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March 8, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
HAPPY MARCH! This past weekend my team and I flew back to Anchorage. We kicked off our visit by purchasing goods to donate to the Blood Bank of Alaska in Airport Heights and the Food Bank of Alaska.
Afterwards, Senator Forrest Dunbar and I visited Mountain View Elementary School, where we honored Coach Wes with a legislative citation, recognizing his work to provide students with winter gear and their own community ice rink. Mountain View is a Title I school where 93% of students experience poverty, and while we toured the school, I was blown away by the campus improvements driven by Principal Dr. Clare Hill, including a prayer room for Muslim students, a family resource center, and more extracurricular programs for kids. Families have gone through so much during the pandemic, and these are the types of changes we need to support our children.
We closed out the weekend with the Anchorage Caucus Town Hall and I am taking to heart the issues community members shared with me personally, and during public testimony. Please know that I fully support an increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) and a return to Defined Benefits for all state employees. Across the board, all state agencies are experiencing vacancies, and for the sake of Alaska's future, we must invest in retaining state employees and bolstering our public education.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how fun it was to celebrate the Iditarod commencement. There is nothing better than running into neighbors at the Chester Creek Trail, and honoring this centuries-old tradition!
As always, reach out to my office any time! You can email rep.genevieve.mina@akleg.gov, call (907) 465-3424, or visit Room 420 in the Alaska State Capitol.
All the best,
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