The Municipality of Anchorage is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, with a schedule of events intended to highlight community spirit and civic pride.
While Anchorage’s roots stretch back more than a century, the incorporation of the municipality came in 1975, combining the city and borough into a unified government. To mark the milestone, city officials plan events beginning Friday with a “night market” at Town Square Park from 5 to 8:30 pm. The celebration continues through November with music, art, and community parties.
But for many residents, the timing of the festivities underscores a sharp irony. Anchorage in 2025 is not the Anchorage of 1975. Today, the city’s streets and parks bear the visible signs of social decay — homeless encampments scattered across downtown, drug use in full view, and petty thefts that have become routine in local businesses. Visitors to Town Square Park, where Friday’s event will be staged, have long complained about disorder and safety concerns in the very heart of the city.
The contrast is stark: A city celebrating its golden anniversary while grappling with a vagrant crisis that leaves sidewalks littered and smeared with human excrement, storefronts shuttered, and entryways overtaken by vagrancy.
As part of our ongoing series documenting the decline of Anchorage, Must Read Alaska has another set of photos of the “real Anchorage in 2025” — images that stand in sharp relief against the official anniversary banners and speeches.
As the Municipality presses forward with its planned commemorations, the deeper question for Anchorage’s future remains whether the next 50 years will reflect renewal or further decline.
The clash between Big Pharma, a fractured CDC, and the mainstream media has reached a boiling point — and President Donald Trump has had enough. In a blunt Truth Social post this week, he questioned the success of Operation Warp Speed, demanded Pfizer “show the data,” and signaled that Americans deserve answers about the mRNA vaccines now, not later.
In his post, Trump laid out several striking points:
He admitted that not everyone sees the Covid jab as a miracle cure.
He pointed to the raging battle over mRNA shots — a fight so intense it is splitting the CDC — and said it must be resolved.
He stressed that the fallout isn’t on him, since his decisions relied on data provided by Pfizer.
He demanded the company “show us the data” and prove the vaccines’ success.
Most notably, he questioned whether Operation Warp Speed was truly “brilliant” and said if it wasn’t, the American people deserve answers.
And those answers, he made clear, are needed now.
I’m continually struck by Trump’s instinct for what’s really happening in the country. He seems to sense the undercurrents long before others do.
And the signs are clear: the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has rolled out a tactical plan aimed at propping up its vaccine agenda and undermining — or more likely, destroying — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. What I didn’t share in my earlier article is that BIO set a specific timeline for this effort.
At its April 3, 2025 meeting, the group mapped out September as the critical month to shape the vaccine narrative and protect Big Pharma’s position. The strategy is multi-pronged, designed to mislead the public, silence dissenting voices, and safeguard the industry’s dominance.
This is a multi-pronged approach to deceive the public, silence dissent, and preserve industry’s dominance. Here is the link to the plan.
With Congress back in session this month and the federal fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, vaccine policy, public health budgets, and FDA funding are front and center.
For Big Pharma, the stakes couldn’t be higher. If Kennedy’s influence grows, reformers could disrupt the industry’s easy access to federal dollars, slow down regulatory approvals, or even force hearings that expose deep “industry-government entanglements.”
That’s why so much of the effort is aimed at silencing Kennedy’s message — a message grounded in facts, reform principles, and moral clarity. In recent weeks, mainstream outlets have doubled down on labeling him an “anti-vaxxer,” warning that any changes to the vaccine schedule would cost lives.
At the core of BIO’s Vaccine Policy Steering Committee strategy is one issue: mRNA shots. They represent a massive profit stream for pharmaceutical companies and their investors, and recent CDC policy shifts have already taken a toll on their bottom line.
In response, BIO and its allies have escalated their campaign. Eastern states are banding together to craft their own vaccine guidance rather than following the CDC, while governors in Washington, Oregon, and California are pushing a similar agenda.
