Page 1636 – Must Read Alaska

Alaska educators have some explaining to do

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February 7, 2017

Alaska educators have some explaining to do

Now that Betsy DeVos is confirmed as Education Secretary, thanks to an historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, conservatives hope for some big disruptive changes to the way we do education in this country.

Because what’s been going on for the past 20 years is obviously not working.

A study by the University of Alaska shows that even students taking college preparatory classes in Alaska high schools — and getting good grades in them — are having to take remedial work once they get to the University of Alaska.

The study concluded:

Students are passing college prep courses in high school with high grades, then repeating those classes when they arrive at the university
The state is spending millions of dollars annually for students to take classes in high school, and paying again when the courses must be repeated at the university
Students and their families spend millions of dollars in additional educational costs because the students arrive at the university unprepared.

The following chart has the breakdown of various schools around the state.

Note that Eielson, Grace Christian, Stellar Alternative, and Frontier Charter School are among those whose students require less remedial coursework when they arrive at University of Alaska, but schools such as Bartlett High in Anchorage, and uber-liberal Juneau-Douglas High School, in one of the most well-educated communities in the state, have some of the worst results:

“If you’re put into a developmental course, the chances that you’ll ever get a degree are very low, and that’s just wrong,” UA President Jim Johnsen said, who is facing his own union teacher revolt. The faculty senate voted “no confidence” in the president, who has had to manage declining budgets since he took over in 2015. The faculty group said that high turnover and low morale among teachers in the university system are “fundamental threats to the continuation of UAA as a high-quality institution and negatively impact mission fulfillment.”

The conclusion from the study is that Alaska teachers are simply passing students through, giving them good grades even if they have not earned them, and are not having to be accountable for the abysmal results the University of Alaska is seeing.

It’s tough to generate much sympathy for college professors these days as they crank out their “snowflake” graduates and as they suppress free speech on campus. But we’re trying.

When we dreamed big – and built a canal

Suzanne Downing

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February 7, 2017

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*The first ship to transit the Panama Canal, the SS Ancon, was an American cargo and passenger ship. It made the voyage in 1914.*

What History Tells Us

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than…..to live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

PANAMA – Our history on earth tells us there isn’t an idea, invention, or project dreamed about that cannot someday become reality. It is part of mankind’s DNA to dream the improbable, even the impossible, and to eventually make it happen.

When Jules Verne wrote of submarines and traveling to the moon, it was science fiction but it gave spark to the possibility and inspired scientists, astronomers, and engineers that followed.

This all comes to mind as I currently travel with 1,300 other cruise ship passengers on our way to see one of the largest construction projects ever conceived and built. Its construction is a story of courage, deep tragedy, medical breakthroughs and engineering ingenuity.

It is the story of the building of the Panama Canal.

The idea of a passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Americas dates back centuries when Columbus and others explored for trade routes to the East. When gold was discovered in California in 1849, the need for a faster transportation route for prospectors and supplies to the west coast soon became apparent.

In 1870, when the U. S. Secretary of the Navy appointed Commander Thomas Selfridge to lead an expedition to ascertain the point at which to cut a canal joining the two oceans, the project captured the imagination of the world.

In 1880, the French sponsored the first serious attempt to build the Panama Canal. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps (who built the Suez Canal in 1869), the privately held company, Companie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, began construction. By 1882, scores of engineers and thousands of laborers of all nationalities were at work and the first excavation and dredging began with the aid of 30 steam shovels, 50 locomotives, 3,000 flatcars and dirt trucks and over 80 miles of railroad track.

Immediately, the project ran into difficulty. The French engineers had no experience in the tropics and plagued by poisonous snakes, rains, earthquakes, and mechanical issues the project proceeded slowly. Even worse, the mortality rate of workers was horrendous due to the prevalence of malaria and yellow fever. By 1889, over twenty thousand workers had died and the company was bankrupt.

The monumental French failure – lasting more than a decade and spending an estimated $287 million – cost more than had been spent on any peaceful undertaking to date. It was clear the project was too big for a private enterprise – it needed to be a national venture.

