I still get excited when I hear one of my songs playing on the radio. Thank you, iHeartRadio, for honoring the truth I've fought for in my music. Because we believe in the power of music. All your favorite artists, all in one place. The free iHeartRadio app. Mike Porcaro. Behind the mic of your 50,000 watt blowtorch. News Radio 650. KENI. Live from Anchorage, it's your news and information. Like having a conversation on your phone.
With Crash Welcome, it's 44 degrees in Anchorage, 45 in Palmer, 47 in Soldatna, 44 in Homer, 44 in Talkeetna, 32 in a winter weather advisory in Fairbanks, same thing up in Prudel only, it's 23. 49 in Seattle. New York's at 62. Akaroa, New Zealand, 61. Pensacola, Florida, 73. Tampa, 78. Tifton, Georgia, 71. And Lake Havasu City, down there in Arizona, it's 80. That's it. Now we can go home. Good night, Crash. Crash isn't here. No hablo ingles.
So who am I dealing with today? Ron Mexico. Ron Mexico. That's my hotel alias, so. We got another great name that somebody said to me. I got a note from somebody named Lavonda Wagenheimer. Oh, wow. All right. I mean, that's as good a name as you're going to find. You're right. It is. I mean, I don't know if that's a real person or not, but it sounds great. I don't know what Lavonda Wagenheimer does, but I would return that phone call for sure. Absolutely.
It's 4-0-9. I don't know. Have you watched baseball over the weekend? I have not watched any baseball. I only have so much room in my life for sports, and if I watch a full baseball game, I won't be able to watch the Super Bowl again. Okay. I'm subscribing to an app, this NFL app, and you can pay for it, NFL Plus. I can watch every Eagles game for the last 10 years on this app if I want to. And you're going to do that. And I do. I think I'm at 2016 now.
Wow, you know, Trump won the election that year. Oh, how about that? That was a long time ago. Okay. The Eagles have won the Super Bowl two times in my lifetime, and both times they won it. Trump was president? Yes. They won it in 2017-18 and 2024-25. Right. And he was president both of those times. He's the Eagles' good luck charm.
Right. Now, you know, after that, I guess it's over with. I hear this stuff about a third term, and it's like... Well, you know, at first glance, I'm totally against that. But if it means the Eagles win another Super Bowl, to hell with the Constitution. And the ideas of our forefathers. Give them another term if it means the Eagles are going to win the Super Bowl again. I got my priorities in order.
Yeah, well, you know, I think he may be running afoul of the Constitution there, but, you know, you get people that think they know the Constitution. It's pretty dubious that he could run for a third term. He can't run for a third term. There's no way. Anyway, I think Trump loves to troll people. And he loves that. Yeah, he says what he says, he does what he does, and then he goes home, and he's in his...
Private moments, he laughs about the reaction he gets from everybody. And he laughs at the Democrats because he's driving them absolutely nuts. Right, and it's up to you to discern as to whether or not that's acceptable behavior for the President of the United States.
Separate the wheat from the chaff. Exactly. But, obviously, with the results of the last election, it's not like this is new information. It's not like President Trump is doing things and we're going, I can't believe he did that. He's never done that before. No, he's always done what he's done.
done that so obviously the american people spoke and the trade-off is worth it for them or by i would guess by some measure for some of the people who voted for him that his behavior is why they voted for him because every time he does something he go man that's it for that guy just makes him more popular
So, I mean, obviously people are okay with that or even happy about it because of the complete and total thrashing he gave his opponent in the last election. So, you know, like I said, I mean, if it means it's good luck for the Eagles next year, what the hell? Let them run again.
All right, well, you know, the reason I asked you about if you watch baseball is the big controversy is now the bats that the Yankees are using. I am completely familiar with this, and I don't know how you feel about it. I don't give a rip. I know. They did not break. a rule they did not break a rule nowhere no just like my favorite football team the Eagles like the tush push or don't like the tush push they're not breaking a rule when they do it
With the bats for the Yankees, the barrel of the bat, the fat part of the bat for black for better terms. It's closer to your hands. But it says nowhere in the rule book where the fat part of the bat has to be. No, it just basically says. It says the circumference has to be no more than a certain size. And that's it. I mean, you know, so I remember, you know, years ago they had bottle bets. These things were bizarre looking things. A very, very thin handle and a huge barrel.
And if you hit it on your hands, you break the bat and you hurt your hands. But they've got all kinds of bats. They've got axe bats. Mookie Betts uses an axe bat. As long as it's within the rules, it's fine. It is. You know, what it is, it's basically easier to hold on to. Some players saw the knobs off the bats, or they have something called a puck. bat where the knob of the bat looks more like a hockey puck. It's thick. It's like you can use whatever kind of bat you want as long as it's made
conforms to the specifications. To be fair, it's not like all of them are using this new, different bat. A guy like Aaron Judge, he's like, no, I don't need that. I don't want to mess with my... He's done okay with what bat he's got. I was listening to one of the gas bags in the morning on the sports talk station we have here. Fox Sports 550, the zone on your AM dial, by the way. It's a sister station. And he put it.
Perfectly. That's what he said. He said, nowhere does it say where the fat part of the bat has to be. And guys like Aaron Judge or Otani or Mike Trout, they're not going to mess with their swing. Baseball players are superstitious. It's like a golfer changing his golf clubs out. Very rarely does that happen.
