At a recent hearing in Wasilla, new national education standards known as "Common Core" were called everything from bad for resource development and Maoist-inspired, to deceptively implemented and even a "Jedi mind trick."Pat Forgey
Secrecy remains the watchword for Arctic Power -- the state-funded lobbying group tasked with trying to open ANWR to oil drilling -- despite past efforts to improve accountability.Alex DeMarban
It will be at least three to four years before a decision is made on whether to build an estimated $45 billion to $65 billion Alaska natural gas export project, an Exxon Mobil executive says.Bill White
The State Assessment Review Board has found the Alaska Revenue Department undervalued the trans-Alaska pipeline by $4.7 billion, while the oil companies claim the line is worth only about $2.2 billion. Who's right?Alex DeMarban
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a diverse crowd of about 200 Anchorage residents Thursday night that the immigration reform bill is a compromise and may not fix all of the problems associated with undocumented workers.Jerzy Shedlock
While the Alaska Redistricting Board sits idle, even after a state Supreme Court decision late last year ordering all 40 Alaska districts redrawn, again, a new ruling was issued Thursday to ensure public scrutiny of the next attempt in a saga that stretches back two years.Ben Anderson
Republican Joe Miller, who has been hinting at the possibility of another run for the U.S. Senate, appears to have taken another step toward a 2014 candidacy with a Federal Election Commission filing.Ben Anderson
Political newcomer Clare Ross stepped into Alaska’s political arena last week with her official announcement to challenge Anchorage Republican state Rep. Lindsey Holmes in the 2014 election.Laurel Andrews
The bizarre ordeal over the leadership of the Alaska Republican Party appears to have come to an end in Homer. Appeals by two former, short-lived party chairs have been rejected, and acting chair Peter Goldberg has been named chairman permanently.Jerzy Shedlock
Many Alaska educators blame lawmakers for once again not increasing the per-student amount districts get through the state's education funding formula.Pat Forgey
Judges will no longer be permitted to autonomously determine a fact in a criminal case if that fact increases a mandatory minimum punishment for the defendant, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying any such fact must be decided by a jury.
Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin, meeting at the G8 summit, both said they want a negotiated end to the Syria conflict. But that barely masked deep divisions over how best to pressure Syrian President Assad to talk rather than fight.