This was a time in American history when anything was possible. U. S. Steel and the Ford Motor Company were in their infancy. In Alaska, Juneau’s Treadwell Mine, the world’s largest hard rock gold mine, was operating 960 stamp mills producing millions in gold each year.

In 1897, Teddy Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Greatly influenced by the expansionist spirit in America, he realized the strategic importance of the canal to America’s growth and progress.

Later, as President, Roosevelt encouraged and guided the negotiations leading to the U.S. securing title to the French properties and the signing of a treaty in 1903 allowing canal construction across Panama. The $50 million price paid to the French and Panama was more than the combined price for Alaska, the Philippines, and the Louisiana Purchase.

Although the French had managed to leave a 25 foot wide navigable canal 11 miles long, little else of value remained of their effort. All their buildings and equipment were unserviceable and in deplorable condition. The Americans were required to begin anew.

And so they did. Within a few short years, new hospitals, housing, mess halls, water and sewer systems, telephone lines, a rebuilt railroad, and hundreds of pieces of equipment were installed and canal construction had re-commenced in earnest. Workers were recruited from over 97 countries. Average pay was $87 per month with free housing and medical care.

But the first order of business was to contain and minimize the rampant disease conditions. At the time, the idea malaria and yellow fever were transmitted by certain mosquitoes was just being introduced. An authority on tropical diseases, Dr. William Gorgas, was hired to devise the most costly and concentrated health campaign the world had ever seen. His methods, later modeled by other nations, eliminated yellow fever within 8 months and malaria soon followed.

On the engineering front, it soon became apparent a sea level canal as envisioned by the French wasn’t technically feasible and plans were altered to allow for a lock canal. A dam was built, creating the 164 square mile Gatun Lake – the largest artificial lake in the world.

Many other technical challenges awaited the American effort.

In my next column, after our cruise ship transits the Panama Canal, I will discuss these challenges, how they were overcome, and how the lessons learned then have application today.

Win Gruening was born and raised in Juneau and retired as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in 2012. He is active in civic affairs at the local, state, and national level.

That time when Milo Yiannopoulos came to Alaska

Suzanne Downing

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February 3, 2017

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*Milo Yiannopoulos in Girdwood, Alaska in 2016*

Milo Yiannopoulos loves it when you get mad at him. When you break windows, burn cars, and spray paint “Kill Trump” on the walls of businesses.

You’re simply proving his point: There is no true tolerance on the left side of the political fulcrum.

He loves it when so-called progressives go nuts in the name of “anti-Nazi,” “anti-white nationalism,” or “anti-alt-right.”

Whatever Milo Yiannopoulos is, they will find him to be their perfect villain.

The Democrat rabble is playing right into his 32-year-old politically incorrect hands.

Yiannopoulos is a social-media phenom who is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame, as Andy Warhol liked to describes such moments of popular culture.

Some call him a professional troll; some do not read the Constitution, which protects political speech, no matter how trollish or boorish or white-ish.

Conservative and outspoken, Yiannopolous speaks across the country about how immigration is out of control, that it has had a detrimental effect on European nations, Great Britain included, and that not enough people recognize the importance of protecting their national cultures.

This is where he gets the uncomfortable label “white nationalist,” which his detractors have used to discredit him and have him banned from their college campuses and other venues. They are having enormous success at removing him from the college speaking tour.

Yet it only makes him more interesting. Who is this guy who calls himself @DangerousFaggot, and what is he saying that makes everyone lose their minds?

(Read: Donald Trump calls out professional anarchists after Berkeley riots.)

Yiannopoulos is a gay conservative – you might say noticeably gay. Also Jewish (his mother is Jewish, so he is). He is also Greek. And he was raised Catholic.

Twitter banned him last year after he made some mildly provocative statements about an African-American actress. They were not even terribly offensive – those who follow Twitter have regularly seen much worse from the likes of Leftist hate speech purveyor Shannyn Moore, who writes a column for the Alaska Dispatch News. Twitter never bans her for calling people Nazis, and the Dispatch doesn’t seem to care either:

But back to Milo.

From time to time, Yiannopoulos makes it known he prefers African-American male lovers, and he may even have a lover from Alaska.

And that brings us to the trip he made to Alaska in the summer of 2016, ostensibly to hook up with one of his close friends, who was tweeting about the trip incessantly.

