Lisa Murkowski

Alaska's U.S. senators are among the bipartisan sponsors of an act that would severely hinder plans by the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service to close post offices in many of the nation's rural areas. The Protecting Rural Post Offices Act was introduced in the Senate Thursday. Under the act, the Postal Service could not close any location which would leave the next closest post office more than 10 miles away, as measured on roads with year-round access. Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski both sponsored it, along with Sens.

The nation is closely watching Alaska’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race -- but only Alaskans can decide it. Incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Repulican Joe Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams all spent their last day campaigning. A recent poll showed that a fifth of the voters were still undecided -- but on Election Day, they can delay no longer. Will they back Miller, who pulled off a shocking upset over Murkowski in the Republican primary? Will Murkowski's write-in campaign save her job?

by Lori Tipton Saturday, April 3, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- After a brief recess, Congress will tackle another big initiative: financial regulatory reform. The near-collapse of the world financial system in 2008, along with trillions of dollars in losses by large banks, has led to widespread calls for changes in the regulatory system -- some of which could affect local lenders. Alaska's U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, say this new legislation is aimed at protecting consumers.

After state lawmakers failed to pass legislation that might have brought a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope, new hope for such a project has been revived Tuesday -- by officials with the government of Japan. On Monday night, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) had dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. During that dinner, held by the State Department in Washington, D.C., Murkowski talked with Noda about a key concern of his: electrical power for Japan. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake of March 2011 was the most powerful in Japanese history, producing a tsunami more than 60 feet tall.

On Tuesday, the state will finally see who has won the hearts and minds of Alaskans during the Republican primary for U.S. Senate: incumbent Lisa Murkowski or challenger Joe Miller. Victory on Tuesday is a sweet sound for the Miller campaign. Backed by anti-incumbent sentiment and support from former Gov. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, Miller supporters want Murkowski out of office. “We’re at an unsustainable position, and it’s because our concept of government is entirely wrong,” Miller said.

Alaska Native issues were front and center at a U.S. Senate candidates’ forum in Anchorage Thursday. A crowd of more than 300 people packed into the ChangePoint Church in South Anchorage to hear from Joe Miller, Lisa Murkowski and Scott McAdams. From education to jobs to health, Alaska Natives feel the impact of federal policies in their daily lives -- perhaps more so than anyone else in Alaska. In political campaigns, many of these issues take a back seat -- but not at Thursday’s forum.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski hailed a list of key Alaska projects Saturday she says were addressed in a $1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill, passed by the Senate, which will fund the remainder of the federal government's 2012 fiscal year. In a statement, Murkowski praised the bill as a balance of fiscal prudence with long-term stability. “We need to be very critical of our spending priorities as we grapple with our nation's debt,” said Murkowski. “But even as we tighten our belts, Alaskans deserve the basics: infrastructure, security, energy and education.

About 30 protestors staged a noon march in front of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's downtown office building on Monday. Most of those who took part belong to labor unions.  Their mission: to put a face on Alaska's growing jobless problem.  Vince Beltrami, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, says his group targeted Murkowski, because members fear Republicans will not support extending unemployment insurance benefits. Beltrami says 3,400 Alaskans will be directly affected, if extended benefits are allowed to expire on December 31st.

The second day of the 2012 Alaska Federation of Natives convention was highlighted by a speech from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who addressed delegates in Anchorage for her 10th time as a senator Friday. Murkowski took the stage at the Dena'ina Center wearing a red kuspuk with blue trim. Her speech frequently touched on AFN's theme this year, “Success Beyond Barriers,” as she said Alaska Natives had overcome barriers by getting involved in the political process -- including her 2010 re-election as a write-in candidate after being defeated in the Republican primary by Joe Miller.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced new draft rules governing hydraulic fracturing during oil drilling on federal and Indian lands Thursday, calling them part of a pro-energy Obama administration policy. The new rules, establishing safety standards over “fracking,” which involve injecting water and chemicals into wells to release otherwise inaccessible oil, received more than 177,000 public comments in a 120-day period after they were initially proposed last year. Variance procedures within the rules accommodate stricter standards set by individual states.