Monthly Archives: June 2012

Perkins Coie Reups as Among the Best in Alaska and the Nation

Posted on June 19, 2012 | 1 comment

A year ago at this time we published a brief piece announcing that Chambers & Partners, a firm that specializes globally in assessing the reputation of law firms, had ranked Perkins Coie’s Alaska office among the best in the state for its Environment, Natural Resources & Regulated Industries practice, and the Firm’s overall practice throughout all of its offices among the leaders in the same field nationally.  The guide is read by industry-leading companies and organizations worldwide, and is widely used by firms in all states for referral purposes.

Its time to renew that piece by noting that the Firm has done it again.  Here is Chambers’ assessment of the Firm’s Alaska practice this year, ranking it with only two others in the top tier in the state: Continue reading →

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Posted in Immediate Reactions

A Statute and a Pledge: A Potential Approach for Addressing Alaska’s Coming Fiscal Crisis

Posted on June 17, 2012 | 5 comments

Recently, I wrote a piece entitled “Alaska Fiscal Policy| Where We Have Gone Wrong.” In it, I analyze state spending levels since the beginning of the Palin/Parnell Administrations, compare that to what is sustainable given the state’s financial and natural resources and conclude that “Alaska’s most recent generation of political leaders … is leading Alaska off the fiscal cliff.”

This is the closing paragraph: “It is ironic that a Legislature and Administration that claim to be ‘fiscal conservatives’ have painted the state into this fiscal corner — but the fact is that is exactly what they have done in the last six years. Going forward, reverting to truly ‘sustainable’ spending levels is essential if Alaska is going to return to the right track.”

Some readers responded to the piece by asking what can be done to bring state spending within sustainable levels. This piece is part of the answer. Continue reading →

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Posted in Thought Pieces

Alaska Oil & Fiscal Policy| A Discussion on the Glen Biegel Show

Posted on June 14, 2012 | Comments Off on Alaska Oil & Fiscal Policy| A Discussion on the Glen Biegel Show

I appeared on the Glen Biegel Show on June 5 to discuss my recent piece on Alaska fiscal policy and the status of oil development in general.  The discussion took some interesting turns along the way, including a discussion of peak oil theory, and does a good job of focusing on the lack of “sustainability” of current state government spending levels.  The interview is at the following link; it starts with an intro at 21:02 and goes to the end of the first hour,  Glen Biegel Show 6_5_12 part 1.

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A Brief Digression …

Posted on June 7, 2012 | Comments Off on A Brief Digression …

Please pardon a brief digression from the usual subject of these pages.    One of the reasons I spend time focused on Alaska oil & gas and fiscal policy issues is because of the importance of those issues to the future of the state.

Also important to the future of the state is the availability and role being played by the state’s four centers of higher education — the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Southeast and Alaska Pacific University.   UAA — the University of Alaska Anchorage — recently published a story about my support for that institution.  If you do not already, I would urge you to support one or more of these institutions as well; they are as crucial to the future of Alaska as is oil and gas.

The story is part of the University’s “I Am/Love UAA” series and is available here.

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