Category Archives: Uncategorized

More strange things done ‘neath Whittier’s midnight sun

There are only about 200 who live in the strange little town perched on this harbor in Prince William Sound. But in Whittier’s case, size doesn’t much matter. The people sure know how to kick up the controversy. First, in July, the citizens of the city recalled Mayor Lester Lunceford for supposedly violating an open meetings act during one of the city council meetings. Now Pete Heddell, one of the city council members who pushed for the ousting, has himself resigned on the heels of accusations that he violated city code.

Lunceford had the position for 11 years. After the recall vote, the talk of the town was that many of those who voted to oust him were actually residents of Anchorage rather than of Whittier. So, ten residents signed a petition to try to contest the recall vote, but they didn’t read the fine print that stated that all of them had to be present when they turned in their petition and that their signatures needed to be notarized. Only five showed in person and none had their signatures notarized, said city manager Tom Bolen.

It’s unclear however, even if they had done everything right, that the recall would have been overturned.

The city goes by where the state says someone is registered, and the state is less concerned where a person claims his or her home to be than if they are voting twice. In other words, residency documentation is relatively loose. Whittier city code does little to clarify the state’s position.

City code is clear, however, that a person’s primary residence must be in Whittier if they are on the city council.

Councilman Heddell had been receiving the senior citizen tax exemption for a property that he owns in Anchorage. In order to get that exemption, he claimed that the Anchorage house was his primary residence.

On Monday, Heddell told Bolen that he was resigning to spend more time in Washington state.

Bolen who took the job in March, has also been caught in the controversy. The open meeting act that Lunceford allegedly violated involved the firing of the former city manager and Bolen’s hiring. Bolen, however, has no plans on going anywhere. He just hopes all the drama is over and everyone can focus on running the city.

When he walked into the job there were about $8 million worth of state grants to the city that had yet to be used and some of those grants are on the verge of expiring. In other words, if they don’t use it, they could lose it. Some of the money is for projects that had never moved forward from design to construction. At least one of them—a $325,000 grant for railroad improvements—had even yet to be conceptualized.

The city is now working with the Railroad to push that project forward. It’s also working on replacing a culvert, a road project, and environmental restoration project and is applying for grants for harbor and road improvements.

The big issue, however, the one that’s plagued the city for nearly a half a century, is what to do with the Buckner Building, the dilapidated concrete mammoth structure built in 1953 with the intention to withstand bombs and keeping as many as 1,000 soldiers safe if a Cold War army invaded.

It now sits on the edge of town, bruised but not broken, taking up precious land, but because it would be so expensive to tear down, no one knows what to do with it.

“It’s so amazing that Whittier’s such a small town and that there’s so much going on,” Bolen said. “It’s somewhat overwhelming to grasp it all.”

Amanda Coyne amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

The GOP and Obamacare

From The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein on Obamacare:

The current crop of Republican strategies ask conservative congressmen to hurt their constituents and their political prospects, conservative governors to hurt their states, and conservative activists to hurt themselves. It’s a kamikaze mission to stop Obamacare … But behind all of it is a mounting desperation. Obamacare beat a filibuster. It beat the right’s legal challenge. Its namesake beat the Republican Party’s nominee for president. Come 2014, it will start helping millions of Americans afford health insurance, and come the 2016 election it will have been delivering health care to tens of millions of Americans for almost three years. That’s not the kind of program that just goes away in American politics.

Happy Birthday Bill Stoltze

Fifty-two years ago today, a boy was born in a hospital that was located at the end of the Park Strip in Anchorage. He graduated from Chugiak-Gruening Junior/Senior High School and then obtained a B.A. In Political Science from the University of Alaska before becoming a legislative staffer and then being elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. He now co-chairs the House Finance Committee. He’s exasperatingly quick witted, vituperate, and has endless energy for his state. He’s loved. He’s feared. And he grows wicked carrots. If you run into Bill Stoltze today, July 30, be sure to wish him a happy birthday.

