“It was real safari night.” - Rep. Garrett Nelson, R-Sutton, about an evening in which he chased off a black bear to protect a fellow lawmaker.
State senators crowd around Matt Kissinger, commercial director of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., shortly before lawmakers voted Thursday, July 16, 2026, on a compromise version of a tax break intended to benefit the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
By James Brooks and Corinne Smith
On Wednesday, one day before the Alaska Legislature voted on a multibillion-dollar tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska gas pipeline, Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, gave the pipeline’s lead developer a sneak preview of the bill.
For weeks, Schrage had been in charge of negotiating a compromise version of the tax break that could get approval from the state House, Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Health pamphlets are seen on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus on July 17, 2026. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Yereth Rosen
More Alaska babies were born infected with syphilis last year than in any recent year, state health officials reported. It is a trend that comes as the state continues to have high rates of the sexually transmitted disease.
In 2025, 14 Alaska newborns had congenital syphilis, cases in which infections are transmitted to babies by their mothers, according to a bulletin issued this week by the Alaska Division of Public Health’s epidemiology section.
A black bear clings to a tree trunk in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in this undated photo. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)
By Yereth Rosen
Matt Schultz, a Democrat running for Alaska’s sole U.S. House seat, suspended his campaign on Friday and threw his support to independent candidate Bill Hill.
Schultz, an Anchorage pastor, released a statement urging “all Democrats, Independents, and all Alaskans who believe in protecting our democracy” to vote for Hill to oust first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich.
A black bear clings to a tree trunk in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in this undated photo. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)
By James Brooks
Rep. Garret Nelson, R-Sutton, chased a black bear away from Rep. Julie Coulombe, R-Anchorage, in front of the Alaska State Capitol during a late-night encounter this week.
“It was a real safari night,” Nelson said on social media.
Alaska’s economic development agency wants to fund oil exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — one of the most hotly debated areas of federal land in the country. (Photo by Max Graham)
By Max Graham, Northern Journal-Anchorage Press
After decades of fierce debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, oil companies largely appear leery of the idea.
The contested swath of federal land, on Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast, is politically fraught and far from existing roads and pipelines. And given the limited data on its geology, oil executives still aren’t sure how much petroleum is trapped underground.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
After governor’s veto threat, Alaska House votes down tax break for proposed natural gas pipeline | James Brooks and Corinne Smith
ICE arrests and detains Alaska state attorney | Corinne Smith
Commentary: Alaska Senate ‘protections’ are a poison pill that could kill the state’s energy future | Warren Christian, Mike Chenault, Dennis Michel, Randy Eledge
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