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Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman, standing, speaks on the House floor on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Juneau Alaska. Alaska House leaders have backed away from a proposal to strip committee assignments from Eastman, who has acknowledged being a member of the far-right organization Oath Keepers, and for now plan to hold at least one hearing on the group. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska House backs off sanctions for Oath Keepers legislator

Eastman has cast the current debate around him as an extension of “cancel culture”

Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman, standing, speaks on the House floor on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Juneau Alaska. Alaska House leaders have backed away from a proposal to strip committee assignments from Eastman, who has acknowledged being a member of the far-right organization Oath Keepers, and for now plan to hold at least one hearing on the group. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrives to Federal court, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in New York. Palin is due back in a New York City courtroom more than a week after her libel trial against The New York Times was postponed because she tested positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Palin resumes court battle with Times after COVID illness

A judge put off the trial last week to give an unvaccinated Palin time to get over any possible COVID-19 symptoms

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrives to Federal court, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in New York. Palin is due back in a New York City courtroom more than a week after her libel trial against The New York Times was postponed because she tested positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Canada, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Opinion.: Reflections on the Juneau protest convoy

Although not perfect, vaccines have helped save countless lives.

Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Canada, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Rep. Ron Gillham is seen here in this undated photo. (Courtesy Ron Gillham)

Gillham says he’s doing well after heart attack

The lawmaker said he began having discomfort late last Wednesday

Rep. Ron Gillham is seen here in this undated photo. (Courtesy Ron Gillham)
Signs direct voters at the Kenai No. 3 precinct for Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Homer man in mistaken FBI raid runs for lieutenant governor

Hueper and his wife, Marilyn, attended a rally for Trump in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021

Signs direct voters at the Kenai No. 3 precinct for Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman speaks on the floor of the Alaska House on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska House tabled action Monday on a proposal to remove from legislative committees Eastman, who has said he joined the Oath Keepers far-right organization years ago. The House Committee on Committees voted 5-2 to remove Republican Rep. Eastman of Wasilla from his committee assignments, said Joe Plesha, communications director for the House’s bipartisan majority. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

House tables vote affecting lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties

Eastman last week told The Associated Press he joined the Oath Keepers “a little over 12 years ago”

Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman speaks on the floor of the Alaska House on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska House tabled action Monday on a proposal to remove from legislative committees Eastman, who has said he joined the Oath Keepers far-right organization years ago. The House Committee on Committees voted 5-2 to remove Republican Rep. Eastman of Wasilla from his committee assignments, said Joe Plesha, communications director for the House’s bipartisan majority. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Shown is a primary demonstration ballot at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Opinion: The opportunity of Alaska’s open primary

How voters in Alaska, and elsewhere, retook control of primary elections from political parties.

Shown is a primary demonstration ballot at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Esau Sinnok of Shishmaref, Alaska, speaks at a news conference after the Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments on Oct. 9, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate. The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 16 Alaska youths, who claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate Alaska and interfere with their individual constitutional rights. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Alaska court rules against youths in climate change lawsuit

16 young Alaskans claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate Alaska and interfere with their individual constitutional rights

Esau Sinnok of Shishmaref, Alaska, speaks at a news conference after the Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments on Oct. 9, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate. The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 16 Alaska youths, who claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate Alaska and interfere with their individual constitutional rights. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Alaska Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, sits at his desk on the Alaska House floor in Juneau, Alaska, on March 5, 2020. Alaska lawmakers are discussing whether to sanction Eastman who is also a member of the Oath Keepers far-right paramilitary organization according to the Anchorage Daily News. Eastman, who is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, confirmed with the Associated Press, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, that he joined the Oath Keepers a little over 12 years ago, “along with 38,000 others who have committed to honoring oaths we have taken.” (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

State lawmaker could be sanctioned over Oath Keeper ties

Eastman was identified as a “life member” of the Oath Keepers last year

Alaska Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, sits at his desk on the Alaska House floor in Juneau, Alaska, on March 5, 2020. Alaska lawmakers are discussing whether to sanction Eastman who is also a member of the Oath Keepers far-right paramilitary organization according to the Anchorage Daily News. Eastman, who is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, confirmed with the Associated Press, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, that he joined the Oath Keepers a little over 12 years ago, “along with 38,000 others who have committed to honoring oaths we have taken.” (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
William Marley’s proposal for a bayfront park on the Sterling Highway. (Illustration provided)

Point of View: Some alternatives for a community center

Entering the City of Homer from Bluff Point has to be one of the most pristine view experiences of geography and nature, ever.

