Jason Hoke of Glennallen has been appointed by the Secretary of Commerce as the Denali Commission Federal Co-Chair.
Hoke will replace John Torgerson, who has been serving in the role of Interim Federal Co-Chair.
The Denali Commission was created in large part by Sen. Ted Stevens in 1998 and has since been a catalyst for development across the state, including transportation, clinics, and fuel storage in remote communities. In recent years, the commission has begun to assist communities such as Shishmaref and Kivalina, which are losing ground to coastal erosion and are being relocated.
“Jason’s background in economic development makes him well-suited to take on his new role to lead the agency. We look forward to working with him in support of the Denali Commission’s goal of improving life in rural Alaska,” Alaska’s congressional delegation said in a joint statement.
Hoke’s previous work experience in Alaska includes serving as programs director for the Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource Commission, overseeing energy, resource, and biomass projects for Ahtna and its tribes. He worked as executive director for the Copper Valley Development Association, Inc. and served as tribal administrator for the Cheesh’Na Tribal Council.
What started out as a simple resolution opposing state cuts to education took on an entirely different look by the end of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday.
The Assembly took public testimony for over an hour and robustly debated a resolution brought forward by Assembly member Dan Mayfield, which stated that a cut in state funding for education would create hardship for the local district. Amendments were added to the resolution and in the end, the Borough Assembly not only opposed education cuts, but is on the record supporting a full Permanent Fund dividend and a constitutional spending cap for the state budget.
Assembly member Matt Beck commented that the borough has a spending cap for the school district, so should the state. Assembly member Jesse Sumner said that state cuts necessitate a full Permanent Fund dividend because local governments will be picking up more of the costs of services, and those will be passed along to local taxpayers.
The amendments were put forward by Assembly member Ted Leonard.
April 18, 1939: Glacier Bay National Monument (established in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge) was enlarged to over 2, 069,760 acres by President Roosevelt, using the Antiquities Act. He created the largest unit in the national park system at the time.
April 19, 1999: A major explosion from Shishaldin Volcano on Unimak Island erupted on this day and again on April 23, 1999. The closest settlement is False Pass, 37 miles away. The explosive event that continued through May that year was the largest at Shishaldin during the last 175 years. (Above photo taken by R. McGimsey on April 23, 1999.
* * *
April 17: Joint session of the House and Senate will meet to consider the governor’s appointees; this meeting has been delayed until 1 pm.
Got a spare kid-sized bike? Cycle Alaska is looking for used 12-inch, 16-inch, 20-inch and 24-inched wheeled bikes in functioning condition. They’ll be repaired by and donated to Pastor Tari’s summer lunch program at Shepard of the Valley Lutheran Church and the AWARE Shelter in Juneau. Contact John at Cycle Alaska, 1107 West 8th Street, Juneau, and contact John if you have any questions,[email protected].
April 19: Good Friday, commemorates the crucifixion. Note that next year it’s on April 10.
April 20: Rep. Sharon Jackson hosts a community conversation for District 13, Eagle River, Chugiak, at Piccolino’s, 12801 Old Glenn Highway, from 2-4 pm.
April 23: Meet and Greet with Congressman Don Young on the Kenai, at Ammo Can Coffee, 35559 Kenai Spur Highway, 5:30-7 pm.
April 25-27: Alaska Press Club at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Public Media. Awards and lofty speakers. Draft schedule here.
May 4-5: Jill Stanek was a registered nurse in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, when she discovered not only were abortions being committed there, but babies were being aborted alive to die without medical care. When hospital leaders said that they would not stop, Jill went public and has become a national figure. You can hear her in Anchorage and Wasilla. Tickets here.
The man who has recovered as many as 500 stolen vehicles in Anchorage has another court hearing on April 17. Just prior to his last court date on April 1, he declined to sign a plea that that said he would not look for cars or have contact with criminals, knowingly or unknowingly.
He says that the plea deal offered by prosecutors is impossible for anyone to keep. No one knows when they might have contact with a criminal. If he’s going to help people find their stolen vehicles, he’s going to run into criminals.
