Corinne Smith
@corinne-smith.bsky.social
✍️ Reporter @alaskabeacon.com, covering Alaska statewide news, politics & policy, focused on education, and social and criminal justice www.alaskabeacon.com
President Donald Trump is denouncing mail-in voting. Alaska Republicans are doing it anyway, reports James Brooks @alaska.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/briefs/presi...
President Donald Trump is denouncing mail-in voting. Alaska Republicans are doing it anyway. | Alaska Beacon
The Alaska Republican Party is continuing its program of sending out absentee ballot applications to voters who might choose Republicans.
alaskabeacon.com
We had about an 81% response rate, so 19% did not respond. That's up from 2024 when we had about a 68% response rate, and we put in numerous emails, calls and texts to candidates and they had a month to respond.
The 2026 Voter Guide is live! This was a ton of work but worth it to present Alaska candidates side-by-side with their views on important issues
Alaska Beacon@alaskabeacon.com · 2d agoThe 2026 Alaska Voter Guide is here! This year, @alaskabeacon.com worked with @adn.com, @alaskapublic.org and @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social to bring you all the information you need on candidates, races, and important dates. alaskabeacon.com/voter-guides...
Voting can feel like a chore or overly complicated - so we made this short video to help! And your vote matters! Especially in Alaska, where races can be VERY CLOSE
Alaska Beacon@alaskabeacon.com · 2d agoAlaska Beacon reporter James Brooks walks through early voting in-person which is open today through primary Election Day on August 18. Note it’s a “pick one” primary: choose 1 candidate for each race & the top 4 will advance to the ranked choice general election
It's finally here! The @alaskabeacon.com, @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social, @adn.com and @alaskapublic.org voter guide is finally done and published — alaskabeacon.com/2026/08/03/g... #akleg #Alaska
Getting ready to vote? Compare candidates with the 2026 Alaska Voter Guide | Alaska Beacon
The Alaska Beacon, Alaska Public Media, KTOO and the Anchorage Daily News worked together this year and have created a voter guide to help Alaskans make informed choices when they vote.
alaskabeacon.com
A Seattle man died in a fall aboard a boat offloading catch in the Aleutian fishing hub of Akutan last week, authorities say. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
Seattle man dies in fall on commercial fishing boat in Aleutians
The 36-year-old was one of four crew members aboard the boat, which was offloading catch in Akutan, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
adn.com
Children in immigration court without lawyers: Legal services contract expires, and unaccompanied immigrant children face deportation @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lega...
Legal services contract expires, and unaccompanied immigrant children face deportation
WASHINGTON — More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children Monday lost their legal representation because the Trump administration has not entered into a new agreement to take over their legal ser...
newsfromthestates.com
Early voting opens for Alaska’s 2026 primary election — here’s what to expect, writes @alaska.bsky.social for @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/08/03/e...
Early voting opens for Alaska’s 2026 primary election — here’s what to expect | Alaska Beacon
Early voting takes place at 10 places statewide through election day, Aug. 18, and absentee ballots are also available.
alaskabeacon.com
After Halong: Return and recovery —Bethel-based photojournalist Katie Baldwin Basile that looks at the Western Alaskans whose lives were changed by the disaster. Via Anchorage Press @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/08/03/a...
After Halong: Return and recovery | Alaska Beacon
This story was originally published in the Anchorage Press. Subscribe here. From Bethel-based freelance photojournalist Katie Baldwin Basile: While on a recent assignment in the Western Alaska villag...
alaskabeacon.com
Speaking to NPR's Morning Edition, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said nearly half of the city's neighborhoods have either been evacuated or are at risk as the fire that has engulfed about 12 square miles has yet to be contained.
Washington wildfires destroy homes, force thousands to evacuate
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown says nearly half of the city's neighborhoods have either been evacuated or are at risk as the fires remain uncontained.
akpub.io
The FCC spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year subsidizing internet for Alaska schools and libraries, which say the funding is vital to keeping their institutions connected. Now the commission is considering whether to cut the program. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
The FCC spends hundreds of millions subsidizing internet for Alaska schools and libraries. Now it might cut the program.
Rural Alaska school and library officials say that E-Rate subsidies for broadband and other internet service remain critical to keeping their institutions connected.
adn.com
Latest in the newsletter from me: Big-ticket contributions — the kind that'd be banned under the campaign finance limits voters will be asked to enact in this primary election — accounted for just 2% of all contributions but more than 52% of all the cash. #akleg #akelect
With no limits, deep-pocketed donors play an outsized role in shaping Alaska's elections
Just 2% of all contributions made to non-congressional candidates account for 52% of all the money they've raised.
akmemo.com
A 39-year-old Wasilla woman, Heather McElwain, is running for U.S. Senate this election, and among her campaign promises is donating 2 of 6 years of Senate salary to the Mat-Su school district and to Alaska veterans
Alaska has allowed individuals to make unlimited contributions to candidates since a federal appeals court struck down the state’s campaign finance limits in 2021 as unconstitutionally low. (From @alaskapublic.org)
Alaskans face August vote on ending unlimited campaign donations
Alaska has allowed individuals to contribute unlimited sums to candidates since a federal appeals court struck down the state’s limits in 2021 as unconstitutionally low.
ktoo.org
The FCC is reviewing a program that for three decades has helped schools and libraries across the nation lower their connectivity costs. Alaska school leaders and public librarians are worried about a potential cut at a time when districts are already struggling with budget deficits.
