The official signature gathering on the petition to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been suspended, as of March 18.
According to a social media message from the paid staff of the Recall Dunleavy Committee, the signature gathering in Anchorage had been paused a week ago. However, several observers said that they saw it and some documented it continuing in the malls, even after a state of emergency had been announced.
Meda Dewitt with Recall Dunleavy said on Wednesday: “No one should be gathering signatures anywhere at this time. Please always follow CDC guidelines. We have been working on contingency plans. Stay tuned.”
The group is believed to have about 30,000 of the 71,252 signatures it needs to force a recall election of the governor. The group had hoped to collect the signatures by April to force the question onto a special election ballot. However, unless the group can convince the court to allow it to collect signatures digitally, it may not make that goal, since the state is now in a state of emergency due to a rapidly spreading virus.
Cases of the virus have popped up in Ketchikan, Seward, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, with a total of nine cases in the state so far. All were travel related, but several appeared to be asymptomatic for some time, which means community transmission is now highly likely, if other communities’ experiences are repeated in Alaska.
The CDC and the State of Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink has advised that people keep a six-foot distance from each other during the outbreak.
However, although the Recall Dunleavy group had stopped its pop-up event signature gathering and static gathering on March 13, it had urged individual signature gatherers to continue their efforts. Out-of-state signature gathering has also continued, according to several social media reports from individuals who had signed the petition.
The Dunleavy Administration has received a waiver from the federal government for the requirement that food stamps recipients who are able bodied adults without dependents must be employed, minimally at least.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) finalized a rule to narrow state options to waive work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
Under federal law that went into effect in December, able-bodied individuals 18 through 49 who are not disabled or caring for children or other dependents – may only access food assistance through SNAP for three months in a 36-month period, unless they are working at least 20 hours a week or are enrolled in an employment or training program.
In 2017, 2.8 million of these persons participated in SNAP, representing 7 percent of total food stamp program enrollees.
The statewide waiver means all these enrollees in food stamps are exempt for the time being.
Many Alaskans who might suddenly qualify for SNAP benefits under the current economic circumstances brought about by the COVID outbreak might not be able to find employment in Alaska due to the closures of restaurants, bars, and other service establishments.
Our existing policy permits us to waive work requirements for SNAP for good cause. Our teams are working on implementation for all recipients of the SNAP program for the duration of the state’s efforts in dealing with the effects of the virus.
“As this is all very new for many of us and for our federal partners too, we are working to make sure we are taking advantage of any and all options to ease the burden and workload for eligibility requirements of our programs to make it easier for people to qualify and remain eligible during this critical time. This means the waiver applies to work requirements for ABAWDS and to the general work requirements,” said a source in the Department of Health and Social Services.
For more information on how to apply for SNAP benefits, go to this link.
Those on the North Slope are sheltering in place during the COVID outbreak. ConocoPhillips has taken major steps today to prevent the COVID virus from reaching North Slope oil field workforce.
Effectively immediately, all business-critical North Slope personnel supporting ConocoPhillips operations (both contractor and ConocoPhillips employees) are extending their shift by two weeks.
All flights north for regularly scheduled shift changes have been cancelled for the next two weeks. The company will be working to arrange transportation off the Slope for those who cannot extend their stay.
All non-essential personnel will leave the North Slope at the end of their current shift and asked to work from home or placed on extended leave until further notice, as appropriate.
All Anchorage based employees have been encouraged to work from home unless their job requires they come into the office.
The company has also asked all workers who live or have traveled out of state and are scheduled to travel to the North Slope to self-quarantine for two weeks before the start of their next scheduled shift.
By self-quarantine, the company means that workers should not travel outside of Alaska and should comply with all measures issued by the CDC and State of Alaska. If circumstances change, the company may require stricter self-quarantine measures.
The company will be demobilizing its exploration drilling rigs (Doyon 142 and Doyon 141) when they finish the wells they are currently drilling. Doyon 142 will be redeployed at Kuparuk.
The company is not planning on shutting production. The only change for the time being this year is the reduced drilling activity in Kuparuk and Alpine that was announced as part of the ConocoPhillips news release issued on Wednesday addressing steps the company is taking in light of the drop in oil price.
The company does not have a timeframe for resuming business as usual, according to a company memo that said, “We will be monitoring conditions on a daily basis.”
“As we move through this, our priorities remain: protect the health and wellbeing of our workforce and their families; help mitigate the spread of the virus; and safely run our business,” the memo stated.
The Alaska Senate has passed House Bill 234, the largest supplemental budget in Alaska history, at $612 million. The bill includes more community assistance funding: $33.5 million in relief, in addition to the $14.1 million already appropriated to help communities mitigate the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.
The bill passed unanimously, 16-0.
