Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) released the following statement in response to the Anchorage School District announcement that it is canceling summer school programs this summer due to budget restrictions.
Read More →Okay, it’s time I walked the talk. Do politicians ever do that? Are we allowed? Um. Yes.
This week I gave away my favorite laptop to the Laptops for Foster Youth program we started with Facing Foster Care in Alaska a few years ago. They will work with the State to match that laptop with a foster youth or recent alumni pursuing college or success in the job market. Foster youth will do, well, what kids do with laptops.
Read More →Rep. Kerttula and Rep. Gara comment on the signing of the oil wealth giveaway
Today, House Democratic Leader Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau) and Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) issued the following statements in response to the governor signing Senate Bill 21, the oil wealth giveaway, into law.
Read More →House Democratic Legislators comment on Alaska’s waiver from No Child Left Behind
Today, five Democratic legislators from the Alaska House of Representatives released the following comments on Alaska receiving a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In 2012, nine House Democratic legislators sponsored a resolution (HJR39) calling on the Parnell administration to apply for these waivers to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure student success and school accountability.
Read More →Dear Neighbors,
It didn’t take long for silly season to start after the Legislative Session ended April 14. Expect a few years of “abracadabra” claims that oil projects, already being developed under ACES (the oil tax law that has been in place since 2007) are now magically the result of the massive rollback of Alaska’s share of oil revenue (an approximate $1.5 billion per year revenue reduction at $120 per barrel at a time when Alaska is already facing deficit spending). Senate Bill 21 is the oil tax bill that the oil companies, Governor, and his allies succeeded in pushing through the Legislature in April. The claims are, politely put, “flawed” in most cases.
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