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Kenai fishing group wants ‘feed Alaskans first’ rule

Suzanne Downing
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7
Kenai fishing group wants ‘feed Alaskans first’ rule

PERSONAL USE FISHERY WOULD HAVE HIGHEST PRIORITY

The Kenai River Sportsfishing Association is asking the Board of Fisheries to prioritize the food needs of Alaskans over commercial fishing interests, when allocating Alaska’s seafood resources.

With 15 percent of people on the Kenai experiencing food insecurity or actual hunger, the group says its time to make personal use fishing the highest priority among the competing interests in non-subsistence fisheries.

The group made Proposal 171 in advance of the fish board’s March meeting. KRSA argues that allocation of seafood resources are too aligned with the historical use of the resource, and that fish management requires the board adapt to ongoing conditions “to ensure they are relevant to current conditions and needs.”

When allocating fishery resources that are in non-subsistence use areas, KRSA says the board should consider:

  • The importance of each fishery for providing residents the opportunity to harvest fish for personal and family consumption.
  • The number of residents and nonresidents who have participated in each fishery in the past and the number of residents and nonresidents who can reasonably be expected to participate in the future.
  • The importance of each fishery to the economy of the region and local area in which the fishery is located;
  • The importance of each fishery to the economy of the state;
  • The history of each personal use, sport, guided sport, and commercial fishery with emphasis on the previous 20 years.
  • The importance of each fishery in providing recreational opportunities for residents and nonresidents.
  • The availability of alternative fisheries resources of similar characteristics.

Sec. 16.05.251 currently says that the Board of Fisheries “may allocate fishery resources among personal use, sport, guided sport, and commercial fisheries. The board shall adopt criteria for the allocation of fishery resources and shall use the criteria as appropriate to particular allocation decisions. The criteria may include factors such as:

(1) The history of each personal use, sport, guided sport, and commercial fishery;
(2) The number of residents and nonresidents who have participated in each fishery in the past and the number of residents and nonresidents who can reasonably be expected to participate in the future;
(3) The importance of each fishery for providing residents the opportunity to obtain fish for personal and family consumption;
(4) The availability of alternative fisheries resources;
(5) The importance of each fishery to the economy of the state; Rev. Jan. 2018
(6) The importance of each fishery to the economy of the region and local area in which the fishery is located;
(7) The importance of each fishery in providing recreational opportunities for residents and nonresidents.

Using the  current allocation criteria, KRSA says that 98 percent of Alaska’s fish are exported for use by non-Alaskans, while just one percent is harvested for subsistence in rural areas of the state and the remaining one percent is split between the resident-only personal use and sport fisheries for residents and non-residents.

Annually, some 6 billion pounds of seafood is exported to feed people elsewhere in the world, KRSA says

KRSA submitted to the board Proposal 171, which ranks the 7 allocation criteria now used by the BOF and would require as the highest priority the importance of each fishery for providing residents the opportunity to harvest fish for personal and family consumption.

The Board of Fisheries meets March 8-12 in Anchorage.

Brutal town hall as Knopp faces angry voters

Suzanne Downing
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31
Brutal town hall as Knopp faces angry voters

AND SOME PRO-KNOPP DEMOCRATS WHO SHOWED UP TO SUPPORT HIM

Rep. Gary Knopp left Juneau on Wednesday to fly back to his Kenai district for the purpose of explaining to constituents why he broke away from the Republican majority in December, and why he thinks he made the right decision.

He was greeted with skepticism, some shouting, and a few supportive Democrats like former House member Mike Navarre, who appreciated his new alliance with the bipartisan coalition, which Knopp says gives Democrats in the House 50 percent of the power.

Mostly, the reaction to Knopp was one of profound disapproval.

Knopp started his public events with a talk show on Thursday morning, where callers were 8-to-1 against his recent decisions. On Friday morning, he was the featured speaker at the Kenai/Soldotna Chamber of Commerce and it was a polite crowd, with mainly softball questions.

Friday night, with a police officer present, he faced a crowd of about 60 at a town hall meeting. Most were angry and called out loudly that he had deceived them and that they felt he wasn’t representing them.

Before the meeting, about 10 people stood at the intersection of Tern and Sterling Highway, holding signs calling on Knopp to resign.

The town hall began with a display of anger toward him.

“He broke his trust with the public,” one man said loudly.

“Who’s side are you on?” asked one woman of Knopp.

