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Voice your opinions!
Here are some ways to let your voice be heard regarding issues important to you.

Question of the Day:
What do you think our top priorities should be in this year’s budget? Write, call or e-mail and let me know your thoughts!

Write a Letter to the Editor
submit your 225 word letter to the Anchorage Daily News via e-mail letter@adn.com, or fax them to 258-2157, attn: letters to the editor.

Contact the Governor
Governor Palin's Anchorage office may be reached at 269-7450, or e-mail her at sarah.palin@gov.state.ak.us
You can also visit the state website at www.state.ak.us

Contact your
Congressional Delegation
Congressman Don Young,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5978
don.young@mail.house.gov

Senator Lisa Murkowski,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-3735,
EMAIL: Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Senator Ted Stevens,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5915
EMAIL: Sen. Ted Stevens

March 19, 2008

Thank You!

Thank you to all who helped make this year’s constituent party an overwhelming success!  The turnout was impressive, food plentiful, and conversations captivating.  For those of you who weren’t there you’ve probably heard you missed more than just pizza and a visit with me and fellow legislators Rep. Doogan and Sen. French.  Governor Sarah Palin and future father of five Todd unexpectedly joined us to everyone’s pleasure. 

This Week

Monday the House passed SB 256, the supplemental budget.  This bill puts $3.6 billion into savings.  It funds community revenue sharing.  It provides funding for weatherization and home energy heating rebates to combat skyrocketing energy costs.  If funds capital requests from the Governor.  Oh yes, and it also funds some of the capital projects that were vetoed last year.  This last category is less than 1% of the total supplemental budget, but has created controversy between the Governor and the Legislature.  I think we could have worked out these differences in a collaborative manner.  But I don’t hold the gavel, so this wasn’t up to me.  I do hope that going forward our two branches of government can find a way to communicate and work out these budget issues without resorting to vetoes and threats of veto overrides.

Yesterday U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski gave her annual address to the Legislature.  Her speech highlighted our state’s and nation’s need to find more reliable sources of affordable energy; this is obviously a very important issue for both Alaska and the entire country that has broad ramifications from international policy and national security all the way down to local unemployment rates and monthly home heating bills.

My Domestic Violence Three Strikes bill (HB 307) will likely go to the floor sometime soon after three long hearings in the House Finance committee.  I’m eager to move the bill over to the Senate so we can see it passed into law before the end of session.  

Washington DC Recap

Two weeks ago I traveled to Washington DC for the annual Energy Council conference.  While in DC I spent some time with Senators Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens discussing the gas line (something at the forefront of all of our minds).  Senator Murkowski and I also had a longer chat about the opportunities for Federal and State cooperation on renewable energy development and about our ongoing problems with finding enough doctors to treat Medicare patients. 

Of course there was a lot of work to be done in DC as well as catching up with fellow Alaskans.  Some of the noteworthy panel discussions I attended at the conference discussed whether or not to list polar bears on the endangered species list, the rising cost of electricity, and carbon sequestration.  Energy is such a critical issue for our state, both the production of energy and the growing problem meeting local demand at reasonable rates.  Attending the Energy Council each year is a great way for Alaskan legislators to stay connected to these issues on a national level. 

An Afternoon at the USGS

While in DC for Energy Council I visited the United States Geological Survey (USGS) offices in Reston, Virginia with colleagues Representatives Kurt Olson and Anna Fairclough.  The USGS shared with us the extensive work they are doing to identify potential oil, gas, and mineral development in the state.  Of particular interest to the three of us on this trip was a presentation on Alaska’s coastal erosion.  We saw truly frightening photos of the Bering and Chukchi Seas’ coastal erosion that serve as a warning for what Alaska faces as the ground zero of global climate change.  I urge you to take a look at the USGS website for more information:

http://energy.usgs.gov/alaska/ak_coastalerosion.html.

Keep In Touch!

As always, I am eager to hear your concerns.  Please feel free to contact my office when you have any questions, concerns or comments.  My e-mail address is Rep.Lindsey.Holmes@legis.state.ak.us and our toll free number in Juneau is (888) 465-4919.  Thank you for your interest, I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Lindsey Holmes
Alaska State Representative
District 26 - Anchorage

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