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Shocking: Anchorage dump has trove of personal data for the taking

Suzanne Downing
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Shocking: Anchorage dump has trove of personal data for the taking

Forget Equifax and its massive breach of America’s personal information.

In Anchorage, one only needs to drive to the dump to access the names, driver’s license numbers, home addresses and phone numbers of those who came before you to check out the free paint stash. You can also view the signatures associated with this information.

Anchorage Assembly member Amy Demboski was shocked to see a document sent to her that was a photo of visitor logs at the municipal landfill near Eagle River. Must Read Alaska has pixellated the critical information in the photo:

“The Muni is not protecting private information,” Demboski said. “I was sent a picture by a resident who has seen private info multiple times and was able to take a picture because Muni staff left him alone with the info.”

Demboski said she advised the Solid Waste Services director and City Manager Mike Abbott about the breach, but was unsatisfied with the response, so after several days she sent the information along to Must Read Alaska.

“Public officials have a duty to protect the public and that means your personal info too. If the administration chooses not to take that duty seriously, it is my job as an elected official to try to remedy the situation. Warning the public is a necessary step,” – Amy Demboski

The Muni may be in violation of state law:

Sec. 45.48.010 – .090 – Breach of Security Involving Personal Information.

This section of state law contains provisions that require the notification to consumers when their information is breached. That information is listed as an individual’s name and one or more of several other pieces of information, including a social security number, driver’s license number, account number, password, or other access codes.

Violators, including agencies, are subject to a $500 penalty for each consumer who has not been provided notice of the breach of their information. In addition, people can recover actual economic harm, according to the law.

A summary of Alaska laws protecting consumers’ identity is at the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Law website.

Other sites that may be helpful to those who are concerned their identities may have been compromised:

 

Permanent Fund dividend week is here; prepare for crime wave

Suzanne Downing
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Permanent Fund dividend week is here; prepare for crime wave

On Oct. 5, Alaskans will start receiving their Alaska Permanent Fund dividends — either deposited into their bank accounts or mailed to them.

The $1,100 being dispersed to qualifying Alaskans is something criminals are preparing for as well.

After all, more than $672 million is about to enter the Alaska economy. People will be shopping, packages will be arriving, and thieves will be on the hunt.

Most Alaskans have already experienced a dramatic increase in crime in their communities, so now is the time to be extra vigilant.

Property crimes in Alaska rose nearly 19 percent last year, according to the FBI. It was the biggest increase in the nation, which has overall seen property crime drop 2 percent.

[Read: Crime town hall brings out frustration, anger]

A reader shared these tips:

“Spend some time thinking about how to be extra safe. Don’t go from store to store and load up your vehicle. Don’t shop alone. If you are going to shop online, avoid doorstep deliveries. It may take a bit more effort, but better to be safe and keep your PFD windfall than succumb to victimhood. Think about it. Do something about it.”

About 640,000 Alaskans will receive a dividend this month. Must Read Alaska wants our 135,000 monthly visitors and their families and friends to be safe.

So spread the word: Please share this post on Facebook and remind your Alaska friends to take extra precautions in coming weeks.

Alaska Democrats try knock out Ted Leonard

Suzanne Downing
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The Alaska Democratic Party, already involved in other local “nonpartisan” races, have spent more than $800 to support the candidacy of Pat Hogan for Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

Hogan is an unaffiliated candidate. The Democrats financed a mailer supporting her, saying she was approved by “our local Democrats.”

Ted Leonard, the conservative in the race, is the other candidate seeking to fill the seat being vacated by conservative Steve Colligan.

Leonard is the former executive director of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a billion dollar finance development corporation, for seven years.

Ted Leonard

Leonard was also deputy commissioner for Commerce for the State of Alaska, director of Finance and Administrative Services for the City of Wasilla, and has been appointed to various finance positions for school districts across the state. He also worked in the private sector as a chief financial officer and is a small business owner for accounting and financial services.

But the Democrats went not with the numbers guy, but with the candidate they thought to be more amenable to their agenda: Hogan is a Public Health Nurse, a self-described advocate for homeless youth in the Mat-Su, and participates in the Mat-Su Opioid Task Force.

Alaska Democrats also spent over $700 for a Juneau candidate for the Assembly and over $800 to support Dan Mayfield for Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

[Read Democrats making nonpartisan races partisan]

Quote of the Week: Where are you gonna go?

