Email from Alaska Senate Majority Whistledown Pages Whistledown Pages October 16, 2025 Dear Friends and Neighbors, The October weather has me binging too many shows at night. Thus the titles in this week's newsletter. (I apologize for nothing.) The issues filling my dance card at work as we prepare for the season (just three months hence!) have more to do with clean water, education, and the state's money than Regency drama. Do read on. Congratulations to the Skagway Drama, Debate, & Forensics team on their state championship Reader's Theater win last season! Rep. Story and I were proud to honor them with a legislative citation. DigitalBridge(erton) We’ve been doing a number on our savings accounts for a bunch of years now. That’s the problem when revenues don’t match expenditures. Holding the spending down without raising the income, too, means the state taps savings to close the gap. Our last significant savings account is the Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund. We used to have a lot of money in the CBR. Back then, we could earn more by investing it more broadly, holding some money for the short term and betting some on the longer term. That’s sure not the case these days. We keep the whole fund in cash-equivalent investments: low risk and highly liquid. That's the only choice for funds you know you'll need soon—you don't take the mortgage payment to Vegas. That’s important for three reasons. (1) Without a fiscal plan, we rely on the CBR to fill holes in the budget. (2) The CBR is our emergency fund. When there’s a worse than expected wildfire season or other disaster, we need the dough. (3) The CBR is crucial for cash flow. The state can use it to cover payments in the first few months before the end-of-quarter oil tax payments come in—as long as we pay that back before the end of the year. It wouldn't do for the treasury to get the Venmo "Yikes! Something went wrong!" message. The Department of Revenue has been a good steward of the state’s money for decades, investing with an eye toward meeting Alaska's needs. So I’m confused by what former Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum did this summer. Shortly after his departure was announced, but before officially leaving, then-Commissioner Crum invested $50 million of CBR cash into DigitalBridge. I’d never heard of the company so I took a look. Who knows, maybe they provide cash-equivalent investments that made sense for the CBR? Dearest gentle reader, they do not. Here’s how the company wrapped up its most recent year-end investor call: “What DigitalBridge is, is the leading alternative asset manager focused on products for the digital economy and investing in the digital economy for the long term. Not the short term.” The big question for the legislature and the executive branch is how this was allowed to happen? There’s a professional team at Revenue who make decisions based on carefully thought-out policy. Reporting so far makes it sound like Commissioner Crum made this decision on his own. The money in the CBR is not one person’s account. It’s all Alaskans’ money. It would be a mess having the legislature pick individual investments, but maybe we need taller guardrails in place to make sure the money doesn't go places it shouldn't. Thanks to all the volunteers and competitors who made the Chilkat Chef Challenge happen! It's a great fundraiser for the Lynn Canal Food Web, and a really good time. I even had some success with the dessert auction. (Alas, I did not get to cook.) Diamond of the Seas(on) Cruise ships are a big chunk of Southeast’s economy. They also come with environmental impacts. We’ve worked for decades on reducing those impacts at the local, state, national, and international levels. One place we’ve made significant progress is air pollution. Relatively new international rules say cruise ships have to use cleaner fuels that don’t pollute the air as much when they're near land. Historically, the biggest ships burned heavy fuel oil that put up exhaust with more soot, sulphur, and oxides of nitrogen than comes out of cars, trucks, or ferries. It's nasty stuff to inhale. Sounds good, right? But for a variety of reasons the federal government and international shipping regulators let ships use dirtier fuel if they have “scrubbers.” Those basically mist water down through the exhaust to catch harmful pollutants before they come out the stack. It works fairly well. So what happens to all the pollutants that were cleaned out of the exhaust? That’s where folks start to worry we might have turned an air pollution problem into a water pollution problem. Some of the ships use “open loop” scrubbers which, to oversimplify, dribble the polluted water into a fire hose of sea water they pump on board and right back off. It's pretty dilute that way. “Hybrid” scrubbers can concentrate down the sludgy