Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 295
A steering committee has been selected to head up restructuring of the Alaska Marine Highway System. In May the office of Gov. Bill Walker tasked regional economic forum Southeast Conference with revitalizing the state’s maritime transportation network, a two-phase process which will involve looking both at its organizational structure and business model. To that end, a committee representing AMHS’ varied user base was selected from around 25 applicants. “We had quite a few names to choose from,” commented Robert Venables, transpo...
Wrangell's annual Independence Day celebration draws hundreds of visitors, from former residents and current ones' relatives to returning tourists. Among the weekend's visitors were Sen. Bert Stedman of District R and Republican candidate for House District 36 Bob Sivertsen. On a brief break before returning to Juneau for a special session beginning on July 11, Stedman explained the purpose of his visit to Wrangell was twofold: catching the first two days of its Fourth festivities and visiting w...
In the current budget that was approved by the majority of Alaskan Legislators, 430 million dollars is allocated for direct cash payouts to oil companies in the form of credits. The state’s obligation for this year’s credits is 750 million dollars. Thus, even if the State of Alaska pays out the allocated 430 million dollars, it will continue to be responsible for 320 million dollars additionally in future obligations. That 750 million dollars is the third biggest spending item in our state’s budget. Under SB 21, the state is obligated to pay 75...
After putting forward an operating budget to the governor’s desk late last week, the Legislature is now looking at a measure to restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund. In a special session called by Gov. Bill Walker, legislators were retained in the capital in order to pass a budget for the coming year. The budget they placed on his desk last week, a compromisory draft of House Bill 4001 and its Senate counterpart, SB 4001, remains largely unfunded. To remedy this, late on Monday evening the Senate passed SB 128, which would restructure the e...
Congratulations to our 2016 Wrangell High School graduates. You truly deserve to be proud of your achievement. Alaska is an exciting location for ambitious graduates in the beginning chapters of their lives. It is the frontier of our country’s future. Jobs never before dreamed are being created right here. There are opportunities for new industry in Alaska, from the Arctic passage to rainforest ecotourism. Our tried and true fishing industry and its elements are oft-debated, but it is lively and reliable due to our excellent public m...
A draft for the Alaska Marine Highway System’s post-summer schedule was released last week. AMHS general manager Captain John Falvey Jr. reported the new schedule will be based on expected funding levels for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Presently, the ferry intends to run 330.2 operating weeks for nine of its vessels; the Taku and Chenega will both be on layup for much of the next fiscal year as cost saving measures. Entering its second year of inactivity, the Taku may be on the road to divestment. “We’ve announced this briefly,...
Wouldn’t Alaskans experience violence if a gunman shot into their home? SB 91, a crime reform bill that ignores victims’ rights, says shooting into a home is ‘non-violent.’ Felonies will have reduced presumptive sentencing and jail time, and sometimes no jail time at all. The bill credits time during the conviction process even for child molesters and murderers. An offender can watch television, spend time with friends, go to work and live normally, then get up to a full year reduced from his/her sentence. Many felons will be released after ser...
Alaskans are the beneficiaries of the state’s investment. Our constitution requires the State of Alaska to manage our resources to the maximum benefit of the people. Government’s fiduciary duty to its citizens is to make prudent investments and establish a sustainable budget. The State of Alaska must make responsible and wise business decisions, as we are an owner state. The current oil and gas tax credit system, with its many layered and net operating loss credits, does not do that. Alaska receives essentially no income from the dev...
By Representative Dan Ortiz Is oil, or any commodity, really Alaska’s most valuable resource? I, for one, would say no. Our most valuable resource, the resource that most contributes to Alaska, is our people. If we were to make a ranking list of the most valuable populations, senior citizens would be at the top. As we in the Legislature attempt to deal with our significant fiscal challenges, it’s important for us to protect our seniors. Our seniors are a treasured asset to our communities and our economy. The Alaska Legislature shouldn’t adopt...
I have the honor of serving as your representative in the Alaska State Legislature. The major issue facing our legislature this session is Alaska’s fiscal situation. I’m committed to the practice of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. I spend a lot of time communicating with constituents across our district, from Hyder in the south, to Wrangell in the north. I seek to hear from our friends and neighbors about the issues on their minds. Our district does not always come to a consensus, but most of us agree that we nee...
Stopping in Wrangell last week, District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) was able to share with the Sentinel some his perspectives on how the state's current budget negotiations are headed. House Bill 256 and Senate Bill 139 are each chamber's proposal for a state budget, which currently is set to exhaust the Statutory Budget Reserve and draw from the Congressional Budget Reserve, which at current spending levels may run out by 2019. The CBR fund is where all oil tax settlement revenues are...
By Representative Dan Ortiz A daily goal of mine, as your House District 36 representative, is to create avenues for constituent communication. A belief in “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, motivates me to make constituent communication easy and inviting. One area of concern, about which I have been hearing often from folks in our district, is persistent high gas prices at the pump. Gas prices have stayed high in Southeast Alaska despite a monumental drop in the price of a barre...
