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Teachers are bankrolling the Left with union dues, including Arabella network and Trevor Project: Listicle

Suzanne Downing
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Teachers are bankrolling the Left with union dues, including Arabella network and Trevor Project: Listicle

The nation’s two largest teachers unions — the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) — have funneled more than $43.5 million since 2022 into a sprawling network of leftwing and far-left political organizations.

A new report details just where that money went. These weren’t small checks to neutral civic groups or nonpartisan charities. The funds flowed directly into some of the most aggressively political outfits in America.

For example, the unions handed over a combined $9.3 million to For Our Future Action Fund, a leftwing super PAC. The NEA alone contributed $9.5 million to the State Engagement Fund, another political powerhouse. Other recipients include MoveOn.org, PEN America, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the Hopewell Fund, and even the notorious Clinton Foundation.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund has been active in leftist causes and support for leftist candidates in Alaska, funneling $35,000 into “Building a Stronger Anchorage,” a group dedicated to electing Forrest Dunbar as mayor of Anchorage, a failed campaign. This funding was part of a broader controversy involving a Swiss billionaire allegedly channeling millions through the fund to support Democratic candidates, raising concerns about foreign influence in Alaska elections.

Operating under the name “Bristol Bay Action,” the Sixteen Thirty Fund provided $600,000 to promote Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Congresswoman Mary Peltola as the “pro-fish ticket.” This effort included distributing flyers in Anchorage, though it raised questions about potential campaign violations due to Bristol Bay Action’s lack of Federal Election Commission qualification as a multi-candidate group.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund, alongside other Arabella Advisors affiliates like the Hopewell Fund, has supported the Alaska Beacon, a left-leaning news outlet. The Beacon provides content to all major Alaska media outlets, a strategy to shape the state’s news narrative with dark-money-funded journalism that appears neutral.

Here are just a few of the more striking expenditures:

  • $1.6 million to House Majority PAC (aligned with congressional Democrats).
  • $1.25 million to Senate Majority PAC.
  • $1 million+ to Red Wine & Blue, a progressive organizing group.
  • Hundreds of thousands to groups like Color of Change, Latino Victory Fund, and MomsRising.
  • Contributions to the Trevor Project, Democracy Alliance, and even Politico.

These are not expenditures for classroom supplies or student programs. No textbooks, computers, or free lunches were purchased, but instead, the AFT and NEA are making partisan investments designed to swing elections, wage culture wars, and entrench a progressive agenda.

Both unions frame themselves as advocates for teachers and students, but these filings tell another story: one of massive political machinery fueled by dues-paying educators,many of whom may not agree with these ideological causes.

It raises serious questions:

  • Do teachers paying mandatory dues know their money is being routed into these political organizations?
  • Should unions that receive influence and leverage in public schools be allowed to act as bankrollers of partisan politics?
  • Is this the job of a teachers union, or is it a misuse of union dues?

The list of organizations that AFT and NEA prop up, as uncovered by the Defending Education report:

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (AFT)

FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT – July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023

FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT – July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (NEA)

FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT – September 1, 2022 – August 21, 2023

FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT – September 1, 2023 – August 31 2024

Micah Shields: When public employee unions protect a predator … and the public pays for the betrayal

Micah Shields: When public employee unions protect a predator … and the public pays for the betrayal

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Micah Shields: When public employee unions protect a predator … and the public pays for the betrayal

By MICAH SHIELDS

On Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, a case of staggering betrayal unfolded that should shake every parent, taxpayer, and public servant to the core.

Nathaniel Erfurth, now a former Soldotna High School teacher, was convicted this year on 28 felony counts, including 24 charges of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. His crimes were not abstract. They were specific, sustained, and committed under the nose of a system that should have stopped him long ago.

Former Soldotna High School teacher, ex-union president found guilty on 28 felony counts of sexual abuse and exploitation of a minor

According to the police affidavit, Erfurth and the minor would meet for private conversations at a tiny house on his own property, as his wife and child were at the main residence. During the trial, his wife insisted, “He genuinely thought he was helping.” (Sara Erfurth said in testimony- as reported by KSRM, July 29, 2025).

Soldotna former teachers’ union president challenges State’s evidence involving sexual abuse of minor

Perhaps more telling was the response from Erfurth’s colleagues and professional community. Even after the jury’s verdict, some in his professional community rushed, not to defend the victim or to reckon with their own complicity, but to lament that the conviction might give critics of public education more “ammunition.” It was a response that sidestepped any reckoning with the victim or the system’s failures.

