Gov. Mike Dunleavy met a DC-8 aircraft belonging to Samaritan’s Purse, as it landed at Ted Stevens International Airport with 18,000 pounds of medical supplies for Alaska.
Dunleavy had put in a request for the supplies from Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham as Alaska battles the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian mission group that responds to disasters around the world, but also has done a provided service in Alaska, such as the Samaritan’s Purse Lodge that is the location of the Operation Heal Our Patriots program for veterans and their spouses.
The supplies — hospital beds, masks, gloves, towels, and drapes — will be headed to rural Alaska hub communities to support rural Alaskan health providers.
In addition to those supplies, the state took delivery of 50 Abbott Laboratory testing machines. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium also received about 40 of the testing machines.
“We’re looking for resources where we can find them,” Dunleavy said. “Any and all are welcome to work with us so we can make sure our frontline defenders, out health care folks, have what they need to combat this virus.”
The governor said today that Friday will be a day of prayer in Alaska to pray for all the people of the state, the nation, and the world.
North Slope Borough Mayor Harry Brower, Jr. acted quickly upon learning that RavnAir Group had grounded all of its flights Sunday and will file for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules.
Brower issued an emergency order Sunday commandeering the hangar and associated assets of RavnAir Group that are located in the borough.
The mayor is acting under the authority of his emergency declaration for the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that he issued in March.
Since Ravn has provided vital freight and passenger services to North Slope villages of Atqasuk, Point Lay, Wainwright, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik, Brower doesn’t want those communities to be stranded.
“The North Slope Borough immediately takes possession of all assets controlled by Ravn within the boundaries of the North Slope Borough. This order includes, but is not limited to buildings — including hangars, equipment, operations manuals, parts, supplies, vehicles, airplanes. It includes intangible assets such as leases and security access codes,” Brower’s order says.
The order applies to RavnAir assets in Utqiagvik and Deadhorse.
The borough is also reserving the right to request and receive immediate cooperation from any current or former employee or contractor of Ravn to help set up freight and passenger airline service using the assets of Ravn for North Slope Borough communities.
Alaska Airlines, which serves 19 communities in Alaska, has announced it will expand service to some communities impacted by the closure of RavnAir. The announcement came today, highlighting these changes to assist rural Alaska:
Alaska will maintain service to all points it currently serves in the state.
Alaska will continue service to Kodiak with its own aircraft.
Alaska will move up its normal summer seasonal service to King Salmon and Dillingham, starting earlier than scheduled.
In support of the communities in the Aleutian Islands, as well as the seafood industry, Alaska is working with partners and regulatory agencies to initiate service to Cold Bay with the intention of providing access to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. Service to Cold Bay will be with Alaska’s own aircraft.
Alaska is working with the seafood industry and other key sectors of the state of Alaska economy on charter service to ensure critical work force movements during this period of reduced air service.
Alaska will review other markets impacted by the Ravn suspension of service to consider how best to support affected communities.
Alaska Air Cargo, a unit of Alaska Airlines, is optimizing use of its three dedicated freighter aircraft in the state of Alaska to ensure medical supplies, groceries and other essential shipments are delivered during this period of reduced air service.
While currently under a hiring freeze driven by the COVID-19 crisis, Alaska Airlines’ human resources group will nonetheless host an opportunity to provide experienced Ravn airline workers with support in seeking new employment, including connecting with other companies that may be hiring.
“We believe these are important steps that Alaska Airlines can take to support the infrastructure of the state of Alaska and ensure the people and communities of the state remain connected during this incredibly challenging time,” said Alaska Air CEO Brad Tilden.
“Having served Alaska for 88 years, Alaska Airlines has a special appreciation for the unique reliance most Alaskan communities have on air service,” Tilden said. “During this difficult moment, our hope is that air carriers across Alaska will make every effort to ensure continuity of service to all the state’s remote communities. We are committed to working with those airlines, the Governor’s Aviation Advisory Board, Alaska Air Carriers Association, and the affected communities to connect Alaskans now and into the future.”
