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Federal disaster declared for COVID for Alaska

Suzanne Downing
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8
Federal disaster declared for COVID for Alaska

Alaska has received a federal disaster declaration from President Donald Trump to help with funding for State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in all areas of the state impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Michael F. O’Hare, former director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and now the Region 10 director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been named the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the Alaska.

Typically, disaster declarations lead to the release of:

  • Individual Assistance – Assistance to individuals and households;
  • Public Assistance – Assistance to state and local governments and certain privatenonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities; and
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance – Assistance to state and local governments and certainprivate nonprofit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property from natural hazards.

It’s not clear how these three categories will apply to the economic disaster created by the pandemic, or if new categories will be created.

Additional disaster designations, such as a “major disaster declaration,” or n economic disaster for commercial fisheries, may be made at a later date if requested by the State.

When do we declare victory and restore our lives?

Suzanne Downing
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79
When do we declare victory and restore our lives?

One thing Alaskans want to know from the governor is how long. Is it 30 days? Is it two more weeks? Is it August?

As Alaskans grapple with their deeply diminished lives in this Year of COVID-19, they’ve done their part to flatten the curve. Fewer than 250 known cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been diagnosed, and seven deaths are reported in Alaska to date. Across the state, 27 have been hospitalized for serious effects from the coronavirus.

It is a serious illness for some, to be sure, but many Alaskans suspect that they’ve had the coronavirus themselves, had not been diagnosed, and were only mildly impacted — a sniffly nose, a dry cough. The death rate is being bent downward as medical professionals learn more about the disease and as the public practices social distancing.

And yet in a few short weeks, from March 12 until April 9, our state economy is in shambles. Record numbers of Alaskans have filed for unemployment benefits, many more cannot pay for their health insurance any longer. It appears the economic consequences will be long-reaching.

It’s worse than just not having a job or health insurance:

People cannot get even medical care for urgent problems, too numerous to list here, but including serious conditions that keep them from living their best lives:

Case: A reader of MRAK has a cancerous cyst and a history of cancer of the same type. His doctor tells him he must wait 72 days to have the surgical procedure to remove this cyst. He is worried, rightfully so, because he has children at home.

Case: A woman with a prolapsed pelvic floor cannot have it repaired. Her organs are literally falling out of her. She uses a prosthesis to keep them in.

Case: A child with serious eye condition may become blind in one eye because the ophthalmologists are closed.

Case: A woman has compressed nerves coming out of her spine and is in agony, but cannot get surgery. Her doctors are giving her nerve blocks to help, but they only do so much.

Case: Women are delaying their mammograms because many mammography centers are closed; others will not perform mammograms for women over 50.

Case: Alaska Urological Institute has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules.

Case: MRAK has learned there are medical practices on the Kenai Peninsula on the verge of closing, and yet the hospital beds on the Kenai are empty, waiting for COVID-19 patients.

Case: Nurses are being sent home without pay. They aren’t being furloughed, so they can’t apply for unemployment, but they can’t work either.

Case: A business owner whose tourism business has closed for the year cancelled his health insurance because federal money is not coming fast enough to help him. He’ll have to do without for the rest of the year.

The stories are pouring into Must Read Alaska every day, and they all are individual tragedies.

Alaskans are ready to go back to work, and it’s time for the Administration to open the economy back up — with fewer mandates and more advisories. The governor can advise that people wear cloth masks, wash their hands, avoid shaking hands this year, and try to get distance from others. He can recommend that people not gather in groups larger than 10 or 20, and that families take precautions when going about their lives.

But if we don’t get our economy back on its feet, there are real health consequences that will be felt. There will be divorces, suicides, sicknesses treated too late, domestic violence, and bankruptcies. The health impacts could be far greater than the deaths from COVID-19 in Alaska.

At the very least, Alaskans need to know how much is enough for them to sacrifice. Is it when Alaska has zero cases per day? Are 25 cases a day too many?

The lives Alaskans are now leading, at least in the major commercial centers, is no way to live for an extended period of time. Patience is wearing thin for a shutdown of society that is both open-ended and that appears to be picking winners and losers in the marketplace.

By April 11, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will have to decide if the state is still in a state of emergency. Will he extend the declaration? How long and what parts of his mandates can be relaxed?

These are not rhetorical questions. The private sector cannot take much more.

COVID update: 9 new cases, no new deaths

Suzanne Downing
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20
COVID update: 9 new cases, no new deaths

Alaska had nine new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in the past 24 hours, bringing the case total to 235 across the state.

The total number of people hospitalized during the pandemic is 27, although not all of those are currently in the hospital, and no new deaths were reported during the past 24 hours.

