Bird of the Week – Semipalmated Plover
Alaska’s most numerous small plover, the Semi-palmated Plover comes to Alaska to breed. The “semiplamated” refers to the bird’s feet, which have webbing extending about halfway down the toes. A beautifully marked bird, the nest is simply a scratched bit of gravel, often on a gravel airport runway or a little-used road, but most often on a river bar. The male works hard to lead you away from the nest. Camera geek stuff: f5.7, 1/250, ISO 200 For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Court Sees Value in Protecting Bristol Bay
Before the Bristol Bay Forever Initiative was ever printed on statewide ballots, it had to defend a legal challenge from an individual named Richard Hughes, the Alaska Miners Association, and the Council of Alaska Producers. The Alaska Supreme Court issued an oral decision allowing that initiative to go to the ballot. Today, the Court issued a written order justifying its decision, Hughes v. Treadwell, Slip Op. No. 6981 (Alaska Supreme Court, Jan. 30, 2015). In order for a citizen ballot initiative to be valid in Alaska, it must avoid certain prohibited topics. Under Article XI, section 7, it may not engage in an appropriation…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Begich unveils consulting firm, will work in aviation and health care Former Alaska U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said Saturday that he’d founded a consulting firm and would work for a health care trade organization and an Alaska airline, Grant Aviation.Begich, a one-term Democrat who last year lost his re-election bid to Republican Dan Sullivan, said in a press release that he’d been hired by the airline and by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. Juneau Empire – Female AKNG boss is one of few in country When Gov. Bill Walker announced Friday that retired U.S. Army…
Bird of the Week – Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
There are distinct populations of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches; this is the largest, most colorful, the Bering Sea variety. The St. Paul variety is distinctly larger than the mainland variety, nearly Robin-sized. They are fairly common on St. Paul. And a treat to see under any circumstances. Camera geek stuff: f8, 1/160, ISO 1000 For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Click Bishop Takes a Page from Palin – Reads Dr. Seuss
Republican Senator Click Bishop, whose district covers land from Fairbanks to Valdez took a page from Sarah Palin and read a story by Dr. Seuss to the Alaska State Senate. Well, it wasn’t quite a Dr. Seuss original – more of a revision of Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham seen through the filter of government overreach. Unlike Half-Term Palin’s teleprompter read at CPAC last year (when she held the book as a prop), Click seems to have actually written the words down in a copy of Green Eggs and Ham. I’m hoping that he bought a new copy and didn’t ruin one of from his grandkids….
In the Heart of NYC – At the Rodeo
There’s a few things that I’ve always wanted to photograph – among them are, a Presidential Inaugural (check), a revolution (check), the aurora (check), and a rodeo (finally, check). There are others – like the Westminster Dog show and an actual active war zone that hopefully I’ll be covering in the years to come. The rodeo that I got to photograph was actually in NYC, part of the PBR tour. No – that’s not some hipster rodeo – but actually the Professional Bull Riders. It was an odd spectacle that took place at Madison Square Garden, you know… the place where the Knicks…
American Sniper – What We Criticize
I quickly grew tired of reading passionate reviews about American Sniper that contained a sentence midpoint which read, “I haven’t seen the movie.” And so it was that I decided to go see the movie myself. I’ll start by saying that the most common complaint I’ve heard – that “it glorifies war” – falls flat. The theater was full, and as several hundred people sat through the credits in silence, and got up in silence, and walked out of the theater in silence, I’m pretty sure they weren’t all fired up to get out there and go to war. My…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska The Daily Beast – The Keystone Bill’s Most Hilarious Amendment: Protecting Chicken, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) first amendment as a lawmaker sent a clear message to the federal government: Nobody messes with Chicken, Alaska. Nobody. Sullivan’s amendment to the Keystone XL Pipeline bill—expected to be voted as soon as Monday— bars officials from Environmental Protection Agency from carrying guns, a direct result of a “raid” conducted in a tiny gold mining town in 2013. A town called Chicken. ADN – Alaska health department investigates possible measles case The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is investigating a possible…
Palin for President? Oh please, oh please, oh please…
Like a bear being wakened from a long winter’s nap, so have I been roused from another project to return to these pages. Was it the warm southern breezes and the promise of a new spring that brought me out of my cave and into the sunlight? No, it was not. It was more like the sound of screeching aluminum right before it succumbs to metal fatigue… kind of a high-pitched squeal that hits you right where the base of the skull connects with the spine. I refer, of course, to Sarah Palin making an announcement. According to The Washington…