Details of the package, which were requested by the governor:
$8.5 million in grants to municipalities for COVID-19-related commercial passenger vessel operations;
$5.5 million for medical and protective equipment, including testing supplies;
$3.5 million for transportation to housing for medical assistance;
$2.5 million for housing individuals under quarantine;
$1.5 million for the state epidemiology lab for IT systems related to testing;
$1.5 million for personnel including lab, support, emergency operations, and 24-hour
facility staff; and
$500,000 for public distribution of vital health recommendations and information.
The bill also provides funding for last year’s unpaid wildfire and healthcare costs:
$142 million in state funds and $160 million in federal funds for Medicaid services, including $8.3 million to restore the Adult Preventive Dental Program;
$110.5 million for wildland firefighting costs incurred last summer and fall;
$8.6 million to restore Adult Public Assistance.
$7.1 million for the Alaska Marine Highway System.
$6.7 million for the Department of Public Safety to address a shortfall within the Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers due to a lower than expected vacancy rate;
$6 million to help the Alaska Psychiatric Institute increase its capacity;
$3 million to address severe damage caused in Anchorage, Kenai, and Mat-Su by the December 2018 earthquake.
Anchorage will get an additional $4.5 million,
The bill, which originated in the House, needs concurrence from the House before it goes to the governor’s desk for approval.
NEW HEALTH MANDATES FROM STATE: CLOSING RESTAURANT
Ketchikan, Anchorage, and Fairbanks are the locations of new cases of coronavirus of coronavirus in Alaska. All cases are considered travel-related cases, with people who had traveled in the Lower 48.
Dr. Anne Zink, the chief medical officer for the state, took a previous advisory that says if you traveled within 14 days to a Level 3 country, home quarantine yourself for 14 days and made it a mandate.
Another health mandate statewide, effective March 18 at 5 pm, all bars, breweries, restaurant, food, kiosks, closed to dine in services. No on-site consumption is permitted.
The mandate does not include grocery stores but does include salad bars.
Zink said all Alaskans should minimize gatherings or being around other people in close settings.
The people with the virus are quarantined in their homes. Zink said 80 percent of those who get the virus will not need hospitalization, and so it’s best for them to stay at home.
Sen. Cathy Giessel, president of the Senate, said the Legislature stands with Gov. Dunleavy. “We stand with the governor in addressing the economic impact.”
Dunleavy asked Alaskans to take the issue more seriously. There is no vaccine. “We all need to do our part. This is a new virus. This is a virus that is easily spread. If you’re a young person you may not know that you have the virus,” he said. But he admonished young people to practice social distancing.
Bernie Sanders lost the primary in three big states tonight: Florida and Illinois. And he lost bigly.
Joe Biden has 1,147 delegates to Sanders’ 861 delegates.
Ohio on Monday delayed its primary election, which had been scheduled for today. The state’s health director ordered the polls closed, and after a tense court battle, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the decision. The new date is June 2.
Across today’s three primary states, turnout appeared light.
The online betting site, Predictit.org is now showing Biden far in the lead for Alaska, which has historically been Sanders country.
The betting map on March 17, 2020The Predictibetting map on Feb. 14, 2020
Dead Republican voters in House District 15 must be rejoicing today with state voter misconduct and election interference charges being filed against Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux and two cohorts.
If you will recall, LeDoux, a staunch Republicrat and the District 15 incumbent, was absolutely agog after election officials in the 2018 District 15 GOP primary election discovered seven absentee ballot applications — seven — from dead people, not to mention absentee votes cast in the names of at least two very much alive people who said they had not voted.
In all, officials yanked 26 ballots because of residency or legitimacy questions. All the ballots with residency or legitimacy questions, it is worth noting, were for LeDoux.
Unbeknownst to Alaskans, all that triggered a quiet, two-year investigation that culminated with 18 charges against LeDoux, her former chief of staff Lisa Simpson, and Simpson’s son, Caden Vaught. Those charges include five felonies and 13 misdemeanors. The trio was issued summonses to appear in court April 3.
While the case grinds through the justice system, it will be more than a trifle interesting to see how the powers-that-be in the House – the same folks who depend on LeDoux to help control the Democrat-led chamber – deal with her, as she has not been indicted, much less convicted of a crime. They could issue a stern tsk-tsi-tsk, strip her of committee posts, or censure her. Or, they could do nothing.
Precedent is hard to find. Two senators were removed from office in the 1980s – Sen. Milton “Ed” Dankworth, after he was convicted of conflict of interest, and George Homan, after his bribery conviction.
None of the current charges appear to involve the dead voters, but the Department of Law is to be commended for doggedly pursuing the case in the people’s interest – even if the dead voters appear to have escaped justice for the time being. There is nothing as important in our civic affairs as fair and honest elections, the very backbone of our political system.
