Archive for the ‘Recent News’ Category

Join Mayor Sullivan’s Education Summit and Help the Kids

Many of us complain that our education system is broken and failing our kids and our country. Mayor Sullivan of Anchorage hosted an Education Summit in mid-November and invited 100 participants to hear about making the Anchorage School District a world class education system. As a followup to that summit,...
January 11th, 2012 | Recent News | Read More

Anchorage School District Report Card Map

Anchorage School District Report Card Map
Earlier in November, the Alaska Policy Forum released a report card for the schools in the Anchorage School District. With that report card as a starting point, the Forum created a more improved rating system, and integrated it into a clickable map for easier navigation. If you have questions or comments about...
November 29th, 2011 | Education, Featured, Recent News | Read More

UPDATE: Anchorage School District Gets Report Card

UPDATE, Monday November 28, 2011: Alaska Policy Forum has revised the letter grades that were assigned to the SBA averages for each school in the Anchorage School District. The new system is as follows: A= 90%-100% B= 80%-89% C= 70%-79% D= 60%-69% F= 0%-59% We feel this grading system to be a better...
November 3rd, 2011 | Education, Recent News | Read More

Needed: Your Input on Everyday Math Program, Help!

If your child is having difficulties with the Everyday Math program or is doing well in the EDM program, then you should attend the community input meeting the School District is hosting and provide comments. This is your golden opportunity to help your child with math. The School District is reviewing...
October 18th, 2011 | Education, Recent News | Read More

Your Land is My Land-Title 21 Meeting,October 12

  Years ago, Woody Guthrie wrote about “This land is your land” but is it really?  It’s time we paid attention to the workings of the Title 21 planning process and what it will mean to the everyday person on the street. Following are some of the requirements for single family residences: #The...
October 10th, 2011 | Recent News | Read More

Two Different Views on How to Fix Education

(Newsweek) Bill Gates and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten have different views on teachers’ personnel systems and how to fix teacher evaluations. (Read more…)
October 10th, 2011 | Recent News | Read More

Ethanol Subsidies Cost You $6 Billion Per Year and More

(National Review) Rich Lowry points out the costs we pay to keep making ethanol fuel out of corn.  These costs include a 45 cent/gallon subsidy and taking food from the poor so we can drive environmentally friendly vehicles. Of course, there just may be a connection to the first presidential primaries...
October 5th, 2011 | Energy, Recent News | Read More

Do AWWU Plumbers Deserve a Pay Raise?

The Anchorage Assembly voted down the three year nearly 15% increase in wages for plumbers (most at AWWU). Was this the right decision? The average AWWU plumber receives about $109,000 annually in pay and benefits; the average Anchorage non-AWWU plumber gets about $68,000 annually(not including benefits,...
August 31st, 2011 | Collective Bargaining Agreements, Fiscal Policy, Recent News | Read More

Medicare Actuary: Obamacare will triple the net growth rate of health care costs

From the Apothecary blog over at Forbes.com: The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently put out its annual projections of national health care spending. And, contrary to the President, the actuaries find that Obamacare will dramatically increase the near-term...
August 10th, 2011 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

State of Alaska Payroll Database Launched

Executive Director Jeremy Thompson explains Why Alaska Government Transparency is a Worthy Cause Here at the Alaska Policy Forum we believe that transparency is always the best public policy. As the state’s only free-market think tank, we believe transparency is the key to a more educated, involved,...
July 14th, 2011 | Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Fairbanks Borough Takes a Mulligan on Redistricting

By: Lance Roberts On June 23rd the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, with a large audience attending, voted 8-1 for Resolution 2011-26, which would protest the State of Alaska’s Redistricting Board’s final redistricting map. That night the audience was heavily favored by those who support a...
July 5th, 2011 | Policy, Recent News | Read More

Anchorage School District Struggles with Math Curriculum, Just Like Students Do

The Anchorage School District commissioned The Council of the Great City Schools to evaluate why the Every Day Math program is not fulfilling ASD’s dreams. In a voluminous report, the CGCS concluded that the school district has made some strides in Standards Based Assessment scores following...
June 27th, 2011 | Education, Recent News | Read More

Cadillac Benefits For Me, But Not For Thee

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL111-148), perhaps the most far reaching social and economic legislation since the 1930s. There are many unintended consequences resulting from this 2,400 page document which will impact most Americans....
June 1st, 2011 | Fiscal Policy, Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Port of Anchorage Continues to have Problems-Is it Design After all?

We posted an original story on June 7, 2010 on serious problems with the Port of Anchorage expansion project. Problems continue to plague the project. Maybe the design is the root cause of the problem. (Read more…)
May 17th, 2011 | Recent News | Read More

Building the Federal Obamacare Exchange: Should Alaska Do It?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unpopular, unwieldy, expensive, likely unconstitutional, and will shortly be a prime target for repeal. The dilemma for Governor Parnell is that the law is written with the assumption that the state will be burdened with the execution of many of its worst ideas. ACA...
April 8th, 2011 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Mat-Su Payroll Portal Launched

Mat-Su Payroll Portal Launched
Anchorage, Alaska – Continuing with its efforts to advance government transparency, the Alaska Policy Forum has launched a new portal which allows citizens in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to view the salaries of its public employees. Like the previously launched website, the data can be navigated...
March 8th, 2011 | Featured, Fiscal Policy, Recent News, Transparency | Read More
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