Must Read Alaska

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Anchorage Assembly to Consider New Ordinance Aimed at Developing “Missing Middle Housing”

On June 1, 2026, Assembly Members Erin Baldwin Day & George Martinez released an ordinance designed to expand housing options in Anchorage and implement the land use goals outlined in the 2020 Comprehensive Plan and 2040 Land Use Plan through a new zoning overlay for Missing Middle Housing.

The proposed overlay would allow development of “missing middle” housing types — including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts, and townhomes — in targeted areas along key transportation corridors. A zoning overlay allows property owners in a designated area to opt-in to standards that deviate from what their zone typically allows without changing the standards for all other properties in the zone. The legislation is intended to empower property owners to maximize the use of existing land, improve affordability through increased housing supply, and support walkable neighborhoods served by public infrastructure.

“Anchorage must have more realistic housing options for working families, young professionals, elders, and longtime residents who want to age in place,” said Assembly Member Martinez, who represents District 5, East Anchorage and chairs the Assembly Community & Economic Development Committee. “The Missing Middle Housing proposal makes good on the promises made in the Anchorage 2040 Land Use Plan and activates areas that have already been identified as ripe for targeted housing investment.”

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#Anchorage #housing

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The Christian Imperative of Forgiveness: Mercy Amid Violence

By Dr. Cindy

In Christian circles, the words “I forgive you” are spoken not as a polite cliché but as a radical witness to the Gospel. They echo in the most harrowing stories: a grieving parent, eyes wet with tears, stands before the murderer of their child and offers mercy. Why do Christians return so persistently to forgiveness, even when every human instinct screams for vengeance? What does it truly mean beyond simply “letting go?” The answer lies at the heart of Christian revelation. Forgiveness is not a feeling or a sentiment. It is a graced movement of the will— from hatred to mercy, from wrath to compassion. It requires us to distinguish righteous emotion from disordered passion, violence from trauma, and human justice from divine mercy. As St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, only when our passions are ordered by reason and grace can we fulfill Christ’s command.

Scripture leaves no room for doubt. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus ties our forgiveness directly to God’s: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He warns, “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35) makes the stakes clear: the servant who receives mercy but refuses to extend it faces judgment. Christ Himself models it from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Stephen echoes the same words as he is stoned to death (Acts 7:60).

Forgiveness, then, is not optional piety. It is participation in divine mercy. Jesus even grants his Apostles authority to forgive sins, declaring that what they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18; John 20:23). What enables a parent to extend mercy to the killer of their child? Not denial of the evil, and certainly not the abandonment of justice. True forgiveness flows from a heart transformed by grace—one that recognizes that every sinner, including ourselves, stands in desperate need of God’s pardon. It wills the offender’s ultimate good: repentance, conversion, and eternal life.

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#Christians #Gospel #forgiveness #FaithWatch

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Sullivan Chairs Hearing on Advancing Alaska’s Maritime and Coastal Economies

On Tuesday, June 2, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) chaired a Senate Commerce Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries Subcommittee hearing on “The Blue Economy: Advancing American Fisheries, Maritime Strength, and Coastal Economies.” The hearing featured testimony from four expert witnesses, three of whom are Alaskan: Tommy Sheridan, director of the Alaska Blue Economy Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute; and Nathan Wardwell, managing partner of JOA Surveys, LLC. Sen. Sullivan has led efforts in Congress to secure America’s place in the global Blue Economy through enforcement, environmental stewardship, infrastructure investment, and workforce development.

“The Blue Economy supports millions of American fishermen, processors, mariners, sport fishermen, welders, scientists, engineers, military personnel, charter operators, tourism workers, and small business owners across the United States,” said Sen. Sullivan. “Yet workforce shortages remain one of the great challenges across nearly every sector. We are serious about advancing the Blue Economy. We must invest in workforce development, training, apprenticeships and educational opportunities to prepare the next generation of maritime professionals.”

