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No deal: Village council reverses on Donlin

Suzanne Downing
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15
No deal: Village council reverses on Donlin

In 2006, the Association of Village Council Presidents supported the proposed Donlin Gold mine in the Interior.

But what AVCP can give, AVCP can take away, and it took away its support during its annual convention this week.

According to KYUK radio, the regional public broadcasting outfit, the 41 delegates from the 56 tribes overwhelmingly voted to withdraw their support for the proposed mine, and subsequently passed a new resolution opposing the mine.

The votes were reported to be 34-to-4 voting to withdraw support for the resolution, with two abstaining; and 35-to-2 voting to oppose the mine, with three abstaining. The matter will now be taken to the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention in Anchorage on Oct. 23.

Orutsararmiut Native Council of Bethel and the Native Village of Kwinhagak led the charge to oppose the mine, which would be developed on land owned by the Kuskokwim Corporation, which is a consortium of individual village corporations of the upper Kuskokwim River. Calista Corporation owns the subsurface rights and has been the lead Native corporation on the project.

The mine would generate hundreds of high-paying jobs for people in the region, where jobs are few and far between.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement, hiring at the mine site would start the first year with 434 jobs; gradually increasing to approximately 1,000 jobs by the following year, and continuing at this level (1,000 employees) through Year 27 of Operations.

Approximately 150 of the jobs (out of the estimated 1,000 total) would be seasonal.

[Read the BLM Environmental Impact Statement here]

The ‘civil emergency’ has ended, so what now?

Suzanne Downing
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9
The ‘civil emergency’ has ended, so what now?

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz declared a civil emergency in Anchorage because the State of Alaska was withdrawing its funding for various programs in the city, expecting the city to step up and take care of its own drug-addled campers. The State of Alaska, as most Alaskans know by now, is out of cash.

That was back on July 24. The Anchorage Assembly later allowed an extension of the civil emergency until Sept. 24, even though funds were restored for key programs he was worried about.

“Whereas, the impact of these cuts within the Municipality of Anchorage will include the loss of more than 700 jobs, decimation of services critical to the wellbeing of the m most vulnerable members of the Anchorage community, and a predicted increase of almost 800 individuals in the Anchorage homeless population…” the mayor’s proclamation wrote.

Berkowitz went on to say that cuts to Medicaid, senior benefits, early childhood education, legal services, domestic violence case management and support, and behavior health, would lead to “drastically increase the number of individuals experiencing a dangerous level of poverty…” and he described it as a “manmade calamity.”

Yes, you read that right: He said that cuts to early childhood education would cause an increase in dangerous levels of poverty.

But wait, there was more to be done to protect the “public order, safety, and welfare.”

In the meantime, the city moved money around to help keep shelters going, taking responsibility to pay for things the city had never had to pay for before. The homeless population seems stable, although data is scant.

What else happened during the civil emergency?

Nordstrom closed. JC Penney furniture warehouse closed.

The mayor went on a junket to Japan.

The plastic bag ban ordinance took effect, and people started having to pay 10 cents even for a paper bag handed to them out of the take-out window at McDonalds.

BP sold its entire operation in Alaska to Hilcorp.

Tent cities sprang up, with out-of-state activists brought in to keep them organized and the protesters fed. The Anchorage Daily News made the case that “Because of the chaos that was created by the budget dynamics, they had an influx of people coming down for food, so they needed more bathroom facilities,” according to Ona Brause, Berkowitz’ chief of staff.

The city began the Camp Berkowitz abatements, with 10-day notices, keeping protesters and drug addicts on the move.

Mayor Berkowitz told the University Board of Regents to ignore the stepped-down funding agreement signed by the President of the University and Chair of the Regents.

But mostly the mayor was absent, missing in action.

On Sept. 19, Berkowitz attended the Assembly meeting and told the members, “at this point there’s nothing that would cause the administration to seek an extension beyond the proposed termination date of Sept. 24,” and then he went on at length to talk about his trip to Japan.

Was the civil emergency real? Was it just kabuki theater? With a mayor like Berkowitz, for whom politics is a blood sport, theater is always a solid bet.

