“This is a critical time for Alaska. A turning point,” the new owner of the Alaska Dispatch News told a crowd of 150 business-focused Alaskans at the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce’s fall forum in Sitka today.
Ryan Binkley also said he’s in the market for a publisher.
But he started his presentation with humor and a Power Point slide that asked, in big letters “Why?”
That, no doubt, was the question on the minds of his audience members, who watched the previous owner of the Alaska Dispatch News descend into financial ruin.
Binkley said that because Alaska is at a crossroads, now is a time when an informed population is more important than ever. That was a driving force for the Binkley family to purchase the newspaper in the first place.
He acknowledged that although the newspaper industry is in decline, the Alaska Dispatch News still has a huge segment of the news and ad market in Alaska, at over 47 percent, and that reasons for continuing its publication made good business sense, and it was also good for the state.
Binkley, son of well-known Fairbanks businessman and civic leader John Binkley, promised the business community the paper will be dedicated to accuracy, fairness, and accountability. And he acknowledged the need for the Dispatch to rebuild relationships in the community and across the state. The message, according to several in the room, was well delivered, and well received.
Binkley told business leaders that next week is when printing will be taken over by Wick Communications, which owns The Frontiersman newspaper, which serves the Mat-Su Valley and the Anchorage Press, an entertainment weekly.
Wick had once been in contract talks with former publisher Alice Rogoff to print th paper, but she pulled out at the last minute and purchased a press from Indiana, which never was operational and has become an albatross around her neck. The Binkley Co. decided not to take the press as part of its purchase.
The newspaper will also change format, he said, and will cover more local and Anchorage news. He hinted at a name change.
Scott Hawkins, candidate for governor of Alaska, has raised questions about Gov. Bill Walker’s decision to keep the State out of tribal criminal justice proceedings that involve the punishment of “banishment.”
“Like many Alaskans, I am concerned about law and justice, so I find it a bit mystifying and extraordinary that the Attorney General of the State of Alaska would walk away from important criminal justice issues and, specifically, her duty to protect rural Alaskans,” he wrote.
While tribal banishment may have a place in a rural criminal justice system, Gov. Walker and Attorney General Lindemuth have not put any definition around it, Hawkins said, and cited examples of where sideboards need to be placed in this new State policy:
Which communities will be allowed to administer tribal justice, including banishment? Could any community institute it?
How will decisions be made about which communities can and cannot?
Beyond banishment, how about imprisonment? Cruel and unusual punishment?
What are the requirements for due process? Are there any?
What will happen when justice is administered by a tribe and it leads to an Alaskan’s death due to lack of training and oversight?
“There are just too many unanswered questions for the Walker Administration to have washed its hands of the tribal justice issue so completely and so early, without defining a coherent policy.
“At the very least, Gov. Walker needs to clarify the parameters of his new ‘rural justice policy.’ Alaskans need to know in advance which communities they may travel to and still have their rights protected by the U.S. and Alaska Constitutions.”
Hawkins, a business entrepreneur and well-known figure in Alaska politics, filed a letter of intent to run for governor in September.
Send your political event items to suzanne @ mustreadalaska.com. Here’s what we’re serving up this week:
Oct. 17: Rep. George Rauscher meet and greet and fundraiser at Pinnacle Mountain RV, 26616 North Glenn Hwy in Sutton, 6-8 pm.
Oct. 19: Visions for Victory Series: Crime and Punishment in Anchorage, sponsored by Anchorage Republican Women’s Club. The Center, 4855 Arctic Blvd., Anchorage, 6-8 pm.
Oct. 19: Scott Hawkins for Governor evening presentation at Valley Republican Women Club, Mat-Su Restaurant, 7 pm.
Oct. 19: Don Young for Congress fundraising reception, 3822 Locarno Drive, (Ashlock residence), Anchorage, 5:30 -7:00 pm.
Oct. 19: Senate Majority fundraiser to support the team standing for Alaska’s economy. Hosts Senators Pete Kelly, Click Bishop, John Coghill, Cathy Giessel, Anna MacKinnon, Kevin Meyer, Peter Micciche, Bert Stedman, Gary Stevens, Natasha von Imhof David Wilson. Crowne Plaza Hotel, International Blvd. at C Street, 5-7:30 pm
Oct. 19: Mia Costello for Senate fundraiser, Jens Restaurant, 701 W. 36th, noon – 1:30 pm
Oct. 20: Charlie Huggins for Governor fundraiser, 36357 Sylvan Circle, Soldotna, 6-9 pm.
