Coastal Alaska communities face an ongoing crisis that is the result of most state ferries being pulled from operation due to a host of systemic problems. Thousands of people are currently cut off from the outside world, unable to access healthcare, food and essential supplies, and the state’s economy.
Category: Rep. Louise Stutes
New proposals would protect Alaska’s ferries, chart new course for AMHS
JUNEAU – Today, members of the Alaska House Majority introduced new bills that would protect our ferries and chart a new course for the Alaska Marine Highway System.
DOT budget subcommittee adds $18.7 million to get ferries up and running again
JUNEAU – Today, Alaska’s ferries are one step closer to receiving badly needed funds.
Members of the budget subcommittee working on the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ budget voted to add $18.7 million into the AMHS budget.
Budget amendment would prevent coastal communities from losing ferry service in winter
JUNEAU – The Alaska House of Representatives earlier this week included an amendment in House Bill 2001 that seeks to prevent coastal communities from going without Alaska Marine Highway System service this winter.
Several communities face that troubling prospect under a recently proposed winter schedule from the Department of Transportation.
Record number of Alaskans testify in support of Alaska Marine Highway System
The subject that motivated such an incredible outpouring was the existential threat that Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget proposal represents to the critical services provided to coastal communities by the Alaska Marine Highway System.
NEWS: House Transportation Committee Schedules Informational Meeting in Kodiak
Anchorage – The Transportation Committee in the Alaska House of Representatives will hold an informational meeting in Kodiak on August 16. The meeting will be focused on a proposal to transition the current Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) into a publicly operated corporation. The McDowell Group is scheduled to unveil the results of a research project examining the concept. Lawmakers will also receive a presentation from Robert Venables with the Southeast Conference.
Rep. Stutes Calls for Expedited Repairs of Larsen Bay Dam
Anchorage – Representative Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) is calling on local, state, and federal officials to work quickly to repair the heavily degraded Larsen Bay Dam before a catastrophic failure jeopardizes the primary sources of drinking water and electricity for the small Kodiak Island community. The concrete channel that controls the flow of water into the reservoir is quickly eroding, sparking fear of a total failure of the dam structure. Such a failure could impact the very existence of Larsen Bay as a community.
Coalition Members Reflect on the 30th Alaska Legislature
Juneau – After a flurry of legislative action, the Alaska House of Representatives joined the Alaska Senate in adjourning the Second Session of the 30th Alaska Legislature sine die early Sunday morning. Members of the Alaska House Majority Coalition reflected on the legislative achievements of the session.