In late 2014, as Gov. Bill Walker was taking office, he assembled his transition team to help develop his list of priorities. It was chaired by Rick Halford and Ana Hoffman, and the document produced for the governor by the transition team is an inch thick. It touches on nearly every topic in Alaska.
Eight pages of the 176-page report were devoted to public safety. Half of that was about beefing up communications and infrastructure capabilities for the general safety of the public, and working on “smart justice” to take justice in a new direction.
“There is a misperception that “smart on crime” means being ‘soft on crime.’There is general widespread ignorance of the large cost savings available for justice reform.” – Walker/Mallott Transition Team Report, November, 2014
The rest of the transition team report covered in great depth tribal sovereignty, tribe-to-state intergovernmental relations, reestablishing coastal zone management, implementing the United Nations Millennium Agreement, revenue sharing with tribes, subsistence, Arctic engagement, fiscal plans, fisheries, reforming Corrections, Medicaid, economic development. And a gasline. The gasline would be the focus, the plan acknowledged.
Weeks later, in his first State of the State Address of 2015, Gov. Walker said nothing of public safety.
At his Sustainability Conference in Fairbanks in June of 2015, Public Safety was not a priority for his room of advisers.
Today, Gov. Walker held a press conference to outline new steps for public safety, which he admits has spiraled into a crisis on his watch. Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, almost always by his side, was missing, but Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, and Commissioners Valerie Davidson (HHS), Dean Williams (Corrections), and Walt Monegan (Public Safety) all spoke.
Walker’s public safety action plan shows his intent to study, evaluate, and explore various remedies for crime, but the plan is short on actual targets, milestones or timelines that would be measurable by the public, other than increasing the number of treatment beds for addicts.
But at least as his first term enters its final year, Walker now understands public safety as a priority.
Walker Public Safety Action Plan: Summary October 30, 2017
To address the trend of increasing crime in Alaska, Governor Walker tasked the State’s public safety agencies with evaluating the causes of the rise in crime and developing a concrete action plan. While public safety is a complex and evolving challenge, the Public Safety Action Plan focuses efforts in four main areas: fairness and efficiency in the criminal justice system, addressing the resource needs of Alaska’s public safety agencies, improving the system for addressing mental health and substance abuse issues, and addressing the immediate challenges of the opioid epidemic and drug trafficking.
To improve outcomes in the criminal justice system, public safety agencies will:
To identify public safety resource needs, public safety agencies will:
To improve access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, public safety agencies will:
To address the opioid epidemic and drug trafficking, state agencies will:
THE LEGEND LIVES ON – ‘MOSTLY TRUE,’ YOUNG SAYS
The story has been told before in Alaska political circles, to great effect, but now it’s out there in the big wide world of Politico — Rep. Don Young once pulled a knife on House Speaker John Boehner.
Yes, he did. You had to have been there, however.
In a long-form story that reads like a novella, Politico writer Tim Alberta gave the former House Speaker the mic — and then wrote the biggest political kiss-and-tell of the year. Boehner named names and dropped F bombs. It’s like reading a script from House of Cards, with Francis Underwood peeling back the layers on everything from earmarks to Obamacare.
And then it came time for Alberta to tell the story about Don Young:
“The funding of pet projects in lawmakers’ districts helped leadership to keep members in line, but fueled a culture of venality and waste; boondoggles like the ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ a 2005 project calling for a $223 million earmark to construct a bridge to a remote, sparsely populated Alaska island, became symbols of congressional excess. Boehner never accepted an earmark in Congress—and he enjoyed railing against those who did. His heckling once provoked Don Young, an Alaskan himself, to pin Boehner against a wall inside the House chamber and hold a 10-inch knife to his throat. Boehner says he stared Young in the eyes and said, ‘Fuck you.’ (Young says this account is “mostly true,” but notes that the two became good friends, with Boehner later serving as his best man.)
We reached Young for a response, and here’s what he told us he had told Politico, but the quote evidently ended up on the cutting room floor:
“That’s mostly a true story, but it’s also one of those tall tales from the House floor. This was some of the friendly back and forth banter John and I had over a few decades, but it was never anything serious. Had it been, I’m sure you would’ve heard about it long before now. John actually loves this story, I’ve heard him tell it multiple times — once at my wedding in 2015 as my best man. Each and every time, that knife gets a little bigger and gets a little bit closer. One thing is true, the story always ends with an ‘F’ you,” Young said.