They become set in their ways. Aaron Judge, he's a Yankee, and they're the team in question here. He doesn't want to mess with his swing. So he's not using this bat. He's like, no, I'm good. And apparently the Yankees had some guys in the lineup that they were hitting the ball too close to. their hands and they weren't getting the they weren't getting all they needed out so the Yankees they hired some genius from MIT who said hey this is where is MIT it's in Boston it's true it's true
And he said no, nowhere in the rules does it say where that part of the bat has to be. It just says that part of the bat has to be on the bat. So let's move it down a little bit closer to the hands and we'll see what happens to the Yankees. They're just not going to cover off the ball every day, but they're not breaking the rules. This reminds me a lot of the brotherly shove in Philly. Everyone's throwing a fit because one team figured out within.
the landscape of the rules to do something better than everybody else did. And sports are, it's a copycat world. Pretty soon everyone's going to be trying those bats just like everyone tries the tush push in the NFL.
They just can't do it the way that the Eagles do it, but they're not breaking any rules. So I have absolutely no problem with it. I got no problem with anybody trying to gain an edge within the context of the rules and what you're allowed to do. That just means you're being competitive. I am a lifelong Red Sox fan, which means I am a Yankee hater and I have absolutely no problem with them doing this. No, and I think that the thing that people don't realize is having a bat, you know, like that.
It depends on your swing. It depends on the bat speed. It depends on a whole bunch of things. But you still have to size up the ball. You've got to get around on that 100-mile-an-hour fastball. You've got to wait out that knuckleball. It's one of the reasons why Belichick won. He just knew the rules better than everybody else, and the Yankees figured something out, and it's completely and totally within the scope of the rules.
Major League Baseball, so more power to them, and pretty soon everyone's going to be using those things. Yeah, I mean, you know, and they've also changed wood. They used to have hickory wood, and that was the big deal. I have no problem with them doing it. Good for them. That's forward thinking. I wish there was more of that in Major League Baseball.
baseball, to tell you the truth. I like that. I like the idea that I remember when I played ball, we had two kinds of bats, Adirondacks and Louisville Sluggers. I've still got a Louisville Slugger. And it's made of white ash. And it looks like a traditional baseball bat. I want, in spring training, I want them to go a week in spring training and let Major League Baseball teams use metal bats. I want to see what happens. Oh, God. There would be balls, they'd be landing in the net.
Yeah, or Otani getting a hold of one with a metal bat or Stanton or anybody like that. 500 feet. Oh, it would be... I don't want them to use it the regular season, but it would be fun to see in spring training if they just said, all right, we're going to do one of those split squad things, and everyone gets to use metal bats today. Well, I wouldn't want to be an infielder.
A thing would come off that, and the bats would be dented. Be coming off that bat at 130 miles an hour. A comebacker at the pitcher would kill a guy. Have a guy like Stanton up there. Just get all the way around on that thing. Oh, man. Yeah.
No one is creeping in for a bunt. No, not at all. But I would like to see it. But as far as the Yankees go, more power to them. And again, this is coming from somebody who's not the biggest Yankee fan in the world, but they figured something out. They should run with it. They're not breaking the rules.
I think it's a great idea, and you're exactly right. It's within the rules to it. You're going to get other players that are going to try it. Some are going to be successful with it, and some aren't. So, you know, try it if you want to. Yep. Or maybe, you know, here's a radical thought.
it was the pitching on the other team that wasn't all that good either. Yeah, that's a good point, because as you said, during the steroid era and all that kind of stuff, you know, there's no denying the fact that it added, you know, 10 feet or whatever. Oh, yeah, it added 20, 30 feet. It added as many feet to a home run as inches to the circumference of Barry Bonds' head. So it was kind of the same thing.
But you do still have to get around. You still have to make contact on that 100-mile-an-hour fastball. So the bat notwithstanding, you still have to be able to hit the ball. The results after the bat hits the ball, that's a different story. You've still got to have the hand speed and the hand-eye coordination to get around on that. So maybe you're right. Maybe just the pitching for the other team sucked. Maybe they should look in the mirror instead of looking across the field.
Maybe your pitching is bad. Yeah, maybe that's what it is. Maybe the bat meant nothing, and now it's in everybody's head, and the Yankees just got lucky because the pitcher that they faced all weekend was terrible. I think that's... I would say that's probably 60% of it. Probably. You know, I would say that. All right, it's 420. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. to the Mike Porcaro Show with Crash on News Radio 650. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Monday.
522-0650. That's the phone number. And this is the last day of the month. How about that? And did you know what that means, Crash? That we are now into... It means that tomorrow's going to be the first day of the next month. Yes, but it also means because this is a broadcast week. All right. It means that ABC Seamless is back with us. Yes, they are.
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It's got a 30-year fade warranty and a 50-year hail protection warranty. And when we say little or no maintenance is required crash, that's what we're talking about. So doesn't this sound a lot better?
Anything else you can put on your home? Well, think about it this way. Summer's going to be here before you know it. And if your big summer project is to paint the exterior of your home, this is something you really need to look into because you're going to end up saving a lot of money in the long run. As Mike mentioned, they guarantee it for like 30 years.
I don't want steel siding. It's going to look cheap and flimsy like, you know, this flimsy aluminum stuff. No, nothing could be farther from the truth. It looks every bit as good, if not better, than freshly painted wood. And again, the rub is, years down the road, you're going to have to repaint your house. You're not going to have to touch that steel siding. But it is.
