A legislative ethics committee, which heard evidence on July 17 about whether Rep. David Eastman disclosed confidential information to a reporter, found clear and convincing evidence that he did.
Eastman had been kicked off the ethics committee last year for violating the confidentiality of the committee. He asked for the hearing, which went on for hours and was televised on Alaska Legislature’s online television.
Must Read Alaska is in travel status. Readers can read the decision here:
DHSS DEMANDS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS PAY BACK
Fifteen million dollars in billing errors by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services to health care providers resulted in overpayments during the past six months — overpayments that were easily not noticed by providers but are now being clawed back by the State.
About 1,100 medical providers will be required to return anywhere between a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece due to an administrative error, according to Deputy Commissioner Jon Sherwood, who oversees the Medicaid program. His department has made no formal announcement of the massive error and Commissioner Valerie Davidson is not taking a visible leadership role in managing the crisis for health care providers who are on the hook.
The Anchorage Daily News expands on the impacts of this mistake.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Last year, DHSS decided to roll back to its 2015 allowable reimbursement rates to save the State money, after Medicaid costs grew out of control.
The Medicaid program cost the State $1.7 billion plus $45 million in supplemental funds appropriated to keep the program from running out of money through the end of Fiscal Year 2018.
The rollback never happened due to an administrative oversight. The full reimbursements kept going out, and many medical providers simply assumed the rollback had not yet taken place.
The State is now demanding that medical providers pay back 10.3 percent of what Medicaid paid them between Oct. 1, 2017 and June 11, 2018.
Medical providers who contacted Must Read Alaska said they are stunned and furious that the State has shown such ineptitude in handling Medicaid payments, not discovering the error until June, long after workers have been paid and other payments have been made with the money.
“Governor Walker expands Medicaid, then cuts reimbursements by 10 percent, then fails to execute his reduction in a timely manner, so now is going back retroactively to take money back,” said one medical executive, clearly exasperated.
DHSS has made no public announcement of the situation and has yet to inform each provider what the back-due payments will be and when those payments are expected.
TREADWELL TOUTS HIS OWN EXPERIENCE AT PRESS CONFERENCE
Gubernatorial candidate Mead Treadwell compared his experience with that Mike Dunleavy today by holding a press conference, saying he is a “workhorse, not a show horse.” He outlined his extensive resume and said he is most qualified to be governor.
“I don’t have anything negative to say about Mike but ‘Where have you been?’ He wasn’t there for a vote on the Permanent Fund Protection Act. He wasn’t there to be a cosponsor for a repeal on SB 91.”
Treadwell said his research shows that when people know he has a business record and Dunleavy doesn’t, then he is neck-and-neck with Dunleavy in polling. He played a radio spot that will start soon.
On the same day, former Gov. Sean Parnell issued a statement saying he is endorsing Mike Dunleavy, a man who he has worked with when he was governor and Dunleavy was in the Senate.
Dunleavy is a person who will keep his word, he said, in contrast with Gov. Bill Walker, who has not.
Parnell said, “We need a governor who will once again look out for Alaskans’ interests, make us safer, create opportunity, and be a governor who will create a climate for more Alaska jobs. Mike Dunleavy will be that governor.”
Parnell said he found him honest, thoughtful, and passionate about protecting Alaskans and Alaska’s interests.
COLD-BLOODED MURDERER MUST CONTINUE TO SERVE HIS LIFE SENTENCE
Allen Walunga was denied parole by the Alaska Parole Board today.
On Dec. 10, 1972, he strangled and raped Juneauite Jody Stambaugh in her University of Alaska Fairbanks dorm room, where she had been sleeping. Walunga had a history of sexual attacks, and had snuck into her room, where he watched her sleep for 10-30 minutes before killing her.
Stambaugh had graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School and was studying home economics at UAF.
Walunga has applied for parole over the years, forcing the victim’s family to remain vigilant. Her brothers, now both retired, continue to attend every hearing that comes along.
Today’s parole hearing kept Walunga behind bars to continue serving what is a life sentence.