For the past 20 months, Hall has been fighting charges that he was driving recklessly while chasing a stolen truck. Hall has a pro bono attorney who is helping him as he fights the reckless endangerment charge and the $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail that could go with it.
Hall and his “A Team” rely on the public to send them tips about stolen vehicles, and he posts the team’s exploits recovering the vehicles on Facebook. He has quite a social media following.
The original plea deal included the promise that he stop “chasing” stolen vehicles. Hall says he doesn’t chase. He follows. He tracks them down. And with the permission of the owner, sometimes he lets the air out of the tires as he calls the owner and the cops to come. If the vehicles is occupied by thieves, he tells them to run, get going, the cops are coming.
As of Tuesday evening, the court calendar lists his appointment as a “change of plea.” But Hall is still in the dark about the outcome, and says he won’t sign anything that stops him from helping people get their vehicles back.
In a press conference today in the governor’s conference room in Juneau, and then again in the House State Affairs Committee, Department of Public Safety Commissioner designee Amanda Price was flanked by her senior team:
Deputy Commissioner Michael Duxbury, Alaska State Troopers Colonel Doug Massie and Barry Wilson, State Fire Marshall Richard Boothby, and Public Safety Employees Association DPS Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Scott Carson were all there to support her.
One by one, they all spoke to the media about the improvement in the department since Price was named commissioner, and how energized and positive the morale had become under her leadership.
They wanted the public to know they support their new commissioner. They were hoping the media would relay that information. Deputy Commissioner Michael Duxbury even went so far as to say that “I have never heard any man described as ‘maybe they are off shopping.’ It is misogynistic, in my view.” He was referring to a comment made about Price by former Gov. Bill Walker’s Chief of Staff Scott Kendall, to the House State Affairs Committee last week.
After the press conference, Price then went for the third time before the State Affairs Committee, where co-chair Zack Fields again looked for ways to kill her appointment. Nothing had worked. Democrats had thrown everything at her, including the words of the former chief of staff for Walker. But nothing would stick.
Fields, a hardline Democrat, finally read into the record an anonymous email from a legislative staffer in 2016 that accused Price of “plagiarized, misrepresented drivel.”
The email was from someone who was working hard on the passage of the controversial criminal justice legislation known as SB 91. In fact, that aide was the champion of that bill for Sen. John Coghill, was “carrying the bill,” and was frustrated that Price had forwarded to the governor’s staff a document that laid out a number of problems with the bill — problems he felt he had long since addressed.
It was a classic case of an aide writing some smack about someone out of frustration, but it was easily answered by Price to the committee today: All she had done was to forward a document. She never claimed authorship. It was passing along a document that described problems with SB 91.
Must Read Alaska has the email exchange:
The fact that it has not made the news had frustrated Rep. Fields to the point where he had to read the email into the record himself so someone would cover it in the mainstream media.
What he didn’t read was other parts of the email exchange from Lacy Wilcox, Walker’s deputy legislative director, who had the long knives out for Price.
Wilcox had forwarded Jordan Shilling’s frustrated memo on to the governor with a note saying she wanted to talk about it with him, but later retracted it and wrote to Walker that she believed the entire thing was a misunderstanding:
Wilcox left the Walker Administration in August of 2016. Price left several months later.
Price and the other gubernatorial appointees face confirmation votes on Wednesday in a joint meeting of the House and Senate, which is scheduled for 1 pm. The choice for lawmakers is will they go along with the character assassination attempt or will they allow the governor to have his preferred pick for commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.
CORRECTING THE RECORD ON THE BATHROOM GROIN-KICK INCIDENT
In a letter to parents and interested community members, the superintendent of the North Pole School District has set the record straight about the bathroom incident that left one male student with a groin injury. The incident occurred after a group of male students entered a girls’ bathroom at North Pole High School, surprising the girl who was in the bathroom. She took protective measures by kicking the first boy to enter the bathroom in the groin.