It’s clear that Erfurth’s actions and the community’s response didn’t emerge in a vacuum. This is a case study in what happens when institutional loyalty trumps moral responsibility, when unions perpetuate a culture of victimhood and are structured to protect their members at all costs, even at the expense of children.

Kenai teachers union elects new president after sex-scandal

At the heart of the issue lies a fundamental conflict of interest: When public sector unions represent government employees, they are negotiating directly against the interests of the public they are supposed to serve. The original purpose of unions was to protect workers from exploitation by private employers. But in government, where employees serve the public and are funded by taxpayers, the dynamic changes. The governed become, in effect, the opposing party, and are portrayed as the oppressors.

Soldotna High teacher, who is also the KPEA union president, arrested for sexual abuse of minor

By tolerating this inversion, we tacitly agree with the narrative- that our teachers and administrators are oppressed by us. In doing so, we not only weaken the authority of the governed, but we also hand over our children to be raised within a worldview where accountability is the enemy. This hypocrisy strikes at the very heart of our national identity. As Americans, we declare ourselves to be a people “of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed.” Yet by permitting unions to negotiate against the governed, we implicitly accept that the governed themselves are unjust oppressors.

This inversion of responsibility leads to a dangerous outcome: public servants, by accepting union protection, fundamentally see themselves- not as stewards of the public trust, but as victims of public scrutiny. As a result, complaints- like those reportedly first filed with local police in the Erfurth case- can be minimized, delayed, or quietly dismissed. And when the system fails, the unions often respond not by supporting reform, but by circling the wagons.

And when someone like Erfurth is convicted, it only reinforces that worldview: that even a teacher caught abusing students is too often treated as if he were a martyr, rather than held fully accountable as a predator.

This narrative isn’t accidental. It’s built into the DNA of organizations like the National Education Association. Bob Chanin, former general counsel for the NEA, made this explicit during his 2009 farewell speech, one that received a standing ovation from union leadership. He said:

“It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children, and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power, and we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year… This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, improving teacher quality, and the like, are unimportant or inappropriate… But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights, and collective bargaining. That simply is too high a price to pay.”

Let that sink in. Protecting union members takes priority over improving education, even over protecting children. When justice, safety, and learning collide with union power, union power wins.

In this case, Erfurth wasn’t dismissed when the first concerns arose in 2016, or again in 2017. He was promoted, later becoming president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, the local teachers’ union, a role documented in KPEA’s public records.

Meanwhile, parents are voting with their feet, turning to homeschooling, correspondence programs, and charter schools in record numbers. Enrollment in correspondence programs alone has jumped from about 12,500 pre-pandemic to over 22,000 students today. This exodus is not just about curriculum or test scores; it’s a response to the fact that the system has been designed to alienate parents, with unions like the NEA openly, as seen in Chanin’s speech, positioning themselves against parental authority whenever it threatens union interests.

In response to this exodus, NEA-Alaska is currently suing to block correspondence school allotments, programs that give parents more control over their children’s education. Their message is clear: “We won’t reform, and we’ll attack your alternatives.”

The solution isn’t just better training or more oversight. Nothing but addressing the underlying issue will suffice. One option is to prohibit public sector unions from operating in roles where impartiality and accountability are essential. A more targeted approach would be to empower citizens to sue unions directly when their obstruction enables harm, whether it’s emotional distress, lost educational opportunities, or delayed justice.

When a union protects a predator, it becomes complicit. And the public should not be forced to fund its own betrayal.

Alaska’s children deserve better. They deserve schools that serve them, not institutions that protect themselves. This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral one.

It’s time to put students back at the center of public education and to remind government unions that power without accountability is not public service. It’s systemic corruption.

Micah Shields is a lifelong Alaskan, avid outdoorsman, husband, and father of four.

Paul Fuhs: Dunleavy dares to ask the unspeakable — should Alaska rethink fish farming?

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Paul Fuhs: Dunleavy dares to ask the unspeakable — should Alaska rethink fish farming?

By PAUL FUHS

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is a very brave man. When he asked whether Alaska should consider fish farming, he must have known the world would come crashing in, but he said it anyway.

