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What is wrong with these people?

Anchorage Daily Planet
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28
What is wrong with these people?

ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

The Anchorage Assembly’s 8-2 vote this week to change local law to force women’s shelters to accept men who say they are women makes us wonder: What is wrong with the our Assembly members?

The vote – Assemblywomen Jamie Allard and Crystal Kennedy were the only “no” votes – would revise Anchorage Municipal Code Title 5, the Equal Rights section.

The move appears aimed at the Downtown Hope Center, a Christian shelter, which allows women, but bars biological males, even if they identify as women.

The city lost its last kerfuffle with the Hope Center, which has provided safe space for battered and vulnerable homeless women for more than 30 years.

In a 2018 letter to the Anchorage Daily News, Kate Anderson, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based legal ministry, which represented Downtown Hope Center, laid out the facts.

A man, Jessie Doe, claiming to identify as a woman, arrived at the center agitated, aggressive, and injured. Hope Center Executive Director Sherrie Laurie encouraged Doe to go to the hospital, even paying for the taxi to the emergency room, Anderson wrote.

Doe complained to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, claiming sex and gender identity discrimination.

“Laurie later learned that, before coming to the Hope Center, the police had picked Doe up from another homeless shelter where Doe had started a fight,” Anderson wrote. “The other shelter had even banned Doe from returning until July 4.”

After months of investigation, the commission pressured the Hope Center to change its policies, despite its finding no evidence of past discrimination – and despite the Anchorage ordinance in question specifically exempting homeless shelters.

By day, the Hope Center provides food, shower, and laundry services, and also job skills training to any man or woman in need, no matter their status, no matter their gender identity. It serves 450-600 cups of soup daily and 142,000 meals annually, Anderson says.

At night, the Hope Center becomes a women’s-only shelter to fill a deep need in the community to help homeless women who have been beaten, raped, trafficked and emotionally and physically abused, Anderson says.

The center went to federal court in September 2018 to block enforcement of Anchorage’s anti-discrimination laws against the center. The center argued it was exempt from the city’s anti-discrimination laws.

On Aug. 9, 2019, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the municipality from enforcing its non-discrimination code.

The next month, Anchorage dropped its complaint against the center, conceding the shelter is not, under the law, operating a public accommodation. The Equal Rights Commission settled, awarding the Downtown Hope Center $100,000 in legal fees and $1 in damages.

It is nothing short of incredible that eight members of the Anchorage Assembly would force a shelter for battered, abused, vulnerable homeless women – women abused by men – to house men who say they are women at night in the same facility with those women. What kind of a mind believes that is OK?

You simply have to ask: What is wrong with these people?

Surprise concession: Biden Administration defends Willow project in court

Suzanne Downing
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29
Surprise concession: Biden Administration defends Willow project in court

Although pushed hard by environmentalists and his own Department of Interior Secretary to go the other way, the Biden administration is defending the ConocoPhillips Willow project in court.

The project has the potential to put 160,000 barrels a day into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System for the next 30 years, for up to approximately 590 million total barrels of oil.

Willow is located on the edge of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska and was approved under the Trump Administration in October. Then came the lawsuits from environmentalists who said the decision was wrong and oil contributes to global warming. Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm, sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. The Biden Administration is generally hostile to oil, and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has written formal opposition to the project when she was a congresswoman.

During a meeting with Biden on Monday, when he signed a bill allowing cruise ships to return to Alaska, the Alaska delegation of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young told Biden that this project is vital to Alaska’s economy. According to the New York Times, on Wednesday the Biden Administration filed a brief in the case, saying the decision to go ahead on Willow was correct.

The Interior Department’s brief said that the Trump Administration’s green light for Willow complied with the environmental rules in place at the time and that Earthjustice did not challenge the approval “within the time limitations associated with environmental review projects” for the National Petroleum Reserve.

Earthjustice v. BLM et al. DefenseDownload

“Conoco does have valid lease rights,” the department wrote in its 70-page statement to the court.

More than 1,000 jobs are expected during peak construction of the Willow project, with more than 400 jobs coming online during the operation of it. Willow would help offset declines in production from the North Slope and the oil would be subject to royalties and revenue to the State.

“The project, known as Willow, set up a choice for the Biden administration: decline to defend oil drilling and hinder a lucrative project that conflicts with its climate policy or support a federal decision backed by the state of Alaska, some tribal nations, unions and key officials, including Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican senator seen as a potential ally of the administration in an evenly split Senate,” the Times wrote.

