Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford is reopening Wasilla for normal business.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 4, the Menard Sports Complex will return to regular business hours, along with the Wasilla Public Library, the Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center, and City Hall.
Those facilities had been closed to the public under a Nov. 13 directive in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Face coverings are required in all City of Wasilla facilities. Walk-ins are once again permitted, but a distance of six feet between patrons is required.
The Menard Sport Complex: Open – returning to normal business hours and services. Please call (907)-357-9100 for more information regarding mitigation plans for scheduling events/room rentals.
The Wasilla Public Library: Open – returning to normal business hours and services; continuing to provide curbside services.
The Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center: Open – returning to normal business hours and services.
City Hall – City Administrative Offices (City Hall, Public Works, Finance): City Hall will be open during regular business hours of 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Public Meetings (Council, Boards, and Commissions): Public meetings are open to the public; however, the number of people allowed in Council Chambers is limited to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19. Attendees must maintain a distance of six feet between themselves and others and wearing a nose and mouth covering is required.
Ledford won in a runoff election this fall and has been mayor since late October. She ran on an “open for business” platform.
Sen. Mike Shower of Wasilla sent a letter to Alaska’s Acting Attorney General Ed Sniffen this week, requesting an investigation into election fraud in the November General Election in Alaska.
Shower says he has material to hand over to the Department of Law that should be of interest to the state, if not the federal law enforcement authorities.
Shower reached out to Alaskans on Facebook and asked them to provide him with concrete examples of fraud that they had witnessed. He said people sent him numerous anecdotes about receiving two or more ballots, and about people who voted in other states discovering that they had also voted in Alaska, and more.
Shower said he has gotten no response from the Division of Elections, and decided to elevate it, including notifying the Federal Bureau of Investigations with his findings.
Shower wrote that he was requesting a criminal investigation, and that he wants the Attorney General to seek assistance from the FBI to determine if federal crimes were committed with data breaches and mail fraud.
Shower was the author of 2019 legislation, Senate Bill 116, an “Election Integrity/Ballot Chain of Custody” proposal, addressing several concerns, including ending the practice of ballot destruction at the precinct level, establishing a secure chain of custody for all ballots, requiring the Division of Elections to notify voters when their votes were voided, and enacting new rules for cleaning up voter rolls. SB 116 would have also set up an elections fraud hotline to report suspicious activity. The bill failed to get even one hearing under Senate President Cathy Giessel. The bill was referred to the State Affairs Committee, which Shower chaired at the time.
“Following the recent primary and general elections, my office fielded hundreds of complaints from across Alaska regarding ballot harvesting, voters receiving multiple absentee ballots they never requested, and people who were prevented from voting for their own legislator due to erroneous information at their polling locations,” Shower said. “Our work on SB116 also revealed that the Division of Elections policy, not state statute, permits the Director [of the division] to unilaterally determine which votes should count and which do not if double voting occurs. I believe we must clarify DOE policy in statute rather than leaving it up to the discretion of a Director, which can change from administration to administration, to determine whose vote counts and whose will not.”
Sen. Shower said he has been working with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Division of Elections to address several outstanding concerns.
“The situation is further exacerbated by the data breach which saw the personal information of over 113,000 Alaskans compromised,” he wrote. Shower is among those who received a letter from the Division of Elections saying their private information had been hacked by foreign operators.
“The data breach was not reported to the legislature, candidates, or the public until nearly a month after the election took place and after the election was certified. Since that time, some Alaskans have reported identity theft taking place which involves their personal information,” he said. Indeed, the announcement was not made by the Division of Elections until Dec. 3.
In a Georgia State Senate Judiciary Subcommittee meeting on Dec. 30, Committee Chairman Sen. William Ligon, heard testimony from experts and witnesses regarding the State of Georgia’s Election Integrity. Throughout the hearing, the issues raised included reference to four states that experienced similar anomalies; Alaska was mentioned as one of them during the hearing, with a claim that Alaska experienced an 8 percent “overvote,” representing 43,000 more ballots cast than there are eligible voters in Alaska.
“In light of all the information being shared with our office and now on the record in other states which are experiencing similar election issues, it is imperative that we investigate these issues very closely. What we have found on our own, with limited resources, has raised more questions than answers. Our election system is too important to take any one of these issues lightly, much less all of them in one election cycle. I look forward to continued work with the Lt. Governor and the Division of Elections on strengthening our Statewide elections system. We must do everything in our power as elected officials to protect every Alaskan’s privacy and ensure the integrity of, and confidence in, our voting system,” Shower wrote.