It doesn't do with anything in the exterior of your home. It can handle it. Gutters, if you're going to do the gutters. If you're going to do the steel siding, you probably want to do gutters at the same time so the colors match up just right. You don't want to put the gutter helmet on top of that. They also do windows, doors, roofing. So, again, if it has anything to do with you.
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These guys, I'll tell you what, they are just tremendous at what they do. And they're just good people, too. All right, we'll be right back. Stay with us. Get on with Mike and Crash weekdays at 3 on NewsRadio 650 KENI. This is News Radio 650, KE&I, Anchorage. Governor Mike Dunleavy has held meetings in Tokyo with officials from Asian countries about the possible liquefied natural gas projects in the state of Alaska. Dunleavy is saying a Taiwanese corporation has signed a letter of...
Intent calling in a kickoff of deeper conversations, saying it hopes the letter of intent will lead to the purchase of 6 million tons of liquefied natural gas. Ten people have been displaced. There was a fire at the Anchorage Pioneer Nursing Home. Alaska's news source says there was a melted hot plate in Colorado. coffee maker in a room on the second floor, but authorities say that fire was quickly contained by the facility's sprinkler system even before. The fire department arrived, no one.
The two men who were stabbed near a homeless shelter in Fairbanks last week are recovering. Officers are looking for a second suspect in the case. Police say Nelson Simon, the first suspect, is facing assault and robbery charges, drunk and armed with a large knife during that incident. Thursday morning near 6th Avenue and Cushman Street. That's the latest. I'm Jack Cronin. What happens next happens here.
News Radio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Monday afternoon. Steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl, but no major stoppages or slowdowns to report. Traffic is moving well. Roads are in good shape. 30s expected through the overnight hour.
We are going to continue to hold on to a mix of sun and clouds throughout the week with daily highs pushing the low to mid 40s. Continuing to hold on to this springtime warmth with dry conditions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. The Mike Porcaro Show on... NewsRadio 650 KEN on. Welcome back. It is 4.50. 5-2-2-0-6-50 and gonna have a couple of guests coming up in the five o'clock hour. Senator Rob Yant will be my guest at 530.
And I believe that Representative Julie Coleman will be calling in just a little after the news at 5. And all of that stuff is obviously contingent. upon, you know, what happens in Juneau, whether or not their hearings and the things that they do down there run long or not. But those are all times that are tentative.
We certainly understand the fact that sometimes they may not be able to make it exactly on that time because who knows what's going on down there. But, well, you know, just wanted to give everybody a heads up. All right. Remember Gabrielle Ledoux, Crash? I do. Well, you remember Ledoux, do you? Anyway, she... And an election fraud retrial was delayed again as her legal team secured an additional extension on March 24th, granted by Judge Kevin Saxby.
The delay of the trial conference is now, I think, probably into record-setting territory. The charges were first filed in 2020. That's five years ago. She's now 76. She faces 12 charges, including five felonies related to allegations that she encouraged people who did not reside in her district to vote for her during the 2014 and 2018 elections.
She has maintained her innocent pleading not guilty to all charges. The trial has experienced multiple delays over the year. In July of 2024, the proceedings were postponed due to a late submission of new evidence. by the prosecution. In November, the trial began but was further extended as jury deliberations continued beyond the Thanksgiving holiday. A mistrial was declared on December 2nd.
Two of her associates, A. Lisa Vaught Simpson and Candon Vaught, entered pleas agreements for misdemeanor charges, and they have apparently now agreed... to testify against her. So that may not be the best thing for her. Who knows? Ledoux was initially charged five years ago this month. After an extensive investigation that included Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ledoux left her office in January of 2021 as she had served in the Alaska legislature.
for a number of years, both from Kodiak, actually, and from Anchorage. We'll see. I think Vegas is going like it's 20 to 1 that they'll actually get this thing underway. What do you think? If you were a betting man, would you bet that they would have the trial or they wouldn't have the trial? Duh. I've never seen anything like this.
You know, whatever happened to this? It's over. Come on. Whatever happened to a speedy trial? This is not speedy. I don't know. Did she do it? I don't know if she did it or not. They'd have to prove that she did. And one of the key guys in this whole thing died like five years ago. Remember that guy Charlie Chang? He was the bundler, the money guy. And he's apparently passed away. If he ever was real, I don't know if he was real or not.
But remember we got a call from a guy who lived in that trailer court and said that there were 20 people that were voting from that one trailer? Which is insane. Well, I don't know. We'll see. Anyway, keep your eyes and ears open on that one, folks. You never know what's liable to happen. All right, Crash. Liz Cheney.
We haven't really done much with this. There was a story in Mustery, Alaska. She's coming to Anchorage on May 1st. She's going to be in the Atwood Concert Hall. That's a 2,000-seat venue. And she's going to speak. And her 90-minute lecture is entitled Defending Democracy, A Conversation with Liz Cheney. Now, according to Jeff Landfield... She's being paid $151,000 for 90 minutes. According to her booking agent, she makes between $75,000 and $150,000 for a single speaking engagement.
in case you're interested, are going between 58 and $166.50 a piece. Half of the approximately 2,000 seats are still available. So as they would say in baseball, your favorite guy, Brock Meyer, hey, come on out, folks. Plenty of good seats still available. $166 to listen to Liz Cheney. Wow. How much do you think they'd pay for us? Or would we have to pay them $166 to come? I don't know. All right.
