Category: Alaska News

The Alaska lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees state elections, announced an investigation into the validity of a U.S. Senate candidate from Petersburg following complaints from Alaska’s incumbent senator with the same name, Dan Sullivan.

Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg formally responded to the state’s challenge on Wednesday, calling it an affront to his rights. He maintains his candidacy for U.S. Senate is authentic, and said he’s running to challenge the Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan to represent Alaskans. 

On Monday Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican, announced the investigation into the candidacy of Sullivan of Petersburg and sent him a list of questions to answer under sworn affidavit. She noted that false statements carry the penalty of perjury. She said the results of the investigation would determine whether he may appear on the August 18 primary ballot.

Republican incumbent Sen. Sullivan has served two terms in the U.S. Senate. The two Sullivans are among 16 candidates for the U.S. Senate for a six-year term. 

Sen. Sullivan has complained that Sullivan from Petersburg is a “sham candidate” and says his challenger is intentionally misleading voters to benefit a ranked-choice vote for Democratic candidate and former Alaska U.S. House Representative, Mary Peltola. The Alaska seat is the focus of both Republicans and Democrats nationally, as it could be key for Democrats to win back control of the U.S Senate this November. 

In a prepared statement announcing the investigation, Dahlstrom questioned Sullivan’s candidacy and said there are “credible allegations” that the Petersburg Sullivan filed to run with the same name and party affiliation as the incumbent “with the deliberate intent to confuse voters.”

Dahlstrom said the Alaska Division of Elections has a responsibility to protect the integrity of elections. “Serious allegations have been raised concerning this filing in the race for U.S. Senate, and the people of Alaska deserve a thorough and transparent investigation to ensure that the election is carried out properly and without deception,” she wrote. 

Dahlstrom and officials with her office declined interview requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. In response to a request that the lieutenant governor’s office explain the legal basis for Dahlstrom’s actions, her chief of staff said officials in the office were unable to comment because the issue remains under active investigation.

A spokesperson with the Alaska Division of Elections declined to comment, referring questions back to Dahlstrom’s office. A spokesperson for the state’s Department of Law declined to say which law Sullivan may have violated with his candidacy, citing the ongoing civil matter of the inquiry. The spokesperson pointed to Alaska criminal law regarding perjury — where the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person knowingly made a false sworn statement — which is a class B felony.

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and resident of Petersburg for nearly 50 years, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on May 29, sparking national interest, questions, and criticism from the incumbent. He said he’s running to benefit Alaskans, that he was surprised at the incumbent’s criticisms and the state’s announcement, which he learned about via a text from a reporter on Monday evening. 

“My name is my name. The ballot belongs to the people and not to the incumbent,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

“Our names would be listed on the ballot different, our websites — I don’t look like the senator, he doesn’t look like me — they’re not identical,” he said. “I’m not sure how that would fool someone. If you went to my website and thought that I was the senator, that would be rather absurd.”

Dahlstrom gave Sullivan a deadline of noon on Wednesday to respond to a series of questions regarding his affiliation with the Republican Party, names he has used to register to vote, design decisions on his campaign website and logo and whether he has coordinated with the Democratic Party. 

Alaska Democratic Party executive director Jenny-Marie Stryker said by email Tuesday her organization “is in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.” A spokesperson for the Peltola campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Dahlstrom also asked Sullivan if he would object to his name appearing on the ballot at “Sullivan, Daniel James Jr. (non-incumbent)” and without a Republican party designation.

Sen. Sullivan’s campaign applauded the state’s action. “We welcome the Lieutenant Governor’s investigation and have full confidence the facts will speak for themselves. Alaskans deserve to know exactly how this candidacy came about — who recruited it, who’s paying for it, and who benefits from it. The answer to that last question is Mary Peltola,” said Sullivan’s campaign manager Billy Mackey, by email on Wednesday.

Sen. Sullivan and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate, have spoken out against the Petersburg Sullivan’s candidacy.  

