The Hill Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) called the Democratic plan to scrap tax breaks for the big five oil producers to pay down the deficit “laughable” ....  Wall Street Journal (5/11/11) reports: The U.S. approved a Royal Dutch Shell PLC plan to drill for oil in five locations deep under the Gulf of Mexico…. The drilling "would not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment," according to a press release from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement…Marvin Odum, president of Shell's U.S. subsidiary, said the company [...]

 Reminding Readers: the Deadline Is TOMORROW: For Protecting Public Use of the Oceans and Great Lakes.  Use This Webpage to Easily Comment by the Friday Deadline On Another Example Of Federal Overreach -- As Washington Bosses Seek To Zone (Restrict) Ocean Use. Comment.  The House voted to improve the investment climate through tax reform (HB 110), a bill the Governor had recommended, but the Senate refused.  But some of us believe the Senate is acting foolishly, wanting to spend $2 billion this year on capital projects--as state revenues decline by 7% [...]

ADN by Sean Cockerham.  Governor Sean Parnell (NGP Photo-L) sent a letter to legislators blaming the Senate for the logjam. The governor's office then confirmed that Parnell is not going to negotiate with the Senate over what projects he may or may not veto. That closes what senators thought could be an exit out of the special session.  "Writing a letter like this is like throwing a bomb down the chimney," said Sitka Republican Sen.Bert Stedman (NGP Photo-R).  Stedman said Parnell earlier expressed openness to talking about projects and working out a deal. [...]

Our Canadian Friends face pro- and anti-development struggles in the North as well.  See this Globe and Mail Story by Nathan Vanderklippe. Commentary:  Our thanks to Alaska entrepreneur-economist Scott Hawkins for this summary of our current investment climate 'fix'.  Earlier this weekend I wrote the following comment in response to intrasigence of legislators bent on keeping their ill gotten gains at the expense of Alaska's future: "The Senate Fiddles While Rome Burns. Senators hurriedly constructed ACES in a month of chaos, but to modify it after years of proven failure [...]