The elephant in the room remains the mRNA Covid shot. The coastal state governors point to rising case counts — not deaths — as justification for drafting their own vaccine policies. Their plan is to align with groups like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, all of which continue to back widespread Covid vaccination. Translation: follow the money.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon fired back, blasting “Democrat-run states” for the lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine passports of the Covid era—policies he said eroded public trust in health agencies. He emphasized that the administration’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices remains the nation’s scientific authority on vaccines, pledging that HHS will base policy on “rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
Alaska currently plans to follow the CDC’s recommendations.
Another active anti-Kennedy group is “Save HHS.” More than 1,000 current and former HHS employees signed a letter to congress and Kennedy insisting Kennedy resign, after CDC Director Susan Monarez was removed. The letter to Congress says that Kennedy’s actions “compromising the health of the nation.”
The timing of all this is well orchestrated. It’s a major media blitz going on to dramatically affect American opinion in favor of Big Pharma. Its intent is to destroy Kennedy and get him out of HHS. They want someone in there who is more friendly to Big Pharma’s goals.
At the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy addressed the financial needs of HSS with a focus on underlying causes of chronic disease and how to Make America Healthy Again. His focus is not on needing more money for vaccines.
"You've sat in that chair for how long, 20, 25 years? While the chronic disease in our children went up to 76%, and you said nothing. You never asked the question, 'Why is this happening?'" pic.twitter.com/g9plpCiXm8
Questions came from both Republicans and Democrats concerning vaccines and the CDC’s staff resignation. Once more, follow the money to the pockets of the elected officials.
There is much at stake: Will we rid ourselves of Big Pharma’s stranglehold on our healthcare?
Nowhere is there a discussion on what we might need to do to make ourselves healthy again. Instead, we are being taught we are all victims of our life choices that may have led to those chronic diseases.
Trump has every right to be frustrated.This is a hot mess. Trump demands Big Pharma justify its success or answer for any problems found in the data. He wants answers, and he wants them now.
Big Pharma has a lot riding on this. But so do the American people.
Who will win the argument? Big Pharma or Americans?
Come to our Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom event on Oct 11 at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. You can hear Mary Holland, the CEO of Children’s Health Defense founded by Kennedy, talk about vaccine litigation.
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance.
A new report from the Honest Elections Project highlights sweeping election integrity reforms passed in conservative-led states this year—but Alaska was not among them.
According to the report, “Securing the Vote 2025: States Make Major Gains Banning Foreign Funding and Ranked-Choice Voting,” legislatures in 17 states considered bills in 2025 to stop foreign nationals and foreign-funded groups from bankrolling state ballot measure campaigns. Eight states—including Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri—ultimately enacted laws to close the loophole that allows foreign money to influence ballot initiatives. Meanwhile, six more states joined a growing list of those banning ranked-choice voting (RCV), a system that critics say confuses voters, delays results, and undermines confidence in elections.
But despite being one of the top targets for outside spending, Alaska lawmakers failed to advance any such protections. The state has already seen more than $5 million in foreign-tied funding, much of it routed through the left-leaning Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark-money group that watchdogs say has served as a pipeline for foreign-linked contributions. The group, heavily backed by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, has poured over $130 million into ballot measure campaigns across 26 states, including efforts in Alaska to shape election laws.
The Honest Elections Project report warns that this loophole allows foreign actors to influence constitutional amendments and ballot initiatives, even though they are banned from donating to candidates or political action committees. That influence has been particularly evident in states like Michigan and Alaska, where major ballot initiatives funded by the Sixteen Thirty Fund reshaped election rules.
Alaska also stands out as one of only two states using ranked-choice voting statewide. In 2020, voters narrowly adopted the system, and in 2024, despite dark money propping it up in the minds of voters, they came within just 700 votes of repealing the process that disenfranchises voters through ballot exhaustion and creates unusual outcomes in which the candidate with the most first-choice votes can still lose. The report notes that since 2022, 17 states have banned RCV, while Utah is set to end its municipal pilot program this year.
The Alaska Legislature has not acted to ban ranked-choice voting on the municipal level, and Juneau and Anchorage are in the early stages of adopting it for local elections, despite the fact that local races rarely have more than two people running for any given seat
Across the country, Republican-controlled legislatures passed more election-related laws in 2025 than in the prior year—405 compared to 224 in 2024. Most focused on expediting results, preventing noncitizen voting, and closing loopholes that allow foreign interference in ballot campaigns.