According to Superintendent Dr. Karen Gaborik, there had been a lot of discussion on campus about another student, who is in the process of presenting herself as a male in the process that is known as “transitioning.”
“The series of events at North Pole High School began when a student transitioning from female to male took a selfie in the boys’ restroom on Monday, April 1, and posted on Snapchat,” Gaborik wrote.
“Some male students at the school were upset about the public nature of the post and restroom use. There was, and continues to be, conversation among students regarding transgender students at NPHS and the use of restrooms. Teachers, counselors, support staff and administrators are helping students navigate that dialogue. The district provides additional counselors to schools whenever it is determined assistance is needed.”
It’s within the context of that school controversy that some boys decided to enter a girls’ bathroom and take a Snapchat photo of their own, as a form of protest.
“On April 4, a group of male students began to enter the restroom. Only one male student actually proceeded past the door frame. The other male students followed behind him and were not yet in the restroom. A female student (not the transgender student) was exiting the restroom at the time the first male student began to enter. The female student kicked the first male student in the groin. The male students turned around and left the area,” Gaborik wrote.
An investigation ensued. Statements were collected. And in the end, all of the students involved were disciplined, Gaborik wrote.
“The male students were disciplined for attempting to enter the restroom. There was not evidence that the male students were threatening any student or using any type of force toward other students,” she wrote.
Media and social media reports said that only the girl was disciplined, however Gaborik disputes that, and further says that no students were prevented from attending the April 6 prom because the investigation was still ongoing, and the disciplinary action wasn’t announced until April 8.
“The district does not encourage students or staff to use force against students, staff or visitors to school facilities. In general, we recommend students talk to school staff about any situations in which they feel unsafe. Students are encouraged to bring concerns about their safety to school staff. If a student is facing an imminent threat, the student’s response to the threat will be evaluated based on the facts and circumstances of the incident, district policies, and state law,” she wrote.
As for the transgender student, the superintendent says that there is a gender neutral bathroom on campus but the school is working with students individually as they decide which bathroom fits them best. Students are not in charge of the decision about what bathroom other students may use, the superintendent said.
“Ensuring a safe environment is a core value in our school district. This includes the social-emotional safety of our students, as well as the physical safety. We do not advocate physical or psychological violence as a means to attain safety. The entire school community needs to work together to ensure that all students feel welcomed, safe and are able to learn and thrive. We recognize that parents, students and members of our community feel strongly about these issues, but advocating for the use of violence does not contribute to a safe learning environment. If a student uses force against another student or against staff, that use of force is evaluated for potential discipline under the self-defense laws of the State and the facts and circumstances of the incident, she wrote.
“It is critical that the district maintain confidentiality regarding student discipline. While I will not discuss the discipline related to this incident, I can tell you that students have due process rights and can appeal school-level decisions. We are working through those procedures right now.”
Rep. Tammie Wilson has taken up the side of the girl. “I said, ‘Good for her. I would have taught my daughter to do the same.”
The legislator who represents the district said during a press conference last week, that she wanted girls to know she has their back:
“If you ever feel threatened for your safety, whatever force you think you have to give, I will stand behind you,” she said.
Sarah Monkton, the acting executive director of the Alaska Human Rights Commission has resigned, Must Read Alaska has learned.
Earlier this month, two volunteer members of the commission resigned after the agency became embroiled in a national controversy stemming from abuses by its previous executive director, who has also resigned.
Monkton was serving as the acting chief of the beleaguered agency.
It all began when Marti Buscaglia, the former executive director, violated the civil rights of a plumber who had parked his truck in the agency’s lot.
The truck’s decal, “Black Rifles Matter,” offended Buscaglia, and she left him a note on the back of her business card, ordering him to remove his truck from the lot. She then used the agency’s Facebook page to deride the worker.
Buscaglia later told the media she thought “Black Rifles Matter” was hate speech.
Commission chairman Brandon Nakasato and vice chairman Freddie Olin IV then quit around the same time Buscaglia quit. She had been investigated and placed on 15-day leave, but she chose to depart and try to save the agency further embarrassment.
