With environmental groups threatening companies that may have sought to bid on leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska’s own economic development corporation has decided to make sure those leases get buyers.

The board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority on Wednesday unanimously voted to allow the agency to bid up to $20 million on leases in the 1002 Area of the Coastal Plain of ANWR. The agency could then partner with a company to do the actual development work.

The federal lease takes place on Jan. 6, and some have worried that threats by environmentalists and fearful banks, that are responding to intense environmental pressure, will suppress interest in the opportunity to develop oil in the extremely resource-rich area.

Environmental groups and some private companies are threatening economic sanctions against companies that dare to work in the Arctic. Recently, The North Face refused to sell jackets to an oil services company, following in the footsteps of Patagonia; both companies make jackets, tents, and backpacks out of oil.

This fall, the Wilderness Society penned a letter to the CEOs of Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Hilcorp, warning them off of bidding on the leases. The letter, signed by 250 environmental organizations and some businesses, demanded the companies refuse to bid and also make a “public statement in opposition to the development of oil and gas in the Arctic Refuge. The reputational, environmental, climate and economic risks of drilling in the refuge are not worth the potential harm such calamity can do to your brand.”

The threatening letter continued:

“Investors are also taking notice. As evidenced by the recent announcements from five of the six largest US domestic banks, the pursuit of oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge comes with tremendous financial risk as well. Soon we will also be briefing asset managers, insurance and reinsurance companies on the risks of doing business in the Arctic Refuge. As the global community works to pivot away from fossil fuels in the face of climate change, the pursuit of oil and gas in remote corners of the globe will continue to face strong social and political opposition.

“Pursuing oil and gas in the Arctic Refuge is increasingly fraught with financial risk. At a time when demand for oil and gas is likely in permanent decline, drilling in the Arctic Refuge doesn’t make fiscal sense. Arctic lease sales are likely to be challenged legally, resulting in additional costs for your beleaguered industry. The risks of investing in new oil exploration are high – no investment in drilling in the Arctic Refuge should be considered safe.”

Wednesday night’s meeting of the AIDEA board was dominated by members of environmental groups testifying in opposition to the proposal, with caribou, polar bears, and other wildlife being their chief concern. Polar bears are now relatively abundant in the Arctic, with their main threat being Native and their Inuit-guided trophy hunting clients, which are responsible for about 900 polar bear deaths each year. There are believed to be more than 31,000 polar bears in the Arctic, a dramatic increase from the 12,000 polar bear count in the 1960s. Likewise, caribou are abundant, particularly in the North American Arctic.

The AIDEA board discussed the leasing proposal in executive session for over two hours and then voted unanimously to proceed.

It’s the latest salvo in the war over Alaska’s future economic viability as a state, and a 352,00-acre portion of the refuge’s 1.6 million acre coastal plain, which is mainly gravel and water.

Earlier this month, environmental groups and their surrogates asked a federal judge in Anchorage to prevent the U.S. Department of Interior from allowing the leases to proceed before President Donald Trump leaves office. Inauguration Day is on Jan. 20, 12 days after the lease sale is scheduled.

In all, four lawsuits have been filed since August over the lease sales, with three of them asking for preliminary injunctions.

The acting mayor of Anchorage says the city will not buy America’s Best Value Inn as part of an overall plan to address the need for additional shelter and housing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson had already backed out of purchasing the Tudor Road Alaska Club building to provide services to vagrants and homeless in Anchorage.

But Quinn-Davidson did go ahead with the purchase of the Golden Lion Hotel on 36th and New Seward earlier this month, a purchase that came in at over $9 million.

The Golden Lion, Alaska Club, and America’s Best Value were part of a four-building purchase authorization by the Municipal Assembly to spread services and shelters throughout various districts in Anchorage, and take the burden off of the urban core, where most of the social problems related to homelessness and drug or alcohol addiction are centered.

But meanwhile, 120 homeless people are being housed at former Mayor Mark Begich’s Aviator Hotel on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage. Begich acquired the sprawling building earlier this year. Without customers, Begich cut a deal with the city to house homeless, at a rate not yet revealed by the municipality.

The highly controversial Ordinance 2020-66 authorized the purchase of specific buildings as part of former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ plan to expand the homeless industrial complex in Anchorage.

After he resigned in disgrace, Acting Mayor Quinn-Davidson inherited the project, which she had approved as part of the Anchorage Assembly, which directed some of the CARES Act funds from the federal government for the ambitious project.

The America’s Best Value Inn on Spenard Road backs up to a dormitory-style building that houses youth from villages who come into Anchorage for training. As it turns out, like the Tudor Road building, repairs would cost too much.

“Through the due diligence process, which the MOA uses before acquiring any property, significant costly repairs and mandatory upgrades were identified, including extensive upgrades to the elevators, stairwells, plumbing and electrical systems, and repairs to the exterior siding and roof. While some mandatory upgrades and repairs were anticipated, the costs of these upgrades and repairs were so high as to make acquisition no longer in the best interest of the municipality,” the acting mayor wrote.

“COVID-19 created an acute shortage of shelter space in Anchorage. The Municipality addressed the problem by standing up the mass shelter at the Sullivan Arena, however, that is not a permanent solution. The Sullivan Arena was not designed or intended to function as a shelter, and operating it as one costs almost $1 million per month. This cost is temporarily being reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Providing more housing options will return the Sullivan Arena to general community use, save the Municipality money, and help reduce homelessness in Anchorage, ensuring residents aren’t left out in the cold,” she wrote.

