Announcing the creation of a new department, the cost of which will exceed $20 million, will do nothing for agriculture and food security unless there is leadership from the governor, backed by a larger financial commitment from the Legislature for research, marketing, farm development programs, business initiatives and infrastructure.
Unfortunately, Dunleavy’s empty Office of Food Security is the clearest sign of what to expect.
Read MoreThe U.S. Congress deleted a provision in the defense authorization act that would have required the Interior Secretary to approve a 211-mile road to the Ambler mining district from the Dalton Highway within 30 days.
Read MoreA 1-gigawatt computer data center—on the low end of the Dunleavy vision for power—would require more than twice as much electricity than what could been drawn from the 700-foot Susitna River dam that was never built. A gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy asked Donald Trump to reverse a wide range of Biden Administration policies with an executive order on his first day in office, create an Alaska task force, and hire six new high-level political employees to make things happen within agencies.
The Dunleavy Six would personify redundancy, as they would be hired to “oversee the implementation of each action directed by the Executive Order,” duties that other people are already getting paid for.
Read MoreIf a pipeline is built, according to Wood MacKenzie, “Fairbanks could change to gas for energy/heat needs. We assume 90 percent penetration with a 3-year transition. (2031-2033.)”
Does that mean 90 percent of buildings within the city? Or 90 percent of buildings in the borough? What is the cost of building the infrastructure to serve 90 percent of either?
Read MoreThe state may install traffic cameras next summer at 82 Anchorage intersections that don’t have cameras as a safety move.
The idea is that the presence of cameras will motivate drivers to not leave the scene of an accident.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy is again asking the Legislature to buy a high-performance $6.5 million turboprop airplane that the Swiss manufacturer claims is the “most versatile and valued business aircraft in the world.”
The proposed budget calls for buying a Pilatus PC-12 NG, which is mainly used around the world for business transportation, as well as by small airlines, governments and law enforcement agencies.
But if the state plans to buy the current version of the aircraft, it will be a PC-12 NGX, which the company began selling in 2019 to replace the PC-12 NG, the older model.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy says the first thing the Alaska Legislature should do on the budget in 2025 is approve a $50 million transfer to the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority to pay the potential cost for a gasline study.
This is urgent, according to Dunleavy, which is why it is the major element in his so-called “fast track’ supplemental budget.
AIDEA doesn’t need the money.
Instead of giving more to AIDEA, the Legislature should be looking at tapping into the AIDEA cash reserves of more than $600 million to reduce the deficit and pay for state services.
Read MoreI know exactly how the 2025 Legislature will cut $50 million from the proposed “fast track” supplemental budget released by Gov. Mike Dunleavy Thursday.
The money to cut without worry is the $50 million that Dunleavy claims the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority needs to pay for a promise that AIDEA made on December 4.
The only other item in the fast track supplement is $15 million for disaster relief funds.
The AIDEA bailout is a disaster of a different kind.
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