Page 1616 – Must Read Alaska

Rep. DeLena Johnson’s Pearl Harbor missile scare

The 907

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January 13, 2018

STORIES FOR THE GRANDKIDS

Rep. DeLena Johnson of Palmer and her husband Steve were finishing a six-day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands when, while still aboard their ship in Pearl Harbor, Johnson received a text message:

“Emergency Alert. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

“I thought maybe being in Pearl Harbor was not the best place to be because good things don’t happen to ships in this harbor,” she said today by phone. Johnson represents the Palmer area, District 11. She also served as mayor of the City of Palmer.

Eventually, they were allowed to disembark, and joined what looked like a thousand other passengers in the terminal. Police were at the doors and they were not being allowed to leave the terminal.

Johnson called a friend of hers who serves in the Hawaii Legislature and asked him if the alarm was real. Yes, he said, and he and his children were in the bathtub in the middle of their house, the safest place they could find.

A fellow ship passenger said she received the same alert and also a notification that her flight home had been cancelled.

“People had no idea what was going on. There was a little bit of panic,” Johnson said. The entire scare lasted about 40 minutes before another message came through, saying the alert was a false alarm.

By then, Johnson was recalling that when she made the reservation to take the cruise, she had joked with Norwegian Cruise Lines about North Korea’s missile threat. But she never thought she’d be in the middle of what seemed like a credible warning.

The two were taking it easy in Honolulu today before heading back to Anchorage, and then to Juneau, where the Alaska Legislature will gavel in on Tuesday for the 90-day session.

Hawaii emergency officials confirmed that the alert went out when a state emergency worker pushed the wrong button. The mistake happened during a shift change when employees were going over their checklists.

Capitol notebook: It could be ugly; then again …

Columns

Suzanne Downing

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January 13, 2018

1

By BILL McALLISTER
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE
Jan. 13, 2002

(Dear Reader: You read that date right. This column is from Jan. 13, 2002, when Juneau Empire reporter Bill McAllister was pondering the legislative session just ahead. McAllister was a colleague of Must Read Alaska Editor Suzanne Downing, and he passed away Dec. 15, 2017. But his writing had grace and marvelous cadence then, and is pertinent today. We offer this one in his memory.- SD)

“The Legislature is about to descend on you,” former Gov. Jay Hammond warned a Juneau audience Friday.

So let’s brace ourselves for what could be, starting Monday, four months of the most acrimonious public discourse in memory.

Omens abound:

Republican House Speaker Brian Porter says the budget proposal by Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles is “irresponsible” and “disingenuous,” proving that in seven years “he hasn’t learned a damned thing.”

Rep. Scott Ogan, a hard-right conservative Republican, says Knowles did an “unconscionable” – and impeachable – thing in dropping the Katie John subsistence case. Ogan said he’s not sure he’ll show up in the House chamber Wednesday night for the governor’s final State of the State address.

Dave Donley, Republican co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is blasting the administration for not proposing budget cuts in the face of billion-dollar deficits. “The true legacy of the Knowles administration is the complete failure of its fiscal policy,” Donley said.

Conversely, Knowles’ chief of staff, David Ramseur, has counseled commissioners to develop an agenda that will put the Republican majority “in a box” as the administration makes its bid for the history books.

And while Republican leaders are moving toward a more open, constructive relationship with the Capitol press corps – agreeing to weekly on-the-record briefings for the first time – an emerging strategy among certain Democratic legislators, staff and activists seems to be quick condemnation of reporters who don’t do exactly what they want.

Throw in the redistricting battle, 57 legislative campaigns, the race for governor, the dispute over who appoints the next U.S. senator if Frank Murkowski is elected governor, and you have an unbeatable recipe for ugly.

And yet …

Knowles raises the possibility that incredibly demanding times – with the fiscal gap threatening to throw the state into chaos in two years – could move leaders beyond partisanship. He has a vested interest in having a successful session, of course, but presumably so do Republicans.