Update: Here are the statements from Alaska’s D.C. delegation in response to this action by Biden:

“Alaska’s relationship with the Biden administration got off to a rough start after the President’s sweep of a pen called for reviews – and potential halts – to a number of responsible resource development projects. I’ve been working from the get-go to educate the new administration on why the Willow project is so important to Alaska’s economy, the communities on the North Slope, and the thousands of people who are employed in the region. I am pleased to share that the Department of the Interior has filed a brief in support of Willow and has committed to supporting the project moving forward. Through their careful review, the administration reached the same conclusion that we have always known, which is that the Willow project went through a rigorous, comprehensive permitting process and can move forward because it is being held to the highest environmental and labor standards in the world,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski. 

“As a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and former Committee chair, I have been aggressive in my advocacy for the Willow project. I brought the significance of the project to President Biden’s attention and many other senior White House officials on the first day of the new administration. During her confirmation process, I pressed now Interior Secretary Haaland to defend the Record of Decisions for the Willow project now being litigated in courts. I submitted multiple letters of support for the record from Alaskans and exhausted all avenues to send a clear message: this project has gone through an extraordinarily extensive process and should be allowed to proceed. The process goes all the way back to when the leases were acquired under the Clinton administration. The NEPA analysis was conducted using the Obama administration 2013 Integrated Activity Plan, which contains over 270 mitigation requirements. And a two-year long EIS process began in 2018 which included over 100 meetings with stakeholders on the North Slope and multiple public comment periods, resulting in a robust 2,600 page final EIS. The process across multiple administrations has been more than thorough. It’s time to move this project forward.

“At a time when Russia is providing more barrels of crude oil to the United States per day than Alaska, the Alaska Delegation has continued to stress to this administration the importance of this new development project located within the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska. The Willow project would not only provide a valuable resource, but could also create around 2,000 high paying jobs in Alaska and support $2.3 billion dollars in revenue for the state—a boost to the economy at a time when we need it most. I’m glad the Interior Department has listened to our advice and will now defend the litigation and allow the permit to proceed. I urge Interior to show Alaskans that their words and actions align by taking the Willow project off their “pause and review” list once and for all.”

“On Monday in the Oval Office, I, along with my fellow delegation members, had the opportunity to deliver a message directly to the President, one that we’ve been making for weeks to every member of his administration: ‘Alaska’s Willow project is one of the most environmentally responsible and rigorous energy projects in our country, and the project deserves you and your administration’s support,’” said Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“Willow will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Alaska, and provide opportunities and billions of dollars in revenues for our state and indigenous communities on the North Slope. It will produce American energy with the highest environmental standards at a time when we’re importing far too much from our adversaries, like Russia. I appreciate the President and Secretary Haaland for listening to us and defending this once-in-a-generation energy development that will unlock many more opportunities for our state and our country. I also want to commend the numerous Alaskans and Alaska Native leaders—especially those who live within NPR-A and on the North Slope—for weighing in with the secretary and making the case for Willow. While this is excellent news for our state, I remain deeply concerned about some of the administration’s remaining policies that are still targeting Alaska and our workers, but today’s news on Willow is very positive for Alaska, good-paying jobs for working families, and our economy.”

“This is a good day for Alaska, our energy economy, and American energy independence. I want to thank the Administration, particularly my friend, Secretary Deb Haaland, for reaching what Alaskans know to be the right conclusion: the Willow Project is legally defensible and holds great promise for our state,” said Congressman Don Young, who has a good relationship with Sec. Haaland.

 “Secretary Haaland is my friend, and while we do not always see eye to eye, I appreciate that she always listens to the Alaskan perspective with an open mind. I have advocated for the Willow Project in conversations with her for quite some time, and I am grateful for her attention on this issue. By halting the Willow Project, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a devastating blow to Alaska’s energy workers, their families, and all who would benefit from responsible resource development in the NPR-A. The Willow Project is years in the making, and countless individuals at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) worked hard to ensure a thorough environmental review. Late last year, when the Record of Decision was issued, BLM made clear that Willow could proceed all while protecting our environment. It is my great hope that in court, with the Administration on our side, we will ultimately succeed so that this project can deliver the good-paying jobs and affordable energy that Alaskans deserve.”

