Storm on the Horizon
I said last week I would try to focus more on affairs of the state, you know, because the whole world has seemingly lost their collective minds. I’ve spent some time watching Gavel to Gavel and listening to assembly meetings so you don’t have to. It may seem like a small thing to many of you, but clearly you haven’t spent an hour screaming at your computer because of local political antics. You’re welcome. Pro tip: Be careful if you’re playing a drinking game that requires a shot when the words “body” or “member” are said. In the big square…
The Weekend Off: News You Missed
Alaska NYTimes- Polar Bears’ Path to Decline Runs Through Alaskan Village KAKTOVIK, Alaska — Come fall, polar bears are everywhere around this Arctic village, dozing on sand spits, roughhousing in the shallows, padding down the beach with cubs in tow and attracting hundreds of tourists who travel long distances to see them. ADN – Fire destroys building at Ice Alaska park in Fairbanks A large Fairbanks building was destroyed by an hourslong fire Friday morning, drawing dozens of firefighters but no reports of any injuries. Alaska Public Media – Fracking in Alaska: Who should weigh in? The state agency that oversees oil…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Journalist who broke Fairbanks Four case unsatisfied after their release The letters seemed outlandish. But Brian O’Donoghue went to the courthouse to check them out, part of his job in 2000 as the opinion page editor at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. What he found wouldn’t let him go: the story of four young men convicted of murder on flimsy evidence. On Thursday, their convictions were vacated and the Fairbanks Four were finally released after 18 years in prison. O’Donoghue joined the celebration but said the job’s not done. Juneau Empire – This is what it takes to get into…
Sarah Palin, Speaking American, and Donald Trump
Authors note: Since every other blog and news site on the planet has commented on this, I felt that the Mudflats should share in at least some of those clicks. Because let’s be honest here, the only reason any of us are covering her at this point is for the traffic; she doesn’t have the influence to really justify it. So with that statement out of the way, enjoy the slow moving train wreck. You’re reading this because, like me… you quietly hate yourself. But look at it this way; you didn’t have to transcribe 15 minutes of Palin-Speak. There seems to be two out…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Wasilla mayoral candidate’s war against ‘police state’ includes long-ago urge to ambush Vegas officers Loren Means, a candidate for Wasilla mayor and a current city planning commissioner, once stalked and planned to ambush Las Vegas jail officers, and this summer he told a Wasilla police officer that a head shot was the only way to kill an officer wearing body armor. An email about the Las Vegas incident as well as several encounters with local police surfaced Thursday in a packet Mayor Verne Rupright distributed to the Wasilla City Council. Juneau Empire – Suspicious tree fires puzzle Forest Service…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska The Blaze – Take a Gander at America’s Most Heavily Armed Counties. The Ones That Aren’t on the Map Might Surprise You Maybe Texans don’t like guns as much as stereotypes have led us to believe. A map, posted Saturday by Reddit user Ramesses_Deux, purports to show the 30 U.S. counties with the highest rates of gun-owning residents. NY Times – Shift in Alaska Helps Republicans Retain Senate Edge The Senate battleground remains broad and competitive, with 10 races within six percentage points, according to the second wave of data from the New York Times/CBS News/YouGov online panel of more…
“Russia with Love”: Alaska Gas Scandal is Out-of-Country, Not Out-of-State
“Russia with Love”: Alaska Gas Scandal is Out-of-Country, Not Out-of-State (via Desmogblog) Fri, 2014-04-18 10:28Steve Horn A legal controversy — critics would say scandal — has erupted in Alaska’s statehouse over the future of its natural gas bounty. It’s not so much an issue of the gas itself, but who gets to decide how it gets to…