“There is a growing need for a deep water port in the region because as the Arctic sea ice recedes, oil and gas development is increasing and maritime shipping is expanding,” Begich said.

The post Alaska Business Monthly: Begich Sponsors Amendment to Spur Arctic Deep Water Port Development appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

The award from the coalition of advocates for marine recreational fishing and boating is given each year to a federal legislator who is dedicated to promoting the sound conservation and use of ocean resources.

“When I hear ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ I think, ‘I’m not done, am I?’ ” Begich joked in accepting the award before a full house at the luncheon.

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The endorsement is somewhat unusual in that the party typically doesn’t announce its support for any one candidate in a primary.

Party spokesman Zack Fields says the party can endorse in limited circumstances. He says Alaska Democrats felt it important to get their support for Begich on the record early, given the flood of outside money that’s expected in the race.

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Retailers that have agreed not to sell the fish include national chains Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, Aldi stores in the eastern half of the country, and PCC Natural Markets in Washington state. Most of the biggest supermarket chains are not participating.

Food activists who lost the battle over California’s Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of genetically engineered foods and was defeated in November after food companies spent millions of dollars to campaign against it, now are applying pressure via retailers. That is not a tough sell, because such foods poll poorly with the public.

The post San Francisco Chronicle: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s ban GMO salmon appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

Begich made the comments in an interview with the News-Miner during a Saturday stop in Fairbanks, saying Alaska Command Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Hoog told him of the plans for a fall training mission.

The news comes after the cancellation of the spring Red Flag Alaska and the summer multi-branch Northern Edge exercise. Red Flag exercises typically involve units from other countries and can bring thousands of people and aircraft to the Interior.

The post Daily News-Miner: Begich ‘fairly certain’ Eielson will hold Red Flag exercise this fall appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

“I think there is a lot of interest that has been generated over the last couple of years. And now we are seeing people really talking more about it. And as we move to issues of the budget and a long term budget plan for the federal government, Social Security is part of the equation, and figuring this out and solving this.”

The post KSKA: Begich To Introduce Social Security Legislation appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

Well here is something useful. Alaskans are united in defending our wild salmon heritage against Frankenfish. From Don Young to Mark Begich, Cascadia Wildlands and Greenpeace, we are leading the fight on one of the most consequential environmental issues of our time. It’s not often we’re this united around such a contentious issue. I think it’s creeping the bad guys out. Some accuse us of selfishly looking to protect our own bottom line. But Alaskans are united against GE salmon for good reasons.

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We Alaskans are proud of our wild salmon, and should be proud to stand up for them on the international stage! We learned from past mistakes and have (more-or-less) successfully stewarded one of nature’s greatest bounties. This is our heritage. Never apologize for defending it. If we don’t, nobody else will.

The post The Cordova Times: Opinion: Unlabeled GE salmon appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

On Feb. 11, Begich introduced S. 270, also known as “United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2013.” He lists a number of geographic reasons as to why the U.S. merits such a position, including the length of Alaska’s Arctic shoreline, the 100 million acres of American territory above the Arctic Circle, and “an even broader area defined as Arctic by temperature that includes the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.”

The post Alaska Dispatch: Begich aims to raise U.S. profile in Arctic by creating ambassador appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

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The ads are not the first from an independent political group against the senator, and they won’t be the last. Independent organizations that run so-called issue ads are barely accountable in American politics, particularly after the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision upended decades of campaign finance reporting law and gave corporate entities free speech rights similar to those of individual people.

“It is the tide of what’s coming,” said Susanne Fleek, the state director for Begich’s Alaska offices. “If you find one billionaire who is willing to fund your campaign then you can run ads all over the country—Senator Begich isn’t concerned about what one extreme group in Washington D.C. thinks, he want to know what Alaskans think.”

The post Anchorage Press: Begich attacked by anti-immigration group appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.

The senator’s comments came during a Senate Oceans subcommittee hearing on Arctic marine activity chaired by Begich March 27 at the University of Alaska Anchorage consortium library.

“I’ve always said we face greater risks from the increasing traffic we’re seeing along Russia’s Northern Sea Route and later through Canada’s Northwest Passage, than we do from oil and gas drilling in the Arctic,” Begich said.

The post The Cordova Times: Begich: increased traffic is greater threat than offshore drilling appeared first on Senator Mark Begich :: As Independent As Alaska.