Page 1654 – Must Read Alaska

Murkowski picks wrong fight with Trump on Education secretary

-

February 2, 2017

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

-

February 1, 2017

0

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

-

January 31, 2017

0

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

-

January 28, 2017

0

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

-

January 27, 2017

0

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.

Juneau’s downtown homeless are health and safety issue

Suzanne Downing

-

January 26, 2017

0

Juneau’s downtown homeless are health and safety issue

By WIN GRUENING

When Mayor Ken Koelsch recently proposed a city ordinance prohibiting camping in downtown Juneau to help resolve on-going issues with our homeless population, there was significant public reaction.

Many believe the mayor’s proposed action is long overdue, but others accused him of being insensitive and cold-hearted. A fair and complete understanding of the complex issues involved might dampen the misinformation being spread through social media.

This issue is not unique to Juneau. Over the past several years, due to public health and safety concerns, Anchorage and Wasilla have been forced to close homeless camps.

Problems associated with Juneau’s chronically homeless, most of whom are chronic inebriates or have mental health issues, persist throughout the downtown area. In response to complaints, police have worked to stem the number of negative incidents caused by some members of our homeless population. Yet complaints, especially among visitors and business owners, have multiplied. This issue reflects directly upon our community and affects all of us — whether resident or visitor.

Our police force, EMTs, local hospital and a whole host of social service agencies and nonprofit organizations have struggled to balance the needs of this population and still address concerns affecting visitors, residents and business owners. The cost of doing this has been tremendous.

In response, the Assembly invested $1.5 million to aid in construction of a 32-bed Housing First project to house and treat the chronically homeless. This facility — scheduled to open in a matter of months — will help relieve the situation by providing alternatives for some of the homeless.

But recently, the problems have become more pervasive and disturbing. According to some merchants, the number of homeless on our streets has increased and is represented by a younger more violent group of individuals who are unmanageable and often under the influence of drugs such as meth and heroin. Vandalism is increasing, and threatening behavior is becoming more commonplace.

These newcomers are camping on private property in business entryways, getting into fights, vandalizing property, defecating in public areas, littering, and intimidating shoppers and downtown workers. Not surprisingly, residents and visitors have expressed fear for their safety when walking downtown — especially at night.

As recently as last week, two legislative staffers moving into rentals on South Franklin had possessions stolen from them during the day. After several threatening incidents, the executive director of the Glory Hole has considered arming herself with bear spray.

Opponents of the no-camping ordinance are worried the homeless will be forced to migrate into residential areas or other locations due to the lack of available shelters and campgrounds.

Recognizing this, Mayor Koelsch and staff are simultaneously working on alternatives, near fruition, for homeless individuals who are unable to find shelter. Negotiations are underway with the Salvation Army to provide an emergency warming shelter that would be available when temperatures fall to low levels. Other efforts include leasing campground space near downtown that would be open during the winter months.

Unfortunately, even when shelter and treatment alternatives are available, many of the homeless choose not to take advantage of them and prefer to stay camped on private property. Juneau Police Department Chief Bryce Johnson testified recently that during a voluntary outreach program in which officers and social service agencies talked with people camped in the doorways of downtown businesses, only one person voluntarily agreed to get up and move into a shelter.

And this is the crux of the issue. The police are unable to legally remove anyone from private property without the owner filing a formal complaint. Most often, this situation occurs in the evening after the business has closed and can be an expensive and time consuming process.

This is unfair to working families and proprietors owning downtown businesses and their employees who must work under these conditions.

Hence the need for a no-camping ordinance in the downtown core. According to JPD Chief Johnson, while violators would only be guilty of an infraction, this will give police a tool to help move people to social services and reduce potentially volatile situations.

Think about this. If a homeless individual camped on your front porch, how long would you tolerate it before you called the police? Yes, the homeless deserve compassion and may be homeless due to circumstances beyond their control. But they are not helpless and must be willing to respect private property and not be a threat to the general public.

Government cannot address this alone as budget pressures continue to reduce services. Those expressing concern for the plight of our homeless can help by directing their generosity and concern to helping raise funds for additional shelter space and social services.

Mayor Koelsch deserves credit for tackling this messy and uncomfortable issue head-on. This shouldn’t be an issue where anyone needs to take sides. Everybody is trying to achieve the same thing — a safe inviting downtown district and helping our homeless population with basic needs and services. The proposed ordinance is just one step in accomplishing that. Let’s work together on the rest.

