A group of Alaska teenagers met with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) June 12 and asked that she help stop the planned Pebble Mine, but were left disappointed by the senator’s unwillingness to make any commitments. The seven teens visited Murkowski in her Washington, D.C., office for half an hour to talk not only about the proposed massive gold, copper, and …
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 …
Looking to the future, Anchorage finalizes Climate Action Plan
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) — After a year of development with guidance from more than 100 city leaders, university professors and other subject matter experts, the Anchorage Climate Action plan has been completed, setting a blueprint for how the city will adapt to and attempt to mitigate a changing climate. “It has two big parts basically. We have how we’re going …
Army Corps of Engineers Extends Comment Period On Proposed Pebble Mine
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will extend from 90 to 120 days the comment period for a draft environmental review of a proposed copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The corps had received comments arguing against an extension and comments urging more time. Notably, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski last month requested extending the comment …
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 …