Jewish Museum, Mad Myrna’s target by hate as swastika stickers show up on buildings

Suzanne Downing
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44
Jewish Museum, Mad Myrna’s target by hate as swastika stickers show up on buildings

Anchorage Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the person or persons responsible for placing swastika stickers on two buildings in Anchorage. The stickers are white with a black swastika in the middle and the words “we are everywhere” at the top and bottom.
 
The two reports of the stickers — at the Jewish Museum and at Mad Myrna’s bar — were made on May 25. If anyone has any information about this investigation, including video, please call Dispatch at 3-1-1. If you find such a sticker, police ask that you don’t remove it or touch it but call Dispatch and report it.
 
“There is no place for hate in our community. The Anchorage Police Department (APD) takes these matters seriously. As part of our on-going investigation, we’ve partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to determine any potential state and federal violations,” the police said in a statement.

Although an ancient symbol that dates back to 3000 BC, the current use of swastikas in America and Europe are to indicate racial supremacy, anti-Semitism, and are generally meant to intimidate Jews.

Six years later, a look back at the Berkowitz transition team’s ambitious homeless plan

Suzanne Downing
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19
Six years later, a look back at the Berkowitz transition team’s ambitious homeless plan

Six years ago, the incoming administration of Mayor Ethan Berkowitz published an ambitious document detailing the mayor’s plans for public safety, homelessness, and the economy.

Read the Berkowitz Transition Report at this link:

Berkowitz Transition Team Report BookDownload

Homelessness was such a priority of the Berkowitz Administration but his promises were unfulfilled. As Dave Bronson becomes mayor, the Berkowitz transition report is an informative read. Bronson will be sworn in on July 1 and has begun his transition team process.

The first priority of the Berkowitz homelessness plan was to improve transportation and access for the homeless. The deliverables were a complete needs assessment, free and reduced bus passes, lower prices for youth, and to focus on the safety and comfortability of transportation.

The second priority was to hire a homeless coordinator. That person came from the transition team itself — Nancy Burke — who was hired in August of 2015. After coordinating homeless programs for six years, Burke moved on in March, and is now special assistant to the president and CEO at United Way for housing and Covid-19 response. But while working for Berkowitz, she reported directly to the mayor. Her duties included looking at the money that is being spent on homelessness, including costs of police, hospital, jail, and coordinating with existing programs to ensure that affordable housing is safe and comfortable.

“We can make better use of our resources by coordinating our response to homelessness,” Berkowitz said at the time, while criticizing former Mayor Dan Sullivan for eliminating the homeless coordinator position in 2012, when the budget was tight. “Those are what I’d consider penny-wise and pound foolish cuts,” he told reporters.

The mayor also said in 2015 that if the State of Alaska didn’t expand Medicaid, Anchorage would do so on a local level. Gov. Bill Walker expanded Medicaid to cover more people that year, relieving Berkowitz of that battle.

A third priority was housing. The deliverable was to create a committee from Planning and Zoning to make recommendations for zoning changes. The rest of the deliverables were overflowing with bureaucratese that is not easily quantifiable:

•  Coordinate reports and groups that are working on this issue, continue work with transition teams

•  Affordable housing – mechanisms for subsidies, non-cash assets

•  Minimize co-location of low-income projects in low income neighborhoods

•  Creative solutions to encourage landlords to have affordable housing

A fourth priority was to train all municipal employees on Green Dot Bystander intervention techniques, which was a 90-minute training for all staff.

Berkowitz’ fifth priority was to keep “safe harbor” buildings in use. The deliverables were to leverage money to support the program, advocate increase public awareness about the importance of the program and work with RuralCAP.

Read about safe harbor buildings at this link.

By six months into his administration, Mayor Berkowitz promised he would have a job training program up and running to address homelessness. In his transition report, he said he’d have youth doing the watering of municipal gardens, and develop public/private partnerships to provide job trainings. He promised he would have micro loans and investments in small businesses of people who are homeless. He promised to “support development of meaningful use of time programs,” and “find create end to backlog of public assistance programs.

Also at six months, Berkowitz said his administration would address the “societal perspective on homelessness.” He would work on public awareness and “increase humanity toward people experiencing homelessness.”

He would also “maximize existing potential detox and substance abuse treatment,” and fund existing vacant beds.

By the six-month mark, Berkowitz said he would have found the resources to devote to homelessness programs, reduce taxes or give tax credits to landlords who rent to people with housing vouchers, increase the supply of land and buildings for permanent supported housing.