It isn’t clear why the lieutenant governor is investigating Sullivan of Petersburg. Candidates in other races have had similar iconography and names. In 2022, Republican state House candidate Forrest Wolfe used iconography and advertising similar to that used by Democratic U.S. House candidate Forrest Dunbar, drawing complaints from progressives.

Two years ago, Democrats in some legislative races said they believed candidates registered as Democratic under false pretenses in order to take votes away from coalition-minded Republicans. No investigations took place at that time.

It also isn’t clear why Dahlstrom is suggesting a different listing on the ballot for Sullivan Petersburg. State regulation already prescribes what should happen if two identically named candidates appear on the same ballot. “For example, under the ‘S’ placement, ‘Smith, John A.’ will appear before ‘Smith, Walter W.’ and ‘Smith, John A.’ will appear before ‘Smith, John L.’,” it states.

Sullivan, from Petersburg, said he will continue to defend his candidacy, and submitted a strongly-worded letter responding to the Lt. Gov. on Wednesday. 

“The law forbids your office from denying me access to the ballot just because Senator Sullivan and the NRSC would prefer I not be allowed to run. This investigation by your office – and coordination of it with the press – is an unprecedented affront to my rights as a candidate and the rights of Alaska voters to select their own representation in the U.S. Senate,” he wrote.

In an interview Tuesday, he said he’s confident in Alaska voters, and doesn’t think the similar names will cause confusion. 

“I would hope that everyone who enters the voting booth knows who’s running for office and knows why they want to vote for someone,” he said. 

Sullivan said he was a life-long registered Independent, but since the Alaska Independence Party disbanded last year, he registered as a Republican. He said he considered himself a centrist, an old school Republican like his father and grandfather, and one who can work across party lines for the benefit of Alaskans, like U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowksi.

Sullivan said he’s seen quality of life decline in his home town of Petersburg, with a lack of improvements in ferries, healthcare, housing, schools and cost of living rising — and decided to run to attempt to improve those things for Alaskans. He said his name gives him an “instant megaphone” and said Sen. Sullivan is part of the problems he sees at home.

“He’s been there 12 years, and what do we have to show for it? And if we elect him again, that’s for another six more years, 18 years of stagnation. So that’s where I thought the problem was, and that’s where I figured I might as well make my stand,” he said.

He said he’s disappointed in the senator’s response and had expected Sullivan to run his incumbent campaign based on his own record and merits. 

“It’s really as simple as if there’s enough people out there that, you know, feel the same way as I do, they’re going to vote for me, and if there’re people who feel like the senator is doing a great job, then they’ll vote for him,” he said.

Mackey, campaign manager for Sen. Sullivan, said the candidate is entitled to his views. 

“Senator Sullivan is happy to debate his record of delivering for Alaska: record infrastructure investment, energy projects, and support for our fisheries and military communities — against anyone, anywhere in the state,” he said. “What Alaskans won’t tolerate is a scheme designed to confuse voters and manipulate the outcome of a Senate election. If this candidacy is as authentic as he claims, the investigation should be welcome news to him too.”

Sullivan from Petersburg said he’ll comply with the state’s investigation and continue to defend his candidacy. He said if the state decides he’s not qualified he can go back to fishing, but he’s going to stick with it as long as he can.

“I think it’s really important, not even just for me, but for future elections that they don’t limit people just because an incumbent senator is concerned that I’m going to eat into his vote count, that’s really absurd,” he said. “It kind of boggles my mind, so you know, we’ll see where it goes.”

James Brooks contributed to this story from Juneau.

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Crouching on the ground, surrounded by various plants, a crew of six from Haines, Skagway and Juneau worked to pull the invasive non-native plant known as white sweetclover, or Melilotus albus. Each member used their gloved hands along with garden shovels or even screwdrivers in some cases.

The team is currently pulling sweetclover by the airport, a location they started removing plants from in 2024. Locations have to be revisited annually or biannually to ensure that the small, new offshoots are caught and weeded out. In order to prevent the plant from further producing, the crew is hoping to remove as many plants as possible before flowering begins and the plant goes to seed. 

