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Alaska life hack: Keep your dog cool

Suzanne Downing
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2
Alaska life hack: Keep your dog cool

DON’T LET YOUR BEST BUDDY DIE IN A HOT CAR

Over the course of a half an hour on July 4, the Girdwood Fire Department responded to three reports of dogs locked inside cars.

They were hot dogs in hot cars on their way to a slow death.

Alaskans aren’t always mindful of car temperatures being too much for their pets, but dogs, like humans, are feeling this record-breaking heat.

Dogs don’t sweat, and they need lots of water and shade when temperatures rise. If the temperature outside is hotter than 70 degrees, your dog could be in danger — surprisingly quickly — if left in a locked car, says canidae.com

At 70 degrees outside, a car can heat up to 89 degrees in 10 minutes, and to 104 in 30 minutes. At 80 degrees, the inside of your car will reach 99 degrees in 10 minutes and 114 degrees in 30 minutes.

SIGNS OF HEAT STROKE IN A DOG

Dogs that are overheated can get heat stroke, and if they do, it’s serious, even fatal. Signs include excessive panting, vomiting, diarrhea, collapse, and very red gums, according to urdogs.com. Your best friend could end up in cardiac arrest from being overheated.

Heat stroke in your dog means you should get to a veterinarian quickly. If no vet is available, or even before you attempt to get to a vet, try getting your dog into a tub of cool water or hose your furry friend down with a garden hose, being sure to empty the hot water out of the hose first.

Do not give your dog aspirin, says petmd.com, and be extremely careful to keep the dog’s mouth and nose out of water while you cool it down. You don’t want Duke or Daisy to acquire pneumonia from aspirating the water. Allow your dog to drink as much water as it wants, but don’t force it.

Check for signs of shock, and take your dog’s temperature, continuing cooling it with water until its temperature drops below 103 degrees F, the experts advise.

Dogs with thick fur — and many in Alaska are blessed with an abundance of hair — or dogs that are obese are especially vulnerable. But so are dogs that are active and accustomed to expending a lot of energy, such as labs and retrievers. Working dogs on the move in our cold climate are vulnerable when unseasonably hot weather sets in.

Heatstroke in dogs can cause cellular damage, swelling of the brain, kidney failure, intestinal bleeding and abnormal clotting of blood. Death occurs in some 50 percent of cases.

On the way to the veterinarian, put your car air conditioner on as cool as you can make it. Your vet will likely administer fluids intravenously and monitor your dog’s vitals.

Stories from the fires

Suzanne Downing
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8
Stories from the fires

URBAN ANCHORAGE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Friday, July 5, just after 8 am, Anchorage police officers saw black smoke and flames in a wooded area near the intersection of Elmore Road and E. Tudor Road.

Between the police, Anchorage Fire Department and the wildfire crew that was mopping up the urban forest fire from earlier this week (called the MLK Fire), the fire was contained, and Kevin Slats, age 50, was arrested for starting it.

The exact cause of the Friday fire is under investigation.

Anchorage officials have not yet revealed the cause of the Tuesday MLK Fire, which emptied out a few neighborhoods before it was contained at about 30 acres on July 2.

But the area where the MLK Fire started is an area littered with unkempt and unsafe encampments that are occupied by various sorts of people, some down on their luck, many with criminal backgrounds and drug or alcohol addictions. Anchorage’s drug-and-crime encampments are a growing concern that city leaders call a homeless problem.

A burn ban has been in effect and all fireworks were cancelled throughout the municipality. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz recorded a public service announcement declaring the fireworks and burn ban, which includes a ban on bon fires, campfires, open flame cooking fires (except barbecues), portable outdoor fireplaces, fixed/built in outdoor fire places, grass or yard debris burning, and other heat sources that could start a grass or wildland fire.

But the camps don’t have televisions, generally, and some of the people living in the woods in Anchorage may not understand the seriousness of the fire danger. Kevin Slats, the man arrested in connection with the fire, has a long list of priors, including assault, shoplifting, and standing in the roadway obstructing traffic.

