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Free pet vaccines attracts record crowd in Anchorage

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Free pet vaccines attracts record crowd in Anchorage


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Hundreds of Alaskans and their furry friends flocked to Mountain View on Saturday for free pet vaccinations and food.

The organization, Friends of Pets, teamed up with Anchorage Animal Care and Control to sponsor a vaccination clinic for cats and dogs. The Normandy Project also provided free pet food at the clinic and AACA was handing out spay and neuter coupons. In addition to pet services, several groups were providing food and water to those who are low-income and homeless.

“Last spring, we heard that there were a number of dogs that died in camps because they weren’t vaccinated for parvovirus,” said Michele Girault, board president for Friends of Pets. “We wanted to do something to outreach to our community. We had a clinic in May, and then we thought we’d do another one in the fall, and obviously word got out and lots of people are here.”

The clinic opened at 11 a.m. and went until vaccines ran out, which was scheduled for 3 p.m. Organizers had to order 150 vaccines during the event because of the demand. Friends of Pets and AACA held a similar clinic in May and after such a large turnout for Saturday’s clinic, organizers said they plan on holding the vaccination events more often, possibly four times per year.

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“It’s super important to make sure your pets are vaccinated,” said Joel Jorgensen, AACA community outreach manager. “If they get outside and they end up at the shelter, I mean, they’re going to be in an environment that has a lot of animals, and environment like that does have disease, especially when animals come in that aren’t vaccinated, so events like this is to help prevent it from even entering our shelter, and then just on the total hole, making sure Anchorage is covered and safe.”

Several churches and homeless outreach organizations provided food and hygiene supplies to people in line. Some had waited as long as two hours for pet vaccines. Duke Russell, who says he’s been providing food for unhoused individuals for several years, says he was invited to join the event and was happy to serve the community.

“We coordinated with the Friends of pets and APD to kind of show our support to the community today,” said Russell. “Basically it’s just some citizens get together and cooperate in mutual aid for those who are unsheltered.”

Some people traveled from as far as Seward to get their pet vaccinated.

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Alaska

Help with paying utility bills listed among top requests from Alaska 211

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Help with paying utility bills listed among top requests from Alaska 211


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Workers at United Way’s statewide 211 line said Thursday that Alaskans asking for help to pay their utility bills is one of the top requests.

According to United Way data from 2023, utility assistance continues to be one of the top four unmet needs in Alaska, with that list rounded out by requests for help with housing, transportation, and food.

In the case of utility bills, United Way’s Chief Operating Officer Sue Brogan said the agency has a database with as many as 70 partners around the state that can provide some sort of energy assistance. That database features nonprofits, city and state programs, and tribal and non-tribal entities.

Brogan said trained navigators can help people find programs for which they might be eligible. The database also keeps track of which programs are currently accepting clients and have funding available and which ones don’t. The State of Alaska, for example, reports a backlog on processing applications for heating assistance programs.

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Some of the money available includes a recent $50,000 donation from Enstar, which Brogan said is designed to help Southcentral Alaskans who are struggling to pay their heating bills.

“All of that information is in the database,” Brogan said, “and so, when somebody calls in for help, the resource call specialist can take that person through all of those qualifications to make sure we are making a good referral.”

In addition to calling, Brogan said people can go directly to the Alaska 211 website to research various programs themselves, though she said calling or emailing the call center has the advantage of getting personalized help.

“Where do you start, what’s the eligibility, what do I have to bring to my appointment?” Brogan said. “We can help you with that; we can help you navigate that. And that is one of the greatest things about 211, is that we have staff that are here that can help you with that step.”

Alaskans can call 211 or (800) 478-2221, visit the website at Alaska211.org, or email Alaska211@ak.org.

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The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Callers can leave messages after hours.

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



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Alaska environmental commissioner picked for Trump administration EPA post • Alaska Beacon

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Alaska environmental commissioner picked for Trump administration EPA post • Alaska Beacon


Alaska’s top environmental regulator was chosen to be the new Pacific Northwestern regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced on Wednesday.

Emma Pokon, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, was chosen by President Donald Trump to lead EPA’s Seattle-based Region 10 office, Dunleavy said.

“I can’t think of any Alaskan better suited to oversee federal environmental regulations and laws for Alaska than Emma Pokon,” Dunleavy said in a statement.