The plant is one of several in the Chilkat Valley that the Takshanuk Watershed Council is focused on eradicating. Others on the list include: creeping thistle, jewelweed, reed canary grass and European mountain ash. 

The plant in the crosshairs this week, white sweetclover, is a tall, branching plant that has small, white flowers when blooming.  It has been found along the Haines Highway since 2013. However, in recent years, it has begun to spread.  

Stacie Evans, science director at the watershed council, said staff are focusing their efforts on sweetclover to keep it from getting deeply established in the Chilkat Valley. 

The plant causes damage by outcompeting other plants. It also contains a chemical compound which is toxic to animals, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.  Evans said it can be damaging to riparian habitat on the edges of rivers, streams or lakes. That’s because sweetclover does not provide a lot of shade or bank stabilization, both of which are important for fish habitat. 

“The Chilkat Valley is known for having the most vascular plant species in Alaska, incredible biodiversity here but you see places where already the white sweetclover has taken over,” Evans said.

Evans said the plant has mainly been found along the highway because the seeds like disturbed habitats. While sweetclover is a relatively new infestation in Haines, it has been found in places like the Stikine River, Kake, Prince of Wales Island, and Skagway but has been eradicated in Juneau, according to Emily Reed, the Regional Invasive Plant Coordinator at the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition.

Sweetclover hasn’t spread too far away from the highway, Evans said. There have been small patches of it found along Beach Road and across the Porcupine Bridge.

“Now, we’re concerned that the seeds might get into the river, and then bring the plants to other vulnerable areas that are harder to get to,” Evans said.

Reed came to Haines from Juneau to help with efforts to map and eradicate the plant. She said sweetclover is an “annual to biennial” when it comes to producing seeds. 

“We’re kind of in a funny zone where sometimes it’s an annual, so it can do it [seed] in one year and then sometimes it takes two years,” Reed said. The seeds can survive up to 80 years. White sweetclover can produce 14,000 to 350,000 seeds per plant, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

According to Reuben Cash, environmental coordinator with the Skagway Tribal Council, sweetclover also puts out chemicals into the ground to prevent other plants from establishing.

“It’s just got a lot of really aggressive techniques for being where it is and because it’s not from here, there are no natural checks and balances to kind of keep it in check,” Cash said.

According to Reed, sweetclover has spread significantly along the Haines Highway since it was first inventoried when the Constantine Mine did an invasive plant survey and then again through the Haines Highway project’s plant survey.

The Stikine River has the oldest known infestation of white sweetclover along a riverine system, according to Reed. She explained that other teams on rivers in Southcentral Alaska, including the Copper River watershed, have been tackling sweetclover for over 15 years.

“You look at the pictures from Copper River, and it’s really concerning,” Reed said. “It’s not at that point here, which means it’s the time to take action, because there’s a chance right now.”

Sweetclover is competitive and tends to push native plants out. So, along with removing the plant, Reed and Evans are gathering data to better understand its density and how best to control it. 

In 2024, Evans said a lot of people around Haines noticed the rapid spread of sweetclover, which prompted the watershed council to organize a community weed pull. In the two years since, the watershed council got grant funding to pay a small crew to pull invasive plants. Evans hopes to supplement this with the help of local volunteers.

On Wednesday, the Takshanuk Watershed Council hosted an iNaturalist workshop to educate people about how to identify plants. This app helps Evans and Reed map out where the invasive species are.

“We have a pretty good sense of where the jewelweed is at this point, however we haven’t looked everywhere,” Evans said.

Sweetclover and jewelweed are safe to pull before they go to seed. Plants like creeping thistle and reed canary grass are harder to weed because if the roots don’t come out with the plant, it can lead to more robust growth according to Evans.

Cash came over to Haines with two other members to help pull sweetclover. Cash said that they have been mapping sweetclover in Skagway since 2019. By mapping and pulling sweetclover, Cash says that what once had been “really bad infestation spots” now have almost no sweetclover. 

