Video Clips

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

Kimberly Rash “The scope was just focused on the grant agreements, the contract administration, procurement, monitoring, public participation, reporting, and documentation. That resulted in 9 findings, and we at the Health Department as well as the municipality concurred with the recommendations that internal audit put forth.”

Anchorage Assembly: Municipal Audit Committee Meeting · Oct 27, 2026

Kimberly Rash “we had put— we have stated that we had worked, or we would put into place in August. Um, I am happy to say that all of our comments that are in the audit have been put into place.”

Anchorage Assembly: Municipal Audit Committee Meeting · Oct 27, 2026

William Falsey “Well, first, I think you, you get the unofficial award for most comprehensive presentation to date at an audit committee meeting.”

Anchorage Assembly: Municipal Audit Committee Meeting · Oct 27, 2026

Kimberly Rash “We had a procurement process that was not documented, so we couldn't— the internal auditor could not verify if there was an unbiased eligible compliant selection of 4 subrecipients, meaning we did not go out to competitive procurement for those. And agreements were not allowed— were allowed to expire.”

Anchorage Assembly: Municipal Audit Committee Meeting · Oct 27, 2026

Shem Suter

“And then we've also got the recapitalization of the existing float system at Statter Harbor. So that's pretty significant. There's a planned expansion as well.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Paul Kelly “So I, I read this amendment to say that it would be assembly direction. We usually give direction through motions, resolutions, or ordinances.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Beth Weldon “I will note that our Port Director Yucatel and Docks and Harbors Chair Suter are both in the audience tonight, and I recommend the assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Beth Weldon “And I would imagine if you ask most fishermen, they would agree with that. And it's a little different from user fees in my opinion, because we also— boats also have to pay harbor fees, so that would be their user fee.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Beth Weldon “Seeing none, that ordinance as amended has passed. And thank you, gentlemen, for being here tonight.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Shem Suter

“Um, our Aurora Harbor office needs to be recapitalized. That's a very, very old office, and it was originally a— they tell me a garage. So those are a couple of the highlights. There's quite a bit more, but we'll keep it at that for now. That's probably $300-400 million worth.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Nano Brooks “the docks and harbors do have a lot of major needs, and, uh, I don't want to see us getting in a habit of, um, you know, taking unnecessarily from them. So just want to, um, Just want to bring that to light a little bit and make sure that we're being considerate of all the work that they need to do and with the limited resources that they have as well.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Shem Suter

“I'm just here tonight to ask you to take a good hard look at where the fish tax goes and see if we can continue to send that towards the docks and harbors.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Beth Weldon “My amendment would be add an Item C, unless otherwise directed by the assembly due to extenuating fiscal circumstances, state shared revenue from the raw fish tax shall be deposited in the harbor fund to be used for harbor purposes. So, and the purpose of this one is a little bit weird. And yes, I do have a history of fishing, but typically not always. And there's many communities that use it for other things, but it stays within the harbor.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Shem Suter

“We've got the recapitalization of the Statter Harbor breakwater that's probably the most pressing. We've got some stuff out in North Douglas that we're looking at, the boat launch ramp, we're just getting that teed up, it's in its infancy.”

Juneau: October 26, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“I would encourage expediency, if possible, around the issue because of the area ID is the next step for the federal administration to take.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“There's absolutely no royalty sharing with affected communities or adjacent states. The United States, so Alaska is not going to see any royalty sharing from this.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Mark Johnson

“for those reasons, I support that we pass a resolution. We are a hub community here and affect all of the villages in our area. And we do have a viable fishery, we have viable crabbing”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Adam Lust “I think it could be honed in really specific to Norton Sound and the City of Nome's impact, which is really where our purview is.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“that's why Koyuk is asking the city for support on this issue to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium as well so that Alaskans can get more information and be more involved with this process”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“I'm here on behalf of Koyuk seeking your support as the Nome City Council to also passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on seabed mining in federal waters”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Adam Lust “I'm just potentially wondering how, how do we go about talking about a very narrow resolution that just talks about the City of Nome's interest in this since it's happening in our backyard?”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“the next stage is area identification. We don't know when this will be issued. It could be any time. We're expecting it to be quite soon, actually.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Mark Johnson

“I make a motion that we pass this resolution.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“seabed mining commercially in federal areas has never been done anywhere globally in the entire world. The methods are unproven, the technology is untested, the financing is unclear. For Alaska, it's a minimum— minimum 20-year lease.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Mark Johnson

