No doubt there are people who lie about meeting the PFD requirements and lie about the retiree COLA requirements. The state could stand to be more diligent in policing both of these programs. But to write a letter to retirees that comes off like an internet scam shows terrible judgment.
Read MoreA month ago the Dunleavy administration announced that state finances had taken a miraculous turn for the better. The state had a new oil price guess that would generate more than $2.2 billion by July 2023, just in time for Dunleavy’s reelection campaign.
Guess what happened next?
Read MoreIs the Permanent Fund investing in the Ambler mining project? What about the Pebble project? Or the Donlin Gold Mine? Or oil projects on the North Slope?
I don’t think so, but under the current secrecy policies of Dunleavy and the Permanent Fund corporation, a wide range of investments can be hidden from the public. Political payoffs can be hidden from the public.
Read MoreLet’s start by introducing Alaskans to the specifics, which means abandoning the generalities that keep the scourge hidden in the shadows and out of the daylight.
Read MoreAlaska news organizations have paid little attention to the financial secrecy of Hilcorp, the privately owned Texas company that purchased BP’s 49 percent share of the trans-Alaska pipeline and its other Alaska holdings.
Read MoreThe state-funded “FirstHand” podcast quoted DMV bashing from a company owned by the family of Commissioner Adam Crum before Commissioner of Administration Paula Vrana steered the conversation back to safe territory and praised the contractor.
Read MoreFollowing the maxim that things like this never happen by accident, the four-year Senate terms all go to incumbents who are members of the Dunleavy fan club, while his Republican critics will get two-year terms.
Read MoreThe low vaccination rates are probably due to a combination of factors, including propaganda, right-wing extremists, weak news coverage and a failure of local and statewide leadership.
Read MoreThe grandstanding governor has ordered the Alaska State Troopers and all other state entities to refuse to cooperate with FBI efforts to monitor threats of violence against school officials. That Alaska law enforcement should be monitoring such threats goes without saying, but this is not about good public policy.
Read MoreThe Rev. Kelly Tshibaka has spent her entire professional career in Washington, D.C., except for the two years she and her husband worked in the Dunleavy administration, establishing residency in Alaska for her Senate run.
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