The transcript Democrats are basing impeachment on

Suzanne Downing
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14
The transcript Democrats are basing impeachment on

The transcript of the call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 25, 2019. This is what the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have opened up an impeachment investigation over:

September 24, 2019

MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

SUBJECT: Telephone Conversation with President Zelenskyy of UkraineParticipants: President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Notetakers: The White House Situation Room

Date, Time July 25, 2019, 9:03-9:33 am EDT

Place: Residence

The President: Congratulations on a great victory. We all watched from the United States and you did a terrific job. The way you came from behind, somebody who wasn’t given much of a chance, and you ended up winning easily. It’s a fantastic achievement. Congratulations.

President Zelenskyy: You are absolutely right Mr. President. We did win big and we worked hard for this. We worked a lot but I would like to confess to you that I had an opportunity to learn from you. We used quite a few of your skills and knowledge and were able to use it as an example for our elections and yes it is true that these were unique elections. We were in a unique situation that we were able to achieve a unique success. I’m able to tell you the following; the first time you called me to congratulate me when I won my presidential election, and the second time you are now calling me when my party won the parliamentary election. I think I should run more often so you can call me more often and we can talk over the phone more often.

The President: (laughter) That’s a very good idea. I think your country is very happy about that.

President Zelenskyy: Well yes, to tell you the truth, we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government. You are a great teacher for us and in that.

The President: Well it is very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it’s something that you should really ask them about. When I was speaking to Angela Merkel she talks Ukraine, but she ·doesn’t do anything. A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it’s something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy: Yes you are absolutely right. Not only 100%, but actually 1000% and I can tell you the following; I did talk to Angela Merkel and I did meet with her I also met and talked with Macron and I told them that they are not doing quite as much as they need to be doing on the issues with the sanctions. They are not enforcing the sanctions. They are not working as much as they should work for Ukraine. It turns out that even though logically, the European Union should be our biggest partner but technically the United States is a much bigger partner than the European Union and I’m very grateful to you for that because the United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine. Much more than the European Union especially when we are talking about sanctions against the Russian Federation. I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area if defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost. ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you’re surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible.

President Zelenskyy: Yes it is very important for me and everything that you just mentioned earlier. For me as a President, it is very important and we are open for any future cooperation. We are ready to open a new page on cooperation in relations between the United States and Ukraine. For that purpose, I just recalled our ambassador from United States and he will be replaced by a very competent and very experienced ambassador who will work hard on making sure that our two nations are getting closer. I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so. I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr. Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us. I will make sure that I surround myself with the best and most experienced people. I also wanted to tell you that we are friends. We are great friends and you Mr. President have friends in our country so we can continue our strategic partnership. I also plan to surround myself with great people and in addition to that investigation, I guarantee as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly.. That I can assure you..

The President: Good because I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.

President Zelenskyy: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all, I understand and I’m knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to us, it would be very helpful for the investigation to make sure that we administer justice in our country with regard to the Ambassador to the United States from Ukraine as far as I recall her name was Ivanovich. It was great that you were the first one. who told me that she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and she was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.

The President: Well, she’s going to go through some things. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It’s a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their incredible people.

President Zelenskyy: I would like to tell you that I also have quite a few Ukrainian friends that live in the United States. Actually last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park and I stayed at the Trump Tower. I will talk to them and I hope to see them again in the future. I also wanted to thank you for your invitation to visit the United States, specifically Washington DC. On the other hand, I also want to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation. As to the economy, there is much potential for our two countries and one of the issues that is very important for Ukraine is energy independence. I believe we can be very successful and cooperating on energy independence with United States. We are already working on cooperation. We are buying American oil but I am very hopeful for a future meeting. We will have more time and more opportunities to discuss these opportunities and get to know each other better. I would like to thank you very much for your support.

The President: Good. Well, thank you very much and I appreciate that. I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to call. Thank you. Whenever you would like to come to the White House, feel free to call. Give us a date and we’ll work that out. I look forward to seeing you.

