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),…
Muni Played Favorites With Ballots (*Update*)
In last week’s installment of the Municipality of Anchorage’s continuing 2012 Election debacle, new Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones made a disturbing find while attempting to (quite literally) clean up the old Municipal Clerk’s mess…141 unaccounted-for ballots. This has led the trusty Election Commission to meet this coming Thursday and review the ballots they missed the first two times around. While all of that has been going on, members of our Recount Observation Team have continued to research and slowly pursue the auditing process the Municipality has refused to provide. …and it’s been free of charge… The latest bombshell was discovered…
The Wrath of Captain Zero
Well, somebody’s still mad. After he didn’t get his way during the legislative session, he broke his crayons and went home. After Governor Sean Parnell’s embarrassingly botched special session that cost Alaskans upwards of $30,000 a day, in which his woefully underprepared administration tried in vain to get the Alaska Senate to green light his second $2 billion dollar a year, no-strings-attached, prezzie to the oil companies, he’s now got another plan. Revenge. It didn’t register with the governor that Alaskans actually didn’t like his oil tax plan. They didn’t like the idea of moving $10 billion over the next…
Steve Aufrecht’s Interview with Guadalupe Marroquin, Former Anchorage Election Chief
by Linda Kellen Biegel Steve Aufrecht’s blog “What Do I Know” is an often in-depth look at issues dealing with politics, cooking, travel and snippets from everyday life. Yesterday, Steve came up with quite the “get” — he’s the first one who was able to publish an interview with Guadalupe “Lupe” Marroquin, former Deputy Clerk in Charge of Elections for the Municipality. (One of the first things an independent investigator should “investigate” is why the Muni Clerk’s Office never hired a replacement after Lupe left. Instead, the “additional duties” were given to Deputy Clerk Jaqueline Duke, even though there is…
Minnery Misrepresents One Anchorage Fundraising
by Mel Green (Originally posted at Bent Alaska) Nearly 1,100 Alaskans — about 75% of contributors — have so far donated to One Anchorage, a March 7 press release announced. But it didn’t take long for anti-LGBT leader Jim Minnery to claim that “Outside Gay Rights Funds Bankroll Prop. 5 Supporters,” completely ignoring One Anchorage’s numerous in-state contributors. Minnery, president of the antigay/antitrans Alaska Family Council and chair of its associated 501(c)(4) advocacy organization Alaska Family Action, is also chair of the anti-Proposition 5 group “Protect Your Rights — Vote No on 5.” Proposition 5, the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative,…
‘Recess’ won’t set GOP-led House back
by Shannyn Moore ADN comment I remember sitting inside during recess in fourth grade. Mrs. Henwood, my favorite teacher ever, was tough as nails. Her sparkly glasses and no-nonsense teaching made me adore and fear her at the same time. My times-tables were giving me fits. “You don’t come to school for recess, Shannyn, you’re here to get your work done.” I learned more than my times-tables from her. Buckle down, get it done, then you play. When I’d passed all my timed tests she gave me a bag of jelly beans. I don’t like jelly beans, but it was…
Open Thread – Crude Awakening Book Salon TODAY!
Join me and author Amanda Coyne of Alaska Dispatch today at firedoglake.com for a book salon featuring the new release Crude Awakening – Money, Mavericks and Mayhem in Alaska by Coyne and co-author Tony Hopfinger. Details below. Hope to see you there! [Cross-posted from Alaska Dispatch] Jeanne Devon, AKA AK Muckraker, who runs the popular Alaska-based website The Mudflats, is hosting an online discussion Sunday, Nov. 13, of “Crude Awakening: Money, Mavericks and Mayhem in Alaska.” The discussion will be held at Firedoglake Book Salon. “Crude Awakening” was penned by Alaska Dispatch founders Amanda Coyne and Tony Hopfinger. Coyne will…
Murkowski Votes Against Jobs, Deficit Reduction, Veterans, Teachers, and Taxing Millionaires. (Rally!)
The Constitution. We’ve seen it wrapped around buses, misspelled on Tea Party signs, hailed and praised by the “back to basics” Republicans who tell us that if we just went back to the wisdom of the founding fathers, life would be good again. It’s been waved like the flag, held up like holy writ, and revered as the greatest document ever written. Yes, the right loves them some Constitution – unless of course it means that they don’t get their way. It’s kind of like the Bible. Just don’t pay attention to all that healing the sick, and taking…