State Government

The ruling reverses a Superior Court decision that 94 positions filled by Dunleavy appointees had been vacated in December. 

The state of Alaska is suing manufacturers of a pair of the toxic PFAS compounds that have contaminated groundwater across the state. The lawsuit filed Wednesday names chemical giants 3M, Dupont and others.

The gathering was in the gymnasium in the Terry Miller Legislative Office Building, which is across 5th Street from the Capitol. 

State management of the herring fishery has been the subject of ongoing litigation in the courts for two years now, with the Sitka Tribe arguing that subsistence harvests of herring roe are not being properly addressed.

The decision made on April 2 allows former teachers and government workers who were previously members of Tier I, II, III retirement plans to pay back their cashed out contributions and get credit for additional years they worked.

While there have been some significant changes to what Dunleavy proposed, they’re far less extensive than the changes two years ago.

Cockrell replaces Amanda Price, who resigned in February. Price said she was forced out over disagreements with Dunleavy over personnel and policy. 

Legislators expected the scholarship to give out more money over time, but after a few years of initial growth, its use has steadily declined.

Some Alaska inmates who committed crimes as juveniles, and were tried as adults, face long prison sentences without the possibility of getting out on parole for decades. One Alaska senator wants to change that.

Since 2015, when Alaska’s budget crisis first hit, capital spending has dropped from an average of $300 million per year to $124 million.