Yet Alaska’s Legislature has yet to act. That inaction leaves the state exposed both to dark money from groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund and to a voting system increasingly rejected by states across the country.
With another repeal effort underway by the group Repeal Now, the fight over ranked-choice voting in Alaska is far from over. But without legislative action, the state remains vulnerable to the same outside influence that lawmakers elsewhere are moving swiftly to shut down.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Joint Resolution 106, legislation introduced by Congressman Nick Begich to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s Central Yukon Resource Management Plan.
The vote makes way for a 211-mile industrial-use road that would allow the development of the Ambler Mining District, a state mining district that is unreachable without access across federal land. The access to the mining district was guaranteed by law.
The first Trump administration issued a federal permit for the project in 2020, but the Biden Administration axed the permit.
The Central Yukon RMP, finalized by the Biden administration in 2024, governs 56 million acres in north and central Alaska, stretching from the Brooks Range to the Yukon River. The plan set new restrictions on development by designating more than 3.6 million acres as “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern,” limiting leasing opportunities, and continuing longstanding land withdrawals.
The Biden plan put more than 13 million acres effectively off-limits, curtailing the state’s ability to pursue oil, gas, and mineral projects, harming Alaska’s economy and prevent the state from contributing to U.S. energy and mineral independence at a time when demand for critical minerals is rising globally.
“The 2024 Central Yukon plan locks up more than 13 million acres of public land and blocks projects vital to our nation’s energy security and economic future,” said Congressman Begich. “With this resolution, we are restoring balance to federal land policy and ensuring that Alaska can responsibly contribute to America’s energy and mineral independence. Alaskans know how to balance stewardship and development, and I am proud to have championed this legislation in the House that restores responsible management of our state’s resources.”
Begich’s resolution seeks to repeal the Central Yukon plan outright in order to:
Reinforce US energy security by opening new areas for oil and gas development.
Unlock access to critical minerals used in advanced technologies and defense applications.
Support major projects such as the Alaska LNG pipeline, which is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs and deliver 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The Congressional Review Act requires that before a rule can take effect, an agency must submit the rule to both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the Comptroller General. CRA adopts the definition of “rule” under the Administrative Procedure Act but excludes certain categories of rules from coverage. The Central Yukon RMP meets the APA definition of a “rule,” and is subject to CRA’s submission requirements.
The House vote, 215-210, now places the issue squarely before the U.S. Senate, where lawmakers will now decide whether to reject the Central Yukon plan. The outcome could set an important precedent for how federal land in Alaska is managed in the years ahead, balancing national conservation priorities against the state’s push for resource development.
The Alaska Division of Agriculture has issued a statewide quarantine on two invasive tree species—Prunus padus, known as the European Bird Cherry or Mayday tree, and Prunus virginiana, commonly called the Canada Red or Chokecherry tree.
Effective Sept. 1, the order prohibits the importation, transport, and sale of both species and their parts. State officials say the trees are rapidly spreading in Alaska’s riparian zones and forests, creating monocultures that displace native vegetation and threaten fish and wildlife habitat.
The trees have established themselves across multiple regions, including the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and Juneau.
Chokecherry in bloom.
These species have been documented along creeks and streams, where they reduce insect biomass critical to juvenile salmon, said Bryan Scoresby, Director of the Division of Agriculture. “Many agencies continue to pursue control measures with the goal of eliminating these invasive trees. With this quarantine, the flow of trees into Alaska will stop, making this goal more attainable.”
The invasive Prunus species not only compete with native plants but also pose direct risks to Alaska’s wildlife. They contain a cyanogenic glycoside that is toxic to ruminants such as moose when consumed, reducing the availability of safe winter forage.
In addition, researchers recently detected the fungal disease “Black Knot” (Apiosporina morbosa) on European Bird Cherry trees at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. Black Knot is a serious threat to fruit tree cultivation, especially plums and cherries, and invasive Prunus trees are a potential vector for its spread.
