Must Read Alaska has learned from two sources that the mayor has directed Municipal Light and Power to shut down the power supply for Kriner’s Diner, the little cafe on C Street and Fireweed Way that has refused to shut down, despite Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ Emergency Order 15.
MRAK reached Andy Kriner this afternoon, and he said the power was on, but that he learned that if he was not closed down by 4 pm, ML&P would shut off electricity, per the mayor’s direction.
Kriner’s court date was today, and Judge Eric Aarseth told him that he must obey the order of the mayor to close his inside dining operations. Outdoor dining and curbside pickup is still allowed in Anchorage, but indoor dining is forbidden under the mayor’s rules. The judge stated the order has the weight of law.
Kriner said his diner is not a good location for outdoor dining since it is on a busy, noisy intersection, and the food he serves is not a fit for take-out.
Kriner remained open long after the court hearing and closed by 3 pm because the cafe was running out of food.
The establishment has been popular since the mayor’s shutdown orders went into effect on Monday and has run out of inventory every day this week.
Kriner said he planned to open on Saturday morning, as usual. He also said that ML&P workers were spotted on his property today near his outdoor freezer. Friends of Kriner’s were rounding up generators on Friday and rumors were flying on Facebook.
Also today, Wings and Things had a stop-work order taped to its windows. That restaurant, too, has defied the mayor’s orders to shut down, as has The Red Chair, Jackie’s Place, and Little Dipper Diner. At the airport, restaurants continue to serve indoor dining, as they are on property owned by the state.
Jackie’s Place wrote on Facebook:
I have had conversation. I have my loyals that come every day. I have been on top of what it has taken to stay open. Open, close, 25%, 50%….. I’ve had some days to think about this. I have spoke with folks, with Andy, and many others….this morning, my staff. Today we will take a stand with what we feel is fair … Masks upon entering please…. We will be open for business 8-2 today.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy weighed in on the current status of Alaska hospitals and COVID-19, with this message on Twitter, in an apparent attempt to quash the fear-mongering about hospital capacity.
The Anchorage Superior Court has ordered Kriner’s Diner to close in compliance with the mayor’s Emergency Order 15, and must not provide or facilitate any inside dining in the establishment at the corner of C Street and Fireweed Way.
Ruth Botstein, attorney for Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, said that the owners of Kriner’s Diner willfully and flagrantly stayed open even after the Berkowitz Administration taped a stop work order on the building and filed a lawsuit against the restaurant. Judge Eric Aarseth agreed, saying the mayor is within his rights to order all restaurants to close their indoor dining.
The attorney argued that Kriner’s could set up an outdoor seating area and that the owners have both political and economic remedies available to them.
She did not mention, nor did the Kriner’s lawyer point out, that other restaurants have not been able to set up outdoor seating because the Muni requires them to submit architectural drawings and post a bond, a process that is onerous and possibly will not be worth the return on investment.
The Kriner’s attorney, Blake Quackenbush, argued that the mayor was not evenly applying his orders for closure. He pointed out that gyms and canneries, also places where people congregate, were not closed. He also pointed out that the mayor has closed down streets for businesses to help some of them but not helped others.
Quackenbush argued that a reuben sandwich is not something that is a take-out item, and that C Street is not a place where one can establish outdoor dining, due to the busy intersection and high speeds.
He argued that the Muni has not established any correlation between this restaurant and the spread of COVID-19. He also said that the owners of Kriner’s Diner have the right to seek employment and that the constitution protects their right to economic liberty, the ability to enjoy the fruits of their own industry.
Quackenbush also said the mayor has financial interests in other restaurants around town, pointing out the unequal treatment that his client and other restaurants have received.
But the judge was not convinced. He said while the constitutional questions and the matter of fairness were being argued, the diner must close for the next 10 days because the Assembly has given the mayor vast powers during the COVID-19 emergency, and the mayor has issued an order that has the force of law, an argument the mayor has been making on talk shows friendly to his viewpoint.
Anchorage had 29 cases of the coronavirus newly diagnosed in the past 24 hours, about the same number as in mid-July. Many of the cases involved in the recent spikes have involved seafood workers at processing plants, but those were not closed by the mayor.