By 2019, Year Four of the Berkowitz era, there were an estimated 1,100 people who were known to be homeless in Anchorage, and the city was spending tens of millions of dollars every year on the problem. The number had not really budged in his years at the helm, even with the help of the homeless coordinator.

Berkowitz’ term in office ended abruptly on Oct. 23 2020, after a salacious episode with a local reporter became the news.

But before he left office, he had worked to space people out in homeless shelters to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and in doing so had commandeered the Sullivan, Ben Boeke and Dempsey-Anderson Arenas. The Sullivan is still a shelter for about 400 people, and those people now become Mayor-Elect Dave Bronson’s concern as he and his team enter the transition process and try to figure out the right path to deal with Anchorage’s toughest nut to crack: Homelessness.

Judicial Council advances three names for new Supreme Court Justice, snubs the lone minority rural applicant

Suzanne Downing
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27
Judicial Council advances three names for new Supreme Court Justice, snubs the lone minority rural applicant

The Judicial Council advanced to Gov. Mike Dunleavy the names of three judges to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Alaska Supreme Court. But in breaking a tie vote, Chief Justice Joel Bolger turned back the only minority and rural applicant.

The finalists were Dani Crosby, Jennifer Stuart Henderson, and Yvonne Lamoureux, white urban women.

The members of the council had the chance to advance the name of a rural minority judge, Paul Roetman of Kotzebue Superior, but the three lawyers on the council voted against the rural judge, while the three public members voted for him.

Chief Justice Joel Bolger broke the tie and voted against Roetman, in spite of Bolger being on the record stating that the court needs rural justices and minorities.

The judges whose names were advanced are all Anchorage Superior Court judges. Their names will be forwarded to the governor who must choose the next Supreme Court justice from those three.

Roetman, who describes himself as Mexican-American, has served in Kotzebue for many years and his nomination was championed by public member Kristie Babcock.

Ironically, it was Babcock who faced hostility from Democrats for her nomination to the judicial council because she was not from rural Alaska. Rep. Matt Claman lobbied against her for that reason, as did other Democrats and two members of the Alaska Redistricting Board. Babcock is from Kenai.

During the discussion at her first vote on the Judicial Council, Babcock said that if Roetman’s name could not be moved forward, she’ would vote against the other nominees.

“If we cannot move that name forward, then it’s not right to move any names forward,” Babcock said.

Roetman is considered a conservative “constructionist” judge. The three whose names were advanced to Dunleavy are all considered liberal to quite partisan.

Bolger is leaving the court early. Although his term ends in 2027, he has become controversial due to perceived hostilities toward the Dunleavy Administration.

Targeting the Hope Center, Assembly passes measure to force women’s shelters to accept biological males

Suzanne Downing
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45
Targeting the Hope Center, Assembly passes measure to force women’s shelters to accept biological males

The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday night heard testimony on a change in local law that would force shelters for women to accept biological males.

Then the Assembly voted 8-2 to revise Anchorage Municipal Code Title 5, the Equal Rights section, to prohibit women’s shelters from barring men who say they are women.

Assemblywomen Jamie Allard and Crystal Kennedy, both from Eagle River, voted against the measure.

The measure is in response to the Hope Center in downtown Anchorage, a Christian shelter which allows women to sleep shoulder to shoulder on mats on the floor, but does not permit biological males in the shelter, even if they identify as women.

The Hope Center faced a complaint by a transgendered individual and successfully fought it in court, ultimately settling with the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission. The Municipality of Anchorage paid $100,001 to the Hope Center and was forced to allow the shelter to continue operating for biological women only.

People testified on both sides of the matter before the vote was taken. One testifier said that because the Assembly had in a previous meeting appropriated funds for a transgender shelter for 18-24-year-olds, it had established precedence that some people need specific safe spaces.

The changes to Title 5 had already been through two work sessions but sets up the city for a lawsuit down the road, if a women in a shelter is attacked or traumatized by having to share space with a male.

It appears the liberal Assembly is trying to push measures like this through before Dave Bronson is sworn In as mayor on July 1, when he would have the power to veto such changes.

Acting mayor ends Covid emergency

Suzanne Downing
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15
Acting mayor ends Covid emergency

Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson said today there is no more Covid-19 emergency in Anchorage, and so she has officially ended the emergency order.