Over the past five years, the Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry & Fire Protection has invested more than $400,000 in control measures across Alaska’s largest boroughs. The agency has also led public outreach campaigns through community meetings, media coverage, and radio ads to warn Alaskans about the risks of invasive Prunus trees. An additional $250,000 has been committed to current projects aimed at eradication.
The Department of Natural Resources said that protecting native ecosystems aligns with its mission to develop, conserve, and maximize the use of Alaska’s natural resources in the public interest.
The Alaska Department of Health has released its fall vaccine update, aligning with the latest federal guidance as the state prepares for flu, RSV, and Covid-19 season, but adding that some medical professional groups have developed alternate guidance.
Flu Vaccine Health officials recommend that everyone six months and older receive the 2025–2026 trivalent influenza vaccine, which is now available statewide. This year’s formulation is a single-dose shot designed to protect against the most common strains expected to circulate. The Department has published new epidemiology bulletins outlining vaccine availability and clinical guidance for providers.
COVID-19 Vaccine On Aug. 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved new Covid vaccines for the 2025–2026 season from Moderna, Pfizer, and Sanofi/Novavax. At the same time, the FDA revoked the Emergency Use Authorization for prior versions of Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax vaccines. These older formulations should no longer be administered.
For children ages six months to 11 years, the revoked EUA vaccines are no longer authorized. For people 12 and older, state health officials emphasize that patients should receive the newly licensed 2025–2026 vaccines rather than last season’s products.
The Alaska Department of Health is directing providers to immediately remove all 2024–2025 Covid vaccines from storage, delete them from inventory systems, and return unused doses to the CDC’s centralized distributor.
RSV Protection Orders for nirsevimab, a preventive antibody for respiratory syncytial virus in infants, continue to be filled as Alaska prepares for the peak RSV season later this fall.
Next Steps The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet September 18–19 to finalize recommendations for Covid vaccines. National groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have already released their alternate preliminary recommendations, but it’s unclear if the Alaska Department of Health will go along with them. Alaska’s Immunization Program will issue further guidance once ACIP’s decisions are published.
The Alaska Support Industry Alliance Board Nominations & Elections Committee is seeking candidates to serve on its Board of Directors, with seven seats available in the Fiscal Year 2026 election. Each term spans three years.
One incumbent has already announced intentions to run again, while the remaining seats are open to new candidates. Election results will be announced at the Alliance’s annual meeting on Thursday, Oct. 23 at the Anchorage Downtown Marriott. Newly elected members will begin their service the following day, Oct. 24.
The Alliance is a nonprofit trade organization representing more than 500 member companies that together provide more than 35,000 Alaskan jobs tied to the oil, gas, and mining industries. Its membership is broad, ranging from electricians and engineers to caterers and consultants, from construction experts to computer specialists, bankers, educators, and more.
The group’s mission is to advocate for the safe, environmentally responsible development of Alaska’s oil, gas, and mineral resources for the benefit of all Alaskans. Board members carry out this mission by improving the business climate for the support industry, communicating with lawmakers in Juneau, educating the public about industry issues, and participating in Alliance events throughout the year.
Board service requires a time commitment of 5 to 10 hours per month, including meetings, committee work, and networking. Members are eligible to serve a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms.
To be considered, candidates must submit a written statement of candidacy, a biography highlighting their professional and industry involvement, and an electronic headshot. All materials must be received by theAlliance officeno later than Friday, Sept. 5.
Republicans like to say Democrats are finished — that their brand is so toxic no one wants to be associated with them. But in Alaska, the opposite is true.
The Democratic Party, working alongside a web of progressive organizations that are surrogate tentacles of the party, is quietly and steadily training the next generation of political leaders through its Alaska Women Ascend program.
Next month, Alaska Women Ascend will host its 2025 Leadership Training on the Alaska Pacific University campus. The program is a 2.5-day intensive, billed as an empowerment track for “progressive women leaders” from across the state. Since its launch in 2017, nearly 400 Alaska women have completed the training. Graduates have gone on to serve as assembly members, nonprofit directors, campaign staffers, mayors, and even state legislators.