Win Gruening was senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank. Born and raised in Juneau, he is active in civic activities at the local and state level.

Grenn’s ‘ethics’ bill would put all lawmakers on ice

Suzanne Downing

-

January 25, 2017

1

Newly elected Rep. Jason Grenn wants to make sure that any legislator who works for an oil company cannot vote on anything related to oil, taxes, tax credits, or even exploration and development in Alaska. Ditto for oil services companies or those who contract with oil companies.

In fact, no one with any kind oil-patch job would be able to vote on the budget, in Rep. Grenn’s ideal scenario, because the State of Alaska budget is paid for by oil revenues.

If you can’t vote on the budget these days, what are you even doing in Juneau as a lawmaker?

Blocking oil company workers is Grenn’s real reason behind HB 44, “Voting and Conflicts,” which was to be heard today in House Judiciary (Democrat Matt Claman, chair), but which was delayed to Friday with no reason given.

It’s also why in the Capitol, aides refer to HB 44 as the “M&M Bill,” code for the “Meyer/Micciche Bill,” because both Sen. Kevin Meyer and Peter Micciche work for ConocoPhillips, and they are always attacked by Democrats for holding down jobs with Big Oil.

As a candidate, Grenn said he was running for office because, “Our current Legislature failed Alaska when it went back to Juneau for five overtime sessions to deal with the most serious fiscal crisis in state history and took no action.”

Yet, as someone who has been put in charge of vetting the budget for the Department of Administration, Grenn is now busy working on his first “practice” bill. And he’s chosen Republicans Meyer and Micciche as his targets.

Before Grenn sits in front of Judiciary and offers his bill for deliberation, we’d offer members of the committee some additional questions:

Should union lawyers like Senate Democrat Bill Wielechowski be forced to sit out their votes on anything related to the budget, since nearly all budget items pertain to union members?

Will House Democrats Andy Josephson and Geran Tarr have to sit out any votes on oil taxes or environmental policy? After all, in December Josephson offered the official state offices of Josephson and Tarr to the environmental lobby group The Alaska Center, which is a clear indication that the two have already prejudged environmental matters to come before them. (This is a matter the Legislative Ethics Committee should take up, regardless.)

Will House Democrat Zach Fansler vote on the budget if it includes cuts to the University of Alaska, where he teaches math (at the Kuskokwim campus)?

House Democrat Chris Tuck works for a union — will he have to abstain from voting on the budget, since it will affect his employer?

Or, as Senate Republican Mia Costello noted, will anyone with children in the public schools have to recuse themselves from voting on the budget, since their children will be affected?

Speaking of conflicts, the sponsors of HB 44 include House Rules Chair Gabrielle LeDoux, who now runs Gabby’s Tuesday PAC, where she accepts money from lobbyists through a loophole that only a crafty lawyer like her could have found.

Those lobbyists now know what it takes to get legislation past her committee and onto the House Floor: “That’ll be $5,000, please.” They don’t need to be told — they’ll just fork it over because they know they have to.

Should LeDoux be banned from voting on ethics legislation that would close that loophole? For that matter, should she be banned from voting on fishing legislation because she owns a driftnet permit in Bristol Bay? Or how about landlord legislation, since she owns several rental properties?

Other HB 44 sponsors are Musk Ox Republican Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak, and Democrats Ivy Spohnholz of Anchorage, Justin Parish of Juneau, Fansler of Bethel, Geran Tarr and Harriet Drummond, both of Anchorage.

“Whatever happens on Nov. 8, let’s make a commitment to put partisan agendas on the shelf and deliver the responsible fiscal plan that our state desperately needs. Alaskans deserve it. And I would be honored to be a part of it,” Grenn wrote last year.

That was so last year.

This year, Grenn is starting out of the gate not with serious intent to trim state government, nor make it more efficient. He is going after the people in the Legislature who hold jobs in the private sector.

Grenn’s statement on HB 44 says: “HB 44 contains provisions to ensure conflicts are “substantial” before a legislator would be required to abstain from voting. Any benefit a legislator or a member of the legislator’s immediate family might receive from supporting a particular piece of legislation would have to be greater than the benefit a large group of Alaskans would receive in order to require abstention. The bill and resolution recognize the responsibility of legislators to vote, except in clear cases where the outcome of the vote would result in substantial personal financial gain. This includes cases where an immediate family member or a legislator’s employer would receive a large and direct financial benefit.”

