Video Clips

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

Carl Jacobs “I'll say that for my part, I would be interested in hearing the board deliberate on a postponement makes sense to get the information. Um, absent the choice to postpone to get the information, I probably will support the underlying recommendation coming from administration.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “I move that the board approve and authorize the superintendent to approve one change order in the amount of $849,673 and a contract modification to Cornerstone General Contractors, Inc. for a total value of $849,673.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Rachel Blakeslee “that answers a lot of my questions. So thank you for the additional context, because I don't think I would have been able to vote for this without that context. But with the context, I think I— well, I will be voting for it.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Kelly Lessens “this resolution shall become null and void If either the mayor's proposed budget for 2027... or the Anchorage Assembly's November 17th, 2026 adoption of the FY 2027 general government and utility operating budget would fund the municipality's optional local contribution to the Anchorage School District for the 2027-28 school year to a lesser extent than the maximum allowed under the municipal tax cap.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “this resolution gives the board Well, gives the public the clear voice of us that says we will essentially accept the superintendent's recommendation not to close any schools except in the cases of emergencies.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Nicole Somerville

“we have about a 90% usage rate. The teachers are all using it, and where the art comes and where the teachers get that creativity is the engagement. Yes, there is a script.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Pat Higgins “we give them a I'm just kidding maybe type statement. I think we're making a serious mistake, and I absolutely oppose it.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Carl Jacobs “AC Memorandum Number 008 is adopted by a vote of 6 to 1.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Rachel Blakeslee “So you could fit— you could fill it versus actually taking all that material, hauling it away to a whole other state. So while there aren't landfills to dispose of the PCBs, you could have a much cheaper option by leaving it in place, capping it, and burying it.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Jim Anderson “I don't know that it will save money if— I just don't know. We have not talked to a designer. We haven't gone out for the permits.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Jharrett Bryantt “if the board declined to adopt this particular adoption in a process that's been executed for numerous years... then I would recommend that we do a wholesale deep dive into the process, which would delay the curriculum, which would mean that students wouldn't have these high-quality materials next school year. It would also deter us from being able to implement a pilot implementation in the spring.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “That used to serve as the chair of the committee, because what you're describing is not the function of a chair, especially in committee work. At least the chair, like, decides when meetings are and what's on the agenda and then presents it, and then the committee itself collectively affirms the agenda. Is— it sounds more like there's an absence of a chair.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Kelly Lessens “I would be interested in offering an amendment that basically— well, maybe it's not an olive branch, maybe it's a stick, um, would nullify the entire resolution if at the end of the municipal budget passage the 2027 municipal funding for our schools is less than we expect to receive.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “I don't support the amendment as an amendment or an ability to conditionalize this moratorium.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Pat Higgins “I'm, I'm not going to support this amendment, and I'm not sure if I'm even going to support the resolution right now. I believe we're trying to establish that we're not going to go out there and target neighborhood schools this year. But we're putting in here language that says if we get funding from this one source less than what we want, we get to change our mind.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Kelly Lessens “the Assembly requests the mayor identify essentially a ceiling and a floor for how the school district will be funded under the municipal tax cap. And that's worrisome to me because we already know that we have a projected deficit for FY28”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “I think that if we put this amendment in front of our expedition forward about where do we need to go forward, I think it turns an olive branch into something with a fuse, a time bomb, and there's a condition set”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Pat Higgins “I still don't know why Campbell, the only STEM program, gets cut the same year we approve a STEM high school”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Jim Anderson “they went back and validated that, uh, anything 10 parts per million is over the ADEC limit, which would be what's in the current slab. The water level in the area, um, right at the slab is between 3 and 5 feet... they feel somewhat doubtful that now that we have raised it and we know that it has PCBs, that they would allow us to bury it and leave it in contact with the groundwater.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Jim Anderson “So the playground, if it stays on track, will be ready to occupy mid to late October.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “I'm advocating for the olive branch version where this year we should spend the year investing in dialogues”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Rachel Blakeslee “So, while $800,000 plus, almost $900,000 doesn't seem maybe significant in the grand scheme of things in some ways, in other ways I would argue that it feels very significant in a resource-scarce environment like the one that we're in.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “I will be voting no, not that this is the wrong book for the choice that we have to make tonight, but that I think we as a board need to actually honor that the teacher's ability to teach should be less confined than this process was designed to build.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Carl Jacobs “That resolution is adopted by a vote of 5 to 2.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Pat Higgins “I remember in November when we talked about the savings we would have with closing Fire Lake and Lake Otis, and given the number of additional kids that the charter schools may have, we could lose money that year.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Rachel Blakeslee “ADEC does state that Alaska has no landfills permitted to accept regulated hazardous waste, but there are potentially other options... any materials with concentrations of, for example, 1 to 10 parts per million of PCBs can be left in place or used as backfill.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Paul McDonogh “Right now we're saying not to at any time until the conclusion of the committee's work, which would be in May.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Jharrett Bryantt “we also, um, left you with this document that we're happy to project and walk through... because we want to make sure that we have a full, robust perspective about the process. And we're really excited to get your feedback and answer questions so we leave this conversation with clarity”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

Kelly Lessens “on July 21st, the Anchorage Assembly unanimously, 12 to 0, passed a document called AR 2026-11.”

