James Brooks

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Rob Annett, an engineer with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, speaks about the difficulties of keep oil running at a reduced rate through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System during a lunch meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Slow flow, low flow is oil pipeline’s issue

The trans-Alaska Pipeline System is still 100 percent full.The speed of oil flow, not the amount of oil in the 39-year-old pipeline, is the issue… Continue reading

Rob Annett, an engineer with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, speaks about the difficulties of keep oil running at a reduced rate through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System during a lunch meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Eleven candidates in GOP’s Alaska presidential poll

If Iowa and New Hampshire aren’t enough to shake out the Republican presidential field, Alaska will sit among the deciding states.Eleven candidates have registered for… Continue reading

Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, right, speaks during a House Majority press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. Also attending are Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, and Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage.

At Valley Library, budget comments based on history

In the main meeting room of the Mendenhall Valley Public Library, the ideas being shared sounded like a page from an Alaska history book: school… Continue reading

Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, right, speaks during a House Majority press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. Also attending are Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, and Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage.
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, speaks with Pat Pitney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, before a Senate Finance Committee meeting at the Capitol on Monday. Pitney was continuing her budget overview to the committee showing the reduction of state positions.

Report: Juneau suffers biggest drop in state employment

Juneau has lost more state jobs over the past two years than any other place in Alaska, the director of the state office of management… Continue reading

Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, speaks with Pat Pitney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, before a Senate Finance Committee meeting at the Capitol on Monday. Pitney was continuing her budget overview to the committee showing the reduction of state positions.
Dean Williams speaks to reporters after Gov. Bill Walker appointed him to be the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections on Thursday. Walker is shown behind Williams' shoulder.

Corrections union unhappy with new commissioner

The members of the Alaska Correctional Officers Association say they’re unhappy with the governor’s choice of Dean Williams to run the state’s prisons, and that… Continue reading

Dean Williams speaks to reporters after Gov. Bill Walker appointed him to be the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections on Thursday. Walker is shown behind Williams' shoulder.
Little snow and recent rains have left minimal snow coverage on the lower part of the Eaglecrest Ski Area on Monday.

Juneau finishes January with least snow since 1942

For the first time since 1942, the National Weather Service measured no sea-level snow in Juneau.According to measurements collected at Juneau International Airport, only a… Continue reading

Little snow and recent rains have left minimal snow coverage on the lower part of the Eaglecrest Ski Area on Monday.

After four months, progress on removing sunken tugboat

Four months after the 96-foot tugboat Challenger sank in Gastineau Channel, detailed efforts to remove the hulk are about to begin.On Friday, U.S. Coast Guard… Continue reading

House, Senate Democrats promote equal pay ideal

Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and at a press conference marking the anniversary at the Alaska Capitol, Sen.… Continue reading

Healthcare market on last life

And then there was one.The Alaska Division of Insurance announced Thursday that Portland-based Moda Health will no longer be allowed to sell individual health insurance… Continue reading

Sitka, Petersburg seek to get closer to marijuana

Two Southeast communities want more access to marijuana — if the state will allow.Sitka and Petersburg have each requested the state relax its 500-foot buffer… Continue reading

Dean Williams speaks to reporters after Gov. Bill Walker appointed him to be the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections on Thursday. Walker is shown behind Williams' shoulder.

Governor names new corrections commissioner

Gov. Bill Walker has named Dean Williams the new head of the state’s prison system.Williams was announced during a press conference at noon Thursday in… Continue reading

Dean Williams speaks to reporters after Gov. Bill Walker appointed him to be the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections on Thursday. Walker is shown behind Williams' shoulder.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids. Capital City Fire/Rescue has been increasingly using this drug during emergency calls to save people who have overdosed on heroin.

In House committee, a shield for those who help overdose victims

“Oftentimes, we say certain bills or resolutions aren’t life or death, but in this case, it is life or death.”So began Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage,… Continue reading

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids. Capital City Fire/Rescue has been increasingly using this drug during emergency calls to save people who have overdosed on heroin.

Senate votes to remove records from state’s online court system

By a 19-1 vote on Wednesday, the Alaska Senate has approved a bill that calls for records of acquittals, dismissed cases and dropped cases to… Continue reading

Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, left, and Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, listen to Jerry Burnett, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, speak to SB 132 in front of Senate Transportation Committee at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Gas tax bill gets hearing, first of governor’s plan

The first component of Gov. Bill Walker’s plan to balance the state budget, a doubling of the state’s gasoline tax, received a quiet hearing from… Continue reading

Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, left, and Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, listen to Jerry Burnett, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, speak to SB 132 in front of Senate Transportation Committee at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Legislator asks for a slap (if necessary)

Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, really wants to hear Alaskans’ opinions on the budget. He’s even willing to take some punishment in the process.“Slap us in… Continue reading

Amid budget gloom, analyst gives reason for fiscal optimism

If you factor in the sizes of their respective budgets, Alaska’s $50 billion Permanent Fund leaves the state in a better financial position than Norway’s… Continue reading

John Tichotsky, chief economist, left, and Randall Hoffbeck, Commissioner for the Department of Revenue, give a revenue forecast presentation to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Monday.

State’s top tax economist warns that volatility is the new normal

While Alaskans hope for a rebound in oil prices, the state’s top revenue economist warned the Alaska Senate Finance Committee that even if prices rebound,… Continue reading

John Tichotsky, chief economist, left, and Randall Hoffbeck, Commissioner for the Department of Revenue, give a revenue forecast presentation to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Monday.

State likely to dump new standardized test

After almost four years of preparation and planning, plus millions of dollars in implementation, Alaska’s new standardized testing scheme appears bound for the garbage can… Continue reading

State creates special investigative unit to handle police misconduct

Gov. Bill Walker and Alaska Attorney General Craig Richards have released more details of their plan to establish a unit in the Department of Law… Continue reading

Mallott signs marijuana regulations, but Department of Law warns of security gap

Lieutenant Gov. Byron Mallott signed Alaska’s first commercial marijuana regulations on Friday, but regulators and legislators now face a headache from the FBI.In a memo… Continue reading