beth kerttula

The gloves are coming off in a looming legislative fight over changes to Alaska's oil and gas production taxes. Democrats in the state House sharply criticized a series of advertisements calling for modifications of the tax sponsored by petroleum industry support companies, and said the tax is not curtailing investments by the producing companies or hiring in the industry. "It's clear that petroleum jobs in Alaska are up, investments are up and that profits are healthy, particularly in Alaska. ...

I've worked a lot on the North Slope and I can tell you that it's common to work for two or three different employers during a year   -Harry Crawford

 

Governor Sean Parnell and First Lady Sandy Parnell hosted a luncheon for representatives of the Taylor Foundation on February 2. The luncheon was attended by Rep. Wes Keller, Rep. Peggy Wilson, Sen. Joe Thomas, Rep. Paul Seaton, Rep. Beth Kerttula, Rep. Cathy Munoz and Sen. John Coghill, as well as several commissioners and senior staff. The Taylor Foundation promotes merit scholarships across the United States.  

Business leaders came together Thursday to apply pressure on the state's political leaders. Their message: That Alaska's business climate is hostile to the industries that bring jobs and economic development to the state. About 500 people packed the Sheraton at noon.

It seems that most of our elected officials are opinion followers, not opinion leaders   -Cheryl Frasca

 

Governor Sean Parnell and First Lady Sandy Parnell hosted a luncheon for representatives of the Taylor Foundation on February 2. The luncheon was attended by Rep. Wes Keller, Rep. Peggy Wilson, Sen. Joe Thomas, Rep. Paul Seaton, Rep. Beth Kerttula, Rep. Cathy Munoz and Sen. John Coghill, as well as several commissioners and senior staff. The Taylor Foundation promotes merit scholarships across the United States.  

Democrats in the Alaska House of Representatives are criticizing the oil industry's "Faces of Aces" ads as misleading, but the oil industry group that sponsored them say it's the state's politicians who are out of touch. "These ads are untrue and unfair to Alaskans," said Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau. Kerttula is Democratic leader in the House, and spoke at a press conference with other Democrats Tuesday.

They say the camps are full and they have no beds for more people   -Harry Crawford

 

Alaska's big three oil producers and their allies are seeking tax cuts they say will make additional drilling in Alaska more profitable to the companies and could encourage more investment in the state's oil fields. The companies have said high taxes are driving away investment, but they may be doing better in Alaska than they're letting on, however. ConocoPhillips Co. data for 2009 released last week revealed that the company was highly profitable in Alaska but lost money elsewhere in the country.

What economic development did they do when it was basically not taxed at all?   -David Guttenberg

 

An Anchorage legislator is defending the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's decision to remove Haines activist Gershon Cohen from a cruise ship science advisory panel. Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said on the House floor Friday that he opposed having Cohen on the panel, and supported his dismissal. "I applaud the department for doing the right thing and depoliticizing the panel," he said.

A number of us have grave, grave concerns about the agency's behavior and about the credibility of the panel as it will now be   -Beth Kerttula

 

I am totally outraged that Gov. Sean Parnell has removed Dr. Gershon Cohen from the cruise ship advisory panel. Like most Alaskans, I voted for the cruise ship initiative in 2006. As a sponsor of the initiative and a scientist, Gershon Cohen is the best representative the majority of Alaskan voters could have on this panel.  

Gov. Parnell is making his proposed scholarship plan tougher to qualify for, which may also make it harder to pass through the Legislature. When Parnell announced his Governor's Performance Scholarships last year, there were already questions about whether small, rural schools would be able to provide the required classes to qualify their students for the tuition scholarships. The bill Parnell submitted to create the scholarships would now also require a minimum test score on a college entrance examination, such as the SAT or ACT, in order to qualify.

You just have to look at AYP, the schools that underperform there are predominately in Alaska Native communities   -Lyman Hoffman

 

The city is asking for Juneau residents' help making sure every Juneau resident is counted in the 2010 census. It is forming a Complete Count Committee, which will partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage Juneau residents to return the by-mail census questionnaire that they will receive prior to Census Day, April 1, 2010. "A complete count of our population is vital to the city and borough. Our representation in the legislature and our share of federal and state spending is determined ...

A complete count of our population is vital to the city and borough. Our representation in the legislature and our share of federal and state spending is determined by the census results. During the last census, in 2000, only 60 percent of residents returned their questionnaires. We hope to improve the return rate this year   -Rod Swope