Category Archives: Issues
Parnell’s first problem is AGIA
Larry Wood, Alaska Standard Contributor
AGIA was pronounced as DOA by Parnell himself with respect to any expected success of the Open Season. Parnell’s refusal to answer rival Bill Walker’s FOIA request for disclosure of the Open Season is proof that Parnell is playing a delaying game without any expectation of success.
Against AGIA is [...]
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Federal Alaska pipeline coordinator confirms that the results of Gov. Parnell’s open season will be kept secret
Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
Bill Walker, Republican candidate for governor, recently filed a public records request against the governor demanding that he make public the results of the AGIA “open season” that closes July 31.
In a press conference today, Larry Persily, the federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas projects, stated that “the public shouldn’t expect any [...]
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Parnell pushes gas charade: TransCanada isn’t serious about Valdez
Bill Walker, Fairbanks Daily News Miner
On Monday, Gov. Parnell posted a new state of Alaska website touting that the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act open season provides an option for both a gas pipeline project into Canada and a Valdez liquefied natural gas option. But the website fails to inform Alaskans that after the initial open [...]
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Parnell’s veto of SB 305 means giving away billions
Letter to the Editor by Anna von Reitz, Anchorage Daily News July 11, 2010
The Parnell Administration is giving away $20 billion dollars of our money to the oil industry. That’s what Sean’s veto of Senate Bill 305 allows. Where’s the media when you need them? Sharing this year’s best salmon recipes?
Meanwhile, APP is attempting [...]
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker visits Ketchikan
Scott Bowlen, Ketchikan Daily News Staff Writer, July 3, 2010
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker made a whirlwind visit to Ketchikan earlier this week, meeting with a variety of groups and local officials in addition to opening his campaign headquarters in Ketchikan and speaking to the First City Republican Women’s Club. “It was a great [...]
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Why is Gov. Sean Parnell balking at the notion of opening records
Editorial, Anchorage Daily Planet
A rational person would ask: Why is Gov. Sean Parnell balking at the notion of opening records pertaining to natural gas pipeline company TransCanada’s open season – until after the November election?
Why is he citing “logistical” concerns? What are they?
Why would releasing the information on Aug.1, when the information should be available, [...]
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Walker records request needs clarification, state says
Joshua Saul, Anchorage Dispatch
Bill Walker filed a records request on June 24 looking for information about the bids the TransCanada Corp. open season was bringing in. “When the election comes about, Alaskans need to know whether we’ve had a failed open season or not,” Walker said at the time.
Well, Gov. Sean Parnell’s office replied to [...]
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Deep breaths: Bullet line idea needs some more stress tests
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial
Enthusiasm for the proposed bullet line to deliver North Slope natural gas to the Railbelt needs to be tempered with some hard questions.
The report released Thursday estimated that a mid-size line, among those analyzed, could cost up to $8 billion. If the line’s cost were spread across about 500 million cubic feet [...]
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Search for consultant smacks of cronyism
by Paul Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News
Here’s something odd: Gov. Sean Parnell’s administration is chomping at the bit to hire a $2 million consultant quickly — very, very quickly — to take a peek at any proposals from the oil industry or lawmakers to change Alaska’s oil and gas taxes to promote construction of a gas [...]
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Walker submits request for TransCanada open season records
by Rhonda McBride
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sean Parnell’s office has been served a records request regarding TransCanada’s natural gas pipeline.
Bill Walker, one of Parnell’s opponents in the Republican gubernatorial primary, submitted a letter Thursday at the governor’s office in Anchorage, requesting documents related to TransCanada’s open season negotiations, which began on April 30.
During the three-month [...]
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Walker wants pipeline, tax bill documents
The Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska – A Republican challenger to Gov. Sean Parnell has filed a records request seeking documentation of any conditions on bids as part of a proposed major natural gas pipeline.
Anchorage attorney Bill Walker also wants a better explanation of why Parnell vetoed a bill that would have changed Alaska’s system of taxing [...]
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Walker’s Pipeline Plan is Best for Alaska
Larry Wood, Alaska Dispatch, published May 31, 2010
Those in the Republican race for governor are a picture of contrasts, with some surprising similarities. The incumbent, Sean Parnell, is a former legislator and an attorney. Ralph Samuels is a former legislator and a businessman in the tourism industry. Bill Walker is a former mayor of Valdez [...]