The governor’s professed optimism in a subsistence solution this year is hard to understand, but maybe it takes a seemingly quixotic attitude to achieve the biggest breakthroughs.

In the House, Porter has not ruled out a Committee of the Whole approach in working on long-range fiscal issues with Democrats, doing business out in the open.

And with Porter and Senate President Rick Halford pledging to address the “urban-rural divide” this session, isn’t it premature to abandon hope? Maybe it’s the season of miracles.

Porter has dropped strong hints that this session is his last. “Getting into a Legislature isn’t supposed to be a life sentence,” he said recently.

He’ll be missed.

“Brian Porter is a wonderful person,” said Democratic Rep. Mary Kapsner of Bethel. “I think the speaker is a bridge-builder, to the extent he can be.”

“Brian has been the most balanced, professional leader,” said Rep. Bill Hudson, a Juneau Republican.

It’s not clear who would replace Porter as speaker, should Republicans hold the majority after the election. Under the redistricting plan currently before the courts, House Majority Leader Jeannette James would face fellow North Pole Republican incumbent John Coghill.

I had the honor Friday morning of playing chauffeur to Hammond as he made the rounds of talk shows and speaking engagements. Although he’s using a cane now, he remains feisty and a bit of a quote machine. A sample:

“There are three stages in life: youth, adulthood and ‘Gee, you look great.’ “

“I hear as well as I used to, but everybody started mumbling.”

“(It should be) emblazoned on the brow or buttocks of every legislator, depending on where their brain is located: … ‘Thou shalt not spend any more than thou art willing to tax for.’ “

Countdown: Anchorage will vote by mail

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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January 13, 2018

5

IT’S NOT THAT FAR AWAY

This week, the Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s Office mailed a second set of address verification postcards to 208,000 qualified registered voters in the municipality.

Anchorage voters should receive their postcard in the mail this week.

The postcard asks you to review your current mailing address so you’ll get a ballot in the mail in about two months. Ballot packages that are undeliverable will not be forwarded by the U.S. Postal Service.

If your information is wrong, there’s still time to correct it. To update your voter information, visit the State of Alaska’s Online Voter Registration website.

Alternately, if you are qualified for a 2018 Permanent Fund dividend, you will automatically be registered to vote when you apply for it under the new system voters approved that provides for automatic registration and updating of your address for elections purposes. That deadline is March 31, but for the Anchorage Municipal Election, you’ll need to get on it now.

Apply for your Permanent Fund dividend here.

BRAVE NEW WORLD OF STAMPS AND ENVELOPES

Anchorage will no longer operate as many traditional polling locations. The ones that will be operating — for those needing extra assistance — will not be in the usual neighborhoods.

Instead, qualified registered voters will be mailed a ballot package 21 days before Election Day: March 13. That is the day people will start filling in their bubbles.

Voters will need to think like an absentee voter and return their ballots via mail or an election drop box, which will be like a mail box in various locations around the city. (Parents may need to show their millennial offspring how to use stamps and envelopes.)

EASY AS 1-2-3-FRAUD

Vote by mail may be ripe for fraud.

If you’re like many Anchorage residents, you’ll see verification postcards for yourself and several others — people who used to live at your address, such as the one received by this Anchorage voter at her apartment address:

There’s no instructions given on what to do with all the extra ballot verification postcards. Likely there are thousands of these misdirected cards being received throughout the city.

The elections office is using signature verification to ensure that people are who they say they are, but it’s unclear if this is adequate. The absentee ballot is considered the least secure ballot and the most prone to fraud.

WHO IS RUNNING

Two declared mayoral candidates will appear on the ballot so far: Rebecca Logan, who runs the Alaska Support Industry Alliance trade group, and current mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who is finishing his first term.

In addition, three school board seats are up for election: Seats D, E, and F. Numerous candidates have filed for them. Must Read Alaska will cover the races for those seats in coming days.

