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2003 Guide
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Q&A with Sen. Gene Therriault
Gene Therriault, a North Pole Republican, serves this session as Senate president. Therriault was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1992 and to the state Senate in 2000. He will preside over the 20-member Senate, which consists of 12 Republicans and eight Democrats.
• Q&A with Speaker of the House Pete Kott
• Q&A with Chief of Staff Jim Clark
• Q&A with Senate Minority Leader Johnny Ellis
• Q&A with House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz
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On the table: labor talks, resources, roads
Alaska's growing gap between income and expenditures has been the state's top issue for several legislative sessions.
But following the November elections the administration of Gov. Frank Murkowski likely will focus on more short-term issues such as negotiating new labor contracts with the state's 12 labor unions, and streamlining the permitting process for oil and gas development.
Majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate said they are waiting for Murkowski to lay out an agenda before establishing one of their own.
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Upcoming state budget plan remains uncertain
As the dust settles from Gov. Frank Murkowski's transition into office, the new administration still is working to meet tight deadlines in crafting a state budget.
New forecasts released by the Department of Revenue in late November may give Murkowski more time to address the state's fiscal gap that threatens to deplete the Constitutional Budget Reserve, an auxiliary savings account used to balance the state budget.
Projections from the Department of Revenue earlier this year estimated the $2.075 billion budget reserve account would be depleted by 2004. But an updated forecast released in late November extended the life of the account to 2005, based on projections that Alaska North Slope Crude will average $22 a barrel in future years.
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New faces in Murkowski's cabinet
Governor's staff, state commissioners come from diverse career, geographic backgrounds
Gov. Frank Murkowski's cabinet includes a labor leader, a power company executive, a timber industry lawyer, a Native corporation CEO and staffers from his former U.S. Senate office. Some positions have yet to filled.
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It's easy to access the Legislature online and on TV
Alaskans can watch or hear the Legislature in action from the comfort of their homes - or anywhere they can find a computer hooked up to the Internet.
Capital Community Broadcasting, which owns and operates Juneau public stations KTOO-FM and TV, provides televised C-SPAN-type legislative coverage via "Gavel-to-Gavel," available on 35 cable TV systems.
"Our claim is that there are 433,000 Alaskans who could watch 'Gavel-to-Gavel' because it's available to them on cable TV," said KTOO General Manager Bill Legere.
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A visitor's guide to the Capitol neighborhood
Standing on the marble steps of Alaska's Capitol, a visitor peers down Main Street in Juneau. Maybe she's ready for lunch or a coffee break after a busy morning of meetings. Maybe she needs copies, or aspirin or a stroll in the forest for fresh air. All this and more can be found within a few minutes' walk of the Capitol's marble pillars.
Two dozen downtown restaurants offer everything from breakfast and tasty latté to an elegant meal. Food carts at the corner of Third and Seward and elsewhere provide quick salads and sandwiches, and late-night eateries offer midnight snacks.
Some of the closest: Rainbow Foods, on the corner of Second and Seward Streets, is a health food store with groceries, remedies and a fast lunch counter. Tramar's Franklin Street Diner, just a block down the street from the Capitol, offers three square meals of the standard all-American fare. El Sombrero at 157 Franklin St. is a family owned establishment serving Mexican food quickly. Nearby fast-food franchises include McDonald's and Subway, three blocks down Seward Street from the Capitol.
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