The effort is a partnership between the Alaska Democratic Party and a slate of progressive allies, including Progress Alaska, Alaska March On, SEIU, IBEW Local 1547, and 907 Initiative. Former Democratic Party Executive Director Kay Brown, a former legislator and Alaska Democrat royalty, was among the program’s original founders.
This year, AWA is also introducing a “Next Gen Cohort” aimed at women ages 18 to 24, a move that demonstrates the party’s focus on cultivating leadership from the youngest possible ranks, and also its possible realization that it is getting long in the tooth in Alaska. Participants receive hands-on training in campaign work, fundraising, and field operations, alongside mentorship and networking opportunities with party insiders.
By contrast, Alaska Republicans are not offering anything comparable. While conservatives insist Democrats are fading, Democrats are quietly ensuring a pipeline of trained, motivated, and connected leaders will be ready to step into positions of influence for years to come.
The takeaway: The narrative that the Democrats are mortally wounded by their own sword is a possible case of wishful thinking.
According to the Washington Department of Revenue, new business activities impacted by the tax include advertising services, live presentations, information technology services, custom website development services and more.
“Not only is it going to be a significant new tax on a whole host of things, but it’s so poorly defined….you know, food, gas, housing, childcare, healthcare, it’s all getting taxed,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, told The Center Square. “It’s all going to accrue to a higher cost of living for Washingtonians across the state. And that’s bad, that’s really bad.”
In an Aug 22 commentary, Braun wrote, “The sales-tax hike isn’t the largest of the tax increases that will hit when October arrives. That title belongs to the jump in the business-and-occupation tax rate, which is expected to take another $5.6 billion from Washington employers over four years.”
Braun noted the Washington DOR typically has months or longer to spell out exactly how new taxes will impact businesses. This year, majority Democrats rushed through major tax hikes in the final days of the 2025 legislative session, giving the department little time to provide details.
“Normally what you’d see is the Department of Revenue going through a formal rulemaking process with input from tax professionals saying, ‘OK, what about this, and what about this? How do I give advice to my clients on this to make sure that they collect it?’” said Braun.
Braun said the tax on “presentations” leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
“That could be entertainment. It could be education. It could be a safety brief or driver training. All that stuff under this broad law that could be taxed,” said Braun.
On it’s website, DOR noted it is devoting significant resources to developing and publishing guidance prior to the effective date of Oct.1, 2025 including Interim Guidance Statements (IGSs) to be published in September for advertising services, custom software, temporary staffing businesses and more.
“Not only is it going to be a significant new tax on a whole host of things, but it’s so poorly defined….you know, food, gas, housing, childcare, healthcare, it’s all getting taxed,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, told The Center Square. “It’s all going to accrue to a higher cost of living for Washingtonians across the state. And that’s bad, that’s really bad.”
In an Aug 22 commentary, Braun wrote, “The sales-tax hike isn’t the largest of the tax increases that will hit when October arrives. That title belongs to the jump in the business-and-occupation tax rate, which is expected to take another $5.6 billion from Washington employers over four years.”
Braun noted the Washington DOR typically has months or longer to spell out exactly how new taxes will impact businesses. This year, majority Democrats rushed through major tax hikes in the final days of the 2025 legislative session, giving the department little time to provide details.
“Normally what you’d see is the Department of Revenue going through a formal rulemaking process with input from tax professionals saying, ‘OK, what about this, and what about this? How do I give advice to my clients on this to make sure that they collect it?’” said Braun.
Braun said the tax on “presentations” leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
“That could be entertainment. It could be education. It could be a safety brief or driver training. All that stuff under this broad law that could be taxed,” said Braun.
On it’s website, DOR noted it is devoting significant resources to developing and publishing guidance prior to the effective date of Oct.1, 2025 including Interim Guidance Statements (IGSs) to be published in September for advertising services, custom software, temporary staffing businesses and more.
