House Bill 17 Sponsor Statement “Reducing the Principal of Postsecondary Education Loans for Alaska Students Who Remain in or Return to Alaska”
January 23, 2013
Link to the sponsor statement PDF from the office of Rep. Les Gara
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PRESS RELEASE: Alaskan Earns National Casey Foundation Award for Local Foster Care Work
January 21, 2013
(JUNEAU) - Alaska foster youth advocate and peer support group leader Amanda Metivier, herself a former foster youth, has just returned to Anchorage with a prestigious award. From a broad selection of former foster youth from all 50 states, Metivier has won the Casey Family Foundation’s Excellence for Children alumni award. Metivier went from foster care to college, earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and now helps foster youth and alumni at the University succeed in school.
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NEWS: Democrats Respond to ASD Cuts
January 18, 2013
Democrats: State Must Do More to Avoid School Cuts
Governor’s budgets allow inflation to undercut Alaska’s schools
JUNEAU – Today, Anchorage Democratic legislators warned that the governor’s proposed budget will lead to even more school cuts in coming years, and they called on the Legislature to make sure school resources at least keep up with inflation.
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Note from Rep. Gara: Governor’s New Bill Raises Concerns - and a Few Words on Hieroglyphics
January 17, 2013
Last night the Governor released his latest oil tax rollback bill. It maintains the worst part of last year’s bill, and makes it even more draconian. The largest part of the bill massively rolls back state revenue, and oil company taxes, with no commitment that companies spend that “reward” in Alaska. We’ve tried that before. Until 2006 our Production Tax was nearly 0% on almost every field on the North Slope, and what did we get for lower taxes that didn’t require Alaska investment and more Alaska production work? We got oil production that was declining between 5 - 8% a year, and 40% less investment in the North Slope than we have today. And a fraction of the new companies are exploring for new oil on the North Slope today.
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NEWS: House Democrats Announce New Committee Assignments
January 14, 2013
JUNEAU - Today, House Democratic leadership announced updated committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session. The seats on the Finance and Resources Committees are tentative until a final decision is made once the entire caucus can meet in person. Currently, one member is out of town due to a family medical situation.
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