The fire took place in the vicinity of the Anchorage Police Department’s headquarters on Elmore, a mile and a quarter from the July 2 MLK Fire.

JULY 3: STRUNG-OUT WOMEN EMERGE FROM WOODS AT TROOPERS HQ

Must Read Alaska has learned that two women evacuated themselves out of the smoky woods on July 2 and perched themselves in back of the Alaska State Crime Lab, on MLK Ave., where they were discovered by a passing Trooper as they were shooting up heroin. They had evidently been living in the woods and had in their possession several wigs, masks, burglary tools, stolen coins, meth, and heroin. Their probation officers were called because Anchorage Police were too busy with the fire, and the probation officers took them into custody.

Budget veto override quest: Public officials organizing, objecting, stepping over the line

Suzanne Downing
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43
Budget veto override quest: Public officials organizing, objecting, stepping over the line

It’s not just university officials who are organizing to try to get veto overrides. And it’s not just the Supreme Court of Alaska that is lobbying for overrides of its budget cuts, using its official stationary.

Throughout government, officials are skimming from their publicly funded time, using their official titles, and deploying messages to the public on their government email lists to try to convince people to contact legislators to override Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s budget vetoes.

We offer just a few examples of this misuse of public resources:

Here’s a letter from Julie Cotterell begging students at the Kenai campus of the University of Alaska. Note that she continues to parrot the lie that the cut is 41 percent of the system’s current operating budget:

Julie Cotterell <[email protected]>
날짜: 19/7/4 오후 5:53 (GMT-09:00)
받은 사람:
제목: We Need Student Voices

Dear KPC Students,

I know you have been getting a slew of emails regarding the budget, but your access to diverse and quality education in Alaska is in jeopardy.  The governor has cut the University of Alaska (UA) system by $135 million, which is a 41% reduction of our current operating budget. This cut will be devastating to the university. There will be no choice but to close campuses and cut education programs. The legislature has until July 12th to override the governor’s veto which only leaves us a very short window to let our legislators know how important higher education in Alaska is. 
 
We need your help to save our education system by contacting your legislator and let them know how important the University of Alaska is to you.  Let them know how this will impact you, your family, and your state’s economy.
 
You may contact them by sending a 50-word message via POM, send a letter/postcard (KPC/UAA has privately funded postcards available), or give them a phone call.  I have attached a copy of the latest issue of the UAStrong newsletter with the legislators contact information. 
 
Thank you for your support of KPC and UA!
#UAStrong#SupportUA
 
Sincerely,

Julie Cotterell
Student Services Director
Kenai Peninsula College

Here’s part of a letter campaign that went out from Anchorage Public Library Director Mary Jo Torgerson, pictured above, who used her official title to ask Alaskans to fight the cuts. In it, she tries to make the cases that the 2,500 furloughed at the University — such as professors and other highly educated Alaskans — will need her library’s help to update their resumes and apply for jobs. It’s hard to imagine that university workers would need the Loussac Library’s help to accomplish such a task, but Torgerson gives it the old college try:

“2,500 staff at the University have already been furloughed and layoffs in government, nonprofit and private sectors are sure to come if the vetoes go through. The Library helps people update their resumes, apply for jobs and prepare for qualifying exams every day, and our weekly Job Labs at Loussac and Mountain View Libraries utilize community volunteers to help patrons through this process. We expect the need for this service to grow as a result of the cuts.

“Additionally cuts to the mental health programs, Municipal revenue sharing and public broadcasting will also have major negative impacts to our libraries and the people they serve, putting an even bigger burden on an already strained, under-funded resource,” Torgerson wrote.

[Read Mary Jo Torgerson’s entire plea to the community to fight the cuts here.]

But it wasn’t just the library’s budget Torgerson was advocating for — it was for a variety of programs that she, in her official capacity using official resources, described as essential, from school bond debt reimbursement to public broadcasting.

Add to that the writing professor in Anchorage who has leaned on her students to write their protestations (she gives them plenty of fodder, while allowing that some may have their own opinions).

