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Don Young names Rhonda Boyles, Nicholas Begich III to co-chair 2020 campaign

Suzanne Downing
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10
Don Young names Rhonda Boyles, Nicholas Begich III to co-chair 2020 campaign

Alaskans for Don Young today announced the co-chairs of his re-election campaign for 2020: Fairbanks borough former Mayor Rhonda Boyles, and the grandson of the late Alaska Congressman Nick Begich — Nicholas Begich III.

“I’m extremely pleased that Nick and Rhonda have agreed to co-chair my campaign,” Congressman Young said. “These two individuals are hardworking, they both embrace the Alaskan spirit and care about our state’s future.”

Boyles, is a longtime Alaskan and past mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. She is a retired business owner who is heavily involved in the community and women’s organizations.

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“I am 100% committed to Don Young’s re-election. His effectiveness is unparalleled. He delivers for Alaska and has earned my support. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be involved in his campaign,” Boyles said.

Begich III is an entrepreneur and early-stage investor, having formed a number of businesses including ventures in mining, rural grocery, and technology. A resident of Chugiak, Begich is a conservative thought leader with a focus on public policy, resources, and fiscal stability.

The Begich-Young connection goes back two generations. Nicholas Begich’s grandfather ran for Congress in 1970 and beat Frank Murkowski. In 1972, Don Young ran against Begich, who had been recently presumed dead after his plane disappeared in Alaska. Although Begich won, he was soon officially declared deceased and a special election was held in 1973. Young won the seat and has held it ever since.

Nicholas Begich is also related to former Sen. Mark Begich and State Sen. Tom Begich, who are his Democrat uncles, while he is a conservative Republican.

“Don Young has been a tenacious defender for Alaskans. Now more than ever, we need his experience as we fight to preserve and expand access to our resources. As a longtime friend and supporter of Congressman Young, I look forward to seeing him return to Washington to represent us,” Nicholas Begich said.

Earlier this year, Truman Reed was named Young’s campaign manager. A life-long Alaskan and a graduate of Providence College, he has most recently served as an aide to Congressman Young in his D.C. office.

Anomaly: Ted Stevens International was world’s busiest airport on April 25

Suzanne Downing
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9
Anomaly: Ted Stevens International was world’s busiest airport on April 25

It’s all about the cargo.

On Saturday, April 25, the Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport was momentarily the world’s busiest airport, according to airport managers and their data tools.

“This points to how significantly the global aviation system has changed and highlights the significance of our role in the global economy and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the division of DOT said.

On that day, Anchorage had 948 airport arrivals and departures, compared to London Heathrow, with 682 arrivals and departures, according to FlightRadar 24 data.

It’s not that Anchorage had more passenger flights — it did not. But with it being the fifth-busiest cargo hub in the world, and with passenger flights being canceled everywhere, Anchorage’s airport briefly dominated the flight map, while the Atlanta Airport, which is generally the world’s busiest airport, was a ghost town.

Atlanta Airport Concourse C escalator was empty on Sunday.

Due to special cargo transfer rights, and the fact that Anchorage is an equal distance between Asia and North America, the Ted Stevens International Airport has also been the second-busiest cargo terminal in the United States for several years.

In April, Flightradar24 tracked an average of 69,586 total flights per day, a 62% decrease from April 2019. The busiest sky day in April was April 28, with 80,714 flights.

Commercial flights in April averaged 29,439 per day, compared to 111,799 flights per day in 2019.

The Southeast State Fair is canceled for this year

Suzanne Downing
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2
The Southeast State Fair is canceled for this year

The 2020 Southeast Alaska State Fair has been canceled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“It goes without saying that this was a difficult decision. As an international fair, we feel it is our responsibility to aid in protecting the health and safety of our small community of Haines as well as the communities everyone returns to once the Fair is over,” the board announced on May 1.

“For us and many across Southeast Alaska and the Yukon, the Fair is something to look forward to at the end of the summer, a moment of congregation and fun separate from the rest of the year. 2020 has instead united us with the common goal of preserving the health and safety of loved ones and strangers alike. We find great beauty and community in this act of sacrifice,” the group said. “We, the staff and board of directors, are heartbroken with this decision but know it is the right call to make. While we cannot join together in 2020 under Paysons Pavilion, dancing in the fading light from the west on a warm July night in Haines, we are committed to be there for you in 2021. “

The first Southeast Alaska State Fair was held in August of 1969 at the Haines American Legion. It was called the “Chilkat Valley Fair” and abut 600 people attended the event organized by the Chilkat Valley Homemaker’s Club. This year’s fair would have been July 30-Aug. 2.