Seven Alaskans are known to have died of causes related to the coronavirus that developed out of Wuhan, China last year.

The new cases were in Anchorage (4), Fairbanks (2), Kenai Peninsula (1), and Mat-Su (1).

Nationally, 452,582 people have been infected with the coronavirus, and 16,129 deaths have been attributed to or associated with COVID-19.

Mike Cronk of Tok launches campaign for House Dist. 6

Suzanne Downing
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17
Mike Cronk of Tok launches campaign for House Dist. 6

Retired middle school teacher Mike Cronk has filed to run for House District 6 to replace Rep. Dave Talerico, who has chosen to not run for reelection after serving three terms.

A registered Republican, Cronk was raised in the district in the small town of Northway, where he became well known in the region as a high school basketball star and was named all-schools “player of the year” before the designation was divided by school sizes in Alaska.

Cronk attended University of Alaska Fairbanks and returned to teach in Northway, before becoming a middle school teacher in Tok.

If his name seems familiar to readers outside the sprawling district, it’s because the year 2017 turned out to be a fateful year for Cronk. He and friends attended the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas when his friend Rob McIntosh was shot in the chest during the mass shooting that killed 59 people. Cronk held his fingers on the bullet holes, dragged his friend to safety, put him in the back of a pickup truck with other wounded people, and eventually flagged down an ambulance. In the chaos that followed, another wounded concert-goer died in his arms on the way to the hospital.

Read Mike Cronk’s essay about that day at USA Today.

Cronk serves on the Alaska Gateway School District School Board, and is well known across the district for his basketball talent — both for his high school and college skill and his involvement in adult leagues — and also because he has refereed games throughout the district.

“Mike and I have communicated closely over the last year,” Talerico said. “He is a solid person who really understands and relates to people of all ages in our District. His active Alaska lifestyle of hunting, fishing and trapping, along with his strong sense of honesty and his lack of political gobbledygook is really refreshing.”

“Dave has done an incredible job for our District. Now that he has decided to retire I’m motivated me to file for his House Seat,” Cronk said of the representative from Healy.

Cronk is a fiscal conservative who understands that next year’s budget will be the most challenging yet. As a longtime teacher of math and science, he has been a servant of the people for 25 years, and has thick skin from teaching and being on the school board.

“I’ve been through a lot and I believe I can make a difference. We need to be able to unite people and work together,” he said.

As a lifelong hunter, Cronk is attuned to the subsistence way of life in District 6. “Subsistence is the tie that binds us in our District. It is about putting food on our tables and passing on to our children the blessings of wild harvest and wise management of our natural resources,” he said.

Cronk knows the district well, having spent time in nearly every village and town in the sprawling interior region that reaches Arctic Village, Venetie, and Anderson, wrapping around Fairbanks.

Earlier this week, Elijah Verhagen, a former Republican, filed to run as an undeclared candidate for the seat, which means he will skip the primary and go directly to the general election ballot.

Ferry system suspends service to Prince Rupert

Suzanne Downing
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8
Ferry system suspends service to Prince Rupert

The Alaska Marine Highway System service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia is cancelled until further notice, the AMHS reported today.

COVID-19 coronavirus-related travel restrictions delayed work to bring the Prince Rupert Terminal into compliance with federal regulations. All passengers are being notified and rebooked or refunded as necessary.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection was scheduled to meet with Alaska state officials this month at Prince Rupert to review and approve Alaska’s ferry terminal facility modifications, required to conduct international operations. Alaska’s ferry system must fully comply with the security operations stipulated within the Land, Rail, Marine, and Air Transport Preclearance Agreement signed by the U.S. and Canada.

But with current travel restrictions, the April meeting cannot take place as planned. Alaska and Canadian officials will meet as soon as possible after travel restrictions are lifted, according to a press release from the Alaska Marine Highway System.

AMHS extended its policy waiving cancellation fees for any reservation until May 11, 2020. To cancel or make changes to an itinerary contact the AMHS reservation call center at 1-800- 642-0066 or call your local AMHS terminal.f

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Events

Suzanne Downing
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0
Events

Saturday, April 11 – Alaska Democratic Party-Run Primary (results announced)
Tuesday, April 28 – Ohio Democratic Primary · Ohio Republican Primary
Saturday, May 2 – Guam Democratic Caucus · Kansas Democratic Party-Run Primary · South Carolina Republican State Convention · Virginia Republican State Convention
Saturday, May 9 – Arizona Republican State Convention and Congressional District Caucus · Wyoming Republican State Convention

Representative apologizes for hurtful statements about rural Alaskans

Suzanne Downing
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57
Representative apologizes for hurtful statements about rural Alaskans

Rep. Jennifer Johnston of Anchorage today apologized on Facebook for statements made to a reporter from the Alaska Journal of Commerce, which implied that people in rural Alaska are not responsible enough to get their Permanent Fund dividends early.