Oct. 20: Sen. Pete Kelly luncheon presentation at Friday Interior GOP/ Fairbanks Republican Women, Denny’s Restaurant, 11:30 am.
Oct. 21: Mike Chenault for Governor at Rie Munoz Gallery in Juneau, 5-7 pm
Oct 21: Charlie Huggins for Governor meet and greet, Challenger Learning Center, Kenai, 11 am -1 pm
Oct. 23: Bart LeBon for House District 1fundraiser, North Pole Coffee Roaster, 1502 Minnie Street in the rail industrial rail, 5:30-7 pm.
Oct. 24: Charlie Huggins for Governor fundraiser at Nesbett house, 10900 Kamishak Bay Circle, Anchorage. Time TBA
Oct. 27: Sen. Click Bishop luncheon presentation at Friday Interior GOP/ Fairbanks Republican Women, Denny’s Restaurant, 11:30 am
Nov. 3: Sue Hull, State Board of Education, luncheon presentation at Friday Interior GOP/ Fairbanks Republican Women, Denny’s Restaurant, 11:30 am
Nov. 10: Bart LeBon, candidate for House District 1, luncheon presentation at Friday Interior GOP/ Fairbanks Republican Women, Denny’s Restaurant, 11:30 am
Nov. 15-16: Resource Development Council conference, Dena’ina Center in Anchorage.
Nov. 3: Republican Women of Anchorage Masquerade Gala at 49th State Brewing Co. in Anchorage, 6:30 pm.
Send political calendar items to suzanne @ mustreadalaska.com
On Sept. 18, Charles Wohlforth posted an opinion in the Alaska Dispatch News with a headline that read: “A fourth of Alaska students are chronically absent. No wonder test scores are so bad.”
He wrote, “If parents are satisfied with ignorance, so will their children be.”
But there’s a bit more to the story beyond “bad” parents.
Students who miss more than 10 percent of school days are considered “chronically absent.” According to a 2016 study from The Hamilton Project, Alaska has the 3rd highest rate of chronic school absenteeism in the US (the only two places that did worse were Washington State and Washington DC).
With our high rate of absenteeism it’s easy to see why Mr. Wohlforth could jump to his conclusion that Alaska’s low test scores are a result of kids skipping school. Let’s dig a little deeper:
Washington State, with a slightly worse rate of chronic absenteeism than Alaska, was ranked 5th in the US in 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores, while Alaska was 47th.
On average, Washington state students scored 9.7 points higher on 4th and 8th grade reading and math NAEP tests than Alaska students of the same economic strata.
Given that students are expected to improve about 10 points per year on NAEP measurements, Washington students are achieving around one entire school year ahead of their peers in Alaska in NAEP testing, despite their slightly worse attendance.
Students in Washington, D.C. have a chronic absentee that is rate 21 percent higher than Alaska. Despite that appalling absentee rate, the D.C. average 2015 NAEP test scores are 3.9 NAEP points better than Alaska’s students — or three to four months more advanced in achievement.
Don’t get me wrong — chronic absenteeism clearly hurts student outcomes. All states would certainly achieve at higher levels if they could find ways to keep more kids in class more often.
This is where public policy comes in. The trend of rampant absenteeism seems to be a regional West Coast phenomenon. The four states with the worst chronic attendance figures in the US are, (in order) Washington, Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii.
The exception to that Pacific coast trend is California. While every other Pacific state has a chronic absentee rate between 19.7-24.6 percent, California, with the highest percentage of English language learners in the country (four times the U.S. average), has the 9th best chronic absentee rate in the US at 11.3 percent.
What’s different in California? Do parents in California somehow love their kids more? No. The more likely difference is financial incentives. California is the only one of the five Pacific states that incentivizes consistent attendance by funding schools based on daily attendance.