Prospective candidates will need to file with the Alaska Public Offices Commission before they raise any funds (more than $5,000), and file officially with the municipality between Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.

CAMPAIGNING GETS REAL

The early voting means Anchorage voters will start choosing the local leaders on about March 13. By the time the sun rises on April 3, most of the ballots will already have been marked and in.

Candidates are having to change their strategies to address this new calendar, where essentially everyone is going to an absentee ballot format.

Will there be a need for the traditional sign-waving on April 3? Or will volunteers be better used going door to door to get people to turn in their ballots? How will candidates pace their resources as the April 3 deadline closes in?

VOTER QUESTIONS? ATTEND A PRESENTATION

The Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s Office is accepting requests for community presentations about how vote by mail will work in the April 3 municipal election.

If your group would like a Vote by Mail presentation, the clerk will review your request at www.muni.org/VBMpresentationrequest.

Tell them Must Read Alaska sent you.

David Rubenstein into the Rogoff bankruptcy fray

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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January 12, 2018

6

David Rubenstein into the Rogoff bankruptcy fray

A LOT OF FORMERS, ALL IN COURT

The former husband of the former owner of the Alaska Dispatch News is getting involved in the bankruptcy proceedings of his former wife, Alice Rogoff.

Rogoff filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 12, and that proceeding eventually became a Chapter 7 liquidation, which is now being sorted out by the courts. David Rubenstein, her ex, is getting dragged in.

This week, Rogoff’s attorney asked the court to hold off granting access to her bank accounts until Rubenstein’s lawyers can take a look at them.

Rogoff is battling the bankruptcy plaintiffs who want her to use her personal finances to make whole the dozens of creditors she — or her broken company technically — has across Alaska. There are debts in the millions of dollars to everyone from reporters to GCI. In addition, she said her company owes her over $16 million, too.

Rogoff sold the news operation to the Binkley Company in September for $1 million after she had run the newspaper into the ground. The Binkley Co. restored the newspaper’s former name, the Anchorage Daily News.

While Rubenstein’s finanical strength would allow the jet-setting financier to simply pay off Rogoff’s creditors, he’s evidently not willing to do that yet. Instead, he has hired lawyers to file an objection to anyone seeing the terms of their marital settlement.

“Rogoff’s ex-husband David Rubenstein has a contractual confidentiality right in the MSA (marital settlement agreement) that must be respected,” his attorneys wrote the courts. If the terms of the settlement are probed, Rubenstein’s lawyers are saying they’ll seek remedies, although they don’t say what remedies they have in mind.

Rogoff is politically connected, but Rubenstein is a political powerhouse, and that might come into play. If the contractors, suppliers and former landlords thought they were simply battling an eccentric heiress who skips out on her bills, they’re now facing a sultan of the upper crust of American society, one who has real resources that he can bring to bear.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce has the latest twists and turns in a case that has fascinated Alaskans.

[Read: Rubenstein wants agreement with ex-wife kept out of court]

Heads and tails: Babies, whiners and women marchers edition

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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January 11, 2018

5

How many people could there be in Juneau named Heidi Drygas? The only one we know is the Commissioner of Labor … no pun intended.

Heidi Drygas gave birth to Olive Jane Sund on Dec. 23, 2017. The baby’s grandmother is DeeDee MacKinnon Sund, her great grandmother is Jane MacKinnon, who is the mother of John MacKinnon, who is married to Sen. Anna MacKinnon, and all this may mean the youngster is Juneau royalty and also has some tie to mining claims. Olive’s grandfather is former state representative John Sund, the family says. She is fourth-generation Juneau.

Fuller Cowell is retiring as the publisher of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner next month, and Richard Harris, now the publisher of the Kodiak Daily Mirror, will take the reins on Feb. 5. Cowell will continue as a consultant for a few months and remain on the paper’s editorial board. He’s had a 50-year career in the newspaper business. As for the Kodiak Daily Mirror, Robert Monteith is the new publisher. He has been editor of the newspaper for about a year.