Suzanne Downing
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“With [the] proposed tax, still lowest taxed state. So where you gonna go? – Scott Kendall, chief of staff for Gov. Bill Walker, making the case on Friday to Commonwealth North for an income tax. (Hat tip to Lee Leschper)

“We’re at the point where we can no longer be the only state in the nation that doesn’t have a broad-based tax.” – Gov. Bill Walker, speaking at the same event.

Walker neglected to mention that his halving of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend is a broad-based tax.

In addition, nine states do not level a broad-based individual income tax. Some do tax certain forms of personal income. From Wikipedia:

  • Alaska – no individual tax but has a state corporate income tax. Like New Hampshire, Alaska has no state sales tax, but unlike New Hampshire, Alaska allows local governments to collect their own sales taxes. Alaska has an annual Permanent Fund Dividend, derived from oil revenues, for all citizens living in Alaska after one calendar year, except for some convicted of criminal offenses.[7]
  • Florida – no individual income tax[8] but has a 5.5% corporate income tax.[9] The state once had a tax on “intangible personal property” held on the first day of the year (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, etc.), but it was abolished at the start of 2007.[10]
  • Nevada – has no individual or corporate income tax. Nevada gets most of its revenue from sales taxes and the gambling and mining industries.[11][12]
  • Tennessee has a “Hall income tax” of 6% on income received from stocks and bonds not taxed ad valorem.[13] The Hall income tax is reduced to 5% for tax year 2016, with legislative intent that the tax be statutorily reduced by one percent annually beginning with the first annual session of the 110th general assembly and potentially eliminated by 2022.[14][15] In 1932, the Tennessee Supreme Court struck down a broad-based individual income tax that had passed the General Assembly, in the case of Evans v. McCabe. However, a number of Attorneys General have recently opined that, if properly worded, a state income tax would be found constitutional by today’s court, due to a 1971 constitutional amendment.[16]
  • Texas – no individual income tax, but imposes a franchise tax on corporations. In May 2007, the legislature modified the franchise tax by enacting a modified gross margin tax on certain businesses (sole proprietorships and some partnerships were automatically exempt; corporations with receipts below a certain level were also exempt as were corporations whose tax liability was also below a specified amount), which was amended in 2009 to increase the exemption level. The Texas Constitution places severe restrictions on passage of an individual income tax and the use of its proceeds.
  • Washington – no individual tax but has a business and occupation tax (B&O) on gross receipts, applied to “almost all businesses located or doing business in Washington.” It varies from 0.138% to 1.9% depending on the type of industry.[17][18]
  • Wyoming has no individual or corporate income taxes.[19]
  • South Dakota – no individual income tax but has a state corporate income tax on financial institutions.[citation needed]
  • New Hampshire – has an Interest and Dividends Tax of 5%, and a Business Profits Tax of 8.5%. A Gambling Winnings Tax of 10% went into effect July 1, 2009 and was repealed May 11, 2011.[20] New Hampshire has no sales tax.[21]

Gattis awarded early cash by District 7 GOP

Suzanne Downing
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Gattis awarded early cash by District 7 GOP

Former Rep. Lynn Gattis, now running for lieutenant governor, was awarded $8,000 by District 7 Republicans, as shown in the latest Alaska Republican Party finance report with APOC.

In the past, the state party has stayed out of primary battles and waits until the nominee is decided upon in August balloting before throwing money toward a statewide race.

Sen. Gary Stevens, Sen. Kevin Meyer, and Stephen Wright, and Edith Grunwald are other Republicans in the race for lieutenant governor. Gattis was the first to file.

Tuckerman Babcock, chair of the Alaska Republican Party, said that the Rules Committee reviewed the transfer request by District 7 and decided that nothing prohibited the district from awarding money from its subaccount to a statewide candidate.

Berkowitz budget: Roll-back taxes prior to April election

Suzanne Downing
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Berkowitz budget: Roll-back taxes prior to April election

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has had a tough few months. Crime reached new highs undre his watch, with a murder rate on track to set yet another record this year and a nearly 50 percent increase in auto thefts.

With a liberal-dominated Assembly, Mayor Berkowitz raised taxes on homeowners by 5.3 percent, costing them an average of $250 more per year.

Berkowitz reverted to his old glib self in the media, saying he doesn’t worry about North Korea bombs as much as he worries about bears and moose, and telling people they’re safe as long as they don’t go out after midnight. He had to walk back that statement as insensitive after public backlash.

It was the same foot-in-mouth Berkowitz who, as a candidate once said on the radio: “I support the idea of adults being able to choose who they have a relationship with,” he says. “Father and son should be allowed to marry, if they’re both consenting adults — if you’re defining marriage as the bundle of rights and privileges that’s now accrued to people, then yes.”

