Page 1715 – Must Read Alaska

Alaska Gasline corporation in retrograde

Politics

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July 28, 2016

Relic: Image from wallyhickel.org of then Mayor Sarah Palin, Gov. Jay Hammond, Gov. Walter J. Hickel, and Sen. Rick Halford. — *Photographic relic: Image from wallyhickel.org of then-Mayor Sarah Palin, Gov. Jay Hammond, Gov. Walter J. Hickel, and Sen. Rick Halford.*

JOURNAL DETAILS WALKER’S PIPELINE HISTORY

An Alaska Journal of Commerce editorial this week has a devastating breakdown of how the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has devolved into the old Alaska Gasline Port Authority.

And of that old relic, nothing good can result.

Within the span of 18 months, Gov. Bill Walker has deconstructed AGDC. It was a complete overthrow, methodically pursued month after month, until it was unrecognizable. No longer a partnership, it has become a state-run project. What can possibly go wrong?

Read here what may be the most important piece you read about Alaska government this year. In fact, cut it out and tape it to your refrigerator door because in it, there’s a good bit of prophecy.

The Alaska Gasline, AK LNG, is on the brink of joining other state-financed, state-run projects boondoggles that ran into monumental hurdles and met with spectacular failures, because government is just not very good at business. Government is not entrepreneurial. Government wastes money better Paris Hilton on Rodeo Drive.

In the 1970s, when the state was bathing in oodles of oil dollars, the State of Alaska launched the Delta Barley Project, (Delta 1 and Delta 2), as well as the Seward grain terminal and associated rail and port projects. It was a project that cost more than $200 million in today’s dollars and even involved a revolving loan fund. The project was a bust and became the poster child for misbegotten pipe dreams with too much money and too little sense.

The Seward Grain Terminal made Valdez jealous, so it built its own terminal at a cost of $30 million, according to this story by Amanda Coyne.

Projects such as the Alaska Seafood International fish processing facility, and the Alaska Petrochemical Company were added to the list of public investment gone south.

Whenever the State of Alaska has tried to take over projects that belong in the private sector, proponents are seduced by the idea that if they just pour more money into it, a project will become viable.

On top of that, the AK-LNG project has, as its champion, a man who is fundamentally obsessed, a leader who believes he has far superior skills and analytical abilities than the average citizen or captains of industry.

Gov. Bill Walker intends to spend the amount that is in our Alaska Permanent Fund to build a gasline for a market that does not exist, and that no one predicts will exist for perhaps 20 years.

As Andrew Jensen writes in the Alaska Journal of Commerce, “Walker’s Quixotic quest to build the gasline himself gives him a chance to be the state’s first living boondoggle.”

The only rational solution for the Legislature, at this juncture, may be to put the gasline corporation on ice. As in, pull the funding.

Murkowski powers through fundraising

Politics

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

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July 28, 2016

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TAKING NO CHANCES

In another sign that she takes nothing for granted anymore when it comes to voters, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has raked in more than $730,000 during the fundraising quarter that ended July 1.

The Murkowski campaign appears to have become a well-oiled machine with several long-time Alaskans onboard and a schedule that would tire a teenager.

The latest campaign hire is Robert Dillon, who worked for Murkowski on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Dillon returned to Murkowski’s orbit as her campaign communication director after a stint with a public relations company in DC.

Murkowski and Congressman Don Young have been appearing at events together across Alaska, talking about the importance of having a strong, cohesive team in the nation’s capital. Young said to a small group of political activists on Monday that he was relieved to have a solid team working in Washington, a big difference from the six years when Mark Begich was senator.

OPPONENT GETTING WINDCHILL

One of Murkowski’s opponents, Margaret Stock, is running as an independent but with the backing of the Alaska Democratic Party. Stock has less than a nickel for every dollar Murkowski has in the bank.

Stock has also not turned in the signatures needed to get onto the November ballot as an independent, but she’s paid contract workers $8,000 to gather those names. Prognotiscators are predicting she may come in behind Democrat “Disco” Ray Metcalfe, who jumped into the race late in the cycle, after Stock was denied a spot on the Democrats’ ballot for the primary. The Alaska Division of Elections ruled against her and the Democrats’ attempt to include her name on their ballot.