[Read: University professor assigns writing students — protest the cuts, for credit]

The “#UA Strong” television ad that is playing everywhere in Alaska right now is fueled with money from the University of Alaska Foundation, which has not revealed itself as the source of this #UA Strong campaign. The foundation has spent another $40,000 on social media ads to implore people to help save the university’s funding, and another untold sum in yard signs and stickers. A back-of-the-napkin calculation indicates the University Foundation is spending at least $100,000 on lobbying for the veto overrides.

The Legislature will possibly gavel in on Monday and will have five days to override the governor’s final budget. But with half of the Legislature going to Juneau and the other half to Wasilla, it may be impossible for any of them to “gavel in.”

Wasilla special session is going to cost a bit more

Dunleavy’s judicial correction

Suzanne Downing
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2
Dunleavy’s judicial correction

By BOB BIRD
GUEST COLUMNIST

As most Americans know, there are three co-equal branches to government: legislative, executive and judicial.

Except they’re not. As in co-equal. Understanding correct constitutional principles is about as rare as finding an uncut diamond while walking the beach. The fact that civics textbooks, law schools, judges and the mainstream press contribute to this woeful ignorance cements it all in place, of course.

Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s recent move in docking the judiciary’s administrative budget the sum of their unconstitutional abortion funding is an historic, unprecedented and excellent beginning in making the needed corrections. It will focus the public’s eye on the fact that courts are no friend of constitutions.

Calling them a “neutral referee” as retired Superior Court Justice Sen Tan did, or “impartial and fair”, as did Elaine Andrews (also retired Superior Court judge), is like pretending all the umpires in the World Series are ex-Yankees: There may be a neutral call or two but the outcome will never be in doubt. They have demonstrated that they want their turn at bat as well as on the pitcher’s mound.

Judges are political creatures who disguise their prejudices with long faces, black robes and the trappings of dignity that they do not deserve. They protect the case-law oligarchy of which they are a part, standing on the shoulders of generations of misapplied jurisprudence.

We can start with Montesquieu, whose influence permeated James Madison and Thomas Jefferson: “Of the three powers, the judiciary is next to nothing.”

And Alexander Hamilton in Federalist #78: “[The courts} have no influence over either the sword or the purse. It may be truly said that they have neither force nor will, but merely judgment.”

Of the three branches the true superior one is the legislative, which has the power to impeach and remove the executives and judicial members. One can gaze at the constitution all day and never see what courts have seized as if it were written in stone: “The judiciary shall be the sole interpreter of this constitution and shall have power to enforce their will through the Judicial Police.”

This means that the judiciary, who in Article 4, Section 1 of the state constitution has its powers defined and granted by the legislature, is a weak sister whose opinions may or may not be accepted by the executive, who possesses enforcement.

This is further demonstrated in Article 1, Section 22, the warping of which was instituted by the self-proclaimed “neutral referee” Mr. Tan in 2001, who insisted that “privacy” meant that abortions had to be funded, despite the clear language in Sec. 22 that declares “The legislature shall implement this section.”

Thus we have the daring overthrow of constitutional powers, which liberals imagine that they are the shining knights who protect them. Not only have the Alaskan courts assumed the power to create rights that they are clearly not permitted to define, but have seized the power of the purse from the legislative branch found in Article 9 of the constitution.

It is assumed that the legislature, in refusing to impeach the judiciary, has yielded to this overthrow of their own prerogatives. But have they? Since 2001 it would appear that they have exercised their powers found in Art. 1, Sec. 22 by placing a limit on privacy that does not include funding of abortion. And this was once again reiterated in 2019.

In 1973 many liberal constitutionalists, even those who favored legal abortion, were shocked at the high-handed and clearly unconstitutional action of Roe v. Wade. The lawyers in the several states have merely followed the lead begun in 1819 in McCulloch v. Maryland.It is good to see that here in Alaska, which Planned Parenthood defines as an “abortion safe state” in a post-Roe culture, a courageous move by a risk-taking governor has drawn a line in the sand, not only for the unborn but for proper constitutional understanding.