The liberal mayor’s homeless initiative has not made a dent on the streets, although he has dedicated significant municipal resources to it. About the same number of people are living in urban encampments as when he took office. This past week it hit another crisis point when one business owner started blaring horns to get homeless people to vacate the area.

Berkowitz has focused more on Anchorage being a “welcoming” city than growing a livable city as he has joined the “resist” movement to rebuke the new president’s campaign against illegal immigration.

But it’s all just not working.

With an election looming in April, Berkowitz is doing what any good politician in trouble would: Scaling back on the property taxes he hiked last year.

He’s going to make up the difference with a gasoline tax to be introduced to the Anchorage Assembly by fellow Democrat and Assembly Chair Dick Traini.

There’s also new revenue from cannabis taxes and other fees.

The 10-cents-a-gallon gas tax is equivalent to a nearly 4 percent tax on gasoline, and would raise as much as $11.7 million. Some of that will come from valley commuters, others from tourists, and still more from the business community.

The 2018 operating budget will be introduced at the Oct. 10 Assembly Meeting, with a public hearing on Oct. 24 at 5 pm.

Berkowitz faces at least one challenger in April: Rebecca Logan, who filed last week as a candidate for mayor. She is the president of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, a trade organization based in Anchorage and, as such, is seen as a pro-business, efficient government alternative to a struggling mayoral incumbent.

Alaska Democrats making nonpartisan races partisan

Suzanne Downing
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1
Alaska Democrats making nonpartisan races partisan

Dan Mayfield was Democrat, but recently switched to nonpartisan — or as he puts it, independent — although there is no such designation in the plethora of voter registration options.

But even though he’s not officially a Democrat for the Oct. 3 municipal election, the Alaska Democratic Party is backing him all the way for re-election on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, because he will “fight for our progressive values.”

The Mayfield flyer is sponsored by Alaska Democratic Party.

According to the Democrats’ flyer, which was mailed to non-Republicans in the district, things like infrastructure, public safety, and responsibly managing public funds are progressive values. “Supported by our local Democrats!” the material says.

Mayfield and his family strenuously objected to various negative comments on Facebook after the flyer was posted on social media by campaign consultant Anand Dubey, who is supporting Mayfield’s opponent, Clayton “Mokie” Tew.

“I am an independent,” Mayfield wrote. “Those in the republican party know that but have chosen to state otherwise. I welcome support from republicans and democrats because local government is suppose to serve people on a non-partisian basis. We are suppose to weigh the issues of the day and make decisions that consider the wishes of our entire Borough. I do that. Considering the proven history of the other candidate, I am surprised by this negativity.”

Further south in Juneau, the Alaska Democrats are backing Democrat Rob Edwardson, who is Rep. Justin Parish’s legislative aide, in the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly race. Edwardson is running against Debbie White, the incumbent.

If Parish is a “D,” then Edwardson is a Big Government Democrat. His position on government is:

“As the State Capital, Juneau is a government town and needs to retain government jobs. I have been fortunate to be able to work on that subject during my career. These necessary government jobs fuel the economy of Juneau alongside private sector jobs. Government workers are homeowners, customers, travelers, and their children attend Juneau’s schools,” Edwardson wrote on his Facebook page.

In both cases, the Democrats call their chosen candidates “progressives,” rather than “Democrats” as the pattern of Democrats running away from their party identification continues.  They know if is difficult to get elected as a Democrat, given how far left Alaska’s Democrats have drifted over the years.

The trend started with Rep. Daniel Ortiz of Ketchikan, Gov. Bill Walker, and Rep. Jason Grenn of Anchorage. All “independent” candidates who came into office with the robust support of the Alaska Democratic Party.

The political parties have long been involved in local elections, but they usually do it quietly, with get-out-the-vote efforts. The Alaska Democrats have made it clear that these days there is nothing nonpartisan about local races and they are going to spend money on mailers and social media boosts in these elections.

The Alaska Democratic Party is registered with Alaska Public Offices Commission to participate in municipal races throughout the state. It’s part of a greater strategy to put Democrats in place at the local level, and train up the best of them to run for state office.

Local assembly, school board, and mayoral races take place around Alaska on Oct. 3, with the exception of Anchorage, which holds its municipal election in April.