Stock, who purports to be nonpartisan and says she would caucus with whoever would caucus with her, met with the now-disgraced Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz when Schultz was in Alaska in May. The meeting was a bid to shore up fundraising from the Democrats.

But that did not boost Stock enough: She has just $145,000 available, and $25,000 of that is her own money.

Murkowski, however, has $3.1 million still on hand. Through March 31, Murkowski had raised more money than any Alaska senate candidate in history, bringing in nearly $700,000, and ending the quarter with nearly $1.5 million available.

Front page fails

Other

Suzanne Downing

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July 27, 2016

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Today Must Read Alaska celebrates irony in the news with two examples of copy editing gone awry. Enjoy a moment when the Wall Street Journal and the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman have epic front pages that tell all kinds of stories.

Book Review: Hillary’s America

Books

Suzanne Downing

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July 27, 2016

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For some of us, a summer viewing of the movie Jaws is a delicious ritual.

This summer — cue shark music — there’s a movie out that will really scare you. But first, to the book:

Dinesh D’Souza, author of America: Imagine a World Without Her, has a new page-turner, and it’s a quick read.

In Hillary’s America, D’Souza unravels the enigma of why the Democratic Party has any members at all, considering its history. He attempts to explain why anyone would vote for a person like Hillary Clinton, who has been in public life for decades but who has accomplished nothing.

Since she’s the star of Philadelphia this week as the Democratic nominee, there’s no better time to read D’Souza’s account of the real history of the Democratic Party, from its sordid support of slavery to its fascination with fascism. Sometimes D’Souza is over the top, but even if he’s 80 percent on-target, it’s a compelling argument.

If Hillary wins the White House, as the line goes in Jaws, “you’re going to need a bigger boat.” It will mean 12 years of Democratic rule, doubling down on debt. Alaskans, in particular, will see their economy on ice as Hillary shuts it down for good.

Read the book at Amazon Kindle. Prepare to be terrified. Or see the movie today and tomorrow:

Regal Tikahtnu Stadium 16 IMAX & RPX – Map

11:05am

1:50pm

4:50pm

7:40pm

10:25pm

The Valley Cinema – Map

7:05pm

9:30pm

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program: the Democratic National Convention, where Joe Biden and Barack Obama will be speaking this evening.

Big Labor weighs in on Republican primaries

Suzanne Downing

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July 27, 2016

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Big Labor weighs in on Republican primaries

LABOR HAMMERS BIRCH, JUMPS ON JOHNSON

Anchorage House and Senate races are getting heated with and AFL-CIO — Big Labor money — beginning to show up in member-to-member literature that is being distributed to member and nonmember households throughout the districts in the House District 26 and Senate Seat L.

Big Labor, representing tens of thousands of state employees, has thrown its endorsements to incumbent Bob Lynn for House and Jeff Landfield for Senate.

ALASKANS OPPOSING PARNELL? WHO IS THAT?

One of the more curious aspects about the “Labor lit. drop” is the “top-three” support not just from two labor groups, from an independent expenditure group called “Alaskans Opposing Parnell.”

Who is that? Vince Beltrami and Joelle Hall, one and the same with AFL-CIO. They’re the same group that put out the savaging hit pieces on Sean Parnell during the 2014 election, including this one on YouTube. They’re definitely a group that doesn’t mess around but goes for the jugular.

It’s not typical for the unions to get involved in a Republican primary in Alaska, because Big Labor typically marshalls its resources for the general elections. We are seeing a new pattern, one that is developing in other states as well, as described by this 2013 article in Mother Jones magazine.

When the Alaska Public Offices Commission was asked about whether Alaskans Opposing Parnell was still a legitimate group, APOC said:

Alaskans Opposing Parnell has not made an expenditure for the 2016 election. Alaskans Opposing Parnell disbanded in 2015 after they disbursed their leftover funds by contributing them to Putting Alaskans First. Alaskans Opposing Parnell’s final expenditure was made in 2015.

Alaskans Opposing Parnell may be one of Putting Alaskans First’s largest contributors that Putting Alaskans First is required to identify, but Alaskans Opposing Parnell did not make the expenditure for the door piece – Putting Alaskans First made the expenditure.

