ACLU: Assembly Cannot End Testimony
Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska Foundation submitted a letter to Ernie Hall, Chairman of the Anchorage Assembly on Friday. Mittman cites the Municipal Charter, Assembly Practice, and the rights inherent in public fora to state that any Anchorage citizens still waiting to testify on Ordinance 37 at the end of Monday’s meeting, must have the right to do so, and the Assembly must schedule another meeting for further public testimony. Hall had stated that testimony would be cut off at 11:00pm on Monday, regardless of whether citizens remained in line wishing to testify. Earlier in the…
AO37 Testimony Still Going Strong
After 15 combined hours of testimony, the line of people waiting to address Assembly members stretched to the back of the room, and the auditorium was more than half full. It was 11:00 at night on a Wednesday. There is no doubt that the issue of Ordinance 37, which would radically alter the collective bargaining rights, and benefits of city workers, has hit Alaskans close to home. Longevity and performance bonuses, the right to strike, binding arbitration, and who exactly will decide the outcome of contract negotiations all hang in the balance. For the last week and a half, the…
The Running of the Reindeer! (PHOTOS)
For the past several years, I’ve shared pictures of the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. This year I thought I’d mix it up a little, and cover the event that happens just after the Iditarod starts. The last of the dogs and their mushers have headed down Anchorage’s historic 4th Avenue, and the snowy lane is ready for another kind of critter. Paws and wagging tails give way to hooves and antlers, as the Fur Rendezvous festival presents – The 6th Annual Running of the Reindeer! I’d always wanted to see this event, but never made it until today. It…
I love my city, and I love my job
“It’s starting to feel like a rock concert.” I agreed with the anonymous voice drifting over the mass of people, packed like sardines into the lobby of the Assembly chambers. Bright lights were on, TV cameras set up, and people were fanning themselves with folders, and papers. Everyone was here to testify on Ordinance 37, the mayor’s attempt to take advantage of the current makeup of the Assembly to push through a law that would restrict workers’ rights, and curtail collective bargaining for public unions. The turnout was impressive. I wasn’t sure if anyone had shown up to testify in…
Day of Resistance Rally (VIDEOS)
While the Anchorage Legislative Caucus was hearing citizens’ testimony at the library, another group was meeting at the Park Strip downtown. Coordinating with demonstrations across the nation, Anchorage held a “Day of Resistance” rally. There were about a hundred attendees, with numerous flags of the American, Alaskan, and Snake variety. I doubted I’d see many progressive Democrats here, so I thought to myself, “You’ve got the House. You’ve got the Senate. You’ve got the Governor… What the hell are you resisting? You should be embracing, I should be resisting!” But there is one thing they do not have. A small…
R’s with Cold Feet Avoid Constituents (PHOTOS)
During a day of passionate activism, and constituent engagement, it was interesting to note which elected officials showed up to listen, and which did not. At the Loussac Library in Anchorage, the troops were out in force. It was a rare moment. Because Alaska’s capital, Juneau, is not on the road system, it means to to look your elected officials in the eye during the legislative session requires a $400 plane ticket, and a day’s worth of travel time. Many are irked by this arrangement of geography and politics, so when Anchorage legislators come to town to hear testimony…
Socialists? Marxists? No – Republicans!
I want to be a Republican and I want a time machine. Oh, I’m not going all Lindsey Holmes on you; I need a time machine to find the Grand Old Party. I have to thank Mayor Dan Sullivan for starting me on this quest. A few weeks ago, at five minutes until closing time, the mayor announced a plan to roll back more than four decades of labor policy in Anchorage. It wasn’t the first shot in his war on working men and women in our town — but this was the nuclear option. I take it as a…
Frankenfish Redemption! (PHOTOS)
The good news is there’s actually an issue that Alaskans agree on – Red ones, Blue ones, and Tea-colored ones. And it is this: Tinkering with the genetic code of life, creating an animal that has never existed in nature, not telling people what it is, and selling it in direct competition with Alaska’s wild salmon is a really, really bad idea. We had the opportunity to send our comments to the FDA, to tell them not to allow this unidentified, unlabeled, genetically-engineered Atlantic-Pacific-salmon-eel-hybrid on our shelves, or in our bodies. But you forgot. The deadline came and went, and…
Tuesday Testimony for Ordinance 37?
Despite confusion from the Administration, Public Testimony on Anti-Worker Ordinance 37 is officially scheduled to start TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH sometime after 6:00 pm. This ordinance would freeze Muni employee pay and benefits forever, gut collective bargaining rights, and sets up “managed competition,” in which city employees would bid against private contractors for work. There has been conflicting information circulating about when public testimony is supposed to begin. Assembly Chair, Ernie Hall announced to a Working Group held last Friday between the Assembly and the unions that the testimony would begin on Wednesday, February 27th. Mayor Sullivan repeated that same announcement…
50,000 at Forward On Climate Rally in DC
This photo-essay was originally published in Truth-Out.org by Zach D Roberts, The Mudflats New York Bureau Chief A reported 50,000 people attended the 350/Sierra Club rally yesterday in Washington DC – making it the largest environmental march in decades. There were also dozens of smaller rallies across the country, including in Los Angeles, San Diego and St. Louis. The action in DC drew in people from around the country – Jim and Bonnie, full-time climate activists both took the train from Portland, Oregon. They held a sign that called on the President to be true to his own words “We…