The public reaction, according to Anchorage Daily News reporter Julia O’Malley, was nothing less than damning for his statement — a statement that we ought to at least think about it.  There are some misconceptions in her article that need to be cleared up if we want to have an intelligent conversation about this issue.  Farmed salmon will continue to impact us, whether we engage in it or not.

I am not an advocate for “salmon farming.”  However, I am deeply involved in shellfish mariculture and was the founding president of the Alaska Mariculture Association in the 1980s. Therefore, I know a lot about the maricuture industry.  

At that time, I was mayor of Dutch Harbor and we could see the future impact on Alaska’s salmon industry, from a salmon producing system that could provide fresh fish all year round, that could be harvested in a way to maximize quality, could be processed in a way that preserves the highest quality, and that could be competitively priced.  

While we were seeing this clearly, what has happened in the market is far beyond anything we could have imagined: 2.8 million metric tons of farmed salmon  produced last year compared to 220,000 tons of salmon produced in Alaska. (About a third of Alaska’s production is from Alaska’s mariculture-based farm ranching hatchery program.)

At that time, we theorized that if we combined wild and farmed salmon, given that Alaska is in the center of the biological range for salmon, we could supply product year round and rule the world.

We never got the chance to even discuss it. The reaction was swift and brutal and in 1990 a law was passed to prohibit salmon farming. I remember Alaska’s fisheries Czar Clem Tillion, in classic Clem style, telling me “Its like having  your only son neutered.”  Sport fishing leader Bob Penney also lamented the decision.

So we just went on to develop the shellfish mariculture industry which has been quite successful.

As humans, we crossed the neolithic threshold on land to agriculture 12,000 years ago, but a hunting and gathering activity like commercial fishing wasn’t about to let go. Besides this cultural outlook, there were also issues of disease transmission, cross breeding, and the market, all of which I address without prejudice in this article.

Ms O’Malley’s article states that it is rare to find “farmed salmon” in Alaska,  but that is just not true.  Every single sushi restaurant in Alaska is selling farmed product as “salmon” on the menu.

This sushi, and most of what is sold worldwide by Norway, Scotland, and Canada, isn’t even salmon. It is trout, genus/phylum salmo salar. Basically, it’s farmed steelhead trout. There are fish farmers who do grow actual salmon of the salmon genus oncorhynchus, species like Coho salmon primarily in Chile and King salmon in Canada. I haven’t seen that product here in Alaska.

Farmed trout have been available in the market for many years, and no one thought anything about it. But these large-scale trout operations, listed as “Atlantic salmon” do pose a threat to Alaska’s salmon industry in the context of the market. The label as ‘salmon’ produces the confusion we see in the market.

Why is this a threat when we have the healthiest and best wild salmon runs in the world? Is it just a labeling issue or something more?  Here are some of the reasons.

When fish are harvested in a net, they go into flight panic mode. This triggers a hormonal response, similar to adrenaline in humans, which then releases cortisol , the primary stress hormone in fish, into the blood stream and through out the flesh of the salmon. This impacts quality.  

These cortisol increases, up to 100 times normal, lead to increased plasma glucose and lactate levels which affects post mortem muscle biochemistry metabolic processes and degrades the fillet’s texture, color and water holding capacity. The subsequent elevated pH also promotes faster bacterial growth, leading to a shorter shelf life for the fillet. Loss of ability to hold water affects cooking quality with dryness characteristics.

A salmon that has struggled for hours in a gill net or crushed in a seine will be affected. To offset these processes in aquaculture, farmers will super saturate the water in their pens with oxygen nano bubbles, so tiny that they do not come out of solution. The salmon are pacified in the heightened oxygen environment and do not panic while being harvested

Upon being delivered live to the fish plant they are thoroughly bled while the heart is still beating to remove as much blood as possible, which is the medium for bacteria growth.  This extends shelf life.  (It’s why you will see any experienced sport fisherman bleeding their catch as soon as they are caught).  With the exception of troll caught kings, its difficult do that with other netted Alaska salmon.  I do not say this to degrade the quality image of Alaska salmon, it is a great product.  This is just a fact of fish post mortem biochemistry.

Any salmon intended to be eaten raw must first be frozen to kill the parasite roundworms and flatworms that are indemic to ocean fishes. This once frozen fish is called “sushi grade” and it is what you will get at a sushi restaurant.  If it is to be cooked, freezing is not necessary, allowing for fresh farmed salmon to be marketed year round.  To preserve quality when fish are frozen (as is the case with most Alaskan seasonal salmon) it must be frozen quickly at -40F and then held to at least to -20. As water freezes, it expands and tears apart the flesh of the fish. The quicker and colder the freezing process, the smaller the ice particle.