In an op-ed by reporter Andrew Jensen earlier this week, the author quoted Johnston asking Jensen, “Have you ever been to the villages at dividend time?”

Jensen wrote, “Johnston went on to state that part of the reasoning for not paying the dividend early was because it would be too much money in rural Alaska on top of the federal payment that was approved in the CARES Act. She further claimed the congressional delegation actually discouraged the Legislature from paying a spring dividend because they shared the same concerns.”

But when he asked the offices of Rep. Don Young, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan, all denied such a message was conveyed to the Legislature either by them or members of their staffs.

Today, Johnston was more circumspect in her comments as she provided an explanation on Facebook:

“The conclusion of a recent opinion piece does not accurately express my values and beliefs. I have a deep love and respect for our Alaska Native community, and I sincerely apologize for my comments. This is a learning process. In the future I will be educating myself and will do a better job communicating my respect for all Alaskans,” Johnston wrote.

Johnston is serving her second term as a Republican legislator. She also served on the Anchorage Assembly for several years, where she was known as a fiscal conservative. In the Legislature, she has caucused with the bipartisan majority that is dominated by Democrats, for whom she serves as co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

Finance co-chair doesn’t trust rural Alaskans with early P-Fund dividend

West Side Story: There’s a place for us

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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13
West Side Story: There’s a place for us

By ART CHANCE

One benefit of being incarcerated at home is you get to watch some of those obscure cable channels you pay for. While mindlessly browsing through channels I found “West Side Story” on Amazon Prime.

I think I know my readership pretty well, and I’m pretty confident that most of us know some of the words from every major song in “West Side Story.” “Somewhere” was the class song for a lot of high school graduations in the Sixties.

The story is set in New York in the Fifties. The Broadway play came out in the late Fifties, and the movie debuted in 1961. It is a view of urban America before Camelot. The story centers on conflict between the Sharks and the Jets. The Jets are the white kids, the Sharks the Puerto Rican immigrant kids.

One of the jarring things about the movie is the Fifties gangstas dress better than most white collar office workers today.

West Side Story is an Americanized and modernized version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Of course, nobody much under 40 knows what Romeo and Juliet is because it was written by a dead white guy.

Romeo and Juliet are from rival families, the Montagues and Capulets. Tony and Maria are from rival ethnicities, the native-born Americans and the Puerto Ricans. They aren’t allowed to fall in love, but they do.

Leonard Bernstein wrote the music, Steven Sondheim the lyrics; that’s about as legendary as you get, at least for the times; no for any time. The music and dance sequences were directed by Jerome Robbins.

A sub-theme is that several of the principals had been hailed before the House Un-American Activities Committee for their alleged communist ties; some co-operated, some didn’t. Some had been black listed. About the only actor you’d recognize is Natalie Wood who played Maria, though her singing was almost entirely lip-synched.

It was filmed in a New York neighborhood that was later leveled to make room for Lincoln Center. The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, won 10, and was the highest grossing movie of 1961.

To me, West Side Story is the apex of the American musical genre; the music is much more adventurous than Rogers and Hammerstein or the more modern Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Sixty year-old songs like “Tonight,” “Maria,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Somewhere” survive as standards today. The choreography is breathtaking. Who can choreograph a gang fight? My dancing skill is limited to a box step and a halting waltz, maybe a two-step if I’ve had a few, but I know good stuff when I see it. The whole movie is choreographed; there is no random movement.

The times and the politics of the principals are very evident. Romeo and Juliet was about a conflict between two powerful rival families. West Side Story is straight class and ethnic warfare right out of Marx. The Sharks and the Jets are working class kids fighting over the bottom rungs of the social and economic ladder. The white cops roust them both, but are somewhat more tolerant of the white Jets. Tribalism isn’t new.

By today’s standards, the plot and the action are almost boring; think Footloose with a fight at the end. In Romeo and Juliet both die; in Westside Story only Tony dies, and Maria gets to sing at the end.

America had had over 10 years of unprecedented peace and prosperity; the Soviet menace was a distant and abstract thing. JFK had just been elected and America hung on the words of his Inaugural Address.

Back then we were still willing to believe a politician about paying any price and bearing any burden; we didn’t know that the duty only fell to us mere mortals. Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and working class whites of all ethnicities could believe that somewhere there’s a place for us.

Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon. 