Christopher Clark has signed on to work for Senate Finance as an aide to Sen. Click Bishop. Clark worked for Rep. Cathy Munoz and other lawmakers and knows his way around the Capitol and where every body is buried.

Fainting spell: President Trump called Haiti a sh—hole, former Sen. Bill Stoltze called a representative a f—ing c—, and although we mourn the loss of civility, there’s far too much whining over things that are not sticks and stones. Last year it was “Black Lives Matter,” and this year it’s the “Me Too” and now everyone seems to need a panic room when someone is impolite or having a potty-mouth episode. Not everything is sexual harassment and not everything in politics is bullying. Just saying.

Downtown Partnership: An email sent from the Anchorage Downtown Partnership caught the eye of a Must Read Alaska reader. Evidently the Partnership is now openly promoting a highly partisan women’s march on Jan. 20 — and even reminding people to wear their pink hats.

MAYOR DEBLASIO: The mayor of New York City is crowding in on the territory of Al Gore, announcing today that he is suing the fossil fuel industry, and saying the city will divest itself of $5 billion its pension funds have invested in fossil fuels. The mayor will be suing BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell and will assert that the oil companies are like tobacco companies — they were aware that fossil fuels caused climate change but engaged in the business anyway.

Shrinking population, Sam’s Club closing

Anchorage Daily Planet

Suzanne Downing

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January 11, 2018

7

Shrinking population, Sam’s Club closing

It’s not your imagination — there really are fewer people in Alaska than a couple of years ago.

According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the state’s population dropped for the first time in 29 years.

We’re now at 737,080, down 2,629 since 2016. Out-migration has been negative for five years in a row, meaning that more people are leaving the state than moving in.

Last year at this time, the department announced that the state’s population had actually increased by 2,645 people—about one-third of 1 percent—from July 2015 to July 2016. Most of that came from babies being born.

New births are keeping the population from not falling faster, but they are not keeping up with the number of people who are moving out of the state.

Alaska’s job market is the worst in the nation, with unemployment remaining above 7 percent. As employable people move out of state, the demographic make-up will shift to both an older population, and a very young one, neither of which are part of the workforce.

Alaska lost 6,300 jobs in 2016, and 3,600 jobs in 2017. This year, another 1,800 jobs are projected to disappear, for a total of 11,800 jobs in three years.

The birth rate is the lowest it has been in over a decade, with 10,786 babies born in 2017. The number of deaths, 4,530, is the highest on record.

Here’s the breakdown on where Alaskans live:

SAM’S CLUB CLOSING IN ALASKA

Sam’s Club will close its Alaska locations on Jan. 26. The company has three stores in Alaska — two in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks. Today the stores are shuttered while the staff prepares for going-out-of-business sales. They’ll open tomorrow, and people who purchased membership cards can stop in and get their fees refunded.

Sam’s Club tweeted out the news: “After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we’ve decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.”

Sams Club stores in other states will also be closing. The news came at the same time Walmart announced it will increase its hourly minimum wage to $11 and give bonuses of $1,000 to many of its workers.

Don Young, Dean of House, praised by Pelosi?

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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January 10, 2018

0

Don Young, Dean of House, praised by Pelosi?

The U.S. House of Representatives took time today to recognize Rep. Don Young as Dean of the House. It is mostly an honorary position for the longest-serving member, which Young became in December at the sudden resignation of Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.

[Read: Breaking: Don Young now Dean of the House]

As speaker after speaker rose to gently both rib and compliment the new Dean, even Rep. Nancy Pelosi had accolades for him, including this one, which will come in handy as he campaigns for his 24th term: “As a former teacher, he is an advocate for quality education for all,” she said.

Such praise from a known staunch Democrat, who normally opposes anything Republican, might give pause to Young’s new opponent Alyse Galvin, who is one of the prime movers behind a small-but-vociferous group called Great Alaska Schools.

