Alaska's Political Pipeline

Tracy Sinclare speaks with our Washington D. C. Correspondent about the appointments of Pres-Elect Trump and what the House and Senate will look like in January. Plus we look at some key races in Alaska's election.

Rebecca Palsha and Lori Townsend moderate Debate for the State between Rep. Mary Peltola and challenger Nick Begich.

In this edition of Alaska's Political Pipeline, Joe Cadotte spoke with Mike Wenstrup, chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, about his reaction to the announcement from President Joe Biden that he was withdrawing from the 2024 Presidential race. This is the extended version of that conversation.

Rebecca Palsha talks with Anchorage Mayor-Elect Suzanne LaFrance a little more than 2 weeks from her inauguration. 

As Mayor Dave Bronson prepares to leave office, Rebecca Palsha sits down with him to talk about his tenure and his legacy.

Rebecca Palsha moderated the Alaska's News Source discussion between Mayor Dave Bronson and Suzanne LaFrance.   She and David Bernknopf recap the debate, which was long on specific plans about homelessness, crime, snow removal and his calling her "woke" and her calling him "incompetent."

ALASKA'S NEWS SOURCE ASKED THE COMMUNITY COUNCILS OF ANCHORAGE TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS OF MAYOR DAVE BRONSON AND CHALLENGER SUZANNE LAFRANCE.  HERE ARE THEIR ANSWERS ON A WIDE RANGE OF CONCERNS TO ANCHORAGE RESIDENTS

Moderator Rebecca Palsha sits down with Mayor Dave Bronson and former-Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance to discuss the topics important to Anchorage residents: the homeless crisis, snow removal, re-zoning efforts and what it takes to make Anchorage a place to attract new residents.

Rebecca Palsha and David Bernknopf detail the initial results and preview the coming Anchorage mayoral runoff, almost surely between incumbent Dave Bronson and challenger Suzanne LaFrance.

Plus, why did the public bathroom prop fail so badly?

Mayor Dave Bronson, challengers Chris Tuck, Bill Popp, Suzanne LaFrance debate the issues in the 2024 Alaska's News Source Anchorage Mayoral Debate.

We recap and analyze what the candidates said and what their answers say about their campaign strategies..

Both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan criticized President Biden's State of the Union Thursday night for being much too political.  A special edition of the Political Pipeline

Is there enough money in Alaska to fix education and fund the PFD?

The latest episode of Alaska's political pipeline explores those issues from Juneau and also looks into Mayor Bronson's newest plan to shut down large homeless camps in Anchorage. 

Education and energy are the top issues in Juneau at the start of the Alaska legislative session.  The new edition of Alaska's political pipeline goes in depth with our legislative correspondent Steve Kirch to hear possible solutions on  school spending  and critical energy issues. 

From Governor Dunleavy to Mary Peltola, Alaska's politicians seek to claim a share of the frontier.  But how much of the frontier is myth and how much is real?  And how does mythology affect the way we look at land use, mineral extraction, environmental issues and even place names?  Guest Kaitlin Armstrong from the podcast "The Alaska Myth" joins us.

With virtually every major stakeholder in the room and apparently on the same page, the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness unveiled a pilot program to move 150 people from emergency winter shelters into permanent housing in April.  The money is there, the Assembly and Mayor Bronson are supportive and a team from Houston, Texas is in town to advise.  

That's because Houston is seen by many as a shining example of how to create a collaborative approach to moving people from the streets to housing with a laser focus on that single issue.  We talk about the challenges still facing the Anchorage version of the Houston model.

The Lt Governor joins the race for Mary Peltola's at-large Alaska Congressional seat, Mayor Bronson says he made the right choice on what streets to clean, but the head of Anchorage Schools begs to differ.  The world's news organizations cover the Anchorage homeless situation, but many stories get a key fact wrong.

And how colorful ice towers might brighten your winter outlook

How did Anchorage so badly miscalculate the number of homeless people wanting winter shelter and what will be done about the crisis?  Plus, calls for a constitutional amendment to deal with PFD funds.  And, the legacy of Alaska's Vic Fischer, the last surviving signer of the state's Constitution.

Just days before Anchorage residents learn the details of the winter shelter plan, but the Bronson administration promises more than 500 beds in 3 locations PLUS a new snow removal plan is coming with $1.5 million in proposed new snow spending.   Details on the alleged $1.6 million dollar fraud allegedly perpetrated by a supporter of the mayor's who sits on two Anchorage commissions.  But it wasn't the mayor who gave her and partner the federal money. It was the Anchorage assembly.

Rep. Mary Peltola spoke about small planes during the Anchorage commemoration of 9/11 with President Biden. Just over a day later, her husband died tragically in the crash of his small plane.

President Biden attended that ceremony on his way back from Vietnam and Governor Dunleavy got a few moments with the President to discuss his opposition to the President's decision to cancel oil drilling leases in the state.   Hear our interview with the Governor about what he intended to tell the President.

The pipeline also examines the Mayoral candidacy of Bill Popp and fellow candidate Suzanne LaFrance's response.

But seriously, we talk about how and why Alaska's News Source covered vandalism at our offices involving human feces.   It involves our ongoing coverage of the homeless issue and our series on what works to alleviate homelessness here and around the country.   

Also, we tell you what we know now about President Biden's scheduled visit to Anchorage on 9/11

We went to Houston, Texas, to see why so many think that city's homeless response is a model for the rest of the country. We hear from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and those in Houston moving thousands of people into permanent homes. Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson tells us Houston's model isn't something he's interested in and also why he fought so hard to finish his navigation center. And, there is at least one homeless project in Anchorage that is bearing fruit.

Mayor Bronson gets national attention for offering one way plane tickets to homeless people as the city's mayoral race gets fully underway.    Are LaFrance supporters trying to get Chris Tuck to leave the race already?  And who else might join the mayor's race?

The people running the Permanent Fund say we could run out of spendable money in three years.  Will it force the Governor and the legislature to act?

Alaska Senator Sullivan has both praise and criticism for President Biden's handling of the Ukraine crisis and NATO.

And what is in a word, when it comes to outdoor homeless camps in Anchorage?

What does Governor Dunleavy have to say about his former "family" aide Jeremy Cubas and how does Mr. Cubas view his critics?  We hear from one of them.  Also, a new candidate jumps in the Anchorage Mayor's race to oppose Mayor Dave Bronson.  And, are relations really thawing between the Mayor and the Assembly?

The regular session of the Alaska legislature is in its final days and we examine the wide agreement that significant changes are coming to the way the state pays its' bills. But exactly what those changes are remain a bit of a mystery.

Plus ranked choice voting and parental rights measures take up committee time and Mayor Bronson's administration says it has reached "settlements" over some contentious issues.