
Read MoreHanding budget meetings over to the proponents of prosperity means an audience that may be less inclined to complain about why Gov. Mike Dunleavy abandoned campaign promises to not cut the ferry system, K-12 schools, the University of Alaska, the Pioneer homes, etc.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy asked all commissioners to “investigate options available for reducing the state’s assets by identifying properties that could be sold, or sold and then leased by the state, in order to realize short-and long-term savings.”
Read MoreLike many other ill-conceived elements of the Dunleavy budget, the Legislature won’t accept this one, but the governor has the power to veto and the Legislature may have enough contrarians to prevent an override.
Read MoreIt’s not clear there is a dividing line between Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Americans for Prosperity, the primary political action arm of the Koch Brothers.
Read MoreThe Dunleavy administration offered a “what-if” scenario for a $75 million cut to the Fairbanks campus. Coupled with other Dunleavy cuts to K-12 education, the borough and health care, the governor’s budget would take $150 million or more out of the Fairbanks economy.
Read MoreA representative of Gov. Mike Dunleavy claimed last week that the state doesn’t have a constitutional duty to fund the University of Alaska. Anchorage Rep. Zack Fields was being polite when he said that was absurd and ludicrous.
Read MoreLegislators are accustomed to those who give answers without answering, deflecting and distracting by stringing random sentences together long enough to make everyone in the audience start thinking about lunch. The future of the university is too important to Alaska to accept that.
Read MoreSometime after the election the governor decided that he wanted to squeeze up to $15 million more out of Pioneer Home residents who are not already indigent.
Read MoreEnding dairy inspections won’t harm public health in Alaska, the Dunleavy administration says. Why? Because the one dairy still in business won’t be permitted to sell milk to consumers as soon as inspections end.
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