Alaska: Hand Out, Finger Up
The State of Alaska has one hand out palm up, and the other raised with one finger prominently extended — again. The upcoming “Federal Overreach Summit” to be held at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage seemed like a tea party function. I don’t have a yellow flag with a snake on it or a three-cornered hat, so I didn’t pay much mind. Until this week. An email found its way to me from a Department of Natural Resources employee. Karrie Improte signed an email announcing the “very interesting news; on page 1 there is an announcement on the Commission sponsored…
Bird of the Week – Horned Grebe
This is WC’s favorite grebe, and might be his favorite waterfowl species: In breeding plumage, they are nothing less than spectacular, especially the male. The bright plumes don’t last long, but while they do there’s nothing in Interior Alaska that compares. They are also doting parents, whose zebra-striped kids are pretty cute, too. Technical stuff: f6.3, 1/320, ISO200 More bird photos at Frozen Feather Images.
WE DID IT, ALASKA! Oil Giveaway on the Ballot.
Moments ago, the Alaska Division of Elections announced that they had received enough valid voter signatures to put the question of repealing SB21, the massive giveaway of state money to oil companies, on the primary ballot in August of 2014. After achieving his stated goal of a Republican majority in the State House and Senate (albeit using redistricting lines later found to be unconstitutional), Governor Sean Parnell got the vote he wanted in the 2013 legislative session. The vote in the Senate was made possible by two legislators who are literally employed by ConocoPhillips. Last month, Parnell signed into…
And Now, a Message from Gov. Sean Parnell
Governor Parnell and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, headed up by Daniel Sullivan, rejected a petition on Friday filed by local citizens seeking to protect wild Alaska salmon streams from coal strip mining in Upper Cook Inlet. And by Upper Cook Inlet, I mean directly across from Anchorage in the villages of Tyonek and Beluga. The massive Chuitna Coal project would need to drain wetlands, and completely remove productive salmon streams which are home to all five species of Alaskan salmon in a totally unprecedented act that would make all salmon streams in the state vulnerable to the bulldozer…
The One – A Love Story
Hopeless romanticism plagued my childhood. On a random day I’d wonder if that day was my true love’s birthday. At Christmas I’d stare at the snow outside and wonder what my true love had found under his tree. I was convinced that a “great love” would be mine. The one. The ONE. Part of it came from watching my parents and hearing my grandmother talk about her deceased husband. He was the grandfather I never met. She never took off her ring, because she was still married. That was a love for all time. But really, I fault Mary Epperson….
Think Globally, Eat Locally! Anchorage Farmers’ Market Tour
The Mudflats decided to take on an excruciatingly horrible assignment. As agonizing as it was, someone had to do it. We summoned up our inner strength and did a round of the farmers’ markets in Anchorage! And we somehow managed to live to tell the tale. The farmers’ market is a relatively new phenomenon here, and has been gaining in popularity over the last few years. Each of the three Saturday farmers’ markets has its own personality, so I went to all three. Spenard Farmers’ Market Location: Under the Windmill at Spenard, between 25th & 26th Avenue Website : www.spenardfarmersmarket.org …
Bird of the Week – American Kestrel
The American Kestrel is the smallest North American falcon. This handsome male was keeping an eye on the Georgeson Botanical Garden at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The male and female Kestrel are strikingly different, the grey wings and smaller size make this a male. WC worries that Kestrels are in decline, at least in Alaska. Technical stuff: f5.7, 1/800, ISO100 More bird photos at Frozen Feather Images.
“Second Battle for Statehood” A Mudflats Video Report
Senator Bill Wielechowski called the effort to repeal Gov. Sean Parnell’s massive giveaway to oil companies “the second battle for statehood.” Alaska navigated its first battle over fish, and now must again rise to assert primacy over the rights to its resources. This time, it’s Alaska’s oil and gas wealth at stake. The Mudflats was there on the historic day that more than 50,000 signatures were submitted to put the repeal on the ballot. Here’s our report.