Rep. Lance Pruitt lost his race in District 27 by 16 votes to Democrat activist Liz Snyder, but the question is being raised: Was there fraud?
The Alaska Supreme Court opened the door to fraud when it allowed absentee ballots to be voted on without a witness. Add to that the ballot harvesting that was rampant throughout the neighborhood, compliments of Outside groups pushing Democrat U.S. Senate Candidate Al Gross.
Normally 2.5 percent of vote-by-mail ballots in this district are discarded because of some failure on the ballot, be it a signature or some other mistake.
But this year, only .37 percent of the vote-by-mail ballots in District 27 were rejected. It’s a big anomaly when there’s a 16-vote difference.
In 2016, 819 mail-in ballots were received by the Division of Elections for District 27, and 25 were rejected for some fatal deficiency.
This year, 3,533 mail-in ballots were received, and just 13 were rejected, a 99.6 percent acceptance rate.
The court’s ruling on “no witness needed” may have also affected District 15, where Republican David Nelson leads Democrat Lyn Franks by about 90 votes.
In October, the Supreme Court agreed with the ACLU and liberal litigants that a witness signature is not needed on ballots this year, due to COVID-19. That’s overturning state law that requires the signature to ensure a greater level of voting security.
Once ballots are separated from their absentee vote envelopes by election officials, the votes cannot be traced back to those voters. There is no practical way to determine if the absentee votes in District 27 were legitimate, no way to put those ballots back in the envelopes and start over.
Ballot harvesters from the Al Gross and Alyse Galvin campaigns went through the voter rolls in Anchorage and Fairbanks and swarmed District 27, where they gathered up absentee ballots from low-turnout voters.
It’s hard to say who actually voted those ballots, but Must Read Alaska estimates show that up to 500 votes in District 27 may have been harvested by Democratic operatives who were shipped in from out of state.
To compare, in the 2018 election over 3.1 percent of all mail-in ballots were rejected statewide. The final totals from around the state are not in yet for 2020, but the District 27 results may be telling about whether signatures from voters are being verified at all.
The Left pushed vote-by-mail on Alaskans, promising it was secure. Many of the ballot harvesters told voters they did not want to go to the polls, because they might catch the coronavirus. They asked them to hand over their ballots instead.
Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer has said there will be a hand count of the district’s race, but once the ballot is separated from the envelope, there’s no putting it back and checking the signatures to see if legitimate voters really voted those ballots.
The entire statement of Edie Grunwald, to the court on Nov. 20, 2020, prior to the sentencing of Austin Barrett in the kidnapping that ended in the November, 2016 murder of Edie’s son, 16-year-old David Grunwald:
Judge Heath,
First, thank you and the district attorneys, the troopers, friends, and community members for sticking with us throughout this ordeal. The past four years have been miserable. Three trials, and two plea deals later and on the anniversary of David’s murder – tomorrow – Nov 13th 2016, here we are. I appreciate everyone’s diligence and considerations. None of this has been easy. Yet, I recognize how truly exceptional the District Attorney, Mr. Roman Kalycheck and Ms. Melissa Howard have been in their jobs along with Alaska State Trooper Tony Wegzryn and his team. Judge Heath, we recognize you have been very careful and protective of the rights of all involved.
As you might imagine, as David’s parents, we are crushed to our cores. Our hearts and soul have been drained over what our son had to endure the last couple of hours of his life. He was confused, hurt, in pain, crying, not understanding what or why these four guys were doing to him. He just wanted to hang out a little bit before heading home – get a little “guy time.” He went to the little bathroom, they held the door closed – Come on, stupid joke. The door opened and he felt his skull scream – over an over, trying to protect himself, he put his arms up – getting hit and bloody – crying – why, stop, hearing laughter and hateful words – why? Please stop. Feeling pulled and lifted and dragged to his Bronco, hearing whispers of guns, killing, getting pushed into the back seat between and caught – then asked where are the keys – take the keys, my wallet, anything, in and out of consciousness, yet coherent enough to know where he was and ask to be let out near his girlfriends house. David had entered the devils’ lair and had no idea what was in store for him. Ben and I think and weep about our son getting pistol whipped and his ride to his death. “Take my Bronco, my wallet, anything…” sitting in his own vehicle being lied to, his cell phone being broken and tossed out the window, “he won’t be needing this any longer.” Driving slowly 40-60 minutes – a long, long time for any one of these guys to change the course of everyone’s lives…. But stuck to the plan…. Finally stopping, pulling David out of his own vehicle, walking him deep into the woods with a sweatshirt and slippers on. I wonder how he was able to keep those slippers on, maybe he thought he would need them. It wasn’t an easy walk through the snow, trees, brush… David’s life, thoughts of his parents, his future, his friends, his mistake in deciding to go hang out a little bit before going home. Dear God.
