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Resolution: Assembly to ask mayor to require masks in all Muni buildings

Suzanne Downing
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26
Resolution: Assembly to ask mayor to require masks in all Muni buildings

The Anchorage Assembly has a resolution it will consider at Tuesday’s meeting that asks the mayor to reinstate a mask mandate in all municipal buildings.

The rationale being give by Assemblyman Pete Petersen and Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel is that the Delta variant of the Covid virus is circulating in Alaska and around the U.S., and that Alaska has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks, hospitals are overwhelmed.

Hospital administrators are expected to show up at the meeting and testify on the item, which has not been scheduled for any public hearings; any public comment on this item will need to be done at the beginning of the meeting, as time allows.

The Assembly meeting begins at 5 pm at the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. The agenda item is at this link.

Assembly meeting: Allard resolution honors fallen soldiers in Afghanistan evacuation

Suzanne Downing
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2
Assembly meeting: Allard resolution honors fallen soldiers in Afghanistan evacuation

Assemblywoman Jamie Allard is offering a resolution at tonight’s Anchorage Assembly meeting that honors the lives of the 13 soldiers, Marines, and Seals who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Aug. 26 at the Kabul Airport, during the evacuation of American troops.

The resolution also recognizes the lives lost of scores of innocent Afghan women, men, and children killed in that terrorist attack. Her resolution names all 13 of the American servicemen and women killed that day.

The Assembly meeting starts at 5 pm at the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. Allard encouraged all veterans to attend.

Speaker Stutes abruptly cancels House meeting, declares $1,100 dividend is her final offer, and that session is over for her

Suzanne Downing
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41
Speaker Stutes abruptly cancels House meeting, declares $1,100 dividend is her final offer, and that session is over for her

Speaker Louise Stutes decided she is done with this special session, and released the following statement on Tuesday morning:

“Following the unfortunate failure to build consensus on SB 3006, the House of Representatives has completed its work. The House Majority passed an $1,100 dividend, for the second time this year after it was vetoed by the Governor, and the bill waits approval in the Senate. Our rules preclude us from concurring the same day the other body passes legislation and there is no time left for a conference committee should the bill change in the Senate. But I am assured that the bill is safe in the capable hands of the Senate. Alaskans are counting on us to deliver the largest dividend we can afford without any further political delay, and I urge the Senate and Governor to join the House and deliver on that responsibility.”

House Bill 3006 is the telehealth bill that was hung up after Amendment 4 passed, which she and most Democrats object to. That amendment gives patients the right to have an advocate by their side in the hospital.

Rep. David Eastman, a member of the Republican minority, protested the decision to end the session early:

“Under the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, the Alaska House of Representatives is required to ‘convene daily’, ‘unless otherwise ordered by a majority vote of the members present.’ House Records show that no such vote was taken at our last floor session.

“Further, I was personally in attendance at this morning’s scheduled 10am floor session, and I can assure you that no such vote was taken.

“Our Uniform Rules also require that in order to adjourn sine die from the current special session before the session expires, a vote must be taken by a majority of the members of the full house. I can attest, as can the Chief Clerk, that no such vote has been taken to adjourn sine die and end the current special session. As the elected Speaker of the House, you are entrusted with the responsibility of presiding over scheduled floor sessions of the Alaska House of Representatives.

“Our constitution and our Uniform Rules do not grant you the authority to cancel a scheduled floor session of the Alaska House of Representatives. As no one was present with me at our 10am floor session that was scheduled for today, and as it is our obligation as a body to convene daily, I am notifying you and all other members of my intention to return to the House Floor at noon today to complete the business that is before us in the current special session. Neither you nor I have the authority to declare that the Alaska House of Representatives will fail to convene on a day that we are required to convene under the Uniform Rules. I hope that you and all other members will join me at noon today on the House Floor.”

Fairbanks parent records encounter as principal prevents 7-year-old student from attending class without mask in Fairbanks

Suzanne Downing
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83
Fairbanks parent records encounter as principal prevents 7-year-old student from attending class without mask in Fairbanks

A Fairbanks parent recorded his encounter at a school in Fairbanks, where he was trying to get his 7-year-old daughter into her classroom without her being forced to wear a mask.

