Alaska Landmine Radio

Jeff was joined by Skoey Vergen, the CEO of the Aleut Corporation. They discuss his upbringing in the Aleutians, Anchorage, and Haines, how a lawsuit resulted in his dad being the first white person to attend Mount Edgecumbe - where his dad met his mom - how he ended up going to work on the Exxon Valdez oil spill after high school, his time working at GCI, how he came to be the CEO of the Aleut Corporation, some of the companies an...

Jeff was again joined by Senator Bill Wielechowski (D - Anchorage). They talk about the education issue that has dominated the last two sessions, Governor Mike Dunleavy's (R - Alaska) veto of HB 69, their plan on education going forward, the budget problems plaguing our state, what he learned last year on a trip he took to Iceland, his ideas on how we can better fund our state, how he thinks session will end, and some problems with...

Jeff was joined by Juneau attorney Joe Geldhof. They discuss a recent anti-Trump protest outside the Capitol in Juneau, how Alaska used to attract people, the contrast of addresses to the Legislature from Senator Lisa Murkowski (R - Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R - Alaska), some of the challenges of Governor Mike Dunleavy's (R - Alaska) administration, issues with the growth of the Permanent Fund, chronic homelessness, and some Alaska...

Jeff was joined by Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. They discuss her time as mayor since taking office last July 1, the lack of snowfall this winter in Anchorage, the potential fire danger this summer due to the lack of snow, what the city is doing to mitigate the fire danger, the growing homeless and public camping problem in Anchorage, her thoughts on what to do about it, her plan to have 10,000 housing units built in ten years,...

Jeff was again joined by Representative Will Stapp (R - Fairbanks). They discuss the problems with the budget that include the amount of the Permanent Fund Dividend, increased education spending, and other budget additions, what is happening this year compared to the last two years when he was in the majority, some of the current tensions between the Republican minority and the coalition majority, some interesting bills he recently...

Jeff was joined by Juneau Assembly member Neil Steininger. They discuss his election to the Assembly last year, his time as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R - Alaska), the precarious fiscal situation the Legislature is in due to the Permanent Fund Dividend, increased education funding, other budget additions Dunleavy and the Legislature want, decreased revenues, and the fact that the Senat...

Jeff was joined by Anchorage resident Brandon Kennedy. They discuss a medical event his son Marcus had at the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club during a basketball game last August, his son's time at Alaska Regional Hospital, the start of the problems he had with Aetna when his son needed to go to a brain injury facility outside of Alaska, how his son eventually ended up at Shirley Ryan in Chicago, the insurance nightmare he has ha...

Jeff was joined by Jon Glover, Wildfire Division Chief for the Anchorage Fire Department. They discuss his background in wildland fire fighting with the state and federal government, the bad fire season in the summer of 2019, the fire risks facing Anchorage, some of the techniques to mitigate wildfire damage, the fire risks homelessness and public camping create, what property owners can do for fire mitigation, how fire prevention ...

Jeff was joined by Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) President Frank Richards. They discuss a recent announcement about a deal between AGDC, Enstar, and Glenfarne to potentially construct a gasline, the different gasline ideas from former governors, the issues with building a line to Fairbanks and the railing LNG to the Valley, the sheer amount of gas on the North Slope, the problems with relying on imported LNG for our...