Thank God it’s Friday’s random facts: The Wood-Tikchik edition

Just north of Dillingham, thousands of king salmon are entering the Nushegak river. Just over the hill, the Agluowak is brimming with Arctic char, sockeye salmon and rainbow trout. These waterways are in the drop-dead gorgeous Wood-Tikchik State Park, where your amasser of Friday facts is currently enjoying a visit. Here are a few Friday facts about the park, and about the nearby Pebble Mine.

Wood-Tikchik State Park is the largest state park in Alaska and the United States.
At 1.6 million acres, it’s about the size of Delaware.
There are 15 major lakes in the park, varying in length from 15-45 miles, and can be as deep at 900 feet.
The Agulowak provides spawning grounds for 200,000 sockeye salmon and passes 1.2 million others to higher spawning grounds in the drainage.
Some of those salmon in the park waterways will make their way to the site of the proposed Pebble Mine, which, if built, would be one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world.
Callan J. Chythlook-Sifsof from Aleknagik, Alaska was a member of the United States snowboarding team in the 2010 Winter Olympics and is training for the 2014 Winter Olympics. She has some things to say about Pebble Mine in Thursday’s New York Times in a piece entitled, “Native Alaska, Under Threat.”
Gold fell 23 percent in second quarter to close at $1,223.80 an ounce on Friday, the lowest it’s been in about three years. Mining companies are taking it hard. If things continue, Donald Marleau an analyst at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that he would expect the market to downgrade mining companies.
In the past 52 weeks, Northern Dynasty’s stock has fluctuated between $5.40 and $1.85. It closed on Friday at $2.09. Northern Dynasty’s principle asset is Pebble Mine. In 2007, the company partnered with mining giant Anglo American plc. Which is required to fund US$1.5 billion of project costs to retain its 50 percent interest.
In the past 52 weeks, Anglo American’s stock has fluctuated between $16.96 to $9.53. On Friday, its stock closed at $9.63.
In 2010, 538 Washington residents held drift gillnet and set gillnet commercial salmon fishing licenses in Bristol Bay, off of which they made a total gross estimated earnings of about $60 million.
The 2010 census counted 299 residents in both Iliamna and Newhalen, two communities closest to the mine. Out of those, only 26 had commercial fishing permits, and only 22 fished those permits, according to the Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Happy Birthday Bill Sheffield

Eighty five years ago today, a young boy was born in Spokane, Washington who later migrated to Alaska and ended up selling appliances at Sears. He worked hard, leased a hotel and turned his business into the largest hotel chain in the state. He was elected governor of Alaska in 1982. If you see Bill Sheffield today, wish him a Happy Birthday.