The group stops, David looks up – I see, feel, hear the click of the trigger, instant noise and searing blackness with white dots. David’s soul is no longer in his body. He might be watching these guys run off, he might see his slipper that came off his foot at that point. Then again, the blackness, the loss, the vacancy of his body laying there in the sub-zero weather, light snow falling, treetops – empty of leaves, the dark sky with a few starts peeking through and moon light casting shadows…quiet, nothingness. They left his beaten, broken and brain-blasted body there, an empty shell, slowly oozing what gravity is pulling out. No heart beat, no breath, no life. They ran away with the intent of no one ever finding him as his body quickly cooled down, froze and frost bite settled in.
With adrenalin pumping, excitement, they proceeded to get rid of the evidence.
This was not supposed to happen. David was supposed to be home at 9:20 that night. To some, that might seem a bit strict or even odd. We had curfews, we had trust, we had love, hopes, dreams, chores, homework, errands, plans along with school the next day.
Before David left to drive his best friend/girlfriend home, he made me promise to pick up his new down hill skiis that we had his boots mounted on – while he was at school. He wanted to drive my new Jeep that night – oh, so bad!!! David helped me pick it out and I considered letting him drive that evening and even riding in the back seat, but figured – oh, he’ll have lots of opportunities to drive it.
Expressing this out loud – is a must – we have to be David’s voice. Victims often get lost in the judicial system. They get even more victimized during the judicial process. The defense attorneys, the defense families and their friends, the media – some who have jumped and mischaracterized our son’s actions and involvement. Yet, during the course of the trials, it came out that David was a good kid and not part of this group. Even though in one of the interviews, it was explicitly stated that this was NOT over smoking “all of their weed” – the media took the comment out of context and ran with it. Locals ran with it and took down David’s “Remember me” signs replacing it with “blaming marijuana” signs. I have come to despise the assumptions people make which has made me more aware of my own assumptions and backing away to get a bigger view and understanding – not just for my son’s horrific experience – but relationships, politics, and more.
When David didn’t call or show up at 9:20 p.m., we knew something was wrong. I tried calling him several times, left messages. Then I called Victoria to ask what time he left and where he might have been headed. We then called Eric, Eric’s father, even Devin Peterson at Eric’s father recommendation. Victoria started reaching out to all sorts of people for information and each of these vicious group members lied and mislead her, us, the troopers. The troopers even questioned us because of what they were saying. We had to write a letter describing David and that he was not a runaway and had no desire to go off the grid – lies given by this group.
All night on the 13th on November, David’s father and I drove around looking for evidence of breaking down, sliding off the road… anything… Stopped at the trooper station and they said they would look around.
The next day we got word that David’s Bronco was found burned – way across town, behind Wasilla on a trail. Instant fright, horrific scenes played out of David being burned to a crisp leading to scenes of David out there in those woods somewhere – people searching everywhere.
At this point, people came from all over as we started searching for our 16-year old son imagining all sorts of horrific and even hopeful situations! All the while, the deranged group were partying, lying, going about their lives.
During this time, the troopers, family, trackers, US Marshal, search and rescue groups, private investigators, drones, horses, dogs, a helicopter – community members, our military family, our church family, our neighbors – everyone searched. This went on for 19 days – Then… I had to ask the dentist for David’s dental records (David’s dentist for all of his life – they were invested). We had to give DNA samples. Hope slowly drained. The realization that the love and light of our lives is more than likely gone pushed us way down.
Dec 2nd, around 4 p.m. the trooper showed up. I didn’t move from the couch. Didn’t want to listen, or even know. The words: “We found David.”
