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Leaked: FBI investigates Alaska Democratic Party

Suzanne Downing
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9
Leaked: FBI investigates Alaska Democratic Party

IT HAS TO DO WITH DATA

The departure of the Alaska Democratic Party’s longtime data and technology director is shrouded in mystery — a mystery that is requiring law enforcement.

Matt Greene had been with the party through thick and thin since 2014, including the era of former Executive Director Jay Parmley, who came from out of state and brought a lot of “me too” baggage with him from his past positions at a time when Democrats were especially concerned about sexual harassment in their own ranks.

[Read: Jay Parmley leaves AK Democrats for South Carolina]

In a note leaked to Must Read Alaska, the new Executive Director Lindsey Kavanaugh has advised that party officials are being interviewed by the FBI in regard to the “incident” with Greene and suggested an attorney might be a good idea.

The Alaska Democratic Party is seeking a new data director after Greene left the party’s employment on Jan. 10. Originally, the party sought both a data director and a political coordinator, but those two jobs have been rolled into one after no appropriate applicant could be found for the political coordinator position:

“The Alaska Democratic Party (ADP) is looking for a skilled, versatile political professional up to the challenge of being dual-hatted as both the Data Director and Political Coordinator,” the party wrote. “If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you right away! If not, please spread the word far and wide. We’re getting in full battle mode for 2020 and can’t wait to have the full team in place.”

The party turmoil comes at a time when data is going to be a primary concern for the Democrats, as they roll out their first-ever caucus-by-ballot, a private primary that will include mail-in, absentee, and in-person voting, all run by volunteers and the yet-to-be-named data-political coordinator, who will need to hit the ground running; the Democrats’ primary ends April 4, with a big in-person voting exercise across the state.

The ADP has retained the services of a Washington, D.C. political attorney, Neil Reiff, to help it through the situation that brought in the FBI. Reiff is the former Deputy General Counsel of the Democratic National Committee.

Understanding Anchorage’s economy: Fewer people, flat job scene, the Hilcorp effect

Suzanne Downing
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20
Understanding Anchorage’s economy: Fewer people, flat job scene, the Hilcorp effect

Anchorage has shed 6,000 jobs since 2015, with 300 of those disappearing last year.

At the same time, the city’s unemployment rate for 2019 was 5.1%, the lowest in nearly 20 years.

Those contradictory numbers make sense when one realizes that the labor force has been moving out of Anchorage, in search of better opportunity in the Lower 48, where the economy is roaring. And the unemployment rate only accounts for those who are actively looking for work.

Since 2015, the Anchorage workforce has declined by about 10,000 people (6.3%) to settle at 149,000, close to where it was in 2004.

These are a few of the conclusions of the annual Anchorage Economic Development Council report, offered today during the AEDC’s annual forecast luncheon at the Dena’ina Center. The report, produced by the McDowell Group, is rich in data that covers nearly all segments of the city’s economy. The annual luncheon is popular with civic leaders and this year was no exception — it sold out.

The population of Alaska’s largest city dropped by 2,600 last year, continuing a trend that started with beginning of the recession in 2015. Anchorage is now home to an estimated 291,845 people in July 2019.

The city has lost 3.1 percent of its population in seven years.

The report shows that 370 government jobs, mostly with the University of Alaska Anchorage, were shedded, a 1.3 percent decrease in government employment. That brings overall government employment in Anchorage back to the level it was in 1998, said Bill Popp, president of AEDC.

About 400 retail jobs left Anchorage last year, with the exits of chain stores like Nordstrom and Pier 1.

On the bright side, oil and gas, construction, and professional services stopped the downward job trend.

AEDC expects Anchorage to gain about 100 jobs in 2020. The health care, visitor industry, construction, professional services, and federal (census-related) government work will contribute jobs, while retail and other government work will shrink, and oil and gas jobs may dip as BP Alaska exits and Hilcorp makes those acquired operations leaner.

Although the report doesn’t delve into the cost of city government for the 3.1 percent fewer people, the municipal budget approved in the November of 2019 is $540 million, a whopping 14.5 percent more than the budget approved in 2014 under former Mayor Dan Sullivan.

The entire AEDC report can be read at this link.

Senators stand in respect for Sen. David Wilson’s father

Suzanne Downing
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3
Senators stand in respect for Sen. David Wilson’s father

Sen. David Wilson of Wasilla lost his father this weekend and has flown to Southern California to be with his family as they say their goodbyes. He will be away from the state for about two weeks.