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Cheniere Energy Prepares for LNG Export From U.S. Terminal
Edward McCallister, Reuters, June 4, 2010
New York – Cheniere Energy late Thursday unveiled plans to build the first liquefied natural gas export plant in the United States for 40 years, another clear sign of the market revolution caused by unconventional gas development.
In an about-face for a company that in 2008 built the biggest LNG import [...]
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Walker Continues Criticism of Parnell’s “AGIA Bailout”
Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
On Wednesday at a gubernatorial forum hosted by the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, Bill Walker continued his criticism of Sean Parnell’s decision to veto SB 305, a bill aimed at protecting the state from giving the North Slope producers $20 billion to ship our gas and jobs into Canada.
“This is [...]
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Walker Blasts Parnell For Failing to Protect Alaska From Multi-Billion Dollar “AGIA Bailout”
Press Contact: Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
Anchorage, AK – In a Thursday press conference, Sean Parnell stated that he vetoed a bill aimed at protecting the state from giving away upwards of $20 billion in revenue to BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon, because it “represents a tax increase on the oil industry.” Bill Walker, Republican candidate [...]
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Global Gas Thirst Set to Surge, Says Senior Shell Executive
“We see global gas demand growing by at least 2% a year over some decades, so by 2030 we look at gas demand hitting 4.5 trillion cubic metres of gas per year,” Reuters quoted Malcom Brinded telling an oil conference. “That’s 50% up from today’s level.”
Brinded was equally bullish on prospects for liquefied natural gas, [...]
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For new TransCanada boss, Alaska fails to top list of priorities
By Jeffrey Jones, Reuters
CALGARY – The Alaska gas pipeline project will be vital for TransCanada Corp. in a decade, but the company’s incoming chief executive said he is more focused now on moving forward with $22-billion of projects that garner far fewer headlines.
Russ Girling, a company veteran who takes over as CEO in July, [...]
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SB 305 Course Correction is a Victory for Alaska’s Future
Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
Juneau, AK – Following Senator Stedman’s lead, the state House made a last minute course correction tonight when it passed SB 305, the so called “decoupling” bill that will separate production taxes on oil and gas, potentially saving the state upwards of $20 billion in lost oil tax revenue.
Despite opposition [...]
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Governor Parnell Pursues AGIA At All Costs
Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
uneau, AK – The state House has voted to reject Senator Stedman’s proposed “decoupling” of production taxes on oil and gas today in the waning hours of the 2010 legislative session.
This move will result in the state losing potentially $20 billion under likely pricing scenarios as a result of the unalterable [...]
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Bill Walker Statement On TransCanada Announcement
Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager
Juneau, AK – According to an article in yesterday’s Calgary Herald, building an Alaska gas pipeline under the AGIA framework will not be a top priority for the company in coming years. Russ Girling, a TransCanada veteran who takes over as CEO in July, said he is “still more focused on [...]
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Poll Results Are In!
Press Contact: Taylor Bickford, Bill Walker for Governor Campaign Manager
Anchorage, AK – Likely Republican Voters Overwhelmingly Support Bill Walker’s Vision for Alaska! In 2002, 138,000 Alaskan voters cast ballots in favor of the All Alaska gasline, passing the All Alaska Initiative by a margin of 62% to 38%. Today, support for the All [...]
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In surprise move, Stevens calls for trans-Alaska pipeline to Valdez
by Dermot Cole, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS — Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens says the AGIA pipeline plan has flopped and the state should put up billions to pay half the cost of an in-state natural gas pipeline project to Kenai.
It also should switch its support to the building of a trans-Alaska pipeline to Valdez that [...]
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Crunch Time is Now for All-Alaska Gas Line
Anchorage Daily News
Bill Walker
When oil began flowing through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in 1977, it was the dawn of a new era in Alaska. In Valdez, we literally danced in the streets. I served as mayor of Valdez during those early days. The goal I had then remains unchanged today — construct a [...]
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Bill on the Mike Porcaro show
Listen to Bill’s interview with Mike Porcaro (it begins at minute 32).
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Walker Says Governor should act now to remove us from the failed AGIA process
February 26, 2010 – In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Department of Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin told the legislature for the first time that under likely pricing scenarios a pipeline through Canada will result in the State losing, not making, money.
According to Bill Walker, Republican candidate for Governor, “this should remove any [...]