The devastation, sadness, disbelief, need to regroup and try to think what’s next. It’s interesting the details that tend to derail the big picture – but it all adds up. The shock numbed me, tricked me… I heard “we got the bad guy.” Okay… but we don’t have our son. “There are more involved.” More? Then on the eve of a massive vigil for David, the others were arrested – including Austin Barrett.
Our nights have been sleepless, plagued with nightmares and waking yelling. Then and even now. Each time a hearing, a motion, a court date – we live it all over.
Our district attorneys worked hard, hard, hard with answering motions, filing motions, preparing for the trials, and working for the best possible outcomes – including what’s left with this plea deal for Austin Barrett. It’s too bad we are left with this – but we have it.
I joined the active duty Air Force in 1984 and come to Alaska on my first duty station. I have given up so much and invested so much for my state and country. I officially retired Sept 2015 planning to spend my time with David, get him through high school – his high school of choice: MatSu Career and Tech. He applied for the 9th grade and was supposedly #1 on the wait list. My awesome neighbors have two kids who have been extremely successful at Colony, so we figured, this might work out. David worked hard. He disliked the noise and crowds at Colony, but he liked certain subjects and we worked with the staff and kept in contact with the teachers to learn and advance.
School is oneopportunity to learn. During my career, I took David on many trips and exposed him to many different experiences – we called them “field trips.” We went to science centers, zoos, visited family, tried new foods, different cultures. I brought him to base, introduced him all sorts of activities, leaders, even the dining facility, climbing wall, bowling, golfing, family days, family programs events, air shows – he would take his hat off with his hand over his heart for the National Anthem. He attended many military events, ceremonies, pinned my promotions, and was the camera guy for a retirement ceremony. Those who worked with me enjoyed it when David joined in. He may not have always been compliant – an independent thinker, but he respected authority and was very proud of his parents and his connection to the military.
David built his own computer. He was a Lego-maniac and built projects years beyond his age group. David was a master at MineCraft with a logistics company that employed several hundred. David like aviation. David was very excited about his future and would often catch me, jumping up and down – aske me… what should I do? What will it be like? Tell me. Tell me. I wan to know. I would smile at his enthusiasm.
David attended Space Camp and Aviation Camp at NASA in Huntsville, Alabama each summer except one summer. This one summer – the plan was set to go, but he failed English. A kid has to be held accountable. English was difficult for him in the 9th grade, no book, lots to keep up with… it happens. Summer School was amazing. The teacher was incredible with David, he loved it and got an A. He was able to attend summer camp at Solid Rock Bible Camp, which he totally enjoyed each summer.
Tenth grade at Colony seemed to go fine, in addition he applied again to MatSu Career and Tech and was accepted for the 11th grade. This summer, 2016, David attended his Mach 4 Aviation camp in Huntsville and enjoyed it tremendously. We had a family reunion, we were able to spend time with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great uncles and great aunts from Louisiana, Mississippi, Washington DC, and Virginia. David then attended Solid Rock Bible Camp, enjoying his water sports. We got a call one evening and David told us his news: he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.
David was our only biological child, one whom I prayed for and was blessed with. He was God’s child. He attended a Montessori pre-school, then attended Anchorage Christian School for Kindergarten, he went with me to Alabama and attended Alabama Christian Academy for the 1stgrade. He played soccer, took karate, played basketball, attended military events, made friends, we went to church Wed and Sunday. We experienced tornadoes, a hurricane, flooding, insects. David had a parakeet named Zeeke who would hang out on his shoulder. We tried golfing, canoeing – made the best of this field trip. We topped it off with a miserable hot trip to Disney World. Wait, the best part: a deep sea fishing trip in the gulf of Mexico for Red Fish with me and his Aunt M.L.
Back at Anchorage Christian School for the 2nd – 4th grades, then after moving to the Valley, we homeschooled for two years. David went to Washington DC/Virginia with me for a three-month tour where he was in a co-op home school. David was the child who built and flew paper airplanes at the talent contest. Field trips consisted of a train ride to NY with me and his grandma, going to visiting all of the historical sites in Washington DC, with the Museum with dinosaurs being his favorite, well maybe next to the aviation museum. He enjoyed the soft hot dog from a street vendor. We got a tour of the White House. We visited our state legislators there. We met George Washington. A favorite was being able to hit a new release movie for 1st showing.
