capital focus

The Anchorage Daily News this morning blasted the Susitna dam project, calling it a “boondoggle” and recommending it “be put back in the crypt where it belongs.”
Ouch.
The editorial argues that a gas pipeline would be a better bet, providing heating and real economic development opportunities in addition to electricity. Then it argued against putting all your eggs in one mega-project.
Steve Haagenson, the recently retired head of Golden Valley Electric Association, took issue with the assessment.
“They did not even look at the reality around them,” he told me. More »

JUNEAU — A lawyer hired by state lawmakers to review gas pipeline issues has concluded that the one pipeline application deemed complete under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act could also be considered incomplete.

William Mogel, a regulatory specialist with the law firm Saul Ewing, wrote in a memo dated Wednesday that the proposal from pipeline company TransCanada was “inconsistent” with AGIA and the bidding process it established because of conditions and contingencies included in the proposal. More »

JUNEAU — State lawmakers are looking again at the prospect of a large hydroelectric dam on the Susitna River, after giving serious consideration to the project in the 1980s.

Sen. Joe Thomas, a Fairbanks Democrat, is sponsoring a bill creating a working group of state officials and stakeholders to gather information on all aspects of the project and make recommendations on construction by next January. More »

I don’t remember there being this much trouble last year.
Lawmakers and now the governor are in something of a tiff over her budget proposal, how she’s portrayed it, and, ultimately, how big it is. Or rather, how much bigger it is than last year’s.
Palin of course continues to promise fiscal restraint, but lawmakers are charging that her budget represents a big jump in spending over last year. More »

JUNEAU — State lawmakers are considering whether the state should cover up to $37,500 in student debt for Alaskans working in hard-to-fill jobs.

Rep. Craig Johnson, an Anchorage Republican, is pushing a bill that would help pay student loans owed by people working in professions where there are “severe shortages” of workers in the state.

An Alaska resident working in one of those professions — which would likely include health care, engineering and teaching — would qualify for up to $7,500 a year for five years. More »

JUNEAU — Fairbanks Reps. Jay Ramras and Scott Kawasaki both said Thursday it was too early to even think about running for the Senate seat held by Sen. Gary Wilken, who told the News-Miner on Wednesday he will not run again this fall.

“I think Gary Wilken is great,” Ramras said. “I want to persuade him to run. He’s awesome.” More »

JUNEAU — Longtime Fairbanks Republican Sen. Gary Wilken said Wednesday that he will not seek re-election to the Alaska Legislature this fall.

Wilken, who was first elected to the state Senate in 1996, told the News-Miner he was stepping down to spend more time with family and friends and to have the opportunity to get back into small business.

“I think when I look back on my years I’ll feel good that I was able, to some extent, to make good decisions based on fact and that those decisions helped Alaska,” he said. More »

JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin’s gas line team wasn’t at the table when ConocoPhillips presented its gas pipeline proposal to state lawmakers Wednesday, but a set of documents it prepared played a large role in the hearing.

The documents, which were given to members of the Senate Resources Committee, included an overview of the ConocoPhillips proposal, a 17-page critique of the proposal, and a list of nine “Questions Alaskans should ask ConocoPhillips.” More »

JUNEAU — Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, a Republican from Kodiak, announced Wednesday that she would not raise money for her congressional campaign during the legislative session in Juneau.

In a statement issued to the media, LeDoux noted that U.S. Rep. Don Young, a fellow Republican whose seat she is seeking, is allowed to raise funds year-round whether or not Congress is in session.

” … Fundraising is part of political reality,” she said. “However, I have stated that we must avoid even the appearance of impropriety and I have searched my own conscience. More »

The Senate minority passed out an “AGIA timeline” at their morning presser, which raised a good question — What is the plan?
The public comment period on the TransCanada pipeline proposal runs through March 6. After that, the administration has as long as it needs or wants to decide whether to recommend issuing a license to TransCanada. Once the administration announces it wants to issue a license (assuming it does), lawmakers will have 60 days to vote on it.
The public comment period started weeks ago, so where are the public hearings? More »