Sorted by date Results 76 - 84 of 84
Democratic candidate Mary Peltola left election day leading Alaska's special election for U.S. House, but the state's new ranked choice voting system may leave Republican candidate and former governor Sarah Palin the ultimate winner. As of Wednesday afternoon, with 395 of 402 precincts reporting, Peltola had earned 38.03% of first-choice vote in a race that will determine who fills Alaska's lone U.S. House seat until January, completing the term left unfinished by the death of Congressman Don... Full story
The top employees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. are some of the highest-paid public workers in Alaska, but with wages rising across the country and employers competing for skilled labor, even the $80 billion Permanent Fund is struggling to keep employees from leaving. Nine of the corporation’s 66 employees have quit this year, including the manager of the corporation’s highest-earning investments and the entire three-person team in charge of finalizing trades. Seven other positions are new, and filling them is expected to be dif... Full story
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has signed a $14.4 billion state budget, the sixth-largest in state history, after vetoing about $400 million from a proposal passed by the Alaska Legislature this spring. With Alaska expecting a multibillion-dollar surge in oil revenue due to high prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, spending is up by $2.7 billion when compared to the budget passed by the governor and lawmakers last year. That increase is less than the rise in revenue, and the state is poised to end a decade-long streak of years in which...
Republican candidate Tara Sweeney cannot replace independent candidate Al Gross in Alaska's special election for U.S. House, the director of the Alaska Division of Elections said Tuesday, one day after Gross said he will withdraw from the race. Gross's action and the division's decision means only three candidates will advance to a special general election on Aug. 16, but that could change if the division's decision is successfully challenged in court. Sweeney's campaign will not file a suit,... Full story
The four finalists for Alaska's special U.S. House election have been decided. Based on results tallied through Wednesday evening, Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III, independent candidate Al Gross and Democratic candidate Mary Peltola will be the options for Alaska's first ranked-choice election on Aug. 16. The winner of that election will fill the remaining term of former Congressman Don Young and serve in Congress until January, when the winner of the November general election is... Full story
Months before Alaska’s state elections, the Legislature is set for major turnover. At least 17 of the Legislature’s 60 members will be in a new position or out of office entirely by next January — and that doesn’t count anyone who loses their seat this fall. The deadline to file for this year’s legislative elections is June 1, but many candidates have already made up their minds. Because a steep learning curve awaits new legislators, several departing incumbents said the turnover will slow the progress of complicated legislation, such as a... Full story
Three minutes before 11 p.m. on the last day of its regular session, the Alaska Legislature finalized a state budget that will pay each eligible Alaskan about $3,200 later this year. As late as Saturday, it appeared possible that the House and Senate would agree on a $5,500 payment, but lawmakers settled on a lower amount after days of negotiations and a failed vote to spend from savings. "For the four years I've been down here, we've practiced fiscal restraint and tried to keep money in... Full story
The Alaska House of Representatives voted last week to turn an oil-price surge into money for schools, repayment of tax credits the state has owed to oil explorers for years, and $2,600 payments for Alaska residents this fall. The House voted 25-14 to send its state operating budget proposal to the Senate, which is developing its own version. The two budget plans, which set spending for public services starting with the new fiscal year on July 1, will be negotiated into a compromise bill and...
Boats and trailers lined the launch ramps, residents thronged the beaches, plastic ducks bobbed in Twin Lakes, and Juneau basked under the sun on a record-breaking weekend. The capital city has had a full week of temperatures at or above 70 degrees, and the weekend brought the warmest days of the year so far. Saturday’s high temperature of 81 degrees beat the old record of 80, set in 2009, and is the hottest day of the year to date. Sunday’s high was 78, beating the 1999 record of 75. Those temperatures were recorded at the airport, Jun...