Full of quotes and disses about everyone from Harry Reid and Barack Obama to Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, it is filled with gravelly expletives and inside baseball that only political junkies will muscle through.
For those with too much time on their hands, the entire story is linked here.
FROM STARS AND STRIPES
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Pentagon has identified the U.S. soldier killed in a helicopter accident in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as Chief Warrant Officer Jacob M. Sims, a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.
Sims, 36, of Juneau, Alaska, was assigned to 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.
The helicopter was transporting troops for a night raid in Logar province when it hit a tree, forcing an emergency landing, Salim Saleh, the provincial governor’s spokesman, told Stars and Stripes.
The U.S. military said six other U.S. crew members were injured in the incident and sent for medial treatment. Saleh said one Afghan servicemember was also wounded.
The joint raid with Afghan forces was part of a broader operation to clear the Taliban from parts of Logar, Saleh said.
The militants, who are believed to control about half of the province, said they shot down the helicopter in the volatile Kharwar district, killing dozens of Americans — a claim NATO refuted.
“We can confirm the crash was not the result of enemy action,” NATO’s Resolute Support mission said in a statement. “We have full accountability for all personnel and the crash site has been secured.”
Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch offered his condolences: “We were shocked and saddened by the news of the loss of Jacob M. Sims in Afghanistan. The heartfelt sympathies of Juneau go out to the Sims family and friends.”
The death brings the total number of U.S. servicemembers killed in Afghanistan this year to 12. More than 2,400 have been killed since the war began 16 years ago.
NATO said an investigation into the incident had been launched.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our comrade,” Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said. “On behalf of all of Resolute Support, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of our fallen comrade and those injured in this unfortunate event.”
Governor Bill Walker today ordered that United States and Alaska flags be immediately lowered to half-staff in honor of Sims.
“Chief Warrant Officer Sims and his family made the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of us,” Governor Walker said. “Byron, Toni, Donna and I are holding his parents, his wife and his children in our daily prayers. While our state and our country lost a dedicated soldier, they lost their son, husband and father. Our military servicemembers put themselves on the line in defense of the values we hold dear. We owe them a debt of gratitude.”
Flags should return to full staff at sunset on Thursday, November 2.
THE LIFE OF A SOLDIER
Chief Warrant Officer Two Jacob Michael Sims was born in the state of Oklahoma on Aug. 13, 1981.
He enlisted in the Army on Aug. 12, 1999. Upon completing basic training and advanced individual training, CW2 Sims was assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C. as a Combat Engineer.
After successful selection and completion of Warrant Officer Flight Training, CW2 Sims was assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot.
CW2 Sims volunteered to serve in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and graduated Officer Green Platoon in April of 2014. CW2 Sims was assigned to Alpha Company 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. CW2 Sims served as a Fully Mission Qualified MH-47G Pilot-in-Command and Company Aviation Safety Officer.
CW2 Sims was a veteran of Operation JOINT GUARDIAN in Kosovo, numerous tours in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in Iraq, and Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, and RESOLUTE SUPPORT MISSION in Afghanistan.
His military education includes the Basic Training Course, Advanced Individual Training Course, Basic Airborne Course, Basic Leader’s Course, Air Assault Course, Jump Master Course, Advanced Leader’s Course, Warrant Officer Flight Training, UH-60 Qualification Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (High Risk) Course, CH-47D Qualification Course, Officer Green Platoon, Combatives Level 1 Training Course, MH-47G Qualification Course, Aviation Safety Officer Course, and the Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course.
CW2 Jacob Sims’ awards and decorations include the Air Medal (with Combat Device), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Unit Citation (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters) Army Good Conduct Medal (4th Award), National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with 1 Bronze CampaignStar), Iraqi Campaign Medal (with 2 Bronze CampaignStars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (2nd Award), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal (3rd Award), Air Assault Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Sapper Tab, Basic Aviator Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.
“On behalf of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the family of CW2 Jacob Sims. Jacob lived by a creed that few understand and even fewer embody. He will not be forgotten and his legacy will endure through his family, friends, and fellow Nightstalkers. You have our unwavering support, and always have a welcome place among the Night Stalker family,” SAID Colonel Philip Ryan, Commander, 160th SOAR (A).