As for LeDoux, the chips will fall where they may. She should be sure she is not standing beneath them. Perhaps this would be a good time to bid public life an adieu.
Anchorage residents have been hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paper for weeks. Now, even the face tissue is gone from shelves, and paper towels are running low at local stores.
This morning, as Costco opened its doors on Dimond Blvd, a line stretched 100 deep, wrapping around the building, and the line looked like it was not moving. But by noon, however, the line was dissipated.
Costco said in an email on Tuesday that it would limit the number of shoppers in all stores to allow social distancing. Shoppers confirmed that policy to Must Read Alaska.
Yes, Must Read Alaska needs a new windshield.
Scouting the shelves at Carrs/Safeway on Huffman Road revealed many sections stripped, as though locusts had come through the store overnight. Potatoes and onions were gone, the meat section was picked over and the baking flour was in short supply. Shelf stockers were working feverishly to restock what they could:
All of this, in response to the coronavirus, which is impacting how people live their lives in America. While they once didn’t feel the need to stock their pantries, now they’re reconsidering, as they face possibly several weeks of self-quarantine, and children home from school for the rest of the school year.
Also, with restaurants having been closed down suddenly, those who usually dine out frequently are finding they’ll need to be more resourceful in their own kitchens until the virus stops finding new hosts or until a vaccine is developed and available.
What I really appreciated about your column on the State’s fiscal picture is that it really helps to lay out the situation the State finds itself in.
For as much as we’ve been facing a deficit for five years, this combination of oil and market drop, along with economic contraction as a result of the coronavirus, puts the State in a very challenging position.
I think you accurately and effectively describe what is a very likely scenario – that the State is very close to essentially being unable to pay for itself.
That scenario also includes a PFD that is essentially zero. In fact, it may be that even with no PFD, the State is still at a deficit. It’s a necessary conversation but difficult.
Part of the challenge, and maybe not articulated directly, is that while the fund source for the PFD is healthy and sustainable, it is how to fund government that remains questionable. This is essentially where Alaska Municipal League has called for new revenue, including in the form of broad-based taxes.
I can imagine there will always be at least two extremes. One, where no tax is a good tax. The other, where there has never been enough money for government. I can’t agree with you that AML lands at the latter.
What we struggle with is that the State does have some fundamental responsibilities, and that also there is increasing unmet need. For us, it is not that there has never been enough money for government, but that there has been insufficient funding at the State level to adequately fulfill Constitutional and statutory obligations.
That means that even during the salad days, the State was still not fully funding school construction and major maintenance. In fact, over the last decade, these needed projects have only been funded at 15% on average.
Even with a zero PFD, will the roof that is collapsing on the school in St. Paul be funded? It’s not in the budget. Nor are the dozens of other projects that are identified as priority by the Department of Education.
In terms of unmet need, we know that there is nearly $2 billion in State deferred maintenance, $1 billion in need for ports and harbors, $2.3 billion for school construction and maintenance, $5 billion in transportation projects, $3 billion in maintenance and construction needs for municipal governments, and $2 billion in need for water and wastewater.
It’s easy to look at that list and say that the State can’t be all things to everyone, or that someone else should pay for them, or that the State can’t subsidize one part of the state and not the other. Except that these are fundamentally government responsibilities – shared between federal, state and local – but the role of the State is to tackle issues that are systemic.
The question in front of us is not whether we can pay a PFD, but whether the State has sufficient resources to address not only its basic functions, and to chip away at unmet needs, but to fulfill essential roles during a crisis. The State has an FY20 Supplemental Budget that reflects a difficult fire season, and the year before that response to earthquake. Does the State have the resources necessary to respond in times of need?
There is definitely an argument to be made that the PFD distributed in full this year would act as an economic stimulus after a dismal travel and tourism season.
We know that Alaskans are going to be negatively impacted during this time, and that economists nationally are talking specifically about a cash infusion. I don’t know what the right answer is, and AML has not taken a position on a PFD amount.
That said, we do know that reducing or eliminating the PFD is a regressive action that affects our most vulnerable disproportionally. That, during a time when they may be most vulnerable.
Talking taxes isn’t out of line in this environment. In fact, the earlier we can discuss an appropriately designed broad-based tax, the better. We’re talking about a development and implementation time of as long as two years. We want that process to be driven by data, so that policy-makers know exactly what impacts look like. Tax doesn’t have to be emotional – many local governments are required by State law to tax, which may be why we’re more comfortable focusing on how to do it right.
I’m happy to be part of a difficult dialogue. I don’t think there are any easy answers. I do believe that our members and your readers benefit from a collaborative approach. How do we strike the right balance in meeting the State’s needs and the interests of Alaskans? How do we do that by working together?
Nils Adreassen is executive director of Alaska Municipal League, but is writing in his capacity as an Alaska.