“what the resolution is basically asking is not to scrap it altogether, but to ask for a moratorium so that more research can be done.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Adam Lust “I've made it really clear, like, I support responsible resource development, but our biggest resource, uh, in Norton Sound right now is a proven resource. It's our commercial crab fishery.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“I recommend the language that was included in the AFN resolution, but at the same time recognize that the city will use its own language.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Adam Lust “I would like to see a more narrow focus on Norton Sound, and I think it's okay for us to acknowledge that we support, the city supports responsible resource mining”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kenneth Hughes “The resolution as written is inflammatory and is one that puts people on opposite sides of a fence. You could— it could have been written in with a different tone that would have allowed both parties to work cooperatively to seek a common resolution”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“the federal area overlays the Norton Sound red king crab nursery, where, um, is where we get our wonderful red king crab from here in Norton Sound. And it's also the federal waters of Norton Sound is designated as a central fish habitat by the National Marine Fishery Service for all 5 species of Pacific salmon”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“there's no similar research impact evaluation that's being considered before seabed mining leases could be issued in the same area”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Anna MacArthur

“in our two case studies, what we've seen is an almost doubling. So in Alaska, it's 113 million acres.”

Nome Common Council Regular Meeting- Oct. 26, 2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Sue McClure “What if it— what if we change our mind after this upcoming election? Can we go back?”

Seward: City Council Meeting 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Michael Calhoon “My one concern is the triple ballot thing that will probably happen, but I think that, that we can educate, educate the population on that enough and make it worthwhile in the long run to get a larger turnout.”

Seward: City Council Meeting 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Sue McClure “there would be the potential of having 3 different ballots in that November election, and that could be confusing to people, but it could be offset by the greater turnout for our city elections.”

Seward: City Council Meeting 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Michael Calhoon “the biggest positive for me is an increased voter turnout, which is what I've always wanted here, because 19 to 21%, 22 once in a while, although maybe good compared to some other places, I don't think is, uh, is optimal for a town our size when we have a lot of important things to decide on. So I'm in favor of it for that reason.”

Seward: City Council Meeting 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Lori Draper “I did have one person say don't do it, but pretty much everybody else said they wanted them on the same day.”

Seward: City Council Meeting 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “that's because we're gonna treat FY27 as a bridge year. The sales tax will stay the same at 4% year-round and the mill rate will stay the same. The campgrounds will become its own enterprise fund and will have a larger campground and parking transfer to cover the gap that doesn't exist yet”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “We also are now subsidizing the pool and the pool manager position at the school district, and so that costs about $200,000 annually.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “It definitely doesn't seem like— it shows a loss in the general fund revenue, so I understand both sides to it. Yeah. Yeah, it's a wash.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “something that many people may not know happens to your sales tax already in the winter is that borough exempts groceries in Q1 and Q4.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “Which indicates the move to a seasonal sales tax, which would be 0% in Q1 and Q4 and 6% in Q2 and Q3, as well as a $1 mil property tax reduction. This would equal about 3— it would equal 3% on average across the year for year-round residents on their sales tax rate, and it would also allow the sales tax to drop to zero at a very, um, high cost of living time of year, January through March, and then October to December.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “Together, tourism-related taxes and seasonal sales tax drew 62% of respondents. Residents really favor revenue from visitors”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “First and foremost, through fiscal year '27, so starting January 1st to December 31st of 2027, everything will stay the same. In the— on January 1st, 2028, the proposed winter rate will take into effect, which is 0%, and then for that summer from April to September 30th, it will increase to 6%.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “We wanted to mitigate that, um, debacle by pushing the 2028, um, pushing the start out to 2028 since so many bookings and plans are made at least a year in advance. This also gives local businesses time to update their booking and payment software, to build the change into their prices, and most importantly, it gives the United Peninsula Borough, who collects all of our taxes for us, the lead time to prepare and update its system.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “costs do keep rising. Heating oil and nearly everything else across the board costs more money. You may also remember this year we took on the financial asset of leasing a new community center from the borough. The city took on that former middle school space with new costs and no new revenue.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “It does not have the cash flow to sustain that size of a transfer annually, so we're using it as a bridge, not a sustained revenue source. A new sustained revenue in the form of a seasonal sales tax lets the city fund these costs without reducing any services to the city residents”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

Kat Sorensen “The biggest one is the seasonal sales tax, which will increase our revenue to the City of Seward and allow us to do a drop of the property tax by $1 mil.”

Seward: City Council Work Session 10/26/2026 · Oct 26, 2026

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