Now for some good news. Andrew Jensen, editor of the Alaska Journal of Commerce, shared his thoughts on the success of SB 21, the oil tax reform that took the place of ACES in 2013, and was ratified by voters in a 2014 referendum.
‘GAME OVER FOR WILECHOWSKI’
If Sen. Bill Wielechowski is true to his word, we’ve heard the last from him about changing Alaska’s oil taxes.
Back on June 10, 2014, Wielechowski and now-former Sen. Hollis French (who Gov. Bill Walker appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission last year) issued a “very simple challenge.”
“If SB 21 produces new oil, even ONE additional barrel, and this production results in increased revenue to the state, even ONE more dollar we will drop our support for revising oil taxes,” Wielechowski said.
The legislation proposed by Wielechowski and French called for the previous system known as ACES to be retroactively implemented in 2019 “if there is not one new barrel of oil produced compared to the 2013 TransAlaska Pipeline moving average of 531,000 (approx.) and total oil revenues from 2014 to 2018 are not any greater under SB 21 than they would have been under ACES.”
Whoops.
On Oct. 25 in Juneau, state Revenue Department officials released a revised production forecast for the current fiscal year of 533,000 barrels per day.
That’s 1,999 barrels more than needed under Wielechowski’s and French’s challenge and by the time the fiscal year ends next June 30 it could be plenty more.
We’ve yet to reach the peak production months on the North Slope, yet in September the daily rate was 512,000 barrels per day compared to 474,000 per day in September 2016.
So far in October, the daily production is 537,000 barrels per day compared to 525,000 per day in the same month last year.
This puts the North Slope on track for its third straight year of production increases in the four full fiscal years that Senate Bill 21 has been in place despite the fact prices have cratered from about $112 per barrel when it passed to as low as $26 per barrel in January 2016.
Meeting the revenue half of the Wielechowski-French challenge is even more of a layup.
Nobody, not even the Democrats, disputes that SB 21 has collected more production tax revenue than ACES would have at the prices from 2014-18. ACES would have collected zero production taxes at prices less than $63 per barrel, which we haven’t seen since the first quarter of 2015. The revised price forecast doesn’t expect prices to cross the $63 threshold until 2020.
That represents hundreds of millions more in revenue under SB 21 versus ACES.
Game over.
Early indications are Wielechowski has either forgotten about the gauntlet he and his former Democrat colleague laid down or doesn’t intend to abide by it.
He was tweeting the day after about how we haven’t reached former Gov. Sean Parnell’s goal of 1 million barrels per day and then turned his attention to the difference in production tax revenue versus the entirely separate subject of oil tax credits.
[Read more at the Alaska Journal of Commerce]
Anchorage has become one of the top cities in the U.S. for car theft. Today is a Saturday, so keep an eye out — it’s the biggest car theft day of the week in Alaska’s biggest city.
Of the 241 car thefts reported from Sept. 28 through Oct. 27, shown in the map above, Sunday is a day of relative rest for car thieves in Anchorage, but even then you’ll not want to leave your car running while unattended anywhere in the Anchorage bowl.
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux’s campaign slush fund, Gabby’s Tuesday Pac, has been fined by the Alaska Public Offices Commission for missing a filing deadline.
She’s being ordered to pay $625 within 30 days of the decision, released on Wednesday.
https://aws.state.ak.us/ApocReports/Paper/Download.aspx?ID=14492
Alaska campaign finance law prohibits lobbyists from donating to legislative candidates unless they live in the same district. But LeDoux got around that by setting up her own political action committee to, as she labeled it, “elect comonsense conservatives.”
She lightened the pockets of lobbyists from the AFL-CIO, as well as Ashley Reed, John Harris, Darwin Bier, Ray Gillespie, Kris Knauss, Fate Putnam, Paul Fuhs, Kim Hutchinson, and others.
She then blocked legislation offered by Sen. Kevin Meyer to prevent legislators from creating such PACs.
This summer, she just forgot to file her reports with APOC.
LeDoux is a lawyer by training. She was a well-known consort of Bill Allen, who was convicted in a bribery scandal that rocked the state in 2006.