Recognizing the issue of “fresh versus frozen”, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has launched a “Cook it Frozen” campaign to promote the quality of Alaskan frozen salmon.

If you are seeing fuzz on your ice cream, your freezer is too warm. Turn it down as low as it will go. (The ingenious Japanese are using the waste cold of an LNG regas operation at -260F, creating the best frozen product in the world.)

And DO NOT make your own sushi with unfrozen salmon that you have caught or bought or you will get parasites. 

The main advantage of farmed fish is that they can be produced fresh, year round, in many cases not even being harvested until they are sold. This is important to restaurants and other market venues.

Where does the color in farmed salmon come from? Are they dyed? No, their food includes natural ocean elements like shrimp shells and red algae, just like natural salmon. The occasional white flesh king salmon is not genetically different. It has been eating only squid.

Regarding cross breeding, it is impossible for an Atlantic “salmon” (trout) to breed with a pacific 

‘real salmon’ due to at least 3 chromosomal blocks.  This was recently tested again by Europeans concerned about pacific salmon reaching their shores and impacting their Atlantic salmon as our salmon move further north due to global warming and could cross the Arctic. (The people in Utkiagvik have been catching chum salmon the past few years.)  The European study again found cross breeding to be impossible.  

Regarding disease transmission from escaped net pen operations, it is a real issue. However, we are also doing this in our own hatcheries, where we intentiionally relase ‘farmed’ juvenile salmonids to comingle with willd stocks. While it is a concern, Alaska Fish and Game does provide pathology testing prior to their release to reduce this possibility. Other concerns about the impact of hatcheries, (which are farm ‘ranching’ operations), on wild stocks overall are also being raised.

For net pen farmers, their concern is about transmission of diseases from wild stocks to their caged fish. Due to the density in their pens, this can spread to their entire population.  

We did have a situation in Chignik, where we were able to match farmed salmon harvesting and processing advantages. The fleet was overcapitalized so they came up with a plan where half the fleet would stay on shore and the rest would go fishing and then share the proceeds with the others.  Less fuel burned, less maintenance, less crew etc. The Coho salmon were round hauled and towed to the cannery live where they were properly bled, then filleted into IFQ shatterpaks with plate freezers down to -40F.  When they hit the market they were getting top dollar.  

Sounds like a wonderful plan, right?

Not to a particular fisherman who challenged the setup with the Limited Entry Commission. He claimed  that this was destroying a “lifestyle” and he missed the competition with the other fishermen, corking them off, running over their nets, etc., just like the good old days. On a technicality, the case was decided in his favor and the whole operation was shut down.

Is our fishery a lifestyle or is it a business? It must be both if we are to be successful. This is an essential question facing our commercial fishermen, processors, and our politicians, as they struggle to put together a viable industry in a changing market.  This is true with or without any consideration of salmon farming in Alaska.

As I said, Gov. Dunleavy is a very brave man for even raising the subject. I hope my contributions here help elevate the discussion.

Paul Fuhs is Former Mayor of Dutch Harbor, an active Geoduk farm diver, and is currently the President of the Shellfish Grower’s Cooperative in Southeast Alaska.

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Top policymakers, industry leaders headline AOGA 2025 conference in Anchorage

Suzanne Downing
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Top policymakers, industry leaders headline AOGA 2025 conference in Anchorage

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) opens its 2025 annual conference on Wednesday, bringing national decision-makers, state leaders and top executives together for two days of high-level discussions on the future of energy development.

The agenda features congressional leaders, senior federal officials, Alaska’s governor, and executives from major oil and gas companies.

AOGA announces 2025 industry award winners

The event kicks off Wednesday with an opening keynote lunch from House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, joined by Alaska’s Nick Begich and other committee members. Later that afternoon, Sen. Lisa Murkowski is scheduled to deliver remarks via video, followed by a session with Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam on collaborative approaches to conservation.

Federal permitting — a perennial issue for Alaska projects — will take center stage with a fireside chat featuring Emily Domench, executive director of the Federal Permitting Council, and Kati Capozzi of the Alaska Chamber. The day closes with a roundtable update on new development on the North Slope, featuring executives from ConocoPhillips, Santos, and Hilcorp.

