An engaged Alaskan democracy

Update from the Chair – Spring 2015

 

We invite you to Alaska Common Ground’s annual membership meeting followed by a forum on Healthcare Costs in Alaska on Saturday, May 9 at the BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Blvd. in midtown Anchorage.

Doors will open at 8:30 am for coffee and snacks, with the annual business meeting beginning at 9 am. We’ll bring you up to date on our successful forums and events this past year as well as what we’re planning for the upcoming year. As always we will elect board members and have time for member input and discussion.

Our forum on Healthcare Costs in Alaska will run from 10 am to noon. We will explore the high cost of healthcare in Alaska, discuss possible solutions, and drill down on how healthcare costs affect Alaska’s fiscal future. Forum panelists include Dr. Mouhcine Guetabbi, ISER; Deb Erickson, Executive Director of the Alaska Health Care Commission; Greg Loudon, member of the Health Care Commission, Insurance Broker and Health Benefits Consultant; and Doug Eby of Southcentral Foundation. Mark Foster of the Anchorage School District will moderate the panel. Forum co-sponsors include ISER, Anchorage Public Library, AARP, and the League of Women Voters of Anchorage.

On September 19, we will hold a second forum on Alaska’s fiscal future, building on our previous forum on this topic. In November, either the 7th or 14th, we will hold a forum on climate change, focusing on climate change impacts in Alaska and what a climate change policy for our state might look like.

Mark your calendars for all of these forums!

This past year was busy for Alaska Common Ground. Click here for a list of the forums we held and co-sponsored and related public and media events during the past year. We think you will join us in celebrating a successful year!

We want to thank you, our members, for your continued support. Alaska Common Ground is a member-supported organization. It takes lots of time, energy, and money to put on our forums, and we are expanding and growing our organization so that we can continue to put on multiple forums each year.

We encourage you to re-new your membership and consider upgrading your membership to a higher level, or contributing financial support for a particular forum to support this work.

As always we invite your ideas and suggestions and welcome you to participate in planning and presenting these events. Thank you for your continued support! It’s what keeps us motivated and able to present forums on important Alaskan public policy issues.

Mary Lu Harle, Acting Chair