Judge Aarseth was particularly concerned that if Kriner’s Diner was allowed to operate, it would mean all other restaurants would follow suit, something he said was not good for the public health. About four restaurants had opened in support of Kriner’s — Wings and Things, Little Dipper Diner, Judy’s, and Jackie’s Place.
The code enforcers have been out and about slapping stop-work orders on restaurants and levying $600 a day fines.
The court system is closed and there have been no jury trials since March, and will not be any jury trials until November.
WE CANNOT HAVE LAWMAKERS WHO ARE SOFT ON VIOLENT CRIME
By TAMERA LIENHART
I was troubled by the recent news story about the young man who served only five years in a youth facility for the premeditated murder of two members of his family — two Anchorage women.
He was three months shy of his 16th birthday when he committed these cold-blooded murders. Read the story, hear the reports: He killed these innocent women because they were, “nagging” him.
Had he been 16, he would have been tried as an adult and prosecuted for the violent and brutal actions that took the lives of two innocent and defenseless women. The victims who should have been safe in their own home were killed.
I follow cases such as these because of what happened to my family in 1985. Three of my family members, my grandparents and great aunt were murdered in their own home by a 14-year-old and her 19-year-old boyfriend. They were senseless murders; these juveniles had always wanted to kill someone and faked a car problem to get in the house to use the phone.
Following these murders, the way the laws were written wouldn’t protect our family, it protected the criminals, the people who altered our lives forever.
We were treated by the criminal justice system nothing short of, well, criminal. We weren’t allowed into proceedings, could not testify, and were generally told to sit down and be quiet.
It’s awful to think that many laws are created through the shedding of innocent blood. A lot has changed since 1985, in Alaska much of it due to my mother and Aunt, who formed Victims for Justice. They gave a voice to other victims and a movement started; a movement where victims found the courage to speak up about the rapes and murders that happened to them, and how it impacted their lives – forever.
This victims’ rights movement led to substantial policy changes in Alaska. In 1994, the Victims’ Rights Amendment to the Constitution of Alaska was passed overwhelmingly by the voters of Alaska. It guaranteed certain rights to victims and laid out how the basic tenets of the criminal justice system should be administered. Article I, Section 24, reads:
“Criminal Administration shall be based upon the following: the need for protecting the public, community condemnation of the offender, the rights of crime victims, restitution from the offender, and the principle of reformation”
All five of these tenets are constitutionally equal, so we cannot place the rights of victims, the community, public safety or restitution below the rights of the criminal.
Also, in 1994, the Legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill known as the “Automatic Juvenile Waiver.” Prior to 1994, the State had to prove that juveniles could not be rehabilitated in order to send them to adult court.
However, a series of brutal crimes committed by juveniles, including my grandparents, shocked the conscience of the community so much that legislation amending the criminal code was adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Walter J. Hickel.
Under the automatic waiver, a 16- or 17-year-old is automatically charged as an adult if the crime they are accused of is an “unclassified” or “Class-A” felony. These are crimes against a person -– rape, murder, manslaughter, etc.
They do not include shoplifting, or property crimes, crimes normally associated with juvenile delinquents.
For Class-A and Unclassified felonies committed by juveniles under 16, the State can petition to move to adult court and there is a separate hearing for this process.
In 2014, I happened to be in Juneau for work and discovered that the Legislature was working to overturn the automatic waiver provision. Given the work my family and many other victims have given to open the system to victims, I was troubled by the discussion of rolling back the progress victims of crime had made.
As it turns out, several legislators working with an out-of-state lobby firm were advocating to eliminate the automatic waiver.
At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Kopp, then staff to Sen. Fred Dyson, made the pitch to the committee to overturn Alaska’s automatic waiver statutes. It was sold as a simple amendment to a larger bill. There was no fanfare, no studies, no advertisement to the public.
Thankfully, the committee did not pass the amendment. Had they done so, the recent case involving the juvenile who served five years in a youth center would have become the tip of the iceberg for releasing violent juvenile offenders back into the community, with little notice to the public, given the secrecy surrounding juvenile proceedings.
For example, the four vicious teenage criminals who murdered David Grunwald (a case that made headlines for several years) would still be petitioning the court to be treated as juveniles, while David’s friends and family members wind up in seemingly never-ending court battles before a trial can even start.
