Video Clips

Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.

Thea Agnew-Benben

“I think as we move into really this, the months before budget season, I think we also need to have a conversation about what it looks like to reduce this system. And I'm not saying that because I personally want that to happen. I'm saying it because this is an area that has grown very significantly in the last 5 years in our budget.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Thea Agnew-Benben

“We served 2,704 unique clients in emergency shelter. And for an individual, the median length of stay was between 8 and 50 days. For families, it's between 30 and 41 days. Our shelters were 95% occupied for those who served individuals and 87% occupied for those who serve families.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Thea Agnew-Benben

“we have 300 year-round beds, 100 at 5656, 100 at Linda's Place, 100 at the Alex. The Alex is non-profit congregate, the other two are congregate. And then between November 2025 and April 2026, we went up to 450 beds with our surge beds.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Thea Agnew-Benben

“Right now, our shelter providers are reporting, like, this was just a couple weekends ago, 85 turnaways. Those are duplicated, so I think you could say if somebody tried our two congregate shelters, maybe 40 turnaways, but that's quite a lot in early May.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Justin Mills

“somebody should be given a chance to get off the street. When people are cycling and they're not using the resources, it's a waste of time to do that. And these people I see in and out of the places. Why isn't the given a chance somebody that hasn't been there.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Erin Baldwin Day

“do you have a sense, you know, based on sort of this data set that we're building, what the, what the true demand is for shelter at this point? And I think looking at, looking at our utilization rates, I mean, and to your point that 93% is full or greater, it does make me wonder, you know, where, where should we be looking? What should our capacity, what should our real capacity be?”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Suzanne LaFrance

“This year, our shelter beds across the municipality were full at the time of the count. This highlights the need for these beds and the critical role they play in keeping a vulnerable population safe. But we still need more shelter beds.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Suzanne LaFrance

“This year's Point-in-Time Count shows a 28% reduction in unsheltered homelessness compared to last year. That is fewer people sleeping in our public spaces, fewer people susceptible to our cold winter nights, and fewer people unsafe in our community.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Thea Agnew-Benben

“we would love to have another 100 beds at East 56, you know, kind of starting tomorrow would be wonderful. We could fill those beds and that would be great. If we had another 50 beds at Linda's Place for November-December, so just carrying on with kind of our surge plan, as well as adding 20 beds at our non-congregate site.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Housing and Homelessness Committee · May 24, 2026

Speaker B

“The additional changes that are being proposed are intended to improve alignment with state regulation, reduce duplication, and modernize outdated requirements, and as well as support providers, and continue— while also continuing to maintain health and safety protections for children.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Kimberly Rash

“One of the other things that we didn't mention but we talked about in the first round, there was a state task force on child care and they had done two sets of recommendations and one of the recommendations was looking at code and making sure that we could align with them in that we could open up more spots within our community. So really that was the first round was the most impactful for the homes and centers. And then this is just some additional cleanup of either language or ability to still increase capacity and reduce barriers.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“one of the things that we were talking about and would like to propose is removing annual physical requirements because this exceeds the state requirement, uh, removing duplicative nutrition requirements that are already governed in either state regulations or in the USDA standards because the nutrition— it's really well laid out what they have to do for food requirements. And then eliminating outdated provisions as it relates to a sick child center.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“the idea is to reduce duplication and modernize— excuse me— modernize code language with MOA oversight and enforcement fully in place. The licensed facilities will continue to be inspected, monitored, and subject to state and MOA licensing regulations.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“Examples include removing outdated terminology in the definitions, aligning the definition— aligning definitions with state regulations, and removing the requirement that an administrator has to either live in the licensed facility or that no one lives in the facility. We're focusing on increasing flexibility for adolescent caregivers, especially as it pertains to after-school programs because they often hire high school students and modernizing training requirements to reflect current practices, including more options for online training.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“Several consistent themes emerged and providers reported On— we hear this a lot— they reported ongoing demand targeted at infant care, that we are grossly low on infant care in this town. Many of the responses indicated that staffing flexibility had definitely helped with passage of Round 1 last year, and at the same time, the responses also indicated that they emphasized continuing staffing shortages and operational challenges.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“even after we removed the requirement last year for liability insurance, When we asked questions, no one indicated that they had dropped their insurance. They're all voluntary, from what we could tell, the responses, they're all voluntarily maintaining it.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Anna Brawley

