State Feed: Alaska

Alaska: Group Wants Coastal Zone Management Initiative

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:55:49 -0500

Proponents of restarting a coastal management program for the state say their ballot initiative is on track to go before voters in the August primary, but that doesn’t mean the issue might not be resolved sooner.

The “Alaska Sea Party,” a group of coastal town legislators, and officials say the 26,000 signatures they got to put their initiative on the ballot is a good sign the people support their plan.

Alaska: Effort to Revive Alaska’s Coastal Management Program

AmandaKathryn — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:19:31 -0500

The citizen’s ballot initiative to restore Alaska’s coastal management program has launched a concerted effort to gather signatures in the Ketchikan-Saxman area. Petition booklets will be available this Friday and Saturday, January 6 and 7, 2012 at the Plaza Mall in Ketchikan from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The initiative is sponsored by the Alaska Sea Party, a group of municipal officials, local leaders, and interested voters committed to Alaska involvement in coastal development decisions. It is endorsed by the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Aleutian-Pribilof Islands Community Development Association, the Alaska Conference of Mayors, the North Slope Borough, United Fishermen of Alaska, the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and many other individuals and organizations.

Alaska: Initiative certified to give Alaskans a voice in federal waters decisions

Trevor Ford — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:59:48 -0500

Alaska voters will be asked to sign petitions reinstating the state’s Coastal Management Program and once again giving the state and local communities an official say in what happens in federal offshore waters. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell Tuesday certified the petition, using the full 60 days in which he was given to review it.

Read the story from the Juneau Empire

ALASKA: Battle over Fairbanks' wood smoke and Proposition 2 thickens

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:09:09 -0400

With less than a month before voters decide the fate of a ballot proposition that introduces penalties for heavy air polluters and bans certain devices, two groups are gearing up on opposite sides of the issue.

Healthy Air Now helped craft and introduce Proposition 2. It and Interior Alaskans Opposed to Prop 2 are busy forming campaigns, refining stances and raising money for a heated debate.

Alaska: Salmon initiative collecting signatures

Wed, 18 May 2011 10:52:07 -0400

Today, the group Alaskans for Bristol Bay announced that it has gathered enough signatures for a local ballot measure that the group says could put the brakes on the proposed Pebble Mine. The move would put an inititative on the Lake and Peninsula Borough’s ballot in October.

Read the story from KTUU 2

Alaska: Voters could prevent mining

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:41:55 -0500

Lake and Peninsula Borough citizens filed an application to have the Save our Salmon Initiative to appear on the next municipal election ballot, according to a press release. The Initiative, sponsored by 24 Lake and Peninsula Borough residents, will prohibit any large-scale resource extraction activity, including mining, if that activity could destroy or degrade salmon waters.

Read the story from the Juneau Empire

Alaska: Next ballot will see tax exemptions

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:16:57 -0500

Alaska voters will decide in 2012 whether local governments can give homeowners a bigger tax break by increasing property-tax exemptions. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported the initiative sponsored by Fairbanks North Star Borough Assemblywoman Nadine Winters has been approved by the state and will appear on the ballot during the next primary election.

Read the story from the Anchorage Daily News

Alaska: Anti-abortion measure rejected by state attorney general

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:05:26 -0500

Alaska Attorney General John Burns, and his predecessor, Attorney General Dan Sullivan, have each rejected anti-abortion ballot measures submitted by Anchorage’s Clinton Desjarlais. Now, the anti-abortion activist says he intends to go to court to get a measure on the ballot to ban abortion and stop the government-sanctioned taking of human life.

Read the story from the Juneau Empire

Alaska: 2012 ballot will see tax break initiative

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:36:33 -0500

Alaska voters will decide in 2012 whether local governments can increase property tax exemptions. An initiative that started locally has been recently approved by the state and will appear on the ballot during the next primary election. The proposition would allow cities or boroughs to give homeowners a bigger tax break.

Read the story from the Fairbanks Daily News Miner

Alaska: Parental notification initiative that passed in August goes to court

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:39:08 -0500

A controversial issue from the August primary ballot made its way into court Friday. Ballet Measure 2, which passed, and is now the parental notification law, would require minors under the age of 18 to notify a parent or guardian before getting an abortion.