I would like to note that we spent time with extended family at every opportunity – every trip. It’s important to do this when we live so far away. When David’s sister was accepted into the Coast Guard Academy, we all went. We checked out the Academy, checked out Connecticut and went to Boston and explored the history there with his Aunt Cheri.
We all have mourned and mourned and grieved and grieved.
Thinking back 1999- When I found out that I was truly pregnant – 37 years old… dreams, joy, excitement was tremendous. Ben and I made the best of every moment the pregnancy. The older kids were very excited and looked forward to having a baby brother (or sister). Ben had a great sense of humor (I say had, because it has diminished since all of this) – David also had a sense of humor – a bit quirky and silly, but he had me as a mom. He always seemed to keep a smile on our faces. And apparently, he also used his humor with his friends and sometimes his teachers. After home school for two years, David was picked up at Academy Charter. Great School, staff, teachers – hands on with lots of field trips: to McCarthy and even to China! David decided he wanted to try a different math class, so sat in a class that he was not assigned to. It took a while for the teacher to pick up on this, and all of the students got a kick out of it. I’m told that to this day the kids “pull a David” by sitting in classes they are not assigned to. I had an assignment to Hawaii and brought David as a field trip. He had to journal and capture everything on his IPAD. We would drive past this nuclear-looking plant every day. While I was at his school afterwards, one of the teachers asked me about how David “saved” the nuclear plant. He cracked all of us up at times.
I would tuck David in most nights and would pray over him. Our Father, we pray to you tonight to keep David safe, give him good dreams, let him wake up healthy and happy. I prayed for his future wife and children. We were very protective, taught David how to be alert and aware of his surroundings. Who would’ve guessed that I was even worried about meningitis? And even more far-etched – who would have guessed dangers such as vicious, hateful violence from those around his own age were a threat.
Thinking about all of that now is very difficult. Those were the days when we could watch over him, protect him and keep him safe. No public bathrooms, don’t talk to strangers, don’t open the door, question everything. But, as you and every other parent knows and understands, all children have that unforgivable habit of growing up.
Weekends were filled with chores, recreation, church, French toast, bacon burgers, visiting with friends, skiing, biking, fishing, playing games on the computer, researching his ideas. We had a wonderful life, David was deeply loved and while he did not have everything he wanted – his Christmas and Birthday lists were always fun and off the charts. We were teaching and guiding him to be a problem solver and a leader.
Our lives seem to be divided into two parts- One: when David was alive and two, after his death. As I say this, the acrid taste in my mouth forms and the acid builds in my stomach…sixteen. He was barely three months into the 11th grade and all he wanted to do was graduate from MatSu Career Tech. David would have graduated 2018, but here we are 2020 and David should be turning 21 in January – but he will never have another birthday. No 17, no 18, no 19… Yet, his murderers continue to have birthdays, life, friends, contact with family, cable TV, options and choices. David will never get a 2nd chance – ever. Which leads me to saying that these particular murderers should not have a second chance. They need to bear the consequences of their actions. What they did was heinous. David had no junior and no senior year, no more downhill skiing, mountain biking, building a business, no more options as his body is deteriorating six feet under surrounded by honorable and patriotic military members – the closest he can ever get to being in the military. David’s life is all gone – in an instant, no warning. Just gone.
To this day, it is difficult – this can’t be happening, I am stuck in a horrible nightmare but again, the unrelenting truth does not allow a moment to breathe. What many people do not understand is that this is a forever thing. It’s is the new normal.
Our older son, who is special needs has had a very difficult time with all of this – just terrible on his physical and mental health. He did not want to get on Zoom, but wanted me to share a few things:
Alaska should start a Scared Straight program. I wish to decrease situation like what happened to David as much as possible.
If the Scared Straight Program is not immediately feasible, some kind of program should happen to show young people that gang-banging is NOT cool.
I hope the four perpetrators get sent to the most terrible prison possible so they can learn the hard way where gang-banging gets you.
Many of David’s friends and class-mates and others have been horrified at what has occurred. These crimes have had a tsunami effect across our lives, community and nation.
