Repeal SB21 and Take Back Alaska
Here is everything you need to know about the ongoing effort to honor Alaska as an owner state. The time is now to be active, and take our state back from the undue influence of Outside corporations, and the legislators who do their bidding. Complaining is easy. Fortunately, so is acting in a positive way to take control of our future. Gov. Parnell will sign SB 21 on Tuesday, May 21st at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage between 11:30am and 1pm. Be there with a sign to protest the giveaway! Alaska is an owner state. We deserve a fair share of…
French, Gara Collect Signatures for SB21 Repeal
Senator Hollis French, and Rep. Les Gara will be gathering signatures on the “Repeal the Oil Wealth Giveaway” referendum Friday, May 10th from 12-1pm at the Barnes and Noble on Northern Lights Blvd in Anchorage. “Reversing the $1-2 billion giveaway will give us the chance to write a better law. Alaskans want a law that encourages production and does not take Alaska off the fiscal cliff,” said Representative Gara. Democratic Legislators offered a tax solution that would have required investment in Alaska, and increased production from companies to qualify for tax breaks. The Republicans’ idea, SB 21, gives billions…
WWII Vet Tours USS Anchorage
[Editor's Note: Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that my friend Peggy Wilcox's dad was a World War II vet, and was going to go on a tour of the USS Anchorage before it headed out to sea. My dad was a WWII veteran as well, and I found myself imagining what it would have been like to tour the ship with him. I asked Peggy if she'd be kind enough to write a little something about her dad, and the day.] By Peggy Wilcox My dad is pretty cool. We hang out. He tells me to buy gold, I ignore…
ACLU Investigates Censorship in Juneau
Last week, on two consecutive days, an assortment of government vans from at least two different entities, parked in front of the Capitol building in Juneau, blocking protesters who had come with signs to demonstrate. The protesters had been clearly visible from certain offices in the Capitol. Joe Miller’s blog describes the situation as reported by en eyewitness: “The trucks were parked across the street from the capital building, in the “active loading and unloading zone” and in the road congesting traffic, obviously in answer to a command to block the protesters. There were witnesses at the protest who heard…
Election Good News!
Yes. Election. Good. News. Let’s just sit with that for a moment. As always, there are the last ballots to be counted, and write-in votes to be scrutinized, but here’s where we stand so far: Bettye Davis for School Board handed Don Smith his walking papers (and his rear end) with a decisive 54-45 victory for the seat Smith currently occupies. Bettye is amazing in her own right, but Don Smith’s latest shenanigans and nastiness didn’t help his cause. Davis recently lost her established State Senate seat after Republican redistricting sliced up her former district. It’s good to have her…
‘Choose Respect’ Fails To Protect Native Women – Diane E Benson
(Diane Benson is a writer and professor of Native studies at the University of Alaska, and is a recent recipient of the national Bonnie Heavy-Runner Advocacy Award in recognition of outstanding service to victims of crime in Indian country.) It’s a method, marches. Historically marches are held to protest (civil rights), to get from one point to another (relocation) and to parade power (military). Generally, the word indicates walking lock-step whether literally or metaphorically. Choose Respect marches for change. But what are we trying to change, a social behavior? The march says Alaska is a violent place and we need…
AO37 Testimony Ends, Vote May Be Delayed (VIDEO)
Last night was the last round of scheduled public testimony on Anchorage Ordinance 37, which would take away the rights of municipal unions for binding arbitration, the right to strike, and would restrict annual raises. AO37 would also utilize managed competition to outsource city work done by public employees to private companies. For another five-hour session, city workers and supporters of labor stood on the podium and gave their three-minute testimony. Sadly, their opinions and experiences seemed less interesting to the Mayor than his manicure. Ultimately, police officers, firefighters, city employees, and concerned citizens were left standing in line to…
ACLU: Assembly Cannot End Testimony
Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska Foundation submitted a letter to Ernie Hall, Chairman of the Anchorage Assembly on Friday. Mittman cites the Municipal Charter, Assembly Practice, and the rights inherent in public fora to state that any Anchorage citizens still waiting to testify on Ordinance 37 at the end of Monday’s meeting, must have the right to do so, and the Assembly must schedule another meeting for further public testimony. Hall had stated that testimony would be cut off at 11:00pm on Monday, regardless of whether citizens remained in line wishing to testify. Earlier in the…
AO37 Testimony Still Going Strong
After 15 combined hours of testimony, the line of people waiting to address Assembly members stretched to the back of the room, and the auditorium was more than half full. It was 11:00 at night on a Wednesday. There is no doubt that the issue of Ordinance 37, which would radically alter the collective bargaining rights, and benefits of city workers, has hit Alaskans close to home. Longevity and performance bonuses, the right to strike, binding arbitration, and who exactly will decide the outcome of contract negotiations all hang in the balance. For the last week and a half, the…
The Running of the Reindeer! (PHOTOS)
For the past several years, I’ve shared pictures of the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. This year I thought I’d mix it up a little, and cover the event that happens just after the Iditarod starts. The last of the dogs and their mushers have headed down Anchorage’s historic 4th Avenue, and the snowy lane is ready for another kind of critter. Paws and wagging tails give way to hooves and antlers, as the Fur Rendezvous festival presents – The 6th Annual Running of the Reindeer! I’d always wanted to see this event, but never made it until today. It…