Southeast Spotlight: late summer update

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you are enjoying the final weeks of summer. Don’t forget: with school starting again, be sure to keep an eye out for kids and drive safely. Thank you for checking out my recap of some of the activities in the Capitol, around our communities, and across Alaska.

District visits

In July, I had the opportunity to visit the communities of Gustavus and Skagway and provided a legislative report to the local governing bodies as well as spending some time discussing issues with community leaders and residents.  Last week I traveled to Haines to spend time with residents and community leaders there. I appreciate the warm welcome and chance to hear from folks. Thanks to everyone who came to the town meetings, stopped by to chat during a meet-and-greet, or made time to visit individually.  I look forward to hearing from you if I have not had a chance to talk with you individually.

Touring Gustavus bridges and dock.

Legislative Budget & Audit

In addition to traveling around the district, I have also been actively working with Legislative Budget & Audit and Legislative Council Committees that meet regularly during the interim.  In July, LB&A received the final Education Report completed by the consulting firm APA.  The overall conclusion of the report is that our funding formula does a pretty good job of distributing funding for education to Alaska’s school districts.  The report did not make any statements about the adequacy of the amount of funding, but looked at how the funding was distributed.  The report did note that the formula could be re-worked to provide more direct funding to students in high-risk categories that include students from lower income families, English language learners, and Alaska Native students.

Got to check out the Alaska Glacier Seafoods plant – I appreciated the warm welcome and the chance to ask questions about their work.

Legislative Council and Medicaid lawsuit

On July 16, Governor Walker announced his plan to accept Medicaid expansion here in Alaska. I support his action.  Gov. Walker made Medicaid expansion a priority during his campaign. He introduced legislation during the session similar to legislation that was originally introduced by Anchorage Representative Andy Josephson last year. The Legislature did not act in a timely manner on this issue, and I welcome the Governor’s resolve to move forward.

In response, earlier this week the Legislative Council voted (10-1) to initiate a lawsuit against Governor Walker on his plan to expand Medicaid.  I was the lone “no” vote – the vote was an easy one for me (see the My Turn piece I wrote).  Suing the Governor is shortsighted, and will cost public money on both sides of the lawsuit with an estimated price tag of $1 million.  This is money that could be put to better use supporting education or other important state services helping Alaskans.

Congratulations to the Juneau Youth Center on their new gardens – a very exciting addition!

DOT schedule for fall/winter

The Department of Transportation recently took public comment on the proposed fall/winter schedule. Folks from across the district wrote, emailed, or called in to share their feedback on the schedule. Now, DOT is taking into account your input to revise the schedule in order to accommodate as many folks as possible. I’ll keep you posted when the schedule is released. In the meantime, feel free to check out the DOT AMHS website for more updates and information.

Shout out & heads up:

1. Please call my office if you’re interested in setting up a meeting: 907-465-4766.
2. The draft of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is open for review and public comments till August 27. More information here. Now is your chance to weigh in on transportation projects and funding.
3. Alaska Energy Authority – Renewable Energy Fund Program accepting grants. Click here for more information. Deadline is September 15, 2015.
4. Congratulations to Juneau’s own CJ Umbs and Christine Quick! Both earned gold medals at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. Check out the story and pictures here.
   Planned Parenthood Care™ is being launched in Alaska this week. This is a mobile app that allows women to order birth control confidentially through their mobile phone. This tool allows women to connect directly with a provider through a face-to-face video visit and then receive birth control in the mail. Alaska is well positioned to benefit from this service given our unique geography, limited access to local health centers, transportation barriers, and the major shortage of health care providers in the state.

I look forward to seeing you around town. If I can be of assistance, please give me a call or email.

With Regards,

Sam Kito III