I find the argument by Pastor Ron Hoffman about why he is breaking the municipal public health order impossible to swallow, but to be consistent he should give back the federal subsidy the church collected from the COVID-19 bailout and call it good.
Read MoreAfter my column on Bob Penney’s outsized role in the Dunleavy administration, I heard from numerous readers, including one who cited an exchange Penney had with a board member at a February meeting.
Read MoreAs with so many other things during this year of political distancing, Alaska’s leading conversationalist couldn’t bring himself to say yes or no.
Read MoreThe state press release version of the new COVID-19 testing policy for nonresidents disguises what really happened and tries to erase an incompetent decision announced one week before by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Read MoreTwo years later it’s pretty clear that the Dunleavy administration has not forgotten what Bob Penney did to get Gov. Mike Dunleavy elected.
Read MoreAdministration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka is taking steps to shift more personnel management functions away from state employees and toward a private contractor, using the pandemic as an excuse.
Read MoreSen. Dan Sullivan signaled his opposition two months ago to the continuation of the $600-per-week unemployment benefit beyond its July 31 expiration. He is now attacking Democrats for not extending it until Aug. 7.
Read MoreThe relaxed verification rules make full public disclosure of grant recipients more important, though the Dunleavy administration has given no sign that it plans to release the names and grant amounts. Disclosure is vital to limiting waste, fraud and abuse.
Read MoreA statewide mask mandate would send a strong signal to Alaskans about the immediate danger of the rapidly advancing COVID-19 outbreak. It would be a pro-business move, as it would help build confidence among Alaskans that some basic safety steps are being observed.
Read MoreThe pandemic is not under control in Alaska, a state with limited health care facilities, and we are not immune to the tragedies that have taken place in states with large health care capacity. We need to wake up.
Read MoreThe last refuge of every scoundrel in the right-size government club is the safe and easy budget pronouncement to “cut the budget,” while never bothering with the specifics. The specifics are all that matter.
Read MoreTwo weeks have passed and neither Sullivan, nor Murkowski has had anything to say about Trump giving Roger Stone a get-out-of-jail card. That two lawyers would keep quiet about this clear abuse of the justice system, pretending it is not important, is appalling.
Read MoreSens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan will have the chance Thursday to explain to Alaskans their positions on key federal issues that they have not covered in press releases.
Read MoreA source has told me that the administration has contracted with Dittman Research, Dunleavy’s favorite pollster, to measure public opinion about masks. We really don’t need any public polling on masks. We need leadership from the governor and a statewide mandate to wear masks.
Read MoreThe state made a deceptive change on the absentee ballot application a year ago that misleads voters by suggesting a “political party affiliation” is necessary to get an absentee ballot. Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer needs to issue new instructions.
Read MoreI suspect that the claim of finding 100 job-killing regulations was also a manufactured number. Not that Dunleavy hasn’t identified regulations he wants to change, just that the “job-killing” claim is standard issue political puffery from way back.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy, refusing to deal with the health crisis, the fiscal crisis or the economic crisis that threatens Alaska, chose to use public money to go the White House for a Trump campaign event, where he delivered this nonsense at the presidential praise-a-thon.
Read MoreAG Kevin Clarkson hired a $600-per-hour right-wing lawyer to push an anti-union dream. He started off with a no-bid $50,000 deal last August, upped it to $100,000 and then added $600,000 early this year. It’s good money after bad.
Read MoreThe state has been unable to give the federal money away because of the rigid rules it created a few months ago.
Read MoreIt may call itself “OneAlaska,” but a more accurate name for the group fighting the oil tax initiative would be “OilAlaska.”
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