Thank God it’s Friday’s random facts

A 2010 study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that gay men reduced their risks of contracting HIV by up to 90 percent by taking a daily dose of an antiviral drug. A new study published by The Lancet showed drug addicts taking the pill regularly were 74 percent less likely to become infected.
The latest poll from YouGov shows that most Americans oppose arming Syrian rebels and intervening directly, with 54 percent opposing intervention and only 18 percent supporting it.
According to UA President Pat Gamble, the activities of UA employees that constitute inappropriate behavior: “unauthorized sleeping, reading, playing games, using the internet or telephone inappropriately, etc.”
Number of days since it was first reported in the media that in 2011 a UAA coach had struck a student with a hockey stick: 31.
Number of times the University of Alaska leadership has told the public that it’s wrong for one of their employees to hit a student: 0.
The term used by one witness to describe how the UAA hockey coach hit the kid with the stick: “”baseball-style.” The term used by UAA Chancellor Tom Case to describe the incident: “overstated.”
The number of Alaskans without health insurance pre-Obamacare: 130,000. The number of uninsured Alaskans post-Obamacare if state opts out of Medicaid expansion: 104,000. The number of uninsured Alaskans post-Obamacare if state opts into Medicaid expansion: 68,000.
Blue whale calves drink as much as 132 gallons of milk a day. A baby whale can increase its weight by 200 pounds in one day. Seal pups can double their birth weight in six days. Seal’s milk contains nearly twelve times as much fat as human milk.
Last year, Hallmark sold 94 million father’s day cards.
Alaskans eat more ice cream than Americans in any other state. The average Alaskan eats six gallons per year. The national average is four gallons per year.
In January, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. formally admitted about 30 members of the National LBGT Bar Association to the Supreme Court’s bar, the first time a gay legal group achieved that status.
Amount of money in new investment the big three oil companies have committed to spending in Alaska over the next five years post oil tax break: $1 billion, or $200 million a year.
Estimated yearly value to the big three from the tax break passed by the Alaska Legislature: anywhere from $2 billion to $600 million depending on the price of oil.
Nationwide housing sale prices rose 7.3 percent last year while prices in hard-hit Phoenix surged 23 percent. Other trouble spots, including Las Vegas and Riverside, California, have also experienced double digit gains.
Father’s Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd. Its first celebration was in the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910.
Best father ever: John R. Coyne Jr.

Quote of the day

“When all you do is talk to people who are owners, talk to folks who are Type A’s who want to succeed economically, we’re talking to a very small group of people. No wonder they don’t think we care about them. No wonder they don’t think we understand them. Folks, if we’re going to win, you just need to think about who you talk to in your life.”

Rick Santorum in a speech about why Mitt Romney didn’t win at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. Via Politico.

Loren Leman back for another round?

For God knows what reason the interest in the 2014 lieutenant governor’s race — one of the most boring jobs in state government and not that much more exciting to report on — is drawing the attention of real candidates. So far, Sen. Lesil McGuire is in. Mayor Dan Sullivan is making noises, and former Lt. Governor Loren Leman is reportedly spending significant time on the phone talking to big contributors and party operatives — the five or so left in Alaska — about getting into the race as well.

In November 2002, Leman was elected to serve as the tenth lieutenant governor of Alaska and was the first candidate of Alaska Native ancestry elected to statewide office. Prior to that, he was a legislator serving West Anchorage 14 years. Leman, assuming he runs, will inherit the mantle and support of the conservative right wing of his party. You know, those people who actually vote in primaries. Good for him that it’s a small state and folks often have opportunities to meet and interact with candidates. Leman is always more charming and human in person than he is on television.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

At least we’re not Nigeria

Alaska may be an unstable place to do business. The weather may suck. It’s regulatory climate onerous. Its politicians feckless and it’s watchdogs zany. But at least it’s not doing this:

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathon Monday directed government agencies to recover $7.8 billion that audits carried out by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative found oil companies operating in the country owed the government in unpaid and underpaid taxes, NEITI said Tuesday.

According to the audits, Nigeria’s government has experienced a potential revenue loss of $9.8 billion as a result of under-assessments and under-payments of taxes and rents, process manipulation and poor interpretation of agreements between the government and companies, NEITI said, adding that it has already helped recover $2 billion but $7.8 billion remains outstanding.

Rep. Don Young: sometimes a nattering nabob of niceness

Rep. Don Young has the reputation of being, well, being Don Young. Rough and irascible. Impulsive, wily and sometimes offensive. And that’s all true. But to others, particularly those outside the state, he’s also seen as one of those staunchly partisan conservatives that many blame for Washington’s ills. And all that’s not true.

From personal experience I can say that there’s little Young likes better than a good hearted, spirited debate and little he likes better than to have one with someone on the other side. And he’ll work with those on the other side as long as they deal with him in good faith. Sometimes, like the case of endorsing House colleague Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono — a Democrat — in her run for U.S. Senate, he’ll even campaign for them.

