In a half hour spent with the Capitol press corps this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski brought up her own electability, which may be in question even for her, a senator who has served since being appointed by her father, Gov. Frank Murkowski, in 2002.
Murkowski brought up election politics in a government building — the Alaska Capitol — straying close to the line of improper use of a government facility for partisan elections.
In remarks that were more animated than her usual pace, Murkowski responded to a reporter’s question about how anyone should believe her when she says things will be OK. She said she has no choice but to try to work with President Donald Trump, and that she expects Elon Musk will try to take her out in the next election cycle.
Here are her remarks:
“I’m not going to compromise my own integrity by hiding from my words when I feel they need to be spoken. I’m going to take the criticism that comes,” Murkowski said.
“It may be, it may be that Elon Musk has decided he’s going to take the next billion dollars that he makes off of Starlink and put it directly against Lisa Murkowski. And you know what? That may happen,” she said, foreshadowing 2028’s election.
Murkowski has been a supporter of fiber optic broadband solutions for Alaska, and has not championed the small, low-orbit satellites that Starlink has provided for Alaskan customers, a solution that has been cheaper and much-preferred by many in the 49th state.
Although there is a viable alternative, Murkowski has pushed for hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for companies that are part of the Alaska Broadband Initiative, the fiber optic cable solution; these companies also donate to her campaigns for reelection. Starlink has been cut out of that grant process by the fiber optic cable companies winning the awards and the federal government that is picking winners and losers in broadband.
As we chart our economic future, the contentious issue of raising oil taxes has once again reared its less than attractive head. Long reliant on income from our petroleum resources to fund state government, Alaska now stands at an important crossroads.
The majority of revenue necessary to run state government now comes from Alaska Permanent Fund earnings rather than from oil royalties. It is critical that Alaska promotes a healthy and expanding petroleum industry to reverse this dangerous trend.
While increasing oil taxes might seem expeditious in the short term, such tax hikes are analogous to winning the battle but losing the war.
Alaska competes for oil and gas investment dollars on the global market. Among the list of factors considered by potential investors, stable and predictable tax policy rates near the top. As we saw with the ‘Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share’ (ACES) tax regime of 2008, and the ‘Petroleum Production Tax’ (PPT) before it, adjusting oil tax policy every time the state anticipates a revenue shortfall only serves to stoke investor fears of uncertainty. This uncertainty discourages new exploration and development.
With the Alaska LNG project, new oil discoveries, and a federal administration poised to approve a bonanza of projects diversifying Alaska’s economy and providing significant job creation, this is the absolute worst time to be imperiling essential investment by raising the specter of higher taxes.
Alaska is already competing with other states, such as Texas and North Dakota, which offer more favorable tax structures. Alaska needs to send a clear message: We’re open for business, ready to attract and retain investment in our oil and gas sectors now.
The global economy is still recovering from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Alaska’s economy is no exception. Energy markets are experiencing more volatility due to disruptions in the middle east and the war in Ukraine. So, at a time when the energy sector is seeking stability, and with so many other places to invest, why would we risk being passed over because we increase oil taxes and exacerbate uncertainty? The answer is emphatically that we should not.
Alaska should focus on measures that stimulate growth and recovery. By incentivizing the oil and gas industry with consistent tax policy, rather than dissuading it with uncertainty, we can ensure a steady flow of jobs, investment, and revenue in the long term. This approach does not just benefit industry but provides for state-funded programs and supports the broader economy, including small businesses, and local communities.
Alaska stands at a pivotal moment. The decisions our state government makes today will determine Alaska’s economic future for decades to come. By resisting the urge to raise oil taxes and instead embracing the Alaska LNG project and other opportunities on the horizon with consistent tax policy, Alaska will position itself as a leader in the energy sector. This is a time for vision. By fostering a stable and competitive tax environment, Alaska attracts investment, creates jobs, and ensures a prosperous economy for generations to come.
Increasing oil taxes at this critical juncture would be a step in the wrong direction. Let’s reject short-term thinking and seize the opportunities ahead. If we exercise prudent restraint with oil taxation, we can and will secure Alaska’s position as a global energy leader and pave the way to a bright future for all of us.
Rep. DeLena Johnson represents District 25, including Palmer, Butte, Lazy Mountain, and the Walby Lake area.
