Thursday, July 16, 2026
Home Blog Page 1477

EPA will resume work on Pebble

Suzanne Downing
-
5
EPA will resume work on Pebble

The Environmental Protection Agency is resuming work to lift water pollution restrictions that it put on the Pebble Project during the Obama Administration, Must Read Alaska has learned.

News of the announcement also leaked out of the EPA to Bloomberg News this morning, causing the stock of Northern Dynasty, the parent company of the Pebble Partnership, to jump by 28 percent in morning trading.

The move opens up the real possibility of a partner coming into the project, which has been in the EPA limbo file since 2014, when former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy put a pre-emptive ban on Pebble’s ability to file for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit.

In 2017, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said he would life the ban on the Pebble permit process. But then he reinstated it a few months later.

Today, the agency is again proceeding on lifting those restrictions. This comes just days before the end of the public comment period on the draft environmental impact statement.

An announcement regarding Pebble is expected at today’s meeting of the Resource Development Council, which has its annual membership luncheon in Anchorage. One of the speakers is Joe Balash, Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

It also comes on the day that President Trump is expected to touch down in Anchorage at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, and meet with Gov. Michael Dunleavy, on Trump’s way to Japan.

[Read: Trump, Air Force One stopping in Anchorage]

This story will be updated.

Update: Here is the official EPA news release that just came out.

Air Force One, Trump stopping at JBER on way to Japan

Suzanne Downing
-
3
Air Force One, Trump stopping at JBER on way to Japan

Update: Gov. Michael Dunleavy will meet with the president at 4 pm at JBER.

It looks like President Donald Trump’s aircraft will be refueling either at JBER on his way to Japan on Wednesday.

A temporary flight restriction has been issued for the airspace around Anchorage from 3-6 pm local time. (This has been corrected from the earlier published Zulu time and also updated to remove Eielson from the flight restriction.) for “VIP movement,” and only the president’s Air Force One and a few others, such as the military planes protecting the president and those carrying Secret Service, are allowed in a restricted areas.

Trump is on the way to Japan for the G20 summit in Osaka, where he is expected to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping to conduct further trade talks on Saturday. Trade and the relationship between the two nations has been deteriorating.

Trump last came through Alaska on his way to Japan in late May.

[Read: Trump stopping at JBER on way to sumo wrestling tournament]

Ornithologists consider changing ‘confederate’ name of bird

Suzanne Downing
-
70
Ornithologists consider changing ‘confederate’ name of bird

MOVE TO ‘WOKE-WASH’ MCCOWN’S LONGSPUR FAILS AT ANCHORAGE MEETING

At their annual conference that is being held in Anchorage this week, the American Ornithological Society considered whether to change the name of the McCown’s Longspur. The bird was originally named for a U.S. Army officer who joined and fought for the Confederate Army.

The name change had been proposed for consideration to the Classification Committee; the motion did not carry during the proceedings, which had several other reclassification items on the agenda. The meeting runs through June 28.

The author of the proposal, Robert Driver, argued that McCown owned slaves, fought against American Indians, and fought for the wrong side during the Civil War. He further contended that McCown name is in conflict with the society’s efforts toward inclusion and diversity.

“With the United States general public increasingly embracing our diversity and confronting public displays of the Confederacy, such as flying Confederate flags, using Confederate general street names, and maintaining statues to Confederate soldiers, it is appropriate for the AOS to address its own piece of Confederate history, John P. McCown of McCown’s Longspur. The AOS once again has an opportunity to pioneer inclusion and lead the way by changing this English name,” Driver wrote. He suggested the bird be given a Native name, but said his efforts to find one failed.

[Read Driver’s Proposal here – Page 49.]

 

One fish, two fish, too many goldfish in Cuddy pond

Suzanne Downing
-
1
One fish, two fish, too many goldfish in Cuddy pond

British Columbia has been battling goldfish infestations in its ponds and lakes. Even Gustavus had a goldfish invasion, after someone let their pet fish loose in a pond a few years back.

Anchorage is possibly the northernmost location for a goldfish invasion, with a school of 150 or more of the fish now swimming around and likely breeding in Cuddy Park Pond.

