Nick Moe Takes On Ernie Hall
Candidate Nick Moe has launched an aggressive last-minute campaign against Anchorage Assemblyman Ernie Hall, whom many feel has betrayed his constituents, the city’s workforce including police and firefighters, and hundreds of Anchorage residents he cut off from testifying on the Mayor’s latest Ordinance. The minute the deadline to be on the ballot had passed, and Ernie Hall found out he was running without opposition in the April election for Anchorage Assembly he and Jennifer Johnston (also running unopposed) sponsored the anti-labor Ordinance 37. The Ordinance was designed to gut the collective bargaining rights of city workers, and introduce “managed competition.”…
Begich to Reintroduce Safe Villages Act
In the wake of revelations about specific amendments added by Sen. Lisa Murkowski to the Violence Against Women Act, passed by Congress last week, Senator Mark Begich will seek to reintroduce a relevant bill. His legislation would remove inequities that leave Alaska Native women vulnerable and unable to pursue justice for domestic violence and sexual assault cases on the same measure as tribal women in the Lower 48 states, who can legally address these issues in tribal court when the offender is non-Native. Natalie Landreth, an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund explains: “We are tired of the separate…
Murkowski Excludes Native Women from Protection
President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act this week. Finally, something bipartisan passed! American women are better protected from coast to coast — but all the way up north? Left out in the cold. First, you should know a few facts. Native American and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other American women. The vastness of Alaska works against victims here. We have about 140 villages with no state law enforcement. Gov. Sean Parnell believes he can get some help to them in the next 10 years. In the meantime,…
Alaskans Gone Wild – Say No to Frankenfish!
(Insert Jaws theme here) The Frankenfish is coming! Unless we all speak up… The push to introduce a genetically-modified, farmed Atlantic-Pacific-Salmon-Eel hybrid into the marketplace continues, but we have time to stop it. Alaska’s entire congressional delegation is all on our side on this one, so no excuse to call it a “partisan political issue.” This is about Alaska’s greatest sustainable treasure, our wild and wonderful salmon. The FDA has already issued a draft Environmental Assessment with a finding that genetically modified Atlantic salmon caused no significant environmental impact. Really? Sorry, FDA. Alaskans are smarter than that. We know that contamination…
Senate 2014 – Begich v. Palin?!
Here’s a little bright spot for Alaska Democrats. I know, right? How often to you hear THAT? Harper Polling, a Republican-leaning outfit, has done a survey in Alaska of 1157 likely voters. They asked about hypothetical match-ups in the 2014 senate race, in which giddy Republicans are lining up to take on freshman Democratic Senator Mark Begich. The poll was taken on January 29 – 30. After Begich’s narrow win in 2008 over Senator Ted Stevens, who at the time was a 7-time convicted felon, the right has had their knickers in a twist over the “illegitimacy” of Begich’s win….
Oyster Roundup! Mush, Mountains & Miscreants
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! We’ve got irons in the fire, and as one of our editors put it, “enough on our plates to feed a third world country.” So enjoy a platter of newsy sliders to tide you over until we get back into full swing this weekend. Mush and Track The Yukon Quest 1,000 mile international sled dog race starts on Saturday in Whitehorse, Yukon. It’s a tough field this year, and fans are gearing up for what should be an exciting competition. It will be easier to track…
Guess Who Came to the Office?
Sorry. Didn’t mean to alarm you. No, this is not a clever photoshop job. “You never know who will stop by the office,” was the status update accompanying this photo on Senator Mark Begich’s Facebook page. It seems that former Republican nominee for US Senate Joe Miller (right), and his wife Kathleen happened to be in DC, and stopped by the Senator’s office. It wasn’t to discuss a potential contest between the two for Senate in 2014, but something of a more personal nature. The Millers’ son Jacob was nominated to the US Military Academy at West Point. Mr. Miller…
Lt. Gov’s Discount Fare
If you could be any animal, what would it be? There are completely defensible answers ranging from a pampered house cat, to a wild mustang, to a dolphin or a raven. But there is only one answer to this: If you could be any restaurant in Alaska, what would it be? The answer to THAT, my friend, is Denny’s in Fairbanks. Any other answer is just plain wrong. You may remember that particular venue as the location for the infamous “Denny’s trial” of Schaeffer Cox fame – not to be confused with the Open Carry Day at Carl’s Junior. Schaeffer…
GOP Civil War: State Edition
The most fascinating political fight in the land isn’t between Republicans and Democrats, but within the Republican Party. And it’s full-on war. The RINOs are being exposed for what they are: big government, corporate welfare hypocrites who don’t support the party platform and who will compromise any moral code to accomplish their aims. Thus fumed the GOP’s 2010 (and possible 2014) US Senate candidate Joe Miller on his blog recently. You can skip the following section if you’re from Alaska. ********************************************************************************************************* Forthwith, the Lower 48 Cliff’s Notes on Joe Miller’s view of the Republican Party. His wing of the party…
Shell: The Reckoning
Like any large corporation these days, Shell is making use of social media to spin its damage control about the Kulluk grounding. Whether the company’s aren’t-we-swell message is getting traction is open to debate. More important than getting an earful on its Facebook page is the legal/legislative reckoning the company is about to face. US Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), the United States Coast Guard, the Department of the Interior, and the US House of Representatives are all launching investigations into the matter. Phil Munger over at Progressive Alaska has a nice overview of each of these inquiries. Given the PR…