Tesla, the electric vehicle carmaker led by Elon Musk, has become the target of an unprecedented wave of vandalism and destruction, allegedly carried out by radicalized Democratic activists. The surge in attacks comes as Musk plays a central role in federal cost-cutting measures under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Radicalized Americans have been captured on video as they have vandalized the cars, and recently one man was recorded as he smeared his own fecal matter on a Tesla.
While Tesla was once the darling of the Left, since its CEO became a supporter of President Trump, the Democrats have turned on Musk and his electric cars with a vengeance.
From Tesla showrooms to electric vehicle charging stations, vandals have defaced, damaged, or outright destroyed property carrying the Tesla logo. Some attackers have slammed items like luggage into the cars, scratched and keyed the vehicles, while others have covered charging stations with Nazi graffiti. In Las Vegas, several vehicles were set on fire with homemade Molotov cocktail bombs.
? #BREAKING: MULTIPLE Teslas were set on fire in Las Vegas this morning by yet another terrorist
They’re CLEARLY not being deterred, so the DOJ MUST step up their enforcement actions.
So far, NO examples have been made. These terrorists are becoming increasingly brazen, as it… pic.twitter.com/rL3oLE7L85
Although no injuries have been reported, the widespread nature of these attacks has drawn federal attention.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi declared the acts of vandalism against Tesla to be “domestic terrorism.”
The Justice Department has already charged multiple suspects and is pursuing additional cases.
“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Bondi said. “The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences.”
Bondi also suggested that organizers behind the scenes may be fueling the attacks. “We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes,” she said.
The attacks appear to be supported by the Democratic Party, whose leaders such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said they would take their opposition to Trump to a street fight.
“Our teams are actively working on the Tesla incidents and the swatting incidents, along with our other responsibilities to keep the Homeland safe,” said Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI.
The group “Indivisible,” which has been active in Anchorage, is linked to the war on Tesla. Billionaire George Soros foundation has given Indivisible nearly $8 million dollars to work with in its latest “Tesla takedown” protest activity, scheduled for March 24 in various parts of the country.
The group was behind the fake outrage at GOP town halls. They got a lot of USAID money indirectly before the inauguration. pic.twitter.com/jkyHaTsiCC
The vandalism against Tesla started in January, notably when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded and burned at the entrance to Trump Tower in Las Vegas on New Years Day.
President Trump has expressed strong support for Musk amid the wave of vandalism. In a show of solidarity, Trump recently invited a convoy of Tesla vehicles to the White House for a personal shopping event, even allowing reporters to witness the event. Reporters gave it negative coverage, however.
As the head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, Musk spearheads the efforts to trim federal agencies. His cost-cutting measures have already led to the virtual shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and he has taken steps to reduce the size of the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies that skim dollars from taxpayer.
A sign with the “Indivisible” slogan is shown during a protest by Democrats in Anchorage last month, an indication that the group Indivisible is still active in Alaska.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has condemned DOGE but in her remarks to the Alaska Legislature this week, she did not condemn the domestic terrorists attacking people in their homes, destroying their cars, and spraying swastikas on buildings. She only focused her ire on Trump.
Murkowski did, however, mention to reporters that she expects Musk to support an opponent in her next reelection, which would be in 2028.
March 20 is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, when the sun crosses over the equator and heads north due to the Earth’s tilt. Day and night are roughly equal on this day.
It’s the time of year in Alaska when the days get noticeably longer every day and Alaskans welcome the sun back (along with mosquitoes, summer chores, and sometimes sun-induced insomnia).
What a great day to support Must Read Alaska. If you appreciate this publication (and forum of Alaska commentary) please click on the donate box and chip in to keep us going. Alaska is worth it!
Thank you in advance, and to those who have supported Must Read Alaska since its inception in 2015, the heartiest thank you!
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Ethic determined that former Borough Assemblywoman Savannah Fletcher committed several ethics violations in connection with a series of radio segments she recorded in 2023.
The ruling, made after a complaint was filed by North Pole resident Rita Trometter in September 2024, found that Fletcher failed to properly disclose that she was speaking in a personal capacity rather than on behalf of the Assembly.
Trometter’s complaint cited Fletcher’s radio segments on KFAR and TED FM 103.9, in which she discussed Assembly meeting agendas and upcoming votes. The Board of Ethics concluded that Fletcher’s choice of topics and language expressed a particular perspective, and was not simply neutral information. She was engaged in persuasive communication.
