The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Fairbanks Newsminer – Alaska governor issues order to halt 6 megaprojects Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has ordered a halt to all non-obligated state spending on six major projects: Ambler Road, Juneau Access Road, Susitna-Watana Dam, Kodiak Launch Complex, Knik Arm Crossing and Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline Project. ADN – Video: Anchorage chef strives to be an example for the disenfranchised Aaron Dollison, 49, grew up in Anchorage and learned to cook from his mother. He went on to cook at Susitna Foods & Spirits and Denny’s, but he learned how to cook in bulk in prison. Juneau Empire – Hunters find…
On the Campaign Trail: East Coast Edition
In October and November of 2014 I was on assignment for Al Jazeera America, working with Greg Palast. We were on the trail of the 2016 vote theft. If you haven’t read it by now please check out our Sidney Award winning article on Kris Kobach’s voter registration purge program, Crosscheck and the followup on activists responses. Along the way I discovered that Alaska was in on the scheme and reported the story for TheMudflats – read it here. Along the way we happened across another story, the 2014 election. Here’s some photos and video from the Monday and Tuesday of the…
Bird of the Week – Hoary Redpoll
Around the holidays, WC likes to post a bird that is at least kind of Christmasy. The challenge is that Alaska just doesn’t have that many Christmasy birds, and WC is starting to have to reach a bit. Here’s a Hoary Redpoll. A paler version of its more ubiquitous Common Redpoll cousin, the Hoary seems to prefer more northerly habitat. On a day when WC might have 100 Common Redpolls at this feeders, there might be just one or two Hoarys. There’s some excitement about Hoary Redpolls in ornithological circles; bird researchers haven’t figured out their taxonomy. For WC, it’s…
Video: Dealing With Your Relatives
This week is all about spending time with family, sharing gifts and unfortunately talking to your relatives. That’s why the crew at Lady Parts Justice created this video filled some of the things that the right wing of your family might gas on about. (do people still say ‘gas on’?) Luckily – we have the internet – so you don’t need to spend the holidays alone – please share your holiday horror stories on twitter and instagram with the hashtag #LPJHolidayHell and follow @LadyPJustice on twitter.
Alaska to NY in About 10 Minutes with a GoPro
Earlier this year, during the infamous ‘Polar Vortex,’ I decided it would be a completely reasonable idea to drive the Alaska Highway. Starting in Alaska I drove to Dawson Creek, British Columbia (the end of the Alaska Highway), and then on through Canada and the Midwest to Upstate New York. It took me about 10 days. Thanks to a GoPro attached to the windshield of my car now you can watch the trip in a little over 10 minutes. I’ll be posting some photos from the trip over the next couple of days throughout The Mudflats end of the year…
Bird of the Week – Parakeet Auklet
Yes, there are a lot of Alcids. Here’s another one, the Parakeet Auklet. The white line behind the eye is a plume, a very long, narrow white feather, that appears in breeding season. Like most birds, the shape of the bill tells you a lot about the species’ preferred food. The Parakeet’s bill is adapted to gelatinous prey like small jelly fish. Mated pairs have a charming, bill-tapping routine when they greet each other. Camera geek stuff: f16, 1/250 ISO1000 For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Clooney’s Wife: Fascinating, but not for that reason
Barbara Walters chose Amal Ramzi as one of her ‘most fascinating people’ — ABC decides it’s for marrying George. I want to punch the writer of this piece in the face right now. Yeah, I know that’s a bit aggressive, but I’m tired of this shit. Here’s how some nameless writer decided to open a short article about Amal Ramzi being named Barbara Walters ‘Most fascinating person of the year.’ [You can read the article here, if you want to hate yourself] “Amal managed to do the seemingly undoable, locking down a man thought to be one of the world’s most…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Jail contractor calls for end to free local phone calls In the jailhouse phone business, the usual practice in the United States has been for the company that provides telephones behind bars to pay a “commission” to the government agency that allows it to serve a captive customer base. Fairbanks Daily Miner – Lockheed Martin wins Alaska spaceport contract The state-owned space agency on Friday named Lockheed Martin the winner of a bidding process to reconfigure a launch pad to accommodate larger rockets than what the Kodiak Launch Complex can currently handle. Juneau Empire – South Korean vessel heads to…
UPDATE – Repub ‘Dr.No’ Stops Veteran Suicide Prevention Act
Updated at 9:30pm est Dr. No has done it. Outgoing Senator Tom Coburn has single handedly managed to prevent the passage of the Clay Hunt SAV Act this Congressional session. IAVA’s Paul Rieckhoff posted this to facebook earlier this evening. Post by Paul Rieckhoff. In a rare bi-partisan show of support, both Senators Murkowski and Begich co-signed a bill that looks to provide 22 million dollars in funding for suicide prevention among veterans. The bill is called the Clay Hunt SAV Act, and if you watched Rachael Maddow the other night [see above] you’d know that a lone Senator is…
Bird of the Week – Horned Puffin
Last week’s bird, the Tufted Puffin, has a close cousin that’s almost as colorful, Alaska’s other puffin, the Horned Puffin. The “horns” aren’t really horns; they are fleshy knobs that appear in breeding season. For a bird that is relatively common, they are poorly studied. but are believed to be the most pelagic of Alcids, spending most of their lives far out in the ocean, coming ashore only to breed, and then only after several years. Camera geek stuff: f18, 1/500 ISO1000 For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.