Last February and March, medical authorities in government from the highest level in Washington, D.C. to local health directors told the public that the average person wearing a mask in public was engaging in an unhealthy behavior.
Mask wearing, they said, was ill-advised because masks are petri dishes for germs and viruses that people breathe into their lungs. Doctors and medical professionals change their masks frequently because of this petrie-dish scenario. The public, however, doesn’t have access to an endless supply of disposable masks, and therefore people are sucking in the bad stuff.
In Alaska, that authority was Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s Chief Health Officer, who told the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Feb. 12, 2020 that a person wearing a mask is breathing in a wet, moist environment collecting viruses and bacteria, and it is in general not useful for protection from other persons’ germs.
Zink said that a mask was useful for someone walking into a clinic who was coughing or sneezing, but that the N95 mask — the one that is effective — has to be fitted and tested and that the recommendation was for average persons to not wear masks because they don’t know what they are doing with them.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said the same thing a month later, adding that wearing a mask might make people feel better, but isn’t providing protection. He said that people don’t wear them properly, and handle them recklessly. When asked about that statement by CBS News later in the summer, he equivocated.
“I don’t regret anything I said then because in the context of the time in which I said it, it was correct. We were told in our task force meetings that we have a serious problem with the lack of PPEs,” he said in an interview with CBS Evening News.
“In the context of the time,” is the key phrase.
To be clear, Fauci said it wasn’t good for Americans to wear masks because they did not work, only to later admit that he was really concerned about running out of masks for medical professionals. Fauci attended press White House coronavirus press briefings throughout March and April without wearing a mask.
Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, will serve President-elect Joe Biden as his chief medical adviser after Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
It isn’t the first time Fauci has been caught misleading the public. Last week Fauci acknowledged that he selectively lied about the percentage of the population that must be vaccinated to halt the virus.
“When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75 percent,” Fauci told the New York Times. “Then, when newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take it, I thought, ‘I can nudge this up a bit,’ so I went to 80, 85.”
Rather than following the science, Fauci seems to be following the surveys to gauge how willing Americans are to take his advice.
As for Alaska’s mask recommendations, an Alaska state advisory posted on April 3, 2020 recommended that people make their own cloth masks, and save the professional-grade masks for the medical professionals.
“Another tool that may help to minimize transmission while people are around others outside of their household is the use of face coverings,” the press release continued. “Because we are experiencing a nationwide shortage of medical supplies, including facemasks, we recommend that Alaskans make their own face coverings and wear them in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) — especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.”
According to the State press release on April 3, there was sufficient evidence showing that asymptomatic and presymptomatic people can “shed” the virus to others. It was in sharp contrast to what Dr. Zink had stated just six weeks earlier.
“This means that people who have no symptoms whatsoever may be infected with the virus and capable of transmitting the virus to others when interacting in close proximity — for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing,” the state’s press release noted. “This heightens the need for community-wide implementation of control measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among people who are not experiencing symptoms of illness.”
Now, scientists are questioning just how true that statement is. In Nature, scientists say evidence shows that “about one in five infected people will experience no symptoms, and they will transmit the virus to significantly fewer people than someone with symptoms. But researchers are divided about whether asymptomatic infections are acting as a ‘silent driver’ of the pandemic.”
Sen. Marco Rubio earlier this week blasted Fauci for playing fast and loose with the facts.
Rubio wrote that Americans should cease “placing blind faith in unelected celebrity scientists — elevated by a media that award Emmys to negligent politicians with their own grisly records,” in reference to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent Emmy Award for hosting press conferences, despite his administration forcing COVID-19 patients into nursing homes, where they infected the residents, who then died from the virus.
“I do not question Dr. Fauci’s motives — I trust they are noble — but I am appalled by his arrogance,” Rubio wrote. “If he wants to lead the nation, he should run for office. Otherwise, he should give us an honest and transparent reading of the science, not polling data, and let the rest of us — policymakers and the American people who have elected them — do our jobs.”
The Philippines is banning the entry of travelers from the United States starting Sunday, through Jan. 15, in response to a more infectious variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus showing up in California, Colorado, and Florida.