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@DanSullivan_AK
#TheBlueEconomy #industry

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“Highest Level of Service at the Lowest Cost Possible:” Kenai Mayor Micciche’s FY 27 Budget Passed Unanimously

SOLDOTNA, AK — Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter A. Micciche’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget passed the Borough Assembly unanimously on June 2nd, presenting a spending plan built on a continued commitment to fiscal restraint, taxpayer affordability, and long-term financial sustainability.

The proposed budget reflects a modest increase over last year — driven primarily by one-time additional local funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District — while holding the General Fund property tax mill rate steady at its current level, the lowest general government mill rate in the state of Alaska for similar boroughs.

“Our responsibility is not only to today’s taxpayers, but also to the long-term affordability, sustainability and stability of services for future generations,” Mayor Micciche said. “This budget reflects that commitment. I recognize that inflation has been difficult on families and have designed a budget to ensure that the KPB does not contribute to the strain of rapidly rising costs for KPB families and seniors. I want to personally thank the KPB Finance Team for their hard work, as well as each KPB employee and the KPB Assembly for sharing that vision.”

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@pmiccic
#Kenai #budget

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June 3: Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day

Today, June 3, is Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day, when Alaskans take a moment to remember and honor those who fought to defend Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands from a WWII Japanese attack six months following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The attack on Dutch Harbor, located on the Amaknak Island in Unalaska, was the first aerial attack by an enemy on the continental United States. Japanese pilots expected little resistance, but the U.S. intercepted a message three weeks earlier, allowing Navy and Marine personnel to prepare with anti-aircraft defenses. After encountering unexpected resistance at Dutch Harbor, Japanese forces shifted their attack to the Margaret Bay Naval Barracks, claiming the lives of 25 servicemen.

Japanese forces also launched assaults on Adak, Kiska, and Attu. The Aleut people were evacuated and held in internment camps in Southeast Alaska for three years where many of them died.

The brave soldiers of the United States Armed Forces and allied Canadian Forces fought for more than a year to reclaim the Aleutian Islands. The battle of Attu stands as one of the costliest American assaults in the Pacific with hundreds of servicemen making the ultimate sacrifice to liberate Alaska.

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@GovDunleavy
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Sullivan, Moody Urge Investigation of Improper Billing Practices Causing Americans High Medical Debt

U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Ashley Moody (R-Florida) are urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to uncover improper health care billing practices that lead to high levels of medical debt. Instances of high medical debt continue to be a top concern for Americans, and there are reports that indicate hospital bills charged to uninsured patients that end up as medical debt are often well in excess of the actual cost of providing the service.

“We are writing to request you investigate and provide recommendations to Congress for addressing inappropriate health care billing practices that lead to high levels of medical debt,” said the Senators. “Despite efforts by Congress and the Administration to insulate patients from ‘surprise’ medical bills in the No Surprises Act, after four years of runaway inflation and increasing health costs under the Biden administration, instances of high medical debt continue to be a top concern for our constituents.”

While most medical debt sent to collections is under $300, approximately 14 million Americans owe over $1,000. Three million have incurred medical debt that exceeds $10,000, representing almost 80 percent of the aggregate medical debt owed in the United States.

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@DanSullivan_AK
@AshleyMoodyFL
@RobertKennedyJr

#healthcare #insurance

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Top 10 Fastest-Growing Industries in Alaska: Construction #1, Transportation #2

JUNEAU — June 2, 2026 — A new analysis by DPHK Consulting has identified construction as Alaska’s fastest-growing industry, after its real GDP rose 10.8% from 2024 to 2025.

The business services firm reviewed the latest annual real GDP by state data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and ranked Alaska’s major industries by their percentage change in real GDP, measured in chained 2017 dollars, between 2024 and 2025.

Construction posted the largest increase among Alaska’s major industries, growing by 10.8%. Transportation and warehousing followed, rising 5.9%, while mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ranked third, expanding 5.4%.

Across the economy, Alaska’s real GDP increased by 2.8%, from $55.95 billion in 2024 to $57.49 billion in 2025.

