Oyster Roundup – Shame Fail, Salmon Fail & More
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Some news nibbles. Eat ’em raw. Pro-Salmon Petition Denied The Commissioner of Fish & Game has rejected a petition signed by more than 6,000 Alaskans asking for a law that would prohibit coal mining activities that destroy salmon streams, because right now, that doesn’t exist. Commissioner Cora Campbell says that her department could already do that, if they felt like it. In Upper Cook Inlet, PacRim Coal is currently submitting permit applications that would create the state’s largest coal strip mine. “PacRim’s plan would set a historic…
ACLU Investigates Censorship in Juneau
Last week, on two consecutive days, an assortment of government vans from at least two different entities, parked in front of the Capitol building in Juneau, blocking protesters who had come with signs to demonstrate. The protesters had been clearly visible from certain offices in the Capitol. Joe Miller’s blog describes the situation as reported by en eyewitness: “The trucks were parked across the street from the capital building, in the “active loading and unloading zone” and in the road congesting traffic, obviously in answer to a command to block the protesters. There were witnesses at the protest who heard…
Rep. Could Cash in from Bridge
A legislative audit recently revealed that Alaskans could be on the hook for up to $1.4 billion dollars as a result of insufficient projected toll revenue from the Knik Arm Bridge (aka KABATA, aka The Bridge from Hell). Not only that, but a land ownership analysis found that at least one state Representative in Juneau could stand to cash in from road construction to the area. The family of Representative Lynn Gattis (R-Wasilla) just happens to own land adjacent to the Knik Arm Bridge approach in the Mat-Su Borough, and would see her land become much more valuable as a result of the…
Tongue Depresser in Juneau
Republican fart jokes on the House floor? No prob. But let a Democrat show a little tongue, and the capital screeches to a halt. A crucially important presser was held in the Capitol yesterday. Sure there are bills regarding transportation, energy, oil taxes, finance, education, uteruses… But the Interior Alaska Delegation of the House had some super serious stuff that needed to be dealt with. In the Speaker’s Chambers, belonging at the moment to Mike Chenault, members of the press were gathered – statewide newspapers, TV stations, journals, the Associated Press – all to hear that Rep. Scott Kawasaki stuck…
Rep. Lindsay Holmes Switches Parties
Who’s that in the portrait you ask? Well, let me get my glasses. It’s either Benedict Arnold or State Rep. Lindsey Holmes – it’s kind of hard to tell. Lindsey Holmes, you see, was just elected in November in a strong Democratic district (one of the few in Alaska). She was elected as a Democrat, by mostly Democrats, to BE a Democrat. But she decided that after she’d begged for money from Democrats, denied another actual Democrat (whose color doesn’t run) a chance at the seat, and got ELECTED as a Democrat… that she’d just rather be a Republican. Yes,…
Yes, House Majority, There is an Internet
By Michelle Scannell After giving their southwest Anchorage constituents less than a single day’s notice , some members of the House Majority abandoned their posts in Juneau for a weekend in Anchorage, calling a last-second town hall meeting Saturday afternoon with constituents as their excuse. I called around to some of my supporters, and about ten of us and my entire family went over to hear what Reps Johnson and Costello had to say for themselves. The answer? Not much. There were no presentations or slide shows for constituents. There were brief discussions about roads, the moose relocation project, and HB 110. And then…