Sen. John Coghill of Fairbanks called for a moment of silence on the Senate floor today, in memory of Wilson’s father and in empathy with the family. Coghill lost his own father, Jack Coghill one year ago on Feb. 19. The elder Coghill, former lieutenant governor of Alaska, was 93.

A few words about MRAK’s ad hoc ‘commenting policy’

Suzanne Downing
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27
A few words about MRAK’s ad hoc ‘commenting policy’

MRAK WEBSITE SURPASSES 8 MILLION VIEWS

If you’ve been around Must Read Alaska for a while, you’re aware the comment sections on stories are a robust platform for a wide range of political views.

MRAK welcomes these comments and tries to get them approved and visible quickly. You deserve that. Your comments are approved all day long, from 7 am until 11 pm. They’re approved over dinner, while waiting in line at the store, while walking around the lake, and just before the lights go out for the night. They’re approved by hand, one at a time.

Earlier this month, Must Read Alaska raced past 8 million views on the thousands of stories posted since May of 2016, MRAK’s website birthday month.

At some point in the next few days, the 30,000th comment will be approved and posted on MRAK. It might be a liberal comment or a conservative one — only time will tell. (We’ll try to catch it as it goes by and highlight it).

Now, a fraction of comments received are not published. MRAK is pretty liberal when it comes to letting people have their say, but not every comment gets through. Usually the ones that are tossed fall into a few categories:

Calling someone a Nazi: Name-calling needs to be kept to a bare minimum at Must Read Alaska. Calling someone a liberal is an apt description, not an insult. Calling someone a “libtard” is funny for a moment, until you realize that it’s not really all that funny. Describing someone as “woke” or a member of the “wokerati” is acceptable. But calling them a fascist is not going to cut it. Calling Sen. Cathy Giessel “Giessel the Weasel” does not contribute to civil discourse, and we may or may not let Shifty Schiff through. MRAK is trying to limit this type of comment. Calling someone a Nazi is going to get your comment bounced. If you see it, then it’s because it slipped by. Send a note.

TYPING IN ALL CAPS: Those overly capitalized comments are increasingly just going into the digital round bin, because who has time to retype them all? Not this editor, and not with 30,000 comments to edit. Many times the MRAK editor will be approving comments from a smartphone from “Somewhere in Alaska,” and the excessive use of capitalization is just TOO MUCH WORK TO FIX.

Adding links: Some writers like to include a link to another source, and these are allowed in extremely limited instances. If we know the writer, and trust they are not linking people to malware, it may go through. But usually, MRAK just doesn’t want to take the risk of malware on this site.

Insulting pen names: While the creativity is appreciated, some pen names (“Dumbleavy” are just rude. You may use a pen name, such as “Ben Colder,” (one of MRAK’s favorites) or “Liberal Folliculitus” (which we translate to mean “hair-on-fire”), bring a giggle to readers. You may also use your true name.

Grammatical disasters: Your MRAK editor wants you to look smart. If there are too many typos to fix, she’ll spare you the embarrassment and toss your comment. You can always try again.

Pure troll: Some commenters are just so unpleasant that MRAK’s editor thinks they simply got lost and belong on a different website. We’re trying to keep things civil here. For example, if you say MRAK‘s editor is a stupid-head, into the round bin you go.

OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why do my comments not appear immediately? All comments are screened, and most are accepted for publication.

Why did you edit my comment? Comments may be lightly edited to create a more civil discourse, or for spelling or grammar. MRAK’s editor cannot get to every grammatical error, but she does a bit of tidying up. Don’t expect her to fix everything in your comment, just the worst errors.

Why did my comment disappear? It was there a minute ago. This is a mystery. It must have something to do with the WordPress software. We have no idea why comments just go “poof” sometimes, but it’s a question that has come up more than once.

Other questions? Ask here and we’ll try to answer them in the comments below. And thank you for reading!

Breaking: Recall petition stayed for now

Suzanne Downing
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15
Breaking: Recall petition stayed for now

JUDGE AARSETH: NO, YES, AND NOW NO AGAIN

Judge Eric Aarseth ruled today that the Recall Dunleavy petition won’t be printed and distributed by Feb. 10, opposite his originally ruling on the matter on Jan. 10.

In court this morning, it was apparent Aarseth was concerned about making a mess of the recall petition process. He had already thrown out one of the “charges” made by the Recall Dunleavy committee — the charge that the governor had somehow obstructed the Legislature from doing its job.

