Borough Assembly candidate Tammie Wilson claims the standardized test scores at Hunter Elementary School are so low that no students should be going to school there.
"Would you attend a school in which 15.69 were proficient in English, 9.8 percent was proficient in math and 28.26 in science?” Wilson lectured the Fairbanks school board Tuesday.
“I don't think many of you would send your kids there and I don't think we should be sending any kids to there or find out why they're so low."
Read MoreIf you are going to compare a court proceeding in the United States to the regime of murderous dictator Joseph Stalin, you need to be careful or you will expose your ignorance of history.
Sen. Dan Sullivan is a case in point, now claiming that Trump’s trial is “eerily similar to the show trials Stalin launched against his political opponents.”
Sullivan’s claims are eerily similar to those made by all the GOP handmaids debasing themselves in the obsequious Trump sweepstakes.
Read MorePrioritize efficiency in spending. Fiscal responsibility and accountability. Allocating resources wisely. Responsible budgeting. Developing budgets that align with taxpayer expectations. Proactive planning. Careful consideration of spending priorities. Allocate resources effectively. Prioritize improving student outcomes. Embrace change. Make tough decisions. Drive meaningful changes that elevate our education outcomes. Equipping students for success. Work together to enact positive change. Engaging actively in the education process. Enact positive change,
The tsunami of empty phrases quoted above are all from the opinion column the Daily News-Miner printed by Josh Church, the right-wing spokesman for Tammie Wilson’s campaign group, Citizens for Transparent Government. Wilson’s group is facing a fine for failing a campaign transparency test.
Read MoreIn the history of the Golden Valley Electric Association, few members in the cooperative have done as much to advocate for GVEA transparency and communication as Gary Newman, who is running for re-election to the GVEA board.
Over a period of many years, Newman attended hundreds of monthly GVEA meetings and showed the dedication necessary to educate himself on utility matters. And that was all before he ran for the board and was elected in 2015.
Read MoreWhen the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority releases its long-awaited $250,000 study praising AIDEA, the report will highlight the Red Dog zinc and lead mine as an AIDEA success story.
In November 2022, AIDEA said it wanted a consultant to "document the authority’s impressive economic and investment history” and its “central role” in supporting economic development. It said the report would be done by June 2023.
Red Dog, one of the largest lead and zinc mines in the world, is always mentioned as the ultimate AIDEA success story.
What rarely gets mentioned is whether one of the largest zinc deposits in the world would have been brought into production without a state subsidy, meaning without AIDEA.
Read MoreThis story needs to be told and retold this year so that Alaskans understand exactly how the public process was corrupted to achieve a 67 percent pay increase for legislators and a $31,000 increase for Dunleavy. Legislators have no one to blame but themselves for going along with Dunleavy’s machinations.
Every incumbent will be on the defensive, especially those who will claim they opposed the 67 percent increase but did not make a serious effort to expose the deception that allowed it to happen.
Read MoreIt’s been eight months since Sen. Dan Sullivan announced his hand-picked “council of Alaskans to improve federal judicial selection.”
I said at the time it was nothing but a delaying tactic by Sullivan. And that’s exactly what it has turned out to be.
Sullivan and his office have had absolutely nothing to say about the Dan Sullivan committee to select right-wing judges since it was launched last fall.
The Alaska federal judgeship has been vacant for nearly 2.5 years because of senatorial stalling.
Read MoreThe ham-handed attempt to silence the group that supported Proposition A is dirty politics, an attack on freedom of speech and not something to be tolerated.
It also appears to be a laughable attempt to co-opt the name of Golden Heart Strong and use it for a campaign to con voters in the municipal election this fall when the tax cap is up for renewal.
The people who led the opposition to Proposition A—state employee and assembly candidate Tammie Wilson and assembly member Barbara Haney—need to make it clear that Golden Heart Strong has a right to exist.
Read MoreThe Legislature needs to begin monitoring the APFC and other state corporations as part of the checks and balances essential to preserve or rebuild public trust.
This is not just a task for the trustees, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy has claimed.
The six-member Board of Trustees is clearly divided over how to deal with the behavior of trustee Gabrielle Rubenstein, who has been described in leaked emails as inserting herself into corporation operations in ways that are inappropriate for a trustee.
That’s one of the takeaways from the special meeting Wednesday, which included a sharp exchange between Craig Richards and Jason Brune. Richards referred to inappropriate actions by unnamed trustees, while Brune complained that Richards was making “large allegations.”
Read MoreThe Alaska Legislature held its annual joint session to consider confirmation or rejection of people placed on boards and commissions by Gov. Mike Dunleavy since last year, rejecting 3 of 81 appointees.
There were legislative confirmation hearings on many of those up for a vote, but the confirmation process is almost always superficial and cursory.
The Legislature rejected three nominees, Bob Griffin, Mike Porcaro and Mark Sayampanathan. Griffin was on the state school board, Porcaro was on the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and Sayampanathan was on the Worker’s Compensation Board.
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