I don’t often publish press releases in full from members of our Congressional delegation because if I start, it will never end. But the one below from Young’s office congratulating Rep. John Dingell on becoming the longest serving member of Congress ever, was a particularly nice example of Young at his best, and the way D.C. should work.

Here’s the release:

I first met John Dingell long before I came to D.C. In 1960, he visited Fort Yukon, Alaska, where he met with our local community about a potential energy project in the region. A World War II vet and member of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ John has had an impact on scores of major legislation passed through Congress over the past six decades, and he truly is a legislator’s legislator.

John has never been afraid to reach across the aisle, and his many years in public office have taught him that ‘Compromise is an honorable word,’ and all of us in Washington should follow his lead.

When I came to House in 1973, we soon became fast friends, and I have enjoyed his friendship ever since. Now a lot has changed since then, but John’s work on behalf of his district in Michigan, and his passion for legislating remains as fierce as when I met him over 50 years ago. It has been an honor and pleasure to serve with him the past 40 years, and I look forward to many more years roaming the halls of Congress with my dear friend from the Great Lake State. Congratulations John.

Everyone loves bear cubs

Jay Bitney and bear cub

Everyone, even the relative of former Sarah Palin employee turned lobbyist, likes bear cubs. And everyone wants to save them when they’re down and out, which is what Jay Bitney, brother of John, did when he spotted an orphan bear cub while in Platinum Alaska near Bethel. Jay’s out there crushing rock for gravel used in the region. (He’s doing it for money, not as some sort of Sisyphean punishment for the perceived or otherwise sins of his brother).

The cub is now safely in the hands of Fish and Game in Bethel.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Branding all those Alaska goods?

The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) is spending $700,000 to create a new “brand” for Alaska. They have awarded a contract to Anchorage-based MSI to conduct a marketing plan to, according to DCCED, “grow Alaska’s presence in the global marketplace and to create more opportunity for Alaskan businesses and investors.”

The state’s selected contractor, MSI, has strong political ties and worked for the Super PAC that supported U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s winning write-in campaign against Joe Miller in 2010. It was the first race in the country to take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling that allowed such Super PACS to spend unlimited amounts of money on a campaign, in this case more than $1.8 million. MSI also represented the Make Alaska Competitive Coalition which pushed for lower state taxes on the oil industry.

The state’s branding and marketing plan will focus on developing the state’s smaller marketing programs like minerals, forest products, agriculture, film, and other Alaska made goods, goods of which—aside from minerals- Alaska produces very little.

“This initiative will result in new high quality promotional materials, and promote Alaska’s brand through a public relations campaign in national and international markets,” DCCED said in its call for proposals.

Washington, D.C. based public opinion research firm William Cromer and Associates, which is a subcontractor for MSI, has been emailing business leaders to try to corral them to participate in a focus group to discuss the development of a new branding program for Alaska’s economic future.

Cromer and Associates is best known in the state for their work with former Gov. Bill Sheffield’s campaign (1982 and 1986) and were the guys that got it wrong for the cruise ship industry on the head tax initiative campaign.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Thank God it’s Friday’s random facts

SPOILS OF PEBBLE: Estimated annual taxes and royalties to be collected by Alaska if the Pebble Mine is developed: $136 to $180 million. Source: Pebble economic study.

SPOILS OF PEBBLE II: In 2011 dollars, annual value to the Pebble Partnership of minerals produced if mine is developed: $2.9 to $3.3 billion. Source: Pebble economic study.

SPOILS OF OIL: Oil taxes and royalties received by the state from oil in 2012: $8.857 billion. Taxes received by the state of Alaska for all other products, including mining in 2012: $350 million. Source: Alaska Department of Revenue.

SPOILS OF FISHING: Taxes received by the state from the fishing industry in 2012: $32.7 million. Source: Alaska Department of Revenue.

NATIONWIDE PERCENTAGE OF TORNADO WARNINGS THAT ARE FALSE ALARMS: 76 percent. Source: Time Magazine, June 3, 2013.

