Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1985, 1995 and 2005. They include names, AP style and other content of their eras.
This week in 1985, while Alaska has one of the top suicide rates in the country and a growing list of mental health problems, cuts in state and federal spending are making the problem worse, legislators were told Tuesday. Preliminary statistics being compiled by the Department of Health and Social Services show that Alaska could have the second-highest suicide rate in the nation and yet is dead last in the percentage of state revenues spent on mental health programs. In recent years, Alaska has averaged between 60 and 75 suicides a year, but that figure should probably be 30 percent higher because many deaths from such things as drug overdoses and accidents are actually suicides, said Vince Van Der Hyde, research analyst for the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Today Alaska’s suicide rate ranks either second or third in the U.S., according to different sources. Health funding for low-income residents in particular has emerged as a major issue during the past week due to the U.S. House passing a budget that could result in either 100,000 Alaskans losing Medicaid coverage or the state being forced to pay more than $1 billion to make up for lost federal funds.
Original Story: “Budget cuts worsen mental health woes,” by Kirk McAllister. 2/27/1985.
This week in 1995, House Republicans today released the outline of a five-year spending plan that would cut welfare benefits, reduce state salaries by 5 percent and provide no increases for education for two years. But the plan offered almost no details on how to attain those goals. The outline calls for a $250 million cut in state spending over the next five years. Lawmakers estimated $70 million in cuts would come in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Under the plan, education funding would remain at its current $650 million level for two years, welfare payments would be reduced by 15 percent, and state workers, including lawmakers, would take a 5 percent cut in salary and benefits. The plan also calls for a decrease in the number of pupils per teacher in first through third grades, and would offer cash awards for state employees who introduce cost-saving measures.
Today a bipartisan state Senate coalition is proposing a much different solution to resolve a budget crisis, including raising taxes on oil companies and online-based businesses located outside Alaska. It is also seeking to increase per-student education spending after nearly flat funding for the past eight years.
Original Story: “House budget would cut state pay,” by Terry Mutchler. 2/23/1995.
This week in 2005, local governments and some state legislators are worried that if Gov. Frank Murkowski pulls the state from a coastal management program, Alaska would lose its influence over federal projects. Murkowski told federal regulators Wednesday that he will withdraw Alaska from the Coastal Management Program if they don’t approve his administration’s rewritten coastal management rules. The federal program provides a joint state-federal review for coastal development. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials on Jan. 28 declined to approve the state’s amended coastal rules because they don’t meet minimum federal requirements, they said. Some local officials, already unhappy with the state’s revised coastal rules, fear Murkowski’s threat to withdraw could eliminate their role in federal decisions.
Today Alaska’s state-federal relationship is undergoing a drastic shift due to an executive order by President Donald Trump to nullify all federal regulations that inhibit maximum utilization of the state’s natural resources. Trump is also firing a sizable portion of the federal workforce, including NOAA employees who began receiving termination notices Thursday.
Original Story: “Threat to pull out of coast plan,” by Elizabeth Bluemink. 2/28/2005.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