President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much. I would be very happy to come and would be happy to meet with you personally and get to know you better. I am looking forward to our meeting and I also would like to invite you to visit Ukraine and come to the city of Kyiv which is a beautiful city. We have a beautiful country which would welcome you. On the other hand, I believe that on September 1 we will be in Poland and we can meet in Poland hopefully. After that, it might be a very good idea for you to travel to Ukraine. We can either take my plane and go to Ukraine or we can take your plane, which is probably much better than mine.

The President: Okay, we can work that out. I look forward to seeing you in Washington and maybe in Poland because I think we are going to be there at that time.

President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much Mr. President.

The President: Congratulations on a fantastic job you’ve done. The whole world was watching. I’m not sure it was so much of an upset but congratulations.

President Zelenskyy: Thank you Mr. President bye-bye.

Murkowski votes to block military funds for border wall

Suzanne Downing
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53
Murkowski votes to block military funds for border wall

OBJECTS TO USE OF FUNDS MARKED FOR ALASKA

Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of 11 senators who voted today to end the president’s national emergency that he declared on Feb. 15, 2019, effectively ending his ability to fund the wall on the southern border of the United States by using monies already appropriated for other projects.

The 11 Republicans who joined Democrats in the vote were:

  1. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
  2. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
  3. Susan Collins (R-ME)
  4. Mike Lee (R-UT)
  5. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
  6. Rand Paul (R-KY)
  7. Rob Portman (R-OH)
  8. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
  9. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
  10. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
  11. Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Senate Joint Resolution 54, sponsored by created by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Susan Collins (R-ME), terminates Trump’s national emergency declaration on the southern border and his ability to divert funding already appropriated for military construction and other projects to help fund the wall.

Murkowski explained her vote this way:

“My vote today is about ensuring we respect the separation and balance of powers that are fundamental to our democracy. The U.S. Constitution distinctly gives the legislative branch the power to appropriate. From the outset, I noted my opposition to this emergency declaration and what that meant, including my concern over diverting funds already appropriated for prioritized military construction projects. The administration’s recent announcement regarding the diversion of funds not only impacts important military construction projects in Alaska, but also many others across the nation,” said Senator Murkowski.

“This is not about whether or not I support the President’s very legitimate concerns over border security, because I do. This is about the administration overstepping Constitutional authority, forcing Congress to relinquish power that is fundamentally ours. We have and will continue working to address border security—by securing all our borders. But, in the interest of ensuring America can trust the system of checks and balances we have in place, we must do so through the appropriate channels,” she said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan voted against the resolution, which passed 54-41, with five not voting. The funds that were being withdrawn from Alaska military projects totaled $102 million, but Sullivan has a good working relationship with the president, and it wasn’t certain those funds would actually be diverted.

A first: Permanent Fund is going to invest in Alaska

Suzanne Downing
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13
A first: Permanent Fund is going to invest in Alaska

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation announced a new Alaska Investment Program.

The Fund’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution last week directing the staff to bring in external private market fund managers to execute the private market investment program, and allocated $200 million to the initial effort.

Following a competitive process, two external fund managers were selected to implement this strategy: McKinley Capital Management, LLC and Barings, LLC. 

“We are excited to get this program underway and look forward to working with these two managers to achieve competitive, market-based investment returns and capture investment potential right here in Alaska,” CEO Angela Rodell said.

McKinley Capital Management, LLC was founded in 1990 and today is the largest private financial services company in Alaska. McKinley currently manages approximately $5 billion worldwide for corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.

A subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings, LLC is a global investment firm dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of clients and customers. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Barings LLC and its subsidiaries have $325 billion under management and maintain a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. 

Additional information on the In-State Investment program and contact information for McKinley Capital Management, LLC and Barings, LLC is available at the Permanent Fund Corporation website, under ‘What We Do / In-State Investments’.

Thunberg manifesto: How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood

Suzanne Downing
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46
Thunberg manifesto: How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood

Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg scolded a gathering of the United Nations on Monday, saying the world is on the verge of mass extinction. Here’s an excerpt:

In fact, the world is getting better. Literacy is greater. There are fewer people living in poverty. Child mortality is dropping. And more people live in countries that are more free.

Humanity is living in a remarkable era, where people are being lifted out of wretched conditions and living longer and more free lives.