One of David’s best friends, Levi, and Levi’s father, Matt are devastated from what has happened. David spent a lot of time at their house and David loved helping Matt work on his airplane and learning everything he could from Matt. Matt was a computer technician and David loved Matt. 1st, Matt saw David’s bright future, his interest in science and tech, how he was a good friend, his contributions to his community. Matt wants to give David honor. 2nd, the actions of Austin Barrett took all of that away. Matt saw how it affected me and Ben and his own sons Levi and Lewis, close friends, Victoria, Gus, Isaac, and Jamus. Months after the murder Levi was suicidal, his entire world flipped upside down, still to this day he is unable to really talk about David and what happened and is forever affected by the brutal and vile actions of the people that took David from us.
3rd, Justice. What is justice? It is an attempt by the government to punish wrong doers or an attempt to make things fair? In the case of a stolen car or burned home, justice could be punishment for those actions and restitution to replace the car of the home. But, what justice could possibly be served for taking someone’s life, someone’s child and someone’s friend? Nothing AB can do will bring David back – so that leaves us with punishment. What lawful punishment could possibly come close to bringing forth justice? AB continues to draw breath, but David does not. The system of government comes to AB’s aid in a plea bargain, but people who knew David are not heard. David is not heard. We get a short statement from the victims as opposed to weeks of statements defending AB. We believe that there is a God in heaven that knows what justice is because He defines it. He knows exactly what AB did and exactly the penalty due – and there is no escape from it.
David has many aunts and uncles, but because we are limited to statutory defined victims, David’s Aunt Katherine’s sentiments reflect the sentiments of all David’s family and it is applicable and comes from me, David’s mother. It is only a few minutes long describes a bit more about the impact on us. [Plays recording].
Next up is my mother, David’s grand-mother. She is 80 years old and she has lived through many, many horrific times: her first husband, my father was murdered; she was victimized, beat nearly to her death on numerous occasions by a 2nd husband, lost a few babies to child birth and miscarriages. But this – what has happened to her grandson has taken her wind and her health and has been the most difficult thing in her life to deal with.
Our Daughter Patricia may speak. I am not sure what she will share. I have protected her and her brother through all of this. I do know that her baby brother’s murder has left her deeply scarred.
My sister, Cheri, who has been a large part of David’s life will speak and then Ben, David’s father will speak.
I would like to end this victim impact statement with a “thank you for keeping this sentencing on the calendar and following through.” This sentencing is very different from the other three and should be the easiest. Everyone has worked tremendously hard, with lots of heartache to get to this point.
I thank everyone who stops me and gives me hugs and reaches out, follows David’s story, those who have shared artwork and were a part of David’s life.
I condemn the murderers. I do not support any type of early release whether it be discretionary parole, furlough, EM – and it is my preference that the community be kept safe from such deranged and heinous crimes. There is extreme condemnation from across this land for these crimes. Our safety, security and trust have been derailed.
Thank you, Judge Heath, please accept this plea deal.
Austin Barrett is now a sentenced kidnapper whose actions in 2016 led to the death of David Grunwald, the Palmer teen who was beaten and shot by a gang of four teenage boys who were on a violent wilding.
Barrett is the first of four to be sentenced, and the sentencing hearing turned bizarre today after the defense attorney got in front of the microphone and stammered his way through a theatrical presentation.
Four years after the murder of Grunwald, Barrett had earlier this year negotiated a plea bargain and was today sentenced by Palmer Judge John Heath to 64 years, with 20 suspended. He will be eligible for a parole hearing after 15 years.
Grunwald, son of Alaska Parole Board Chair Edie Grunwald and Ben Grunwald, was just 16 years old, when he had partied with a group in a camper on the evening of Nov. 13, 2016.
It was all a set up. Five youths had a plan and executed it in cold blood that November night when Grunwald was pistol-whipped in the behind Erick Almandinger’s Palmer house and then driven to a at Jim Creek on the Knik River where he was walked into the woods and shot dead.
Almandinger, Brad Renfro, Dominic Johnson, and Barrett were all arrested and ultimately convicted for the crimes.
In today’s sentencing hearing, the state prosecutor and defense attorney had come to a plea agreement to avoid a trial. The state’s attorney said that with COVID-19 delaying trials, it was better to get this plea agreement on the books, as the court system will be backed up for at least three years.