Knopp said:

He was there to explain what he did (leave the Republican caucus) and why he did it. Key points he made were:

  • He didn’t think a caucus of 21 Republicans was viable. “The 21 members had no chance of success.”
  • On the Republican side, he said the Fairbanks, Mat-Su, Anchorage, and Kenai Republican caucuses were too far apart on the issues to have one binding caucus, one where they would vote together on the budget. The Democrat-majority caucus that he has joined is a binding caucus.
  • He admitted he had tricked his fellow Republicans when he switched his vote at the last minute after agreeing to vote for Rep. Dave Talerico, but he referred to it as a “sleight of hand” rather than an outright dishonesty when he said he would vote for the Republican nominee, and then decided that he should be that nominee.
  • What he did had nothing to do with the governor’s budget, he said. “Those are completely separate issues.”
  • There are too many freshmen in the House Republicans who don’t have any experience and the Republicans are a “very green, weak group of people, very fractured in our beliefs and our policy decisions.”
  • “My fear, when we started talking about this was we were going to get down to Juneau as an organization and simply implode and completely fall apart way late in the session.”
  • He believes that as many as four more House Republicans will join the bipartisan coalition with him and the other five who went over (Gabrielle LeDoux and Louise Stutes were already over).
  • During the question and answer part of the town hall, several episodes of shouting and interrupting broke out, including people from the Mat-Su Valley, who had driven 200 miles to attend the meeting.

In addition to supporter Mike Navarre, who was commissioner of Commerce for former Gov. Bill Walker, a handful of Democrat supporters voiced their appreciation for Knopp’s decision to join the Democrats.

(Were you at the town hall? Add your comments and impressions in the comment section below.)

What is it with Republicans and jumping ship?

Suzanne Downing
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0

ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

Why is it, do you think, that Democrats seldom jump ship on their party? Their loyalty often is impressive and they prove smaller numbers do not always predict defeat.

On the other hand, some Republicans, especially in the Alaska House of Representatives, too often appear to be political opportunists willing, if not eager, to sell out their party for personal political gain.

More galling, in doing that, they hide behind late Sen. Ted Stevens’ missive, ““To hell with politics, do what’s right for Alaska,” as if denying voters’ their wishes is, somehow, a good and honorable thing, the right thing for Alaska.

Make no mistake, Alaskans went to the polls last year and voted to put Republicans in charge of the Legislature. There are 23 Republicans in the House. Two of them were those who jumped ship last year to join a Democrat-led coalition to lead the chamber – and were rewarded with powerful positions. That left a 21-20 Republican majority in the House this year.

Rep. Gary Knopp, a Kenai Republican and a former Democrat, no less, thought that was not good enough and derailed for 30 days Republicans’ efforts to organize a leadership caucus by refusing to vote for a Republican speaker, causing a 20-20 tie.

Read more at:

http://www.anchoragedailyplanet.com/148315/what-is-it-with-republicans/

 

Dunleavy says he’s onboard with Trump border plan

Suzanne Downing
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7
Dunleavy says he’s onboard with Trump border plan

Gov. Michael Dunleavy released a short statement today, saying he notified the White House that Alaska and the Alaska National Guard – if called upon – stand ready to support the national security crisis on the U.S. border with Mexico:

https://vimeo.com/317596575

Breaking: Cold case solved? DNA links to the Sophie Sergie murder

Suzanne Downing
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15
Breaking: Cold case solved? DNA links to the Sophie Sergie murder

ARREST MADE IN MAINE

The Alaska State Troopers think they have arrested the murderer of Sophie Sergie, who was found dead in a dorm bathroom at University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993.

Law enforcement executed an arrest warrant today in Auburn, Maine for a man, Steven H. Downs, believed to be the murderer. He is a 44-year-old nurse. The news was announced during a 3 pm press conference at the State’s crime laboratory in Anchorage. The man will be brought to Alaska to face charges.

Steve Downs, booking photo

The perpetrator’s DNA was found at the scene, Troopers said today. But until recent technology, no link had been made to any person, although the hunt for the killer went on for decades.

Last year, the investigators began working with a lab in Virginia that had more sophisticated systems for linking DNA and genetic histories of families.

Must Read Alaska has learned that the man’s aunt took a DNA test, and the link was made to someone who may have once been interviewed about the death.

Sergie was 20 years old when she was murdered early on April 26, 1993. She was from Pitkas Point, a Native village of about 125 people in Western Alaska. At about 2 pm on the second floor of the Bartlett Hall dormitory, a janitor found Sergie’s body stuffed in a bathtub.

Last known photo of Sophie Sergie, taken just hours before her murder.

Sergie  had been brutally raped, her pants pulled down around her ankles. The cause of death was a gunshot and investigators determined she’d been dead about 13 hours. Her body had gone undiscovered because it was in a private tub room.

Sergie was not a student at the time. She had taken the semester off, but had returned to Fairbanks to have her braces adjusted by an orthodontist, so she was staying in the dorm with a friend.

