The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday will vote on lobbying contracts for three lobbying companies, which will represent Anchorage to the Alaska State Legislature during the upcoming session, which starts Jan. 19 and lasts between 90-120 days typically.
The lobbyists are Sonia Henrick, Reggie Joule, and Jordan Marshall.
The three are expected to be awarded $60,0000, $55,000, and $50,000, respectively. All have represented the municipality in the past.
Editor’s note: The Assembly did not get to the bond package during its Tuesday meeting and will take it up again on Thursday.
The Anchorage Assembly will be voting on a package of bonds on Tuesday Thursday that will be placed on the April 6 ballot. The bonds total approximately $60 million and come with a mechanism to bypass the tax cap, because if approved, then associated operating costs are also approved, driving up the cost of government.
A municipal bond is a bond allows the government to borrow money, paid back through taxes, generally used to finance public projects such as roads, schools, airports and seaports, and infrastructure-related repairs.
Every year the Anchorage voters vote yes on almost all the bonds. One reason is because government workers and unions make up the lion’s share of the voters in a municipal election.
The Anchorage Assembly begins at 6 pm. Thursday at the Loussac Library, 3600 Denali, Room 108. Limited seating is available, and there is overflow seating. The proceedings may also be watched online at http://www.muni.org/watchnow
Must Read Alaska has learned that quite a few residents will be attending the meeting to voice their opinions.
The bonds being voted on at Thursday’s meeting include:
The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program officially reopened on Jan. 11.
The agency is accepting what “first-draw” loans from small businesses that have not yet gotten a PPP loan. Those small businesses must work through lenders the government categorizes as “community financial institutions.” Those are community development financial institutions, minority deposit institutions, certified development companies and microloan intermediaries. These lenders can process applications and submit them to the SBA first.
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, those small businesses applying for a second PPP loan will be able to access the applications, but also just through community financial institutions.
First Draw PPP Loans can be used to help fund payroll costs, including benefits, the SBA said. Funds can also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020, and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations.
Terms
First Draw PPP Loans made to eligible borrowers qualify for full loan forgiveness if during the 8- to 24-week covered period following loan disbursement:
Employee and compensation levels are maintained;
The loan proceeds are spent on payroll costs and other eligible expenses; and
At least 60 percent of the proceeds are spent on payroll costs.
Who Can Apply: Eligible small entities, that together with their affiliates (if applicable), have 500 or fewer employees—including nonprofits, veterans organizations, tribal concerns, self-employed individuals, sole proprietorships, and independent contractors—can apply. Entities with more than 500 employees in certain industries that meet SBA’s alternative size standard or SBA’s size standards for those particular industries can also apply.
Reapplying and Loan Increases: Existing PPP borrowers that did not receive loan forgiveness by December 27, 2020 may: (1) reapply for a First Draw PPP Loan if they previously returned some or all of their First Draw PPP Loan funds, or (2) under certain circumstances, request to modify their First Draw PPP Loan amount if they previously did not accept the full amount for which they are eligible.
How and When to Apply: Borrowers can apply for a First Draw PPP Loan until March 31, 2021, through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, eligible non-bank lender, or Farm Credit System institution that is participating in PPP. All new First Draw PPP Loans will have the same terms regardless of lender or borrower. A list of participating lenders as well as additional information and full terms can be found HERE.
Ensuring Access for All: SBA continues to call upon its lending partners, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), to redouble their efforts to assist eligible borrowers in underserved and disadvantaged communities. At least $15 billion is being set aside for First Draw PPP loans to eligible borrowers with a maximum of 10 employees or for loans of $250,000 or less to eligible borrowers in low- or moderate-income neighborhoods. To promote access for smaller lenders and their customers, SBA will initially only accept loan applications from community financial institutions starting on January 11, 2021. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter.
Visit www.sba.gov or www.treasury.gov for more information and details, including the comprehensive program rules.
The order by President Donald Trump regarding security of the Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris:
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the District of Columbia and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the District’s response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the District of Columbia.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 100 percent Federal funding.
Pete Gaynor, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Thomas J. Fargione as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
Although Alaska Senate Republicans vastly outnumber Democrats, Must Read Alaska has learned that a bipartisan majority is developing, with Republican Bert Stedman of Sitka taking a group of Republicans with him to form up a majority with Democrats.
That would flip the Senate to Democrat control, even though only seven of the senators are Democrat in the 20-member body.
Sen. Peter Micciche has been working on forming a Republican leadership structure since August, when it became apparent that Republicans had the majority. That may have fallen apart this week, although it appears the new majority is not yet written in stone.
It’s unclear why Republicans in the Senate are having trouble organizing, but Mat-Su Valley Republicans are definitely part of the discussion — Sens. Shelley Hughes, Mike Shower, and David Wilson are all seeking powerful roles in a Republican majority. [Sen. Shower disputes this characterization.]
MRAK has learned that Click Bishop, Natasha Von Imhof, Gary Stevens are part of the discussion with the new bipartisan majority with Democrats Senators Jesse Kiehl, Tom Begich, Elvi Gray-Jackson, Lyman Hoffman, Donny Olson, Bill Wielechowski, and Scott Kawasaki.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. should be placed on the TSA “no fly” list, for their part in challenging the Electoral College, said the House Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, made the remarks Monday on the Joe Madison radio show on Sirius XM.
