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Road to common sense: Governor has a decision
Juneau has jumped through every hoop
Back in the late 1960s, the road north out of Juneau ended at Eagle River, and it was washboard gravel much of the way. Forty miles to north was as far as you’d drive before hitting “The End.”
Before that, it dead-ended at Auke Bay, where the ferry terminal was eventually located after being moved from downtown in the 1970s.
Being stuck in Juneau during the many weather delays at the Juneau International Airport wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. A week or more would go by with no flights in or out. Seriously.
Inch by inch, the road gained a few miles, and the world didn’t end.
In fact, for the most part, the road extension out to Sunshine Cove and beyond had been enjoyed greatly by Juneauites — the kayakers, the berry pickers, the bikers, and the claustrophobics — before the Luddites decided enough was enough: No more miles. If you want out of Juneau, you’ve got to pay big time.
A three-mile limited-access extension made it through Native corporation land to Cascade Point. Completed during the Parnell Administration, it allows access for Kensington Mine workers to come and go from a small dock. Again, the world did not end.
For now, public access is as far as Echo Cove.
If you live in Anchorage, think of it this way: You could drive as far as Wasilla, but you could not access the rest of Alaska – not the Glenn Highway or the Parks Highway. You’d have to turn around and drive home. You could drive south as far as Bird Point, but that would be it. To leave Anchorage with your car, you’d have to spend hundreds of dollars just to get your car to a road.
Juneau, always criticized by Alaska for being out of touch, needs a road out, and the rest of Alaska needs a road into Juneau. It’s our capital and we want to drive there. This is not irrational.
48 MILES TO GO
Not a dollar more of state money is needed to proceed with the road. Federal highway funding is in place, all federal reviews have been completed, the expected nuisance lawsuits, which resulted in having to write a costly new environmental impact statement, are finally in the rear view mirror.
Hearings were held. Letters to the editor were written. The public comment period ended at the end of the Parnell Administration’s term, in the fall of 2014.
Then the project came to a screeching halt. It only requires the governor’s decision, but no decision has ever been made by Gov. Bill Walker, unless you mean by “no decision” the decision is actually “no.”
The road to Juneau will provide hundreds of jobs, and be an economic boom for Southeast Alaska at a time when the state needs some good news on the economic and jobs front.
Today the question is: Will the governor allow Alaska to have a road to its capital, or keep Juneau in its inaccessible petri dish forever?
DRILLING INTO THE DETAILS
The plan, which has been in place for decades, takes the road just as far as the mouth of the Katzehin River. From there, travelers will take a short ferry shuttle over to Haines. That ferry will go back and forth every couple of hours, not unlike the ferry going from Anacortes to Orcas Island, Washington.
The first shuttle ferry designed for the last link of the project is nearing completion at the Vigor Shipyard in Ketchikan, another Parnell-era project that was a boon to our First City. As the two Northern Lynn Canal day ferries come on line to provide access to the most sought after towns with road access to the rest of the continent – Haines and Skagway — they will increase access 10-fold, and reduce cost to the consumer by 75 percent.
Today, it costs a family of four more than $400 just to get to Skagway. That’s highway robbery by the government, in the interest of appeasing the few who cannot bear the thought of change.
Environmental warriors have had their way for nearly two decades. They have blocked the road for the usual reasons, and when they lost on the environmental front, they attacked the cost of maintaining a road.
In an article found in 360north.org, the former DOT Division Director Jeff Ottesen explains that a road investment is retained over dozens of decades. Whereas a ferry has to be replaced every few decades and is essentially replaced piece by piece during the multiple repairs that begin nearly the day it is christened.
We’d add that in lean times, maintenance on roads can be deferred or at least paced, whereas this is problematic for Coast Guard regulated ocean-going vessels.
Ottesen goes on to say that roads give travellers greater opportunity and flexibility. In this case, the Juneau road would carry 1,484 vehicles a day traveling between Juneau, Haines and Skagway in the summer. Ferry capacity is 154 vehicles a day in the summer, and with far less winter access due to budget cuts.
NOW IS THE TIME
This road to Juneau is the most shovel-ready project Alaska has had in a very long time. It needs no extra funds. The state needs jobs now. This economic bridge to the future only needs the governor to say yes.
Lawsuit is about imperial power of the governor
The State of Alaska owes doctors and providers in Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars in back payments for Medicaid services, and the State is falling behind every day. Yet the governor and commissioner of Health and Social Services are nowhere to be found. It’s as if they have vanished.
In the way-back machine, Gov. Bill Walker and Commissioner Val Davidson were everywhere last year, crisscrossing the state as they launched their push to “Reform and Expand” Medicaid in Alaska, saying it was “good for the state budget.” They deployed an army of consultants to make the case for expanded Medicaid.
The legislative majority wasn’t convinced. After Walker expanded Medicaid by fiat in August, the Legislative Council sued the governor to determine if he actually has the authority to expand programs and spend state funds without the funding authority of the Legislature.