In those days, people came and went freely from the dorms and it was not uncommon for friends to come from out of town to stay a night or two with a student. It was the end of the term and people were coming and going from campus. Anyone could have accessed the women’s floor via the elevator or the stairs, and the student population was in a state of transition.

Investigators concluded that it was a random killing, and that Sergie didn’t know her murderer. One of the mysteries in the case was why no one in the dorm heard the gunshot, and later theories developed that the woman was killed elsewhere and then her body placed in the bathtub.

The solving of this case closely follows that of the Golden State Killer case, where the culprit was found through a family member’s DNA test.

[Read: Death in Bartlett Hall]

 

Commissioner of Public Safety Amanda Price makes the announcement with the family of Sophie Sergie in attendance.

“Despite the arduous and meticulous effort done by a variety of investigators over the years, a suspect had not been identified. However, in April of 2018, the Golden State Serial Killer was arrested following identification through Genetic Genealogy. Encouraged by the new investigative method, the Cold Case Unit (CCU) submitted the unknown DNA profile from Sophie’s case in July of 2018 to Parabon Nanolabs, a Virginia-based company which utilizes extracted DNA to perform the genetic genealogy testing,” the Troopers wrote in a press release.

“Finally, after a little over a quarter of a century, CCU had a likely suspect, identified through the same method that lead to the Golden State Killer, that was alive and living on the opposite end of the country.  Armed with the new information, the CCU was able to conduct follow up investigation to determine that Downs (18 at the time of the killing) had been a student at UAF at the time Sophie was killed. Furthermore, Downs lived in Bartlett Hall at UAF. From there, CCU worked with Maine authorities to bring the case to fruition. Steven H. Downs was taken into custody at a local business in Maine. He will be extradited to Alaska to face charges in connection to the murder and sexual assault of Sophie Sergie.”

“I commend the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Law for their exemplary work in cracking open a cold case that has haunted the family of Sophie Sergie and the UAF community for decades,” said Gov. Michael Dunleavy. “While today’s arrest may bring a measure of relief to Sophie’s family and friends, First Lady Rose and I know nothing can completely heal their pain and sense of loss. We hope and pray for Sophie’s family as the case unfolds in the judicial system in the months ahead.”

Juneau puts out banana peel welcome mat for OMB director

Suzanne Downing
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43
Juneau puts out banana peel welcome mat for OMB director

Juneau is a government town, except for May through September, when it’s a tourist town.

But the best jobs in the Capital City are with state and municipal government, and locals treasure them. Especially valued are the union-protected jobs.

Maybe that’s why one woman decided to verbally harangue OMB Director Donna Arduin as Arduin was shopping in a local (and locally owned) store on Seward Street.

The woman was described by witnesses as emotionally overwrought and hostile, but she didn’t present an actual threat.

A posting on Facebook shows that such encounters could be more common for Arduin in this Big Government, Big Public Employee Union town.

Malena Marvin, a Bernie Sanders supporter, posted a request that people in Juneau “educate” Arduin, and post videos of themselves doing so onto their Facebook timelines.

Marvin’s post has now been shared more than 212 times, and by many Juneauites.

Arduin is in charge of producing a budget that is no more than the actual revenues that Alaska has, which is $4.6 billion. She’s made $1.6 billion in cuts from the budget offered in December by Gov. Bill Walker (which had grown substantially from the year before.)

Should Arduin be assigned a security detail? Must Read Alaska has asked the Governor’s Office to comment on whether the OMB director needs a body guard or if she’s going to have to fend for herself, but has not received an answer.

However, the first step has already been taken: As of 10 days ago, the door to the offices of OMB have been locked for the protection of the workers.

Juneau, it should be noted, is the third wealthiest city in Alaska, after the Denali Borough and Skagway. Juneau has 1,109 millionaire households out of a total of 12,986.

[Read: Juneau tops small cities with most millionaires.]

Hollis French report: Chronic, unexplained absences

Suzanne Downing
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11
Hollis French report: Chronic, unexplained absences

GOVERNOR PLACES OIL AND GAS CHIEF ON LEAVE

A hearing officer has determined that Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Chairman Hollis French was indeed chronically absent from his job and that his absenteeism “had a deleterious affect on office morale, employees and staff and caused a reallocation of work away from Commissioner French and to others.”

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has placed French on administrative leave, with pay. Not all of the charges against French were found to have merit, but there were enough that the governor must now decide if he should simply dismiss him.

In Petumenos’ report, Petemunos said the commission’s work was not delayed or affected in any material way because the other commissioners chose to cover for French by doing his work for him.

“While the notes/journal/diary contain some errors, the document presents substantial evidence that the overall pattern of Commissioner French’ s presence in the offices of AGOCC was perennially and significantly less than a full day. Leave slips did not account for these absences, which were more norm than the exception,” Petumenos wrote.