Anchorage School Board: 8/18/26 ASD School Board Meeting · Aug 18, 2026

“As we are in a technical session, there are no special orders today. The Senate will stand in adjournment until 2 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - August 17, 2026 11:00am · Aug 17, 2026

“I have no communications. Thank you. Are there any reports of standing committees? I have no reports of standing committees.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - August 17, 2026 11:00am · Aug 17, 2026

“As we are in a technical session, there are no Senate resolutions for introduction today, no Senate bills for introduction today, no items on today's daily calendar, and no matters of unfinished business in order today.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - August 17, 2026 11:00am · Aug 17, 2026

“Will the Senate please come to order for the purpose of a technical session. The roll call is waived for today. Since we are in a technical session, we will forego the invocation, pledge of allegiance, certification of the journal.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - August 17, 2026 11:00am · Aug 17, 2026

“I have no messages from the Governor this morning, Madam President. Are there any messages from the House? There are no messages from the House this morning.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - August 17, 2026 11:00am · Aug 17, 2026

Joy Huntington “We would like to thank Greg Bringhurst, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, Corina Waller, State Director Regional Director for U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Stacy Pence, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Leslie Hadukovich, State Director for U.S. Congressman Nick Begich, for engaging with us on these priorities.”

Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 60 · Aug 17, 2026

Joy Huntington “They all expressed enthusiastic support for meeting on a more regular basis to identify where they can support our tribes. These conversations are part of TCC's ongoing efforts to strengthen partnerships and advance the needs of tribes and communities across Interior Alaska.”

Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 60 · Aug 17, 2026

Joy Huntington “executive leadership met with key staff from Alaska's congressional delegation to discuss time-sensitive and urgent federal priorities, including the 2026 disaster relief efforts, the Ninana Clinic grant extension, proposed OMB revisions to the uniform guidance, and the Farm Bill, including the federally recognized Tribe Extension Program. We also discussed increased public safety funding, strengthening our tribal voice during U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tribal consultation, and the Rural Health Transformation Program. We also extended an invitation to federal decision makers to visit our villages and meet with tribes.”

Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 60 · Aug 17, 2026

Nathan Svoboda “basically what he said is we're in agreement that the borough could be getting fined for negligently feeding wildlife. I mean, it's a known issue. You guys know it's a problem. Granted, you're trying to address it, but it's still— it's a violation of state regulation.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Jeremiah Gardner “It seems like he's negotiated us a pretty sweet deal, and as long as we do have AIM Maintenance as the contractor for that service district, it seems like, um, let's, uh, let's squeeze the deal for as long as we can is what it kind of seems like to me. We're saving money, but Let's prepare ourselves for the future”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Nathan Svoboda “there's undoubtedly going to be bears now and in the future that have to be dispatched just because we can't change that behavior. It's so ingrained in them at this point that no matter what we do, it might not be successful at all. We're fine with that.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Scott Arndt “This works very well. The service district is aware that it won't last forever, and we will be looking into what options we would be coming forward to, to recommend, because there is other borough property that would potentially be better. So thank you very much for your consideration.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Jeremiah Gardner “So at what point is a bear damaging the borough's property, and at what point do we have the authority to euthanize?”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Anamika Powers

“what it boils down to is basically bears must be kept out of the trash, period.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Jeremiah Gardner “at what point do we say that we are dealing with defense of life and/or property and euthanize problem bears? 99% Of Kodiak is a wildlife refuge. This 1% is mine, it's yours, it's our neighbors.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Nathan Svoboda “keeping bears out of the landfill— and I know this frustrates Cody because it is a moving goal, but, but you want a measurable objective— that is the measurable objective. If there's one bear in the landfill, that objective is not met.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Scott Arndt “There's an agenda item that says review of Service Area Number 1 lease with Fields Rental. I've not been contacted as to why this is on the agenda, so I'm here to answer any questions in regards to this.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Nathan Svoboda “92-230 Clearly states you cannot negligently feed wildlife.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of August 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026

Benjamin Young

“While they were hurrying to make their homes, Raven used to fly around them. Once in a while in the mornings, he'd come there and he'd fly around above them. When he flew around above them, he'd call out, "Tots, tots, tots."”

Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026

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