Dunleavy misrepresents national charter school study

“As a matter of fact, our charter schools are actually doing better because of kids that aren’t white,” Dunleavy said. “That’s what the research says.”

That’s not what the research says. Even if it did, a competent governor would not be making the sweeping claims about charter schools that Dunleavy is based on a single small study.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Comments on Permanent Fund plan take issue with every big item in it

Read the public comments submitted so far and you will see skepticism and opposition regarding: the notion of borrowing billions so that billions more can be invested to produce billions more in income; the dream of “outperformance through the generation of alpha’; the idea that the corporation needs to keep the names of applicants for its top job secret; and the wish to open satellite offices in the Lower 48 or in foreign lands.

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Dermot Cole Comments
AIDEA needs an independent audit of where all the money goes

The Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority has become more aggressive about throwing public money at questionable enterprises. The agency needs stronger oversight and an approach to development more intelligent than the Dunleavy dictum of saying yes to everything and anything.

The Legislature can start by exerting its authority over the authority.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Bill to ban discrimination against Israel failed; Dunleavy acts on his own, claiming he doesn't need the Legislature

Who needs a state law to infringe on constitutional rights when you have Gov. Mike Dunleavy willing to infringe to his heart’s content?

Dunleavy signed Administrative Order No. 352, which purports to enact what Vance calls the “Israel Anti-Discrimination Act.”

Rep. Sarah Vance responded on social media, “Those who bless Israel will be blessed!”

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Dermot Cole Comments
State refusal to follow road planning rules puts summer highway construction season at risk

The Dunleavy administration is putting all road construction projects at risk with its intransigence and refusal to follow federal highway planning rules on a handful of projects.

The so-called final version of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan should be rejected by the Federal Highway Administration.

I say that because the state has refused to remove projects from the plan that can’t legally be there because they were not approved and reviewed by local planning agencies in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Carl Benson and the secrets of ice fog

When it comes to a discussion of cold weather in Fairbanks, the topic is never complete without recognizing the enduring contributions of the great Carl Benson, who ventured into the cold in the early 1960s in Fairbanks and began to unlock the secrets of ice fog.

Benson, 96, is still pursuing his scholarly studies, thanks to a good constitution and an unending sense of curiosity about the world around him. I can’t tell you how much I admire him.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Dunleavy budget scheme points to a future fire sale of Permanent Fund assets

Dunleavy, who won’t propose raising taxes, is looking at $1 billion deficits that would be covered in the next two years by spending most of the remaining contents of the Constitutional Budget Reserve on his watch.

After that, Dunleavy will be gone without having proposed any taxes or having tried to fix the state’s finances. And the Permanent Fund will be the only alternative to pay for deficits far into the future.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Permanent Fund extends strategic plan comment period 'due to popular demand'

The Permanent Fund coroporation extended the period for public comment on the proposed strategic plan “due to popular demand.”

That’s a stretcher no doubt, but let’s not quibble. It’s a good move, instigated by trustee Jason Brune, who agreed it was sensible to keep getting comments from the public until just before the next meeting of the trustees, February 15. He and a couple of other trustees asked for the two-week extension.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Deadline for comments on Permanent Fund strategic plan should be extended as little effort was made to inform Alaskans

UPDATE: The comment deadline has been extended on the Permanent Fund’s strategic plan.

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has not done a major promotional campaign seeking public comment on the proposed strategic plan drafted by the six trustees.

Comments on the plan opened Jan. 24 and are to close Friday at 5 p.m.

Here is the list of comments submitted as of Tuesday. Considering the important of this document and the lack of public involvement, the trustees should extend the deadline and make a real effort to get public comments from Alaskans.

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Dermot Cole Comments