Let's do this. Let's get ready for a break. The news is upcoming here in moments, and we will be back on the other side, so stay with us. There I was in my business suit, all dressed up, just uptight as I could possibly be. And I don't remember much of what was said at that first AA meeting. It was more the feeling of the meeting itself. That's what has kept me going.
I know it works and I see the people ahead of me with more sobriety. I see how happy they are. And I want that. I want that too. And what I notice about AA is... It sort of helps me to relax and learn to really be happy with my sobriety. It's a richer life to live. That's exactly what Alcoholics Anonymous does. It teaches us how to live without drinking.
It teaches us how to have fun and really enjoy life without drinking. This program's giving me the good life. The only good life I've ever known. Alcoholics Anonymous. It works. Look us up. Check your phone book, newspaper, or AA.org.
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Welcome to hour number two. It is 5.07. 44 degrees here. 45 in Palmer. 47 in Soldatna. 44 in Homer. Talcaton is 44. Fairbanks 32. And in Prudhoe Bay, it is 23. Joining us now is Representative Julie Colon from my district. Julie, how are you? I'm good. How are you doing, Mike? Well, I'm not bad. I'm glad I'm here.
And I'm glad you're there. I think I'd rather be where you are. Yes, it's a beautiful day today, too, by the way. It's beautiful in Juneau, too, so I'm not complaining about the weather. It's all the other things going on. So what's going on? So many things are going on, Mike. There was a couple of things that were discussed on your show last week that I wanted to address, but I also wanted to let people know the House...
Finance Committee is doing budget amendments as I speak. I just left the meeting. I was watching what was going on, and the Democrats are adding and adding and adding to the budget. I mean, I can't keep track of the deficit at this point. I'm just, I mean, I was on finance for two years and had to make a lot of hard votes for no because we don't have the money, but that is not.
you know, what seems to be going on right now. And I wanted to reiterate, you know, one of the things I wanted to talk about was the Canadian resolution, but I want to make sure that everybody knows that the Republicans aren't in charge. We're in the minority. We don't set these agendas. We're not setting these resolutions. We're because two Republicans flipped.
We're literally in the minority. It's 21-19. So I just want to make sure your listeners know that because I've gotten different emails about different things, and I think there's an impression that maybe we're still in the majority, but we're not. And so when you're not... You don't chair committees. You don't set the agenda. All these things, you know, one of the things that I heard last week was, you know, what's the legislature doing? What a waste of time. And I agree. But I don't have...
I'm not in a position to change the agenda, which is super frustrating because there's a lot of things going on in Alaska and none of it's being spoken to in committee. It's not really being discussed. on the budget table. They're just adding money. So I just wanted people to know that because there seems to be some confusion because we're in the majority of the last two years. We are not.
No, and when you're not in the majority, basically you sit on the bus and ride. You don't know where you're going. You just ride. You don't have the power to determine it. Right, I'm on labor and commerce and resources, and so I basically am amending bills to make them not as awful. I can't stop them. I don't have the votes to stop them. I don't have the votes on the floor to stop them, and so I'm just... being really conscientious and trying to do what I can to not make them awful.
Well, yeah, but, you know, it's interesting because if we elect Republicans, we expect Republicans to hang together and stay along, and one in particular, and I'm going to mention his name. Mr. Kopp was elected he's a Republican I guess I don't know he's not acting like one if he stayed with the Republican caucus you'd have a really interesting session this year
Yeah, you know, it's so interesting. You know, the voters voted a majority of Republicans in both houses, and the Republicans are in the minority in both houses. And that's because Republicans flipped. Yeah, I mean, it's strange. Stutes in Kodiak, she might as well be a Democrat. And I'm going to say Kopp might as well be a Democrat. There's two right there. And if they had just kind of followed along.
and I would say were true to the platform that they ran on, supposedly, they would be, you guys would have a majority. In both the House and Senate. Exactly. If the arts were together. Yeah. Yeah, it's really, really frustrating. And, you know, I've only served two years. This is my third year. I've been a constituent all my life, and I remember just...
getting so frustrated when that happened. So I understand. Like, I get the frustration. But sometimes I think we get into some emotions that aren't really based in reality. And that's... I wanted to... try to talk about the Canadian resolution because I know that was... Yeah, go ahead. You guys talk about that a lot. So when the resolution came up to the floor, Kevin McCabe put in an amendment.
Will staff from Fairbanks put an amendment? We amended the bill or the resolution. And one of them was basically telling Canada, you know, you put tolls. We do not agree with you putting tolls on our roads, which they threaten to do. And the McCabe amendment also talks about that we won't be, there's a road called Shockwalk Road.
We put money into that, both Alaskans and Canadians, and his amendment was like, well, you're going to jeopardize the funding for that if you threaten the border framework. And they were really strong amendments. to Canada and so even so that some of the Canadian media actually reached out to some of the representatives saying what are you putting you know what is in this resolution
And the resolution also praises Trump's actions around NAFTA in 2018. All the whereas's are just, you know, recognizing that, you know, We need to work together as best we can because a lot of those, some of those yes votes on this resolution were legislators that border Canada.
And I support what Trump's doing, but I think everybody needs to recognize if these tariffs go through, it's going to be really expensive for us. And I think Southeast especially is a little nervous. We have to drive through Canada. to get here. And so this was just a resolution saying, you know, we appreciate our partners and don't mess with us and we won't mess with you, basically.