The encounter didn’t go well.

Pearl Creek Elementary School Principal Shawna Henderson can be heard describing the school board policy to the man, and then physically blocking the child from entering her second-grade classroom.

The recording is all audio, with a black screen, and the parent didn’t identify himself or his child, but a Must Read Alaska source in Fairbanks said he talked to the superintendent, and she was refusing to back down.

Gerrymandering training: Democrats are prepping their side to testify on redistricting maps; Republicans remain silent

Suzanne Downing
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10
Gerrymandering training: Democrats are prepping their side to testify on redistricting maps; Republicans remain silent

The Native People’s Action, Alaskans for Fair Redistricting, and Alaska Public Interest Research Group, all surrogate groups for Democrats, is training people today on how to testify about the new redistricting maps now under consideration.

The political maps will redraw all the state House boundaries, an exercise that takes place every time there in a U.S. Census. Public testimony is important because when the Democrats sue over the final map, as they usually do, the courts take into account public testimony.

No such training and organizing effort appears to be underway on behalf of Republican Party interests in what is a political exercise to create fair boundaries that, as much as possible, keep districts compact, contiguous, and socio-economically related, while apportioning the same basic number of people to each district.

The Democrats who testify during the upcoming meetings of the Redistricting Board will have prearranged and coordinated statements they will get advice on at today’s training in order to enhance the power of the Democratic Party in Alaska, which has about 79,000 registered members. Republicans number over 144,000 registered voters. But district lines can be drawn in a way — called gerrymandering — that gives one side an unusual and unfair political advantage in elections.

The maps under consideration can be found at this link.

The Alaska Redistricting Board has announced its next meeting for Friday, Sept. 17, at 9 am, during which the public may attend in-person, via livestream, or by teleconference.

Meeting location:
– Anchorage Legislative Information Office
– 1500 W Benson Blvd, Anchorage, AK  99503
– Denali Conference Room, 1st Floor

The livestream will be available at www.akl.tv.  

The public may listen or testify via the Legislative Teleconference System by dialing: 
 
 – Anchorage 563-9085
 – Juneau 586-9085
 – Other 844-586-9085

When available, the agenda and board packet will be posted to the public notice listing: http://notice.alaska.gov.

Statement: ‘I took my Minicucci video down because Alaska Airlines threatened to force me to reveal my whistleblower sources’

Suzanne Downing
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32
Statement: ‘I took my Minicucci video down because Alaska Airlines threatened to force me to reveal my whistleblower sources’

Washingtonian social media personality Sara Gamache, who posted a video accusing the CEO of Alaska Airlines of philandering, has taken down the video from TikTok, a social media site, after she was sent a threatening letter from the attorneys of company CEO Ben Minicucci. Facebook and Instagram has already removed the video, due to what the social media companies said was bullying.

The letter from Minicucci’s four attorneys to Gamache demands a public retraction of the video or they will take her to court, subpoena all her phone records, and learn the identities of the whistleblowers inside of Alaska Airlines who fed her the information.

Gamache says she made a promise to sources that she would not reveal their identities, so she compromised by taking the video down. But she is also not going to issue a retraction, she said, for what she believes is true.

The airlines is clearly not happy with Gamache, who earlier this week posted the video across social media platforms accusing Minicucci of having affairs with a flight attendant and the designer of the Alaska Airlines uniforms. The video also accused the airlines of discriminating against women passengers for their attire. Earlier this year, she got into a dispute with the airlines after she was removed from a jet because of her Trump mask.

She told Must Read Alaska that she, too, has asked for a public apology from the Airlines over refusing to allow her to fly. She said the airlines told her no apology would be forthcoming.

Gamache has just launched a website “ExposeAlaskaAirlines.com,” where she is posting stories from people who have been discriminated against by Alaska Airlines– stories that include Sen. Lora Reinbold of Alaska, who no longer can fly to the capital city of Juneau because she’s on the Alaska Airlines no-fly list. Juneau can only be reached by air or water. The website is a place where people can post their adverse experiences with the airlines.

