Foreign Interests Attack Alaska’s Voice
Here it comes. We knew it would happen. Because it always does. This time, the Alaska citizens’ initiative that’s in the cross-hairs of multinational corporations is the August 28th Ballot Prop #2, which would bring back Alaskans’ ability to have input into decisions made regarding management of our coastline. Local input. Kind of a no-brainer. Coastal Zone management worked fine for decades, but recently the Parnell administration and big moneyed interests let it go… Now, we have no say, even though we have more coastline than the rest of the nation combined. It’s all up to the feds. Makes no…
Wasilla Candidate “Can’t Handle the Truth.”
Remember they guy from the other day who’s running for State House in Wasilla? The guy who said, “We are spending millions and millions of dollars educating children that have a hard time making their wheelchair move and, I’m sorry, but you’ve got to say, ‘no’ somewhere. We need to educate our children, but there are certain individuals that are just not going to benefit from an education.” Remember that guy? Well, apparently House Republican candidate Mark Ewing didn’t like the fact that nobody cared for what he said after they read about it in The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, and other…
Pebble Mine and History
Butte, Montana has a couple of distinguishing claims to fame; one controversial, the other, not so much. What is controversial is that Butte boasts to being the headwaters of the Columbia River. The Canadians and Wikipedia would sharply disagree, but state and federal government and non-profit websites point to Silver Bow Creek in Butte as the headwaters to the Clark Fork River, a “major headwaters stream” of the Columbia River. Anyone who knows rivers knows that if you start with forks, you end up with the main body of the river sometime downhill. If you trace the Columbia River upstream from the Pacific Coast, you will…
Congress Bankrupts Postal Service
~Fritz Creek Post Office, about 10 miles from downtown Homer, Alaska Every town and burg has some form of post office. In small towns, it’s often where folks see announcements for memorial services or spaghetti feed fundraisers. The flags are always flying, no matter how small the post office. I remember one time the Homer post office had to call the Harris family because the horned toads their grandpa mailed them from Texas were loose. Boxes of baby chicks were a sign of spring. I remember the combination to our P.O. box in the 99556 office: 3-1-6. (I remembered it…
Wasilla Candidate Says Some Children Not Worth Educating
There were some interesting revelations in a debate last week at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce candidates forum. The debate participants were the two Republicans who will square off in the August 28 primary for State House – Lynn Gattis and Mark Ewing. Democratic candidate Blake Merrifield, the only Democrat in the race, was not invited to this event. There seemed to be few surprises – both are in favor of the Knik Arm Bridge, both are in favor of Pebble Mine, but soon Mr. Ewing distinguished himself. After talking about cutting the operating budget, he cited education as…
(Updated) Costello’s Residency in Question
In a joint, bipartisan press conference called this morning, challengers in House District 20, raised questions about the residency of incumbent Repubican Mia Costello. Michelle Scannell (D) and Tamara Von Gemmingen (R) said they both came to the independent conclusion, as they canvassed the neighborhood, that Costello did not in fact live in the house she claimed as her residence in the district when she filed for reelection. ~Mia Costello’s alleged residence on Yukon Drive in District 20 So, where is she? Her two challengers say her car is frequently spotted at another residence she owns at 2100 Esquire, which…
Good Riddance Exxon Valdez
Some time this week, the ship formerly known as the Exxon Valdez (now the Oriental Nicety) will come to a controversial end. We would expect nothing less of the vessel, now known as the Oriental Nicety, that spilled in excess of 11 million gallons of oil into the formerly pristine waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Its final resting place? As reported by Bloomberg News: …an oil-stained beach in Alang, India, where it’ll be recycled in the world’s largest and most notorious shipbreaking yard. The ship was sold for $16 million, and will be dismantled piece by piece. The ship is more than 70%…
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),…
Kenai River Bear Cub Rescue!
Three Soldotna fishermen on the Kenai River had an unexpected heart-pounding adventure last weekend that didn’t involve fish. Mike Polocz of Soldotna (owner of Alaska’s H2O Pros), his son Dustin, and Charles Mettile came upon a bear cub struggling in the river, exhausted and almost drowned. The mother bear was on land nearby, but the three fishermen decided they couldn’t just watch the little guy drown, so they set to work to try to push the cub out of the eddy in which it was trapped, and safely to the waiting paws of mother bear. Much of the event was…
Palin Proves Cheney’s “Mistake” Comment
Sarah Palin has responded to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s assertion that John McCain made a “mistake” by selecting her as his running mate in 2012. In an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Palin had this to say, thereby validating Mr. Cheney’s point, and proving the veracity of that old adage – “Better to be silent and thought a “mistake” than to speak and remove all doubt.” …or something like that. “Well, seeing’s how Dick — excuse me, Vice President uh Cheney — never misfires, (enormous eye roll) then evidently he’s quite convinced that what he had uh evidently read…