Alaska’s Filipino population is more than 26,000, making it one of the state’s largest ethnic groups, with many intermarriages with Alaska Natives and other Alaskans. Alaska Filipino families often travel to and from The Philippines to visit family and vacation. Alaska ranks fourth in the nation for percentage of Filipinos, following Hawaii, California, and Nevada.
Filipinos who are citizens of The Philippines are not included in the ban, but must still quarantine for 14 days once arriving in Manila. Any traveler to The Philippines who arrives before Jan. 3 must also quarantine for 14 days, even if they have a negative COVID-19 test.
The Philippine government has a mandate that all persons to wear full-coverage face shields together with face masks while in public places. Local governments have additional requirements to slow the virus’ spread.
Two days earlier to the order, the country had issued a similar ban on travelers from Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, and Spain, due to the more contagious variant of the virus.
Hello and Happy New Year to friends, neighbors, and constituents,
With 2020 in our rearview mirror, we can see the New Year as a chance to rebuild what has been dismantled through a combination of illness and poor public policy.
Vaccines will be a game-changer here in Anchorage in the coming weeks. With our most vulnerable vaccinated, there should be no reason we cannot get our commercial and education sectors fully open, and very soon. We cannot let perfection become the enemy of progress. As always, I will support people’s right to choose whether a vaccine is right for them.
My goals for the coming year will focus on our economy in Anchorage. Government normally should be careful about trying to “create” an economy, when the creativity of the private sector is always much better. But this year is different, with government policies having had such a big part in our current situation. There may be better ways that local government can operate, and I’m open to hearing about them, and bringing them to the Assembly for consideration.
Thus, I’ll be hosting small-group meetings throughout the New Year and will be seeking your ideas about how we can kickstart our economy in Anchorage. Please put on your thinking cap and let’s work this problem together: How can we best get our economy back on its feet, and how can we get our children back to school? What are other communities doing that are practices we can quickly adopt?
I’m proud to represent Chugiak – Eagle River on the Anchorage Assembly. Since being sworn in on April 21, these months — during the worst period of our city’s history — have taught me so much, especially that local government needs all of us to get involved, so lawmakers don’t go off the rails and become overbearing in people’s lives.
I’m optimistic that here in Chugiak – Eagle River , we will weather this storm. I’m so proud of all of our residents for standing strong, for helping our neighbors in need, and for being the best of what Alaska represents. This is the year we in Chugiak – Eagle River will shine and lead the way.
May God bless you with prosperity and much happiness in the New Year! (Please drive safely and be sure to return home to your family in one piece!)
The Alaska minimum wage will increase from $10.19 to $10.34, effective Jan. 1, 2021.
It’s a 1.5 percent increase for workers — and a 1.5 percent cut into employers’ bottom line, which may have unintended consequences of having to cut workers’ hours, or even layoffs.
The impact will especially hit those who run restaurants, where workers often earn minimum wage plus tips. Restaurant owners in Anchorage, many of which are struggling to make rent and pay taxes, are currently allowed to open at just 25 percent capacity, hardly enough to make it worth opening the doors, and even harder to find workers who will work such shifts.
In 2014, Alaska voters passed a ballot initiative to adjust the minimum wage annually for inflation.
The Anchorage consumer price index increased 1.4 percent in 2019. By law, Alaska’s minimum wage must remain at least $1 per hour over the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25.
Alaska will receive another 52,900 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in January.
While the Phase 1a, Tiers 1 and 2 are still getting their first doses of the vaccine, Tier 3 Alaskans will begin their vaccinations on Jan. 4.
After that, the Phase 1b cohort will be senior citizens who are 65 years old or older, and those working in public safety, education, and other front-line workers. In another section of the guidance, the document says the vaccine will be available to those 65 years or older.
The 52,900 doses on the way in January include 27,300 doses of Pfizer vaccine, of which 7,800 doses are allocated to the Indian Health Service for Alaska Natives; and 25,600 doses of Moderna vaccine, with 8,400 of those doses reserved for Indian Health Service. That’s more than 28 percent of January doses reserved for Alaska Natives. Alaska Natives comprise about 18 percent of the population but have had serious health consequences from the virus.
Phase 1c will be prioritized for persons aged 65–74 years, persons aged 16–64 years with high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workers.
During public testimony last week, over 380 individuals and organizations submitted public comments about who should be at the head of the line for the vaccine. DHSS also had direct feedback from the Alaska Vaccine Allocation Advisory Committee. After review, the State of Alaska released thePhase 1b schedule.