Bob Bird, a longtime conservative activist, ran for US Senate against Sen. Ted Stevens in 2008 on the Alaska Independence Party ticket.

Al Gross makes it official: Running for Senate

Suzanne Downing
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22
Al Gross makes it official: Running for Senate

HIS AD TEAM IS PURE OBAMA-BEGICH

A nonpracticing surgeon who lives in Petersburg and Anchorage has made it official: Dr. Al Gross is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Gross is a registered nonpartisan but will attempt to run in the Alaska Democratic Party’s primary, which is open to non-Democrats who are either nonpartisan or undeclared. If he wins the primary, he’ll appear under the Democrat label on the General Election ballot.

Gross formed an exploratory committee in May and then toured the state before filing for office this week. His first campaign ad rollout indicates that his campaign consultant, Mark Putnam, is copy and pasting creative work he did when he helped former Sen. Mark Begich in 2014.

Back then, Putnam produced an ad with Begich riding his snow machine in an ad that some loved and others laughed at, but that left Begich with a frostbit right ear from the -40 escapade.

Mark Begich lost that election to rising star Dan Sullivan. Putnam’s first ad for Gross is basically a remake of the snow machine ad, but with Gross on his fishing boat in Southeast Alaska.

You can view the ad at this link.

Putnam also worked on President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and for several other prominent Democrats. He doesn’t work for Republicans.

Nonetheless, Al Gross wants voters to know he is purely nonpartisan. His particular issue is health care, and he is advocating for a plan that would make Medicare expanded for everyone. He is also pro-abortion, and believes in a federally established $15 minimum wage. He will fight climate change and hydrocarbons, and is opposed to the Pebble Mine.

As a nonpartisan, he has a tough road because there will likely be other entrants into the Democrats’ primary, and he’ll have to spend money just to appear on the ballot under the Democrat label in the 2020 General Election.

Unless, of course, the Democrats can’t find someone to run against Sen. Sullivan.

Read Must Read Alaska’s initial story in May about Gross’ exploratory committee.

 

 

Al Gross forming exploratory committee for U.S. Senate

MRAK Almanac: Peonies on parade

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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0

The MRAK Almanac is your place for political, cultural, and civic events, events where you’ll meet political leaders or, if you are interested in getting to know your state, these are great places to meet conservative- and moderate-leaning Alaskans.

Alaska Fact Book:

Question: How many glaciers are in Alaska?

Answer: It’s complicated. The U.S. Geological Survey recognizes 616 officially named glaciers in the state, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg since the overwhelming majority were never named. Some estimates put the number of glaciers close to 100,000, meaning that for every glacier with a name, there are at least ten others without one. Counting these frozen behemoths is a tricky task, as it’s often unclear when one glacier ends and another begins, but we do know that the total area of Alaska’s glaciers is about 34,000 square miles—roughly equal to the area of the state of Maine.

7/5: The Calista Corporation will host its annual shareholders meeting in Toksook Bay. Shareholders will be voting on new directors as well as any proposed changes to the corporation’s regulations. Read more here.

7/6: Peonies in Bloom display at the Alaska Blooms Peony Farm (an hour drive from Anchorage). A unique display of Alaska’s beauty, great for visiting family and friends. Photo above from the Alaska Blooms Peony Farm Instagram feed.

7/6: Car Seat Safety Clinic at the Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults Center. Free to attend, a good opportunity for a car seat “checkup”. More details here.

7/6: Soundwaves Music Festival at Harding Lake near Fairbanks. Come out at 10 am for yoga and a pancake feed, enjoy a paddle board race, and top it all off with great live music on the shores of Harding Lake. Visit the Facebook link here.

7/6: Anchorage American Legion Post 29 car wash fundraiser. Swing by and get a wash starting at 10 am. Read more here.

7/7: Car Show at Club Soda in South Fairbanks, in celebration of our veterans. All vehicles on wheels are welcome. Starts at 11 am, Facebook link here.