The Grunwalds both gave heartfelt testimony about how the killing of their son has impacted their life, and asked for the maximum sentence.
Defense attorney Craig Howard then gave a tense, rambling, long-winded, and self-referential defense of his client, at times blaming David Grunwald, the victim, for getting involved with a group of boys who had no moral compass.
“I’m saying this young man has a moral compass. Having said that, his moral compass was frozen for a couple of years,” Howard said.
Howard gave the “boys will be boys” defense, reminding the judge that as a teen, all he had to worry about was stealing his dad’s condoms, and that he couldn’t even buy a Playboy magazine, while today, teens are exposed to much darker elements on social media that their parents don’t know about. They were all bad kids, he said, but Austin Barrett is now remorseful and understands that he did something very bad. But it wasn’t pulling the trigger, the attorney argued.
“With murders, some homicides are one-time deal, they happen to normal, regular people. A person should be given a chance,” Howard said.
In a 45-minute presentation that sometimes seemed like he was melting down emotionally, Howard talked about how deeply this case had affected him. He said he had to throw away his slippers because they were the same brand that the 16-year-old victim wore.
With a trembling voice, incomplete sentences, and jerky motions, Howard referred to the novels, “Lord of the Flies,” and “The Oxbow Incident,” which he had re-read recently. The former book reminded him of the dystopian youth involved in the murder of Grunwald, and the latter book reminded him of how the pursuit of justice can go awry.
At another moment in his presentation, he described his own father as the original “Great Santini,” and recalled how much he had disappointed his father by not going into the military, and how he thought he dad had died prematurely because of that. He described having to resuscitate his own child once, and how hard it is to be a defense attorney. Many of his colleagues have succumbed to alcoholism, lost marriages and killed themselves, he said, because of the heavy burdens of the work they do.
“I can’t believe I’ve made it this far,” Howard said, describing the “psychic damage” he has suffered from being a defense attorney. “This picture of David Grunwald will live in my mind forever.”
Howard said, at one point, that he also went to Sunday school as a kid, and that he prefers the New Testament to the Old Testament. Later on, he said he doesn’t have the religious faith the Grunwald’s have.
“Sometimes I get it, and then I lose it,” he said.
He also refuted Edie Grunwald’s statement, saying she said he, Howard, was in “cahoots” with the defendant, “and that I am complicit in the lies. I don’t see how she can say that. She’s not omniscient. Only God is.”
Howard, who has represented a number of defendants in horrific murders in Alaska, including then-23-year-oldKirby Anthoney, who committed triple murder and rape of two children in 1987. Howard talked about a friend of his from high school who ended up being shot in Vietnam, causing Howard to wonder what his death meant.
But this case obviously got to Howard. He was a hot mess, even while coming to the defense of his young client.
“I’ve read hundreds of statements of victims and I tell you, it’s usually just black and white. Colonel Grunwald’s statement — I could not read it. I kept having to put it down. The pain just oozed through it. The grief,” he said.
But later Howard said that the Grunwalds’ statements into the court record were designed to influence the parole board in 15 years, and how he wants his own remarks to also be recorded and provided to the parole board.
He made a point of noting that Edie Grunwald is the chair of the parole board and inferred that her current position may influence future proceedings.
“The Grunwalds are victims. But the elephant in the room here is she is also the chairman of the State Parole Board,” Howard said.
After he had exhausted the courtroom, Howard ended his statement by saying he hoped the Grunwalds would permit him to visit the gravesite of their son.
“I need closure in theis case. I’m not ready for closure. If The Grunwalds don’t want me to go to his grave, I understand. I would like to know, it would go a long way for me because … I’m emotional, I would like to go to his grave and get some closure. It’s my one request,” Howard said.
Barrett, now 20, read his apology to the court. The Grunwalds had left the room for that portion of the proceedings. They didn’t want to hear it.
Then, the judge accepted the plea agreement, Barrett was fingerprinted, and led from the courtroom.
The question of who pulled the trigger has still not been resolved, as all four of the youth declared they were not the culprit. But Barrett’s case was considered the most difficult to prosecute because he did not engage in social media or texting after the murder, and the others did, leaving a damning trail behind them.