He toured around some favorite sites in Southcentral, filmed a little footage, took photos of himself in front of some of our favorite landmarks, and even talked about doing a speaking engagement, but that never panned out. A lot of that documentation on Twitter has since been scrubbed, presumably by Twitter.

His paramour tweeted about it as well.

Yiannopoulos works as the technology editor for Breitbart News, which is a Drudge-like news-and-views web site founded by the equally controversial and now-late Andrew Breitbart.

Outtakes from one of his YouTube broadcasts, from Girdwood, is not safe for work, and has the man who calls himself a “dangerous faggot” deciding that people in Alaska are odd and that, “This place is weird,” while not quite being able to pronounce the word “Girdwood.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlbeUo0RUik

Yiannopoulos has become the speaking engagement most likely to be canceled because of a petulant progressive movement that has made him into a free-speech hero, rather than merely a handsome anti-open-borders guy with a pleasant English accent and a decidedly unafraid point of view.

Suffice it to say, he seems to be enjoying the attention. All in time for his book, which will be released in March, and is called, rightly, Dangerous.

Where will oil prices land? No matter — Democrats will still want to raise taxes

Suzanne Downing

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February 2, 2017

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“Anyone who thinks oil is going above $70/barrel is in a fantasy world. Why are we mortgaging our future with current oil taxes?” Tom Begich, state senator from Left Anchorage asked the Twitter Universe last week.

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, which we can assume are somewhat informed, sees crude jumping 46 percent by June, to $69 per barrel. Oil and gas investments are down $300 billion — about 40 percent — meaning supplies may decline, and demand is possibly on the upswing. That’s their logic.

Goldman Sachs has a more moderate outlook: It sees prices popping up to $57.50, and settling at $55 for the second half of this year.

The World Bank guesses $55.

One thing we know for sure: Oil price predictions are seldom accurate. When prices are high, forecasters convince themselves this time is different. This time they will stay high forever.

Conversely, when prices tank, prognosticators tend to believe that they will stay low.

It is not only oil, but the nature of all markets. Commodity markets, with their inherent volatility, are especially difficult to predict, which is the practical reality behind the old saying, “There has never been a commodity trader who has died rich.”

Veteran energy analysts know that oil prices move in long waves. It takes many years for high oil prices to produce the supply increases and demand reductions that ultimately bring them back to earth. And once they do land with a thud, as they did in 2015, they seldom pop right back up.

How long are these waves? Historically, they have moved in 10-20 year cycles.

So Sen. Begich is probably right, to the degree that anyone knows. But he is right for the wrong reasons. In his mind, low oil prices are a reason to re-open the Alaska oil tax debate and sock it to producers who are already struggling to break even in our high-cost state.

And that brings to mind another old saying: “Even a blind chipmunk stumbles across an acorn every so often.”

Murkowski picks wrong fight with Trump on Education secretary

Suzanne Downing

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February 2, 2017

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U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski surprised and disappointed Alaska conservatives this week when she switched positions on President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, Betsy DeVos.

Earlier, she had said she supported the president’s right to choose his cabinet. Then, in a reversal, she bent to the wishes of the National Education Association, a purely partisan organization and the nation’s largest teacher’s union.

Murkowski has received $23,500 from the NEA last year, but that’s a drop in the bucket for her. She doesn’t need that money and she’s not going to have to run for office for another five years. So her reversal is puzzling.

The NEA and American Federation of Teachers have opposed DeVos because of her stance on school choice and vouchers, a topic that Alaska conservatives care deeply about. Vouchers give parents the right to move their children to a higher-performng school, and sets up stronger competition between schools, which may lead to better outcomes. It doesn’t apply in all areas of Alaska, but it is an important tool for improving urban schools.

NEA and AFT almost exclusively support Democrats and have blocked innovation in education in favor of sending more power to the union establishment. Higher wages and more staff are the primary goals of teacher unions. Murkowski gets high marks from the NEA.

They obviously got to her. Last week her office issued a statement to Alaskans saying her phone lines had been swamped by nationally based callers trying to sway her vote on DeVos. Alaskans were not able to get through because of the deluge.

