Recount Team Meets with the Anchorage Assembly
(Tonight at the Anchorage Assembly Meeting, the Members will hear and vote upon a Resolution (9.B.7), submitted by Assemblywoman Gray-Jackson and co-sponsored by Harriet Drummond and Patrick Flynn, that is intended to refund the $1,500.00 the Recount Application Group submitted to the Municipality. The money was required by Title 28 in order to request and generate the hand count of 15 precincts. The Resolution was a result of the report and meeting described in the post below. It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, votes against it.) The Election Board Counts Precinct 840, Service High On Friday, June…
Anchorage Moves to Certify, but There is Still Time
By Shannyn Moore Remember standardized testing when you were a kid? You’d fill in those ovals with that Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 until your eyes bugged out. Schools provided “smart snacks” of carrots and apples on testing days. Now imagine if they let you grade the tests. I’m sure you’re good, honest folks, but what a horrible position to put you in. “Oh, I knew this answer, I just forgot.” That’s basically what Anchorage Assembly chair Ernie Hall and the “election commission” appointed by Mayor Dan Sullivan, did this week. They graded their own performance on a debacle of…
BREAKING: Document Reveals Sullivan Misrepresented Escalating Port Cost
The Mudflats has obtained documents showing that Mayor Dan Sullivan is grossly misrepresenting the costs of completing the first phase of the controversial Port of Anchorage Expansion Project. Anyone who has been following the costs associated with the project can hardly help but liken it to that old tongue-in-cheek definition of a boat – a hole in the water into which you pour money. The cost of the increasingly controversial project has more than tripled since 2005 estimates. A draft of the Budgetary Cost Estimate Report for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion Project, jointly prepared by the U.S. Department of…
Early Voting Starts Today, as Juneau Gets ‘Sullied.’
In Anchorage, home to more than half of Alaska’s sparse population, it’s a big deal when legislators come to town. No matter how much an Anchorageite loves Juneau, there is still a little peevishness that our capital city isn’t accessible by road, and takes a $500 plane ticket to reach. We cherish those opportunities (like the special session that happened in Anchorage a couple years ago) when we can pull our boots on, and get involved in the public process right in our own back yard. And so, hundreds packed the Assembly chambers at the Loussac Library a couple…
The War on Alaska’s Public Schools — The Basic Outline
by Linda Kellen Biegel Last school year, I wrote a post about the proposed cuts in the Anchorage School District budget and how they would affect a family of a middle school student. It was then I became aware of the outrageous fees Mayor Dan Sullivan was charging the school district–for example: 100% of the salaries and benefits of those Anchorage Police–called Resource Officers–who only service the School District about 70% of the time. I tried to show how they were taking millions of dollars away from our kids. (Note: As of this week, these fees have not changed.) Sadly,…
Back to the Sidewalk — Assemblyman Traini will introduce Repeal on Tuesday
(photo courtesy of Alaska Commons)By Linda Kellen Biegel A few days ago, Jeanne recounted the tale of Anchorage City Attorney, Dennis Wheeler and his role in the Mayor’s no-lying down/no-sitting sidewalk Ordinance. If you remember, Municipal Attorney Wheeler lied used “a poor choice of words” when he claimed the ordinance had been “run by” the Alaska ACLU to determine whether it was vulnerable to lawsuit. (As it turns out, “run by” is only a poor choice of words when it actually means “never spoke to the ACLU about it once.” It would only be an outright lie if…ummm when…uhhh…errr…well…back to our story…) Assemblyman…
City Attorney Lies to Assembly Regarding Sidewalk Ordinance (Update – Repeal)
Mayor Dan Sullivan is no stranger to controversy. Whether it’s creating a paid position for his personal “party planner,” cashing an illegitimate $193,000 check for a non-existent life insurance policy, pink slipping employees Christmas week, collecting $12,000 for being “mayor elect” before he actually started doing his job, vetoing an ordinance that would allow the LGBT community equal rights in housing and employment, disbanding vital firefighting services and axing public safety positions… I could go on. One controversy that’s been brewing since last summer has involved an ordinance that Mayor Sullivan has ushered through the Assembly. This particular ordinance is…
Twin Sons, Newt Gingrich & Dan Sullivan (New Sidewalk Ordinance–Public Testimony TONIGHT!)
by Linda Kellen Biegel (Homeless Anchorage protestor John Martin and his faithful friend) On the same day that the world is outraged by the pepper-spraying of peaceful UC Davis protestors, Newt Gingrich still manages to capture the attention of the media. Friday, his announcement of “extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America” which turn out to include a repeal of child labor laws. Then, as if trying to outdo himself, Newt decides to moralize at the country-wide Occupy Wall Street participants (the same ones who shout him down at his speeches) by telling them to…