While APOC’s explanation is inadequate at best, because the disclaimer clearly states Alaskans Opposing Parnell has made an expenditure, it’s more troubling that APOC sees no problem with the group working under cover. The 2015 report for Alaskans Opposing Parnell states: “Disbanding: No plans to re-form. Closing out campaign account.”

Here’s what the Alaskans Opposing Parnell piece look like for Lynn and what the related piece looks like for Landfield. It appears that, in spite of what APOC is choosing to believe, an expenditure has indeed been made.

THE BELTRAMI EFFECT

We delved into Alaskans Opposing Parnell in the APOC reports and came up with this, and it’s all perfectly legal, until APOC decides it’s not:

Here is the relevant statute that applies to Alaskans Opposing Parnell getting involved in other races:

Sec. 15.13.050. Registration before expenditure. (a) Before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a candidate or before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a ballot proposition or question or to an initiative proposal application filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.020, each person other than an individual shall register, on forms provided by the commission, with the commission.
(b) If a group intends to support only one candidate or to contribute to or expend on behalf of one candidate 33 1/3 percent or more of its funds, the name of the candidate shall be a part of the name of the group. If the group intends to oppose only one candidate or to contribute its funds in opposition to or make expenditures in opposition to a candidate, the group’s name must clearly state that it opposes that candidate by using a word such as “opposes,” “opposing,” “in opposition to,” or “against” in the group’s name. Promptly upon receiving the registration, the commission shall notify the candidate of the group’s organization and intent. A candidate may register more than one group to support the candidate; however, multiple groups controlled by a single candidate shall be treated as a single group for purposes of the contribution limit in AS 15.13.070(b)(1).
(c) If a group intends to make more than 50 percent of its contributions or expenditures in support of or in opposition to a single initiative on the ballot, the title or common name of the initiative must be a part of the name of the group. If the group intends to make more than 50 percent of its contributions or expenditures in opposition to a single initiative on the ballot, the group’s name must clearly state that the group opposes that initiative by using a word such as “opposes,” “opposing,” “in opposition to,” or “against” in the group’s name.

Colver proposes fixing Social Security — in Juneau?

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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July 26, 2016

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Jim Colver will save your Social Security when he gets to Juneau, according to his flyer below. He’s staving off an advancing army behind George Rauscher, who is running to unseat him for House District 9.

The fellow pictured in the flyer below, for the record, is not Jim Colver, unless Jim is a shape-shifter. Jim looks like the photo above. Keep it handy: With the attendance record he has in Juneau, you’d be forgiven for not recognizing him.

LIST OF ENDORSERS FOR GEORGE RAUSCHER GROWS

Here’s who is on the list as endorsers for Rauscher:

Representative Lora Reinbold

Senator Charlie Huggins

Senator Lyda Green

Representative Wes Keller

Representative Dan Saddler

MatSu Mayor Larry DeVilbiss

Delta Mayor Pete Hallgren

Francis Hallgren

Former District 9 Chair Rick Stillie

Current District 9 Chair Carol Carman

Jeff McNabb

Daniel Hamm

Rob Matthews

Joe and Rachel Holbrook

Don Haase

Carol Neeley

Rod Arno

Kenny Barber

Dwayne King

Bill Iverson

Park Kriner

Sheila Hoffman

Michael Chambers

Ron Johnson

Ric Davidge

Alaska Right to Life

Alaska Republican Assembly

Alaska Outdoor Council

Outdoor Access Alliance

ARP District 7

ARP District 9

ARP District 10

ARP District 11

ARP District 12

Alaska Republican Party

List of endorsers for Jim Colver:

Gabrielle LeDoux

17 Union PACs

Bright, shiny objects: Democrats gone, Blue Angels here

Uncategorized

Suzanne Downing

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July 26, 2016

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DEMS IN PHILLY

Alaska Democrats are sweltering in Philadelphia this week for the coronation of Hillary Clinton as their nominee. On Monday, Elizabeth Warren, who identifies as a Native American at times, mocked Republican Donald Trump for wanting to build a wall on the southern border.