Pokon has led the Department of Environmental Conservation since August 2023, when she became acting commissioner upon the resignation of Jason Brune. Dunleavy named her as commissioner the following December.

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Pokon joined the department in 2020, moving there from the state Department of Law, where she served as a senior assistant attorney general. At the Department of Law, she handled environmental and natural resource matters.

Poken, in the governor’s statement, said it had been “an incredible privilege” to be part of DEC’s leadership for the past five years.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue public service in this new role and look forward to working with EPA leadership and Region 10 to ensure balanced implementation of the nation’s environmental laws,” she said.

Deputy Commissioner Christina Carpenter will serve as acting commissioner of the department until a permanent successor to Pokon is chosen, Dunleavy’s statement said.

The Region 10 office serves Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and 271 tribal governments.

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Pokon replaces Casey Sixkiller, who led the regional office in President Joe Biden’s administration. Sixkiller, a former Seattle deputy mayor and chief operating officer of King County, Washington, now serves as director of the Washington Department of Ecology.

The Region 10 EPA office has been led in the interim by Acting Administrator Dan Opalski.

 



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3-member panel recommends automatic salary adjustments for Alaska governor, cabinet, lawmakers

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3-member panel recommends automatic salary adjustments for Alaska governor, cabinet, lawmakers


JUNEAU — A three-member panel recommended Wednesday that Alaska’s governor, cabinet members and lawmakers receive automatic pay adjustments every odd-number year moving forward.

The recommendation sets in motion pay changes for the state’s top political officials based on the Anchorage consumer price index. That means that salaries would likely rise every other year, though they could also go down if the cost of living declines. The change — unless rejected by lawmakers — would go into effect in 2027.

The proposal comes two years after the same panel recommended steep compensation boosts, including a 20% increase for the governor and his cabinet, and a 67% increase for lawmakers, following several years with no changes in pay.

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The pay guidance was issued by the State Officers Compensation Commission, which is required under law to issue recommendations every other year. The recommendations then go into effect automatically unless lawmakers pass legislation disapproving of them.

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said Wednesday that he was not in favor of automatic salary adjustments, and lawmakers might vote to reject the commission’s proposal.

“I don’t like the idea of having an automatic increase because our budget is so tenuous,” said Stevens. “We just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Rep. Andy Josephson, an Anchorage Democrat, said he thought he was already “well compensated.”

“I’m hearing no interest from legislators in further adjustments to their salary,” said Josephson.

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The commission — whose members are appointed by the governor and legislative leaders — was created to avoid direct conversations by lawmakers and the governor about how much they should get paid and when they should receive raises.

But the commission’s intended impartiality was largely sidestepped in 2023, when Gov. Mike Dunleavy fired all commission members after lawmakers rejected their proposal, which would have raised pay for the governor but not for lawmakers. The governor then appointed an all-new five-member commission, which approved a new proposal, paving the way for both lawmakers and the governor to receive pay raises with virtually no public input.

Three commissioners have since resigned from the commission, and Dunleavy replaced only one of them, leaving the panel with just three members, the minimum needed to issue recommendations.

Commissioners include former Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux, Fairbanks Economic Development Corp. President Jomo Stewart and Republican former Rep. Lynn Gattis.

The commission’s recommendations this year could largely render the panel’s future meetings and intended purpose moot, by ensuring that lawmakers and the governor’s pay are updated every other year, even without public comment or review.

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But commissioners signaled they would support future legislation to require the commission to continue to meet and prepare recommendations every other year. Such legislation has not been introduced this year.

Lawmakers are currently compensated $84,000. All but Juneau lawmakers can also receive $307 per-day tax-free during legislative sessions, adding roughly $37,000 to their annual income.

The governor is paid $176,000. The lieutenant governor is paid $140,000. Cabinet members earn $168,000.

The average salary for state employees was just over $82,000 in 2024, according to data from the state.

The potential approval of pay increases for the state’s top officials comes as lawmakers say pay raises may be needed also for the state’s rank-and-file workforce. Some legislators have raised alarm over a move from the Dunleavy administration to block the release of results of a salary study commissioned last year to investigate whether pay increases were needed to address an ongoing recruitment and retention challenge in state agencies.

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