A group of Homer folks launched their own news publication this morning, with Homer News veteran @maarmstrong.bsky.social at the helm as editor! Exciting things happening for the south pen! #aknews homerindependentpress.com/2026/01/01/h...

My parting thoughts on my time as the @alaskabeacon.com editor:

Learned something new today about Alaska @climatologist49.bsky.social and @alaskawx.bsky.social.

Alaska lawmakers override governor’s veto of public school funding, restoring services and teachers, reports James Brooks, @alaska.bsky.social, of @alaskabeacon.com: alaskabeacon.com/2025/08/02/a... #akleg

I'll be disappointed to see Andrew go! The @alaskabeacon.com has been better because of him. If you're interested in being the Beacon's next editor, the job posting is here: statesnewsroom.com/staff-openin... #akleg #Alaska

Some personal news: In late August, I will be leaving Alaska and the Alaska Beacon to return to my home region of Philadelphia. I love Alaska and am proud of the work we've done at the Beacon. I look forward to seeing the work my colleagues do in the future.

In local news, the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum is holding a family fun fair from 1-4 p.m. Friday. There's free cake! (And games and activities for kids and families.) It's the 125th anniversary of Alaska's historical library and museum. #akleg #Alaska

Alaska, if you are facing summer school programs disrupted or canceled due to the July 1 federal US Dept of Education funding freeze - I want to hear from you. DMs open or email [email protected]

New Orleans (1970), Philadelphia (1969), Los Angeles (1966), Baltimore (1965), Detroit (1964), and San Francisco (pre-1960) all recorded the fewest murders in at least 55 years through June this year.

“He’s pale. He’s bruising. He cries every night.” A detained Texas family says their son’s health is deteriorating: bit.ly/4ldATHp

NEW: We investigated several stories of people who spiraled into severe, life-altering mental health crises after developing all-consuming obsessions with ChatGPT. Screenshots we reviewed show the AI directly engaging with and supporting user delusions + conspiracies. futurism.com/chatgpt-ment...

Bryce Edgmon and Cathy Giessel with an oped in the New York Times (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/o... #akleg #Alaska

Some of the Beacon's social posts had an incorrect link to tonight's opportunity for Beacon readers to meet the staff. The link is correct in the latest post.

Interested in learning more about the Alaska Beacon's coverage of Alaska policy and politics? We're holding a meet-and-greet, Q&A session on Zoom tomorrow, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Here's the link: us06web.zoom.us/j/8898239538... #akleg

Oh no — Bill Milks was one of the Department of Law's most senior assistant attorney generals on the civil side and a generally pleasant guy. I always had good conversations with him in the grocery store. #akleg

This article has now been updated with a comment from Sen. Murkowski supporting the attacks. It has a new headline to reflect that. #akleg

Pretty good thread here on advance coverage of this weekend's pro-democracy protests.

Alaska state judge dismisses murder case, citing widespread misconduct by local police, reports James Brooks @alaska.bsky.social for @alaskabeacon.com

Alaska’s Legislature is aiming to end its session today. As a nonprofit, we’re proud to keep Alaskans informed on the legislation that affects their everyday lives. If you’ve valued our work this year, can you help us continue serving the public with our journalism? alaskabeacon.com/donate/

In the #akleg, the Senate has declined to recede from its budget amendments, formally triggering the creation of a budget conference committee, another step in the procedural dance toward the end of the legislative session, now 9 days away.

~45% of US corn production is now used to make ethanol, mostly for mixing into gasoline. That's ~13% of all US crop land already used for energy production. Using some of the same land for solar panels would capture 50-100 times more energy per acre.

I’m on Talk of Alaska right now: alaskapublic.org/listen

Tessa Hulls was making sandwiches in the Alaska Capitol when she learned she had won a Pulitzer Prize, reports James Brooks, @alaska.bsky.social, of @alaskabeacon.com: alaskabeacon.com/2025/05/05/f...