This is the first time that people from Skagway have come to Haines to help manage sweetclover. Later in the summer, the Haines crew will go help remove sweetclover in Skagway.

The crew is working full-time until mid-July to eradicate the plant before it starts to flower and seed. But this job is not solely focused on pulling plants, they are also mapping different  invasive plants like jewelweed and creeping thistle. Because each of the plants flower at different times of the summer, the crew is able to focus on pulling sweetclover, which flower earlier than jewelweed. Reed estimates that it will take around 10 years of management before the plant is eradicated, however, the “idea is that the effort required tapers off” over that time.

“Ideally the first two years are a ton of work, and then after that it’s much less,” Evans said. 

A community weed pull was organized for 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, along the Haines Highway. Meet at the Takshanuk Watershed Council office to join the crew tackling white sweetclover along the highway.

The post Eradicating invasive plants in the Chilkat Valley appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Alaska lawmakers, meeting in a special session, advanced a bill intended to spur construction of a long-desired pipeline carrying natural gas from the North Slope to markets.

The legislature’s House Finance Committee approved the bill, House Bill 381, which would largely eliminate state and municipal property taxes on project-related infrastructure, replacing those revenues with money from gas flowing through the system.

The bill now heads to the House floor for consideration. For the bill to become law, it must be approved by the House and then reviewed and approved by the Senate before the special session ends on June 19. If the Senate makes changes to the bill, the House must vote to concur with them.

The Senate has its own version of the bill, Senate Bill 2001, which is currently under review in that body’s finance committee.

The House bill has been a top priority of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who called the special session, and the Glenfarne Group LLC, a private asset manager and developer leading the current plan to commercialize long-stranded North Slope natural gas. They argue that property taxes are the major impediment to the project’s construction.

The Glenfarne project, which is in partnership with the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp. proposes an approximately 800-mile pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to tidewater at Cook Inlet, where gas would be liquefied. Glenfarne became involved in the project last year, acquiring a 75% share from the Alaska Gasline Development Corp.

In comments just before their vote to move the bill, some House Finance Committee members said they had high hopes the measure will result in a pipeline project.

Rep. Frank Tomaszewski, R-Fairbanks, said the project will be as important as the trans-Alaska oil pipeline that his father helped build in the 1970s.

“I’m just humbled and honored right now to be able to be working on this legislation that is going to bring that next step, that gas pipeline, because 40, 50 years ago, that was what we were talking about,” Tomaszewski said at the hearing. “I’m looking forward to the groundbreaking ceremony for this project, because it will be transformational for the state, not only with lower gas prices and affordable energy but also tremendous amount of revenue for the state and local communities.”

Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, had similar comments.

“Generally, at the end of the day, I think the vast majority of us and Alaskans really want to see the best chance possible to be provided to move forward with this transformational project,” Stapp said.

The bill went through numerous amendments, many of which were aimed at protecting local governments dependent on property taxes.

The special session began on May 21.

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Hundreds of Mendenhall Valley property owners are being spared from paying up to $6,300 for HESCO barriers after the Juneau Assembly voted on Monday to cancel that plan due to the city taking on a more expansive protection effort against glacial lake outburst flooding this year.

The Assembly early last year approved the establishment of a Local Improvement District (LID), requiring 466 property owners within its boundaries to pay 40% and the city 60% of the projected $8 million cost of the semi-permanent levee along the Mendenhall River. But Assembly members and city administrators said the barriers protected more than just those land owners last August, and it turns out the ongoing maintenance cost of the barriers will far exceed projections.

“It doesn’t dissolve the Local Improvement District. It just says the city is going to pay for 100% of that share,” City Manager Katie Koester said in presenting the revised proposal to the Assembly just before Monday’s vote.

Property owners were being given 10 years to pay the amount due, but the city had not yet collected any money from them.

One payment that is still required is for four property owners who are being charged $50,000 for riverbank armoring installed along their land. Other property owners had installed similar rock armoring at their own expense before the HESCO levee was built.