The governor then appointed the agency’s lead enforcement officer, Monkton, to replace Buscaglia. Monkton lasted a week.
Monkton is married to the former State Prosecutor, Quinlan Steiner, who has also resigned his position and since been replaced.
The Human Rights Commission is run by a volunteer commission board and is in charge of hiring the executive director. The two board members who resigned were replaced by Gov. Dunleavy immediately after it became known they were trying to control the hiring of the next executive director of the agency before Dunleavy could put new members in place. Dunleavy does not hire or fire the executive director.
The commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday. At this point, the agency has no executive director or chief enforcement officer, and no board chair or vice chair, although it has a full membership of seven on the board.
The retired Alaska Superior Court judge was no doubt ready for the barrage of heavy fire he took in the combined House Fisheries/Natural Resources Committee meeting on Monday night.
Karl Johnstone knew coming into his interview that the commercial fishing interests were loaded for bear in opposition of his nomination to the Fisheries Board, a volunteer position. And the committee was stacked with opponents of Gov. Michael Dunleavy who had had targeted him.
And yet Johnstone was courteous, open, and answered the committee’s accusatory questions fully, without rancor.
If they were hoping to wear him down by “Kavanaughing” him, it didn’t work.
Karl Johnstone
Rep. Louise Stutes chaired the meeting. She had already, in written communications to her commercial fishing friends, declared all-out war on Johnstone’s nomination, saying she would do everything in her power to prevent him from being confirmed.
Stutes went so far as to read an anonymous letter into the record, opposing Johnstone. No one on the joint committee objected to her doing so, and she ruled the committee with an iron hand. She made exaggerated expressions during the meeting that Johnstone could not see, but which expressed disapproval or disbelief.
As a committee aide provided material to the attack team on the committee, they asked Johnstone questions they were given to ask. Some of the questions ended up embarrassing the committee members who asked them.
Rep. Sara Hannan wanted to know if Johnstone is a snowbird and how many days he spends in the state. Enough to qualify for a Permanent Fund dividend, Johnstone said. Hannan was trying to imply that having a second home out of state or traveling widely as a retiree should be a disqualifier.
Hannan asked if he took cost of living allowances in his retirement, and she expressed surprise to learn that COLA doesn’t apply to the retirement pensions of retired judges. Stutes’ staff had set her up to look unprepared.
Hannan wanted to know why in 2009 he stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel during the Fish Board meetings. He answered he stayed there because he was advised to stay there by Fish and Game. He was told it would be best if he was on site early and stayed late into the evening to interact with attendees.
Hannan wanted to know how much he had donated to the Dunleavy campaign. Johnstone had been an early supporter of the campaign of Charlie Huggins before Huggins dropped from the race, and then Johnstone supported Dunleavy. But he said none of that. To the committee he only said yes, he supported Dunleavy and donated to the political action committee that supported the candidacy of the governor who has since appointed him, and it was $1,000.
Hannan expressed to the committee that she felt that was a problem.
Rep. Geran Tarr implied, delicately, that Johnstone is too old to serve on the Board, and should spend more time “transitioning” and visiting his family. Tarr pondered aloud that he may have too much experience, since he has, in the past, served three terms on the Board of Fisheries. She said maybe it’s time for someone else to serve.
Tarr, who is often heard championing food security with Alaskans, then took up the cause of out-of-state commercial permit holders, rather than those rod-and-reel and dip netters from her own lower-income East Anchorage neighborhoods, who are trying to supplement their food budgets with fish from the rivers.
She said she was troubled that he seemed more concerned with personal use fishing than commercial fishing and that he was not acknowledging climate change as a factor in the changing fishing conditions in Alaska.
Rep. Ivy Spohnholz wanted to know why, when Gov. Bill Walker nominated Roland Maw to the Fish Board in 2015, the board refused to interview him. She said she felt it was not very transparent.
Spohnolz didn’t seem to know that Maw had subsequently been indicted on felony charges related to Alaska Permanent Fund dividend fraud and theft, including six felony counts of first-degree unsworn falsification and six felony counts of second-degree theft.
