The Borough Assembly condemned any legislation âwhich would restrict voter accessâ on Thursday and also introduced a proposal to adopt ranked choice voting in Fairbanks North Star Borough elections.
The resolution on voter access passed in a 5-4 vote with supporters saying that rules such as requiring voters to provide identification amounts to voter suppression. Opponents called the resolution partisan and inflammatory and said that providing identification is a routine and uncontroversial part of life.
The resolution stemmed from a bill in the Alaska Senate aimed at tightening some rules around elections â mainly with the handling of ballots. Mention of the bill was removed from the final version of the resolution, which drew sharp debate.
Students were taken to nearby Lathrop High School, and parents were asked to fetch them.
Engineers are checking for structural inadequacies at the school, located at 1630 Gillam Way, according to Yumi McCulloch, director of public relations at the school district.
Parents were alerted of the problem shortly after 10 a.m. School for Hunter students was canceled for the remainder of the day.
âTeachers will touch base with students and families on Friday to assess needs and provide support,â Superintendent Karen Gaborik wrote in an email to Hunter families and school staff.
âThe safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,â she wrote in a separate email.
Credit Robyne / KUAC
FNSBSD stopped the search for a new The Fairbanks North Star Borough School board has suspended the search for a new superintendent. The board took the action at a regular meeting Tuesday night, following the reading of several public comments expressing concerns about the experience, work history, and qualifications of three finalist for the job.
Board president Tim Doran read a letter from the greater Fairbanks NAACP:
“Following a thorough review of the three finalists, cover letters and resumes, and the responses of the candidates at the public forum hosted on March 31, we request that an interim superintendent be instated, so that a broader pool of applicants may be considered.”
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If you missed the very brief enrollment period last year, or if you have lost your job recently, you can have a “do over” for signing up for federally-subsidized medical insurance. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is extending the Affordable Care Act enrollment period to August 15.
“It’s the longest we’ve seen.”
That’s Lori Wing-Heir, Alaska’s Director of Insurance. She says normally the enrollment period is about two months long.
“And of course, ours closed December 15, and re-opened when the Biden administration got sworn in. And now they’ve extended it out till August 15.”
With the passage of the American Rescue Act, the parameters for buying insurance in the federal marketplace – on the website healthcare.gov are also more generous.
April Smith of the Board of Education watched both forums featuring the three finalists for superintendent of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. She liked the candidates, she said, but none of the three really wowed her.
âI felt that all of the candidates were competent, but none of them stood out head and shoulders above the rest as a person I am willing to have lead our community,â Smith said.
It turned out the rest of the school board felt the same way. After going into executive session, the board voted Tuesday to suspend the search for a new superintendent. Instead of interviewing the three finalists â Justin Barnes of Montana, Vickie Cartwright of Wisconsin and Corey Weiss of Alaska â and selecting a new superintendent on Saturday, they will use that meeting to regroup.