On Saturday, the Department of Health and Social Services revised Health Attachment F of Mandate 16, which decreed that either hand sanitizer or hand-washing stations had to be in the entry of all restaurants.
The move came as restaurant owners across Alaska chaffed at the law, which had heavy penalties, including imprisonment, attached to it.
Commissioner Adam Crum said the adjustment was made after it was brought to the department’s attention that many communities still cannot get hand sanitizer in any reliable quantity. Although it is now being manufactured at Alaska distilleries, it is not available in most small communities, and is expensive when it is.
Hand sanitization or handwashing still must be available, but it already is in restaurants. Gone is the entryway hand-sanitizer requirements. These state mandates supersede any local mandates beginning Monday.
Commissioner Crum said his department is “Here to help, definitely don’t want insurmountable barriers. We will make all corrections we need to make it right.”
The State of Alaska received two disbursements from the federal government this week, with instructions to get it out quickly, fairly, and as equitably as possible to address the economic disaster created by COVID-19.
The Dunleavy Administration has a plan in place to make sure 45 percent of the $1.25 billion that came in goes directly to local governments, as required by the CARES Act, that $300 million is used to help struggling Alaska businesses, particularly in coastal communities, and that the rest of the COVID-19 relief funds are stage-gated to help the state survive before the deadline to expend the funds arrives in December. The State Department of Health and Social Services has seen its budget tapped heavily, and will need some reimbursement. The Department of Labor has had to staff up to process the unemployment claims of the 60,000 Alaskans suddenly out of work.
But Senate President Cathy Giessel and other leaders in the Alaska Legislature today are polling members to see if the House and Senate can get enough members show up in Juneau in the next week or the week following, so they can put a stop to the Dunleavy plan to issue the money beginning May 1, and start their own plan for disbursing the COVID-19 disaster money.
According to some state budget experts, they’re on a fool’s mission. The Legislative Budget and Audit committee has the spending plan from the governor and can quickly give him the go-ahead to simply hit the send button and get the money to the municipalities. Is the Legislature prepared to sue him to stop him from disbursing the funds, MRAK sources asked.
In the Senate Majority’s own explanation of COVID-19 disaster funding, the majority admits that the governor has the authority to get the money out — “as needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and offset economic losses.”
What would the legislators do differently? It is possible they want to try again to fund items the governor vetoed in the regular operating budget — things like more funding for ferries and public broadcasting, for example. But with 60 legislators, it’s anyone’s guess how that would turn out, or how long it would take to come to an agreement.
Also tricky for the Legislature is that if they convene in Juneau, the governor may pressure them to pay out the remainder of last year’s dividend — and he’ll have the people of Alaska squarely on his side.
This time, he’ll also have the business community — landlords, utilities, and others who are not able to collect remittances due to the actions of SB 241, which put in provisions that don’t allow for collections, repossessions, disconnections, or evictions. The business community is clamboring for the Legislature to release the Permanent Fund dividend. There are some heavy-hitters in that business sector who are not too happy with the legislative majority over its withholding of the $1,000 stimulus check to Alaskans.
And finally, with a 20 percent unemployment rate and people’s pocketbooks empty, there are a lot of Alaskans who suddenly have a lot more time to take part in the political process, and a lot more motivation to do so.
Meanwhile, the governor has asked the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee to act quickly — by April 29 — so that he can distribute the funds starting May 1. The game’s afoot.
Jason Floyd was living his dream in Soldotna. After being laid off during budget cuts by the University of Alaska a few years ago, he and with his wife Michele and five children opened up a coffee shop in the heart of the Kenai Peninsula.
Ammo-Can Coffee is that coffee shop. Between the regionally famous cups of coffee that bring people streaming through the doors, and the various groups that use the meeting room, Ammo-Can has become a cultural center of sorts in Soldotna, especially for those who love America and the Constitution.
Ammo-Can offers discounts for veterans, and another discount for those responsibly carrying firearms. Floyd asks all his customers if they are packing, and thanks them for supporting the Second Amendment.
He has a sign on the wall that says “Keep your firearm holstered. If need arises, judicious marksmanship is appreciated.”
“We get lots of people taking their photos next to it but really, that’s our rule,” he said. He doesn’t allow people to unholster their firearms in his establishment, but he honors their right to carry.