So far, the Department of Fish and Game has pulled a few of them from the water and tested them for parasites and disease, and in doing so found some goldfish with eggs. That could spell trouble, especially if they escape the manmade lake and get into other waterbodies.

The fish were first spotted in 2018 and didn’t die over the winter. In home aquariums, they tend to remain small, but in the wild they can grow to the size of a football. They are now considered one of the world’s worst invasive species.

In general, goldfish are not favored food by other species, although otters, minks, and great blue heron will eat them.

Fish and Game is trying to figure out how to deal with them. They can net them, shock the water and kill them, or use a chemical called rotenone.

But just about anything Fish and Game does is going to require a permit, especially if biologists want to lower the level of the pond by draining it. The considerations include the danger to workers who would scoop up the fish from the fecal-laden bottom of the pond.

Getting a permit means the state agency would have to go through the Department of Natural Resources. It might require a public comment period. And meanwhile, the fish might successfully breed and increase the problem exponentially.

Fish and Game says however it tackles the feral goldfish, they cannot stay, nor can they be caught and transported home to some Alaskan’s aquarium. They are going to have to be — to put it delicately — “dispatched.”

At one lake in British Columbia, workers netted thousands of goldfish-gone-rogue out of a pond, bagged them up and hauled them to the dump. Watch how they took on the problem in 2016 — using dip nets. After that, the province tried electrocution, which removed another 4,500 goldfish, but they are still battling it out with the voracious invaders at Dragon Lake:

Juneau bishop to fill in at Anchorage Diocese until new archbishop named

Suzanne Downing
-
0
Juneau bishop to fill in at Anchorage Diocese until new archbishop named

Juneau Bishop Andrew Bellisario has been named by Pope Frances as the temporary leader of the Anchorage Archdiocese until a new archbishop is named to replace Archbishop Paul Etienne, who has been transferred to Seattle as of June 7.

Bishop Bellisario is the “apostolic administrator” of the Anchorage Archdiocese, where in 2016 and 2017 he was pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral. He will be ministering in both the Diocese of Juneau and the Archdiocese of Anchorage until the pope appoints a new archbishop.

Bellisario belongs to the Congregation of the Mission (also known as the Vincentians) founded by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1625.

He was born in Southern California and was ordained in 1984, and served as a parish priest in California and as dean of students at St. Vincent’s Minor Seminary at Montebello. He also served as director of the De Paul Evangelization Center at Montebello and as superior of the De Paul Center Residence there.

According to the Catholic Anchor, he was provincial superior of the Vincentians Province of the West from 2002 to 2010 and director of the Daughters of Charity at Los Altos from 2003 to 2015. He later served as the Superior of the international group of Vincentians in Anchorage to serve Latino Catholics in Alaska.

In 2017 Pope Francis appointed him to the Juneau Diocese, and Archbishop Etienne ordained him as the bishop of Juneau on Oct. 10, 2017.

MRAK Almanac: Resource Development Council is on tap

Suzanne Downing
-
0

6/26: 44th Annual Membership Luncheon for Resource Development Council featuring speaker Joe Balash, Assistant Secretary of Department of Interior and Gov. Michael Dunleavy, also a keynote presentation by Dr. Keiran Wulff of OilSearch. Dena’ina. Balash is from North Pole. Doors open at 11:15 am. More info here.

6/26: Democrats Debate Watch Party in Juneau 5-7 pm at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library, 3025 Diamond Park Loop, Juneau, AK 99801. Free pizza, snacks. Well, not free — someone paid for it.

6/26: Anchorage Assembly Ethics and Election Committee meets at City Hall Conference Room #240, 632 West 6th Avenue, 1 pm.

6/26: U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) will launch a new bipartisan effort aimed at cleaning up the marine debris crisis affecting America’s oceans, shorelines, and inland waterways, as well as other coasts across the globe. The Senators will unveil new legislation to build on the progress made by the Save Our Seas Act, which was sponsored by Sullivan and Whitehouse and signed into law last fall.10:45 am Eastern Time.