And so when I was listening, I was like, wow, where did they get the anti-Trump? There's nothing about Trump in here at all. I have no idea where that message came from. His name's not mentioned anywhere. Do you have anything specific that people are upset about, Mike? I think what I'm gathering is, first of all, it was introduced by somebody who doesn't like Trump. And I'm going to say that.
And I don't think anybody's going to disagree with that. So it comes from a place. It comes from the Democrats. It comes from the Democrats who would do anything they can to rebuke Trump. to split the people away from Trump. And Donald Trump is his own guy. He's a big boy. But I think you've got an interesting situation. You've got a president who singled us out. who
actually did an executive order opening Alaska up, giving us the keys to the kingdom, saying, I want Alaska to grow. I want Alaska to do everything that it can do. It is a crown jewel of America. I want to see it. just be the best it can be, which means America will be the best it can be. That's what he said. He then goes ahead and takes a look at tariffs that the Canadians and we had for years. I come from a state originally that used to try to sell milk to Canada.
And it was a huge tariff, and there's still a huge tariff on American milk products to Canada or any sort of dairy products to Canada. They wish to protect their dairy industry, but the tariffs are very high. That's one thing that has to change. If we're going to have fair trade, we should have fair trade. If we're not, then we're going to have a tariff war, and the United States of America is going to win that war.
I mean, 19% of Canadian exports come to America. That's 19% of their GDP. If they lose that, they're underwater and they know it. And they're terrified.
Their Canadian trucking industry is telling the government in Ottawa, don't do this. When I hear Doug Ford... talk about the premier of Ontario, talk about the fact that we want to... put as much pain on the American public as possible, and Premier Eby over there in British Columbia talking about tolls and the other stuff, this basically is targeted toward us. And I guess even though nobody mentioned Trump's name, he's in there. And I guess I just took offense personally.
to people that are supposed to be our friends doing that to us. I don't think, you know, when somebody said, well, Trump started it, he didn't start it. He's trying to equalize it. And for those people that don't know, I had a business. in Canada for 15 years, and I saved a ton of Canadian jobs. So it's not like I don't know Canada. I've got great respect for the people.
We've got wonderful friends there. They're great folks. Hardworking, decent, honest folks. And the people that I know, they don't like either government. Maybe they should just leave us all alone. But I don't understand... why we did what we did, and after I saw who introduced it, it was to me, Julie, crystal clear that... This guy was trying to take a slap at Trump. Now, I think you guys approached it from a position of honesty. I don't think they did.
Well, maybe they did, maybe they didn't. I mean, that's hard to know motives, but like I said, even in committee, when this resolution was in my committee, I said... I don't agree with any of the leadership from Canada. I don't agree. At the time, it was Trudeau. And I said, you know, I'm not going to... submit anything to someone I'm not agreeing with. And I got a bunch of emails saying, why do you hate Canadians? I'm like...
I don't hate Canadians. I love Canadians. And Canadians are our partners and we need each other. We do. Of course we do. Right. And that's all the resolution was saying. Most of the resolution is just the history of Alaska and Canada. and hope we can work it out and then mccabe had very strong amendment in there and so did will staff so i just wanted to kind of set the record there i there's like i was really dumbfounded that was
considered anti-Trump. And I appreciate you showing me, like, how you took it because it was representative cop. I didn't take it that way. And really... Some of what I've heard, I mean, the people that voted for that resolution, like McCabe and George Rauscher, these are not rhinos, you guys. Oh, no, no. Of course not. They're very conservative. And you're not. You're a still rock-ribbed conservative. Oh, no. Yeah. But I think we can disconnect sometimes with the media and our own media.
that wants to say, you know, we're anti-Trump. We have a resolution supporting Trump that's been hidden in House resources. We did standing ovations. Oh, yeah, George Rusher did a... Thank you, Resolution, to Trump, and it's been stuck in my committee since the beginning of the session. We did standing ovations for everything Dan Sullivan said. We're so excited.
I want to make sure people know, the group of 19 Republicans that did stay together, we're supporting Trump and what he's doing. We're very excited about resource development. We're very excited that he's fighting for us. That is no question in my mind. I just wanted to make sure that was clear because there's no... No, it is clear. And I don't want people to believe the ADN saying it's an anti-Trump resolution. I'm like, you guys, you shouldn't really...
Listen to that. We know how that goes. Why don't you see if COP will introduce your resolution and have him pass it. I don't think he'll do that. Oh, the pro-Trump resolution? Yeah. Yeah. Ask them to get behind it. We'll get them to co-sponsor it. That's a great idea. See if he'll do it.
I will totally ask. I think that's fair enough. And, you know, who knows what happened. But sometimes it's frustrating here, Mike, and that's why I clarified before. Like, we are, like, fighting every day because we're in the minority. And just... To get railed on on that resolution, like you guys, we are outnumbered. And so we're doing the best we can here to stay together and do what we can to try to, you know, bring some...
reasonable thought into the building. And, you know, that's why house finances, I mean, the news story should be focused on house finance right now. It's a mess. It's crazy. It's a mess. Yeah. It's a mess. Well, Julie, I'll tell you what. You know, you're always, you're a friend, and you're my representative, and I have the highest regard for you. And so...
You're always welcome to call and discuss anything you want on this show. And, you know, I'm always happy to tell you what I think. I think most of the time we agree, which is good. It shows me how smart you are. We agree. I appreciate it. I always appreciate you letting me call in, Mike. I do. Because these things, I mean, sometimes you've got to talk through these things because of what it looks like.