William Marley’s proposal for a bayfront park on the Sterling Highway. (Illustration provided)
Deborah Moody, an administrative clerk at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, looks at an oversized booklet explaining election changes in the state on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

How Alaska’s new ranked choice election system works

The Alaska Supreme Court last week upheld the system, narrowly approved by voters in 2020.

Deborah Moody, an administrative clerk at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, looks at an oversized booklet explaining election changes in the state on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
WH

Opinion: The buck stops at the top

Shared mistakes of Dunleavy and Biden.

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In this Sept. 21, 2017, file photo, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Montgomery, Ala. Palin is on the verge of making new headlines in a legal battle with The New York Times. A defamation lawsuit against the Times, brought by the brash former Alaska governor in 2017, is set to go to trial starting Monday, Jan. 24, 2022 in federal court in Manhattan. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Palin COVID-19 tests delay libel trial against NY Times

Palin claims the Times damaged her reputation with an opinion piece penned by its editorial board

In this Sept. 21, 2017, file photo, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Montgomery, Ala. Palin is on the verge of making new headlines in a legal battle with The New York Times. A defamation lawsuit against the Times, brought by the brash former Alaska governor in 2017, is set to go to trial starting Monday, Jan. 24, 2022 in federal court in Manhattan. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Terri Spigelmyer. (Photo provided)

Pay It Forward: Instilling volunteerism in the next generation

We hope to have instilled in our children empathy, cultural awareness, long-term planning and the selflessness of helping others

Terri Spigelmyer. (Photo provided)
Former Alaska Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Bakalar speaks a news conference on Jan. 10, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, after she sued the state. A federal judge on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, ruled that Bakalar was wrongfully terminated by the then-new administration of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy for violating her freedom of speech rights. (AP File Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Judge sides with attorney who alleged wrongful firing

Alaska judge says the firing violated free speech and associational rights under the U.S. and state constitutions.

Former Alaska Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Bakalar speaks a news conference on Jan. 10, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, after she sued the state. A federal judge on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, ruled that Bakalar was wrongfully terminated by the then-new administration of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy for violating her freedom of speech rights. (AP File Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Hal Shepherd in an undated photo taken near Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Hal Shepherd.)

Point of View: Election integrity or right-wing power grab?

Dr. King would be appalled at what is happening today

Hal Shepherd in an undated photo taken near Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Hal Shepherd.)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks with reporters during a news briefing on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Dunleavy said he doesn’t see his acceptance of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as hurting his relationship with the state’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial last year and whom Trump has vowed to fight in her reelection bid. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer,File)

Dunleavy says work with Murkowski endures despite Trump nod

Trump last month praised Dunleavy and offered his endorsement, provided that Dunleavy does not endorse Murkowski

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks with reporters during a news briefing on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Dunleavy said he doesn’t see his acceptance of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as hurting his relationship with the state’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial last year and whom Trump has vowed to fight in her reelection bid. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer,File)
Nancy HIllstrand. (Photo provided)

Point of View: Trail Lakes is the sockeye salmon hero, not Tutka Bay

Tutka hatchery produces a pink salmon monoculture desecrating Kachemak Bay State Park and Critical Habitat Area as a feed lot

Nancy HIllstrand. (Photo provided)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jan.19, 2022, in Washington. In a rebuff to former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is allowing the release of presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to get Trump docs

Following the high court’s action, there is no legal impediment to turning over the documents

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jan.19, 2022, in Washington. In a rebuff to former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is allowing the release of presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

Voting bill collapses, Democrats unable to change filibuster

The outcome was a stinging defeat for President Joe Biden and his party

In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)