Day two opens Thursday with a video address from US Sen. Dan Sullivan, followed by an economic update from McKinley Research Group President Katie Berry. Technical innovation is a major theme, with a panel on advanced drilling technologies led by engineers from ConocoPhillips, Santos, and Hilcorp.

Environmental and wildlife research also takes a spotlight, including a session on monitoring polar bear dens in Alaska. Industry milestones will be recognized with awards and Hall of Fame inductions, followed by an update on the Alaska LNG project from ExxonMobil and Glenfarne executives.

The Thursday keynote luncheon features Kate McGregor, Deputy Secretary of the US. Department of the Interior, in conversation with Santos’ Joe Balash.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is scheduled to speak in the afternoon, followed by a panel of state attorneys general from across the country, led by Alaska’s retiring AG Treg Taylor, on defending state authority against federal overreach. The conference concludes with the Marilyn Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award, presented this year to Mark Ireland of Santos.

AOGA’s conference remains the state’s premier energy policy gathering, drawing a lineup that underscores the national importance of Alaska’s resource development debates.

The entire agenda is at this link.

From crisis to croissants: Juneau School Board swings from doomsday protests over cuts to free meals for all

Suzanne Downing
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From crisis to croissants: Juneau School Board swings from doomsday protests over cuts to free meals for all

Just a few months ago, Juneau’s education establishment was in full meltdown. The governor vetoed a modest reduction in the Base Student Allocation increase—about $200 per student—and the community responded as if public education itself were on the brink of collapse. Protesters gathered outside the governor’s mansion, encouraging children to write chalk messages on the sidewalk in front of the house on Calhoun Ave., and warning that Dunleavy’s action would devastate schools, drive away teachers, and cripple Alaska’s future workforce.

The Legislature quickly caved, overriding the veto. But the hysteria, it turns out, was less about survival than about priorities. Now, the Juneau School Board is preparing to amend its budget — not to shore up classrooms or reduce class sizes, but to guarantee free breakfasts for every student in the district, including the children of highly paid government workers, nonprofit executives, and Native health corporation employees. The school board will be approving this budget amendment during a special meeting on Aug. 27.

The contrast is glaring. In June, the rhetoric was all about constitutional obligations and a “crumbling system” that couldn’t endure one more dime of instability.

Today, officials are turning their focus to universal meals, a benefit well beyond the basic educational mission.

The message from Juneau’s education leadership seems clear: The sky is always falling when the governor trims a line item, but when it comes to handing out new entitlements — even to families who don’t need them — suddenly there’s room in the budget.

Dunleavy vetoes a portion of education increased funding, but leaves most intact

Listicle: No more ‘cisgender’ and ‘othering,’ as Democrats are told to try to sound ‘normal’

Suzanne Downing
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Listicle: No more ‘cisgender’ and ‘othering,’ as Democrats are told to try to sound ‘normal’

Democrats have spent years creating a political thesaurus so convoluted that even the Oxford English Dictionary is begging for mercy. But now, the left-of-center outfit Third Way has delivered a startling revelation to fellow progressives: Maybe stop talking like you just walked out of a graduate seminar on postmodernism.

In a new memo, Third Way gently scolds the left for using words no normal person ever says — terms like “othering,” “centering,” “food insecurity,” and “dialoguing.” Instead of making Democrats sound empathetic, the group admits, this therapy-speak only makes them sound like they’re running a support group for doctoral candidates.

The response from the far-left blog The Blue Alaskan was immediate and foul:

But before you think this means Democrats are changing their tune, think again. The message isn’t “stop being woke,” it’s simply to stop sounding woke. The agenda stays the same: Just swap out the thesaurus. “Birthing person” might quietly shuffle offstage, but the anti-woman policies that created that term it will stick around.

The memo divides bad language into categories like “Therapy-Speak” and “Seminar Room Language.” (Which is funny, because entire Democratic campaigns could be filed under “Seminar Room Language.”) Apparently words like “microaggression,” “intersectionality,” and “existential threat” are alienating. Who knew? Maybe voters don’t want a lecture every time they buy groceries.