All the other Pacific states fund their K-12 programs based on small number of enrollment days instead of daily attendance. In the case of Alaska, school funding is based on the number of enrolled students during the 20 school-day count period ending on the fourth Friday of October. After that date, Alaska schools have no financial stake in making sure kids attend.
Our high levels of chronic school absenteeism hurt Alaska’s kids, though it’s not the biggest factor holding them back. The misallocation of resources favoring buildings and bureaucracies over classroom operations, and lack of healthy competition to spur improvements and innovations that are taking place in other states that spend much less on K-12 are much bigger concerns.
In all, I’m bullish on the prospects for improvements in K-12 in Alaska. Our kids are just as bright as students anywhere else, our teachers are just as dedicated, our parents are just as loving and our taxpayers more generous than most when it comes to educating our kids. With the right policy incentives, I have faith we can “right the education ship” for the next generation of Alaskans.
Bob Griffin is an education research fellow at Alaska Policy Forum.
For the “First Friday” art walk in Juneau last week, the Third Floor of the Capitol was open with a new item of art on display outside the office of the lieutenant governor, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott highlighted it with particular pride.
The work in question is a large photograph of the Tongass People’s “shaming totem” of a former U.S. secretary of state, with a few artistic liberties taken by the photographer to add insult to injury: The ears are unnaturally red, the mouth is exaggerated, and the lighting is ghoulish.
The totem mocks Secretary of State William Seward, who orchestrated the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Tzarist Russia. The real totem was recently replaced in Saxman (a Native village near Ketchikan) after the previous two rotted.
But Seward evidently insulted coastal Alaska Natives by not reciprocating a potlatch they had held in honor of the visiting dignitary over 150 years ago.
KINY photo of the photograph outside the door of Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott.
According to KINY radio, Mallott says that the totem is an admonishment to visitors that all people should be treated with respect.
Mallott told the radio station that the insult remains all these years later.
“There has been a lack of closure and I think the Seward Pole kind of represents that in a very clear, powerful way. But it is not a closure people are sitting around waiting for. People are continuing to grow and develop and create lives and our own history and our own society as Alaskans all, in this place. But it is appropriate, I think, to continue these conversations to work toward having respect for every single Alaskan.”
Respect for William Seward is evidently not warranted in Mallott’s view, but Seward was a towering figure for civil rights, who was not only instrumental in the acquisition of the Alaska Territory, but was a lifelong activist who freed many slaves at great personal and professional risk.
Seward and his wife Frances were ahead of their times for social justice causes, especially abolition. Their home was a safe house along the Underground Railroad, which passed fleeing slaves along to freedom in the north.
Seward became an abolitionist at an early age, influenced by his interactions with the slaves working in his family home, whom he found to be engaging, intelligent, and moral.
His activism continued throughout his life and he risked political power for the cause of emancipation. His speeches and writings are widely documented.
However, his lack of understanding about the culture of potlatches and the tradition of reciprocating them led to a grave insult taken by the tribe, and thus the subsequent erection of a totem in Saxman. On it, Seward was depicted with white face paint and red “ashamed” cheeks.
The two earlier totems rotted with time and rain, and a new one has been completed. They have continued to memorialize Seward’s faux pas of so many years ago.
A large photograph of the totem now reminds every visitor to the Office of the Governor that respect should be given, or else there will be a price to pay. Because some insults can just never be forgiven.
The Alaska chapter of the National Organization for Women has an active Twitter account that posts comments on everything from Obamacare to guns, keeping up a steady chatter of hard-left bias.
But when it comes to Harvey Weinstein, the chapter cannot yet bring itself to criticize the man who has fondled everything in his path.
Thus, our Quote of the Week is the chapter’s own slogan: “Your silence will not protect you.”
Marilyn Stewart was a rookie candidate for House District 21 in 2016. She came close, but incumbent Matt Claman won his seat back 4,145 to 3,767 votes to represent Sand Lake, Spenard, and Turnagain.
In the months since the election, Stewart, a Republican activist, has been approached by Democrats from her district who say they regretted voting for Claman, and would vote for her if she ran again.
Republicans told her they wished they’d helped her more. Major donors have come forward to pledge support.
On Oct. 10, Stewart filed her letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. No longer a rookie, she knows what an election campaign cycle looks like, has walked every street in her district, has the support of her family, and is ready to make her case for public office to a district that, by now, knows what she stands for.