Our Alaska State Constitution requires the Alaska State Legislature to ensure our natural resources are managed for the maximum benefit of Alaskans. In the interest of managing our seafood resources, our state fishing institutions should reflect our values and promote policies that ensure Alaskans benefit from our rich ocean resources. In 1968, the Alaska State Legislature made Alaskan residency a requirement for commercial fishing licenses. Shortly after, that legislation was deemed unconstitutional. Over the last 20 years, a significant numbe...
Legislators should be held to a high standard. They should lead by example in this fiscal crisis by cutting their own per diem and getting their work done in a timely manner. Legislators will primarily need to address our fiscal situation this session. The per-barrel price for Alaskan crude is below $30, so we now have a projected budget deficit above $3.5 billion. Despite the fact that I voted to cut the budget by $900 million during the last legislative session, cuts will continue to be part...
Alaska's Legislature returns to work next week to begin its second regular session, and by far its biggest task will be to make the state's budget sustainable. Convening in Juneau on Jan. 19, legislators in the House and Senate will begin putting together budgets for the 2017 Fiscal Year, which will have to address a projected $3.6 billion spending deficit. Last month the office of Gov. Bill Walker released its budget plan, which proposes $100 million in net cuts to agency spending and $360...
To me, government by the people and for the people is more than just a theoretical concept. I believe this famous phrase from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address must be put into practice for government to work. That’s why I’ve been going door to door in Wrangell, mailing out surveys and hosted a town meeting at the Nolan Center in October. The revenue options survey results showed our district supports restructuring our oil tax program to maximize profit. There is also majority support for a state lottery. A common suggestion was to creat...
A project to renovate the facilities at Wrangell's Shoemaker Harbor seems well-placed to receive state assistance, the Port Commission learned this month. Harbormaster Greg Meissner told commissioners at their Nov. 4 meeting the Tier I capital project being proposed to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT) was ranked second for consideration, after a proposal by Kodiak. The DOT 50/50 matching grant program was first approved by the Alaska Legislature in 2006, and...
It will take a lot to bring the state budget out from the red, Wrangell residents learned at a special presentation on Oct. 21. Alaska expects to run a budget deficit of $2.9 billion this fiscal year, even after a round of significant cuts made to departments and capital project spending. When they meet for the next regular session in January, the state’s legislators will have to figure out how to curb spending in future budgets before the government empties its coffers. In an effort to prepare the public for the debates ahead, the Alaska D...
Looking ahead to another century, delegates with the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) met in Wrangell last week for their 100th annual Grand Camp. Seventy-one of 120 camp delegates from Alaska, Washington and Oregon were able to attend the four-day conference, which brought about 140 visitors in all. Dedicated to advancing civil rights and improving living conditions for Native communities, the Brotherhood was founded in Sitka in 1912, with an auxiliary...
At its first meeting since the Oct. 6 elections, an unchanged Wrangell City and Borough Assembly discussed and largely approved a number of revisions to the Municipal Code on first reading. The proposed ordinances would clarify violations relating to littering, nuisances, distributing handbills, the burning of rubbish without permit, and other infractions, adding them to the minor offense schedule in Title 1. Staff notes indicate the change is a requirement of the state’s court system. Not listing the fines and applicable penalties in Title 1...
By Representative Dan Ortiz Governor Walker once said Alaska is “a resource rich, but currently cash poor, state.” I have the honor of representing our district in the Alaska State Legislature. My fellow legislators and I will need to do heavy lifting in the upcoming session to address our state’s immediate fiscal challenges. However, Southeast Alaska’s economic climate will be bright if we are bullish about our long-term economic future. If we are poised and bold, we will not miss opportunities to benefit from our resources. Populat...
Next week, the Alaska Native Sisterhood celebrates its 100th anniversary at the place of its founding, Wrangell. Alaska Native Brotherhood/ANS is the oldest rights organization for indigenous persons in the world, with the Brotherhood founded in 1912 and the Sisterhood established in 1916. Its stated mission is to improve the lives of Native people and their families, by promoting Native culture and advocating for civil rights and land rights. Membership is organized into local camps,...
District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz stopped into Wrangell over the weekend, both to enjoy some of the Bearfest 2015 events and meet with constituents. The Ketchikan Independent has put his first session under his belt after being elected last November. And it was an interesting year to start with, after an atypical pair of special sessions were called by Gov. Bill Walker as legislators struggled to pass a budget. “In this last session we were able to cut the budget by $800 million,” Ortiz noted. However, he pointed out the state is still left with a m...
I have previously written and spoken about how important the seafood industry is to Alaska’s economy, especially to those of us who live in Southeast Alaska. The industry accounted for 18% of all private sector resident earnings in Southeast Alaska in 2011, according to a McDowell Group report. A 2010 study by TCW Economics found that commercial, sport, and traditional and customary salmon fishing alone in Southeast Alaska is worth $1billion. It is in the best interests of both our economy and our cultural values that our salmon runs stay s...