Rep. Gara’s Newsletter: Special “Gas Line Floor Speech Explains Last Week’s Special Session” Edition
At the beginning of the recent 12-day Special Session I wrote to explain why the bill we were asked to decide was too simple to keep us down in Juneau die long. It took some legislators longer than I had hoped, but the gas line bill ultimately passed 55-3.
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Rep. Gara’s Newsletter: State Does Better Without TransCanada in Gasline Project
Sometimes politicians make easy questions look like rocket science. That’s bad, because we don’t have a lot of rocket scientists in the legislature. Last I checked, we had none.
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Note from Rep. Gara: Special “I Just Broke Four Ribs” Edition
Well, this weekend it was my turn to take up hospital space. On the bright side, I now know we have at least one great ambulance crew in Anchorage. On the down side, I don’t get to take back that step on a wet stair, and the fall that followed. It apparently cracked four ribs apart, and that apparently takes about six weeks to heal, I hope. It should put me on pace for the Governor’s October 24 Special Session. Or at least close enough. For some reason, my doctors were pretty mum when I asked if I can take a day to go fishing before that.
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Note from Rep. Gara: “Why I Didn’t Go On Any Legislative Trips This Summer” Newsletter
I’m proud that I’ve been frugal with your money. I’ve run the lowest cost office in the Legislature for many years, and in other years I’ve barely missed being the lowest cost office to an even cheaper legislator. Though in fairness, office costs include travel to Juneau for the Legislative Session, and Legislators from parts of rural Alaska have to ship their personal belongings to Juneau every year. They can’t avoid having much higher travel costs than someone who lives in Anchorage.
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Note from Rep. Gara: Finally! A Coastal Trail Bridge, Equal Rights Ordinance Testimony & Happy News On Parks
You’ve asked. We have the answer. This first news item goes in the “I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen” category. We’ve been told the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail bridge that collapsed last summer when a VERY heavy maintenance truck drove over it is finally going to be ready to walk, bike, ski, or run over. New Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has pressed for quick action on this, and it is scheduled to be completed by October 19, and possibly as soon as October 14.
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