7/6-7/7: Downtown Anchorage Market & Festival between 3rd and E St. downtown. Begins at 10 am, come enjoy this longtime Anchorage tradition.

7/5-7/7: The Wasilla Summerfest continues with the 49th State St. Rodder’s Car Show at the Menard Center all weekend, and the Band of Brothers BBQ competition on Saturday at noon. See the full lineup here.

Alaska History Archive:

July 4, 1884: 135 years ago—John Henry Kinkead, on the appointment of President Chester Arthur, took office as the first governor of the District of Alaska. A lifelong Republican and dry goods merchant from Nevada, Kinkead was the first United States government official to hold public office in Alaska. In the spring of 1885, a personal dispute between Kinkead and infamous Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson over mining interests in Alaska drew national attention, later leading to Kinkead’s resignation. The District of Alaska government remained in effect until 1912 when Alaska officially became a U.S. territory.

July 7, 1958: 61 years ago—President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into law, the passage of which allowed Alaska to officially become a state. There had been surprising opposition in Congress, mostly from southern Democrats concerned that Alaska’s new congressmen would be pro-civil rights. Some Republicans also worried that Alaska’s small population wouldn’t allow it to produce enough tax revenue to support itself and that it would eventually become a welfare state reliant on the federal government.

Alaska Supreme Court asks for veto override

Suzanne Downing
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34
Alaska Supreme Court asks for veto override

On Wednesday, the Alaska Supreme Court issued a statement to the Alaska Legislature asking for an override to Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s budget cut to the court system.

The justices asked that their cost of living allowances for their staff be restored, totaling $1.756 million. They also asked  $337,700 for two appellate courts. The Dunleavy Administration had given the justification that if the Supreme Court wants the State to pay for elective abortions, it should do so out of its own budget, since both the executive branch and the legislative branch have decided the state should not be paying for these abortions.

The judges used their letter to explain about the three co-equal branches of government.

“At its most basic, this means that the legislature makes the law, the governor enforces the law, and the supreme court, when faced with a constitutional challenge to a law, is required to decide it,” they wrote.

“Legislators, governors, and all other Alaskans certainly have the right to their own opinions about the constitutionality of government action, but ultimately it is the courts that are required to decide what the constitution mandates. In a democracy based on majority rule, it is important that laws be interpreted fairly and consistently. We assure all Alaskans that the Alaska Court System will continue to render independent court decisions based on the rule of law, without regard to the politics of the day,” they wrote.

The statement was on Alaska Supreme Court letterhead but was not signed.

The State has deficit spent for over four years by $14 billion. The governor says that since the State is up against a fiscal cliff, the State is faced with tough decisions.

Independence Day: Time to decentralize University system

Suzanne Downing
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Independence Day: Time to decentralize University system

By FORREST NABORS
GUEST COLUMNIST

Although $135 million in budget cuts are about to fall on Alaska’s public universities, there is still time to do better for higher education in our state.

The UA system has been heavily dependent on state aid for a long time, and while many states have weaned their university systems off state aid, we have not. Among public university systems, our budget depends on state aid more than almost all of them.

A committee of the UAA Faculty Senate for which I was chair produced a report this spring that identified the cause: The structure of the system. It is overly-centralized, rewards waste and prevents good governance.

Want proof? Despite an Alaskan oil boom and wildly levitating stock market since the 1970s, the UA endowment is a mere $200 million. Compare our endowment with the endowment of the University of Texas system: $26 billion. We were both oil-rich states. Why is ours so low?

Put another way, our endowment is less than one quarter of UA’s annual budget, just shy of $900 million. Yet UA’s bill for deferred maintenance of our infrastructure is $1 billion, five times the size of our endowment. In other words, past UA regents and presidents have left us a paltry endowment and a massive bill. In the private sector, this record would not be tolerated.

In insisting on cuts, Gov. Michael Dunleavy is demonstrating that he and the constituency that elected him have run out of patience, but his shock therapy could kill the patient. A hegira of students and good faculty might leave Alaska, never to return, which will cripple our system for a long time.