The LID was controversial when first proposed, especially among the property owners set to have HESCO barriers in their backyards. The owners expressed concerns about the barriers causing damage to property, and reducing the accessibility of their lots and their value.

A lawsuit by two of the Mendenhall Valley property owners against the city, seeking compensation for the barriers, has a scheduled trial date of Oct. 12, according to the Alaska Court System’s online database.

City leaders and many residents in at-risk areas say the first phase of HESCO barriers succeeded in preventing a major disaster when a glacial lake outburst flood last August crested at a record 16.65 feet, with officials stating there was no damage to 90% of homes in the flood zone. However, the city is facing several million in costs beyond the original estimate to repair damage from that flood as well as raise the barriers to protect from potentially higher flood levels.

A second phase of HESCO barriers, extending the existing levee on both sides along one side of the river and installing barriers on the opposite side of the river for the first time, is scheduled for completion by July 15. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is installing and paying for the second phase.

The city is also working with federal and state officials on longer-term solutions that are still being determined, with the expectation of asking the federal government to cover most of the costs. But a long-term solution could take more than a decade to implement, according to USACE.

Concerns about the city’s process in implementing flood protection measures were expressed during Monday’s meeting by Debbie Penrose-Fischer, leader of the citizens’ group Juneau Flood Solution Advocates. She cited inequities in what various residents paid for riverbank armoring — asserting the “bank work exceeded the value charged” for the four property owners paying the city $50,000 under the LID, while some other owners paid $150,000 and some benefited from the improvements without additional cost.

“Please use this LID experience as a template of what to do and what not to do,” she said. “This is a chance to correct this inequity and to build a bridge between us. In the future, decisions of this nature concerning the GLOF need to come before all of the voting public.”

The post Juneau to pay for first HESCO barriers, sparing property owners from $6,300 bill appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

WASHINGTON — Congress must act to shore up Social Security during the next six years to avoid an automatic drop-off in benefits in 2032, according to a report released Tuesday. 

The annual update on the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund shows that it will “become depleted” in the fourth quarter of that year, a few months earlier than projected in last year’s report.

That would lead to recipients receiving 78% of their benefits — the projected yearly income to the trust fund — unless Congress acts before then. By 2100, benefits would be only 62%, according to the report.

That decrease would have a significant impact on the tens of millions of Americans who rely on the program to stay out of poverty, especially retirees. 

Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano wrote in a statement that in order to “protect the promise of Social Security, it is important for lawmakers and the Social Security Administration to work together to ensure the trust funds continue to provide financial stability now and for future generations.”

Bisignano is scheduled to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, where he will likely face several questions about the new report and whether the administration has policy suggestions for Congress. 

More than 68 million Americans received Social Security payments in April, according to data from the administration. More than 56 million of the beneficiaries were 65 or older. 

Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, wrote in a statement November’s midterm elections will have an impact on who is in the Senate, where lawmakers have six-year terms, in the lead-up to the deadline. 

“It’s important to recognize that the Senators we elect this year will be in office when Social Security becomes unable to pay out full benefits, so this must be a central campaign issue,” he wrote. 

Peterson added that “there are many well-known solutions available” and that it’s “time for responsible, bipartisan leadership to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, ensuring the stability of these programs for generations of Americans to come.”

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, wrote in a statement that “Washington is sleepwalking into a retirement crisis, allowing our nation’s most important trust funds to go insolvent at the expense of over 70 million beneficiaries who count on these programs.”

MacGuineas added that there is “no shortage of options out there to avoid this.”

“It’s time for our leaders to start telling the truth on Social Security and Medicare, and working on real plans to save these programs,” she wrote. “Time is running out.”

The post Projected Social Security benefits cliff creeps up to 2032 appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Wednesday night, clear skies. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. Thursday, some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 72F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday night, overcast with rain showers at times. Low 48F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Thursday, showers in the morning, then cloudy in the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10…

Wednesday night, clear to partly cloudy. Low 48F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Thursday, partly cloudy. High 62F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

A senior beautiful woman planting flowers on her patio