Unconstitutional & Unfit
WHAT-THE-HECK-A-THON – Part 1 We had not one but two marathon floor sessions this week. It started off in the House where mostly-minority Republican budget amendments were considered. Several passed with the assistance of majority Republicans, most notably Rep. Kelly Merrick (R-Eagle River) and House Speaker Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak). (Remember the majority coalition in the House is made up of Democrats, and a few independents and Republicans – the minority contains only Republicans who don’t want to work with Dems). The operating budget finally passed 23-16 with two minority members (who were in the majority coalition last year but defected this year) Bart LeBon (R-Fairbanks) and Steve Thompson (R-Fairbanks) crossing over to vote…
Governor’s Appointments – Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Dunleavy/Babcock administration The Governor’s appointments and how they went down THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN Well, that was a whopper. The governor’s appointees to commissioner positions and to boards and commissions were up for confirmation yesterday, and the joint floor session with members of the House and Senate took 7 hours and 48 minutes to wind up. At the end, all of the governor’s picks for Commissioner positions (even the most controversial) were passed with a majority of votes, but 6 appointees to the many boards and commissions in the state were rejected. And…
Governor/Koch Brothers’ Roadshow Ends. Alaska Shows Up.
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Dunleavy/Babcock Administration The End of the Road(show) That’s all, folks! The Dunleavy/Americans for Prosperity/Koch brothers’ roadshow hit the end of the road. Let’s just say it didn’t go quite as the sponsors or the governor had hoped. After a giant protest and a RECALL DUNLEAVY banner in Anchorage, and a schooling in civic engagement in Nome, the roadshow had its final stops in Fairbanks and Wasilla. There were notably zero stops in Southeast where the governor plans to gut the Marine Highway system. THE ROAD SHOW, FAIRBANKS – THE 400 Fairbanks was having…
The Big (Not So) Bad Wolf of Yellowstone
I came across this striking video of a talk by Guardian environmental writer George Monbiot. The argument for wolves in our public parks is quite simple. It’s makes them better, healthier and easier to maintain. Last week, every wolf in the Lost Creek pack was killed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. After learning that the 11 shot included two that were part of an ongoing government research project, I felt that it was even more important for people to see this. I know that the State of Alaska is trying to start a war on “federal overreach,” but…
Board of Game Sued Over Wolves
This just in from the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. The organization has filed a complaint in Anchorage Superior Court alleging that the Alaska Board of Game failed to comply with Alaska’s Open Meetings law when the Board rejected two separate petitions requesting that it re-establish a no-trapping wolf buffer zone adjacent to Denali National Park. The suit asks that the court void the Board’s decisions on the petitions. The complaint alleges that for each petition the Board “failed to hold an open, announced public meeting on the subject” which includes lack of public notice and the lack of any public meeting…
BREAKING: Bell Sued By Longtime Employee
BREAKING West Anchorage State Senate Candidate Bob Bell (R), who is running against incumbent Hollis French (D), is being sued by a former employee of his engineering firm F.R. Bell & Associates, Inc. Edward Biggs of Wasilla is seeking restitution for discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Alaska Workers’ Compansation Act; interference with his rights under the Family Medical Leave Act; disability discrimination; breach of contract, destruction of evidence, and wrongful retaliatory discharge. Bell was recently fined by the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) for campaign disclosure violations relating to F.R. Bell and Associates. The campaign revelations also…
Board of Game Denies Wolf Protection
The Board of Game has voted not to stop hunting and trapping of wolves that reside in the area surrounding the perimeter of Denali Park. These “golden wolves” are the most seen, most photographed and most valuable in the state. But the Board of Game in their infinite wisdom, voted unanimously to reject a petition filed by multiple wildlife groups. These groups were requesting the return of the “buffer zone” east of the park boundary where many wolves from the Granite pack would stray over park boundary lines into land where trapping and hunting were permitted. After the zone was…
Board of Game Trapped the Golden Goose
…and by “goose,” I mean wolf. For many years, I owned a gift shop in downtown Anchorage. There was nothing more fun than talking to sparkly-eyed tourists who’d just been on their bucket list adventure of a lifetime – a trip to Denali Park. I got to hear about the scenery, the back breaking 12-hour bus ride that they wouldn’t have missed for the world, and most of all, the wildlife – bears, moose, foxes, and most of all – wolves. Those who got to see a wolf, out in the wild, were changed. Sure they liked the bears and…
Bob Bell is Oh So Super Special
You know those politicians whom nobody can stand – the ones that think the rules apply to absolutely everyone? No exceptions. Except for them. I got one for you. Remember that scandal that had Director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, Corey Rossi, in the headlines for weeks? Rossi and his croneys from the Board of Game got busted flying into rural Alaska and pretending to subsistence hunt muskoxen for food. You see, there’s a really really expensive way of hunting muskoxen, and there’s a much less expensive way. One way, you have to enter a lottery for a permit…
Parnell Nominee to Board of Game Rejected by Legislature
Nominee to Alaska’s Board of Game, Lynn Keogh, was rejected Tuesday by the Legislature. He had the support of Governor Sean Parnell, and of the powerful Alaska Outdoor Council hunting lobby. He needed 31 votes to retain his appointment. He got 29. As reported earlier in the week, an email obtained by The Mudflats showed Republican Party Chair Randy Ruedrich forwarding an email from Rod Arno of the Alaska Outdoor Council threatening legislators with strong-arm tactics if they didn’t approve Keogh’s appointment to the Board of Game. From: Randy Ruedrich <[email protected]> Date: March 30, 2012 8:09:07 AM AKDT To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Subject: Anti’s go…