“AO-202669. So that is an ordinance changing some of our— proposing to change some of our child care ordinances or code.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Anna Brawley

“we have a public hearing on that that will come up on our May 26th meeting”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Kimberly Rash

“In the AO, you'll also see that there is no summary, summary of economic impacts this round. The last round had about a $30,000 impact due to removal of the licensing fees, but this round there are no economic economic impacts.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“The Municipality of Anchorage has a different licensing structure as the— in that we are the only municipality in the state that does it, that it governs and enforces child care codes.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“We sent out 190 surveys and we received 32 back.”

Worksession re AO 2026-69, amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 16.55 Anchorage Child Care... · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“I'm very hopeful that when we are able to show you the full ACWRA that we will actually have a plan to retire most all of that general government liability to those fund deficits, but I can't get there until I'm there.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“Likewise, the internal IT service fund incurred expenses that it hasn't recovered in real time. And in, in, in the municipality has paid all of its bills, but it is carrying these deficit positions that ultimately do need to be addressed.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

Speaker B

“The IT internal service fund order of magnitude is going to be about $14.7 million. When we look at those numbers, we're also going to tell you deficit, some portion of that is related to general government and some portion of that is related to the enterprises and utilities. And rough numbers, about 90, 89% of the workers' compensation general liability fund deficit we think is going to be— we're working on the hard numbers now— general government share. So there's $14.7 million that general government owes that fund. On the IT side, because of the way that the capital assets depreciate, it looks like more about 64% of that fund, so about $9.3 million that general government owes that fund.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

Anna Brawley

“as we look at these big long-term funds, it's kind of like a bathtub. You got to think about how much you're filling it up, how much is draining out, and ideally you're keeping the bathwater in there enough that it can cover those costs. And so our, the moves we have are infusion of cash to kind of close that deficit all at once, or as we said, tax levy, or, or really in the BSSA's case, just building more stuff or having the community build more stuff.”

ANC Muni Assembly, Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

Anna Brawley

“I'm glad we have yet another billion-dollar liability. We keep adding them up.”

Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

George Martinez

“I notice areas of regular, recurring maintenance problems with flooding for years on some of the areas that that seem to have the dots in my district.”

Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee-of-the-Whole · May 21, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“it just passed, it was signed December 1st, so it's transferred over to the Health and Social Services Department and they have, apparently, my understanding is, I could be wrong, 3 months to run it through their Health and Social Services program and take a look at how Bursa's Law is going to be implemented nationwide.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“these young people that now know this, they are the leaders. They're the people that their peers are going to listen to. They may or may not listen to us, but if they have a classmate says, hey, my uncle died, that's going to make a difference. So really, we need the kids. We need the kids in the end to lead for us once we leave.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“Those numbers have changed so dramatically. A lot more hands going up. Yeah, 90% of the hands go up, I know what fentanyl is. 50% Of the hands stay up, I know someone that's been affected. And 10%, easily 10%, have lost someone to fentanyl.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Speaker A

“those of you all who are listening, there— we don't have the bill number yet because it will have a Senate bill number But that's something that if this is interesting to you, that you could weigh in and you could ask the education committees in the House and the Senate to please hear the bills and to move them out and move them along.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“when I started, I would ask the children to raise their hands. Have you ever heard the word fentanyl? And in the beginning, maybe 20% of the hands would go up.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“Senator Murkowski said, we, you know, we'd like to start having meetings on Bruce's Law. And that's how it started. So Michael Troster, the HIDTA director, and myself and Senator Murkowski's staff started meeting every Wednesday and drafting Bruce's Law, which provides federal prevention and awareness campaigns through the Health and Social Services Department around illicit drugs, particularly illicit drugs that are contaminated with fentanyl.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“fentanyl is the leading killer of 18 to 45-year-olds in this country. There is nothing else that kills more people 18 to 45 than fentanyl. In Anchorage, the fastest growing demographic of young— of people dying is 14 to 18 year olds. There's nothing that's killing more 14 to 18 year olds in Anchorage than fentanyl.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“Alaska was number one in the nation for increased deaths due to fentanyl that year in 2021, up 73%.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“Representative Rosha introduced HB 6166 2 years ago that would do similarly through the education department what I'm already doing in schools, but it would make it mandatory that there was education in middle and high school rules surrounding illicit drugs, particularly those that are contaminated with fentanyl. It didn't go anywhere really in the first 2 years, but my understanding is it's going to be reintroduced by now Senator Rauschauer and others.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Sandy Snodgrass

