Alaska lawmakers negotiate education package as governor pushes charter schools

And: How serious is Alaska’s natural gas crisis? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( Good afternoon. It’s Friday, February 9. In today's newsletter: - A day after lawmakers formed a negotiating team to reach a deal on education funding, the governor held a rare news conference to [urge swift passage of a deal]( that would include teacher bonuses and pave the way for more charter schools. - This episode of the ADN [Politics podcast]( tackles the question: just how serious is Alaska’s looming natural gas crisis, really? - A judge issued a split decision to[make one of two documents public]( in a case involving a city investigation into the hiring of a former health department director, who was found to have fabricated or exaggerated parts of his resume. Southcentral Alaska has thawed out slightly, and there are [plenty of activities]( both indoors and out to enjoy this weekend in Anchorage and the Mat-Su. If you'd rather stay in, try out [this comforting recipe]( for Louisiana-style white beans and rice, which is sure to keep you warm on a winter evening. Anchorage weather It's mostly cloudy today with a high near 32 degrees. There's a chance of [rain mixed with snow tonight]( and snow is likely in Anchorage over the weekend. Daytime temperatures will stay in the mid-30s for the next several days. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [Legislators begin negotiations on education package as Dunleavy pushes for more charter schools →]( A six-member legislative negotiating team began closed-door discussions on education this week. The Democrat-dominated 16-member House minority caucus does not have a seat at the table, and neither do Bush Caucus members of the House majority, who represent rural Alaska — without whose support the majority will likely fail to advance its priorities. ADVERTISEMENT [ADN Politics podcast: How serious is Alaska’s natural gas crisis, really? →]( Energy companies say that natural gas from Cook Inlet won’t be available for much longer. How is that possible, in a state that has enormous gas reserves? And what does that mean for future energy bills? [Anchorage mayoral candidates differ on how to handle looming Cook Inlet energy shortage →]( The four major candidates in Anchorage’s mayoral election have starkly different views of how best to deal with the looming energy shortage facing Southcentral Alaska. • See also: [Anchorage launches online ‘checkbook’ aimed at helping the public track city spending]( [Judge rules some city records on resigned Anchorage health department director should be public, even if they’re ‘highly embarrassing’ →]( The judge ruled that one of the documents surrounding the investigation of Joe Gerace's hiring was not subject to attorney-client privilege, despite the "fact that information may be highly embarrassing." [Anchorage judge rules graphic video of killing can’t be shown to Smith trial jurors — yet →]( The defense objected to the video being admitted until more testimony has established its relevance as evidence in the case involving the deaths of two Alaska Native women. [Dahlstrom ahead of Begich but far behind Peltola in fundraising for U.S. House campaign →]( The vast majority of Dahlstrom's funding came from political action committees affiliated with Republican congressional members, signifying the GOP’s support for her as the party’s chosen candidate to beat the Democratic incumbent. ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Murkowski and Sullivan diverge on border security package, but remain united in support for military spending →]( [Alaska state geologists’ report on fatal landslide in Wrangell cites heavy rainfall as trigger →]( [Nearly 30,000 chinook salmon wasted as bycatch in B.C. fishery, Canadian report finds →]( [U.S. election officials go on offense to prevent disruptions of 2024 vote →]( [Alaska tribes, green group take aim at planned bottom-trawling study in northern Bering Sea →]( [Hat trick leads West High to opening-round win over West Valley in Division I hockey tournament →]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News, 300 W 31st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503, United States