The Biden administration has granted approval for the Alaska Gasline Development Corp’s (AGDC) project to export liquefied natural gas, according to a document seen by Reuters. The project, valued at $39 billion, is expected to start up by 2030, subject to obtaining the needed permits.
The approval allows exports to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the US, with destinations including Asian countries. This approval comes as the U.S. looks to compete with Russia for gas exports from the Arctic to Asia. The project involves the construction of a liquefaction facility in Nikiski and an 807-mile-long pipeline for transporting gas from the North Slope.
The Trump administration had first approved exports for the project, which has since faced opposition from environmental groups. The Biden administration conducted an environmental review and concluded that the economic and international energy security benefits outweighed the environmental and imagined climate damage. Notably, the administration also banned the venting of greenhouse gases from the project into the atmosphere, a modification of the Trump approval. But venting gases was not part of the proposal to begin with.
This is the second recent approval of a fossil fuel mega-project by the Biden Administration following ConocoPhillips’ $7 billion Willow oil and gas drilling project, which the administration scaled back dramatically. The approvals of these two projects are bringing harsh criticism from environmental industry voices.
“This is a significant step toward getting more jobs for our families and a boost toward getting the Alaska LNG (AK-LNG) pipeline project built,” said Rick Whitbeck, Alaska State Director of Power The Future. “The approval proves that the Biden Administration finally acknowledges the key role fossil fuels play in our energy future. It’s unfortunate that it took President Biden over two years to realize his ‘America-last’ priorities have killed U.S. jobs, empowered China and led to increased costs for American families. Still, we applaud this action, as AK-LNG is a worthwhile project that deserves to be built.”
Dozens of public school teachers in Alaska have spoken out against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s House Bill 105, the legislation that ensures that teachers are not keeping secrets from parents about students who are starting to have gender confusion.
Another House committee hearing was held on Thursday night, and at the request of opposing legislators such as Rep. Andrew Gray and Rep. Jennie Armstrong, teachers and LGBTQ Alaskans from across the states clogged the phone lines.
According to the teachers who testified on Thursday before the House Education Committee, teachers have a right and a duty to keep these matters secret.
The teachers said that minors have a right to change their names at school without their parents knowing about it.
The teachers also insisted that boys with penises should be allowed to use female bathrooms and locker rooms without their parents knowing about it.
In other words, once parents release their children to schools, they must trust the teachers to have confidential talks with their children, no matter the subject matter. There are some things that parents should just not know.
Members of the LGBTQ community and their self-described allies agreed with the teachers who testified: They believe it is a First Amendment right for a minor of any age to be able to change his or her name and gender identity without a parent knowing, and for schools to keep self-chosen names secret from parents.
Under this new right that testifiers believe minors have under the U.S. Constitution, a kindergarten student could have a different name at school, and be assigned a different gender identity than the name and gender at home. At school, a boy could be called a girl, while at home he would be known as a son and brother. School records, as in done in Anchorage, could have one set of documents for teachers and administrators, and another set of documentation for parents, with different information.
The Thursday hearing was much like another recent hearing, with only about 36 Alaskans speaking out in favor of parents’ rights in education and a flood of teachers, LBGTQ advocates and parents of transgenders taking over the phone lines.
HB 105 establishes parameters for what schools can teach regarding the brave new world of sex education, without parents affirmatively opting in to the curriculum. Current state law has an opt-out provision for parents to sign, but this bill puts more responsibility on parents to inform themselves about what is being taught. Without a permission slip, students may not be able to stay in class for such lessons as how to have anal sex, or whether they are actually a different gender.
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states that we Americans have “the right to keep and bear arms.”
It is a constitutional check on power by the federal government and clearly intended as a means of protection for an individual’s right to self-defense.
It was never intended to be restricted by Congress or the courts to just sporting events and hunting. Today the foundation of the Second Amendment is under attack by progressive politicians and a judicial system that believes the constitution is a “fluid” document that must evolve with the times.