Or, you know, sometimes maybe I made a mistake or whatever. I want to have the conversation, and I welcome any listener to email me or call me. I mean, nobody called me about the resolution, so it kind of... I was kind of blindsided. I didn't realize it was a must-read and ADN. I was like, oh, wow. So I just appreciate the platform to talk about it.
Well, you got it anytime you want. And I appreciate your hard work down there. And if we can do anything, Julie, to help you, let me know because it's got to be a thankless job at times. Yeah. Well. I mean, I'm used to the media going after us. It's kind of hard when our conservative media does that. I just want to make sure, you know, hey, guys. We're standing – it's been really hard, and we've had 19, and we've stood strong so far. So, you know, the biggest thing is if you –
See a vote or see a decision. Boy, call me. Any of your listeners, call me. I can always explain my vote. It's nothing sneaky. There's usually a good reason why I vote a certain way. No, you're right on the table. Julie, I appreciate it. We've got to scoot. Listen, have fun, and you know this line is open to you anytime.
Okay, thank you so much, Mike. Appreciate it. You bet. Thanks for calling in, Judy. Julie, thanks. Okay, we've got to take a quick break. We'll be back. Get on with Mike and Crash weekdays at 3 on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Monday evening. Steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl. We're not seeing any major stoppages or slowdowns. All right, 527. We're back, I think. Who knows if we're back or not. All right, coming up on the other side of the break.
Senator Robyant from Wasilla, the Valley, and we'll talk to him about the session. Sounds like just from Representative Julie Coulomb that the House... Finance Committee is adding more and more budget amendments, trying to spend more and more money. And I don't know why they're doing that. I don't know why that, you know, and that's the Democrats. You know, let's be honest.
It's the Democrats that are doing this. They don't know that they don't have any money, or they know they don't have any money. And it's really interesting because the school district, according to Channel 2 News, sent a letter today that is really interesting. It's a letter on job cuts that the ASD staff
sent out, district spokesperson says hundreds, this is from Channel 2, hundreds of jobs could be part of staffing cuts. The school district sent out a staff displacement letter Friday explaining that given the state's budget cuts for next fiscal year, as well as the lack of funding bills being passed, principals and supervisors are beginning to notify staff today. Who will be displaced?
And then it kind of goes on from there. So essentially, if you work for the school district, you'll probably get a letter or a note or something telling you whether or not you're going to be displaced. displacement letter goes on to say that the urgency is high for state leaders to act. According to their spokesman, the total amount of staff let go also depends on the school's needs, employees who retire or resign, and ultimately, if the state provides funding.
That's on Alaska News Source in case you want to go and check it out yourself. All right, we'll be right back. Stay with us. This is News Radio 650, KE&I, Anchorage. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Monday evening. Steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl. We're not seeing any major stoppages or slowdowns out there. Traffic going and saying total traffic. Hi, welcome back. It is 534, 44 here, 45 at Palmer.
47 in Soldatna, 44 in Homer, Telcaton is 44, Fairbanks 32 with a weather advisory up there, as is the case in Prudhoe, where it's 23. Joining me now is Senator Rabiot. from the valley and uh rob how the heck are you good mike how are you doing well i'm fine i'm fine i uh i just had uh representative colomb on and she was mentioning that the um
House Finance Committee is in the midst of budget amendments spending money they don't have. Keeping spending under control is the theme of the year for us. common sense, small government loving folks. So it's hard to do. I mean, Julie's in the minority and so am I. So it is, you know, there's a limit to how much influence we can have on the budget, but... You know, we can back up vetoes, though, right? That's true. So do you see, Rob, the...
The majorities in both houses asking to go tap the budget reserve, in which case they're going to need the Republicans' help. I don't think that's going to happen in either body. And it shouldn't. So for the listeners out there, what we're talking about here is the Constitutional Budget Reserve Draw. So that's our state savings account. They just use a fancy name so that most people don't know what it means.
But they use government language instead of everyday normal person language, right? But, no, I don't think we're going to see a CBR draw. You know, I don't. I don't think there's the appetite for that personally. I think there's even members of the majority that wouldn't vote for it. Well, that's actually good news.
We're going to have to create a balanced budget. And so I think what House Finance is doing, in my opinion, is trying to keep their voters happy and say, look what I gave you, look what I gave you, and then they're going to send it over to Senate Finance. and make Senate Finance be the bad people. That's what I think is happening. Yeah, I think you're right. So what happens? You know, I keep getting lots of calls, Rob, on the permanent fund dividend amount.
Are we looking at getting a permanent fund this year? Yes. Yeah, it's not going to be near as big as I'd like to see it, but I think there'll be one for sure.
But, yeah, if you take the bills as they're passing them as they are right now, it looks like there'll be none. But I think Senate Finance will rein things in. What about education? I mean, that thing seems to be... just a ball of craziness in terms of where it's going or where it's not going the governor has said he would veto what i think is going to come out but what do you see happening with that well i don't
You know, honestly, I think the most important thing we do is educate our children. We as parents, we as grandparents, adults, those in government, society in general, the most important thing we do is our children. There are people down here that want to talk about just revenue and just the money side of things, but they don't want to talk about policies that help create better test scores, policies that help our kids be set up for success in life. Does that make sense?