THE SPOILS OF ALASKA WATERS: In 2010, Alaskans held 76 percent or 15,477 of all 20,275 Alaska commercial fishing permits. However, Outside permit-holders earned about 55 percent of the roughly $1.5 billion gross earnings from Alaska’s fisheries in both state and federal waters. Source: Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Commission.

WE DO IT DIFFERENT IN ALASKA: Number of university chancellors who are still employed after heaping praise on one of their employees that stated the chancellor’s boss was mentally ill: 1 – Tom Case, UAA Chancellor. Source: Myself.

SMOKING POT IN COLORADO: The average marijuana smoker in Colorado will spend $650 on legal pot next year. Source: Colorado State University study.

BIPARTISANSHIP AROUND POT: Fifty seven percent of Republicans and 59 percent of Democrats say that the federal government should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states that permit its use. Sixty seven percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Democrats also say federal enforcement of marijuana laws is not worth the cost. Source: Pew Research.

THE SHAME OF BEING AN EXXON MOBIL SHAREHOLDER: Shareholders defeated a resolution on Wednesday of this week to explicitly ban gay discrimination by a vote ratio of 4 to 1. The same measure has been on the agenda and has failed for the past 14 years. Source: New York Times, May 30, 2013.

RECESSIONS AND DEATH: More people die in economic expansions, and fewer die in economic recessions , despite the fact that suicide rates spike during recessions. Source: New York Times, May 29, 2103.

ALTERNATIVE FUEL TAXES: Twenty seven states have imposed taxes on alternative fuels. Of these states, 16 states dedicate all alternative fuel taxes to transportation. And seven states dedicate only a portion of these tax revenues to transportation. The Alaska constitution prohibits dedicated funds. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

LADY GAGA’S SONGS CONTRIBUTE TO GDP: The Bureau of Economic Analysis has revised their rules and beginning July 31, 2013 they will count intellectual property in the calculation of the country’s gross domestic product. The revision reflects the economy’s quiet transformation from one based principally on industry to one decidedly based on knowledge and information. Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2013.

ALASKA DOCTORS RAKING IT IN: Alaska has the highest healthcare costs for services in the country. A 2010 study found rates in Alaska were up to 192 percent of what they are for the same services in Washington state. In Alaska, doctors get reimbursed through Medicaid $1,141.23 for cataract surgery, to name just one procedure. In Washington, it’s $394.44. Source: Alaska’s Health Care Commission.

ALASKA SURGEONS REALLY RAKING IT IN: Alaska has the most expensive workers’ compensation premiums and is number one in medical costs for workers. It pays surgeons 482 percent of the Medicare rate. For instance, worker’s comp will pay a doctor $4,181 for knee surgery in Alaska (nearly four times what it reimburses under Medicaid). In Washington, it’s $869, and in Hawaii it’s $693. It’ll pay $2,339 for an MRI in Alaska. In Washington it pays $769, and in Hawaii $634. Source: Alaska’s Worker’s Compensation Medical Services Review Commission.

Mayor Dan Sullivan taking a stab at lite gov?

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan is said to be considering taking a stab at lieutenant governor in 2014. Sources say that he’ll announce when current Lt. Gov Mead Treadwell at long last officially announces his run against U.S. Sen. Mark Begich.

That announcement is expected to come at the end of June.

Nobody really grows up wanting to be Alaska’s lieutenant governor. In fact (to plagiarize myself), if it’s true as Vice President John Nance Garner once put it that the vice presidency isn’t worth a “warm bucket of spit,” then being lieutenant governor of Alaska certainly isn’t worth a frozen one. The only job that’s constitutionally mandated is being the figurehead for the Division of Elections, whose day-to-day operations are run by a very competent Gail Fenumiai. The lieutenant governor is also the keeper of the State Seal. Whatever that means and whatever that entails. it presumably has nothing to do with a mammal.