No place is the principle of the Second Amendment’s right to self-defense more basic than when it applies to you, your family, or your property. Law enforcement deters criminal activity and responds when criminal activity occurs.
However, when you have a home invasion, whether to steal property or harm the occupants, it takes several minutes after the 911 call for law enforcement to arrive. Those minutes may make a difference between life and death. In that short interval, Alaskans have the right to protect themselves, using deadly force, if warranted. Alaska is one of several states that have enacted “Stand your Ground” laws, which allows us to defend ourselves from imminent and deadly attacks.
When natural disasters, such as earthquakes, wildfires, tsunami’s, hurricanes, or tornadoes devastate a community, criminals often take advantage of the situation to loot, steal, rob, and in some cases cause bodily injury to innocent victims. During these disasters, law enforcement is stretched thin providing essential public safety. They are often not available to respond to individual calls for assistance. In fact, during a disaster, it is often necessary to activate the Alaska National Guard and the Alaska State Defense Force to augment law enforcement’s protection of life and property.
In these periods, when an emergency declaration has been activated, Alaskans must have the ability to protect their family and property from criminals. We are a constitutional carry state, which means we have the right to use appropriate force when necessary for self-defense. This right is not permitted just during peaceful periods, but also must be preserved during times of emergency declarations. That is not the time our right to self-defense should ever be restricted.
House Bill 61 is a commonsense legislative protection to ensure no governor, Legislature, state agency, or municipality may unconstitutionally prohibit or restrict our right to possess and lawfully use a firearm against any life-threatening event during a declared emergency. To preserve our constitutional rights under the second amendment, HB 61 should become law during this legislative session.
Take action – Let our elected officials know that our right to bear arms is not “fluid” and you support HB 61.
Craig E. Campbell is the former lieutenant governor of Alaska and currently serves as Alaska Republican Party National Committeeman, on the Republican National Committee.
Last week, during a scheduled Juneau City and Borough Assembly Finance Committee meeting, City and Borough of Juneau staff introduced the FY2024 draft budget for consideration. This was the first of many meetings examining the budget prior to final Finance Committee action on May 17 and adoption by the full Assembly on June 12th. In conjunction with the budget, the FY2024 millage rate and Capital Improvement Plan budget will also be adopted.
According to the City Manager’s Budget Message accompanying the presentation, the FY24 budget will break new ground with higher revenues and expenses than in any prior year in Juneau’s history.
Without question, impacts of continued inflation and lingering effects of the pandemic have contributed to a higher budget, but Assembly actions have also been a crucial factor.
Recurring FY24 expenditures are expected to grow by nearly $10.6 million over FY23. That increase is offset by revenues but doesn’t include $16.0 million of one-time spending, to be funded from the city’s unrestricted fund balance. That one-time expense includes $10 million for a proposed new city hall, bringing the total amount already appropriated for that project to $16.3 million.
The City Manager states a new city hall will substantially reduce CBJ’s long-term operating costs. He contends that current office space conditions are unacceptable and that the city’s continued rental of space is an inefficient use of the public dollar.
Yet, a bond issue for $35 million to partially pay for that project was turned down by voters last October. While that election wasn’t a yes/no vote on the City Hall project, per se, it was a pretty good indication that voters either don’t want to pay for it or that they believe there are better, less expensive options than new construction.
The CBJ Assembly, however, has taken the position that the electorate just doesn’t understand the benefits of a new city hall, so they are plowing ahead with the plan anyway and intend to spend $50,000 on a public campaign to “educate” voters.
Regardless of the fiscal gymnastics, whether the city pays cash or borrows the money, the full costs (both capital and operating) will be borne by taxpayers. It seems like the Assembly should be listening more closely to them. It’s not as if voters don’t believe city employees should have decent working conditions. Or, in the case of the proposed $75 million Capital Civic Center project, that arts and culture doesn’t play an important part in the quality of life in the community. Most voters do believe that.