A better path is to compromise on the cuts while seriously committing to reforming UA in the direction of decentralization. This will require further legislation, through the capital budget process. By stepping down the cuts over multiple years rather than making one big cut this year, the legislature and governor will give reform a chance to succeed.

When the University of Alaska was one campus in Fairbanks with fewer than 1,000 students, the structure of governance and administration made sense. But now our system covers our state, roughly equal in landmass to that of Mexico, and our students number in the tens of thousands. While the University of Alaska has grown into several universities of Alaska, we never reformed the structure of governance and administration. Central planning, soviet-style, is the result, with all its attendant vices.

Senior leadership of UA defends their centralized model, and seeks to consolidate the university further. The state government is not presented with credible, alternative models of reform. That is because the structure of the system gives UA leadership nearly monopoly control of messaging to the state government, so naturally leadership defends their administrative control. They claim that consolidation will eliminate redundancies and save costs, and these claims charm the ears of conservative budget hawks.

Conservatives in the state government might take a moment to think more about this siren song from UA leadership. They might consider that conservative icon von Hayek rebutted the shopworn claims by central planners more than a half century ago. And they might remember that since Hayek wrote the Road to Serfdom, many governments in many countries tried central planning and found that the bureaucrats never delivered on their promises to achieve greater efficiencies and improve quality.

It is time to apply a bipartisan, American solution to our overly-centralized university system. UAF, UAA and UAS deserve the opportunity to govern and administer themselves. A decentralized UA system will put spending and investment decisions in the hands of the people who run the institutions that deliver education and research. They know best which programs can prosper and which cannot. They can more effectively form private partnership, develop alumni relations and raise funds for their own endowments. They know best their communities and can form boards that know their institutions intimately, a prerequisite for good board governance. The iron rule of results, not manipulable politics, will hold boards and administrators accountable.

In short, more institutional independence, not consolidation, will produce greater efficiency and higher quality education and research. If the legislature and governor can moderate the cut to the appropriations to UA and at the same time, seriously begin to reform UA in the direction of decentralization, our universities will then be in a position to wean ourselves off state aid. We will be stronger and higher education in Alaska, I believe, will be reborn and thrive.

Forrest Nabors is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at UAA, and has served on the UAA Faculty Senate since 2012.

MRAK Almanac: What’s happening on the 3rd and 4th of July in Alaska?

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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1

The MRAK Almanac is your place for political, cultural, and civic events, events where you’ll meet political leaders or, if you are interested in getting to know your state, these are great places to meet conservative- and moderate-leaning Alaskans.

Alaska Fact Book:

As Alaskans close the blinds and switch their fans to full blast, we are reminded of a special date in our state’s history: June 27, 1915—104 years ago. On this date, the thermometer read 100 °F in Fort Yukon—this record still stands as the highest recorded temperature in our state’s history. Fort Yukon also held the state record for the coldest recorded temperature at −78 °F until 1971 when the mercury dipped below −80 °F in Prospect Creek. Brrr.

7/3: Regular meeting of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission in Anchorage. Agenda not yet accessible, read more here.

7/3: Alaska Correctional Officers Association BBQ and picnic in Fairbanks. Details here.

7/3: The Cordova City Council will hold a public hearing to discuss the sale of the Cordova Hotel to the Cordova Telecommunications Cooperative for $52,000. Read about it here.

7/3: Fairbanks community meeting with interior legislators to discuss Governor Mike Dunleavy’s vetoes from the FY20 state operating budget. Representatives Adam Wool, Bart LeBon, Grier Hopkins, and Steve Thompson will be present. Begins at 5:30 pm at Pioneer Park Civic Center. Details here.

7/3: Eagle River Lion’s Club will host their annual 3rd of July Extravaganza. Yes, the fireworks have been cancelled but there will still be over 30 vendors and plenty of fun entertainment including a C-17 flyover. Read more here.