Here are the terms that leftists are advised to avoid:

Therapy-Speak

  • Privilege
  • Violence (as in “environmental violence”)
  • Dialoguing
  • Othering
  • Triggering
  • Microaggression / assault / invalidation
  • Progressive stack
  • Centering
  • Safe space
  • Holding space
  • Body shaming

Seminar Room Language

  • Subverting norms
  • Systems of oppression
  • Critical theory
  • Cultural appropriation
  • Postmodernism
  • Overton Window
  • Heuristic
  • Existential threat to [climate, the planet, democracy, the economy]

Organizer Jargon

  • Radical transparency
  • Small “d” democracy
  • Barriers to participation
  • Stakeholders
  • The unhoused
  • Food insecurity
  • Housing insecurity
  • Person who immigrated

Gender/Orientation Correctness

  • Birthing person / inseminated person
  • Pregnant people
  • Chest feeding
  • Cisgender
  • Deadnaming
  • Heteronormative
  • Patriarchy
  • LGBTQIA+

The Shifting Language of Racial Constructs

  • Latinx
  • BIPOC
  • Allyship
  • Intersectionality
  • Minoritized communities

Explaining Away Crime

  • Justice-involved
  • Carceration
  • Incarcerated people
  • Involuntary confinement

Still, Third Way assures the comrades that they’re not policing language or banning phrases, but rather suggesting that, for public consumption, Democrats speak like actual humans. In private, of course, they can still whisper about cisheteronormativity to their heart’s content.

The irony is delicious: the party that gave America “Latinx” is now warning its own people that no one actually uses the word Latinx. Third Way even admits that the tortured jargon “invites distrust” among ordinary folks. Translation: If you sound like a sociology syllabus, people start to wonder what you’re hiding.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that Democrats are still Democrats. Whether they say “the unhoused” or “homeless,” the policy is the same. Whether they say “justice-involved individual” or “felon,” the end goal doesn’t budge. The rebranding is purely cosmetic, like putting a friendly smiley face on a tax increase.

So don’t expect a grand awakening here. This is not a pivot; it’s a vocabulary lesson. Third Way isn’t asking Democrats to be different, only to sound different. As if voters can’t tell the difference between a fresh coat of paint and a crumbling foundation.

In short: same wine, new wineskins. Or to put it in Third Way-approved language, they’re just “holding space” for a more “authentic dialogue” with voters.

Drugs, guns, ammo: Federal authorities reveal shocking details in Chelsea Inn takedown

Suzanne Downing
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Drugs, guns, ammo: Federal authorities reveal shocking details in Chelsea Inn takedown

Federal authorities have given more details about the raid and seizure of the notorious Chelsea Inn Hotel in Anchorage, described as long plagued by prostitution, violent crime, and drug activity. It was seized by the US Marshals Service on Friday after its owner and an associate were indicted in connection with a years-long conspiracy.

An Anchorage grand jury returned an indictment charging Kyoung Seo, 62, owner of the Chelsea Inn Hotel, and Chantel Fields, 36, with conspiring to maintain the Midtown property as a drug-involved premises. Both were arrested Friday.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building by U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman, FBI Anchorage Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day, Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, and Chief Deputy US Marshal John Olson.

Court filings allege that between October 2020 and August 2025, Seo and Fields conspired to operate the Chelsea Inn as a hub for illegal drug distribution and use. Investigators say Fields stored and distributed narcotics from the hotel, directed buyers to on-site dealers, and controlled access to the property by enforcing a $20 “door fee.”

The FBI and Anchorage Police Department began investigating the CIH in 2020 following reports of drug trafficking and violence linked to the property. Over the past five years, APD responded to more than 1,000 emergency calls at the hotel, including homicides, overdoses, and other violent crimes.

Federal and local law enforcement executed multiple enforcement actions at the Chelsea Inn during the investigation. In February 2025, officers seized nine firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and over 1.2 kilograms of suspected controlled substances during a search. On Friday, Aug. 22, coordinated raids were carried out at the Chelsea Inn and two Anchorage residences.

Agents discovered 11 firearms, two of which were hidden behind the hotel’s front desk, thousands of rounds of ammunition, significant quantities of drugs, and roughly $45,000 in cash.

That same day, the FBI executed a seizure warrant for the property. The US Marshals Service has now taken custody of the building, effectively shutting down what authorities say was a major drug trafficking operation.

Seo and Fields face one count of conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved premises, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing, if they are convicted, will be determined by a federal district court judge under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cody Tirpak and Seth Beausang.

The investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative targeting violent crime, drug trafficking, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations. The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force is leading the case with assistance from multiple federal, state, and local partners, including the DEA, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation, Alaska State Troopers, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Chelsea Inn Motel seized by federal government after FBI-led raid

Fourth anniversary of Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul

Suzanne Downing
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Fourth anniversary of Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul

Tuesday, Aug. 26, marks four years since the Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, where 13 American service members lost their lives in the deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan in a decade, a tragedy that still reverberates across the nation and among the families who continue to grieve.

On Aug. 26, 2021, a suicide bomber affiliated with ISIS-K detonated an explosive device at Hamid Karzai International Airport during the US evacuation from Afghanistan, which had been ordered by President Joe Biden. The blast killed 11 Marines, a Navy corpsman, and an Army soldier, wounded 45 others, and left more than 160 Afghan civilians dead or injured.

Biden’s watch: Suicide bombing takes at least 12 Americans at Kabul airport gate

The fallen service members were:

  • Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, USMC
  • Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, USMC
  • Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, USMC
  • Cpl. Hunter Lopez, USMC
  • Cpl. Daegan W. Page, USMC
  • Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, USMC
  • LCpl. David L. Espinoza, USMC
  • LCpl. Jared M. Schmitz, USMC
  • LCpl. Rylee J. McCollum, USMC
  • LCpl. Dylan R. Merola, USMC
  • LCpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, USMC
  • Petty Officer 3rd Class Maxton W. Soviak, USN
  • Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, USA

They returned to US soil in flag-draped coffins.

The attack followed the Biden administration’s decision to abandon Bagram Airfield in July 2021 without notifying Afghan security forces. In the weeks that followed, the Taliban rapidly regained control of the country, overrunning major cities and Kabul itself. U.S. forces and allied personnel were left to evacuate tens of thousands through a single airfield, a situation many military experts later described as indefensible.

The Abbey Gate bombing was emblematic of broader failures in planning and execution during Biden’s first year in office. Billions of dollars in American military equipment were left behind, and thousands of Afghan allies and US citizens were stranded behind Taliban lines.

Five years later, Americans continue to honor the memory of the 13 who gave their lives at Abbey Gate. Their sacrifice remains a powerful reminder of the costs of war, the consequences of leadership decisions, and the enduring obligation to support those who served.

President Donald Trump proclaimed August 26, 2025, as a day in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate: “I encourage all Americans to remember the heroism of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and the Gold Star Families who carry on their proud legacy.”

AOGA announces 2025 industry award winners

Suzanne Downing
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AOGA announces 2025 industry award winners

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association announced the recipients of its 2025 Industry Awards, recognizing individuals and companies whose work has strengthened Alaska’s oil and gas sector through leadership in safety, innovation, environmental stewardship, and service. The awards will be presented during AOGA’s annual conference, set for Aug. 27–28 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.

Contractor of the Year: Denali Universal Services
Denali Universal Services earned the award for Safety Performance, highlighting its decades-long track record of embedding safety across every level of its operations. The company, a longtime contractor for ConocoPhillips Alaska, has achieved more than 20 years of incident-free work and has been recognized with multiple industry safety honors. DUS’s culture emphasizes safety as a personal value, fostering practices that extend beyond the workplace and serve as a model across the industry.

Rising Star Award: Sydney Long, ConocoPhillips Alaska
Sydney Long, a senior analytics engineer, was honored for her early career impact on Alaska’s oil and gas sector. Long’s contributions include work on the 35,526-foot Fiord West well, the longest in North America, as well as the development of technical standards that have shaped company operations. In addition to her professional achievements, she mentors colleagues and volunteers with Alaska Resource Education to inspire future generations of Alaskans to pursue energy careers.

Marilyn Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award: Mark Ireland, Santos
Mark Ireland was recognized for more than 40 years of leadership and innovation in Alaska’s oilfields. Ireland played key roles in projects across the North Slope, including development of the Pikka Unit, and also served in international technical leadership positions. Known as a mentor and advocate for principled leadership, Ireland will retire this November, leaving a legacy that continues to guide young professionals in the industry.

Project of the Year: ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Colville River HDD Project
ConocoPhillips Alaska was honored for its use of horizontal directional drilling to install dual pipelines beneath the Colville River during a single winter season. The project, completed with no reportable injuries and no environmental impact, used real-time water monitoring to safeguard the river, a vital subsistence resource for the community of Nuiqsut. The effort demonstrated how advanced engineering can reduce environmental disturbance while maintaining efficiency and safety.

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