But Juneau’s cost of living is also an integral and vital component of quality of life. Public projects that have indeterminate recurring costs and one-time expenditures that have outsize impacts on the budget must be balanced against the need to keep basic living expenses low. Food and housing prices and taxes need to be within a range that encourages economic development and attracts new residents, thereby allowing the tax base to grow organically.
Unfortunately, Juneau’s demographic trends are working against this. With school-age and working-age population dwindling, required taxes will continue to increase at the individual level making it even more expensive to live in Juneau.
A look at the latest increase in Juneau’s residential property tax assessments shows how this is beginning to play out. 2023 assessments increased nearly 16% for single-family homes. In response, the City Manager has recommended a reduction in the millage rate of .28 mills, from 10.56 to 10.28. Any reduction is welcome, but that is trivial in comparison to the increase in city revenue. For example, if a property assessment went from $475,000 to $550,000, the owner will pay, and the city will gain, an additional $638 in taxes next year. That is only $154 less than would be paid without the millage rate reduction – less than a quarter of what the city gains through increased valuation.
In other words, the proposed millage rate decrease is minor compared to what property owners will shell out and the city collects in increased taxes. That difference is what is funding the 2023 budget increase.
But the city can claim it is “reducing taxes” and the budget is “balanced.”
You be the judge.
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.
Mayor Dave Bronson named Kent Kohlhase as municipal manager. Kohlhase had served as acting municipal manager since December 2022, since former manager Amy Demboski and the mayor parted ways.
Kohlhase has worked for the Municipality since 2013, starting as the private development manager in Development Services. In 2015, he became the design section manager and municipal engineer in Project Management & Engineering. He was promoted to director of PM&E in September 2019. Mayor Bronson appointed him as Public Works director in November 2022.
“Kent’s dedication to public service, calm demeanor, and long tenure with the Municipality make him a natural choice for Municipal Manager,” said Bronson.“Over the last four months Kent has provided a steady and balanced approach to the role, and clearly has the experience to assume the permanent responsibilities. I am pleased to have him as my Municipal Manager and look forward to the progress we will accomplish together.”
Kohlhase graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He has been a registered Professional Engineer since 1998.
Kohlhase’s appointment is effective immediately, and his confirmation is subject to Assembly approval.
A phantom organization incorporated in Alaska just weeks ago appears to have orchestrated the hundreds of fraudulent parking stickers that turned up recently on Honolulu’s meters, and two people registered as its officials claim someone else is using their names.
The Honolulu Police Department is investigating the sticker scam that tricks people into submitting parking payments to an unauthorized website.
HPD and the city’s Department of Transportation Services had removed about 200 of the stickers from Chinatown to Waikiki by Thursday afternoon, according to Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for the mayor. Legitimate stickers remain on about 1,700 meters.
“We believe we have removed all the fake stickers,” Scheuring said.
But who perpetrated the scam remains a mystery.
Before the fraudulent payment page was shut down, a line at the bottom of the site pointed to: “Hawaii Parking Organization.”
“There is no such organization as the Hawaii Parking Organization,” DTS said in a press release.
In fact, Hawaii Parking Organization was registered recently — March 26 — in Alaska as a domestic nonprofit corporation, its articles of incorporation show.
The volcanic eruption in Kamchatka, Russia, has sent ash plumes into the air, where they are traveling east toward Alaska air space. Plumes of ash have been spotted over the Gulf of Alaska.
As reported earlier, flights in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and western Alaska are being canceled by the dozens. Ash from volcanic eruptions can destroy jet engines.
The Siveluch volcano’s ash cloud heading toward Alaska is moving at about 30 knots at about 32,000 feet, which is the altitude that commercial aircraft cruise.
As of Thursday, Alaska Seaplanes, which serves Southeast Alaska, has canceled flights to Haines and Skagway from Juneau.
Over two dozen flights have been canceled, primarily out of Anchorage, Juneau, Deadhorse, and Kodiak.