Johnstone politely didn’t bring that up, but said the entire board of seven had decided not to interview Maw, and they didn’t feel that giving a reason was productive.
Rep. Chris Tuck wanted to know Johnstone broke hiring rules when hiring a coroner 25 years ago. Johnstone said he was wrong to have done so, and he had been rightfully admonished for not following established procedures.
Rep. Stutes then wanted to know how many times Johnstone had attended the Kenai River Classics, a fundraiser started by Sen. Ted Stevens to support fisheries conservation. Johnstone said hadn’t been for six or seven years.
“Did you in the past?” she continued.
Yes, Johnstone said, but he only attended the dinner, which he paid for himself. He didn’t attend the fishing portion of the event.
Stutes wouldn’t let up: “Did you pay for all your expenses?”
Yes, Johnstone said, he drove to Kenai and back at his own expense.
The accusations kept coming like a firing squad. Stutes and her sisterhood on the committee were going to take him down.
Johnstone is, for United Fishermen of Alaska, their number one target. Both Israel Peyton and Marit Carlson Van Dort breezed through their confirmation interviews with barely a concern from the committee earlier in the evening.
The governor’s nominee for the Fisheries Board then was the subject of hours of testimony from the public. The sports fishing community praised him, while the commercial fishing community damned him. Chairwoman Stutes quickly cut off the testimony of his supporters, while allowing those who oppose him to go on for another 15 seconds past the 90-second limit she had set at the beginning.
At the end of the list of commenters came Roland Maw, but he told the committee that perhaps he’d just not have anything to say at this time.
Chairwoman Stutes then read a four-minute scripted statement about why she opposes Johnstone, reiterating many of the points provided by the United Fishermen of Alaska. She represents commercial fishing interests in Kodiak and Cordova.
The inquisition ended after four hours. Supporters of Johnstone complained that while they got their letters submitted in time, they were not added to the committee packet. But then again, it was never intended to be a fair meeting.
Johnstone’s nomination to the Fish Board will be considered by a joint session of the House and Senate on Wednesday. It’s considered to be close.
Have an opinion on the matter? The Kenai River Sports Fishing Association has a handy tool for sending your thoughts on Johnstone or the other nominees to all Alaska legislators. Try it here.
Gov. Michael Dunleavy accepted the resignation of Public Defender Quinlan Steiner on Friday, and named Beth Goldstein as acting Public Defender. She started in that role on Monday morning.
Steiner had resigned on April 2, but made his resignation effective to the date when a new public defender was named, as in, “effective upon the appointment of a new Public Defender nominated by the Alaska Judicial Council under AS 18.85.030.”
The Judicial Council announced its intention to take action to fill the vacancy created by the resignation, and the governor understood that as an acknowledgment the seat was vacant, giving him the authority to appoint an interim.
AS 18.85.050 states “If the position of public defender becomes vacant for any reason, the governor may appoint an acting public defender to serve until the regular appointment procedures under AS 18.85.030 are complied with. The governor and the judicial council shall act under AS 18.85.030 as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs. A person appointed under that section to fill a vacancy begins a new four-year term.”
“For any reason” in this case is the governor accepting the resignation of the public defender, but moving up the date, based on the Judicial Council’s decision to nominate a replacement.
Steiner was challenging the governor’s authority as of Friday and told the mainstream media he was not sure whether he would come into work on Monday.
Evidently, he stayed home. Goldstein is now the official interim Public Defender; it says so on her LinkedIn page.
Goldstein has her JD from the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law, and an undergraduate degree in genetic engineering from Cedar Crest College.
She has served as an assistant public advocate in the Appeals and Statewide Criminal Defense Unit.She also clerked with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, served as a patent attorney with Proctor and Gamble Company, and served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Ohio.
In 2007, Goldstein authored a paper for the Duke Law Review entitled: Sexual Relationship, Did We Have One? The paper reviewed the definition of “sexual relationship” within the context of Alaska’s domestic violence laws.