In the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that she serves on, Murkowski voted this week to bring DeVos to the Senate floor for a vote. But then she said she’d vote with the Democrats in opposing DeVos.

Alaska conservatives were stunned, with many contacting Must Read Alaska to voice their disappointment and outrage.

“Sen. Murkowski bowed to the public teacher’s union in opposing the first real pro school choice secretary of education we have entertained in my lifetime,” said one leading conservative in a note to MRAK. “I understand she has been lobbied hard, probably received 10k letters and taken $23.5k from the unions to block Betsy DeVos. I wrote to her office today to share my frustration.”

DeVos will probably squeak by on a tie vote, which will be then decided by Vice President Mike Pence casting his vote. Meanwhile, Murkowski will have picked an unnecessary fight with President Trump.

“What I want to know is how this helps Alaska,” asked one correspondent of Must Read Alaska. “DeVos is the first chance we’ve had to really have innovation in education in many years. This doesn’t help our state.”

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan went the other way on the nomination in a carefully crafted statement: “While I share many of the concerns of Senator Murkowski, after meeting with Mrs. DeVos, she committed to me that she will work with all Alaskans to strengthen education throughout the state, in both public and private schools. She committed to implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act as Congress intended it, without implementing regulations that place the power into the hands of the Department of Education, and supports accountability for all schools as determined by the states.

“Mrs. DeVos also committed to supporting funding for the Alaska Native Equity Program, and agreed to help identify opportunities at the Department of Education for digital learning to be brought to Alaskans. After discussing the unique challenges many Alaskans face in receiving an education, she committed to visiting Alaska and working with us to formulate best practices that work for our most remote schools.

“Most importantly, she is someone who cares deeply about our kids. She committed to working closely with states and local school districts – which are closest to our students – and return the decision-making process back to where it belongs: with local school administrators, teachers, and parents to ensure that our most vulnerable populations receive access to a high quality education, especially in rural Alaska,” Sullivan concluded.

The American Federation for Children came down strongly on the side of DeVos: “Betsy DeVos is a champion for parents and students and is committed to ensuring every child in our country has access to a world class education,” said Kevin P. Chavous, board member of the American Federation for Children. “Her commitment to put the interests of students first, while troubling to those who defend a system that is failing far too many of our children, resonates with the millions of parents across the country who want the very best education for their children. Betsy DeVos will fight for all students and I urge the U.S. Senate to stand with students and parents and confirm her as U.S. Secretary of Education.”

It’s not too late for Murkowski to reflect and amend her decision on whether to pick a meaningless fight with a newly elected president who has made excellent choices for his cabinet, including Ms. DeVos, who deserves a chance to lead.

Gorsuch a great choice for Alaska, the nation

Suzanne Downing

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February 1, 2017

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The tactic taken by Democrats is to “just say no” to anything President Trump offers up.

No to every single cabinet appointment. Nyet to every executive order. And, of course, no to the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch.

This particular judicial appointment was of such critical importance to conservatives that, even though Donald Trump was a flawed candidate who made many of them plenty nervous at times, they willingly voted for him for president. The alternative? Having Hillary Clinton make this appointment and several future ones, thereby ensuring that “progressive” sensibilities, such as political correctness, racial grievance, and entitlement are enshrined in U.S. case law for a generation to come.

Gorsuch is a nomination that may be particularly good for Alaska. At 49, he is a relatively young judge of the 10th Circuit Appeals Court, and he could have the better part of a quarter of a century ahead of him as a Supreme Court judge.

Gorsuch is the son of the first woman to head the Environmental Protection Agency, an appointment made by President Ronald Reagan. He is a Coloradan, which means he has strong western state values of independence and self-reliance, not to mention an appreciation of western lands issues.

And his judicial philosophy and history mirror Scalia’s, which brings cheer to conservatives.

“Confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a voice vote to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006, Judge Gorsuch is well within the mainstream of American judicial philosophy and has demonstrated the judgment necessary to garner the support of Republicans and Democrats alike,” said U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan. “Judge Gorsuch’s record reflects Justice Scalia’s legacy of textualism and an ardent respect for the Constitution and rule of law. He is poised to make an excellent addition to the Supreme Court.”

