Alaska

Opinion: A troubling vote for Alaska — and for the nation

Published

9 months ago

May 24, 2025

Opinion: A troubling vote for Alaska — and for the nation

The U.S. Capitol in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

It’s only been a few months, but after observing recent actions in Congress, I feel compelled to speak out. The House’s passage of the so-called “budget” bill represents a profound failure to lead, and the fact that Alaska’s lone representative cast the deciding vote makes it especially painful, as that member is my nephew, Nick Begich.

I had hoped — both for Alaska’s sake and our family — that Nick would chart an independent course in Congress, as Don Young, Mary Peltola and even my father once did. I hoped he would challenge falsehoods and act in Alaska’s best interests, not follow the lead of a president widely viewed as the most corrupt in our lifetime. I was wrong.

Nick has voted in lockstep with this administration — earning an early endorsement from the president — and has done so despite the consequences to our state. As reported by the Anchorage Daily News, Nick claimed on social media that the bill “marks the single most significant step toward restoring fiscal sanity in a generation.” That statement is demonstrably false.

This bill does not reduce the deficit. It extends tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits, which help Alaskans survive. If Alaska tries to shield our residents from these cuts, we could face at least a $63 million shortfall. Even with these harsh sacrifices, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill will add trillions to the federal deficit. That’s not fiscal responsibility — it’s deception. To claim otherwise is to follow the Trump playbook: say something loud enough, and hope no one notices the truth.

But the bill goes even further. One provision removes the courts’ ability to hold government officials in contempt for defying court orders, effectively eliminating a vital check on executive power. With this change, any administration could disregard court rulings — with impunity — unless a citizen can afford an expensive legal battle. This is not a partisan issue. Republican or Democrat, every American should be concerned by this blatant attempt to weaken the judicial branch and undermine the rule of law.

My father, Rep. Nick Begich Sr., worked across the aisle in the 1970s to help settle the Alaska Native Land Claims, secure the pipeline right-of-way and protect Alaska’s most vulnerable. As a professor and legislator, he understood the importance of checks and balances. He knew that winning didn’t mean destroying your opponents or silencing dissent. He would be outraged by this administration’s disregard for democratic norms — and by the complicity of those who remain silent. He would have spoken up.

My nephew may share my father’s name, but he does not share his values. If he did, he would speak up against corruption. He would reject authoritarian tactics and defend the right to dissent. He would stand with the Alaskans who have the least power and the most to lose.

Instead, he has chosen a darker road — one where dissent is punished, courts are weakened, and the concentration of power is celebrated. That is not the America my father served. It is not the Alaska I know.

I hope Nick reads this. I hope he remembers that leadership means more than loyalty to a party or a president. It means doing the hard thing when it’s right. It means standing alone if necessary, for the people you represent. There is still time to choose a different path — one of integrity and courage. One that honors the legacy of those who came before and reminds us of what public service can truly be.

Tom Begich is a former minority leader of the Alaska State Senate and the executive director of the Nicholas J. and Pegge Begich Public Service Fund. His views here are his own and do not represent the fund.

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The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

12 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

24 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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Alaska

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

iStock / Getty Images

This is a tax tutorial for gubernatorial candidates, for legislators who will report to work next year and for the Alaska public.

Think of it as homework, with more than eight months to complete the assignment that is not due until the November election. The homework is intended to inform, not settle the debate over a state sales tax or state income tax — or neither, which is the preferred option for many Alaskans.

But for those Alaskans willing to consider a tax as a personal responsibility to help fund schools, roads, public safety, child care, state troopers, prisons, foster care and everything else necessary for healthy and productive lives, someday they will need to decide on a state income tax or a state sales tax after they accept the checkbook reality that oil and Permanent Fund earnings are not enough.

This homework assignment is intended to get people thinking with facts, not emotions. Electing the right candidates will be the first test.

Alaskans have until the next election because nothing will change this year. It will take a new political alignment led by a reality-based governor to organize support in the Legislature and among the public.

But next year, maybe, with the right elected leadership, Alaskans can debate a state sales tax or personal income tax. Plus, of course, corporate taxes and oil production taxes, but those are for another school day.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of a state sales tax is that visitors would pay it. Yes, they would, but not as much as many Alaskans think.

Air travel is exempt from sales taxes. So are cruise ship tickets. That’s federal law, which means much of what tourists spend on their Alaska vacation is beyond the reach of a state sales tax.

Cutting further into potential revenues, state and federal law exempts flightseeing tours from sales tax, which is a particularly costly exemption when you think about how much visitors spend on airplane and helicopter tours.

That leaves sales tax supporters collecting from tourists on T-shirts, gifts for grandchildren, artwork, postcards, hotels, Airbnb, car rentals and restaurant meals. Still a substantial take for taxes, but far short of total tourism spending.

An argument against a state sales tax is that more than 100 cities and boroughs already depend on local sales taxes to pay for schools and other public services. Try to imagine what a state tax piled on top of a local tax would do to kill shopping in Homer, already at 7.85%, or Kodiak, Wrangell and Cordova, all at 7%, and all the other municipalities.

Supporters of an income tax say it would share the responsibility burden with nonresidents who earn income in Alaska and then return home to spend their money.

Almost one in four workers in Alaska in 2024 were nonresidents, as reported by the state Department of Labor in January. That doesn’t include federal employees, active-duty military or self-employed people.

Nonresidents earned roughly $3.8 billion, or about 17% of every dollar covered in the report.

However, many of those nonresident workers are lower-wage and seasonal, employed in the seafood processing and tourism industries, unlikely to pay much in income taxes. But a tax could be structured so that they pay something, which is fair.

Meanwhile, higher-wage workers in oil and gas, mining, construction and airlines (freight and passenger service) would pay taxes on their income earned in Alaska, which also is fair.

It comes down to what would direct more of the tax burden to nonresidents: a tax on income or on visitor spending. Wages or wasabi-crusted salmon dinners.

Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist, with breaks for federal, state and municipal public policy work in Alaska and Washington, D.C. He lives in Anchorage and is publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel weekly newspaper.

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The Anchorage Daily News welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.

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