Alaska politicians plead poverty, claiming we need 100 percent federal disaster assistance

Alaska politicians are asking that the federal government cover the entire cost of emergency assistance, suggesting that the state with an $83 billion Permanent Fund can’t afford to put up a dime to respond to the Western Alaska disaster. Everything the state is doing now should be reimbursed by the feds, they claim.

“In light of the extraordinary circumstances, and consistent with the action taken following Typhoon Merbok, we also request that the administration authorize a 100 percent federal cost share for emergency work during this recovery,” Sullivan, Murkowski and Begich III wrote to Trump.

Dunleavy also told Trump the state has no money to spend on the disaster and wants the federal government to pay for everything for 90 days regardless of what it costs.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Typhoon trauma will disrupt lives for years

“In sum: an immense disaster, one that’s wrought deep trauma on Western Alaska’s Indigenous residents and that’s raising existential questions about the future of their low-lying communities amid a changing climate and a tightening state budget.”

“The region sits on a broad, dead-flat plain next to the Bering Sea, and weather experts say they expect warming ocean temperatures to fuel more storms like the typhoon — which came just three years after another fall storm caused widespread damage.”——-Nat Herz, Northern Journal.

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Dunleavy promises cheap electricity is just around the corner in the Golden Age

Gov. Mike Dunleavy told the Resource Development Council Thursday that he expects a big announcement to move forward on the Alaska LNG pipeline in two months, with construction starting next year. He would be shocked if the project stalls, he said.

This rosy view appears to be founded on the idea that Donald Trump will succeed in forcing Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations to pay for the pipeline, whether they like it or not. Dunleavy says that the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. and Glenfarne are telling him that there are no glitches that will derail the proposal.

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Dunleavy's crew mentions training hours for doctors as 'discretionary' regulatory framework

The so-called “implementation strategy” for the arbitrary Dunleavy plan to eliminate 15 percent of regulations by the end of 2026 mentions requirements about continuing education for doctors as an example of the discretionary rules that should be reviewed for possible elimination.

Dunleavy and Dunleavy Chief of Staff Tyson Gallagher will object to that statement, claiming that they have not proposed cutting continuing education requirements for doctors.

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Dermot Cole Comments
Someone is lying about the DigitalBridge $50 million investment

We’re not getting the full story on the decision by the Dunleavy administration and former Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum to put $50 million of short-term money into a long-term investment right before Crum quit to run for governor.

The Anchorage Daily News has advanced the coverage with this solid piece by Iris Samuels, but the governor and his employees are not being straightforward with the Legislature or the public.

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