The ethics board found that Fletcher, who is a lawyer who files complaints against conservatives for her day job, framed certain issues, such as school funding and climate action initiatives, with implied opinions and did not state they were her personal opinions. She used phrases like “watered-down climate action plan,” and “do you support the schools?” where she indicated that a vote against funding would lead to larger class sizes.
There are similarities to a 2023 case involving Assembly member Barbara Haney, who was cited for failing to clarify that a newspaper opinion piece reflected her personal views. She was fined $1.
Fletcher’s request for a summary judgment dismissing portions of the charges was denied. Fletcher will not be fined $1, like Haney was. In Haney’s case, the Assembly also issued a formal censure and the symbolic one-dollar fine—a decision currently under appeal in Alaska Superior Court.
Former Pilot Station Mayor Arthur Sammy Heckman, Sr., 68, has been sentenced for a felony conviction of unlawful interference with an election.
Heckman pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, was sentenced to 12 months of incarceration, with all of the time suspended, and five years of probation by Bethel Superior Court Judge Nathanial Peters.
Judge Peters emphasized that the sentencing aimed to support rehabilitation, deter future misconduct, and restore public trust in local government.
In his statement to the court, Heckman apologized to the community but claimed he did not understand that his actions were wrong. Judge Peters, however, found this assertion lacking credibility, citing a 2013 public censure by the Calista Corporation for similar conduct during Heckman’s tenure on its Board of Directors.
Heckman was initially indicted in July 2024 on eight felony and eight misdemeanor charges related to election misconduct in the 2022 and 2023 Pilot Station municipal elections. These charges stemmed from his time as acting mayor following the death of Mayor Nicky Myers in May 2022. According to the Pilot Station Municipal Code, Heckman was to serve as acting mayor only until the October 2022 municipal election, after which a newly seated City Council would elect a mayor.
Instead, Heckman took deliberate actions to obstruct the election process. Immediately after the October 2022 election, he directed City Clerk Ruthie Borromeo to lock away the ballots and prevent them from being counted. The following year, in October 2023, he instructed Borromeo not to hold an election at all, allowing him to remain in power.
The misconduct was reported to the Office of Special Prosecutions and the Alaska State Troopers by concerned residents of Pilot Station, including late City Council Member Anita M. Myers, and local government specialists in the region.The case was investigated by Sergeant Nathan Bucknall of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Erin McCarthy.
As part of a plea agreement, the remaining charges against Heckman were dismissed. He avoided immediate jail time, and received a slap-on-the-wrist probation for the felony conviction.
Aak’w Landing, the long-proposed cruise dock development in downtown Juneau is one step closer to reality.
During an Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting on March 17, Assembly members approved a draft ordinance empowering the city manager to begin negotiations to allow the project to proceed. The ordinance now heads to the full Assembly for a hearing and formal approval at their April 7 meeting.
With few exceptions, discussion remained positive and productive. Most Assembly members clearly realize what an economic boost this project will provide to Juneau’s economy.
The $200-million enterprise includes a cruise dock, welcome center, retail and dining options, a public park, underground parking, and an indigenous knowledge, science, and cultural center. The development will generate significant city property and sales taxes, promote healthy growth, and help staunch our declining population and shrinking tax base.
Project owner Huna Totem Corporation has plowed through a multitude of bureaucratic and legal requirements that delayed the project for years.
However, the Assembly’s predilection for over-regulation and micromanagement was on full display. Leading up to the meeting, Assembly members submitted numerous draft amendments to the proposed enabling ordinance authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a necessary tidelands lease.
While some amendments were fairly innocuous, others revealed a lack of understanding of their possible impact.
Among the more benign proposals were suggestions for HTC to participate in collaborative scheduling of cruise ships, inflation adjustments to lease payments, and a ban on rental car facilities and commercial activities on the seawalk. Most had already been discussed informally or were standard lease provisions.
Some of the more questionable amendments included:
Ships at dock no larger than 4,400 passenger capacity
Lease incentives to encourage clean fuel usage and shore power development
A right-of-first-refusal for CBJ in the event of project sale
US Coast Guard written assurance of dock compatibility with their icebreaker
During Assembly discussion, several members pointed out that these amendments could be problematic, particularly since they only pertain to the Huna Totem dock but not the other four docks in Juneau (two of which are owned by CBJ).
Ultimately, the passenger capacity amendment and the USCG approval amendment passed but the right-of-first-refusal and lease incentive amendments were defeated.
