The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN.com – Disbelieved Fairbanks Four alibis show how anti-Native bias taints justice Eileen Whitmer knew Marvin Roberts wasn’t guilty of murder in 1997, because when the Fairbanks Four were supposedly on a rampage killing teenager John Hartman, Roberts was sitting at a table with her at a wedding reception. CNET – Oculus creator Palmer Luckey flies to Alaska to deliver first Rift VR headset to customer You order the Next Big Tech Gadget and lo and behold, the creator of the gizmo materializes at your office to hand you the device. Sounds like something out of virtual reality, right? Nope….
The Bible, False Prophets and Pete Kelly
Happy Easter to all those who celebrate this day. Polls show Alaska is one of the least religious states in the nation. That’s probably true for organized religion but I suspect most Alaskans are pretty spiritual people. It’s hard not to stand at the top of a mountain, in the middle of the wilderness or at the base of a glacier in Alaska and not believe in some higher force. When Sunday morning rolls around and my partner says, “You wanna go to church?” I will be on the boat halibut fishing pretty soon. If I were to generalize, I’d…
Caucus Chaos in Anchorage
Even though it was eight years ago, the chaos of the 2008 Alaska Democratic Caucus was still fresh in my mind as I approached West High School this morning to attend the caucus that would take part in delivering Bernie Sanders a dominating victory in Alaska over Hillary Clinton. Early signs of trouble arose as I drove north past Romig Middle School, with lines of cars pouring in there to park as I headed naively north in the hopes of finding parking closer to the caucus site. We ended up parking about five blocks away from the school, arriving at…
Are We All In This Together?
An email from a reader this week asked me to remind Alaskans, and myself, to “appeal to the better angels of our nature.” I’ve been rolling around that phrase, “better angels,” for days. It was first used by Shakespeare in his play, “Othello,” later by Charles Dickens in his novel “Barnaby Ridge,” and still later by President Abraham Lincoln in his inaugural address. (His secretary of state, William Seward, added it to the draft. Yes, our Seward, the guy who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia.) With Alaska news outlets reporting daily on the fiscal crisis facing our state,…
Capitol Couches Could Be Killing You
I rarely like to print press releases but the title of this one was too good. Sent by Senator Wielechowski’s office through the Senate Democrats e-mail list the press release below discusses the pervasiveness of a certain hazardous chemical that might be in children’s foam products and Juneau’s Capitol buildings couches. – Zach Capitol Couches Could Be Killing You Sen. Wielechowski Announces Results of Testing of Couches in the Capitol Building for Toxic Chemicals Senate Bill 111, legislation proposed by Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and recently moved to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would limit the amount of a certain category of harmful…
We’ve got the Legislature we deserve
Want to know what’s really wrong with the Alaska Legislature? The voters who sent this crew into office. For a long time I have thought the citizen legislature is a really quaint and fine representation of who we are as everyday Alaskans. If that is the case, we are in more trouble than we think. I hope to heaven that our populus is in better shape than who we have representing us. This week there was a giant surprise to the very lawmakers who voted for that hideous oil legislation known as SB 21. Shock, I tell ya, shock! What?…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska NYTimes – Nowhere to Go Amid Alaska’s Melting Ice Alaska’s Chukchi Sea was only just starting to freeze when Nima Taradji arrived at the Inupiat village of Shishmaref last December. Situated on a narrow barrier island, Shishmaref was founded over 400 years ago as a seasonal fishing settlement. Cold weather and natural ice barriers used to protect the shore, but now the municipal village, home to some 600 residents, faces the immediate threat of inundation. ADN.com – State faces tough questions in case over Native and federal land control in Alaska The state of Alaska got a rough reception from federal…
Max Gruenberg (1943 -2016) – Memorial in Pictures
Alaska lost Rep. Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) last week. He was remembered by legislators on both sides of the aisle. Jeanne Devon (former editor of The Mudflats) took these excellent shots in her new job as Press Secretary for the Alaska Senate Democrats. You can watch the moving tribute to Representative Gruenberg at 360North.
The Comeback Kid: The Revolution Begins in Iowa
“9 months ago we came to this beautiful state, we had no money, no organization and were taking on the most powerful political organization in America.” As I write this, Iowa is waiting for the last delegate numbers on the Democratic caucus to come in. Huckabee and O’Malley have closed up shop and gone home, suspending their campaigns. Fiorina didn’t even show up for her own party. The Donald, is coming in second place with Rubio a close third – Cruz accepting his victory with a speech on killing Muslims. These are weird times to be alive and watching politics….
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska The Economist – Murre mystery – Thousands of seabirds are washing up dead on Alaska’s shores AT THE end of the highway, 200 miles from Anchorage, sits a small fishing and tourism town where, in early January, thousands of dead common murres, or guillemots, were washed ashore. These penguin-like seabirds littered the tidal wracks so densely that beach walkers had to be careful where they stepped. And beyond Homer, tens—probably hundreds—of thousands of these birds have drifted in dead along Alaska’s vast coastline or have been found far inland half-dead in the snow. Bloomberg – U.S. Bans Import of…