Meanwhile, here’s the wall that the Democrats built to protect their speakers from the angry mobs that are the delegates. Alaskans know a blue tarp when we see one.

SO THAT MEANS BLUE ANGELS BACK IN ALASKA

Arctic Thunder performance is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, starring the Blue Angels flight team. Gates open for the performances at 9 a.m.

This will be their first appearance since Arctic Thunder 2010, the Alaska Air Show Association reports.

“The Blue Angels showcase demonstrate the Unites States Navy and Marine Corps’ commitment to professionalism, excellence and service through these world-class flight demonstrations and community outreach.” Not to mention they will knock your socks off with the sound of freedom in their F/A-18 Hornets and C-130 Hercules.

More information and schedule.

The weather forecast for JBER this weekend is for clouds but no sign of big storms heading this way.

STATE JOBS DECLINE BY 70

The administration of Gov. Bill Walker is repeating the mantra that it has eliminated thousands of jobs, but most of those have been positions that are simply left unfilled when people move on. The actual number of pink slips given out during the last year is 70.

OMB Director Pat Pitney told the public policy group Commonwealth North that the state’s 26,500 member workforce has dropped to 24,800. This includes the University of Alaska system. The number calculates out to one state employee for every 29 Alaskans.

LABOR COMMISSIONER SAYS COST OF LIVING DUE TO WHA-A-A-T?

Alaska’s Commissioner of Labor, Heidi Drygas, left, makes the case that Alaska’s cost of living is high because of how many people want to live here.

In the most recent edition of the Labor Department’s magazine, Alaska Trends, she writes:

Yes, Alaska has higher prices than the average community in America. We also have higher wages, better job opportunities, and quality of life.

Too often, we forget there’s a correlation between places people want to live and high costs of living. Nearly all places that are desirable — Alaska, Hawaii, or cities like Seattle, Portland, or New York — have higher-than-average costs of living. That’s no accident. An attractive place to live will have a tighter housing market and stronger demand for goods and services. While we should certainly take steps to reduce the cost of living in Alaska, we should also recognize that our costs are at least partly a byproduct of demand to live in our great state.

Following that logic…oh never mind. It speaks for itself. Bread in Barrow, last time we checked, was $8 for a loaf of Orowheat. Because people want to live there.

SECTION EIGHT FOR BED AND BREAKFASTS?

The Juneau Assembly is getting ready to force every landlord in Juneau to take Section 8 housing vouchers. Yes, that means even a bed and breakfast would be required to accept the government vouchers, if Assemblyman Jessie Kiehl gets his way.

The original version of the local legislation said landlords would have to take any type of lawful payment for rent, which means a landlord could not deny someone who wants to pay with an American Express card, even if the landlord doesn’t accept the cards.

More importantly, there are many landlords who simply do not want to participate in government programs like Section 8. They find Section 8 tenants tend to have too many issues, and the maintenance and repair for Section 8 tenants often leave landlords with having to do extensive work on a unit for a month or more after the tenant vacates.

Walker Administration gets another Moody’s downgrade

Suzanne Downing

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July 26, 2016

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BORROWING WILL BECOME SLIGHTLY MORE COSTLY FOR STATE

One press release you did not see from Governor Bill Walker today was announcing this item: Moody’s downgraded the State of Alaska’s general obligation rating from Aa1 to Aa2. The outlook remains negative.

It was the second time this year.

“The downgrade recognizes the state’s political inability – at least for now – to address its severe fiscal challenges,” the company said in a statement.

With the government running deficits of more than $3 billion per year, and with pensions owed to defined benefit recipients (Tiers 1-3), the state is structually imbalanced now that oil prices are low, Moody’s said.

Moody’s also recognized that Alaska has huge reserves: “extremely large” is how the company describes Alaska’s reserve funds, which can buy the State a few more years. The company made an assumption that Alaska will achieve sustainability before running through its piggy bank, also known as the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Moody’s also downgraded the state’s lease-appropriation bonds and its “moral obligation” bonds.

During the Sean Parnell Administration, the state had a AAA rating from all three bond agencies, but oil prices were high and the governor and legislature made big payments into the pension system.

Gov. Bill Walker, governing during a time of low oil prices, failed to adapt state spending to income, and has not been able to bring his Democrats in the Legislature to the table to make realistic budget cuts.