[Read: The short history of global living in 5 charts and why it matters]

But you wouldn’t know it if you listened to Greta Thunberg. She’s been allowed to be convinced that the world has robbed her of her childhood, when maybe it is actually her guardians who have done the robbing.

Alaska Life Hack: Mental Health Trust Land Auction ends Nov. 12

Suzanne Downing
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9
Alaska Life Hack: Mental Health Trust Land Auction ends Nov. 12

The fall land auction offered by the Alaska Mental Health Trust has been under way since Sept. 9, but interested buyers need to get out and inspect those parcels before the snow flies to get an idea of what the property is really like.

Parcels available in the Interior include Delta Junction, Ester, Salcha, Fox, Glennallen, Lake Minchumina, and Big Delta.

In Southcentral, you can bid on land at Big Lake, Talkeetna, Moose Pass, Cordova, and several other sites.

In Southeast, there are parcels in Ketchikan Petersburg, and Wrangell. You could even bid on a 2-acre parcel on Middle Island in Sitka.

Middle Island lot for sale.

The parcel chosen by bidders are “as is” and “where is”, with no guarantees for suitability for any intended use.

Revenue generated from land sales go into the Mental Health Trust Fund. Earnings from the Fund pay for programs that support Trust beneficiaries across the state.

Explore the parcels at this link.

Pelosi moves to impeach

Suzanne Downing
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20
Pelosi moves to impeach

CONGRESSMAN DON YOUNG ISSUES STATEMENT OPPOSING

Congressman Don Young issued a statement following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry:

“From the moment President Trump was elected, Congressional Democrats have acted as sore losers, spending every minute working to undermine him and his Administration’s policies. Speaker Pelosi has decided to begin an impeachment inquiry – a decision she has been forced into by the extreme left of her party who harbor nothing but hatred for President Trump. House Democrats tried to take down President Trump with the Mueller Report and failed. Frankly, impeachment is not only a political stunt, but a waste of time. I do not support impeachment, and while President Trump and I do not agree on every issue, I have not seen evidence of an impeachable offense. Impeachment proceedings require the House to dedicate significant time and resources; time and resources that would be better spent focused on making our country a better place and not on the November 2020 elections,” Young said in his statement.

Pelosi told Democrats in a closed meeting that she’s ready for formal impeachment inquiry against Trump, due to his alleged pressuring of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, according to Politico.

“It would be my intention with the consent of this caucus … to proceed with an impeachment inquiry,” she said, according to Politico, who quoted two anonymous Democrats in the room. “He is asking a foreign government to help him in his campaign, that is a betrayal of his oath of office.”

Trump has agreed to release the transcript of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which could occur as early as Wednesday.

Take the Must Read Alaska poll on Facebook: Should the House impeach Trump?

Homer High School allows student to use school intercom to call climate strike

Suzanne Downing
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22
Homer High School allows student to use school intercom to call climate strike

The Sept. 20 climate strike that students took part in around the state was supported, in part, by some school administrations that chose to look the other way, or sanction the walk out through quiet support.

In Homer, according to KBBI public radio, one of the student leaders of the climate strike was allowed to use the Homer High School intercom to announce the strike and direct students to pick up their protest signs on their way to the gathering place in the park, where she and others spoke.

“The law says that we must attend school, but as our world is being ripped apart at the seams, the goal of going to school becomes pointless. Why devote our young lives to becoming educated when our governments are not listening to the educated,” Sophie Morin said to the crowd at the park.

According to KBBI, Morin doesn’t think she’ll experience any negative repercussions from participating in the walk out.

But the question here is did Homer High School give a wink and a nod to the walkout? Would Homer High School allow a student to use the intercom to announce a pro-life strike? A pro-Second Amendment walk out?

[Read KBBI: Student strike amplifies climate issues]

Rep. Sarah Vance offered an alternative for students and teachers — she made herself available in the school library for discussions with anyone who wanted to talk. Nearly 50 students came by the library between fifth and sixth period and Vance said the discussion was positive.

The number of student school skippers who took part in the climate strike in Homer appeared to be less than a dozen, as many of the people at the rally were adults.

Homer High School performs better than most schools around the state academically, but has a chronic absentee rate of over 21 percent of students missing more than one out of 10 days of classes.

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