‘Win the Wilderness’ is latest Alaska-based reality show

Suzanne Downing
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6
‘Win the Wilderness’ is latest Alaska-based reality show

Six British couples competed to see which had what it takes to survive in the Alaska wilderness and win ownership to a remote Interior Alaska that had been built and owned by Duane and Rena Ose.

That’s the hook for the latest Netflix “competition reality” TV series, which was filmed at the Lost Lakes Boy Scout Camp last summer. The BBC2-produced show, which premiered April 22, follows the couples as they compete for the ownership of the log A-frame-style home. The series showed in Great Britain in January.

“How far would you go to escape the demands of modern life?” begins narrator Nicholas Tennant, as the camera sweeps majestic landscape from Lost Lake.

The series has all the cheesy set ups and dramatic lead-ins of all of the competition reality shows in circulation, but Duane and Rena only agreed to do the show if it wasn’t over-the-top cheesy. That may make it a little boring for most Americans, but Alaskans will relate to the Oses.

So what ever happened to the couple who actually won the little slice of Interior Alaska paradise?

We found out, but we’ll not spoil the fun. This story will tell you who won and whether or not they are actually living in the cabin they won.

Or watch the episodes of Win the Wilderness for free with a 30-day trial of Netflix.

Your Alaska-informed comments and critiques are welcome below.

COVID-19 update: 3 cases

Suzanne Downing
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10
COVID-19 update: 3 cases

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Sunday announced three new case of COVID-19 in Alaska. The cases were from Anchorage (2) and Kenai Peninsula (1).

This brings the total case count in Alaska to 368.

Recovered cases now total 262, including eight new recovered cases recorded since Friday. A total of 21,578 tests have been conducted. 

This reflects data from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on May 2 that posted at Sunday on the DHSS Coronavirus Response AK COVID-19 Cases and Testing Dashboard.

No additional hospitalizations or deaths have been reported. There have been a total of 36 hospitalizations and nine deaths among Alaskans who have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. There are currently 12 Alaskans hospitalized with the illness.

The death rate in Alaska from COVID-19 stands at 2.44 percent. As for hospitalizations, nearly 10 percent of those who have gotten the virus have had to be hospitalized.

Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died.

Small businesses and municipalities wait for Legislature to act

Suzanne Downing
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24
Small businesses and municipalities wait for Legislature to act

BUSINESSES BEGIN TO FOLD AS KEY COMMITTEE STALLS FUNDS

Municipalities and businesses bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact are waiting for money that the federal government has sent to the State of Alaska to distribute as economic aid.

But the Legislature is taking its time getting the money out the door to its intended recipients.

After over 10 days of delay, the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee met on Friday, but only approved funding for state programs.

Small businesses — the ones that have struggled to qualify for federal loans — are in limbo because of legislative inaction and business closures have begun: In Juneau, the Art Sutch Photography studio is closing, and in Anchorage, the Last Frontier Bar has closed for good. In Soldotna, it took a GoFundMe campaign to save Ammo-Can Coffee Shop.

Nonprofits are also shaking money out of the sofa to help the tens of thousands of Alaskans who are out of work.

After the funds arrived in the State Treasury in two tranches two weeks ago, the Dunleavy Administration was ready with a plan, one that he quickly put in front of legislators within two days.

Some of the details included $586 million for communities; $290 million for small business loans; $50 million for nonprofits, $10 million for homeless interventions, and $337 million for public health. There’s also $29 million for public transit; $32 million for Anchorage and Fairbanks airports, and $100 million in aid for fisheries.

But it is up to the Legislature to make the needed appropriations.

The LB&A committee on Friday funded $125 million — a sliver of the monies the federal government sent. for schools, transportation, and public safety items. Funding went to State programs, and none was sent to the rest of the economy — none for municipalities, none for nonprofits, and none for the struggling small businesses.

The bulk of the funding is waiting for action, while legislative leaders first tried to convene and take control of the funds through an appropriations process, and then asked the governor to split out the municipal appropriations into 120 separate “RPL” items– one for each community.

Now, LB&A won’t meet again until Wednesday to take up those items.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday begged the committee to act quickly. He wants the funding out where it was intended, according to the plan submitted to the federal government. He’s especially concerned about small businesses that don’t have much, if any, cushion left.

