The MRAK Almanac is your place for political, cultural, and civic events, events where you’ll meet political leaders or, if you are interested in getting to know your state, these are great places to meet conservative- and moderate-leaning Alaskans.
Alaska Fact Book:
Question: How many people do each of Alaska’s lawmakers represent?
Answer: The Alaska Legislature is composed of 40 representatives (the Alaska House) and 20 senators (the Alaska Senate). Each member of the House represents around 18,000 constituents while each member of the Senate represents around 35,500.
8/5: Alaska LNG Gasline Project Advisory Committee meeting in Nikiski at 6 pm. There will be a period for public comment. Read more here.
8/5: Special meeting of the Bethel City Council at noon. The council will be discussing their ongoing recruitment for a new city attorney. There will be an opportunity for public comment, read more here.
8/5: The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly will gavel in for a regular meeting at 5:30 pm. The agenda includes approval of application renewals for two local cannabis cultivators as well as a proposal to raise the single-unit sales tax cap to from $1,000 to $2,000. Read the full agenda here.
8/5: Regular meeting of the North Pole City Council at 7 pm. The council will be voting on accepting a $10,000 grant from the FNSB for “economic development activities” as well as holding a period of public testimony. Read the agenda here.
8/6: Regular meeting of the Anchorage Assembly at 5 pm. The assembly will hold new public hearings on three new marijuana retailers as well as discuss a new ordinance setting the standards for temporary cold-weather homeless shelters. Full agenda at this link.
8/5-8/6: Alaska Board of Public Accountancy quarterly meeting in Fairbanks. There will be an opportunity for public comment. One can’t help but ask…does Alaska’s top accounting board have any advice for Alaska’s lawmakers on balancing a budget? Read their full agenda here.
8/6: The Alaska House will gavel in at 10:30 am in Juneau, followed by the Alaska Senate at 2 pm.
8/6: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Customer Adivsory Panel meeting in Sitka at 9 am. The panel will be discussing ASMI’s recent marketing campaign, product pricing and value, as well as holding a period of public comment. Read more here.
8/6: The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation Board of Trustees will hold a planning session in Juneau. With the current uncertainty surrounding the PFD’s size and an approaching deadline for timely dispersal from the corporation, this will likely be an interesting meeting. Find the agenda at this link.
8/6: The North Slope Borough Assembly will gavel in for a regular meeting at 1:30 pm. Read their agenda here.
8/6: Special meeting of the Palmer City Council at 6 pm. The purpose of the meeting is the interview of candidates and ultimate appointment of a city council member to fill the current vacant seat. Read the agenda here.
8/6: National Night Out Against Crime in Juneau, hosted by the Juneau Police Department. This annual event celebrates the community engagement needed for effective law enforcement. Interested residents can sign up to host block parties or cookouts, and local law enforcement will pay each gathering a visit. Read more about it here.
8/6: Regular meeting of the Valdez City Council at 7 pm. The council will be hearing a report from their federal lobbyist as well as voting to approve $16 million in funds to construct a new fire station. Read the agenda here.
8/6: Regular meeting of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly in Palmer at 6 pm. The assembly will be hearing a report from the Mat-Su School District as well as discussing a proposed timber project in the borough. There will be a period for public comment, find the agenda here.
8/6: Regular meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly at 6 pm in Soldotna. The agenda includes discussion of transitioning to a city manager plan for the borough government as well as the repeal of the borough’s ordinance calling for an invocation at the beginning of each meeting. Read more about the invocation controversy here. Find the assembly’s full agenda at this link.
All week: The Tanana Valley Fair, Alaksa’s second largest fair, continues in Fairbanks. Come check out some giant vegetables and local vendors, enjoy live music, and chew on a turkey leg. It’s the 95th anniversary of the fair.
Alaska History Archive:
August 6, 1945—74 years ago: The U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima immediately killing an estimated 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more would later die from radiation exposure due to the bomb’s detonation. Three days later, on August 9, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000 people.
August 6, 1988—31 years ago: A tragic whitewater rafting accident in Wrangell St. Elias National Park killed three people, all members of the film crew for “Jay Hammond’s Alaska”. Governor Hammond, then 66 years old, was also onboard when the raft flipped, but was able to escape unharmed.
Interesting to note the “business as usual” tenor of the municipal meetings, including hiring, spending money, building new buildings and taking on more debt. Can it be that the Governor’s reasoned vetoes are not the end of Alaska?
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