Read the story from KTUU 2

Red Light Cameras Routed at Ballot Box - Including in America's 4th Largest City

Staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:22:14 -0500

After blogging yesterday about traffic enforcement cameras in Ohio, a reader pointed me to this excellent breakdown of red-light and speed camera votes around the country from TheNewspaper.com. According to the article, the cameras have never survived a public vote: they usually lose by margins of two-to-one.

Among the five additional communities to ban cameras is Houston, Texas - America’s fourth largest city:

Citizens in Charge Foundation President Calls on 12 States to End Unconstitutional Election Laws

Staff — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:43:47 -0400

Last week Citizens in Charge Foundation - a partner organization to Citizens in Charge - sent a letter to Secretaries of State and Attorneys General in 12 states asking them to stop enforcing unconstitutional restrictions on ballot initiative rights. In light of recent legal action in which Kansas officials agreed with petition advocates that the state’s law against petition circulators from other states was unconstitutional, Foundation President Paul Jacob asked officials to “do the right thing” and stop enforcing similar

Alaska: Initiatives on local November ballot include environmental measure

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:43:53 -0400

Fairbanks Borough voters face two propositions on Tuesday’s municipal election ballot. Proposition A would prevent the borough from banning, or fining residents for using polluting heating devices. It’s aimed at an air quality ordinance passed by the assembly in June that includes nominal pollution fines, and a ban on purchase and installation of non Environmental Protection Agency approved wood stoves and boilers. The borough is trying to get into compliance with E.P.A.

Alaska: Parental notification passes in Alaska

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:48:41 -0400

Alaskans on Tuesday approved a controversial voter initiative requiring parents to be notified before their teen age 17 and younger receives an abortion. Ballot Measure 2 was one of the most fiercely contested items in the primary election, with total spending by both sides combined nearing $1 million. Tuesday’s vote marks the first time Alaska voters confronted the abortion issue at the polls.

Read the story from The Miami Herald

Alaska: Parental notification will go to voters

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:38:04 -0400

Alaska voters will decide Tuesday whether a parent or guardian must be notified if a pregnant girl under 18 seeks an abortion. A second ballot measure seeks to ban municipal governments and school districts from spending public money to lobby.

Read the story from MSN Money

Alaska: Measure 1 group fined for missing spending report submission

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:54:57 -0400

The group behind Ballot Measure 1, Clean Team Alaska, and one of its largest financial backers have been fined by the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Ballot Measure 1 is an initiative that would prohibit the use of public funds to lobby or campaign, and also prohibit holders of government contracts and family members from making political contributions. Clean Team Alaska closed its doors in June, after Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell changed the language of the ballot initiative.

Read the story from KTUU 2

Alaska: Transparency issue on the ballot

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:04:54 -0400

In Alaska, a state that has had more than its share of political scandals, it’s no surprise that an initiative aimed at cleaning up government made it onto the ballot this year. What’s surprising is how many respected groups have lined up against it. Opponents of Proposition 1 include the AARP, the Alaska Municipal League and associations of police and firefighters. Both the state chamber of commerce and the AFL-CIO agree that the measure shouldn’t pass.

Alaska: Financial disclosure sought by regulators

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:24:35 -0400

Supporters of an initiative to ban the use of public money for lobbying or campaigning acknowledge that Alaska regulators were requiring more financial disclosure before supporters withdrew. The main group in support of the initiative did not want to disclose its contributors. Last week, Clean Team Alaska suspended its campaign to get voters to approve the proposed law on the August statewide ballot. The group accused state executives of trying to sink the measure by inappropriately tinkering with the summary language that voters would see.

Alaska: Disclosure requirements for initiatives signed into law

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:52:53 -0400

According to the Juneau Empire on Sunday, Gov. Sean Parnell has signed off on House Bill 36, which sets new financial disclosure requirements for ballot initiative campaigns and gives new duties concerning initiatives to the lieutenant governor’s office.

Read the story from the Alaska Dispatch

Alaska: School board opposes anti-corruption initiative

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:34:49 -0400

The Anchorage School Board voted Monday to oppose the anti-corruption initiative expected on the ballot this August. School Board President John Steiner says the initiative would make it harder for the district to explain its concerns and needs to lawmakers because it would bar, in part, government from paying lobbying groups.

Read the story from KTUU 2