If the Legislature does not act because of political tangles over the distribution of the funds, the governor would have to wait 45 days to release the money in accordance with his plans, which were crafted in cooperation with the Legislature, municipal leaders and nonprofit organizations. That’s how the Revised Program Legislative (RPL) process works.

COVID-19 update: One case

Suzanne Downing
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8
COVID-19 update: One case

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Saturday announced one new case of COVID-19 in Alaska, in the community of Fairbanks.

This brings the total case count to 365. Recovered cases now total 261, including seven new recovered cases recorded Friday. A total of 21,399 tests have been conducted.

This reflects data from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on May 1 that posted at noon Saturday on the DHSS Coronavirus Response AK COVID-19 Cases and Testing Dashboard.

The new case is a male, aged 60-69.

No additional hospitalizations or deaths have been reported. There have been a total of 36 hospitalizations and nine deaths among Alaskans who have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. One new hospitalization was recorded yesterday, but it offset another hospitalization that was listed but was not verified.

Bomb threat closes Anchorage airport, but none found on Taiwan-bound jet

Suzanne Downing
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5
Bomb threat closes Anchorage airport, but none found on Taiwan-bound jet

Law enforcement officials in Anchorage responded to a bomb threat to a China Air cargo flight on Saturday.

The plane had been diverted to Ted Stevens International Airport after taking off from Seattle en route to Taipei, Taiwan after a bomb threat was called in to the Port of Seattle.

Officials temporarily closed the airport. The cargo jet was searched in a secure, remote section of airport property and no explosive device was found.

Meanwhile, flights bound for Anchorage were diverted to Fairbanks International Airport. The Anchorage airport it has since been reopened.

Investigation at the airport was completed and the FBI does not believe there is any continuing threat, although the investigation into the source of the threat continues, according to a law enforcement statement.

Cargo flights from Asia are not allowed to pull up to airport gates, and are parked on the tarmac remotely as they have not cleared customs. They land in Anchorage for refueling and are in quarantine before they leave — only flight crews leave the aircraft and overnight at a nearby airport.

In this case the flight was from Seattle going direct to Taipei and was probably not carrying a full load of cargo, which is why it was not originally scheduled to stop in Anchorage for fuel.

At this time the FBI is releasing no further information, as the investigation is ongoing.

Alaska flunking U.S. Census, only 37% responding, compared to 54% in U.S.

Suzanne Downing
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30
Alaska flunking U.S. Census, only 37% responding, compared to 54% in U.S.

CONGRESSMAN DON YOUNG SAYS WE NEED TO STEP IT UP

The state of Alaska may have had a drop in population, but looking at the data from the U.S. Census, one could wonder if there’s been a biblical-level exodus.

That’s because less than 37 percent of Alaskans have responded to the 2020 Census, the inventory of Americans that takes place every 10 years. Nationwide, the response rate is is currently at 55.6 percent. Alaska is considered the state with the worst response, so far.

In fact, Alaska has long been known as the hardest-to-count state, but this year it’s noticeably worse. At the rate Alaska is going with the Census, it could end up looking like the state with the lowest population. Right now, Alaska is third from the bottom in population, with only Wyoming (572,831) and Vermont (627,180) with fewer residents than Alaska (731,007).

During the 2010 Census, the final count was 731,545 Alaskans. Since then, the population has risen as high as 737,000 and has dropped during the recent recession. But by how much it has dropped is a moving target.

Congressman Don Young is concerned that too few people are taking part, and that could hurt federal funding that is often divided up among states based on population.

The fewer people who respond to the online option usually equates to a lower count overall, and that can end up harming Alaska at a time when it needs its full share of federal dollars.

The timeline for the Census has been extended due to the COVID-19 coronavirus; the new deadline is Oct. 31.

Field offices have been closed until June 1, and the door-to-door count, to attempt to count those who are not responding to their online option, will not start until August.

The current plan is to have Census staff drop off an invitation to participate to 29.7 percent (or 93,742) housing units in Alaska. The packet will include a paper version of the census questionnaire, as well as online instructions and a unique ID for online response. Householders can submit their census information either online or by phone, or by mailing back the questionnaire. 

If householders do not respond, the Census Bureau will send reminder mailings to fill out the questionnaire. Finally, the Census takers will visit about 9.6 percent of households to try to enumerate them in person. That equate to 30,178 homes being visited by census-takers from August to October.

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