Six new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus were reported in Alaska in the last 24 hours since Sunday noon, bringing the statewide count to 191.
There have been three more hospitalizations, for a total of 23 hospitalizations, including those admitted and released.
No new deaths were reported; Alaska has lost six residents to the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China late last year.
As of yesterday, 6,883 Alaskans had been tested for the coronavirus.
No new communities were added to the list, but there is a new case of COVID-19 in Petersburg. The first person from that Southeast Alaska community who became ill with the virus died while out of state.
The cases are all tagged to the communities the individuals are from, although they may have been diagnosed and housed elsewhere in the state; the epidemiologists log them this way for consistency. Here are the total case counts from around the state and the increase in the past 24 hours:
Touring the Carlson Center emergency field hospital set up, Michael Bork, Parks and Recreation Director for the Fairbanks North Star Borough in Fairbanks, snapped a selfie and had a salty social media message for Fairbanks residents, telling them to “staythef**athome.”
Bork, when not managing parks and rec in the Golden Heart City, teaches laughter yoga and is an international speaker on the concept of happiness. Thus, we’re presuming his missive was meant to be funny. Some Fairbanks residents thought it might not be a tone-perfect communication from a borough official to the taxpaying public. But this is 2020, and so far, the year has been somewhat of a dumpster fire, so perhaps Bork’s coarse message isn’t the worst utterance we’ve heard from an official.
RavnAir’s CEO said in a memo to all staff today that the company will seek to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules.
Due to the loss of revenue created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company parked all 72 of its aircraft today.
“Due to our critical need for additional funds, our company has also made the necessary decision to seek Chapter 11 protection in order to obtain immediate Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) funding. Chapter 11 gives us the ability to “hit pause” while we seek federal grants and other sources of financial assistance that will allow us to weather the Coronavirus pandemic and emerge successfully once it has passed,” CEO Dave Pflieger wrote.
“How long we must wait is uncertain, but I want to express my deepest gratitude to: our State and Federal officials, in particular Senator Sullivan, Senator Murkowski, and Congressman Young; our owners and lenders; and most importantly, everyone who is a part of our team at RavnAir Group. I am grateful for everything being done to help us preserve and protect the vital air service, jobs, and support that our company provides to over 115 separate communities and so many other residents throughout Alaska,” he wrote.
“Please know that we will continue to do everything possible to ensure our airline gets back in the air very soon. For now, I hope you, your families, and your loved ones all remain safe and healthy during these incredibly trying and difficult times,” Pflieger wrote in a note to all staff.
FRAN ULMER GETS HER NAME IN FRONT OF BIDEN CAMPAIGN
Alaska’s Democratic establishment, led by former Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, has thrown its support to Joe Biden for president, saying that now is no time for “on-the-ground training.” That would be throwing shade on Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The group of Alaska Democrat centrists is evidently trying to bring more credibility to the Biden campaign in a state where Alaska Democrats went for Bernie Sanders by 82 percent in 2016, during the Alaska Democratic Caucus process.
That was when Hillary Clinton was the alternative, and Biden wasn’t on the ballot. The party didn’t really care, and awarded all the super-delegates to Hillary Clinton.
In a news release April 3, over 40 Alaska Democrats — some with household names — signed on to Ulmer’s letter of support for Biden. A few of the better-known names include:
Margo Bellamy, Anchorage School Board
Eric Croft, former Alaska state representative
Paula DeLaiarro, Ship Creek Group financial officer
Heidi Drygas, former commissioner, Alaska Department of Labor, under Gov. Bill Walker
Grier Hopkins, Alaska state representative
Selena Hopkins-Kendall, married to the former Walker chief of staff
Jim Lottsfeldt, Lottsfeldt Strategies
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Alaska state representative
Susan Ruddy, past president of Providence Alaska Foundation
Shea Siegert, campaign manager for Alaskans for Better Elections (jungle primary)
Mike Wenstrup, former chair, Alaska Democratic Party
Adam Wool, Alaska state representative
Political pundits asked MRAK if this is a repeat of 2016, when the Democrat establishment went against the will of Alaska Democrats, infuriating some of them who were hardcore Sanders supporters.
