LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
Federal officials on Wednesday approved most of Alaska’s four-y [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
At an hour-long work session with the Assembly Tuesda [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
The story behind a classic, though often misunderstoo [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
The state government risks losing millions of dollars in feder [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday signed a bill that promise [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, known for its steep mountains [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
Playing Wednesday in competitive division City League volleyball matches, Ca [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 27
At 2:36 p.m. a dead [ ... ]
This Week in Girls on the Run
By Sitkans Against Family Violence
and The Pathways Coalition
During th [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The future of management and operations at the Perform [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
After storming into the state 3A boys basketball brac [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The Queen Bees’ spotless season record ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss [ ... ]
By SHIRLEY SNEVE
Indian Country Today
A major renovation at an Alaska museum to attract tourist [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A presentation about a jump in the number of inmate deaths in [ ... ]
By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
Tribal and environmental advocates calling for a crackdown o [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]
Big Rigs Sought
For April 13
The 3 to 5 Preschool’s spring fundraiser and Big Rig event is happening [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The third opening in this year’s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery was held Mon [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Sitka High’s Lady Wolves bounced back from an openi [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel ports Editor
Competing in the state 3A basketball tournament in Anc [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
Playing in a competitive division City League volleyball game Monday evening [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
A bill that passed the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Dividend Fight Could Be Hard on Budget
By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press
JUNEAU (AP) — The fight over the dividend Alaskans receive from the state’s oil-wealth fund could hamper efforts to finalize a state infrastructure budget as the end of the special session looms.
Major provisions in the capital budget draft that advanced from the House Finance Committee Tuesday would require support from three-quarters of the House — or at least 30 of the House’s 40 members.
House Minority Leader Lance Pruitt said he cannot see any of his 15 Republican members lending their support without funding for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend settled.
“If there’s a dividend in it, I think you’d find we can get out of here,” the Anchorage Republican said. Pruitt said his GOP caucus has been consistent in pushing for a full dividend for residents after several years of capped payouts.
Lawmakers have been unable to come to agreement on the size of dividend that should be paid this year. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said the expectation is for a future special session on the dividend, calling that “a critical piece that’s missing at this point.”
The current special session expires Friday. The dividend and capital budget are the remaining unresolved items.
Legislative leaders said they are committed to paying residents a dividend this year, even if this special session ends without agreement on the amount.
Senate Finance Committee co-Chair Bert Stedman said legislators will not duck “our responsibility to come out with a dividend for the public. That’s not going to happen.”
How soon a decision can be reached is unclear. The director of the state Permanent Fund Dividend Division, Anne Weske, said officials there will need to request funds for checks from the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. by early September.
Annual dividends are paid to hundreds of thousands of qualified residents from Alaska Permanent Fund earnings. The fund itself is a sort of nest egg, seeded with oil money and grown through investments. Its total value is about $65 billion. That includes the earnings reserve, valued at $19 billion at the end of April.
Lawmakers have struggled not only with the size of this year’s payout but also with possible changes to the dividend calculation, which is based on an average of fund income over five years. A full payout would equate to checks estimated around $3,000.
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has maintained the answer is simple: Pay a full dividend according to the formula and do not change the formula without a vote of the people. Dividends have been capped the last three years amid an ongoing budget deficit.
Dunleavy has said the Legislature’s work isn’t finished until it approves a full dividend. If lawmakers don’t complete their work, Dunleavy has said he would call them into another special session, his spokesman, Matt Shuckerow, said Tuesday.
Lawmakers also can call themselves into a special session.
There are legislators who agree with Dunleavy’s position on the dividend and those who say the formula is unsustainable and at odds with another law seeking to limit what can be withdrawn from fund earnings for dividends and government expenses. Lawmakers last year started using fund earnings to help pay for government.
The Legislature has created a working group to provide recommendations on future use of fund earnings in hopes of breaking the logjam. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, said he considered it unlikely such a group could get lawmakers to change their minds.
Stedman, a Sitka Republican and member of the working group, said he hopes the group delves into the history of the fund and dividend program to lay the groundwork for discussions on a potential formula rewrite.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.