It’s thick stuff, this textualism, not something Alaskans typically talk about over a beer. But if you look at the way the Supreme Court determined the legality of Obamacare, (the Affordable Care Act), it’s easier to understand: The majority opinion was that since Obamacare can be viewed as a tax, and since Congress has the authority to tax, then it is legal. They chose to view it as a tax because that helped them dodge the inconvenient textual problem that the Constitution frowns on forcing people to purchase something.

Scalia did not go along with that majority opinion, and conservatives hope that Gorsuch will be cut of the same cloth: Stick to the law, don’t read intent into a law, and avoid the temptation to legislate from the bench.

Trump staying one step ahead of chattering class — Sad!

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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January 31, 2017

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Another day, another failed attempt by the media to keep up with the phenomenon that is President Donald Trump. And another day of collective hyperventilating about immigration policy, ignoring other meaty actions.

On Tuesday, Trump declared that an executive order signed by the Obama administration protecting from discrimination lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) employees on federal contracts remains in place under the Trump Administration.

“The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression,” said Sean Spicer, White House press secretary of the executive order that Obama signed in 2014.

“President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election,” he said.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order that calls for cuts to federal red tape. For every regulation implemented, two must be removed, under his order, a move that won the hearts of many small business owners.

Also on Monday, Trump made it clear that those who work for him will not be allowed to go rogue. He fired acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, saying in a statement that she has “betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.

“Ms. Yates is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration. It is time to get serious about protecting our country. Calling for tougher vetting for individuals travelling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It is reasonable and necessary to protect our country,” said Trump in a statement.

The president relieved Yates of her duties and named U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia Dana Boente to the post until Sen. Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate.

FAKE NEWS MAKES HEADLINES: Making the rounds in the news cycle last week was the report that President Trump placed a gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal departments.

The Associated Press jumped on the bandwagon and the headlines were, ahem, unbelievable. We decided to check it out.

As it turns out, each new administration gives similar directives to its agencies because the new president simply doesn’t need to be sandbagged by the leftover functionaries from the old regime.

This is especially true when the reins of power switch between parties. All manner of pranks and pratfalls have been perpetrated on incoming presidents, such as the time when the Clinton team popped many of the “W” keys off of the keyboards in the White House and the Old Executive Office Building and left other damage, such as severed phone cords, before George W. Bush arrived.

Knowing the deep antipathy the Obama team harbors toward the incoming Trump Administration, it would be no surprise to see various agency holdovers attempt to embarrass the new administration — such as happened during the inauguration when the Park Service posted Obama vs. Trump crowd photos for no good reason.

This is why memos reminding officials to clear statements before releasing them has become standard practice during presidential transitions.

And the mainstream media wonders why we keep upbraiding them for fake news.

REFUGEES AND REASON: President Trump over the weekend temporarily embargoed immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Iran.

The liberals lost their minds, as they are predisposed to do. At this point, there’s nothing Trump can do that doesn’t seem to provoke a Vietnam War-era type protest.

We look at the list of nations that are temporarily part of the suspension, and observe that all but Iran are countries embroiled in chaos, with no functioning governments, no rule of law, and no social stability. For example, Somalia is so unstable that the U.S. Embassy operates out of Nairobi, Kenya. Same with Yemen, where our embassy operates out of Saudi Arabia due to instability.

And Iran? Don’t get us started on Iran.

(Read: London Times columnist says “assassination is taking such a long time.”)

The Trump order is effective for 120 days to allow the new administration to fully review current admission policies. And it comes as no surprise to Trump supporters: This is exactly what he said he would do when he ran for president.

Democrats who last year wanted Trump to run against Hillary Clinton, because they thought he’d never win, are now in turmoil, nearly rioting because they lost their bet with the rest of America.

WHAT ELSE DID TRUMP DO? The Donald also capped refugees at 50,000 per year, an amount that was considered a high point during the Bush Administration.

President Barack Obama started his presidency by expanding refugee admissions to 70,000 a year, with no particular justification. He extended the cap to 110,000 for 2017 — more than twice the high during the Bush Administration. Trump is simply rolling back to what was “high-normal” eight years ago.

But the Left is spoiling for a fight with Trump.

PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS, YAZIDIS: As for Syrian refugees, Obama severely limited Christians, while Trump has prioritized Christians, Yazidis (Kurds), and other religious minorities.

To be exact, Obama admitted more than 11,000 Muslim refugees from Syria in 2016, but fewer than 100 Christians.

Don’t take our word for it: Run your own report here. (Be sure to mark all Muslim variants when running the Muslim report)

The backlash is both predictable and hysterical.

Yet Trump deserves some criticism because his ham-handed implementation undermined his legitimate efforts to get a handle on immigration from terror-ridden countries.

For our money, a more graceful timeframe that gave travelers a few days of advance notice would have landed better in the court of public opinion as well as avoided a judicial showdown in several U.S. cities.

THE MARCHES ARE ORGANIZED: There will be more marches. Watch for the Science (read: Climate) March, the Gay March, the Tax-me March and others. A list for progressives is here.

Alaskans wanting to get news directly from the White House, unfiltered by the media, can bookmark this link.

Events

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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January 28, 2017

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A round-up of upcoming events for the conservative political animals among us:

ATTENDANCE TO THE ABOVE EVENT IS LIMITED!

Mayor Berkowitz’ choice: Safety or snowplowing – you can’t have both

Suzanne Downing

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January 27, 2017

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Mayor Berkowitz’ choice: Safety or snowplowing – you can’t have both

The snow hasn’t been extraordinary in Anchorage this year. It seems so, after a couple of unusually warm winters, but it’s well within the norm for Latitude 61.

Removing it from the streets to make driving safer, however, appears to be more than the municipality can do.

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz this week used the latest snowstorm for political advantage to drive home his message about the need for more taxes:

“It’s a foreseeable consequence of not having adequate revenue to handle our responsibilities,” Berkowitz said. In layman’s terms: “I told you so. We need more taxes.”

For property taxpayers who are already shouldering the burden, it was an odd statement from a mayor who last year promised to give taxpayers a rebate after the city collected too much of their hard-earned cash.

RAISES FOR EVERYONE: Last year, Berkowitz also gave some 30 fire and police supervisors raises of $20,000 to $30,000 apiece. Those raises totaled $840,000.

As Assembly woman Amy Demboski pointed out, the city also gave $7 million in raises to city workers last year.

This week, the Assembly voted to approve a new IBEW contract that contains a 5.01 percent increase in pay and benefits for the next three years.

Demboski was not impressed: “When they continuously hand out raises…they are not living in reality.”

MORE POLICE OFFICERS, MORE MURDERS TOO: As a candidate in 2015, Berkowitz said the city needed 400 police officers. The city has now hit that target, but Berkowitz has moved the goalpost and now says the city needs 450 sworn officers. Anchorage had a record number of murders in 2016, and already this year two residents have been gunned down.

THE VANISHING REBATE: Last year the city ended up with about $20 million in excess funds received from taxpayers, and the plan in July of 2016 was to return a small portion — $5 million — of the money to property owners before December, 2016.

But first, Assembly members Eric Croft, John Weddleton, and Forrest Dunbar wanted to give the bulk of the excess money to homeless projects. The mayor in 2016 wanted to use some of the money to transition to a vote-by-mail election. And then the Assembly set an even higher mill rate for property assessments, with tax bills going up by about $45 for a property worth $300,000.

Six months after that discussion in the Anchorage Assembly, the rebate promised has never materialized. And it looks like taxes will be going up again.

This month, the mayor is proposing taking money from still more parts of the budget to pay for housing grants that will help people — some of them chronic inebriates or with mental illness — from becoming homeless. Berkowitz is proposing giving $216,000 to NeighborWorks Alaska for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program, which helps with rent and security deposits for individuals and families in need.

Alaska educators have some explaining to do

When we dreamed big – and built a canal

That time when Milo Yiannopoulos came to Alaska

Where will oil prices land? No matter — Democrats will still want to raise taxes

Murkowski picks wrong fight with Trump on Education secretary

Gorsuch a great choice for Alaska, the nation

Trump staying one step ahead of chattering class — Sad!

Events

Mayor Berkowitz’ choice: Safety or snowplowing – you can’t have both

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