She said the rates of Covid-19 have dropped and vaccinations are on the rise. Although the pandemic is not over, there is no more need for the mayor’s formal emergency powers, she said. During the rest of her administration, which ends July 1, the municipality will continue to encourage people to mask up indoors and to get vaccinated.

She did not mention whether the Municipality would continue to enforce masking in its facilities. The Assembly enforced mask mandates for the Assembly, but a resolution on the agenda removed that mandate later in the meeting at the Loussac Library. Members of the public were also prohibited from entering the chambers because the Assembly is enforcing spacing requirements it has in place.

In late April, the Assembly removed some of the mayor’s emergency powers, making today’s announcement anticlimactic.

Quinn-Davidson will be acting mayor until July 1, when Dave Bronson is sworn in.

Desperate Dunbar: Assembly lifts Anchorage lockdown to aid his ailing campaign

Dunbar is desperate: Assembly lifts Anchorage lockdown to rescue his campaign

Murkowski measure to address infant mortality advances in Senate

Suzanne Downing
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Murkowski measure to address infant mortality advances in Senate

 The U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee advanced legislation led by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to improve maternal health, address infant mortality, and support nursing mothers in the workplace. The bills now head to the full Senate for consideration.

The Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (Rural MOMS) Act will give help to new and expecting mothers living in rural communities. The MOMS Act focuses on data collection on maternal health, increases funding for rural care grants, expands maternal telehealth resources, and broadens training opportunities for healthcare professionals in maternal health.

“Coming from Alaska, these disparities – both geographic and socioeconomic – are particularly concerning, which is why I am proud to co-lead the Rural MOMS Act. Every expecting mother deserves the best care available for herself and her baby, regardless of where they live,” said Sen. Murkowski.

The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act provides salaried employees in traditional office environments with adequate break time and a private place to pump breastmilk. The bill specifically would expand a 2010 law, which provides space and time for hourly employees who are nursing.

The HELP Committee also advanced the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act, of which Senator Murkowski joined as a cosponsor. This bill aims to improve maternal health by enhancing evidence-based programs, such as the implementation of rural obstetric networks, maternal telehealth programs, and integrated health care services for pregnant and postpartum women. The legislation also includes provisions to promote vaccinations for pregnant women and infants.

Anchorage man sentenced to 20 months for arson at Seattle Police East Precinct in 2020

Suzanne Downing
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18
Anchorage man sentenced to 20 months for arson at Seattle Police East Precinct in 2020

An Anchorage man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for conspiracy to commit arson after he was caught lighting a fire at Seattle’s East Precinct, according to the Department of Justice.

Desmond David-Pitts was arrested on Aug. 24, 2020 during the height of the Seattle riots. He was easily identified because he was wearing pink camo clothing.

Earlier in the summer, David-Pitts had attended a meeting of the Anchorage Assembly and cursed at the police chief, Assembly and then-Mayor Ethan Berkowitz on the theme of racism in policing.

In video captured by Must Read Alaska, David-Pitts can be seen testifying while Dave and Deb Bronson sit in the audience at the Assembly and listen to him.

According to the Department of Justice, David-Pitts had arrived in Seattle from Alaska just three days before the arson.  After marching with the group of protestors in downtown Seattle, David-Pitts was seen on surveillance video piling up trash against the sally-port door at the Seattle Police East Precinct. 

Over an 11-minute period, the surveillance video captured David-Pitts not only piling up the trash, but repeatedly lighting it on fire and feeding the flames with more trash. While David-Pitts was lighting the fire, other people who appeared on the surveillance were attempting to use crowbars and cement-like materials to try to disable the door next to the sally-port to prevent officers from exiting the building. 

At various times on the surveillance tape, David-Pitts was communicating with individuals who were attempting to disable the door and light other fires around the building. Despite efforts to disable the door, officers were able to get outside and extinguish the flames.  David-Pitts was seen on surveillance working with the others to cut through a chain-link fence that was a barrier around the building.  All the fires were extinguished by Seattle Police Officers and members of the Seattle Fire Department.

“A handful of people bent on destruction, by committing arson and threatening the safety of our community, also drowned out the important message of those who peacefully protest injustice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.  “This defendant joined with others to put Seattle Police officers at risk.  It is wholly appropriate that he spend time in prison as a consequence of his criminal acts.”

David-Pitts pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit arson. He faced up to five years in prison but was only sentenced to 20 months. David-Pitts agreed to pay restitution to the Seattle Police Department for damage to the building.

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