Governor says Alaska can’t afford it
By The Associated Press
Gov. Bill Walker says he would veto the purchase of a legislative office building in Anchorage if that item remains in the state infrastructure budget. Walker says he doesn't think the state can afford it. He says he thinks legislators should know as they put the budget together where he stands on that issue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
State budget cuts stymie Mat Su Port MacKenzie project
By Ellen Lockyer, APRN - Anchorage
Mat Su's Port MacKenzie is feeling the sting of the state's budget axe. The Borough's plans to upgrade the nation's Northernmost deep water port has been stymied by setbacks. Most recently, state funds to complete a rail spur connecting the port to the main line in Houston have been put on hold, due to the state's budget deficit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pink slips hang in the balance as health providers await final state budget
by Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska - Juneau
As lawmakers finish off their spending plan for state operations, a wide variety of programs are considering the impacts of budget cuts. One is the state public health center system, where reductions could leave communities without some types of care.
As lawmakers finish off their spending plan for state operations, a wide variety of programs are considering the impacts of budget cuts. One is the state public health center system, where reductions could leave communities without some types of care. CoastAlaska's Ed Schoenfeld reports.
The Southeast Alaska community of Wrangell has been without a full-time public health nurse since the previous staffer left in March.
Fill-ins from other centers are spending a few days there every other week. One is Susan Bergmann, a nurse manager who supervises that center from Ketchikan.
“I'm not recruiting at this point. I have not received permission to do so. They are still waiting for final decisions to be made in the House and Senate with their budget.”
The nursing program faces a 15 to 20 percent reduction in its annual budget of about $30 million.
Chief of Public Health Nursing Linda Worman says that will affect the level of service provided to low-income Alaskans and those without insurance.
“There will mostly be closures this year ... what the final dollar figure is.
A smaller budget cut, made last year, caused the 10-nurse Seward Public Health Center to close.
Worman says her agency is working on plans for further reductions, but isn't ready to identify locations or positions.
She says such decisions are based in part on need, such as communities with high tuberculosis rates.
Bergmann says that's not much of a problem in Southeast, but it is in parts of Western Alaska.
“ They also look at are the community providers able to provide the services that public health provides. In Wrangell, the answer is yes, we have other providers.”
Worman says the main focus of the public health program is on younger Alaskans, though others can still find some help.
“We're still going to do immunizations. We're still going to do reproductive health through the life span. ... if we cannot be their safety-net provider.”
The state has around 190 nursing positions at 22 public health centers. Worman says those jobs make up about 80 percent of her agency's budget.
This is an unprecedented reduction. However, we still believe that ... what the state budget looks like ... targeted in any way.”
Wrangell, Haines, Cordova and Valdez are one-nurse sites with open positions at this time. Worman says that doesn't necessarily mean they'll close.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
By The Associated Press
Gov. Bill Walker's office says state Public Safety Commissioner Gary Folger is retiring next month and will be replaced by Walt Monegan. In an email to department staff Wednesday evening, Folger says he has been dealing for years with cancer and wants to spend more time with his family.