The parole board received 215 letters from Alaskans and they were packed into three-ring binders on the table at Goose Creek Correctional Institute.
Stambaugh’s brothers attended the hearing — one in person and the other by telephone. The other victim who was also strangled but who survived the attack attended, her husband at her side.
DeeDee Jonrowe, mushing legend in Alaska, also attended the parole hearing. She was a resident assistant in the dorm when Walunga killed Stambaugh. An advocate from the Office of Victims Rights was there as well for the entire hearing, which took less than a half an hour.
Walunga made his statement, saying he is not the same person he was 45 years ago. The victim’s family members and associated Alaskans made their statements. The parole board excused them from the room, and only took a few minutes to reach their decision to deny Walunga parole, and then told the group who had attended.
The original story of the gruesome case Must Read Alaska is here:
EXPECTS TO INVEST BILLIONS IN WILLOW FIELD
ConocoPhillips announced an update to its operating plan for Alaska yesterday, including spending $2-3 billion over the next four to five years to access oil discoveries in the Greater Willow Area.
In an upbeat report, the company confirmed that recent discoveries are estimated to be between a half-billion and 1.1 billion barrels (gross) of oil resource.
The 2016-2018 exploration and appraisal efforts in the In the Greater Willow Area resulted in finding enough resource to justify a stand-alone hub, which is a major investment for any company.
Over the past few years, ConocoPhillips has reduced its costs and advanced its technology in the Arctic. In addition to its find of oil in the Greater Willow Area, a more competitive tax system in Alaska led the company to plan for significant investment here, while other companies have continued to balk at the ever-changing tax structure.
ConocoPhillips estimates its 2016-2018 exploration and appraisal campaign discovered 400-750 million barrels of oil equivalent, gross resource. The company is preparing to launch the Willow permitting process. First oil can be achieved by 2024-2025, and then will ramp quickly to full production.
After the initial investment, the company estimates an additional $2-3 billion of cumulative drilling capital will be spent over several years to maintain production at this facility and drill out the field.
The company’s legacy asset base consists of a non-operating interest in the Prudhoe Bay Field, an operating interest in the Kuparuk Field and an operating interest in the Alpine Field/Western North Slope assets.
In 2018, the company acquired additional interest in the Alpine Field/Western North Slope assets and announced it entered into an agreement to acquire additional interest in the Kuparuk Field, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
These legacy assets are expected to yield approximately 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2018.
The cost of supply of the new resource is estimated to be less than $40 per barrel, the company announced. It has a 100 percent working interest in this resource.
In addition to exploration in the Greater Willow Area, the 2018 exploration campaign included the drilling, coring and flow testing of the Putu and Stony Hill wells in the Narwhal trend south of Alpine.
The company expects another active exploration and appraisal season in 2019.
“We believe that the company’s Alaska plan aligns with our disciplined, returns-focused strategy, supports Alaska’s economy and creates significant value for shareholders,” said Ryan Lance, chairman and chief executive officer. “Alaska provides competitive investment opportunities and will generate profitable growth from diversified investments with significant exploration upside. We are proud of the value we create for the State of Alaska through the revenues we generate, the jobs we create and the community investments we make. Our shareholders realize the advantages of ANS-priced oil, competitive cash and earnings margins from our operations and our years of expertise and sound stewardship. We plan to continue to strive to safely unlock the energy potential of this world-class oil province for years to come and play an active role in Alaska’s economic future.”
A find this size, within 28 miles of existing infrastructure, is significant. On federal land, the oil would go through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and be subject to royalties and taxes that the State of Alaska and local governments like the North Slope Borough would receive. Alaskans would get their share of royalties through their Permanent Fund dividends.
The development phase of Willow will bring potentially thousands of jobs online. Much of that would spin through the currently faltering Alaska economy and, especially, the heavily battered oilfield services industry.
KYUK public radio in Bethel reports that two more Native villages voted to oppose the proposed Donlin Mine in Western Alaska.