House Bill 105 is the subject of a public hearing on Thursday, April 13 in the House Education Committee, with testimony taken at 5:15 pm.
The Thursday evening hearing can be viewed at Gavel Alaska at this link.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s parental rights bill preserves the rights of parents to know what is being taught to their children in school on subjects that have always been sensitive: sexuality and alternative gender identity. Should schools, run by radical teachers unions, be indoctrinating children with sex education in kindergarten without parents’ knowledge? That’s just one topic that’s sure to bring out opinions.
During the first public hearing this month, the calls to the committee were dominated by those who believe teachers and children should keep secrets about gender identity from parents. The teachers and LGBTQ activists said parents are the problem and cannot be trusted. What happens at school must stay at school, they told the committee. Many of those testifying appeared to be still suffering from childhood trauma.
The bill has opposition from many educators who view parents as the enemy. The matter involves whether sex education curriculum should be something that parents “opt into” so they have informed consent about what sexual material is being offered to their children.
Already, radical senators have introduced a different bill that would mandate “age-appropriate,” “science-based” sex education start as early as kindergarten. SB 43 is cleverly titled “An Act relating to health and personal safety education,” demonstrating the lack of transparency and honesty in education about which parents have grown concerned. Testimony on that bill can be viewed at this legislative link.
HB 105 provides more transparency for parents who are concerned that schools may be giving their children new gender identities without parents’ or guardians’ knowledge, or secretly giving them new gender names or alternative pronouns (he, her, ze, etc.)
In 1978, Congress enacted the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, giving parents the right to inspect curriculum being taught to their children. In 2016, the State of Alaska passed a parental rights bill, defining parental authority and ensuring that a parent could withdraw their children from any test or curriculum they deemed inappropriate.
HB 105 further defines parental authority and changes the language around human growth and development and sexual education from parental right to “opt out” to the requirement that parents must “opt in.”
The mainstream media has misled Alaskans about HB105, intentionally mischaracterizing the bill as somehow discriminating against gender-confused or alternative gender students.
HB 105 protects the privacy and safety for all students, by designating bathrooms and locker rooms according to biological sex or providing for the use of single-occupant facilities for gender-alternating students.
HB 105 protects students by allowing a counselor to withhold information from parents if there is reasonable belief that disclosure of the information would cause abuse, harm, or neglect.
HB 105 requires parental notification and permission to participate in sexual education, including gender identity, and to change a student’s name at school. HB105 protects children by establishing that parents, not school personnel, have the authority in their children’s education.
The bill is narrower than other parental rights bills advancing around the country in Republican-led states in response to an increasing trend in schools to push gender-bending or highly sexualized content on very young children. In Florida, a parental rights billalso covered medical procedures done to children without parents’ consent, such as gender reshaping or the prescribing of puberty-blocking medications. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed that bill one year ago.
The Dunleavy bill was introduced to the House on March 8, and has been referred to Education, Judiciary, and Finance. Because of its late introduction, it’s not likely to pass both bodies this year and the Democrat-controlled Senate is likely to run the clock out on the bill, even if it makes it out of the House.
Some flights in and out of Anchorage are being canceled Thursday because of ash from the volcanic eruption on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia has reached the skies in Western Alaska. Many of the cancelations involve flights to places like Bethel, Dillingham, and King Salmon. Even flights to and from Homer and Nome are showing up on the canceled/delayed list.
Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola was on a flight back from Honolulu, but her flight returned to Hawaii due to the suspended ash cloud. On Thursday, she was still was still on the ground.
Two dozen Alaska Airlines flights as of this writing have been canceled, and more airports are expected to be impacted across the state as schedules get backed up. For example, Fairbanks International Airport is now seeing delays.
The Sheveluch volcano in the Russian Far East erupted over the weekend, and flights that usually take a more northerly route have been heading across the Pacific Ocean at a much lower latitude than normal, avoiding the North Pacific.