The group trying to recall Anchorage Assembly Chair Felix Rivera is 500 signatures shy of having enough to put the question on the April 6 ballot.
The Reclaim Midtown group is planning a drive-through event on Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s drive-through event is noon-3 pm at La Mex Restaurant, 8330 King Street, off of Dimond Blvd.
Saturday’s signature event is from noon-3 pm at Tudor Bingo, 1436 E. Tudor Road.
Rivera represents Assembly District 4. Only those registered to vote in that district are qualified to sign the recall petition, which must have at least 2,735 qualified signatures by Jan. 5, when the petition must be turned into the Municipal Clerk’s Office, which will verify the signatures.
That number represents 25 percent of the votes cast in the April 7, 2020 election for the seat.
Reclaim Midtown is the ad-hoc group that formed originally to protest the Assembly’s plan to purchase hotels and other buildings to create a homeless industrial complex throughout Anchorage. The group felt the plan was not well-thought-out, had no plans for operational support, and would attract vagrants, drug abusers, and human traffickers to family neighborhoods.
Dave Bronson dashed to three campaign fundraisers in 24 hours between Dec. 29-30. He raised over $30,000 between the three events before the end of the year — cash that will help him buy signs, bumper stickers, and radio spots.
After a fundraiser in South Anchorage, attended by over 80, and an equally strong fundraiser in Chugiak, Bronson ended up in front of a fireplace, facing a camera, for a Facebook Livestream telethon fundraiser, hosted by one of his key supporters, Bernadette Wilson. The event was supposed to last an hour, but the donations kept on coming.
Candidates like Bronson, who is running for Anchorage mayor in the April 6 election, can only raise $500 from each individual donor in a calendar year, and so finishing the year strong is a strong priority for any candidate.
The third fundraiser was a first — perhaps in history: A live telethon with guests, a bell that was rung after every donation came in, and after the two-hour live event was over, and everything was tallied, Bronson had raised $17,000. The goal had only been $10,000.
Telethons are old-school devices used by charities, such as St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, or the old MDA Labor Day Telethon, featuring comic Jerry Lewis. Public television also does telethons each year, as well, to support public broadcasting. But candidates using it for fundraising on Facebook, where costs were kept to zero? That’s out-of-the-box thinking.
In fact, campaign strategists may be studying how this event got pulled off so well, who made it successful, and how it can be replicated for other campaigns in Alaska and the Lower 48.
Wilson, who once had a radio talk show and who is a rising political star in her own right, brought on several guests to tell viewers their stories of how government mandates have affected their lives.
The life stories began with Paul Berger, owner of the Carousel Lounge in Spenard, which is among the dozens of establishments in Anchorage that were shut down by order of the current mayor and the former mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who resigned in disgrace.
The Carousel Lounge has been open for two years, but the establishment has been in existence since 1967. Berger described how 16 of his employees were let go due to the mayor’s shutdown policies, and there were strokes, suicides, divorces, and other horrific life events among those laid-off workers, which he blames on the shutdowns.
Brittany Tompkins told viewers about the passing of her grandfather, who had been locked in a care facility, with his family unable to visit him for months, even while employed caretakers would come and go daily. They could have all the commercial and societal interactions and then go back to work at the care facility, but the family, including her grandmother, was locked out. Brittany’s story was heartbreaking and relatable.
“We weren’t there in the final moments to advocate for him,” Tomkins said. “The solution is worse than the virus.”
Trina Johnson, who owns LaMex Restaurant on Dimond Blvd, was a guest who used her time to complete the few words of testimony that had been cut off by Assembly Chair Felix Rivera during a public testimony opportunity in December. Her restaurant had been in existence through six generations and now has a “for sale” sign on it.
The donations came in with comments that they were in honor of people’s grandchildren, or in honor of an Assembly member who has been the most outrageous or callous. One donor said her gift was in honor of “all the restaurants that have been closed down.” Another said it was “in honor of Perfect Cup,” a restaurant that had been shut down by the mayor’s edict. One donor noted hers was in honor of “Condescending Constant,” referring to Assemblyman Chris Constant.
The event drew more than one donor a minute, over 550 Facebook comments, 5,300 viewers, and ultimately over $17,000 net.
The key to the telethon’s success was that it was not as much focused on the candidate, but on the people of Anchorage who have seen their families and friends crushed by the current administration.