Senate Bill 91 was a complete slap in the face to all families who have suffered a tragic loss by the choice of others as victims of crime in Alaska. I am thankful that the Legislature amended many of the provisions, but I am still troubled that during its passage, the voice of victims was muted once again.
We’ve made so much progress to make Alaska a safer place. We have to choose leaders who give more than lip service to the rights and situations of victims. All candidates say they are in favor of helping victims, but as I saw during the attempt to overturn the automatic waiver, sadly what they say and what they do can be entirely different.
As I write this, the same group that gave us SB91 (The Alaska Criminal Justice Commission) is discussing how to overturn the automatic waiver of violent 16 and 17-year-olds, just like the recent case of the murderer who was released after just 5 years for brutally killing two innocent people.
So I plea, when a candidate or sitting legislator comes by your house asking for your vote, ask them what they think about releasing young criminals who have murdered or violently raped someone, do they need to held accountable or do you support a simple slap on the wrist.
These are real issues that have the possibility of impacting each one of us, we need leaders not afraid to stand up for what is right.
Past MRAK column by justice writer Tamera Liehhart:
The Alaska Republican Party has notified the public in District 30 that a vacancy exists for House District 30, as a result of the tragic death of Rep. Gary Knopp on July 31.
Governor Mike Dunleavy is required to fill the vacancy in State House District 30, said Party Chairman Glenn Clary. He is requesting resumes from any Republican in District 30 who is interested in the appointment to the seat. That application is due no later than 5 pm Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
The interview and selection process by the District 30 committee will take place on Aug. 13, 2020, 6 pm, at Dry Bones Coffee Tea and Community, 11595 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai. It is not open to the public.
Knopp died in a plane crash. His name is still on the ballot and voting has already begun for the Aug. 18 primary. But whoever wins the election in November won’t be seated until January, and that leaves a vacancy for five and a half months. In such a circumstance, the governor will be given up to three names by the local Republican committee to choose from; typically he will select one of the names provided to serve an interim term.
The following Alaska Statutes apply to this process, he said:
Sec. 15.40.320. Condition and time for filling vacancy by appointment. When a vacancy occurs in the state legislature, the governor, within 30 days, shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy. However, if the remainder of the term of the predecessor in office will expire or if a vacancy in the state senate will be filled by a special election before the legislature will next meet, convene, or reconvene, the governor may not fill the vacancy.
Sec. 15.40.330. Qualification and confirmation of appointee.
(a) The appointee shall meet the qualifications of a member of the legislature as prescribed in art. II, sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, shall be a member of the same political party as that which nominated the predecessor in office, and shall be subject to confirmation by a majority of the members of the legislature who are members of the same political party which nominated the predecessor in office and of the same house as was the predecessor in office. If the predecessor in office was not nominated by a political party or if no other member of the predecessor’s political party is a member of the predecessor’s house of the legislature, the governor may appoint any qualified person. If the appointee is not a member of a political party, the appointment is not subject to confirmation. If the appointee is a member of a political party, the appointment is subject to confirmation as provided by this section for the confirmation of political party appointees.
(b) A member of a political party is a person who supports the political program of a party. The filing for office of a candidate as an independent or no-party candidate does not preclude a candidate from being a member of a political party. Recognition of an independent or no-party candidate as a member of a party caucus of members of the legislature at the legislative session following the election of the independent or no-party candidate is recognition of that person’s party membership at the time filings were made by party candidates for the preceding general election.
Sec. 15.40.340. Date of office of appointee. If the appointment is not subject to confirmation, the term of the appointee shall begin on the first day the appointee is present when the legislature meets, convenes, or reconvenes after the date of the appointment. If the appointment is subject to confirmation, the term of the appointee shall begin on the date the appointment is confirmed.
Sec. 15.40.360. Term of appointed representative. If the vacancy is in the state house of representatives, the appointment shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Other Alaska Statutes and laws may apply to the special selection. Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with all statutory and legal requirements, Clary said.
All applicants should submit a completed Alaska Republican Party application and financial disclosure, as well as a cover letter and CV, electronically to [email protected].
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, backed by a majority hard-left leaning Assembly, has launched his assault on small businesses. The Berkeley, California native is leveraging the fear caused by COVID-19 to annihilate the private sector.