7/3: Seward Port & Commerce Advisory Board meeting at noon in council chambers. Read more here.

7/4: 92nd Mount Marathon Race in Seward—the “toughest 5K on the planet”. There will be festivities and a festival in Seward on Wednesday leading up to the race. If air quality is poor, the junior race will be cancelled. Update: Mount Marathon race organizers are allowing runners to skip this year’s race due to smoke from the Swan Lake Fire. Racers who drop will not have their 2020 eligibility harmed. A developing situation. More information here.

7/3-7/4: Historic Skagway Independence Day Celebration. Join the Skagway community for live music, a cornhole tournament, a street parade, and dozens of fun vendors to celebrate the holiday. There will even be a pie eating contest. See the full schedule of events here.

7/3-7/4: Sitka “Old Time 4th of July” festivities. Events include a fireworks display (maybe), a parade, and a street fair put on by the Sitka Historical Society. Read the full lineup here.

7/4: Downtown live music in Fairbanks. Begins at 7pm in the Golden Heart Plaza downtown.

7/4: Annual 4th of July Parade in Ester. Begins at noon, but you’ll want to arrive early to get a good spot on the side of the road. Keep your eyes out for some of the most eccentric float displays you’ll find this week.

7/4: Anchorage July 4th Celebration. Events will run from 8 am (pancake breakfast) through the evening. Don’t miss the Veterans Parade at 11 am. Details here.

7/4: July 4th Celebration at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks. Set to begin at 1 pm with an official patriotic ceremony, local elected officials will likely be present. A children’s parade and games will follow, so it’s a fun time for the whole family.

7/4: Annual Savikko Park 4th of July celebration in Juneau, presented by Sofie’s Sweet Treats. Read more here.

7/4: Juneau 4th of July Parade, beginning and ending at the Department of Labor parking lot (W 8th and Egan). Start time is 11 am sharp. Read more about it here.

7/4: North Pole 4th of July Parade and Festival. Over 5,000 residents are expected to attend. The downtown parade begins at 11 am, followed by a street fair at North Pole High School. Visit the Facebook link here.

7/4: Wasilla 4th of July Celebrations. The downtown parade will begin at 11 am, followed by the Mayor’s Picnic at Iditapark. Read more here.   

7/4: Healy 100th Birthday & July 4th Celebration. There will be a parade, a BBQ, and old-fashioned games and vendors.  Festivities begin at 11 am at Otto Lake Park. Further details here.

7/4: Kenai 4th of July Celebration and festivities. The lineup includes a parade and a street festival following, as well as a Hometown Heroes display. Read more here.

7/5: Interior Alaska GOP weekly luncheon at Denny’s in Fairbanks. The guest of honor will be Congressman Don Young. All are welcome to attend, lunch begins at 11:30 am.

On your radar: Per Governor Mike Dunleavy’s order, the Alaska Legislature is set to convene in Wasilla for the second Special Session of the summer. If all goes as planned (and there are no truant lawmakers), they will gavel in at 1 pm.

Alaska History Archive:

July 3, 1913: 106 years ago—Alaska’s first ever airplane flight took place in Fairbanks. Two wealthy Fairbanksans (Arthur Williams and R.S. McDonald) hired aviator James V. Martin to visit town and demonstrate the new technology in celebration of the 4th of July. Residents prepared by clearing a strip of land in the southern part of town and watched as Martin assembled his biplane and took to the skies. Most residents hadn’t yet seen powered flight, and they were surely amazed as Martin cruised at 45 mph, reaching altitudes of over 200 feet. A picture still survives from that fateful day:

July 3, 2009: 10 years ago—Governor Sarah Palin announced that she would not seek reelection in the 2010 gubernatorial race, also adding that she would officially resign as the 9th Governor of Alaska. The former vice-presidential candidate cited several reasons for her departure, namely ongoing ethics complaints against her and her inability to focus on her legislative agenda while handling several expensive legal battles. She officially resigned on July 26, 2009, with Lt. Governor Sean Parnell succeeding her.

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