Substantial financial benefits might include having a job, which Grenn himself had until he left it to become a lawmaker.

If HB 44 was passed, lawmakers like him would try to block others from voting on matters by raising conflict questions that would have to be sorted out before a vote could proceed. Lawmakers who have no jobs would hold the hammer over the heads of those who do.

These challenges would be taken to the Legislative Ethics Committee time and again, and the process being used to block progress.

Grenn’s bill is a solution in search of a problem. He would introduce a layer of uncertainty into the ethics law, which today features simplicity and accountability. Fellow legislators already declare their conflicts and their colleagues vote on whether or not they should refrain from voting on an issue. This is transparent. Citizen voters have the final say come election time.

BIG STATE, SMALL COMMUNITY: Alaska is a medium-sized U.S. city in terms of population and it’s a place where employment options are limited, and the oil industry is one of the major employers.

Grenn’s bill runs the very real risk of disenfranchising the voters of districts where there is actual employment, in favor lawmakers who have no real jobs. This undermines the principle of a citizen legislature.

Grenn, who is a nonprofit guy whose last job was funded by the Rasmuson Foundation, has his own conflicts, including his acceptance of substantial support from the Alaska business community during his election.

Now, he’s going after those who are employed by the business community. His bill would make it less likely that people who work in the private sector even bother to run for office in the future.

By using his M&M bill to pick fights with legislators rather than focus of trimming the budget, Grenn is off to a questionable start.

Murkowski retains control of Interior Department’s budget

Suzanne Downing

-

January 25, 2017

0

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has again been chosen as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Interior’s budget, a role she gained in 2015.

The subcommittee is critical to Alaska, as it controls funding for a federal agency with multiple subdivisions that have a huge footprint in the state.

“As Chairman, I have the ability to directly influence how these agencies operate, whether that’s blocking excessive regulations or directing federal resources to where they are needed,” Murkowski said. “I will continue to be a tireless advocate for our state and look forward to providing greater opportunities for Alaskans to build the economy and create healthy communities.”

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee controls funding levels for federal agencies and the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Indian Health Service. Murkowski, as Chairman, is able to write the Senate’s annual appropriations bill for the subcommittee.

City to citizens: Want street plowed? Move your car

Suzanne Downing

-

January 25, 2017

0

*In Anchorage? Get ready for a slush fest, as warm weather hits these snowbanks in the next 48 hours.*

The snow is only going to get heavier with the warm front that is coming this way, so you may as well get on it now.

And to encourage you, Anchorage Police Department issued a unusually chipper message on the Nixle app this afternoon. Take note of the personable tone, which might almost make you want to shovel snow:

Mother Nature, bless her heart, has decided we should get all of last year’s snow AND this year’s snow. All at once. Fabulous. So you know all of that white stuff you’ve been repeatedly shoveling out of your driveway? The plows need to remove it from our streets. But they can’t do it without your help.

Please remove your vehicles from the roadway so the plows can make it easier for all of us to drive. Not only is it difficult for our amazing plow operators to navigate those big machines around cars, but in some places, there is so much snow build-up and so many cars on the street that the plows simply don’t fit. They have to drive on past the neighborhood.

I know you know where your shovel is because you’ve been using it non-stop the past three days. So please take it out to your car, unbury your vehicle, and move it to the driveway. Thank you so much for your help. The plow drivers thank you too!!

Municipal Code 9.30.150 – Parking for longer than 24 hours – No person may park a vehicle on any street, vehicular way or area, or municipally owned parking lot for a period of time longer than 24 hours, except from Friday noon until Monday noon.

To receive alerts from the Anchorage Police Department (and they can be helpful, especially regarding emergencies and road closures) text your ZIP code to 888777, or walk through the process at https://local.nixle.com.

A word to the wise: Not all of the Nixle warnings are so insufferably cheerful.

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

Juneau’s downtown homeless are health and safety issue

Grenn’s ‘ethics’ bill would put all lawmakers on ice

Murkowski retains control of Interior Department’s budget

City to citizens: Want street plowed? Move your car

About us

The latest

Fifty years after Saigon fell, one sailor’s memories still haunt him — and one unexpected encounter brought him peace

Bill Elam: Now is time to deliver on Alaska LNG

Pam Melin: Who is turning Alaska purple on purpose?