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All-Alaska Gasline Drives Candidate, Juneau Empire story
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker has positions on many Alaska issues, but he has passion for developing the state’s huge reserves of natural gas.
And he has a preferred strategy, markedly different than that of fellow Republican primary candidates, incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell and former House Majority Leader Ralph Samuels.
Walker endorses what supporters call the “all-Alaska [...]
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Candidate Calls Gas Line No. 1 Priority for State
BY TODD L. DISHER
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, January 25, 2010 7:53 PM AKST
WASILLA — With a yellow line running down a blue map of Alaska, it’s clear from Bill Walker’s campaign logo what issue No. 1 is for this gubernatorial candidate.
“I am very concerned about the economic future of the state,” Walker said on a [...]
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Bill Walker’s One Issue: Securing a Strong Future for All Alaska
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Walker for Governor Campaign to Host Parental Rights Notification Petition
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker is proud to support the efforts of Alaskans for Parental Rights and its Parental Consent Initiative campaign.
“I often speak with urgency about strengthening Alaska’s economy. But today I speak with urgency about strengthening Alaska’s families.
January 15th is the deadline for signing the Parental Rights notification petition. My [...]
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Bill Walker pushes parental notification measure
Taken from Alaska Politics website.
Bill Walker is expanding his campaign for governor beyond his promotion of “All-Alaska’ natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez.
The Republican candidate is now using his campaign office to promote a ballot initiative seeking to make it illegal for teens to get an abortion without telling their parents. He [...]
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It’s Time to Face the Facts on Gasline Development
Today Bill Walker issued the following statement:
Governor Sean Parnell’s recently released budget includes $150 million to be divided between ExxonMobil Corporation and TransCanada as part of the AGIA 2010 open season process. According to Governor Parnell’s outgoing gas czar, Harry Noah, “The state is frozen waiting for a pipeline to the Lower 48 to [...]
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No shortage of backup plans for Alaska’s gas
While Alaskans wait for a decision on whether a 4-foot-diameter gas pipeline will be built between the North Slope and North American markets, Gov. Sean Parnell has pledged his ongoing commitment to studying a “Plan B” linking energy-hungry residents with their resource.
Two voter-created authorities are forging ahead on related plans of their own — in [...]
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Success or failure in the open season
The next big test for either of the proposed big gas pipeline projects is the so-called “open season,” expected to be conducted next year.
The battle to define the natural gas open season as a success or failure in the public mind has already started, along with the political season.
“Open season” is the term that refers [...]
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Walker Press Conference: AGIA is Fatally Flawed
Audio Link: Walker Press Conference: AGIA is Fatally Flawed
Summary: Republican Bill Walker on Wednesday staked out his turf in next year’s race for Governor- he wants to put a stop to the current state-sanctioned gas line development project, known as AGIA.
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EIA: Gas shale means AK may wait
An Energy Information Administration official spoke with Alaska Dispatch’s own Rena Delbridge about a new report from EIA on the potential for Alaska’s natural gas pipeline. The report indicates that the project might be pushed a little more into the future. Because of the surge in Lower 48’s production of shale gas, Alaska’s project is [...]
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Pipeline doubts grow
A subsidiary of Exxon says the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline has not been killed again, but a Canadian newspaper says officials in Ottawa are giving it the cold shoulder.
“Sources report that Ottawa has decided not to proceed with federal investment in the $16.2 billion Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline, throwing the future of Canada’s largest [...]
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What is the state lacking? Courage.
Article in the Anchorage Daily News.
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The spirited discussion continued after Bill’s Op-Ed appeared in the Anchorage Daily News.
The spirited discussion continued after Bill’s Op-Ed appeared in the Anchorage Daily News. Be sure to check out the comments & Bill’s response.
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Lively discussion regarding Bill’s Op-Ed in the Alaska Dispatch
Thank you all for your thought provoking comments on my recent article on the Alaska Dispatch website. Below are my responses to a few reader comments. Hopefully as the campaign progresses I will continue to have time to address your postings.
1. Rather than a pipeline to Valdez or Canada, ANS gas should go to market [...]
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Act like an owner-state
It is time for Alaska to start acting like the owner-state that we are.
I am running for governor because, as an Alaskan, it is time we, as Alaskans, take control of our future.
We, the people of Alaska, own the resources of the state. For far too long we have relied on others to develop our [...]
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Bill Walker responds to Parnell attack
July 22, 2010