Meet Your Republican Candidates, & Bring the Popcorn
It’s hard to know where to begin these days, but let’s start with something nasty that’s brewing which will directly affect the policy positions of Republican candidates, and tells us exactly what to expect if Republicans manage to take back the majority in the State House this November. HINT: It’s going to look a lot like the horrific beginning of last session only there won’t be anyone to stop it. WHAT AR THEY DUIN? A strained pun is about the best you can get out of the absolute fiscal disaster the Republican Party is cooking up. Remember when Tuckerman Babcock,…
We found Dallas Seavey! Welcome to the 2019 Finnmarksløpet!
The Finnmarksløpet dog sled race is the longest and northernmost dog sled race in Europe. It takes place in the Finnmark, the northernmost region of Norway, and traverses birch forest, river valleys, and northern fjords from Alta to the Russian border and back. The Finnmarksløpet was established in 1981 by the Alta Trekkhundklubb (Dog Sledding Association of Alta) as a 226 km (140 mile) long race. It was later extended to 1,000 km (621 miles) in 1993, and then to its current distance of 1,200 km (746 miles). In addition to the 1,200 km-long race, there is a 500 km…
The Simple Truth Behind Ballot Initiative No. 1
There is a lot of money being spent to get Alaskans to “Vote No” on Ballot Measure No. 1, with those opponents painting pictures of certain doom for Alaska’s economy. But what those opponents don’t say speaks volumes as to their motivations. Unfortunately, the messaging about what Ballot Measure No. 1 truly does is rather scattered, so let’s bring it all together. First, let’s start with a little history. One of the principal reasons for becoming a state, which was discussed over and over again at the Alaska Constitutional Convention in Fairbanks in November 1955, was the mismanagement of our…
EPA Should Stand its Ground and Protect the World’s Greatest Salmon Runs
Whenever I give presentations outside of Alaska, I always ask the audience, “How many of you like salmon?” Most hands in the room go up. Then I ask, “How many of you have heard of Copper River Reds?” Many of the hands still remain up. But when I ask, “How many of you have heard of Bristol Bay salmon?” almost all hands go down. And then I tell them the odds are 2:1 that they have eaten some. Nearly half of the commercially-caught Sockeye salmon in the world comes from the Bristol Bay region. The science explaining why Bristol Bay is the…
An Aurora Named Steve
I first saw and photographed this phenomenon on August 21, 2014, while shooting the aurora borealis in Portage Valley of the Chugach National Forest with friend and fellow photographer CJ Kale of Lava Light Galleries in Hawaii. The nature of the phenomenon was notably different compared to the typical aurora borealis. It stood straight up from the horizon with a slight bend like a bow, and it pretty much did not move. It had a pale pink hue, and it arced from the west to the east, forming a curved line across the sky. The times I have seen and…
ATL Chats w/ Alaskan Photog Carl Johnson
This week we try something different. This week we’re going to spend out time interviewing just on panelists. This will be the beginning of a new interview series we’re trying out. For the first interview episode we talk to Alaskan nature photographer Carl Johnson. He’s been working on a long term book project Where Water Is Gold about the area would be effected by the creation of the Pebble Mine. A mine that would wipe out a shocking percentage of the worlds pacific salmon. That’s the kind of salmon that you actually want to eat. You can check out Carl’s stunning aurora photos and all his…
Carl Johnson’s “Where Water is Gold” Book Launch Party
January 14th, 2017 – 6pm to 9:30pm – Taproot Book launch party for “Where Water is Gold: Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.” Presentations by Vic Fischer, Alaska Constitutional Convention Delegate, commercial fishermen, contributing writers, and photographer Carl Johnson. [RSVP on Facebook] Join us for stories, photos, and video from people like commercial fishermen and homesteaders and enjoy a glimpse into this amazing region. Partake in some salmon from Bristol Bay! Partners in this event include the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and the National Parks Conservation Association. Proceeds from the event will go toward these organization’s efforts to protect the…
Around The Lens with Photographers Carl Johnson and Andrew Renneisen
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44561/Around%20the%20Lens%20-%20Episode%2026.mp3 This week’s panelists were Carl Johnson and Andrew Renneisen. We discussed the French photojournalist who’s facing legal trouble due to the recent shooting in Paris, which tutorial we like and 256gb micro sd cards. Our picks this week included The Making of 40 Photographs, the B&H Photography Podcast, the TASCAM DR-60 Mark II and how to excel as an artist. Watch the show here. Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or YouTube, or via our direct feed, follow us on Twitter and and like us on Facebook.
Hillary Is Off Target To Attack Bernie On Guns
Carl Johnson has a juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School and practiced law in Alaska for 10 years Now that the race is tightening, Hillary Clinton is increasing her attacks on Bernie Sanders regarding his record on gun control. Starting back in October and as recently as this week, she notes how she and President Obama while in the Senate voted against a bill that would grant blanket immunity to gun manufacturers from law suits. In contrast, she claims, Bernie Sanders voted in favor of the bill. Simply put, Hillary Clinton is not only lying but, as…
Time for Another Alaskan Debunking
It’s in all-to-common phenomenon to see articles written about Alaska by people who are not from here. Or, at least, with this one in particular I have to assume the author is not from here because she got so many things wrong. The piece I am referring to was published in a real estate blog called “Movoto,” and claimed to detail “22 Things You Need To Know About Anchorage Before You Move There.” Setting aside the grammatically challenged approach to capitalizing every word in the headline, as I read the piece, I started seeing some errors. 1. “To State the…