According to the Associated Press, Alaska will receive more than a half million dollars as part of the congressional Low Income Energy Assistance Program. The program helps states aid low-income residents in paying for heating bills this winter. Nationally, 100 million dollars in emergency funding was approved by Congress.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski says this should help more Alaskans pay for their heating bills this winter. She says Alaskans have seen nearly 30 percent increases in the cost of diesel heating fuel and up to 40 percent hikes in natural gas costs as a result of increased worldwide competition for energy.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s economic indicators all tell the same story: They describe the fastest growing area in the state. Growth measures including employment, population, business formation, in-migration, highway counts and new homes being built all point to the Mat-Su Borough. In fact, it’s the only area in the state where the term “booming” is applicable.

December 2005 Trends

BETTER THAN AVERAGE!
Food Stamp Accuracy Campaign Update

With another sample month complete, we are a step closer to our Food Stamp payment accuracy improvement campaign goal of 94%. We now stand so close at 93.9%! I think we could say that's statistically insignificant. Great work everyone. We're trusting that good results from the final month sample will put us clearly atop of our FY 2005 Better than Average goal.

Alaskans earned a combined $22.6 billion in 2004, an increase of slightly more than $1 billion from 2003, according to the most recent income data for the state. Dividing that number by the number of residents – every man, woman and child – means that Alaska’s per capita income was $34,454. That’s an impressive figure, but it only takes on real meaning when compared to other states or when observed in a historical context. And this particular income figure is only one measure among many calculations of income.

It's my pleasure to annonce the DPAStars for October!

To our new stars ... congratulations on this wonderful recognition, and a huge THANK YOU on behalf of all your colleagues and co-workers for everything you do to make DPA a great place to work!

Kitty