The Three Rs

August 7, 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I was very concerned when the clouds briefly turned blue this week, but the sky is back to normal. Home sweet home!

Read the Vote

I got a call from one of my Senate colleagues up north praising the wonderful work of Juneauite Louise Cornwall. Louise is a volunteer who is recording all four regional versions of the Official Election Pamphlet aloud for those who need an audio format. That's hundreds and hundreds of pages of candidate profiles, ballot measure information, and instructions!

This is an awesome program from the Alaska State Library Talking Book Center to make sure every Alaskan can cast an informed vote. Thank you, Louise, for the great work!

(By the way, August 8 is the deadline to request a ballot by mail for the primary. If you haven't done it yet, do it here!)

Thanks to the couple of dozen fellow volunteers who came out and helped clean up the Hank Harmon Public Range! (I got there early enough to snag power tools, thus the hard hat.)

Plans to Write

Great news! The UA Board of Regents unanimously rescinded the plan to study a UAS & UAF merger. The Regents are in a tough spot. They're trying to keep the University intact in the face of falling enrollment, decreased alumni giving, and brutal governor’s vetoes. They have to do all that while steering the University through a pandemic and protecting student safety.

I really appreciate the Regents listening to Alaskans on UAS’ value. Now they can get back to their broader look: planning change for the entire University system, to benefit all Alaskans.

Cutting Short the Count

Tired of hearing about the census? I get it, but Alaska's performing dead last of the 50 states. Worse, the federal government just shortened the time to complete the census by a full month. So please, fill out that census! Get your friends and neighbors to do it. It really matters for Southeast and for Alaska.

All my best,