The station, without attributing it to a specific person or providing a link to a supporting document, said the villages of Napakiak and Kongiganak passed resolutions last week against the mine, claiming it would damage their subsistence way of life.
KYUK has been providing information to listeners on how to get involved in protesting the mine.
Both tribal councils, and two that passed resolutions earlier this month, live on subsistence, government checks, and dividends that come from their Native Corporations. The biggest employers in these villages are typically the public schools. The villages are relatively primitive in nature, with weather-worn housing and bucket toilets called “honey buckets” instead of western-style sanitation. Many in the area speak Yup’ik.
The population of Napakiak and Kongiganak are 354 and 439 respectively. The two other villages that passed resolutions were Tuluksak Native Community Village Council and Orutsaramiut Native Council.
[Read: Two tribes oppose Donlin mine.]
In April, Gov. Bill Walker issued a statement praising the proposed mining project at Donlin, and lauded its “engagement, commitment to highest environmental and regulatory standards.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is due to issue its record of decision in August on the environmental impact statement, which will outline any mitigation needed to protect the watershed.
“This is great news for Alaska, a major step toward development of a gold mine that would bring jobs to the Yukon-Kuskokwim region and help utilize Alaska’s vast natural resources,” Gov. Walker said in April. “The Donlin Gold project still has a long way to go in the permitting process before construction and operations can begin, but the company has already proven its commitment to engage local stakeholders and make sure all development is responsible and minimizes impacts on nearby communities and the environment.”
Walker has, however, opposed the proposed Pebble Project, a couple of hundred miles away, which is still in the permitting process. Walker said that the review process for Pebble should be suspended altogether due to the lack of economic feasibility studies, which drew a public statement from the company’s CEO Tom Collier, who said, “We find it incredibly disappointing that the governor’s request to suspend the NEPA process is nearly identical to that brought forward by the anti-Alaska, anti-development Natural Resources Defense Council. We expect this type of stall tactic from ENGOs opposed to any kind of development but not from the Governor of Alaska and especially when the project is on Alaska land. Frankly, the governor does not make a compelling case to suspend the NEPA process.”
In April, the Natural Resources Defense Council indicated it has Donlin on its action list, writing, “Although Donlin Creek has received less public opposition than the controversial Pebble Mine project near Bristol Bay, indigenous communities and state environmental groups are speaking out against the mine.”
At that point, no community had spoken out against the proposed mine, which is estimated to provide thousands of jobs during construction and over 1,000 jobs during its operations, which is expected to last for decades.
The Anchorage Daily News has new standards for candidates’ commentaries that appear on its pages. Today it revised its guidelines to specify that in general it will not publish links to campaign material from candidates’ columns or letters to the editor.
Last week, several newspapers around the state ran a column from Gov. Bill Walker that encouraged people to watch a three-minute video produced by his campaign specifically to be used as a link to his free commentary on the editorial pages of the newspaper and other newspapers around the state.
The campaign video is linked here.
The Fairbanks News-Miner still has the video link in the op-ed. That newspaper is a for-profit entity owned by a nonprofit organization.
Must Read Alaska flagged this last week as the equivalent of a corporate contribution that would be a violation of Alaska Public Offices Commission regulations, although such an instance has never been tested in Alaska, to our knowledge.
Under new ownership of the Binkley Company, the ADN has also returned to the policy of endorsing candidates and ballot initiatives. The parameters of the endorsements are below. As the largest news outlet in the state, the ADN’s new guidelines are worth reviewing for any candidate running for public office:
“We will aim to provide a platform for candidates and their supporters on all sides, particularly those running for local and statewide office. The above guidelines apply, and we reserve the right not to publish any submission for any reason.
“Candidate-written pieces: For state offices, starting on June 1 of the election year, ADN will consider publishing up to one commentary per month per candidate. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are considered separate candidates. Our strong preference is that commentaries be issue-focused and not a general ‘Here’s-why-I’m-running.’ In general, we do not publish links to campaign literature in op-ed columns or letters to the editor.