“Testifying witnesses presented by the State from the offices of the AOGCC agreed that Commissioner French’s absences had a deleterious affect on morale, showed poor leadership and created tension within the office. Witnesses from the office stated that workload was affected by Commissioner French’s absences such that others had to take on more responsibility. The Hearing Officer finds that Commissioner French routinely was absent from Commission offices for substantial parts of the normal workday and that this affected morale at the office, constituted poor leadership and resulted in reallocation

In other words, French was taking a paycheck from the State of Alaska, but not working. The other two commissioners kept things on track while French’s whereabout were unknown. They could not assume that they’d get relief in a complaint to the former governor, who appointed French to pay him back for a political favor. So they waited, and documented his offenses.

[Read: Where in the world is Hollis French?]

Ultimately, when Gov. Dunleavy was elected, the two other commissioners wasted no time in filing a complaint about French’s complete disregard for his duties.

On the other hand, the charge that French was browbeating the other commissioners was found to be lacking evidence. The hearing officer said that French was forceful in his opinions, but that didn’t constitute grounds for removal. Other complaints from the two oil and gas commissioners against French also didn’t stick.

But the charge that French violated security measures did seem to concern the hearing officer. French revealed the location of well data to a reporter, and later to a law student. French didn’t dispute that he revealed the safe where the well data was hid, and his action prompted the other two commissioners to write more specific rules about revealing locations of sensitive information.

The other two commissioners ended up moving the safe to another location without informing French, who only discovered it was moved when he again was revealing the safe to someone, which is when French discovered the safe had been moved.

In all, the report indicates that the governor has enough grounds to remove French from his position. It’s just a matter of him deciding whether he should do so.

House bipartisan majority team shaping up

Suzanne Downing
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7
House bipartisan majority team shaping up
CHUCK KOPP IS RULES CHAIR
The House Bipartisan Coalition, made up of 16 Democrats, one nonpartisan, two Republicans who have for years caucused with Democrats and six Republicans who crossed over, has formed its leadership group:
  • Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, is Speaker (on Monday he switched his party registration to U)
  • Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, is Rules Chair
  • Steve Thompson, R-Fairbanks is Majority Leader
  • Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, is Finance Co-Chair for Capital Budget
  • Neal Foster, D-Nome, is Finance Co-Chair for Operating Budget
  • Jennifer Johnston, R-Anchorage is Finance Vice Chair

Thursday marked Day 31 in the current legislative session.

The new bipartisan coalition has yet to announce other seats on committees. It appears there are 25 members of the caucus. No official announcement has been made.

OVERALL COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS – INCOMPLETE

Finance Committee Republican minority members: Cathy Tilton, Kelly Merrick, Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, Ben Carpenter.

Finance Committee Bipartisan majority members: Jennifer Johnston, Tammie Wilson, Adam Wool, Neal Foster, Bart LeBon.

Committee on Committees: Bryce Edgmon, Chuck Kopp, Jennifer Johnston, Tammie Wilson, Steve Thompson, Louise Stutes, Neal Foster.

A Republican minority has formed and their leadership team is announced in this story:

Republican minority announces leadership team

 

[This is a developing story. Check back]

Republican minority announces leadership team

Suzanne Downing
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3
Republican minority announces leadership team

PRUITT, TILTON, JOHNSON LEAD THE 15

The Alaska House Republican Caucus has elected Rep. Lance Pruitt (R-Anchorage) to serve as Minority Leader of the 15-member caucus. Rep. Cathy Tilton (R-Wasilla) will serve as the Republican Finance Leader and Rep. DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer) will serve as Minority Whip.

“Representative [Dave] Talerico has done a masterful job executing a strategy to get our caucus to this point,” said Rep. Pruitt. “The Governor has presented a budget to try and align spending with revenues, and we’ll be working closely with our colleagues to put Alaska on a sustainable path forward.”

The group is organized separately from the Republicans who have formed a leadership coalition with Democrats this morning. Those Republicans include Gary Knopp, Chuck Kopp and Jennifer Johnston, and the caucus is believed to be as large as 28, with 17 Democrats (including Rep. Daniel Ortiz of Ketchikan who identifies as an independent). The bipartisan caucus also claims two Republicans who have caucused with Democrats for several years — Louise Stutes and Gabrielle LeDoux.

The bipartisan caucus has a committee on committees meeting today to develop its leadership structure, including Rules chair, Majority leader, and Finance co-chairs.

Because Republicans have split into two groups doesn’t mean they won’t vote together on various bills that they receive in their committees or on the floor.

The House Republican Leadership Team, now a minority group rather than the 21-member majority that Republicans had in December, will hold a press availability tomorrow morning, Friday, February 15th, at 9 am.

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