Articles written by James Brooks
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State expects to spend millions to guard against cyberattacks
The commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Revenue was called into a special meeting last month to discuss a problem: The Permanent Fund Dividend Division was under cyberattack. In a short period of time, more than 800,000 attempts were made to...
House approves budget with $2,600 payment for Alaskans
The Alaska House of Representatives voted Saturday to turn an oil-price surge into money for schools, repayment of tax credits the state has owed to oil explorers for years, and $2,600 payments for Alaska residents this fall. The House voted 25-14...
State Supreme Court says 2 Anchorage Senate districts unconstitutional
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that a new map of state Senate districts for Anchorage “constituted an unconstitutional political gerrymander violating equal protection under the Alaska Constitution” and must be redrawn before its use in th...
Special election will fill congressional vacancy
The new election system approved by Alaska voters in 2020 will get an unexpected first test this summer with a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Congressman Don Young, Alaska’s sole member in the U.S. House of...
Lawmakers propose $1,300 'energy relief check' for Alaskans
State House lawmakers have proposed paying Alaskans almost $1,300 as an “energy relief check” on top of the annual Permanent Fund dividend. As presented by the House Finance Committee on Friday, the two payments would total about $2,500 this...
PFD fraud case against Fisheries Board nominee ends in plea deal
A former nominee to the Alaska Board of Fisheries and a prominent Cook Inlet commercial fisherman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of unsworn falsification on Feb. 18, ending a six-year legal struggle that saw him accused of multiple counts of... Full story
Judge finds fault with redistricting map, 'secretive procedures'
An Alaska judge upheld most of the state’s newly redistricted legislative district map on Feb. 15 but overturned a decision that created two East Anchorage Senate seats linked with more politically conservative Eagle River. The judge also ruled in...
Judge upholds Dunleavy decision to sweep scholarship money into state general fund
A group of four Alaska college students has appealed a state court ruling that upheld a decision by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to drain the state’s $410 million higher-education investment fund. The decision made scholarship programs subject to annual...
State charges Anchorage business owners with 'Made in Alaska' fraud
The state is accusing the owners of an Anchorage souvenir-making business of consumer fraud, saying in documents filed with Anchorage Superior Court that their “Made in Alaska” products are actually made in the Philippines. Robert Merry,...
Permanent Fund board chair defends firing of executive director
Under questioning from a bipartisan legislative committee on Monday, the chairman of the Alaska Permanent Fund defended the board’s decision to fire former executive director Angela Rodell but declined to answer substantive questions about the...
Lt. Gov. decides not to seek reelection; Dunleavy needs new running mate
Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer will not run for reelection in 2022, leaving Gov. Mike Dunleavy free to choose a new Republican running mate this year. In an interview Dec. 28, Meyer did not rule out an eventual return to politics, but said he wants to take a...
Former legislator, Sealaska president Albert Kookesh dies at 72
A former co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives, former board president of the Sealaska Corp. and a retired Democratic state legislator died last Friday at his home in Angoon. Albert Kookesh was 72. Kookesh was fighting prostate cancer. Alaska...
SE Alaska's weekend heat breaks records
Boats and trailers lined the launch ramps, residents thronged the beaches, plastic ducks bobbed in Twin Lakes, and Juneau basked under the sun on a record-breaking weekend. The capital city has had a full week of temperatures at or above 70 degrees,...
Juneau lab preserves Alaska's historical documents
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Everyone has enemies. Cats have dogs. Mice have cats. Dust mites have vacuum cleaners. Seth Irwin has Scotch Tape. For the past few weeks and for a few more Irwin is preserving and protecting some of Alaska’s most precious...