“There’s no question about it,” Thompson said, and added that further charges and expulsion from Congress should also occur.
Cruz is a popular figure in Alaska, winning the most votes in the 2020 Republican presidential preference poll, and having the most delegates from Alaska at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He has traveled to Alaska numerous times to campaign for Sen. Dan Sullivan, and crisscrossed the state with Sullivan this past summer.
I recently wrote an open letter advocating for reopening our businesses and refocusing our city’s resources on helping both the employees and employers hurting from the shutdown.
When I first read some of the comments in the ADN, I wondered if the letter I wrote had actually been published, or if it was some other very different one that people were responding to.
So I read it again and yes, the ADN did print my words faithfully and even added a title which, if I had been a better writer, would have chosen for myself.
I then realized that my letter had, for many readers at least, been a failure. The message had been lost. For nowhere in my writing did I believe there to be hate but instead truly a call to greater, more effective, compassion and cooperation.
Do I think we should reopen Anchorage? Yes, I do. Do I think it is possible we may close again? Yes, I do.
More importantly though, whichever course we choose, I strongly believe that as a city we must refocus on our neighbors who are hurting. It is the duty of a government to help all of its citizens, not just the ones in hospitals.
I also learned that I was ignorant of the importance of shamanism, both past and present, to our indigenous neighbors. No more ignorant, I dare say, than those who assume that any race has a monopoly on shamans.
In fact, every culture, race, and ethnicity has practiced – and in some cases still do practice – shamanism.
When I wrote the line about witch doctors, shamans, and quacks, the faces framed in my mind’s eye were coincidentally white, peering into a cauldron or selling snake oil from a Conestoga wagon, perhaps because I happen to be white.
Just as Europeans have not had a monopoly on violence, imperialism, or any of the other heinous barbarities of history neither have Alaska’s Inuit or Yup’ik enjoyed a monopoly on shamanism.
In this ignorance I realized that I had given offense in a way that my upbringing makes me particularly sensitive to, as I too am proud of my heritage.
With this understanding in my heart I sincerely say I am sorry.
Finally, I am reminded that when we see something new – a new idea, a new person, anything – we can choose to judge it or be curious about it. It is easier to judge but, by being curious, we can learn something new. For me this time it was new knowledge about a part of Alaska’s Native heritage.
But even more than that, by being curious, I realized that I have an awful lot in common with the folks who have commented on my letter, even the angry ones.
Perhaps if more of us can take a moment to be curious about a new idea, assume the other person is sincere, we can take some small steps to building a better city together.
The Dimond Center, Alaska’s biggest mall, says that a planned protest on Jan. 17 may not take place on its premises in Anchorage.
Dimond Center management issued a public statement about a nationwide rally that organizers are planning for that day:
The “Refuse to be Silenced” rally is being billed on social media as an “Armed march on Capitol Hill and all state capitols.” In Alaska, organizers have apparently chosen the Dimond Center as the location for the Alaska rally. However, management of the Dimond Center, asserting its private property rights, insists the event will not be allowed on its premises.
“We’re not making a political statement, but the Dimond Center is a private, family-owned business and is not an appropriate venue for an event such as this,” said Bob Dye, Dimond Center General Manager. “We suggest that a traditional venue like the Park Strip is more appropriate for this rally.”
Dye says the Dimond Center is coordinating with local and federal law enforcement to insure the event does not take place there and that the property is protected. The Dimond Center and its parking lots will be closed to the public on Sunday, January 17 out of an abundance of caution.
Using unnamed sources, all mainstream media is reporting the same thing, that the FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The media, led by ABC News, says that this is “stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.”
The warning came in what is said an internal FBI memo, read by law enforcement officials to ABC News. The law enforcement officials believe that extremists are involved.
“Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the U.S. Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” the bulletin reportedly said, according to one official.
The response from several Alaskans has been a sense of incredulity and that the mainstream media is ginning up panic.
A majority of Alaskans are armed and have their firearms on them during the normal course of their business. If they went to a protest, it would not be a different situation than going to the grocery or out on the trail.
Further, to go to Alaska’s Capital, protesters would have to fly to Juneau, and in doing so, would have to alert Alaska Airlines that they were shipping their firearms.
Juneau is the most isolated state capital in the nation.
However, Oregon State Police were preparing for protests at the Capitol in Salem Monday and 750 National Guard members are assigned to protect the Capitol building in Olympia, Wash., joined by local law enforcement.
Washington’s Legislature were meeting on Monday to change the rules so legislators can be fully remote for the 105-day session.
Back in 2018, Democrat protesters went to Wasilla, Alaska and occupied the legal proceedings of the Legislature, including taking over legislators’ chairs, where they were set up in a gymnasium. They also chained themselves to the doors, as shown in photos above and yelled at legislators, preventing them from conducting business, and generally creating an unsafe building.
Today, The Washington Post reported that the radio station that hosts conservative talk shows such as Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, and Dan Bongino, has ordered the hosts to stop saying the election was stolen or they will have their shows cancelled.