“Third-party endorsements: We’ll publish no more than one per week for any candidate/ticket, and reserve the right not to publish submissions. Submissions must be original. We’ll make an effort to provide balance in space given to the respective campaigns.
“Letters to the editor: There’s no limit on letters to the editor beyond our standard one-per-month-per-person limit, but we do not have space to publish all letters we receive. What we publish will be a representative sampling of what we receive.
“Candidate endorsements: The ADN will consider endorsing candidates or positions on ballot measures that in the judgment of the Editorial Board have been deemed to be in the best interest of the state or city. Guests are invited to editorial board meetings and will be scheduled on an first-come, first-served basis with priority given to statewide elections and ballot initiatives. Candidates for statewide election will be allowed one ed-board meeting per election (once before the primary, once before the general). All other candidates are only eligible for one meeting. For more info, please contact Opinions Editor Tom Hewitt.”
The news program, Alaska Fish Radio, a production of Laine Welch, published an action alert to its followers on Facebook, advising commercial fishers to re-register as undeclared or nonpartisan voters. She wants them to vote in the Aug. 21 primary, and vote against Mike Dunleavy — but for Mead Treadwell.
Alaska Fish Radio, heard on 30 radio stations, has received awards for public service programming from the Alaska Press Club. On its official Facebook page, it routinely bashes President Donald Trump. Now it’s is going after Mike Dunleavy with a fillet knife.
Sponsors of Alaska Fish Radio include the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (which gets $1 million from the State of Alaska each year), the nonprofit Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, and the nonprofit Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center. Ocean Beauty Seafoods is also a sponsor.
Welch writes a column called Fish Factor, which appears in newspapers across the state.
Here is the alert, in full:
Action alert for Alaskans:
Mike Dunleavy would be a disaster for Alaska fishing communities and the fishing industry!! Any AK voter who is registered as Undeclared or Nonpartisan can vote in the August 21 primary where voters will choose between Dunleavy and Mead Treadwell as the candidate who will run against Walker (Independent) and Begich (Democrat).
If you want to vote in the Republican primary (even if you do not intend to vote for a Republican in the Nov. general election) you must change your registration to U or N by July 20.
An economic and conservation disaster is unfolding on the Kenai River, says the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. But Cook Inlet commercial fishery is proceeding as if everything is normal.
The group is calling on the governor to stop further set net fishing until more kings and sockeye salmon enter the Kenai River.
Sport fisherman, guides, and outfitters say the season has been nearly a complete loss for them.
“Consistent with salmon management plans for Cook Inlet, the Board of Directors of Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA) respectfully asks you to direct the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to stop further commercial set net fishing until more kings and sockeye salmon enter the Kenai River. Failure to do so now could jeopardize sustainability of future returns and will further jeopardize an already failing sport fishing and tourism economy on the Kenai Peninsula,” the group wrote to Gov. Bill Walker on Friday.
“Escapement goals are not yet assured and while commercial fishermen have harvested almost one half million sockeye salmon and 1,700 king salmon so far this season, the public fisheries are offered almost no harvest opportunity because of the low numbers of fish entering the river,” the group said.
Commercial set netters have harvested more than 10 times the number of large-size king salmon than have sport anglers, according to KRSA. Commercial fishers have harvested 1,816 king salmon as of July 9.
“Upper Cook Inlet ADFG commercial fishery managers are now considering whether or not to deploy any or all of the commercial fishery this Saturday or Sunday. Managers must resist the temptation to fish even some of the gear available. We need those fish in the river. Keep the entire set net fishery on the beach until there are more fish in the Kenai River!”
ADF&G issued a sportfishing restriction for roadside streams starting Monday, with gear restricted to one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure. The restriction runs through the end of the month due to low kings among returns.
Sockeye harvest numbers are lagging, with the commercial fleet landing 307,086 sockeye by July 9. Last year, the fleet had caught nearly twice that.
As for the river, by last week just 51,308 sockeye had passed the sonar on the Kenai River, half of what had appeared in 2017.