Politics

Eric Fanning is President Obama’s choice to lead the Army, which could make him the first openly gay secretary of one of the military branches.

The Forest Service is raising the entrance fee at the visitor center from $3 to $5 starting in May. Murkowski said the increase is reasonable, but was leery of plans to expand the fee area beyond the visitor center.

Most of those watching the measure expect it will pass. If so, Anchorage would become the first city in Alaska to extend full legal protection against discrimination on the basis of gender expression and sexual orientation.

Almost every state bought new computerized voting equipment after the disputed 2000 election. But the machines are coming to the end of their useful lives, and there’s little momentum to replace them.

LGBT rights has been a decades-long battle. The state now has marriage equality, but not much else.

Tea Party-inspired Republican Rep. Todd Courser stepped down early Friday and Rep. Cindy Gamrat was forced out of the chamber after news of the scandal broke last month.