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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 »

JUNEAU–Should state lawmakers be able to raise money for federal office during a legislative session?

Rep. Kevin Meyer, a Republican from Anchorage, says no.

“It seems to me like it’s just common sense,” he said Tuesday. “You don’t want somebody handing you a check the same time they’re asking for your support on a bill.” More »

JUNEAU — Local government leaders from across Alaska are diving back into two key funding debates this week in Juneau. More »

JUNEAU — Residents near Ester Dome will soon have a new option for high-speed Internet service a little more than a year after Alaska Wireless cut its service in the area. More »

JUNEAU — The head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission made it clear Friday that state rules dictating how oil and gas fields are developed won’t stand in the way of a large-scale natural gas pipeline. More »

JUNEAU — When Rep. Scott Kawasaki came to Juneau last year as a freshman lawmaker, he was “kind of wide-eyed, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” he said Wednesday, referring to the 1939 classic starring James Stewart. “You want to stand up on the floor and say it like it is.” More »

JUNEAU — Earlier this week, supporters of two mining-related ballot initiatives turned in roughly 60,000 signatures to the state’s Division of Elections. Backers of an initiative that would allow public financing of election campaigns filed their signatures the same day — Monday — and supports of two other initiatives filed theirs many months before. More »