Workers Put Mayor on Notice
“I don’t need a coat,” thought I as I headed out the door to the Anchorage Assembly meeting. “It’s up in the 20s, and I just have to get from the parking lot to the Assembly chambers, and then back.” I grabbed my thickest hoodie and hit the road. I broke the cardinal rule of Alaska – Be prepared for anything. And when you break the cardinal rule, you can pretty much be assured that that’s the time you wish you hadn’t. “What is with the traffic?” I kept thinking as I waited through three light changes from the Seward…
Rally at Tonight’s Assembly Meeting
At some point, Anchorage residents are going to believe Mayor Dan Sullivan when he tells them who he is. At five minutes before quitting time on Friday afternoon, Mr. Mayor decided he’d tell municipal employees that the very next Tuesday, the Anchorage Assembly was going to be taking a vote to freeze their pay and benefits. Forever. Yes, forever. Not only that, they’d be deciding whether to gut their collective bargaining rights. And guess when these employees who were notified at 4:55pm on Friday were told they could meet to learn all about these huge changes to their jobs? 8am…
Sullivan’s War on Unions
Inspired, no doubt, by the biggest asshat governor in the nation, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, our own smaller version, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan has fired the first shot across the bow of the working men and women of Alaska. Alaska has the second highest union density of any state in the country, topped only by New York. But that seems to be irrelevant to Sullivan who may have his sights on a US Senate run in 2014. Sullivan trails Senator Mark Begich in a Public Policy Poll done at the end of January by only 6 points (47/41). If that’s…
2012 Parting Shots
If you live in the Lower 48, you may be under the illusion that your state knows how to do “trashy” and “no way—that’s not for real!” It doesn’t. Not compared to Alaska. So sit back with some popcorn and check out the pros. Parenting Fail If you’re going to engage your own son in LSD-fueled hand-to-hand combat in the street over a woman (!), at least don’t do it in the nude. In Spenard, that makes you such a cliché. Poor Kids Get Baked Speaking of excessive nudity, House Finance Co-Chair Bill Stoltze refused to allow a vote on…
What are they up to?
Let’s do a quick check-in, and see what people are up to during the lull at the holiday season between the election, and the beginning of the next legislative session Mark Begich – Mark Begich is busy getting gold stars. The latest is for voting for the Feinstein Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which takes steps to end allowing the indefinite detention of American’s in the United States. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Murkowski is “outraged” about the Benghazi incident. And “she has no patience for the constantly changing stories coming out of the White House and even less for…
Drummond. There Can Be Only One.
Well, this is a fine fix you’ve gotten us into, Harriet Drummond! One of our favorite Assembly members had the temerity to win the State House seat for her district. She also had the horrible lack of foresight to not stretch side to side until she divided like an amoeba in a spectacular display of binary fission, creating two Harriet Drumonds so both positions could be filled. More’s the pity. Now we have an issue – an empty Anchorage Assembly seat. By January 15, the first regular Assembly meeting of the new year, and until the next Municipal election (what…
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more and more! Happy Saturday, you gorgeous Mudflatters. Here’s a slurpy, brunchy, half-dozen bites for your weekend palate. Quote of the Week: On Mitt Romney’s plan to defund PBS, aka “Kill Big Bird.” “I like Big Bird… You can kill things and still like them – maybe to eat them.” ~Rick Santorum Naked Baker Charms Anchorage Press Pick Voters So, every year, hundreds of hardy souls vote for dozens of their favorite bakeries, auto shops, pizza joints, and of course – politicians. This year’s picks were… interesting…
Back to the Sidewalk – Again!
The high drama of last summer’s sidewalk sitting may be back again in September. Mayor Dan Sullivan didn’t like that a homeless man protesting his draconian attitudes and policies toward the homeless was sitting outside City Hall on the sidewalk. He glowered out of his window in the tall tower, gazing to the sidewalk below and decided to bring the long arm of the law down upon the lowly “protester.” And then, to the mayor’s horror, he realized that there was actually no law prohibiting Anchorage residents from sitting on the sidewalk. It really hadn’t been an issue during the…
Audit Committee To Discuss ABT Tax Report
On Sunday, July 15th, the Anchorage Daily News ran a comprehensive story by Richard Mauer. It discussed a determination made by municipal tax assessor Marty McGee regarding accusations that the Anchorage Baptist Temple had violated the law relating to specific tax-exempt properties belonging to the church. Mel Green at Bent Alaska gives us some background: “The issue was first reported in a story broken by Bent Alaska on August 29, 2011, based on court documents in the divorce trial of ABT pastor Jerry Prevo’s son Allen Prevo and Holly Jo Jaggers (who returned to her maiden name after the divorce),…