Praise from The Voice of the Times?

Global warming may still be in debate, but Hell has frozen over if stuff like this is being printed at The Voice of the Times:

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I’m not one of those people who think Gov. Sarah Palin walks on water, but even I must admit that she and her team have brought Alaska unimaginably close to having a gas pipeline.

If Palin and her people succeed, Alaska’s future — with jobs and business opportunities for its people, its children and its grandchilden — should be reasonably secure. This state could continue to be a great place to live and work for generations to come.

Whether the deal comes together or not, her primary strategy — the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act — has brought at least one viable player into the mix. TransCanada has long wanted to build a pipeline and submitted a formal bid that hopefully meets the requirements written by the Palin team.

TransCanada has previously stated that no third-party builder could be successful without participation by one or more of the companies holding large gas leases on the North Slope.

And most importantly, ConocoPhillips, one of the three main leaseholder companies, has offered to participate with a third-party company in building and operating the line. Conoco didn’t submit a formal response to the AGIA call, but it did send Palin a nonconforming offer indicating it’s very interested in moving ahead on the line and willing to work with another company.

TransCanada already has many of the permits needed to build the line through Canada and ConocoPhillips has access to North Slope gas. The company has gas leases of its own, an ongoing exploration program, and perhaps the ability to hammer out contracts with BP and Exxon for shipment of their gas.

A deal is in the air and seems within the governor’s grasp; negotiations could put one together. Many people believe she will be reluctant to let ConocoPhillips play such a role, but I’m not so sure. Palin is a very astute politician and victory is so close. Keep your fingers crossed.

By TOM BRENNAN

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Source: The Voice of the Times

Sarah Palin is a Juggernaut.

Republicans agree…

State’s constitutional hurdles leave parental consent issue in limbo

Pro-choice advocates are skeptical that recent moves by state lawmakers will be successful in changing the Alaska Constitution to require parental consent for underage teenagers seeking abortions. Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, who is backing the amendment along with 10 other lawmakers, said it would be more difficult than passing a law, so he is also exploring a bill that would rework the language of the law in a way that would satisfy the court’s concerns.”The benefit to that is that you could do it by a majority vote. (A constitutional amendment requires) a much higher bar to pass,” Coghill said. “I’d like to see it overturned, but there may be a way that I could work with their ruling and still have parents involved in that decision,” he said.

The state Supreme Court issued a 3-2 decision in November that ended a 10-year battle over the Parental Consent Act passed by the Legislature in 1997. The move was condemned by Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, who asked for a rehearing.

Read more at the Juneau Empire

Unemployment insurance tax rates for employers plunge

The Associated Press

(Published: December 2, 2007) JUNEAU — Next year’s unemployment insurance tax rates will be the lowest Alaska employers have paid in the past 28 years.

Gov. Sarah Palin said the tax will decrease for an average employer by 23 percent from this year. She credits a number of factors, including more people working and an increase of $48 million in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance.

An employer in the average rate class will pay about $114 less for each employee than in 2007.

The 2008 unemployment insurance tax rate notices will be mailed to employers next week.

The tax provides benefits as a partial replacement of wages to workers during temporary periods of unemployment.

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