Stewart was born in rural Alabama and came to Alaska as a soldier in the U.S. Army, stationed at Ft. Richardson. She’s lived in Alaska for 37 years and raised her family here. She worked for the administration of Mayor Dan Sullivan.
In 2012, Stewart was awarded the Freedom’s Sister Award by Ford Motor Company for her community outreach and inspiring and empowering others. Others who have received the award are Myrlie Evers-Williams, Barbara Jordan, and Rosa Parks.
Stewart said she will continue to listen to her neighbors and future constituents in District 21 about crime, the economy, and education.
It sounds like the latest Alaska-based reality show. It’s actually a compound not far behind a well-known mattress store on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, and it’s behind 8-foot fences that patchwork their way down one side of Richmond Lane.
From the street it looks a bit unkempt, but not any more so than many other places in Alaska.
Screen shot from the movie Mad Max.
In the movie Mad Max, Barter Town is a remote commerce outpost situated in the midst of the wasteland of the future. The original script describes it as a crowded square where “blacksmiths and wheelwrights hammer away at their trade, merchants tout their wares and men are trading. Chickens for grain, grain for alcohol, alcohol for sex. Directly in front of Max is a signpost which directs traders to the various delights and services of Bartertown: PARADISE ALLEY, GARDEN OF PLEASURE, BLACKSMITH, SMALL ANIMALS.”
In Palmer, Alaska, Barter Town on Richmond Lane is the scene of a neighborhood uprising over crime that they say has gotten out of control. The locals have taken to Facebook to inform each other about the possible nefarious activities happening nearby.
Cars come and go late at night down Richmond Lane, it’s reported on the Facebook group Stop Valley Thieves. Trucks pulling trailers full of stuff idle up to the gate. Things get unloaded from duffle bags. Lots of duffle bags, especially between 1-3 a.m.
Drone footage accessed by Must Read Alaska shows the extent of materials strewn across the scruffy lot. Either someone has a hoarding problem or there’s a lot of miscellaneous stuff for sale. Maybe your stuff.
What was a quiet family neighborhood four years ago has spiraled into a place where nearby residents sweep their driveways for spent drug needles, keep their kids out of the front yards, and worry about the passed-out druggies who sometimes slump over the wheel of a car in front of the gated compound on the corner. There are fights on the street over merchandise and shouted demands for payments that are evidently not being honored.
If you’re hoping to go recover your stolen stuff in the Valley, you might want to head to Barter Town. On the other hand, you might not. No one really knows what is happening behind those fences. But the neighbors don’t feel safe.
A person in handcuffs is escorted by State Troopers on Richmond Road in Palmer, in front of a fenced-compound known as Barter Town.
Barter Town is a company known to the State of Alaska under license number 1055789. The man who appears to own and operate it is known to the Alaska Courts system for a handful of misdemeanors and is out on bail for a June arrest. He will face trial in November for intent to commit burglary, a Class A misdemeanor. More likely, he’ll cop a plea at his Oct. 16 pretrial conference.
Stop Valley Thieves members have had an eye on the Richmond Lane situation for months. The group’s administrators say that State Troopers know about what’s happening, but are under-staffed to make a case that will stick.
But they’re not ignoring it either. Someone in the Facebook group, which has over 15,600 members, posted a video of a man they know as Nicholas T. White being hauled off in handcuffs on Oct. 4 after a group of Troopers swarmed the gates. No charges have been filed yet, according to court records.
The person in handcuffs may or may not be White.
Kyle Muslin, who lives across the street, says it is White. Muslin has been documenting him for months.
Richmond Lane a place where he and his family no longer feel safe. His daughter sleeps with him and his wife in their bedroom, because at night things get pretty sketchy on that part of Richmond.
One day last summer, 30-40 lawnmowers showed up at the site, he said. Four-wheelers come and go. Chainsaws. Tools. Welding equipment. Weed-wackers.
And “dufflebags and dufflebags and dufflebags,” he said.
“The troopers told us the only way we can do anything is if someone identifies their stolen stuff,” Muslin said.
Doing so would mean going inside the fence, however. That’s private property.