Aarseth perhaps didn’t want to put the cart before the horse since the Supreme Court may throw out other charges made by the group — that the governor is incompetent, for instance, or that he broke the law because he didn’t appoint a judge in time.

If people are allowed to sign a petition, and then some of those charges are cancelled by the Supreme Court, it could create a bigger mess.

The former attorney general for Gov. Bill Walker didn’t like that decision. Jahna Lindemuth argued in court that the Supreme Court on the Stand for Salmon measure struck some of the petition language and did not require signatures to be regathered. As as aside, Must Read Alaska readers will recall that as attorney general, Lindemuth had helped the radical environmentalists draft the “Stand for Salmon” ballot measure, rewriting it to make it constitutional.

Of course, the argument she made concerned initiatives, not recalls, and rules are different. Initiatives are required to appear on a regular ballot, while recalls often go to a special election. Thus, there is no harm in terms of missing an important deadline.

That Stand for Salmon petition was then approved by the courts and the matter made it to the ballot, where it was defeated. If she could do it as attorney general, then the court could rewrite a petition to make it legal, after it had been signed, she seemed to be saying.

But having people sign a petition and then changing that petition is problematic, and it appeared that Aarseth was unwilling to take the chance that such a ruling would attract a messy appeal, one that could possibly be taken to federal court system and the U.S. Supreme Court: “Can a government change a petition after people have signed it?”

The Gov. Dunleavy camp might be celebrating a rare victory, but it will likely be short-lived, as the Recall Dunleavy Committee, with Lindemuth and Scott Kendall as their legal team, will appeal this decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, hoping the court allows the petitions to be circulated for signatures before the state’s high court takes up the case of the validity of the recall effort.

Hot zone to cold zone: Wuhan flight to Anchorage landed, now on to Air base

Suzanne Downing
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4
Hot zone to cold zone: Wuhan flight to Anchorage landed, now on to Air base

The massive cargo plane that evacuated 240 Americans from Wuhan, China, landed in Anchorage at about 9:25 pm on Tuesday.

Passengers were accommodated on the plane by special seats installed for the evacuation in what is normally a huge cargo bay.

What a retrofitted cargo plane looks like with “pallet seating” installed.

Upon arriving, passengers went through health screening with CDC medical professionals, and passed through U.S. Customs and border protection in the North Terminal of Ted Stevens International Airport. At this writing, that process is completed and reboarding has begun (11:30 pm Tuesday).

Adam Crum, commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services, said the entire operation was a proud moment for Alaska.

“I’m exceptionally proud of the Alaska-based response. We mobilized quickly and responded with care for American citizens in need, while simultaneously protecting Alaskans,” he said.

The North Terminal is closed in the winter, and so already serves as a solid choice for keeping the passengers isolated from those in the bustling South Terminal.

[Read: Anchorage added to airports where screening occurs]

Late Tuesday, the federal government announced the flight would be diverted to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., rather than a hangar at the Ontario, Calif. International Airport, where it was originally destined. No explanation was given for the diverted flight plan.

The passengers will be quarantined at the air base to ensure none of them are carrying the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, and has killed as many as 132 people, mostly in China.

The jet, a Boeing 747-400 quad operated under charter by Kalitta Air, left Wuhan before dawn on Wednesday, China time, and landed in Alaska after 9 pm on Tuesday, Alaska time. As it pulled up to the North Terminal, several men in hazmat suits approached on the tarmac. Airport police vehicles bustled to and fro, but within an hour, the scene around the plane was calm.

Passengers who exhibit symptoms of the illness, which are similar to other flu symptoms, will be evaluated and either treated in Anchorage or at a hospital in the Lower 48; decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Since the first of the year, six cargo flights from Wuhan have landed at Anchorage. For now, cargo flights have been suspended since last Thursday.

“The airport has facilities and procedures in place. Any flights suspected of carrying passengers with communicable diseases will be isolated. All international flights and flights suspected of carrying passengers with a communicable disease are processed in the North Terminal where CDC staff and quarantine facilities are located,” said Jim Szczesniak, Airport Manager. “No flights suspected of carrying passengers with a communicable disease are processed in our main domestic terminal. The North Terminal is completely isolated from the domestic terminal and closed to the public.”

Betting world says Bernie to crush AK Democrat primary

Suzanne Downing
-
0
Betting world says Bernie to crush AK Democrat primary

GAMBLERS BETTING THAT MURKOWSKI WILL VOTE ‘NO’ TO CONVICT

The world of online betting has placed its bets big time on Bernie Sanders for winning the Alaska Democrats’ primary, a privately run caucus-by-ballot event that concludes on April 4.