Original story at this link:

Social media crisis: Alaska Airlines takes heat for fat-shaming, bullying women; now CEO in hot water in a blistering TikTok video

Unmasked: Assemblyman Constant, who is never without mask at Assembly meetings, parties in Mat-Su Valley without mask

Suzanne Downing
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34
Unmasked: Assemblyman Constant, who is never without mask at Assembly meetings, parties in Mat-Su Valley without mask

Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant, on Aug. 24, voted to ask the mayor to encourage everyone to mask up against covid-19 in city-owned buildings. About the same time, nearly everyone on the Assembly except Jamie Allard began wearing masks at Assembly meetings again.

Constant’s authority doesn’t extend past the Assembly, and so mandatory masking in Anchorage buildings ended with the last mayoral administration. But Constant has been at the forefront of the mask brigade.

Surprisingly, Constant was spotted last week partying in the Mat-Su Valley at a wedding, at a venue where no one was wearing a mask, whether indoors or outdoors, not even Constant.

But the very next week he was back in work sessions wearing his mask again and never appearing in public without one.

August 24, Chris Constant masked in Assembly

It’s evident in the photographs obtained by Must Read Alaska that on Sept. 5, he was not socially distanced during the wedding, and was photographed close to several people.

Like Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who was caught partying at an exclusive Napa restaurant called the French Laundry, Constant demonstrates that masking is part leadership theater, part control mechanism for the little people.

The governor of California is facing a recall election on Tuesday. But Constant, who represents the most far left portion of Anchorage, will likely face no admonishments from his liberal allies.

Anchorage clerk forgets to mention there is a recall election in her reminder to voters to register?

Suzanne Downing
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9
Anchorage clerk forgets to mention there is a recall election in her reminder to voters to register?

Anchorage Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones published a press release reminding people that September is National Voter Registration Month, and they need to register to vote by Sept. 26 in order to take part in the Oct. 26 Special Municipal Election.

But she neglected to tell people what the election is for: It’s a recall of one of her bosses on the Anchorage Assembly, Meg Zaletel. The Anchorage Municipal Clerk works for the Assembly.

Nowhere in the press release did Jones mention that only voters living in District 4, or midtown Anchorage, will be participating in that election. Ballots will go out in about two weeks to just those voters.

Zaletel is part of the far-left Anchorage Assembly, and she has raised the ire of conservatives who feel the city is heading in the wrong direction. It’s the second recall election to be held this year. The first, a recall attempt against Assemblyman Felix Rivera, failed in April.

49th State Brewing wins bronze at Great American Beer Festival

Suzanne Downing
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11
49th State Brewing wins bronze at Great American Beer Festival

The competition was stiff but so is the stout: An Alaska-made wood-and-barrel-aged strong stout named “The Intrepid” was the only Alaska beer to win any prize at the 202 Great American Beer Festival in Denver on Sept. 10. It won the bronze medal in the category it competed in; there were 186 entries in that category.

Founded in 2010 in the commercial area of the Denali Borough, 49th State Brewing’s current owners are Jason Motyka and David McCarthy, who expanded the business from Denali Park to Anchorage in 2016. They are two-time SBA Alaska Small Business Persons of the Year.

Although The Intrepid is not listed on the company’s online menu, that will probably change, now that it has a medal around its neck.

The Great American Beer Festival is the nation’s largest beer festival, and 290 medals were awarded by the Brewers Association for 97 beer categories covering 175 beer styles, including subcategories. Awards were for gold, silver and bronze. This year the festival was canceled due to the concern for large crowds in an indoor space and the risk of spreading Covid-19.

But typically the festival is the American brewing industry’s top public tasting opportunity and competition. Attendees can taste more than 4,000 beers from over 800 of the nation’s breweries, all arranged alphabetically in the festival hall. The association is hoping to return in 2022 for its 40th anniversary festival.

Alaska has more than 40 craft breweries, or one for every 18,000 Alaskans.

View all the beer winners at this link.

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