When the COVID-19 mandates came down, business dropped off dramatically, as it has done all over the state. But the Floyds were able to stay open for several weeks, as they were still able to legally provide take-out coffee. The coffee klatch groups couldn’t gather, and the youth groups from a local church could no longer have their weekly meeting there.
Clearly, the Floyds’ finances were growing more problematic. They were not able to make good on their lease for the first time, and the government aid programs for businesses, they discovered, were not designed for a business like theirs, with all the members of the family working as baristas and bottle-washers.
The Floyds have other businesses to help them make ends meet: They own a small peony brokerage representing farms across the state. This year, weddings are being cancelled all over America, and most Alaska peony farmers will lose their crops because the markets have dried up. He also runs a 4-H program which has been cancelled due to COVID-19. His wife Michele teaches piano and voice.
“She is my rock,” Floyd said.
Usually, diversifying your income streams in Alaska provides some financial security, but not this year for the Floyds: Their income streams have dissolved.
Floyd hit a low point when all of a sudden a call came from the church youth group that had been meeting weekly at the shop. They asked him if he would meet them on the curb.
Jason went out the door and greeted the youth, who handed him their monthly tithe. They wanted him to know they knew times were tough, and they looked forward to better days ahead. But in the meantime, they wanted him to accept their contribution.
He’d never imagined a world where he would be accepting money from his church youth group customers just to keep his business alive.
HEALTH MANDATE 16 – THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN?
The final blow came with Health Mandate 16, announced on Wednesday by the Dunleavy Administration.
It was supposed to start a “stage-gated” opening of businesses around the state, but for many business owners, it has proven to be a nightmare.
Ammo-Can is experiencing that nightmare. While people have been able to come into the shop to buy coffee to take it with them, the newest mandate says that the business, and all others that serve the public, must provide hand sanitizer at the door.
The problem is, in Soldotna, Nikiski, Homer, and most small towns around Alaska, there is no hand sanitizer for sale at any price. You can’t even find a bottle of Everclear to make your own.
A call to the wholesaler ALSCO in Anchorage verified that no commercial sizes of hand sanitizer is available and there is no date in the future when it will be.
The Floyds, like many businesses that were hanging on by a thread, had great hopes that this Friday they would be able to open to the public. Now, he feels the government has dealt him a crushing blow.
Instead of allowing people inside the shop, as they’ve been able to do for a month, the coffee shop can suddenly only provide curb-side service.
Floyd says the penalties associated with not obeying the mandate are serious: A violation of the mandate can result in an order to close, or a civil fine up to $1,000 per violation. In addition, the business can be criminally prosecuted for reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor.
That means the father of five could face imprisonment for not more than a year if he just stood his ground against the government.
But the penalties don’t stop there: Under Alaska Statute 12.55.035, any person violating Mandate 16 may be fined up to $25,000 and a business organization may be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding the greatest of $2,500,000 for a misdemeanor offense that results in death, or $500,000 for a class A misdemeanor offense that does not result in death.
In spite of everything, Floyd says the community is amazing and that “coffee is a special culture in Alaska.” He has put his faith in God.
CAN AMMO-CAN COFFEE SURVIVE?
Ammo-Can Coffee is like thousands of businesses that are suffering under local, state, and federal government mandates.
Must Read Alaska has set up a GoFundMe page to help keep this family-owned business alive.
GoFundMe allows people to make contributions to causes. Like this one, for Ammo-Can Coffee, a solid small family-owned business in Soldotna.
Buy a “virtual cup of coffee” and send some love to the Floyd family so they can make it through the next few weeks of rigid government mandates and keep their doors open and their coffee pot on.
You can also send the business a cash contribution through the Venmo app. Jason’s Venmo identifier is Jason Floyd @ Jason-Floyd76.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been hosting live press conferences at 5 pm Monday through Friday to update Alaskans on the progress his administration is making in vanquishing the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Questions from the reporters are about rules and mandates, testing, and local issues.
But the public can also watch these press conferences, which often go for about an hour and feature Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer, and Commissioner Adam Crum of the Department of Health and Social Services.