Anchorage will have an unarmed crisis team that will handle mental health crisis calls within the Municipality during the fiscal year that begins Jan. 1,
On Tuesday, the Anchorage Assembly passed the 2021 budget, which included $1.5 million for a new Mental Health First Responders team. The Mobile Crisis Team will consist of specialized first responders tasked with aiding the Anchorage Police Department by responding to a portion of the 7,300 mental health crisis calls received each year.
The purpose of the group will be to de-escalate crises, stabilize individuals in crisis, and refer or connect them to services. The team will do triage and assessment in a one-hour response time.
According to a Twitter thread from Assembly member Dunbar, the team will consist of mental health specialists, paramedics, case managers, and peer staff.
Many Anchorage residents first learned of a potential mental health responder team in late October when Assembly member Chris Constant responded to a Twitter message highlighting San Francisco’s new unarmed mental health teams. He revealed that such a team was in the works for Anchorage.
The City of Denver also recently deployed a similar team in June called Support Team Assisted Response, which has responded to over 600 calls, mostly dealing with homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse – no criminal activity. The STAR programs sends mental health workers and paramedics, rather than police, to respond to calls that don’t involve crimes, with about 10 percent of calls coming from Denver Police Department or Emergency Medical Services.
Anchorage already has community safety patrol and patrol van dispatched by the Anchorage Fire Department Call Center to help people who that appear to be incapacitated by alcohol or drugs. When not on a dispatch call from the fire department, the van patrols the Anchorage Downtown and Midtown areas in search of persons that may be in need of assistance. People can be taken into protective custody, evaluated, and transported to a hospital for further care.
Those skeptical about the new crisis team initiative focus their concerns on a lack of clarity on policies and procedures, such as:
Which emergency calls fall under the MCT scope?
Who decides if the MCT or police will respond?
What happens if the situation escalates?
Will the MCT have an assigned officer to accompany them?
How will the team handle multiple calls concurrently?
The team will work out of the Anchorage Fire Department, and revenue from the alcohol tax, approved in April, is funding the new initiative.
The budget also awarded $93,500 to the library from the alcohol tax, with the justification that literacy will keep people out of prison.
Former Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is among Republican leaders nationwide who launched the Georgia Battleground Fund to raise funds to protect two U.S. Senate seats and maintain the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. Parnell had a fundraiser on Wednesday on Zoom, attended by dozens of Alaskans.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee had named 50 state chairs and co-chairs; Parnell is the chair for Alaska’s effort.
In addition to the former governor, Gov. Doug Ducey and Sen. Jon Kyle of Arizona, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and former Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico are among the state chairs named.
During the meeting, Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, Congressman Don Young, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy spoke and took questions for 30 minutes.
“The primary message is if we as Alaskans want our senators to continue to have the committee positions they have in the majority, where they can do the best and most for Alaskans, then these Georgia Senate seats are vital,” Parnell said.
If Republicans win one of the two, then the Republicans are at 51 in the Senate. If the Democrats win both seats, then Senate would be in a 50-50 split, with presumed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a Democrat, being the tie-breaking vote.
Republican strategist Karl Rove, who was a top political adviser to President George W. Bush, is the fund’s national finance chairman for the fund, which is being led by Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, outgoing chair of the NRSC, the reelection arm of the Senate Republicans.
Others lending their names to the cause are House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Georgia will hold its Jan. 5 runoff election for two seats, as the state’s election laws direct a runoff must be held if no candidate reaches 50% of the vote.
Sen. David Perdue won 49.75%, while his Democrat challenger, Jon Ossoff, was 87,000 votes short.
In the other race, appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler won 26% of the vote in a 20-candidate special election to fill out the last two years of the term of former Republican Sens Johnny Isakson. Democrat Raphael Warnock won 33% of the vote.
Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s Director of the Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, said the agency is recommending against travel during the Thanksgiving holiday.
During a press conference on Thursday, he warned that by going to see your family, you could be killing them.
Walke, who spent two years working as a family practitioner in rural Alaska, said “The tragedy that could happen is that one of your family members is coming to this family gathering and they could end up severely ill, hospitalized or dying. And we don’t want that to happen.”
“These times are tough, it’s been a long outbreak, almost 11 months, and we understand people are tired,” Walke said.
“We understand that people want to see their family and relatives and do it as they’ve always done it. But this year we’re asking them to limit their travel.”