The Alaska Democratic Party has never run this primary-style caucus before, and it will include mail-in ballots.

According to Predictit.com, Sanders is more than twice as likely to win Alaska delegates to the Democratic National Convention than Joe Biden.

Betting is a fluid sport, and results can change, but as of Tuesday, bets for Sanders were going for 68 cents, while Biden was only attracting 12-cent bets and Elizabeth Warren was only able to must 12-cent bets for the Alaska Democrats primary.

The rules of that wager are: “The winner of largest share of the popular vote in the 2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary shall be the candidate identified in the contract.” Some 102,000 shares have been traded.

Over the past few weeks, Sanders has been climbing in that betting pool for Alaska, but he is also at the top in the prediction markets in these states:

Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, and West Virginia.

In 2016, more than 80 percent of Alaska Democrats who took part in the traditional caucuses operated by the party cast their votes for Sanders.

Joe Biden leads the betting in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

As for the betting room on impeachment, wagers are being cast for all kinds of possibilities, such as whether Joe Biden will testify. Some 15,000 bets have been cast on Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s vote on impeachment, with the vast majority betting that she will vote to not convict the president.

RNC smacks down CNN for Don Lemon segment mocking Trump supporters

Suzanne Downing
-
12
RNC smacks down CNN for Don Lemon segment mocking Trump supporters

In a rapid-response video ad that was a direct shot at CNN, the Republican National Committee strung clips together showing just what the mainstream media and Democrat elites thinks of Trump voters.

The ad is titled “They think you’re a joke.”

The segment on CNN, which ran on Saturday night, was so derisive and widely criticized by conservatives that Lemon issued a weak apology on Tuesday, saying he thought it was funny at the time.

But by then, it had been viewed over 10 million times on Twitter.

Anchorage added to airports for coronavirus screening

Suzanne Downing
-
4
Anchorage added to airports for coronavirus screening

FLIGHT DUE FROM WUHAN, CHINA SHORTLY

Update: American citizens are being evacuated from Wuhan to Anchorage onboard a Kalitta Air Boeing 747 fitted with pallet seats for this mission.

The coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China has led to screenings at international airports around the world.

Anchorage’s North Terminal has been added to that list of airports.

In addition to Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International Airport, travelers coming from overseas through Boston; Dallas; Detroit; El Paso, Texas; Honolulu; Houston, Miami, Minneapolis; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; San Diego; Seattle; Washington, D.C. (Dulles); and San Juan, Puerto Rico are also being screened for the Wuhan virus, the CDC said.

Airport screenings were initially in place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta.

A charter jet is due to land in Anchorage directly from Wuhan with 240 people onboard this Tuesday evening, and those travelers, all of whom were already screened before their departure, will be re-screened for symptoms of the virus once they get to Anchorage.

All passengers will clear through customs and border protection while they are here in Anchorage. They’ll be screened by medical professionals from the CDC before being allowed to reboard.

The charter jet under contract with the federal government will then continue its flight plan to Ontario, California, where passengers will be quarantined for a week. Those aboard are Americans who were stationed in Wuhan, many of them on diplomatic passports.

There may be no better place for people from China to enter the West Coast than Ted Stevens International Airport, since the North Terminal is already a separate building, according to MRAK sources in the aviation field.

No international flights come into the South Terminal, and no international passenger flights are scheduled for the North Terminal at this time of year.

CDC and US Customs and Border Protection are implementing health screenings that include:

  • Travelers fill out a short questionnaire about their travel, any symptoms, and contact information.
  • CDC staff take the temperature of each traveler with a hand-held non-contact thermometer (thermometers that do not touch the skin) and observe the traveler for cough or difficulty breathing. If sick travelers are identified, CDC evaluates them further to determine whether they should be taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and to get care as needed.
  • If the traveler does not have symptoms, CDC staff will provide health information cards to take with them. The cards tell travelers what symptoms to look out for, and what to do if they develop symptoms within 14 days after leaving China.

The five people who came into the U.S. from China and later developed the virus arrived before the 20 quarantine stations were established, said CDC’s Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC.

The CDC said that the Chinese have not given the U.S. access to the data it has on the asymptomatic stage of the virus. The CDC is not relying on the Chinese data that it has not had the chance to review, officials said in a press conference today.

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