water and hold it to dispose of as hazmat later. Cruise ships can’t use scrubbers everywhere. The federal government requires all cruise ships to instead burn cleaner fuel in Glacier Bay. Cruise ships also voluntarily switch to cleaner fuel when they come into port. There’s a lot to be said for wanting cleaner fuel throughout Alaska waters. Alaskans are talking about environmental and health impacts from this new water pollution and whether its time to take the next step toward a cleaner industry. I'm still working and talking with stakeholders about the best ways to move forward. Rep. Story & I had great conversations with folks at town halls, office hours, and on the LeConte! We look forward to talking with people in Gustavus soon. See the event section for details. An Ill-Favored Match At last, some good news! A month or three ago I mentioned a bad idea circling around the State Board of Education & Early Development. Namely, a new regulation to change the intent of state law and limit how—and how much—local governments can fund local schools in our state. I’m pleased to report that after statewide outcry (five or six pages of it from yours truly,) the Commissioner recommended no action, sending the proposal back to department staff for more work. It could emerge again before the administration changes, but for now we can breathe a sigh of relief. All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter and you want your very own copy? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes and now want it sent straight to you? SUBSCRIBE Balls & Promenades Around District B Haines Bald Eagle Festival Nov. 7-9, gather with the Eagles for the annual festival! Haines Silver Salmon Derby The derby’s on! Bring in cohos through Oct. 31 for a chance to win! Haines Fun and Fright at the Fairgrounds Head to the fairgrounds Oct. 25 for trick-or-treating during Boo at the Booths and a good scare at Harriett Hall of Horrors! Haines Eagle Fun Run Show off your speed and fly around town during the Eagle Fun Run Nov. 8! Haines River Talk Come enjoy a special edition of River Talk Nov. 8! The theme: The Bird is the Word. Gustavus Chili Extravaganza The Gustavus food bank is hosting the very first (hopefully annual!) Chili Extravaganza Oct. 25. Don't miss it! Gustavus Trick-or-Treat Put on your costumes and bring the kids to trick-or-treat at the Community Center Oct. 31! Gustavus Zombie Doll Workshop On Oct. 22, customize your own Zombie doll at the library! Gustavus Spooky Reads Pizza, S’mores, and spooky tales at the school and library Oct. 24! Gustavus Halloween Bunco Put on a costume for a special Halloween edition of bunco. There will be games, finger food, and fun October 24! Gustavus Town Hall Rep. Story and I will host a Town Hall: Tues. Nov. 4, 5:30-7pm at the library We'll hold Office Hours: Tues. Nov. 4, 9-11am at the Fireweed Juneau Halloween Skate Show off your costumes on the ice! The Juneau Treadwell tradition takes place Oct. 24! Juneau Zombie Walk SEAGLA is putting on a Zombie walk...or maybe shamble? Best costume gets a prize—so get your undead on this Oct. 29! Juneau Haunted Eaglecrest Prepare to be scared at Eaglecrest’s ‘Frigid Fears’ haunted house Oct. 24 & 25! Juneau Spooky Space On Oct. 24 & 26, come to the planetarium for some celestial spookiness! Juneau Library Anniversary The Mendenhall Valley Library is celebrating its 10th anniversary! On Oct. 25, come celebrate with snacks, a photo booth, and more! Juneau Slightly Spooky Story Time Bring the little ones Oct. 28 to celebrate the spooky season! There will be stories & crafts. Costumes are encouraged. Skagway Book Club October’s Book Club will read “The Red Tent.” Enjoy an interesting read and then join the discussion Oct. 26! Skagway Trunk or Treat Join the fun with this annual tradition. Put on your costumes and bring the kids to Trunk or Treat Oct. 25! Skagway Spooky Skate Party Put on your costume and your skates for a spooky party at the Rec Center Oct. 24! Skagway Chocolate Tasting Party & Candy Swap Come to the library Nov. 9 for a chocolate tasting. Plus, swap Halloween candy to collect your favorites! Skagway Shop Small Saturday: Elf Hunt On Nov. 29, get a jump on your holiday shopping with Shop Small Saturday. Plus you can win a gift card by finding the elves hidden in participating local shops! Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Want to Send Snail Mail? Alaska State Capitol Room 514 Juneau, AK 99801 You Can Call: 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Or Email Me! Contact My Staff, the people who power the work: Aurora Hauke 907 465 5051 [email protected] Ella Adkison 907 465 6419 [email protected] Cathy Schlingheyde 907 465 6827 [email protected] Senator Jesse Kiehl | Alaska State Capitol Rm. 514, 4th Avenue & Main Street | Juneau, AK 99801 US Unsubscribe | Constant Contact Data Notice