Missing from the Dunleavy veto package is any mention of what he made the centerpiece of his campaign to reduce state spending—the elimination of 2,000 vacant but unfilled state jobs that would save the state $200 million. He made up those numbers.
Read MoreOn his list of dubious achievements, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of $2.8 million for arts programs merits a prominent place. Eliminating arts programs was never part of the Dunleavy fiscal fantasy.
Read MoreDunleavy’s $130 million veto puts the University of Alaska in a death spiral, which Rep. Dave Talerico needs to understand. I’ve asked Talerico if he will vote to override the veto, but have yet to get a response.
Read MoreWith his decision to gut the university by vetoing $130 million from its budget, Dunleavy sends a clear message to students—go to school in some other state and forget about the University of Alaska.
Read MoreThere is little doubt that the courts would have ordered the state to pay for schools for the fiscal year that begins next week based on the law approved in 2018 by the Legislature and governor.
Read MoreThere was only one little problem with the official state proclamation declaring June 14 as “Permanent Fund Dividend Appreciation Day.”
Read MoreThe leaders of the House and Senate made the right call this week in deciding that the special session next month should be in Juneau, with meetings in Anchorage. For better public access, this is the only rational choice.
Read MoreSens. Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young can’t see their way to tell the truth about the role of President Trump in the trade war that has damaged the Alaska seafood industry and reduced exports.
Read MoreOne thing that sometimes gets lost in the Hammond hosannas is clear in retrospect: the distribution plan he championed in 1980 would have never passed the test of time even if the U.S. Supreme Court had not declared it unconstitutional 37 years ago Friday.
Read MoreThere’s a problem with the marching orders given to the eight legislators from the House and Senate—the state can’t decide the future of the Permanent Fund by simply looking at the Permanent Fund and ignoring the taxing alternatives.
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