6:26: Miners vs. Pilots at Mulcahy Fields and Bucs vs. Chinooks at Lee Jordan Field (Chugiak). It’s Alaska Baseball League season, games start at 7 pm. Check the entire schedule here.

6/27: UAF’s Music in the Garden, featuring the Headbolt Heaters, an eclectic sound with elements of roots rock, blues, folk, bluegrass, and an underbelly of punk. 7 pm at Georgeson Botanical Garden, 117 West Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, Fairbanks.

6/27: Paddle Day is back at the Tanana Lakes Recreation Area Non-motorized Boat Launch. TRAX Outdoor Center, Alaska Dream Adventures, and Alaska Canoe School will provide free paddling instruction in canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddle boards throughout the evening. 4pm – 7pm. Reserve a spot: http://parks.fnsb.us

6/27: Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Planning Committee (AMATS) meets to review and approve the release of key information and the project list for 30-day public comment period; Spenard Corridor Plan, and other transportation issues. Starts at 1:30 pm. Agenda is here.

6/27: Republicans in District 12 meet at Fried Rice Express, 21426 Old Glenn Hwy, Chugiak, at 7-8:30 pm. On the agenda is a report from Senator Hughes (or staff present) and a report from Representative Tilton (or staff present), with Q and A.

6/28: Alaska State Commission for Human Rights will hold a meeting in Anchorage, Alaska at the Atwood Building, 550 W. 7th Avenue, Conference Room 102 at 9 am. Up for discussion is hiring a new executive director. The public is invited to attend. Public comment is noticed for 9:20 to 9:25 am. To participate by telephone, contact the Commission offices at 907-276-7474.

6/29: Scottish Highland Games, Alaska State Fairgrounds, 8 am – 8 pm.

HISTORY ALASKANA

June 27, 1940: Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Field were activated near Anchorage. Construction on Elmendorf Field had already begun on June 8, 1940, for a major and permanent military air field near Anchorage. The first Air Corps personnel arrived on Aug. 12, 1940.

June 20, 1923: President Warren Harding boarded a train heading for the West Coast, where he would board a boat for Alaska on what was dubbed a Voyage of Understanding, which was also his way of communicating his policies and getting a feel for the pulse of the nation. Read all about that trip to Alaska and his subsequent sudden and mysterious death in California at History.com

Alaska life hack: Are you due an unemployment insurance refund?

Suzanne Downing
-
1
Alaska life hack: Are you due an unemployment insurance refund?

Alaskans who worked for more than one employer in 2018, earned over $39,500, and paid more than $197.50 in unemployment insurance contributions, may be eligible for a refund.

According to Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, if you had withholdings from your wages that exceed the maximum annual employee tax, you’re entitled to that refund and DoL wants to get it to you.

There are 97 individuals with unclaimed funds, totaling $124,070, according to the department.

Check the contributions that you paid, which may be listed on your W-2 form(s) in Box 14 or on your 2018 pay stubs. You may have to contact your former employers’ Human Resources department to get the information.

The refund form is found online at http://labor.alaska.gov/estax/forms/eerefund.pdf or can be requested by mail from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Employment Security Contribution, P.O. Box 115509, Juneau, AK 99811-5509.

You’ll need to provide copies of your Statement of Deductions (W-2’s) from each employer you worked for during the year. Refunds are only made if overpayments are greater than $5.

You have time: The deadline for submitting your refund request is Dec. 31, 2019.

Scofflaw legislative leaders make Alaska statutes ‘optional’

Suzanne Downing
-
26
Scofflaw legislative leaders make Alaska statutes ‘optional’

By REP. BEN CARPENTER

Danger — without action on our part, following the law in Alaska is about to become optional.

Meeting in Wasilla for the second special session of the Legislature isn’t debatable; it’s the law. AS 24.05.100(b) is very clear:

(b) A special session may be held at any location in the state. If a special session called under (a)(1) of this section is to be convened at a location other than at the capital, the governor shall designate the location in the proclamation. If a special session called under (a)(2) of this section is to be convened at a location other than at the capital, the presiding officers shall agree to and designate the location in the poll conducted of the members of both houses.

And yet individuals in our Legislature would have you believe the law isn’t clear.