These actions are precedent-breaking, since up to now, cruise activity has been adjusted through mutual negotiation that applies to all docks. Examples include limits on daily cruise passenger numbers, hot berthing, anchoring, and lightering, as well as a 5-ship daily limit which caps additional cruise ships within the borough, regardless of the number of docks.
Apparently, city leaders are comfortable inserting restrictions on a new dock that don’t apply to other docks including their own. In fact, no other Juneau dock has any significant restrictions except borough-wide negotiated limits.
So why disadvantage one dock over another? If a provision is that important, negotiating voluntary restrictions among cruise lines that apply to all docks is a more equitable approach.
Regarding the requirement for written Coast Guard approval that the Huna Totem dock won’t impede docking of the new icebreaker, there is no existing mechanism by which that can be obtained. The USCG has no authority to “approve” someone else’s dock Surely, the city can rely on its own approved simulations or studies, as it has done with the other four docks in Juneau.
Particularly disturbing was a last-minute amendment spearheaded by Alicia Hughes-Skandijs that would arbitrarily charge above market rate for the tidelands lease. The inherent conflict of interest should be obvious since the city’s docks will compete with Aak’w Landing. The idea was tabled but may surface again.
Huna Totem has not only satisfied concerns about the project raised during public meetings, they’ve gone well beyond what’s been required of any other dock in Juneau At their expense, Huna Totem will construct a seawalk and offer shore power, even though similar existing dock improvements have been funded with passenger fees.
It isn’t in anyone’s best interest for city leaders to levy duplicative, overly-restrictive, and self-serving requirements that threaten project financial viability and ultimately could lead to further deterioration in Juneau’s economy along with higher taxes on a shrinking population.
It takes political courage to tell naysayers, “I want this city to grow, because this is the only way it will be affordable to live here.”
Thankfully, the Assembly has taken the first step.
After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening became a regular opinion page columnist for the Juneau Empire. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations.
The Alaska Legislature met in joint session today to debate a resolution that would have denied Gov. Mike Dunleavy the ability to create a Department of Agriculture.
The vote was 32-28.
It takes 31 votes in a joint session of the Alaska Legislature to disapprove or stop a governor’s executive order from becoming effective. The vote must occur within 60 days of the start of a regular legislative session, after which the order takes effect unless it has been disapproved.
A yes vote during the joint session meant the resolution was approved to deny the new department.
A no vote majority would have meant approval of the new department.
Debate was extensive, and the final vote was mainly along Democrat-Republican caucus lines.
Preliminary reports from the NTSB suggest that the plane was overloaded with cargo and baggage by more than 1,000 pounds at takeoff, a critical factor that may have contributed to the crash. Investigators are examining whether the excess weight affected the aircraft’s performance, particularly in light of reported icing conditions.
The aircraft departed Unalakleet at 2:37 pm AST under an instrument flight rules clearance, cruising at 8,000 feet mean sea level. The pilot, an experienced aviator with 2,500 total flight hours — 1,060 of which were in the Cessna 208B — was in communication with Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center throughout the flight.
As the flight neared Nome, controllers temporarily closed the airport’s runway for deicing, instructing the pilot to slow the aircraft. The pilot complied, reducing speed to approximately 110–120 knots and descending to 6,000 feet. At 3:19 pm, the autopilot disengaged, and the aircraft’s airspeed plummeted to 99 knots, then 70 knots. The aircraft continued its descent, reaching just 1,325 feet at 3:20:09 pm. The last satellite reading indicated an altitude of only 200 feet before impact moments later.
Investigators highlight in the report that the aircraft exceeded its maximum takeoff weight by an estimated 1,058 pounds due to cargo and baggage. Overloading can significantly impact an aircraft’s ability to climb, maintain altitude, and handle adverse weather conditions.
Weather reports at the time indicated light snow and potential icing between 2,000 and 8,000 feet. While the plane was equipped with a TKS ice protection system, it remains unclear whether it was fully operational at the time of impact. Wreckage analysis revealed minor ice accumulation, but the exact role of icing in the crash is still under review.
Search teams discovered the wreckage scattered across a floating icepack in Norton Sound. The aircraft sustained significant impact damage but showed no signs of in-flight structural failure. Authorities continue to analyze avionics data, pilot actions, and external factors to determine the primary cause of the crash.