Why wouldn’t he? That’s what leftist do. The stronger the economy, the weaker their movement. The feebler and more anemic the economy, their power grows. It’s all about shrinking the private sector and growing government. This is their end game. The irrational frenzied terror over COVID-19 is a gift for Berkowitz and his quest to transform Anchorage into Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz
Everything, and I mean everything Leftists propose weakens the private sector and strengthens government. Closing and destroying businesses is not about protecting people from COVID-19. It’s about showing power, authority and displaying the full force of government. It’s a signal to the Andy Kriners of the world: Refuse to bow, obey, and submit or we will destroy you. You won’t know what hit you.
The resistance has begun. Several restaurants — Kriner’s Diner, Jackie’s Place, Little Dipper, and Wings and Things — are defying the mayor’s tyranny.
The Red Chair Restaurant will also soon open in defiance. Others will surely join the rebellion. Courage is contagious. Soon, Berkowitz will run out of lawyers to take down these strong and brave patriots. Soon, he’ll be outnumbered. He will not win this fight.
Andy Kriner said the decision to open was an easy one for him. I had no choice, he said. It was either open or go out of business. He said after the last shutdown almost wiped him out, another month of it would have meant he’d have to close for good. For Kriner this is not about politics. It’s about survival. It’s about watching what he spent a lifetime working to build destroyed in a moment by a power-hungry mayor.
A woman named Madeline called my radio show Thursday. She says at the end of the day on Wednesday she stopped in to see Kriner. He was sitting back in his office. Madeline said he looked exhausted. Kriner was going through papers stacked high on his desk just delivered to him from the city. Kriner told Madeline he didn’t know what any of this means. Madeline says her heart broke for Kriner.
Kriner is not a lawyer with a fancy law degree like Berkowitz. He’s just a regular American providing a good product and service. He’s a typical hard-working small business owner providing jobs for his town. Kriner is in first and often last to leave. He’s also the last to get paid. Kriner is the very backbone of this country.
On Facebook this week someone posted a photo of a woman aged 105, standing with others in front of Kriner’s Diner protesting the tyrant mayor. She was aided by a walker. She held a sign reading, “This is not California.”
The outpouring for Kriner and other brave hearts has been nothing short of spectacular. Alaskans are a special bunch. This type of tyranny may play well in Berkowitz’s home state of California but not in the Last Frontier.
I know Kriner well and have eaten at his place often. He’s a tender-hearted guy who so very much loves his country. His food is great but visiting with him while you eat is what makes eating at Kriners unique and special.
What the media won’t tell you as they support Berkowitz’s abuse of power and bullying of small business owners is this: Alaska is the safest state in the nation when it comes to COVID-19.
Media types love — and I do mean love — to hype the growing number of positive coronavirus tests in the state. They don’t mention Alaska tests more per capita than any other state.
Alaska tests 34,260 per 100,000. Compare that to Hawaii where they test 9,202 per 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
The fear-mongering media also rarely report Alaska has the fewest number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 in the country. Alaska currently has close to 4 deaths per 100,000. Compare that to New York with a COVID-19 death rate of 167 per 100,000 or Louisiana with a death rate of 87 per 100,000.
You are more than 40 times as likely to die of the coronavirus if you live in New York than in Alaska.
So why is Berkowitz stubbornly and intentionally trying to destroy businesses like Kriner’s Diner? Could it be ego? Is it too late for him to admit he screwed up by shutting down the city in such a devastating and drastic way? Like most politicians, Berkowitz isn’t known for his humility and ability to admit when he was wrong. So, the war continues.
Hopefully more will join the resistance and defeat this tyrant forcing him to stand down. This is a war Berkowitz can’t win. But the longer he waits to stand down, the greater economic carnage he’ll leave behind.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger picked an open opponent of Gov. Mike Dunleavy to serve on the state’s Redistricting Board. That is the board that convenes once every 10 years to redraw the political boundaries in the state, an exercise occurring in every state after the U.S. Census is taken.
The choice of Melanie Bahnke of Nome is a shot at the Dunleavy Administration by the Alaska Supreme Court. Bahnke is the president and CEO of regional tribal consortium Kawerak, and has served on the board of AFN, which has taken a strong stance against the governor and his attempts to rein in the budget. She also disrupted an event in Nome where the governor was speaking in 2019.