During Friday’s edition of the “daily presser,” one public viewer on the video feed gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “presser” in his comments, captured during Dunleavy’s remarks: If he can get that close to a hairdresser, why not an exotic dancer at the Alaska Bush Company?
(This will certainly be a topic at the Monday morning planning meeting, we presume. As the state government gets its fingers into the running of businesses during the pandemic, this rule making process should be interesting to watch.)
RESTAURANTS WILL NOW COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION FOR THE GOVERNMENT
As Anchorage opens up for limited business on Monday, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says that all employees and customers must wear masks inside stores.
Berkowitz said the Municipality worked with local businesses and public health experts to develop safety measures against the coronavirus known as COVID-19 for the following sectors of “nonessential” businesses:
• Food – restaurants that provide table service • Retail – general retail stores, such as clothing, sporting goods, books, greenhouses, gifts, etc. • Personal care services – beauty, barber and hair salons; cosmological services, tattoo shops, body piercing, etc. • Non-critical businesses that interact with the public – service-focused businesses that include a retail-style storefront such as bait shacks, carpet stores, etc. • Non-critical professional services that do not interact with the public – such as law offices, architectural, engineering and environmental agencies, consulting services, etc.
All businesses need to have COVID-19 mitigation plans; and employees and customers must wear face coverings; and practice physical distancing of six feet. Hand sanitizer must be available to the public to use in establishments.
Those businesses that can meet the criteria may begin operations on Monday, April 27, Berkowitz said. The lists of required and recommended safety measures for each sector may be found online at www.muni.org/COVID-19.
For retail stores, Anchorage residents can expect these regulations to apply:
Employees and customers must adhere to 6-foot physical distancing protocols.
Only one adult per household per visit to a store.
Employees and customers shall wear face coverings. Businesses should post signage notifying customers of the requirement to wear face coverings at entrance(s).
Frequent hand washing by employees, and adequate supply of soap, disinfectant, hand sanitizer, and paper towels available onsite.
The regional carrier that filed for Chapter 11 reorganization earlier this month messaged some bad company news to social media today: “Our CARES loan application will NOT be possible due to the ASM (Available Seat Miles) formula — the total number of airline seats multiplied by the total miles flown in one year.”
Ravn was one of the first and most visible business failures to come from the COVID-19 economic fallout. It had served myriad small communities around Alaska until it parked its all of its planes on April 5, as communities began to close down travel due to the highly contagious Wuhan coronavirus.
Much like the report yesterday, two more cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Alaska in the past 24 hours for a total of 339 cases of the coronavirus. Some 208 of those cases are now recovered.
Both of the new cases were in Anchorage. No new hospitalizations or deaths are reported.
The total case count, including both those recovered and those who died:
Two cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Alaska in the past 24 hours for a total of 337 cases of the coronavirus. Some 209 of those cases are now recovered.
Both of the new cases were in Anchorage. No new hospitalizations or deaths are reported.
The total case count, including both those recovered and those who died:
The layover would last five hours. Some cried. Most cheered.
Kalitta Air 4371, with service to March Air Reserve Base in California, landed to refuel in Anchorage on the night of Jan 29.
The cargo plane had been hastily converted to accommodate passengers and commissioned by the State Department to bring 201 Americans home. And while planes landing safely seldom make the news and delays rarely make anyone happy, this one did both. It came from Wuhan.
The passengers kept cheering as the 747 taxied to the gate. At that time, World Health Organization officials still insisted that human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus seemed unlikely, and they wouldn’t declare a global health pandemic for another 42 days. But listening and watching from his home office, Alaska’s chief executive came to his own conclusion.
“You just knew something was up,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy told RealClearPolitics of the cheering expats and crying diplomatic staff. “This isn’t a cold. This isn’t the ordinary flu.”
Medical professionals were screening the passengers one by one when Dunleavy realized it was a matter of time before the virus would come to the last frontier. “We just wanted to do everything we could to prepare,” he explained. “We stood up, our response, right after that.”
Much of that responsibility went to Adam Crum, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The State Department had called on Saturday. The governor gave the go ahead. Crum had four days to prepare, “but really we didn’t know much about this virus at all at that point in time,” he recalled.