Watch the Pelosi speech in its entirety:

The finalists for District 40: Two from Kotzebue, one from Barrow

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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January 10, 2018

3

Must Read Alaska has learned that Alaska Democrats have forwarded three names to Gov. Bill Walker for the District 40 House seat vacated by Rep. Dean Westlake of Kotzebue and Kiana.

They are Leanna Mack (maiden name Russell) of Barrow, Sandy Shroyer-Beaver and Eugene Smith of Kotzebue, shown from left to right in the photo.

The governor is likely to select his choice by Friday so that the chosen candidate can get to Juneau for confirmation when the House gavels in on Monday for its 90-day session. The House Democrats must approve of the governor’s choice before the individual can be sworn in.

Because the governor has been given two women’s names, it seems unlikely that he’ll choose Smith. It was Westlake who was asked to resign by his own Democrat-led caucus for harassing women, which makes it difficult for Walker to choose Smith over the two women’s names he was given.

[Read: The election of a predator]

The seat will come up for election next year. Westlake served less than a full year of his two-year term, after beating Ben Nageak of Barrow by eight votes in an election that many observers say was fraudulently run.

LeDoux killed resolution to recognize sexual assault awareness month

Suzanne Downing

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January 10, 2018

2

LeDoux killed resolution to recognize sexual assault awareness month

BUT NOW EVERYONE MUST TAKE TRAINING

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux issued an edict this month that demands every member of the House of Representative take a sexual harassment prevention course, or she will strip them of their staff.

Yet a year ago, LeDoux prevented a simple recognition that April is Sexual Awareness Month — from reaching the House floor for a vote.

Instead, she smothered Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 in the Rules Committee after an amendment was added that she didn’t approve of.

Why? Because Rep. Geran Tarr put in an amendment to add child abuse to the resolution. And Rep. David Eastman amended that amendment by adding abortion to child abuse.

That was something that LeDoux could not advance to the House Floor — not in her role as Rules chair for a Democrat-led House majority.

Readers familiar with the incident will recall it blowing up when Rep. Lora Reinbold asked LeDoux why she would not accept amendments.

“Because I don’t want any amendments,” LeDoux replied. She quickly adjourned the meeting as she and Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak put their heads together and laughed. But the next day she accepted the abortion amendment, and then proceeded to kill the bill by not allowing it to the floor for a vote.

For the first time in many years, the Legislature did not recognize the problem of sexual assault — in a state that has the highest rates of sexual assault in the nation.

[Read: House Majority on Gabby damage control over bill]

LeDoux is under a cloud regarding her ability to do her job because, as the person in charge of the legislative staff during session, she allowed a staff member who worked for Rep. Scott Kawasaki to be harassed by former Rep. Dean Westlake, who has since resigned.

How much she knew about the ongoing harassment is unclear, but the legislative aide made the complaint in a letter to House Majority Leader Chris Tuck and Speaker Byron Edgmon in March of 2017, neither of whom acted to sanction Westlake or counsel him about his behavior.

Westlake went on to harass numerous other women who worked for the Legislature, according to accounts given to the Democrat-led majority. It wasn’t until the original complainant took the matter to the public that the House Majority leadership took action.

LeDoux’s negligence led Rep. Tammie Wilson to call for her to step down as Rules chair.

[Read: LeDoux: I have no intention of resigning]

Rep. DeLena Johnson’s Pearl Harbor missile scare

Capitol notebook: It could be ugly; then again …

Countdown: Anchorage will vote by mail

David Rubenstein into the Rogoff bankruptcy fray

Heads and tails: Babies, whiners and women marchers edition

Shrinking population, Sam’s Club closing

Don Young, Dean of House, praised by Pelosi?

The finalists for District 40: Two from Kotzebue, one from Barrow

LeDoux killed resolution to recognize sexual assault awareness month

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