And until the conversation becomes just as heavily geared towards success for children as it is about finances, I don't think you're going to see anything that's going to make it by the governor. Does that make sense? The governor is very, very, very concerned, as he should be, all of us should be, with outcomes for children. And so let's just hope that the bills that come through reflect that.
Because Mike has a darn good plan for kids' education. And it's not hard to look around and see who's had success. We've been doing this for a long time. I mean, we've had public education for, you know. over 100 years, right? Look at who's having success. Look at the Floridas and the Mississippis and the other states that are doing well and duplicate what they're doing. It's not a money thing. It's a curriculum thing. It's a policy thing. It's creating...
winning situations for these kids. And that doesn't seem to be the backbone of what's happening right now. So hopefully... Hopefully things turn for the better here and the curriculum side gets taken care of and the policy side, right? Well, let's hope so. And I would point to what you folks in the Valley have done. I mean, you're able to do well on outcomes, and you're also able to build schools.
without going broke. Maybe you can share some of that with the rest of the state, or at least with Anchorage. And we are. You know, I coach every day. I'm in the hallways coaching wrestling year-round. I mean, I fly home every single weekend to go coach, right? So I'm very passionate about helping our kids, and I have been sharing openly.
What we've been doing in the Valley the last five years, we've really made some great changes out there, and it's reflective in our test scores too, right? Like our average high school student out there is well above national average now. We could do way better, and we're striving to do way better, and we will do way better. We're building three brand-new charter schools as we speak. Construction starts this year on three brand-new charter schools.
So our test scores are going to get even better. Most people don't realize this, but the number one-length charter schools in the United States of America, peer-reviewed Harvard University study, is the state of Alaska. We have the top charter schools in the country, right? So there is a winning formula out there, and that's what we're trying to do in the Valley. The other big part of that is career and technical education.
I use my brother and my son as an example for this because I feel comfortable talking about them. It's my family, right? But my brother and my oldest son, neither one liked school growing up. And it stayed that way all the way through high school for my brother. My son couldn't stay in school in elementary and middle school.
Then he got to high school and started taking welding classes and a whole bunch of awesome career and technical education classes that he didn't have access to in middle school. And he loved high school. He loved it. So the system's always done a good job of taking care of the next nurse or the next dentist or engineer. Or like my oldest daughter, she graduates law school here in two months, right?
It's always done a good job of preparing the academically motivated and talented, but there's a lot of kids out there that maybe aren't looking at that, and they get bored come high school. And if they don't have reasons to go to school and be excited, like welding classes or mechanicing classes or electrical classes, whatever it may be, or airplane, we build airplanes in the valley, now we're building teacher housing projects in the valley now for...
you know, rural districts and stuff. I mean, give these kids that maybe don't desire to grow up and be a college graduate something to get their hands dirty. They stick around. They have fun in school. They accidentally learn how to read better. They accidentally learn to get better at math because they're coming to school every day. And you're seeing that in our test scores out there. So like I said, career and technical education is actually how you improve test scores for the average kid too.
It makes a big difference. And look, my generation was lied to. We were told you had to go to college and get a degree to be successful, and we know that to not be the case, right? Yeah. No, in fact, you can have a very good job and have a very good life with vocational skills, and those are things we need. Yeah, yeah.
Yep, and we've got to get spending under control here. I've got a bill that we just dropped a week or two ago to help reorganize one of our departments that would save us a little over $30 million a year if we can get that to the end zone. You know, there's a lot of work to be done down here. It seems that. And then the other thing I was going to ask you about is the gas line. You've been up here a long time. Your family's been up here a long time. This gas line has been something that we've...
talked about for a long time. What's your take with the history you have being up here? Yeah. What I would like to see, well, first of all, I want it to happen. We all do. I think everybody wants it to happen, right? And so if it happens, I want to see Alaskan residents have an opportunity to invest in it. I dropped a bill here, I don't know, two, three, four weeks ago.
It would actually give Alaskan residents an opportunity to invest in it and be an owner in it, which would be nice because you can will that. If you had shares in the gas pipeline, you could will it to your children, grandchildren, whatever it may be, right? So first and foremost for me, I want to see it happen. I want to see Spurs off to Fairbanks and places. We've got to take care of Fairbanks. If we're going to go right past them and only be a few miles away.
We've got to run gas over to Fairbanks and take care of that community because they don't have much gas there, right? They're trucking it down from the North Slope. That's not a winning business model. But the truth is there's so much gas in the world right now. that it doesn't really pencil to build 800-mile pipeline projects. Does that make sense? So here's the truth. The gas pipeline is only going to happen if Trump wills it to victory lane. That's the truth.
If it becomes a national defense issue, which I think it is, clearly we would rather have our allies buying natural gas from the United States of America than we would from Russia and others. Yes. You know, this sounds like a big number to go build that project. I think the number they're throwing out there is $47 billion.
I would say that number's BS because they haven't adjusted it for inflation in a while. So I'm going to tell you right now, it's going to cost more than $47 billion to build, I think. But it's still a drop in the bucket if Trump wants it to happen, right? And so we would rather have the South Koreas, the Japans, our other allies buying gas from us. And I do think there's a very good chance Trump's going to make it happen.
Well, let's hope so, because that's a lot of jobs, and we were just talking about vocational skills. Boy, there's certainly a ton of jobs for welders and anything else on building a project. Yeah, for sure. And if and when it happens, like I said, I think there's a good chance it is. I want to see me, you, our kids, and every other Alaska resident have an opportunity to invest in it. And so that's one of the bills that I'm running is to create that structure, you know.
