Representative
David Guttenberg

My staff:
Meredith Cameron
Ron Clarke

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Proud to serve
District 8:
Anderson; Cantwell; Chena; Clear; Denali Park; Ester; Geist; Goldstream No. 2; Healy; Pike; University Campus; University Hills; and University West

May 18th, 2012

Friends and Neighbors,

These sunny days are what the Interior is all about. I hope that everyone is getting the opportunity to enjoy them and gear up for some summer activities.

Spring also means Graduation time! Congratulations to all of our 2012 graduates! I wish you the best on all your future endeavors.

Interior Budget Highlights

The Governor has announced his FY 2013 budget vetoes. This is always a two-fold event. I was pleased that many projects important to the Interior were left funded. These projects included money for artificial turf, school gardens, technology upgrades, road projects, energy assistance, UAF research, weatherization, gas trucking, school funding and deferred maintenance.

On the other hand, Governor Parnell vetoed important funding for pre-k programs and substance abuse treatment. This shows an extreme lack of understanding of the value of early education and the root causes of some of Alaska’s biggest problems. I hope that we can work together in the future to create and support social change in Alaska through education and treatment.

Reducing the Cost of Energy

As we start the summer, energy rates continue to take their toll on our communities across the Interior. During the session, I worked on both short term and long term projects to help find new ways of lowering our oil dependence and bringing in natural gas.

For the short term, I co-sponsored legislation to provide emergency energy relief though vouchers at local utilities and heating fuel businesses. This legislation did not even get one hearing on the House side, though it was written and prime sponsored by Fairbanks Rep Steve Thompson, a member of the House Majority. The promise from our Anchorage and Mat-su colleagues to allow for Fairbanks solutions fell flat.

It is not all doom and gloom as they might have you think. The Interior Delegation worked hard to secure funding for projects that would get us to the necessary steps of building our natural gas distribution infrastructure.

The middle term goal of trucking gas to the Interior from the North Slope received funding to help storage facilities to get underway. Like many in our district, I live in the outskirts of Fairbanks and it will be a long time before there is a natural gas line to my neighborhood. Yet, this plan to truck gas will help to lower our electrical bills and spur small business operating in the core areas. Propane, which can be delivered to our homes, is a perk of the project as well.

Sensible Spending for Transportation Projects

As a legislator, one of the things I deal with almost every day is making sure that State departments are responsive to the people. Road construction projects can create chaos while trying to maintain and create the backbone of our transportation system.

This year I have heard from many regarding two separate DOT projects in our area. The first one was a plan to install lights on the intersection of Goldstream and Murphy Dome Road. Neighbors from the area banded together to voice their concerns over this project and I am happy to report that they were heard loud and clear by DOT. The project has been stopped and Goldstream will continue to enjoy its rural feel.

Another project is the need for a bike path in Cantwell. The Cantwell road has no shoulders and is a dangerous place for kids on bikes and pedestrians. This has been an ongoing struggle to put in a bike path for over 10 years- even before I was in office. I will be working hard to push DOT to make this a safe road for the Cantwell community and its visitors.

Wildland Fire Season

The Division of Forestry and our local fire officials are warning that the lack precipitation has led this to be a very dry spring. This has caused an wildfire alert to be issued and an open burn ban placed into effect. Currently there are a few fires burning around Delta and we all know how devastating these fires and the smoke they produce can be.

I urge everyone to exercise extreme caution when in the woods or in your back yard. For more information, please visit the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center website at http://fire.ak.blm.gov/. BLM puts out a very helpful publication called “Firewise”, to help homeowners be fire ready, check out the report here. To report a wildland fire in Alaska call 1-800-237-3633.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to call my office and share your ideas.

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