Here’s the crux of the lawsuit: The Alaska Constitution establishes the Legislature as the policy setting and law-making branch of government. The governor is constitutionally designated as the “executive” responsible for implementing policies and laws passed by the Legislature.
In the case of the recent Obamacare expansion, Walker got it backward. He exceeded his constitutional authority by unilaterally committing Alaska to a bank-breaking new program, one that will cost Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars as federal funding for the expansion is reduced in the near future.
Rep. Craig Johnson was appointed by Legislative Council to represent the House in a lawsuit that would define these newly grabbed gubernatorial powers.
Sen. John Coghill was appointed to represent the Senate. Recently, when the Senate decided it did not want to pursue an appeal of a lower court decision that sided with the governor, Coghill instructed aide Chad Hutchison to provide the House with everything the House needed to proceed with the appeal.
As a full and equal member of the Legislative Council, the House was a full party to the lawsuit. As such, it has standing to bring the appeal.
Once the Senate withdrew, the lead responsibility fell to Rep. Johnson to direct lawsuit lawyers and file the appeal before time to appeal had elapsed.
Johnson, acting on behalf of the House, did so and the appeal was filed on time. The case is proceeding as authorized by Legislative Council last August.
Contrary to what some have suggested, no additional vote was needed to proceed with the appeal. The appeal is a part of the original lawsuit which was authorized.
Ultimately the case should be decided in the Alaska Supreme Court. Even Superior Court Judge Pfiffner cautioned that he was “just a speed bump” on the way to the state’s high court because the case involves significant constitutional and statutory issues.
This is especially important because today the State cannot even make good on its existing Medicaid debts, as evidenced by the letter sent to providers by the Department of Health and Social Services this week. The letter was an admission that the Medicaid system is overextended. Without funds, it is in shambles. Expanding Obamacare further will only deepen the financial risk to the state
Without the legal case brought by the Legislature, Alaska would be the only state in the country that would be required by the courts to maintain an expanded Medicaid program, even if federal funding is reduced.
That would be a unique position to be in, and one that is completely contrary to the Supreme Court ruling.
State stalls payments on Medicaid; out of money
Doctors and other Medicaid providers around the state began receiving letters today from the Alaska State Department of Health and Social Services stating that their payments would be delayed because the state has run short of money.
The letters were dated May 24, but there has been no public notification from the Office of the Governor or DHSS that payments were being withheld in his signature Medicaid program.
The letter, from Margaret Brodie, Director of the Division of Health Care Services, simply says that the delay is necessary due to a “tight budget situation” in the current fiscal year.
Brodie’s letter says the solution will come as “Medicaid funds are reallocated among accounts.” Moving money from one account to another is like paying off one credit card with another one when you’re broke. It’s one step short of a bounced check.
“Doctors are getting stuck in this shell game, using doctors as political pawns,” said one medical provider, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “Shame on them for dragging doctors into a reimbursement that is questionable as to whether it even meets our costs, and now to delay payments because the State is out of money?”
Alaska’s budget challenge for Fiscal Year 2017 is now being addressed by the Legislature, which is in special session in Juneau. But the Brodie letter indicates that the FY16 budget has simply come up short.
No announcement from the department, nor notification to lawmakers was made to indicate the crisis has reached the point where payments cannot be made.
Eight months ago, three Kenai area healthcare providers filed a lawsuit against Alaska’s Medicaid billing and payments contractor, Xerox State Healthcare, over millions of dollars in unreimbursed claims.
South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska Speech and Language Clinic in Kenai and the Kenai Vision Center said they suffered severe losses due to the State’s unpaid debts.
In 2014, Alaska sued Xerox State Healthcare for breach of contract. The new software system the company installed was far past deadline. Providers were going bankrupt and leaving the state because they were not paid for their services.
In August of 2015, Governor Walker expanded Medicaid in Alaska by executive order, saying the costs would be borne by the federal government. The Alaska Legislature did not want Medicaid expanded until it was reformed, and Governor Walker and Commissioner Davidson promised significant reforms. To date, none is apparent, costs have climbed, and the system cannot pay its existing bills.
NOW THIS: The letter received by providers on May 24 was not copied to members of the Legislature, and there was no statement to the press by the Governor’s Office on this collapse of his signature program, Medicaid. Surely this matter was known by Commissioner Valerie Davidson, a champion of the Medicaid expansion program that the governor signed into law by executive order last summer.
Davidson was nowhere to be found in this crisis, and neither was the governor. Instead, the governor’s web site published a statement from him encouraging Alaskans to “buy local.”
This story will be updated.
Portland and Anchorage: Homelessness policies adrift
Portland, Ore. launched a six-month experiment in February: Between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., street dwellers can erect tents, structures, roll out their sleeping bags and spend the night right on the cold sidewalks and various rights of way. Other cities are watching with interest to see how the experiment goes.
This week, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz went the opposite direction on homeless policy: The nonfunctional fountain in Town Square, constructed for $150,000 many years ago, is getting bulldozed because it provides shelter for the homeless to get out of the wind. No more naps in the sun for the mildly stoned and disturbingly inebriated downtown.
