"public testimony"

The appeals centered on whether Anchorage’s South Muldoon neighborhood should be paired with Eagle River in a Senate district, Skagway should be in a House district with downtown Juneau or the Mendenhall Valley, and Valdez and part of Mat-Su should share a House district.

Initially, the measures were going to be extended until June 2022, but many residents who testified said that time period felt too long. Even with the new date of March 1, the assembly can choose to toss the policy at any time.

It wasn’t discussed much during the meeting, but a defined end point and the idea of letting personal choices prevail are in the latest version of the city’s framework. 

A working group of legislators has been meeting to consider ways to close the gap between what the state spends and what it brings in. The group plans to hear public testimony beginning on July 29.

Most offered support for specific state programs like the Alaska Marine Highway System and the community assistance program.

While all Alaska residents can call in to any of the meetings, the committee prefers that residents from different parts of the state call in at specific times. 

During a special meeting Monday night, the Juneau Assembly passed an emergency ordinance mandating face coverings in public.

Roughly 70 Alaskans testified against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget cuts Friday night in Juneau. No one testified in favor of the range of budget cuts the governor proposed.

The Senate Finance Committee draft budget would cut $98 million to fund the operations of state government from the House’s version of the budget.

The House Judiciary heard a variety of proposed changes to Senate Bill 54. The bill would scale back some of the reductions in criminal sentencing enacted last year.