Alaska librarians worry broadband costs will skyrocket after federal review
Alaska school leaders and public librarians are concerned about a potential cut at a time when districts are already struggling with budget deficits.
akpub.io
Members of the Alaska Legislature are asking the state Division of Elections to immediately restore the voter status of thousands of Alaskans that the division deactivated based on outdated information about their citizenship status. (From @alaskapublic.org)
23 Alaska legislators ask state to restore voters wrongfully removed from the rolls
A bipartisan group of 23 legislators wrote a letter Tuesday, asking Elections Director Carol Beecher to put all names back on the active voters list unless their ineligibility to vote has been…
ktoo.org
Feds turn over Alaska hazardous waste management to state, writes @yjrosen.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/briefs/feds-...
Feds turn over Alaska hazardous waste management to state | Alaska Beacon
Alaska now has 'primacy' over hazardous waste regulation, making it the 49th state granted that authority by the federal government.
alaskabeacon.com
Here at the Alaska governor candidate education panel - speaking before a room of superintendents. Includes: Matt Heleila, Click Bishop, Tom Begich, Randy Hoffbeck for Bill Walker, and Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a man, Jose Manuel Rivera-Rivera, in Juneau yesterday - no information on cause, immigration status, or criminal charges filed www.juneauindependent.com/post/border-...
Border Patrol agents arrest man in Juneau, who is on a federal hold at LCCC
Local refugee group sounds alarm bells for ICE detainments, arrests on outstanding warrants.
juneauindependent.com
Alaska providers say childcare gap is growing, write @corinne-smith.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/30/a...
Alaska providers say childcare gap is growing | Alaska Beacon
Providers say they’re serving fewer children because state and federal funding are insufficient to cover rising operational costs
alaskabeacon.com
TSA shares passengers’ personal information with immigration enforcement, documents show. More from @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social and our D.C. bureau @statesnewsroom.com @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/29/r...
TSA shares passengers’ personal information with immigration enforcement, documents show | Alaska Beacon
The Trump administration has for more than a year used personal information airline passengers provide to the Transportation Security Administration for immigration enforcement.
alaskabeacon.com
Wastewater in Alaska’s largest city signals warning about measles, writes @yjrosen.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/29/w...
Wastewater in Alaska’s largest city signals warning about measles | Alaska Beacon
Samples taken from the Anchorage plant revealed measles RNA, meaning someone with the highly contagious disease was in the city.
alaskabeacon.com
Alaskans to vote on ballot measure that would overhaul state election, writes @corinne-smith.bsky.social system for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/29/a...
Alaskans to vote on ballot measure that would overhaul state election system | Alaska Beacon
Ballot Measure 2 would repeal the open primary and ranked choice general election systems, and repeal some campaign disclosure rules.
alaskabeacon.com
Love this. Creativity is infinite www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
‘No plan, no budget, no promotion’: how a genre-mashing masterpiece by a forgotten New York beatnik blew Gen Z away
How did an album that began life in 1984 – fusing disco, folk, synth-pop and Chinese opera – end up as ‘one of 2026’s most thrilling releases’? And why does its creator call himself Nirosta Steel?
theguardian.com
Alaska’s 17 governor candidates have raised nearly $9 million. This chart from @willkoeppen.com and Anchorage Press shows who gave it. Read more @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/28/a...
Alaska's 17 governor candidates have raised nearly $9 million. This chart shows who gave it. | Alaska Beacon
Donors' identities can also tell the public about which constituencies and stakeholders are supporting particular candidates, and they also can hint at which special interests a winning candidate migh...
alaskabeacon.com
UPDATED: Administration asks US Supreme Court to uphold sweeping Trump order restricting vote-by-mail @fischler.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/admi...
Administration asks US Supreme Court to uphold sweeping Trump order restricting vote-by-mail
The Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a district court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s broad March 31 executive order restricting vote-by-mail.The move c...
newsfromthestates.com
Alaska Legislature opens third gasline special session with no fanfare and even less optimism, write @alaska.bsky.social and @corinne-smith.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/27/a...
Alaska Legislature opens third gasline special session with no fanfare and even less optimism | Alaska Beacon
Gov. Dunleavy says he’s negotiating in private on possible new legislation, but lawmakers had nothing to work on Monday as the session began.
alaskabeacon.com
Lawmakers gaveled in for the 3rd special session this summer to largely empty chambers - they say theyre waiting for Gov. Mike Dunleavy to introduce a new compromise bill on the proposed AKLNG gasline
Good morning from the Alaska Capitol, where lawmakers will begin their third special session of the year at 10 a.m. It will be quiet. After the failure of the compromise gasline tax bill at the end of the second special session, there's little hope for a third special session.