So let me, final question, let me ask you, do you think this thing's going to run over time this year, or are you guys going to get out on time, and that budget's going to look really interesting? We better get out of here one time. I mean, really, honestly, I really don't want to see a special session and waste a bunch more taxpayer money. That's not fair to anybody. So, you know, hopefully...
Hopefully we can all get together and hash the issues out, even if it means working seven long days a week. I'm totally fine with that. I hope we don't wind up in a special session. I know I won't vote for it. We've got to get it done during the regular time, in my opinion. But we'll see. All right. Well, Rob, it's always good to talk to you any time. Yeah, I appreciate it.
We'll make it all happen. Yeah. All right, you guys. Enjoy your evening. All right, Rob. Thanks very much. We'll talk to you again soon. Take care, bud. You bet. All right. Rob, you out. Senator Rob Yant, we'll be right back. The Mike Percaro Show with Crash on NewsRadio 650.
K-E-N-I. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Monday evening. Steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl. Only real slowdown I'm seeing is the outbound lanes of Glen Highway. Traffic backing up there at Airport Heights and Fifth Avenue backing up towards concrete. Otherwise, looks like it's a nice day out there.
I'm seeing bikes, trikes, motorcycles, and pedestrians on the road, so do be careful. Let's help keep them safe. From the Swickard Chevrolet Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Unbound.org. Right now, there are young people across the world facing a... Tough choice. Continue their dream of education or drop 40s. Continuing to hold on to this springtime warmth with dry conditions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison.
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And they do it better than anybody else. We'll be real happy to tell you more in the coming days and coming weeks. RJ, you're on. Hi, RJ. Hey, good interviews. Appreciate it. I've been gone, and I don't have a clue on these school board seats in the assembly seat six. And I don't know any of them. All right, well, tell me who you're talking about, and maybe we can help you. Well, Darren and Keith on District 6.
Seat J, and then the school board, Alexander and Marco, and then seat B is Anthony and Kelly. Okay, well, give me the assembly seat again. Who's running? Darren and Keith. Okay, Keith McCormick? Yeah. Okay, that's my district. I'm going to give you my opinion, and you can do what you wish, but I'll tell you what I think. My opinion is Keith would be the person. that would do the best job. On the school board, Mark Anthony Cox I think would do a great job and I think Alex would do a great job.
Okay. Well, that's what I needed to know. I just, I've been gone, and I come back, and I've called several people that I know to keep up with this, and they didn't have a clue either. There's only one person I know to call now. All right. Well, anyway, that's my opinion, but you do what you need to do. I will. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Okay. Thanks, R.J. All right. 553. Let's go to Jim. Hi, Jim. Hi, Jim.
Is he there, Crash? He is, but oh well. Okay, well, I don't hear him. He must have fallen asleep or something. Did he fall off the turnip truck? Maybe. I don't know what happened there. Okay, well. He's there no more. He's no longer there. Okay. All right, well, it's almost the end of the show. What about that? Another great two hours of broadcasting. And you're getting the digital copy ready for the Hall of Fame, correct? Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Guys in white gloves hanging out in the hallway waiting for me to deliver the tape. They have an official escort from the Broadcasting Hall of Fame to take my material into the vault. That's right. You know, I mean, it's, you know. Yeah, you've got a little wing, and I have a plaque over the urinal, third one from the right. Is it finally working now? It's finally working, yeah. They put a urinal cake in the shape of my face.
You don't really want to go there, do you? No. Is it mint? I think they switch it up. I think today is bubblegum flavored. Bubblegum? Yes. Okay. I knew this show would deteriorate at some point. It took you almost two hours. Luckily we waited until the last segment. Yeah, it took you almost two hours to do it. Oh, I don't know. Well, you had all these terribly important people on, so I, you know. I know. So have you finished your voting?
Did you send your thing in? We did everything. I filled out my ballot and then did with the ballot what my wife told me to. Okay. And then, hey, the show's about over, but we didn't mention it once during the show. Today's the last day to fill out your application for your PFT. That's right. So if you haven't done it, you've got to do it by midnight tonight if you do it online. And I think that since it's Seward's Day, is that the holiday today?
Yes. I think some of those city offices or whatever, I think they closed early today. So maybe not. You're smart, kids. You'll figure it out yourself. No, no. It's a state holiday. Right. So today is the last day. Get your thing done digitally by midnight tonight. Yeah, get it in and then see what kind of chrome the legislature is. For that check of $82.50, the legislature is going to give you in a few months. All right, let's hope it's better than that.
Alright, we will see everybody tomorrow. Have a great evening, everybody. The following message is brought to you by Goodwill and the Ad Council. The inherent right to work is one of the elemental privileges of a free people. Endowed as our nation is with abundant physical resources. and inspired as it should be with the high purpose to make those resources and opportunities available for the enjoyment of all. We approach this problem of re-employment with the real
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I don't know why my son would ruin himself with alcohol. Is someone's drinking breaking your heart? You might be surprised at what you can learn in an Al-Anon family group from people just like you. Call 1-888-4-AL-ANON. Or go to al-anon.org. When news breaks out, we break it to keep you informed. News Radio 650 KENI. This time of year, it's pretty common to see plant starts out. Of course, gardeners do that.