Ice broke on the Yukon River at Dawson, YT at 1056am MDT Wednesday. This is the tenth earliest break-up in 130 years of observations. Four of the ten earliest break-ups have occurred in the past decade. #ytwx #ClimateChange @radtek58.bsky.social @jkanadisk.bsky.social @climatologist49.bsky.social

Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago: —Pioneering cancer researcher; —*Arrested* at airport in Boston; —Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana; —"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research. Read it. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

The mountain goats are out on Mount Juneau! #Alaska

Yes hello! We're hiring! Into Idaho state politics and policy? Come work with us! (Don't get caught sleeping on these benefits, either, now!)

NEW: The Fourth Circuit REJECTS the Trump admin's appeal of Judge Xinis's orders to "facilitate" Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release: "We shall not micromanage the efforts of a fine district judge attempting to implement the Supreme Court's recent decision." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

1/4. On the White House’s theory, if they abduct you, get you on a helicopter, get to international waters, shoot you in the head, and drop your corpse into the ocean, that is legal, because it is the conduct of foreign affairs.

NEW: Blue Cross authorized mastectomies & breast reconstructions at one hospital, then refused to pay the full doctors' bills. BUT... The insurer did make some exceptions. On several occasions, Blue Cross execs signed deals to pay for their wives’ treatment. By @tchristianmiller.bsky.social

Congratulations to Yereth Rosen, @yjrosen.bsky.social, for winning the third-place award for the Best of West journalism contest for feature writing, short form, for this story: alaskabeacon.com/2024/03/26/p... And thank you to Yereth's sources for sharing their knowledge with her.

Today Secy Kennedy said he'll undo some layoffs in HHS "was always the plan. Part of the DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning, is we're going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we'll make mistakes" tinalexander.github.io/notes/2025/0...

The Alaska Department of Health is at risk of losing federal funding because of an ongoing backlog in processing food assistance applications, federal officials told the state. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

Trump says his tariffs will raise $6 trillion. Assuming that's over 10 years, that's $600 billion per year. There are 134 million households, so this is nearly $5,000 per household per year. And it's like a sales tax, so it's a flat tax. A huge hit to the budgets of working folks.

Great news for @adn.com, and all of us who have a part in producing the thoughtful journalism made here.

🔗 Websites vanish. Links break. But knowledge can live on with your help. Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to archive webpages that are important to you. 🕰️ 💾 📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save

Breaking: RFK Jr. has forced out PETER MARKS, the nation’s top vaccine regulator. In his resignation letter, obtained by the Post, Marks said he was willing to work with RFK Jr on his vaccine concerns — but said Kennedy wishes “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

Musher Quince Mountain was withdrawn from the Iditarod under the race’s rule on competitiveness, but ended up driving a small team to the finish line in Nome anyway.

This is true for Alaska journalists too.

Here's how white nationalist school board candidate Alexander Rosales responded when I asked him if he had called most #anchorage voters "retarded" and "dumb." #akelect (And, lest anyone accuse me of lacking context, here's the entire exchange: streamable.com/qyyyaq

If you aren't already a subscriber, The Morning Light is an easy-to-digest daily email that highlights the best in @alaskabeacon.com coverage.

Subscribing to The Morning Light, the Alaska Beacon's free daily email newsletter, is a great way to keep up on the latest in Alaska state politics and policy, from the legislative session to the effects of federal changes on Alaska. Subscribe at this link: alaskabeacon.com/subscribe/

A 96-year-old Navajo Code Talker gets to see the Pentagon remove their legacy from its website.

“Navajo code has absolutely nothing to do with DEI because Navajo code was a weapon,” Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald said in response to the removal during an interview with the Arizona Mirror. MacDonald, 96, is one of two living Navajo Code Talkers.

This is exactly what they're trying to achieve by destroying government services that benefit the public. A VC-backed startup intervenes to gather data that the National Weather Service was previously collecting, and before we know it, we will be paying them for what was once funded by our taxes.

“All I know is my work is telling me I’m fired, not fired, fired, not fired. Meanwhile, the price of eggs is like 30 bucks, and there’s airplanes falling down around me.”– Kitty Sopow, former National Weather Service

Interesting. New contracting memorandum from Secy of Defense says military contracts shld stop including language that bars contractors from running segregated facilities.

my latest newsletter piece: on how the Democrats' posture toward trans rights signals a fundamental misunderstanding of how politics work