However, the job can be a stepping stone to higher office. And since we have so few of them in Alaska, it likely means that Sullivan is eyeing the governor’s seat in 2018. (Because he hates to fly, U.S. Rep. Don Young’s seat is likely off the table for Sullivan.)

One thing is for sure, if the other Dan Sullivan, the DNR commissioner, does choose to run against Begich, we’ll all be Sullivan-saturated.

Contact Amanda Coyne amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

UAA Athletic Director Steve Cobb fired

The press release is below. If you’re just coming to this, read here and here for background. More on what it means later. For now, this quote from the press release stands out:

Regarding the investigation into a 2011 incident between then hockey coach Dave Shyiak and a student-athlete, Chancellor Case said: “The police have now concluded all interviews. Although a final report is not yet complete, and consistent with the alleged victim’s position, I have been assured by police that the investigation found no basis for recommending criminal charges against Coach Shyiak or anyone else. I am particularly pleased that there was no evidence of intimidation of players and that the investigation confirmed that AD Cobb did in fact conduct a good faith review of the allegations at the time.”

For one, the “alleged victim’s statement” is that Dave Shyiak whacked him with a hockey stick during practice, behavior that, judging from the statement, UAA Chancellor Tom Case seems to believe is acceptable. Notice that there’s hardly a whiff of condemnation for that behavior. Case is, instead, “particularly pleased” that the university’s handpicked investigation team from the university system, found “no evidence of intimidation,” (contrary to what other witnesses have said), and that Cobb conducted a “good faith review of allegations at the time.”

Let me get this straight: the Chancellor of the University of Alaska believes that if a coach hits a kid, the coaches direct boss should not sanction the coach in any way.

As I said, more later. For now here’s the statement:

ANCHORAGE, AK, May 29, 2013 – UAA Chancellor Tom Case today asked Athletic Director Steve Cobb to step down from his post, effective immediately. As an officer of the University, Dr. Cobb serves at will on six months’ notice.

“Dr. Cobb’s legacy at UAA includes a number of remarkable achievements of which we are all proud,” said Chancellor Tom Case. “However, it has become clear in recent days that despite his efforts, Steve will not be able to bring all elements of the public together in support of UAA, and that criticism of Steve has become a distraction from the great work that UAA does every day. Though it’s necessary for us to move ahead under new leadership in Seawolf Athletics, Dr. Cobb’s outstanding contributions to our student-athletes, the community and to Seawolf Nation have been unprecedented.”

During Cobb’s tenure, UAA produced 210 All-American athletes, 121 Academic All-American athletes, 15 conference championships and nine NCAA West Region titles. This spring, UAA student-athletes boasted an impressive cumulative average GPA of 3.21. In August 2014, UAA will open the Alaska Airlines Center, a new 5,600-seat community and athletic venue. All of these successes could not have been possible without the Dr. Cobb’s leadership and vision.

Senior associate athletic director Tim McDiffett will serve as acting athletic director until an interim is named and a search committee is formed for Cobb’s replacement.

The supplemental search committee for the next hockey coach will continue its work and plans to announce finalists soon.

Regarding the investigation into a 2011 incident between then hockey coach Dave Shyiak and a student-athlete, Chancellor Case said: “The police have now concluded all interviews. Although a final report is not yet complete, and consistent with the alleged victim’s position, I have been assured by police that the investigation found no basis for recommending criminal charges against Coach Shyiak or anyone else. I am particularly pleased that there was no evidence of intimidation of players and that the investigation confirmed that AD Cobb did in fact conduct a good faith review of the allegations at the time.”

Chancellor Case also stated, “In hindsight, it may have been more appropriate to have simply referred the matter to police at the time. However, Dr. Cobb concluded that the allegation was overstated, as has proven to be the case. Nevertheless, UAA takes seriously the need for students and student-athletes to feel safe at UAA and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that all students and employees understand reporting procedures for safety-related issues.”