So, they took every precaution, turning a terminal at Ted Stevens International Airport into an impromptu screening station: negative pressure systems, first responders geared head to toe in personal protective equipment, and hospital beds ready to go.
The cheers were also the first thing Crum heard, and it was a relief. Rumors had circulated once news broke of the flight from Wuhan that “we were letting a ‘death plane’ land in Alaska filled with the plague.” No one knew the exact nature of the virus, let alone the mortality statistics. The onboard jubilation was an early sign that their worst fears wouldn’t be met.
Among the most extreme contingency plans: How would Alaska store dead bodies of Americans coming back from Wuhan with the state’s already limited morgue capacity? Officials prepared to use cold storage warehouses at the Department of Fish and Game and Department of Natural Resources.
The freezers stayed empty. None of the passengers needed emergency medical care either, except for one woman who had broken her hand boarding the plane. Still, Crum and his team often began conversations with the Centers for Disease Control by warning that “Alaska has a very delicate health care system.”
Alaska has mirrored many of the actions taken by states in the Lower 48. There are stay-at-home orders and schools are out for the rest of the year, and everything from bars to bingo halls are closed. The governor also went farther with an emergency order: Anyone entering the state must declare a designated quarantine location and self-isolate for 14 days. Ignoring that edict is a Class-A misdemeanor that could come with a $25,000 penalty or a year in jail.
And, so far, it has worked. This week Alaska has only 337 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths, according to the state’s Department of Health and Social Services.
“There is no doubt that a major contributor to Alaska’s lower case counts to date is the fact that our state and local leaders, particularly Gov. Dunleavy, took decisive action early to implement broad community mitigation interventions,” wrote state epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin.
But the big advantage of Alaska — its 663 million square miles and fewer than 1 million people — is also its biggest disadvantage. Villages are isolated, Crum explained, but people there are densely packed together. Alaska has nearly double the national average of homes defined as overcrowded. “While we can keep it isolated,” Crum said of the virus, “if it finds its way into some of these communities, it would spread like wildfire.”
The state, in good times, has hospital capacity for 2% of the population, and Alaskans have a saying that there is just a week’s supply of groceries within its borders at any given moment. This makes for a different pandemic experience than that of other states. So do the snow machines and bush planes ferrying medical supplies and personnel to the farthest north, east, and west cornersof the country.
Bad luck has also made for good pandemic preparation. Alaska has a history of tuberculosis outbreaks and regularly battles sexually transmitted infections. “And so,” Crum explained, “our epidemiologist teams are well versed with public health nurses to do contact tracing and getting into small areas to find out what exactly is going on.”
Alaska is also drawing from its own grim institutional memory of the great influenza outbreak that swept the world a century ago. “We have villages that existed at 1918 that don’t exist anymore because of the Spanish flu,” Dunleavy explained. His team knows the history. According to University of Alaska professor Katherine Ringsmuth, “More people per capita died from influenza in Alaska than almost anywhere else in the world.”
“Fake news” was a thing back then, too. Nothing to see here, the Anchorage Daily Times assured its readers back in 1918: “Don’t be alarmed,” it proclaimed, “over influenza in Anchorage.” Then, when it became clear that alarm was just the right response, pleas came from Alaska to Congress for relief – pleas that fell on deaf ears: A $200,000 request was cut in half by the Senate and then voted down by the House.
But the money flows north without impediment this time, and the governor is hell-bent on keeping a second tragic chapter from being written. Abbott testing machines are being delivered via snow machines, and Alaska feels better about its preparations for this pandemic. Dunleavy is not afraid. After all, this state is populated by the most unconventional of citizens — global health crisis be damned. There is a reason, they say, why people move to a frozen place, an unbroken motivation for living in Secretary William Seward’s infamous “icebox.”
The White House has not forgotten the nation’s northernmost citizens. The administration would rather let them figure out the particulars while Washington figures the broad strokes.
This works for Mike Dunleavy. But the Republican governor won’t go as far as his colleagues. The state parks remain open.
“We are a free people in this country. We believe that in Alaska we are an even a freer people, and so to be able to go out and do what you want, as long as you stay six feet away from others, is fine.” – Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Salmon season is just around the corner, and the governor is planning on how to let fisherman reap the harvest while following federal social distance guidelines.