This is a critical moment in state history and there is more at stake than where the next special session will meet.

Our legislative institution is heavily dependent on precedent. It is a big deal for two legislators to arbitrarily decide that they have the right to ignore a law and with their decision, obligate the remaining legislators to follow their lead. It is precedent setting behavior and it is not an isolated event.

These legislators are required to have 40 members in agreement to meet somewhere other than Wasilla. They are shy one vote. The legislature is now several years into a habit of not complying with the 90 day session statute and the 120 day Constitutional requirement for completing legislative work. That a second special session is even required to address the failure to pay a statutory PFD is a new precedent and a new level of absurdity. If one law can be ignored, any law can be ignored. This should concern everyone.

Following social media and news reports, it is clear that some law abiding citizens of this great State may condone this behavior by their representatives because it meets their political agenda. All citizens must realize that one day, the political winds will shift and the next leader will have precedent on their side when they decide to ignore the law of their choice. It is conceivable that misguided citizens would take current legislative behavior as opportunity to ignore the law(s) of their choice. This is history in the making and we have taken a big step down a slippery slope of lawlessness.

This precedent must be corrected with the repudiation of this behavior.

Speaker Bryce Edgmon and President Cathy Giessel have demonstrated their capacity to thwart the will of the very people they were chosen to represent and the rest of Alaskans by claiming they have a right to ignore the law of the land. Their credibility is shot; how can they be trusted to write the law, let alone act in a leadership capacity, if they will not follow the law?

I am not easily offended but having fought in two wars to defend our way of life and support of our form of self-government, I am appalled that these leaders should choose to act in such a cavalier, shortsighted, and contemptuous manner. I can only hope that members of their respective districts will recognize the danger their representatives have placed us in and act accordingly. Our way of life depends on it.

I call on all legislators to consider alternatives for these two leadership positions and act immediately to replace these legislators with members who will follow the law and lead others to follow the law. Our credibility as legislators depends on it.

Ben Carpenter represents House District 29, the northern part of the Kenai Peninsula, stretching to Seward.

Let the people of Alaska decide

Suzanne Downing
-
2

By THE ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has told the legislative Permanent Fund dividend working group that any changes to the annual payout should involve a vote of Alaskans.

“Ninety-nine percent of the work we do in Juneau, the people of Alaska have basically said, ‘You guys do it,’ ‘” Dunleavy told the eight-member panel. “We’re too busy with our lives, we’re too busy with our jobs and that’s your role. But when it comes to something of this magnitude, that’s been around for decades, that impacts virtually every Alaskan, I think it behooves us to really think about engaging the people in a positive manner.”

He is absolutely right. There should be a vote on any changes.

The working group, composed of four members from each of the Legislature’s chambers, is tasked with finding a way forward in the raucous fracas over how the dividend will be calculated and its size this year.

There are two camps: one, adamantly backed by Dunleavy, wants the $65 billion fund’s dividend to be calculated under at 1982 law that would give each Alaskan about $3,000.

The other wants to ignore that law, as has been done for the past three years, and reduce the dividend’s amount to about $1,600, or even $900, to address the state’s budget gap. They would reduce the dividend to political whim.

Read more at:

http://www.anchoragedailyplanet.com/159989/alaskans-should-decide/

 

1...1,4761,4771,478...1,801Page 1,477 of 1,801

About us

Must Read Alaska is news of people, politics, policy, culture, and happenings in Alaska.

Contact
4021 West Hill Road,
Homer, AK 99603

Op-Ed/Article:
[email protected]

Subscription: [email protected]

The latest

Last Frontier Republican Club Hosts Ted Stevens Day Picnic at Alaska Zoo

The Social 0
The annual Ted Stevens Day Picnic at the Alaska...

Alaska Granted Permanent Approval for Apprenticeship Program Training K-12 Teachers and Principals

AK Voices 0
Today, June 15, the Department of Education and Early...

The Progression of Christianity into Sacramentalized Paganism, and How to Return to Truth

Faith Watch 2
Today's unprecedented global prosperity coincides with a new paganism,...

© Must Read Alaska