A leader in the Recall Dunleavy movement, she will be the representative on the Redistricting Board for rural Alaska. Along with Speaker Bryce Edgmon’s choice of Nicole Borromeo, who is legal counsel to AFN, this means rural Alaska has a 40 percent representation on the Redistricting Board.
Other members of the board were chosen by Gov. Mike Dunleavy — Budd Simpson, a Juneau attorney; and Bethany Marcum, who heads the Alaska Policy Forum.
Sen. Cathy Giessel’s choice was John Binkley, a former state legislator and successful businessman who is a Republican.
Rep. Bryce Edgmon’s choice of Borromeo was supported by the Committee on Committees, which includes Speaker Edgmon and Neal Foster, both Democrats, along with collaborating Republicans Louise Stutes of Kodiak District 32, Jennifer Johnston of South Anchorage District 28, Chuck Kopp of South Anchorage District 24 and Steve Thompson of Fairbanks District 2,
Members of the House Republican caucus gathered at Kriner’s Diner today. Kriner’s is the rebellious restaurant that won’t close, in spite of the orders of the mayor of Anchorage, the lawsuit the Berkowitz Administration has filed, and the $600 a day fine Berkowitz has levied.
Reps. Cathy Tilton, DeLena Johnson, Laddie Shaw, and George Rauscher had lunch at the cafe on C Street, swapped stories about the campaign trail, chatted it up with Andy Kriner, who owns the establishment with his wife, and got interviewed by a KTUU news crew.
Earlier, Sen. Josh Revak had been spotted dining at the cafe.
They were there to support a small-business owner, whose plight has been noted on these pages. The community has lent its support to the popular cafe, whose owner says he cannot afford to shut down for another month, as the mayor has ordered all restaurants and bars to do.
Twenty-four cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the Anchorage area in the past 24 hours. Several restaurants have now joined the resistance and are remaining open, as code enforcers come by with papers and fines.
The lawsuit the mayor has filed against Kriner’s Diner will be heard at 10 am Friday in the courtroom of Judge William Morse. Kriner’s Diner will be represented by attorney Blake Quackenbush.
In an apparent admission of unfair treatment for businesses downtown, a political functionary of Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says he is now coming to the rescue of other downtown Anchorage restaurants.
Berkowitz had come under withering criticism for helping certain restaurants survive under the mayor’s lockdown of establishments, but not helping others. The perceived crony capitalism made it to the Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox on Wednesday.
Andrew Halcro, who runs EasyPark, now says he will personally help other restaurants design “cool curbside seating. Hit me up at @easyparkalaska.com.”
Halcro has served in the capacity of being in charge of downtown since Berkowitz took office over five years ago. He runs the Anchorage Community Development Authority. Food trucks and a rooftop basketball court on a parking garage have been his signature achievements, while the departure of Nordstrom has been his signature failure.
This quick marketing move to help other restaurants indicates the mayor and Halcro have had a conversation and decided that rather than being arbitrary and capricious in helping a handful of restaurants, they need some political cover, if after the fact.
Halcro came up with a name for it: “Operation Downtown Dine-Out.” What it amounts to is that Halcro is offering to consult with other restaurants and help them come up with outdoor dining.
All week, Halcro has been the mayor’s point-of-the-spear in hitting back at critics, specifically at Must Read Alaska, who said shutting down G Street in order to help one of Berkowitz’ business partners was showing favoritism to his own network of restaurant business interests.
Must Read Alaska has learned that other restaurants in the city are struggling with the city getting permits so they can establish outdoor seating. Some have given up, while others are openly defying the mayor and continuing to open their doors every day.
They said they didn’t have time to respond after the shutdown orders came on Friday, closing them down starting on Monday. Several said Berkowitz didn’t give them time to clear out their inventory. Others said if they shut down this time, it would kill them off for good.
Before the latest shutdown, through Halcro and the Downtown Partnership, Berkowitz had closed down G Street so Crush, a wine bar, could have its own street dining area.
They are calling their plan the “Open Street” plan, but it actually closes streets down, specifically portions of F and G Streets.
Anchorage weather is cool in August, with evening temperatures often dipping into the low 50s. Outdoor dining in Alaska isn’t for everyone, especially in late August as the sun begins to wane.
Meanwhile, the Berkowitz Administration continues his battle against Kriner’s Diner and other restaurants in midtown, racking up $600 a day against those who stay open for indoor dining.
