A political candidate forum at noon today at the Carlson Center will focus on business and the economy. A second larger forum tonight at the JP Jones Community Development Center will spotlight issues such as climate change and equal rights. The two events kick off a series of forums involving candidates for Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, the Board of …
Opinion: Stand up for equality and support House Bill 82
Celebrating Pride is just as important today as it was in 1969. Fifty years ago, bricks thrown at Stonewall Inn in Manhattan sparked a riot that ignited a global liberation movement. We have trans women of color at Stonewall like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera to thank for responding to police violence with direct action, and making it possible …
Leg with Louie: what’s next?
There is little to no chance the legislature will accede to Governor Dunleavy’s request for a special session at a middle school in Wasilla (though the idea is fun). This administration is no friend to the Legislative majorities right now and appears to have an instinct for bullying. I bet if they go, they go to gavel in and gavel …
Leg With Louie: Summer Homework
Friends, I know it is sad to think about, but someday the fanfare will fade, the bloggers and pundits and lobbyists will move on to other questionable endeavors, and the special session will conclude. Our lawmakers will voyage in the annual diaspora to their home districts where they will convert to members of the community again, and be welcomed back …
Leg With Louie: Alaska legislature and 415 parts per million
The Earth’s atmosphere is reported, as of May 12, 2019, to contain 415 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, primarily from human activities. 415 ppm is a number unknown to humans. The news that humanity is killing itself off by way of petroleum use is not new news; hitting 415 ppm is an ominous benchmark and it …
Leg With Louie: The End May Be in Sight
The naming of conferees to an operating budget conference committee marks the beginning of the end of the legislative session, usually. Under Alaska legislative uniform rule 23(d), once the conference committee (composed of three House and three Senate members) is formed, standing and special committees can hold committee hearings with 24-hour notice, instead of the one-week notification required for committees …
Alaska High School Students Join Youth Climate Strike
High school students from Anchorage and the Valley skipped the end of their school day on Friday, not to enjoy the weather but to fight for their futures. Rallies took place around the world on Friday as part of the Fridays for Future movement and the Youth Climate Strike. The international movements aim to prevent the worst effects of climate …
Leg With Louie: A process you never knew you had, and you are about to lose
In 2006 the very unpopular administration of Governor Frank Murkowski approved a regulation allowing the dumping of water pollution into salmon spawning and rearing areas. This regulation was an extreme change to the rules protecting our salmon. Before it went into effect statewide, a review and certification by the Environmental Protection Agency were required. This regulation was so incredibly offensive to everyone besides …
Leg With Louie: Do we want more voters or do we want less voters?
The House State Affairs Committee will soon be discussing a statewide Vote-By-Mail proposal while in the Senate, SB 116 was recently introduced to modify the citizens initiative tying voting registration to Permanent Fund Dividend application. These bills are two different ends of a spectrum. One seeks to expand voting by increasing access to ballots via the Vote-by-Mail concept, and the …
Leg with Louie: Confirmed!
The Dunleavy Cabinet is in place now. Given the political makeup of the legislature, there was never a great deal of doubt that department heads would be confirmed, though DEC Commissioner Jason Brune was lobbying legislators with some persistence in the days before the vote. Brune wears the albatross of the Pebble Mine around his neck, as a former …