“Construction’s 10.8% increase shows where Alaska’s 2025 growth was most concentrated, with the sector expanding nearly four times faster than the state economy overall,” said a DPHK Consulting spokesperson. “The full ranking also highlights how uneven that growth was: several industries posted solid gains, while wholesale and retail trade only edged higher by 0.1%.”

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Opinion: Why Alaska’s LNG Pipeline Is a Lose-Lose Unless We Put Alaskans First Right Now

By Marcus Moore

(This article was originally published in the author’s personal Substack on June 1, 2026.)

It’s late May 2026, and you’re a thirty-something Alaskan. Maybe you’ve got kids in Mat-Su schools, a job that actually depends on real energy costs staying sane, a deep love for this state that’s never stopped believing we can develop our resources without selling our kids’ future to the highest corporate bidder.

You’re scrolling through your favorite social media or the news after a long day, and all these fake and uninformed Americans hammering the same drum again.

Urgent. Thirty days. Closing window.

Generational opportunity. Pass the bill or lose the pipeline.

Arctic energy conference the Same stage, Same energy conference where, just one year earlier, Glenfarne’s own developer stood up and told the room the project looked economically attractive without any government handouts.

This year? Same stage, different tune not financeable without the tax abatement. And oh, by the way, they’re still not telling us the total construction cost.

That’s not urgency.

That’s a pressure play.

And today, in a Senate Finance Committee hearing that your tax dollars paid for, the project’s own adviser dropped the mask on the public record.

I want to be clear about something before we go further. This isn’t a pipeline hit piece. I want this thing built. I want the construction jobs. I want North Slope gas flowing so our lights stay on and our homes stay warm without us begging for imports.

But right now, this deal is shaping up to be bad if we build it the wrong way and just as bad if we don’t build it at all.

The only path that actually works is the one where the people who own the gas us, the residents who live here capture the real value.

Anything less turns Alaska into a resource colony a piece of geography that Glenfarne, federal tax-credit chasers, and Asian buyers strip for profit while our schools close and our sovereignty quietly disappears.

Let’s walk through exactly what the public record shows. Every number. Every name. Every testimony detail. Because the Governor’s thirty-day clock is explicitly designed to stop us from asking the hard questions and those questions are the whole ballgame.

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@AlaskanRants
@GovDunleavy
#AKLNG

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Alaska Minimum Wage to Increase July 1, 2026

By Natalie Spaulding

(The following is a reprint of a press release provided by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development on 6/1/2026.)

Alaska’s minimum wage will increase to $14.00 per hour on July 1, 2026. In November 2024, Alaska Statute 23.10.065 was amended through the passage of Ballot Measure 1 to include this increase. The minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2027. Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the minimum wage will return to annual adjustments for inflation.

The Alaska minimum wage applies to all hours worked in a pay period regardless of how the employee is paid, whether by time, piece, commission, or another agreement. The minimum compensation an employee must receive per pay period is all hours worked in the pay period multiplied by the Alaska minimum wage. Any claimed exemptions to the minimum wage must be clearly and specifically named in Alaska law.

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Service to My Country: Dr. Michael Hanifen, United States Air Force Veteran

By Dr. Michael Hanifen, B.S., D.C., Ed.D.

Dr. Michael Hanifen served more than eight years in the United States Air Force, earned the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt), and served as an NCOIC (non-commissioned officer-in-charge), including two deployments to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch.

I joined the United States Air Force at 18 years old for the educational opportunity. The military gave me a path forward, allowing me to use tuition assistance to earn two degrees while serving, and later the GI Bill to complete my Doctor of Chiropractic degree.

What I thought would simply help me build a career ended up shaping who I became as a man.

Military service was part of my family long before it became part of mine. My father served in the United States Navy as a Gunner’s Mate during the Vietnam War, and my great-grandfather, Sgt. Daniel Clyde Hanifen, served in the Army during World War I. Looking back, I realize duty, sacrifice, and service to country were woven into my family long before I ever put on the uniform.

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@USAVetAffairs
@usairforce