“Recently in Anchorage, I've been able to get to almost every single 8th grade health class with the DEA. Wow. If I could do that every semester with the new class coming in to every 8th grade class in Alaska and spend the money to do that and bring the message to them about, particularly about finding other things to do.”

Shelley Hughes and Anti - Fentanyl Advocate, Sandy Snodgrass · Apr 29, 2026

Speaker B

“you didn't want to be a ceremonial seat warmer, you actually wanted— you didn't want to just— you weren't even interested in this position. Unless it meant you were going to help the state.”

Shelley Hughes Introduces Lieutenant Governor Pick · May 1, 2026

Speaker A

“I was looking for someone smart, competent, with demonstrated leadership, with good character, someone who is trustworthy because we've got a lot of work to do. And with the expanded role in my administration, different than previous governors, we're going to need someone who can do more than just ensure election integrity, but can move important important efforts to help us have a strong state.”

Shelley Hughes Introduces Lieutenant Governor Pick · May 1, 2026

Speaker B

“when voters look at our ticket, I believe it's the best bang for the buck because you're gonna get a team ticket where you're not just getting one person doing the work with somebody in the back seat waiting if the person in the front seat keels over, but you're getting two people that are going to work together to move the state forward.”

Shelley Hughes Introduces Lieutenant Governor Pick · May 1, 2026

Speaker A

“more than $8 billion of the $10.9 billion increase for healthcare services in FY '27 is for community care. The difference is even more significant in the department's FY28 advance request, with the VA asking for a $17 billion increase in community care and near stagnant levels for direct care.”

Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2027 and 2028 advance appropriations requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs. · May 20, 2026 · 1 view

Speaker B

“You cannot go straight to community care as a veteran. That's just false. You can't just— I can't tomorrow just decide to go to community care.”

Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2027 and 2028 advance appropriations requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs. · May 20, 2026

Dan Stickel

“what is the capital cost of the project? As we all know, that, that cost has not been released publicly. There's been speculation that the capital cost is higher than the $46.2 billion that we've modeled. And so what we've done here is we've started with our base CAPEX, which is the $46.2 $6.2 billion assumption, and we've modeled out up to a 100% higher cost.”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026

Dan Stickel

“for the delivered break-even price into the global market. It's a reduction from $9.07 under current law down to $8.96 per 1,000 cubic feet under the bill before the committee. So a modest tax reduction from current law, but not nearly as significant of a tax cut as under the governor's proposal.”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026

Dan Stickel

“The bill, as introduced by the governor, would be a material increase to the cost of gas. And would definitely make the project more attractive to investors. The version of the bill before the committee is a tax decrease overall, but to a much smaller extent than the bill as introduced by the governor”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026

Dan Stickel

“we came up with a baseline cost of supply to utilities of $22.70 under our current law scenario and $18.60 under our as introduced by the Governor scenario. Those would be higher than the price of imported gas. And what that really highlights is that the true benefit of this project comes from the the full project that includes the export sales.”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026

Dan Stickel

“this bill carves out the property tax for gas treatment plant and LNG plant, and we assume that those would pay the current law property tax. And then the alternative volumetric tax for the pipeline is shared between the state and several municipalities.”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026

Dan Stickel

“if you compare this to slide 26, you'll see that there is a reduction in state revenues of about $7 billion, a very significant reduction in municipal revenues of over $13 billion.”

House Finance, 5/21/26, 1:30pm · May 21, 2026