“The Anchorage Assembly previously directed the MOA to create additional shelter space, supportive housing, and support services outside of the downtown area; the MOA will continue vetting properties that meet that criteria,” she wrote.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Josie Garton today reversed her ruling of Tuesday, when she had dismissed a claim by Rep. Lance Pruitt that a last-minute change of polling places in his district had an impact on election results.

In today’s surprise ruling, Garton stayed her previous dismissal. Evidently, after Tuesday’s testimony, the judge believes that there’s enough smoke, and there may very well be fire.

Pruitt lost by 11 votes to Liz Snyder when the election was certified. But the polling place that has always been strong for him was moved with no notice, and that worked against Pruitt.

On Tuesday, his lawyer Stacey Stone showed the court that the last-minute change of voting venue confused voters and likely depressed the turnout on Election Day.

Stone had brought political analyst and election expert Randy Ruedrich, a Republican campaign volunteer, to explain how a drop in at least 57 votes in the district was enough to have given Snyder the win.

That’s because Snyder and the Democrats did not turn out at the polls on Election Day. Their strategy all along was to get everyone on their side of the political aisle to vote absentee.

Today, when called to the witness stand, Dr. Snyder fudged the truth, telling the court that she didn’t even know the polling place had been moved until she learned of the lawsuit by Pruitt.

But lawyer Stone then presented the court an exhibit that showed that on Nov. 3 — Election Day — Snyder had written on Facebook that the polling places were wrong at the Division of Elections website.

When shown the exhibit, Snyder said that one of her campaign staff must have posted it, not her. She sought to put distance between herself and her Facebook page, disavowing the words under her image.

Lawyer Stone also quickly took apart the state’s key witness, an economist at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska.

On behalf of the State, Democrat Ralph Townsend proceeded to explain why he thought Ruedrich’s analysis of Tuesday was wrong.

Stone quickly neutered his testimony, as he admitted he had no experience analyzing elections or performing election data analysis. He did, however, take a few political science classes as an undergraduate, he offered. Townsend is a fisheries expert.

Townsend was discredited as a witness after, at the beginning of his testimony, he said he volunteered to be an expert witness, only to later admit to the court that he had been recruited to testify by Liz Snyder’s lawyer, Jennifer Alexander who also slipped him the Ruedrich written analysis to take a look at. It was not yet a public record.

Another one of the Snyder witness was dismissed by the judge. Snyder’s proposed witness was going to walk the court through how to use the “Way-back Machine” on the internet. The judge ruled the man was not an appropriate witness. The Wayback Machine is a simple internet archive of websites.

No more witnesses were called by the Snyder-State side of the election case today. Closing arguments, due Thursday, will be done in writing.

Judge Garton could rule or proceed to a “fact and findings” for the Supreme Court to take up the matter.

The Alaska Legislative Council is suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy over appointments of numerous public servants, who the Legislature has not confirmed. The appointees were not confirmed because the Legislature refused to call itself into session after gaveling out in May, with its constitutionally mandated work unfinished.

The confirmations of tens of dozens of appointees — from Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney to members of the Fish Board and Oil and Gas Commission, and even Public Defender Samantha Cherot — were left hanging after the Legislature gaveled out of session earlier this year in a desperate attempt to get out of Juneau ahead of the COVID-19 virus.

 The Legislature suspended its regular session effective March 29 through May 18, 2020. The Legislature then adjourned on May 20.

Lawmakers, in what some see as a failure of the leadership of Sen. President Cathy Giessel and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, never reconvened in special session to finish their work.

The Legislative Council, which manages the affairs of the Legislature when it is not in session, met in executive session on Tuesday before voting 11-1 to sue the governor.

Sen. John Coghill, of Fairbanks, made the motion to sue the governor and was supported by Sens. Tom Begich, Natasha Von Imhof, Cathy Giessel, Lyman Hoffman, Gary Stevens, and Reps. Neal Foster, Jennifer Johnston, Chuck Kopp, Louise Stutes, and Steve Thompson. Sen. Bert Stedman voted no. Von Imhof was not present.

Dunleavy has said in various statements to the media that his appointees would continue to serve, but House Rep. Chuck Kopp, who lost his reelection bid and who is a foe of the governor, calls the governor’s action unlawful “according to HB 309.”

HB 309 was actually signed into law by Dunleavy, apparently to make a good-faith gesture toward the Legislature, which was not finishing its work in the spring. The bill says the any of his appointees who are not confirmed by the Legislature will expire before the next legislative session.

Now, the governor says that as far as he is concerned, those appointments are valid because the Legislature failed to fulfill its constitutional duty.

HB 309 may in fact be in conflict with the Alaska Constitution, which says the Legislature “shall” meet to confirm the governor’s appointees.

HB 309 may have allowed hostile members of the Legislature such as Kopp, who serves as House Rules Chair, to perform a “pocket veto,” a term used to describe killing legislation or an action by simply putting it in one’s pocket. That method of chicanery was something to be avoided in the Alaska Constitution, which set up a form of government that allows the governor to nimbly execute the laws of the state. The Legislature is under a constitutional mandate to perform this duty, but it also cannot be sued if it does not perform it.