Quote of the week: Begich on taxes

Suzanne Downing
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“It’s only taxing wages, that means people that are working every single day and trying to make a living, they’re the ones that are going to be pinned. When you look at what’s exempted: capital gains, dividends, basically for wealthier people, and I think that that’s an unfair tax system. I can’t wait to see the debate because I don’t think that’s going anywhere.”

– Former Sen. Mark Begich, panning Gov. Walker’s income tax proposal and seeming to argue in favor of an even more sweeping tax, while speaking at the Bartlett Club in Anchorage on Thursday in his strongest indication yet that he plans to challenge Gov. Bill Walker.

Public pans dramatic sculptures being installed on Juneau waterfront

Suzanne Downing
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Public pans dramatic sculptures being installed on Juneau waterfront

JUNEAU – “Aquileans.”

That’s the name of a series of 10 metal sculptures that now grace the Juneau waterfront as they are installed this week. Some like the concept, while many think it’s garish, oversized, and a distraction from the natural beauty of the surrounding area. And still more complain about the choosing of a California artist rather than a homegrown Alaskan sculptor.

Others say birds have found a new repository for poop. In fact, “aquiline” comes from the Latin word for eagle, and is sometimes used to describe a nose that resembles a beak, with a downward curve.

The 10 stainless steel sculptures are part of the City and Borough of Juneau’s cruise ship berths project, and are funded through a “1 percent for the arts” program. That rule requires construction projects dedicate one percent to an artistic installation of some sort.

Artist Cliff Garten of California won the art bid in 2015 after a panel reviewed 28 concepts. The sculptures are being bolted to bollards along the waterfront that were formerly used to tie up cruise ships, and will stretch from Marine Park to the Mount Robert’s Tramway building. The installation is due to complete this week.

Garten said the origins of the sculptures are found in archetypes of the Alaskan landscape: “The form is a combination of two iconic ecological Alaskan shapes – a whale fluke and an eagle’s wings in flight. Set against the landscape of mountains and ocean, the sculptures will create a recognizable character for the waterfront and bring a contemporary aesthetic to the social and economic life of Juneau.”

They will also likely be noisy whenever the wind blows along the waterfront, and might be especially loud during gale-force southeasterlies or Taku winds. As wind howls through power lines, Juneau can expect some eerie sounds to be heard from the 10 unintended wind harps. Dogs may find the noise unbearable at certain harmonics.

The sculptor wrote: “The sculptures are made of ¼” laser-cut stainless steel plates which shape the 3/8” stainless steel rods that twist and turn to create the form. The sculptures reflect and refract sunlight during the day and are illuminated with a program of color changing LED light at night.”

Juneauites will attest that the sculptures may not refract all that much sunlight in the rain forest, where direct sunlight is infrequent, but that description can be chalked up to aesthetic hopefulness.

When coated with freezing rain and snow, they’ll transform in ways even the artist probably cannot imagine. And when illuminated by LED lights during the winter, they’ll probably find greater acceptance with the public than they’re currently experiencing.

Artist’s rendering of what the sculptures “Aquileans” may look like along the waterfront.

Critics have been quick to judge. Even though the sculptures are not fully installed, an overwhelming number of the comments on Facebook have been negative:

“Vegas garishness on Juneau’s natural beauty of a waterfront. Someone dropped the ball,” commented one person on the Juneau Community Collective Facebook page.

“The 1% for art program should absolutely be restricted to Alaskan artists. So much ugly nonsense like this comes to Juneau from out-of-state for no reason. Alaska has one of the most unique and vibrant art communities in the nation. We hear that we are broke and struggling, that our PFD needs to be confiscated, then we see crap like this paid for with large sums of Alaskan money that was mailed out of state to someone far far away. Disgusting and unacceptable,” wrote another.

“Nimbus for the 21st Century,” commented one critic, referring to the most controversial sculpture in Alaska, which has been, at times, homeless due to its color choice and general unattractiveness. Nimbus, also conceived by an Outside artist, never really grew on the public, and for a while was parked in a Department of Transportation maintenance yard, before being revived this year for installation near the State Museum building.

[Read: Alaska’s most controversial sculpture gets a new home]

“Why spend Alaska money on a Californian artist? It would make good sense to hire an Alaskan artist,” asked one Juneauite, in a sentiment echoed by several who said they’d rather see totems.

In Juneau, stirring up artistic controversy is a time-honored form of entertainment. This year, howling of the poop-covered Aquileans sculptures will only be matched by the howling of the general public, and possibly the howling of downtown dogs.

As for Must Read Alaska, these stainless steel looms look ripe for another type of artistic installation if the wind-harp effect becomes a problem: guerilla yarn bombing.

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