UNDERSTANDING MOODY’S RATINGS

Aaa: This is “triple-A,” the highest rating Moody’s assigns as the highest mark for creditworthiness.
Aa: This is “double-A” and is the next highest tier, indicating very strong creditworthiness.
A: This is called “single-A” and is the third highest tier of above average creditworthiness.
Baa: Known as “B double-A”. This is the lowest tier that is still ‘investment grade.’ This points to average creditworthiness.

In each rating level, Moody’s also adds a number from 1-3, with 1 being better and 3 being weaker.

More WikiLeaks about Alaska DNC, Mayor Berkowitz

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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July 25, 2016

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DEEP INTEL ON BERNIE SANDERS

Some enterprising researchers found the following documents at WikiLeaks.

Below, Jake Hamburg, communication director for the Alaska Democrats, reassures the DNC that the party has sent the DNC a lot of intelligence on the Bernie Sanders movement here in Alaska. This in spite of the glaring fact that 82 percent of Democrats in Alaska voted for Bernie. Is the Alaska Democratic Party following the direction of its members or bowing to the national committee’s rigging of the nomination for Hillary Clinton?

Among others passing along deep research to the National DNC was Kay Brown, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, here referencing the help she’s received from Hal Gazaway, the chair of District 19 Democrats. Gazaway, readers will recall, ran for state House in 2012, but withdrew from the rase after winning the primary.

THE MAYOR IS JEWISH, AND DWS HAS TAKEN NOTE!

Another gem is a note from Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself, (hrtsleeve@gmail) in which she delights in the fact that the mayor of Anchorage is Jewish, and acknowledges that Schawna Thoma, who works for Northern Compass Group (Begich), gets her marching orders from the senator himself.

We presume that’s not Senator Sullivan. Northern Compass Group is described as “a full-service consulting firm that helps clients develop tailored, strategic plans to achieve sustainable solutions for even the most daunting challenges. Our team’s diverse expertise in business, government, and politics delivers results that will last. Using proven strategies driven by the Begich approach of bringing stakeholders together, we are committed to creating a realistic road map that gets our clients where they want to go.”

Nearly all the staff members of Northern Compass Group are former staffers for the senator, who was bumped out of office in 2014.

ELVI GRAY-JACKSON IN WIKILEAKS

More organizing with local Democrats, including Assemblywoman Jackson, and once again a reference about Shawna Thoma getting her marching orders from the “senator.”

Duly Noted: Elvi Gray Jackson says she’s “from Jersey and won’t be bullied and doesn’t want to have to curse anybody out.”

Alaska Gasline corporation in retrograde

JOURNAL DETAILS WALKER’S PIPELINE HISTORY

Murkowski powers through fundraising

TAKING NO CHANCES

OPPONENT GETTING WINDCHILL

Front page fails

Book Review: Hillary’s America

Big Labor weighs in on Republican primaries

LABOR HAMMERS BIRCH, JUMPS ON JOHNSON

ALASKANS OPPOSING PARNELL? WHO IS THAT?

THE BELTRAMI EFFECT

Colver proposes fixing Social Security — in Juneau?

LIST OF ENDORSERS FOR GEORGE RAUSCHER GROWS

Here’s who is on the list as endorsers for Rauscher:

List of endorsers for Jim Colver:

Bright, shiny objects: Democrats gone, Blue Angels here

DEMS IN PHILLY

SO THAT MEANS BLUE ANGELS BACK IN ALASKA

STATE JOBS DECLINE BY 70

LABOR COMMISSIONER SAYS COST OF LIVING DUE TO WHA-A-A-T?

SECTION EIGHT FOR BED AND BREAKFASTS?

Walker Administration gets another Moody’s downgrade

BORROWING WILL BECOME SLIGHTLY MORE COSTLY FOR STATE

UNDERSTANDING MOODY’S RATINGS

More WikiLeaks about Alaska DNC, Mayor Berkowitz

DEEP INTEL ON BERNIE SANDERS

THE MAYOR IS JEWISH, AND DWS HAS TAKEN NOTE!

ELVI GRAY-JACKSON IN WIKILEAKS

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