Town Square Park was, up until about five years ago, a sweet urban pocket park that felt relatively safe. But change is in the wind. Even though there are plenty of jobs to be found in Anchorage, the homeless population grows yearly, fueled by mental illness, substance addiction, and the breakdown of the family. Town Square is not for the rest of us any longer. It belongs to its own community — the homeless and the restless.
Last year, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland declared states of emergency due to their burgeoning homeless population. Leaders likened homelessness to a natural disaster and having a disaster declaration in hand gave them more money and more flexibility to deal with the growing human tragedy.
Is there anything wrong with allowing Town Square Park to be a refuge for those who are lost or who are finding their way? How will we know when an afternoon lounging in the park becomes a criminal act of loitering? It’s a big question for public safety, but it’s a deeper question for civil liberty watchdogs.
Budget: Governor loses support on gasoline tax
BUDGET IS THE DEAL BREAKER: Alaska Trucking Association on Tuesday withdrew its support for Gov. Bill Walker’s proposed 100 percent increase of the motor fuel tax. The group cited a lack of budgetary discipline.
Earlier this year, truckers had agreed in principle to doubling the fuel tax from 8 cents to 16 cents, but only as a part of a framework that included significant budget reductions. The May 24 letter cites current reductions as negligible.
Here’s what Anchorage PD and FD pay raises look like
On May 24, 2016 the Anchorage Assembly, by a vote of 8-3 (Starr, Demboski, Flynn voting no) passed pay raises for city police and fire officials that average 22 percent and 35 percent respectively, as seen below. The cost to taxpayers for these 30 raises is another $840,000 a year, and the cost to pensions is yet to be determined.
Governor Bill Walker’s Hunger Games
DEMOCRATS PLAYING GAMES WITH ALASKANS’ LIVES: Gov. Bill Walker was given his orders by the Alaska Democrats last week and, like a good Democrat himself, he followed them to the letter. It resulted in their anticipated chaos.
Well played, Gov. Walker, well played.
Here’s how the end of session went down: They were in conference committee, and it was down to the wire, with exhaustion setting in. The House bipartisan majority offered the Democratic minority $34 million for any program they wanted, if they would only pass a budget, which had been completed on Day 60 of the 90-day session.
Rep. Andy Josephson, D-District 17, and other Ds dug in their heels and said no. They wanted the session to end. They also turned their backs on a 10-day extension.
Why? Agreeing to solve the budget would have spoiled their battle plans. These were plans that involved so much more than the budget and they’d been working on them for weeks; they did not even offer their budget amendments until the 11th hour on Day 121.
Democrats knew the governor had already prepared his call for a special session and, like last year, they could up the ante and get more spending, which would demand taxes from the public.
At 12:01 a.m., the governor sent out his prepared special session call. The plan had worked.
Key Democratic strategists such as Sam Kito of Juneau knew the special session would contain the governor’s deliverables alone. Republicans would have no trading stock and would be severely limited.
The governor and Democrats also knew they could hold Republican lawmakers in Juneau for another 30 days with an extraordinary list of demands, and prevent them from returning home to tell Alaskans what is really going on.
By keeping lawmakers in Juneau, the governor and the Democrats are attempting to continue to fracture the House, weaken the majority, and flip the majority in the November elections.
The end game is not to balance the budget, but for Democrats to take over the House: Blame Republicans for the dysfunction and win in November.
Alaska Legislature’s Musk Ox Caucus explainer
Jim Colver, R-Palmer; Paul Seaton, R-Homer; Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Muldoon; Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak; Neal Foster, D-Nome; Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham.
‘OVIBOS MOSCHATUS’ CAUCUS: A month ago, the Legislature was to have adjourned after its regular 90-day session. It extended because HB 247 (oil and gas tax and credits by the governor) was stuck due to a Republican breakaway faction that developed last year.
Now, the “musk ox caucus,” as they call themselves, has joined the minority on oil and gas taxes and credits.
In the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Tim Bradner described it this way: “A dissident Republican faction — the ‘musk ox’ caucus — joined with the House Minority of 12 Democrats and one independent, to muster majority votes of 21 and at times 22 votes in the 40-member House to tack on amendments making changes in HB 247.”
Since then, the mainstream media has been tracking the musk oxen as they have, in essence, joined a new Democrat-led majority.
Many in business and industry believe some of the radical changes being pushed by the Democrats would have eliminated thousands of private sector jobs and crippled the economy. “It would have turned out the lights,” one analyst told us.
It’s not just HB 247, but a host of philosophical issues around which the Musk Oxen have gelled. And in no small way, they are the reason that a special session was called and lawmakers are being prevented from returning home.
The Musk Ox Caucus is made up of the following Republican legislators and two (Democratic) members of the Bush Caucus: Jim Colver, R-Palmer; Paul Seaton, R-Homer; Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Muldoon; Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak; Neal Foster, D-Nome; Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham.
DISTRICT 9 ACTION ALERT: District 9 sent a letter last week to its area Republican activists requesting they contact Rep. Colver and demand action on the budget. It’s the district’s second letter to him. Read the letter here.