The director of the Anchorage Office of Management and Budget has thrown up her hands and resigned, saying the Anchorage Assembly is undoing all hoped-for progress on the city’s balance sheet. Sharon Lechner, who was confirmed as OMB director earlier this year, wrote in her resignation letter that during an April 30 special meeting on […] The post Last straw: Anchorage OMB director quits, after Assembly passes illegal budget appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

Sen. Dan Sullivan struck out in anger over a Biden Administration rule that could end up grounding essential small planes in Alaska, due to the fact that many of them require leaded aviation fuel. During a hearing on the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, Sullivan slammed his hand on a table and yelled at […] The post Sullivan fights Biden Administration’s FAA plan to punish Alaska’s small plane owners over leaded fuel appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and other women senators, mainly Democrat, introduced legislation that adds money to research into menopause and mid-life women’s health.  The Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, authorized at $275 million over five years, or $55 million per year, would expand federal research on menopause, health care workforce training, awareness and education efforts, and public health promotion and prevention to […] The post Murkowski introduces menopause research bill appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

The revised operating budget passed by the Anchorage Assembly earlier this week has blown through the tax cap, an action that makes the budget illegal because it violates the charter. This is a first time in Anchorage history that an Assembly has broken the law on the tax cap in 45 years since the tax […] The post Breaking: Anchorage Assembly blows through tax cap, violates charter with revised budget appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

One day after Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola acted against energy development on the North Slope, Peltola skipped out on a House Resources Committee budget hearing featuring Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is responsible for executing so much of the Biden Administration war on Alaska. Although she made a brief appearance, Peltola asked no […] The post Skip day: Peltola ditches House Resources budget hearing after not defending Alaska or holding Interior Sec. Deb Haaland accountable appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

Unlike last year, the Alaska Senate this year didn’t pull a fast one on the Alaska House of Representatives and hold the budget hostage this month. Instead, senators passed the operating budget with nearly two weeks to go before the constitutionally mandated end date for this year’s session. The decision to not repeat last year’s […] The post Alaska Senate passes operating budget with funds for education, homeless sheltering, snow removal, small PFD, energy relief appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

Rep. Mary Peltola, who voted “present” on a resolution to restore Alaska’s right to produce oil and gas in congressionally approved areas of Alaska, had written to her colleagues in the House earlier and asked them to vote “no.” All but five other Democrats voted “no” on the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act. Peltola voted […] The post Two faces of Peltola: Told colleagues to vote ‘no’ on Alaska’s Right to Produce, while she voted ‘present’ appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola refused to commit to the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, a bill that stops the Biden Administration from locking up Alaska’s congressionally designated oil and gas leasing areas. It’s a bill that Peltola had actually cosponsored but then backed away from. The Alaska’s Right to Produce Act reinstates the previously awarded, […] The post Peltola takes a pass on Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, refusing to stand for Arctic Slope communities appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

Bob Griffin, a member of the Alaska State Board of Education, didn’t imagine his confirmation hearing in front of hostile members of the Senate Education Committee would be friendly. But he might not have suspected that the committee, led by Sen. Loki Tobin, would grill him and make accusations against him for over 40 minutes. […] The post Grilling Griffin: Senate Education chair attacks Board of Education member during confirmation hearings appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more

By BRETT ROWLAND | THE CENTER SQUARE President Joe Biden’s administration plans to ease federal restrictions on cannabis by reclassifying the drug for the first time in half a century.  The Biden administration plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than […] The post This bud’s for you: Biden easing restrictions on cannabis by reclassifying drug appeared first on Must Read Alaska ..read more