Walke said those who decide to travel for the holiday should do so “as safely as possible by following the same recommendations for everyday living,” which is wearing a mask, staying six feet apart and washing hands frequently.
The Left is turning up the pressure for a statewide mask mandate in Alaska.
Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, who chairs the House Health and Social Services Committee, wrote this week that Gov. Mike Dunleavy should enact a universal mask mandate, and not leave it up to local communities. It’s been an ongoing theme with the Bethel Democrat, who recently wrote again on the topic, stating that simply asking Alaskans to do the right thing is not enough.
Alaskans won’t wear masks voluntarily, was the message. There have to be legal consequences if they don’t.
“It has become abundantly clear that simply asking people to do something, when you have the legal authority to save lives and the capacity of our medical system, is not leadership. It has not flattened the curve of COVID-19′s spread in Alaska. We need decisive action, taken now, to protect our public health and our economy. Alaskans are worth it,” she wrote in the Anchorage Daily News.
“As Alaska grapples with a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases week after week, increasing hospitalizations that strain our state’s medical capacity and we continue to witness unnecessary loss of life, failure to enact statewide protective measures that mitigate harm to Alaskans on the promise of a future vaccine is nothing short of negligence,” Zulkosky wrote.
She also wants the governor to reinstate capacity limits in buildings and enact other economy-killing restrictions.
Dunleavy has stated that these mandates are best left to local governments, but he has recently reinstated some travel restrictions and travel testing requirements to protect villages from the import of the virus by those visiting Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Masks are mandated in Anchorage at the local level, as they are in many communities.
Since the coronavirus appeared in Alaska in March, 24,419 Alaskans have tested positive for the virus and 99 deaths have been attributed to it, a death rate of less than 1/2 of 1%. 129 Alaskans are currently hospitalized because of serious conditions caused by the virus. During the summer, the number hospitalized was below 10. Overall, 584 Alaskans have been hospitalized for treatment, sometimes because their oxygen levels had dropped or they had become dehydrated, at other times because they developed serious complications and needed a ventilator.
Zulkosky has held several hearings on COVID-19 over the past few months, and her conclusion that a statewide mandate on masks is needed has been unwavering.
If you’re going to Hawaii, you will be wearing a mask in public. Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued a statewide mask mandate Monday.
Ige’semergency proclamation requires everyone to “wear a face covering over their nose and mouth in public,” and this includes if driving in a car with people who are not immediate members of one’s household.
Children under the age of 5 and those with certain medical conditions are exempted.
Also exempt are for those outdoors when physical distance of six (6) feet from other individuals (who are not members of the same household/living unit/residence) can be maintained at all times. Theoretically, this means it you’re on an uncrowded beach or around a pool and there’s six feet between you and others, you’ll be in good shape without the mask.
Before this statewide order, it had been left to the counties, which are the islands.
Visitors to Hawaii also must test negative within 72 hours of traveling to the islands. If you don’t test, you must go into a 14-day quarantine that has very strict boundaries, according to the Alaska Airlines Blog:
No leaving your designated self-quarantine location for any reason—except for medical emergencies or to seek medical care.
Food must be delivered at your own expense, so no sit down dinners at local spots or trips to the grocery store.
Vacation rentals are not permitted as a quarantine location.
Failure to follow this order is a misdemeanor and punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 and/or 1-year imprisonment.
“We all agreed it’s important to have a single message and consistent exceptions,” Gov. Ige said of his new mask mandate, which has no end date.
Hawaii has had 16,734 confirmed diagnoses of COVID-19, and 223 deaths.
To compare, Alaska has had 24,419 confirmed cases of the China virus and has had 99 deaths associated with the illness.
Alaska has no statewide mask mandate, but many liberal lawmakers are pressing Gov. Mike Dunleavy to order one under his current emergency powers, which expire Dec. 15.
Utqiaġvik, the northernmost community in the United States, said “see ya” to the sun, when it set today. Starting Nov. 19, the town will experience 66 days of polar night.
The next sunrise in the town formerly known as Barrow is at 1:16 pm, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Utquagvik has a population of about 4,383.
Alternately, in McMurdo Station, Antarctica the summer population of about 1,000 people are experiencing 24 hours of daylight currently.