Elective abortions are among optional procedures delayed during COVID-19 emergency

Suzanne Downing
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11
Elective abortions are among optional procedures delayed during COVID-19 emergency

DEMOCRAT SENATORS WANT ABORTIONS TO BE A SPECIAL RIGHT

How does Alaska’s “COVID-19 Health Mandate 5.1,” cancelling or postponing non-urgent and elective surgical procedures, pertain to elective abortions?

On Tuesday, the Dunleavy Administration made it clear that surgical abortions that are elective, rather than to save the life of the mother, are among those to be postponed or canceled for now, as the state seeks to preserve personal protective equipment and medical supplies.

Elective abortions are part of a long list of procedures and surgeries that must wait while the state prepared to take care of an expected surge of COVID-19 patients.

Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum released the five-page list that clarifies all of the medical procedures covered by the mandate, which the State issued on March 19.

The entire list of elective surgeries being postponed is at this link.

For example, under breast cancer, postponed procedures include:

  • Excision of benign lesions-fibroadenomas, nodules, etc…
  • Duct excisions
  • Discordant biopsies likely to be benign
  • High risk lesions-atypia, papillomas, etc…
  • Prophylactic surgery for cancer and noncancer cases
  • Delayed SNB for cancer identified on excisional biopsy
  • cTisN0 lesions-ER positive and negative
  • Re-excision surgery
  • Tumors responding to neoadjuvant hormonal treatment
  • Clinical Stage T1N0 estrogen receptor positive/progesterone receptorpositive/Her2 negative tumors
  • Inflammatory and locally advanced breast cancers

In addition to cancer surgeries, conditions like fecal incontinence surgeries are being delayed. That means some Alaskans are having to wear diapers right now because of a surgery they cannot get. Infertility procedures, such as embryo transfers, are also on the list.

Likewise, surgical abortions must be delayed “unless the life or physical health of the mother is endangered…”

This policy is similar to other states that have enacted the same emergency orders, including Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

Abortion providers and proponents are not pleased and have tried to stop this particular mandate in Texas.

But on Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Texas over its restriction of abortions during the pandemic. In a 2-1 ruling, the court lifted a lower court order that had halted the restrictions.

“Given … the escalating spread of COVID-19, and the state’s critical interest in protecting the public health, we find the requirements for issuing the writ satisfied,” the court majority said.

Referring to a 1905 Supreme Court decision that says constitutional rights can be restricted during public health emergencies, the court said states are allowed restrict “one’s right to peaceably assemble, to publicly worship, to travel, and even to leave one’s home,” the majority said. “The right to abortion is no exception.”

Jim Minnery, of the Alaska Family Council, agreed. “Abortion doesn’t get treated differently from any other medical procedure. If it’s not essential, and it consumes PPE (personal protective equipment), then the government is saying it must be cancelled or postponed, in order to free up valuable resources for the war on COVID-19.”

Sens. Tom Begich and Jesse Kiehl, however, sent a letter to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink objecting to elective abortions being on the list, saying the Administration is playing politics and “It is inconsistent with good medical practice, and I believe you know that.”

“Tonight’s mandate violates my trust. It violates the trust of the Alaskans I represent,” Kiehl wrote, “You need to act immediately to restore Alaskans’ trust in you and the team you lead. The stakes for our state are too high for you to let this stand.”

Later on Facebook, Kiehl said Dunleavy’s move was an abuse of power that reminded him of Chicago politics.

Some respond that Senators Kiehl and Begich, who are Democrats, are trying to establish abortions as a super-constitutional right to be protected above all others.

Minnery said, “why are we making an exception for Planned Parenthood when people are having to wait for their cancer surgeries?”

An average of more than three abortions were performed daily in Alaska during 2019, for a total of 1,270. All but 308 of them were surgical abortions, with the others being induced pharmaceutically.

Most credible reports peg the percentage of all abortions that are deemed to be elective is 90 percent or higher.

That means if abortion providers abide by the State emergency order, more than 20 abortions a week will be put on hold. Alaska law does not allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of the baby’s life in the uterus. Some of those in-utero babies will make it past that 20-week gate.

Pro-life advocates expect that abortion industry leader Planned Parenthood will ask the court for an injunction to stop the Dunleavy Administration from enacting this single line of the health mandates. But as of the close of business on Wednesday, April 8, the mandate stands.

Will abortion providers abide by the ruling or violate the order and continue to provide abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic? What powers does the State actually have to stop them? Is the State ready to pull their licenses to practice in Alaska if they knowingly violate the health mandate?

These are uncomfortable questions that the Department of Law probably hopes it doesn’t have to deal with, since anything having to do with abortion is going to end up in court.

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