Since Kelly Tshibaka is making her expertise at saving the state money a central part of her argument for sending her to the U.S. Senate, Alaska news organizations should dig into the question of why she approved a plan last summer to pay a former barista $350 an hour—a total of $358,400 for six months.
Read MoreWith her resignation Monday as administration commissioner and the official start of her U.S. Senate campaign, Kelly Tshibaka posted a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy that is at least 11 pages long, exaggerating how much she has saved the state.
Read MoreHe can’t explain how he intends to fund state government starting in July 2022, so he can’t run for re-election on his fiscal record, but Dunleavy can appear to be a man of action by taking on the feds in court and talking tough—an Alaska wag-the-dog political stunt that never goes out of style.
Read MoreA nimble governor facing a budget crisis would recognize the political potential of the federal gift horse and adjust his plans accordingly.
Read MoreOn Monday, the president of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation upped the ante on Dunleavy’s gas pipeline dream, saying the state could aim for a subsidy of up to 100 percent to build the “first phase,” a $5.9 billion line to the outskirts of Fairbanks.
Read MoreThe Exxon Valdez Oil Trust still exists, holding about $150 million, but the state and federal officials directing its future have fetched up hard aground—spending an inordinate amount of money on administrative expenses and apparently concluding that the best thing to do now is to spend the money as quickly as possible.
Read MoreI can’t imagine that Ben Stevens, then the chief of staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, had the power under state law to appoint someone to do the work of the attorney general. But that’s what happened in secret on July 31, 2020.
Read MoreThat GCI is now a relatively small part of billionaire John Malone’s cable and tech empire is one reason why it is easier for the company to transfer jobs to the Philippines, a decision it would probably have never made when GCI was an Alaska company.
Read MoreBut there comes a time when GCI, part of a corporate behemoth in which Alaska is not the main focus, stops imagining and starts making a better future for itself by shipping Alaska jobs to the Philippines, claiming it’s all about providing better service to Alaskans.
Read MoreIn Fairbanks, the Dunleavy plan would open the likes of College Road, Airport Way, Geist Road and Van Horn Road to snowmachines, four-wheelers, garden tractors and tracked vehicles. What could go wrong?
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