The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN.COM – With more Alaska women incarcerated than ever, some moved to men’s jail The number of women incarcerated in Alaska is at an all-time high, with the sole women’s prison in the state overcrowded enough that the Department of Corrections is now housing female inmates at Anchorage’s jail for men. DailyMiner.com – Seven bills and resolutions so far head to Juneau from Interior Interior lawmakers had their names on seven of the 63 bills or resolutions pre-filed in the run up to the start of the 29th Alaska Legislature. Many of the Interior delegation bills included retreads of legislation or…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN.com – ‘Nextdoor’ app aims to connect neighbors in Anchorage It started as a quest to protect a reindeer. About two years ago, somebody tried to break into Albert Whitehead’s home on 10th Avenue, near downtown Anchorage. They also tried to break into the pen of Whitehead’s well-known pet reindeer, Star. APRN.org – Special Investigator Planned To Look Into National Guard Allegation Attorney General Craig Richards is in the process of hiring a special investigator to look into the handling of sexual assault complaints within the Alaska National Guard. Grace Jang, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Walker, said Richards is…
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…
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…
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…
The Oath Keepers in Ferguson
Standing on top of a boarded up beauty shop, silhouetted men look out over the street. I can faintly see the outline of a rifle, an AR-15? M-16? I don’t know guns well enough to make a guess. I walk carefully over to the building, hands half raised. The weather in Ferguson has turned cold, and as I get closer I can see their breath in the night air. I’m trying to think of what to say. There’s lots of stories about these guys. People down the street are connecting them to the rumors that the KKK is in Ferguson. Some…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Desmogblog – Keystone XL Scandal: Obama Attorney’s Law Firm Represents TransCanada’s Pipeline in Alaska A DeSmogBlog investigation reveals that Robert Bauer, former White House Counsel and President Barack Obama’s personal attorney, works at the corporate law firm Perkins Coie LLP, which does legal work for TransCanada’s South Central LNG Project, formerly known as Alaska Gas Pipeline Project. NBCNews.com – Airplane Warning After Alaska Volcano Erupts, Spewing Ash The National Weather Service on Saturday warned airplanes to avoid airspace near an erupting Alaska volcano as it spewed ash 30,000 feet above sea level. Winds were blowing ash from Pavlof Volcano to…
John Oliver on The Salmon Cannon – ‘We Can Do Great Things’
John Oliver on his always excellent HBO show, Last Week Tonight discovered a thing called ‘the salmon cannon.’ For those not in the salmon transportation industry it’s a “series of tubes” if you will, created by Whooshh (yes, whooshh) that allows salmon to be propelled over or around a dam. The system is currently being used in the Northwest where communities are trying to repopulate the blocked rivers that once held plentiful salmon runs. John Oliver creates his own and decides to shoot salmon across the TV world with some amazing cameos by actors, TV News broadcasters and one famous animated Dad. Mmmmm, salmon.
Treadwell Signs Up for A Racially Targeted Voter Hit list
Ask any Alaskan what the Lt. Governor does and the best answer that one might say is ‘protecting the Seal of Alaska.’ That’s Sec. 44.09.015. for those keeping track at home. The other somewhat important item that the Lt. Governor does – is oversee elections. For some reason that’s not talked about too much. When Mead Treadwell ran unsuccessfully for Senate earlier this year it was briefly discussed that he should step down at Lt. Gov. as he would, if we won the nomination be overseeing his own election. But in the end he said he wouldn’t. Because, you know we can trust…