In addition to Kriner’s, Wings and Things, Jackie’s Place, and Little Dipper Diner have defied the mayor’s orders and opened for business.
The injunction hearing against Kriner’s Diner by the Berkowitz Administration began at noon in court today, but ended early after judge Josie Garton recused herself from the case.
The lawsuit the Berkowitz Administration filed against Kriner’s will be reassigned to a new judge, with hearing likely on Friday.
Coronavirus continues to spread, creating a challenging political environment for elected officials to navigate government’s role in protecting the population from a disease without unduly infringing on our constitutional rights.
An explosion in homelessness over the past five years is causing conflicts between elected officials’ desire to provide homeless services against protecting the general population from the associated crime and a general degradation of the quality of life being experienced in Anchorage.
This is combined with a financial crisis caused by the decline in oil prices and decreased pipeline flow, stressed by politicians’ spending habits at both the state and local level on services, which has nearly depleted the Constitutional Budget Reserve, using the citizens’ portion of the Permanent Fund to continue funding the highest per-capita budgets in the nation, and pushing local property taxes up.
Here in Anchorage, we look to our local leaders to provide leadership, leadership that is reflective of the common interest of the population, not based on a minority agenda or personal interests.
We also expect the Anchorage Assembly to respect the public process in reaching decisions that impact all of us. One might conclude from recent actions this is not happening.
This is not the first time Anchorage has faced challenges. Our city has a history of boom and bust economics and challenging social issues. Back in the mid 1980’s when I served on the Anchorage Assembly, we faced as much a financial crisis as we face today. Oil prices hovered around $9 per barrel, declining pipeline flow-through, property values crashed, over 2,000 homes in Anchorage in foreclosure, and our population decreased by over 10 percent in just three years.
In response, we slashed the city budget, stayed under the “Tax Cap,” and kept a strong municipal bond rating. We also had a homeless problem, created in part by the collapsed economy. Life safety services were provided, but not services to “enable” this lifestyle. The homeless population remained small and relatively steady over the nearly 10 years I served on the Assembly and our economy rebounded.
The upsurge in Anchorage homelessness these past five years has a direct correlation to the amount of government accommodation provided. The movie “Field of Dreams” made famous the adage, “If you build it, they will come.”
Nowhere is that more evident than here, where Mayor Berkowitz and the Anchorage Assembly have consistently provided more services and been more permissive on allowing homeless camps to proliferate. The result has been a staggering increase in the Anchorage homeless population. The problem hasn’t been solved, it’s exploded.
Now the Mayor and Assembly are seriously considering expanding services, without regard to public input and trying to skirt the public process.
Former Mayor Sullivan offered one very cost effective solution, that of expanding the existing Clitheroe Center. The Clitheroe Center provides both housing and rehabilitation services and has been an effective institution in our city for over 40 years.
Instead, the Assembly plans to move forward with purchasing properties in close proximity to residential neighborhoods, busy intersections, and popular shopping areas to accommodate the homeless, despite having held numerous public meetings where a resounding majority spoke against the purchases. They concluded the public process by holding a meeting closed to the public, except for one member of the public they invited to speak. This blatant affront to the public process was so obvious that a recall has been launched against the presiding officer of the meeting, Assembly member Meg Zaletel.
The current mayoral mandate that closes most restaurants to inside dining is a clear example of where the Anchorage Assembly should be critically challenging the mayor.
Under the mandate, indoor dining has been restricted, although outside dining is permitted. It has not gone unnoticed that Mayor Berkowitz has a financial tie to the restaurant Crush and that Crush was granted the authority to expand onto “G” Street to provide outside dining during this mandate period. “G” Street is a public roadway.
Anchorage taxpayers pay for that street to be used as a street, not as a private restaurant. Why is the Anchorage Assembly allowing the mayor to use a public street for a restaurant owned by business associates of the mayor to provide outdoor dining?
Whether it be a lack of fiscal discipline in the face of a financial crisis, disregard for the public process, lack of effective oversight of the executive branch, or continuing to enable the homeless population without trying to solve the problem, I ask, where is the Anchorage Assembly?
Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly from 1986 to 1995 and as lieutenant governor in 2009-2010. He was chief executive officer of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation and achieved the rank of lieutenant general (Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs), major general (Air National Guard).