Muslin keeps his security cameras rolling. When Must Read Alaska reached him this week, he was finishing up the installation of yet another camera. He has started posting photos of the comings and goings on the Stop Valley Thieves page, at times using the hashtag #ShutDownBarterTown.
At this point, he’s on a mission, and where the Troopers once thought he was just a disgruntled neighbor, they now text him notes of encouragement to keep up the pressure.
Like many others in the Stop Valley Thieves group, Muslin doesn’t hide his identity under a pseudonym. He and the others say it’s time for the community to stand up to the thieves and drug dealers. They’re taking the Crime Stoppers model to the next level: Social media.
But they also worry that at some point, some law-abiding citizen is going to get hurt. Several in the Facebook group, including himself, have been threatened. A driver tried to run him over with a truck in June. Another threatened him by saying he and his family would not “wake up in the morning.”
“I’m afraid for our safety every day,” Muslin said. “We have sort of put ourselves in the crosshairs. But there’s either going to be a gun fight right outside our doors or someone is going to shoot me, so I’m stuck with this. We couldn’t even sell our house if we tried. Who would buy it, with that going on?”
Some members of the Facebook group keep track of specific people, said Vicki Wallner, one of the group administrators. They video and photograph them, sometimes in the act of what appears to be a crime, and post the scenes on Stop Valley Thieves.
The Facebook vigilantes just share information. But even Wallner worries that someone will take the law into their own hands as the frustration with crime grows.
It’s not just Richmond Lane. Other places in the Valley draw similar concern by neighbors, she said.
There’s the house on Fairview Loop with a lot of junk cars and junkie types, and there’s a place known to locals as “The Compound,” where scary stuff goes on – people sleeping in abandoned cars on the property. Another place is described by critics as the “drug compound gravel pit crap hole.”
Others identify a sketchy house on Homebuilt Circle. The group is naming names of people they say are dealing drugs, using drugs, breaking into houses and stealing cars. When one of the suspects is arrested, they celebrate it and post the details of the arrest, along with their unfiltered opinions.
“They be going down at Barter Town!” posted one member in response to recent activity on Richmond Lane.
Other crime-stopper groups have sprung up on Facebook include a similarly named “Stop Valley Thieves Uncensored.” It has over 4,100 members. “Stolen in Alaska” has nearly 26,000 members. “Stolen Vehicles of Alaska” is a more narrowly focused self-help group. And a search found a dozen other groups dedicated to stopping theft and returning stolen items.
Where law enforcement has fallen short in Alaska, the Facebook community is stepping in, and facing personal peril as they take on criminals in a war they feel like they’ve been losing for too long.
MEETINGS IN VALLEY FOCUS ON CRIME
Meetings in the Mat-Su Valley are scheduled for coming days to discuss crime in advance of the legislative special session on Oct. 23, which will take up some criminal justice reform measures:
Oct. 10, 7:30-9:30 pm Alaska Republican Assembly Forum hosts “SB 91/ SB 54 Crime for Dummies” at the MTA Building, 480 Commercial Drive, Palmer, Alaska, downstairs. Guest speakers include Rep. Lora Reinbold, Stop Valley Thieves Administrator Vicki Wallner, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Edie Grunwald, AKRA President Justin Giles, and Steve St. Clair.
Oct. 17, 5:30-7 pm, Talkeetna listening session with Sen. Mike Dunleavy at Upper Susitna Seniors, 16463 E. Helena Drive, Talkeetna.
Oct 18, 6-8 pm Public safety listening session with Sen. Mike Dunleavy at Teeland Middle School, cohosted by Rep. Cathy Tilton.
The Governor has relieved John Parrott of his duties as the director of the Ted Stevens International Airport.
The announcement has not been made publicly, but has been sent to key individuals in the state. Must Read Alaska will update this news report when more information is available.
Deputy Commissioner John Binder will take over as Interim Executive Director until the governor and Transportation Commissioner Marc Luiken make a new appointment, according to our sources.
Parrott is well-regarded in the industry and has won many awards for his management of the airport. He was presented the Airport Executive of the Year award by the Northwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives in 2014. Parrott had been with the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport since 1998, taking over the Airport Manager’s position in 2008.