But more likely, according to other MRAK sources, this is simply Ulmer burnishing her credentials with the presumed nominee for the Democratic Party ticket, while looking for a way to get a presidential appointment, as she did under Barack Obama, who named her chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission in 2011. She had also been named by Obama to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
Missing from the list of Biden endorsers, however, are other heavy hitters in the Alaska Democratic Party that you’d normally see on a list like this, including John and Margaret Pugh, Bruce Botelho, Ralph Kibby, Kim Metcalfe, Jim Ayers, Mark Begich, Bob Weinstein of Ketchikan, Jan Wrentmore, Brian Rogers, Tony Knowles, Al Kookesh, Bryon Mallott, and Mike Navarre. Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has not yet announced who he will back, but had earlier thrown his endorsement to Mike Bloomberg, before Bloomberg spectacularly dropped out.
Alaska Democrats taking part in the party’s first-ever caucus-by-ballot have until April 10 to get their ballots into the Alaska Democratic Party headquarters. After that, the party officials will count the ballots and delegates to the national convention will be awarded based on the results.
RavnAir Group, which had last week grounded 90 percent of its fleet, has cancelled all remaining service, saying the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic led to the decision.
In a memo Sunday, it announced that all three of its airlines — PenAir, RavenAir Alaska, and RavnAir Connect — are grounded “for the time being.”
The company parked its 72 aircraft, stopped operations, and temporarily laid off all remaining staff until the company is in a position to cover the “costs of rehiring, resuming flights, and operating to the many communities it serve throughout the state.”
The company says it has “hit pause” to see if it can qualify for the federal CARES Act grant for emergency disaster funding, with the hopes of restarting operations.
In a statement, Ravn said it was in contact with the CEOs from other air carriers around the state since it originally grounded 90 percent of the Ravn fleet, and will work with them to serve the rural communities.
But in the meantime, the largest seafood port in the nation, Dutch Harbor, and neighboring community Unalaska are without passenger service. Mail service continues under a contract with Grant Aviation.
Typically, flights have gone in and out of the Dutch Harbor/Unalaska airport on a daily basis with seafood industry workers. On Saturday, MRAK reported that Ravn had decided to keep its Unalaska route, but fly it only three days a week. Today’s announcement supersedes that announcement.
Unalaska is 800 miles southwest of Anchorage, and is the commercial center for the North Pacific and Bering Sea fisheries.
FIRST CASE FROM RURAL NORTHERN YUKON-KOYUKUK REGION
Alaska gained 14 more diagnosed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus since yesterday, and one more person has died.
Saturday’s total has been updated and was also 14 cases, with two deaths reported, bringing the weekend death count to six.
The cases statewide now total 185, including those who have recovered. Total hospitalization are now at 20, including those admitted and since released or deceased.
Of note is there is a case that has been diagnosed from the Delta Junction area, and another from the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. Both are new regions to the list.
The population of the Yukon-Koyukuk Borough was 5,588 in the 2010 census. The unorganized borough is the largest area of any county or county-equivalent in the United States and has no borough seat. Its largest communities are Galena, in the west, and Fort Yukon, in the northeast.
Delta Junction is in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area.
Other case count totals across the state are:
Anchorage area: 85, a gain of four cases in 24 hours
Kenai Peninsula: 12, a gain of one case
Fairbanks/North Pole: 53, a gain of seven cases
Palmer/Wasilla: 4, no change
Juneau: 14, a gain of two
Ketchikan: 14, no change
Petersburg: 1 (deceased out of state)
PRIME MINISTER OF GREAT BRITAIN HOSPITALIZED
The leader of the British government, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was admitted to a London hospital today, 10 days after his diagnosis with COVID-19. He is reported to have a persistent high fever. He is the most well-known global leader who has contracted the virus.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on “Fox News Sunday” that his coming week ahead will be the “hardest and the saddest of most Americans’ lives. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized; it’s going to be happening all over the country.”
“There is hope, but we’ve also got to all do our part,” he added.
