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Dunleavy will sign Don Young Day bill, and unveil new license plate design

Suzanne Downing
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Dunleavy will sign Don Young Day bill, and unveil new license plate design

Gov. Mike Dunleavy will sign House Bill 141, also known as the Don Young Day Bill, on Saturday, officially designating June 9 as Don Young Day in the state of Alaska.

The bill commemorates the remarkable 49-year tenure of Congressman Don Young in the United States House of Representatives, recognizing his legacy as a dedicated public servant for the state.

The signing ceremony will be attended by members of the Young family and Rep. Craig Johnson; the signing takes place at about 2 pm at the Alaska State Fair.

At 4:20 pm, the governor will unveil the winning design, as chosen by voters, of the 2023 Alaska state license plate artistic design competition. The announcement will take place on the Colony Stage.

Police warn of scam involving jewelry

Suzanne Downing
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Police warn of scam involving jewelry

The Anchorage Police Department issued a warning about a jewelry scam that has been active in both Anchorage and Eagle River over the past two weeks.

Authorities detailed that the modus operandi involves individuals approaching citizens, asking them to buy their jewelry, claiming they need the money to return home.

The scammers have made allegations that they are unable to sell the jewelry themselves due to them being taken advantage of as foreigners at local stores. Those who fell for this scam have later discovered that the jewelry they purchased from the scammer is counterfeit upon attempting to resell it.

So far, roughly a dozen victims have been reported, with total losses amounting to thousands of dollars, police said.

Witnesses and victims described the suspects as well-dressed men and women. They are noted for appearing to be foreigners, distinguishable by both their attire and accent.

Several encounters have taken place in parking lots, while others have occurred when the suspects were seemingly stranded on the side of the road.

Kind-hearted citizens who stopped to help what they thought was someone with a broken-down vehicle, were then solicited to purchase the fake jewelry. Police reported that the suspects tend to switch vehicles every day or two.

Victims say that the suspects become verbally abusive when citizens decline their proposition.

The Anchorage Police urge anyone who has had an interaction with these individuals (regardless of whether a transaction took place) and has not yet informed the police, to immediately fill out a report at www.anchoragepolice.com.

APD strongly advised against engaging with these persons, but instead contact Police Dispatch at 3-1-1, option #1, or call 907-786-8900 and provide the suspect(s) current location so that a nearby officer can attend to the situation.

According to one person who saw the notification from police, a man of Middle Eastern descent approached her and her partner at the midtown Walmart and tried to sell them “18K gold” necklaces and a ring. He was driving a newer model white Toyota hybrid SUV crossover vehicle that he said was a rental. The man was described as “very pushy.”

Another person was approached at the Costco on Dimond Blvd. Yet another reported the scam going on in Kenai, while a fourth said she had been approached by this type of scammer in Soldotna while filling up at a gas station.

Governor chooses DMVA Commissioner Torrence Saxe as next lieutenant governor successor

Suzanne Downing
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Governor chooses DMVA Commissioner Torrence Saxe as next lieutenant governor successor

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has chosen Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Torrence Saxe to be third in line in succession, in case something happens to either the governor or lieutenant governor that would take them from their positions.

Dunleavy made the appointment after Jason Brune stepped down from being commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, where he was also serving as third in line from the governor.

Typically, a successor serves for the remainder of the term of the governor or lieutenant governor whom he succeeds and until a new governor is elected and sworn in.

Maj. Gen. Saxe is the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard and the commissioner of DMVA.

As the adjutant general, he is the senior military advisor to the governor and commander of the Alaska National Guard, responsible for overseeing the training and readiness of 3,900 airmen and soldiers.

He also oversees the Alaska State Defense Force, Alaska Naval Militia, Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Veterans Affairs Office, and Alaska Military Youth Academy. General Saxe is the official liaison between the state and federal Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and all military forces in Alaska.

General Saxe entered the Air Force in 1995 as a distinguished graduate of the Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

Saxe joined the Alaska Air National Guard in 2004, serving as commander of the 213th Space Warning Squadron and the 13th Space Warning Squadron. As the 13th Space Warning Squadron commander, he was the Federal Installation Commander.

He also served as the commander of the 168th Wing, Eielson AFB, Alaska. Prior to his current position, General Saxe was the commander of the Alaska Air National Guard, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Prior to his current position, General Saxe was the commander of the 168th Wing, Eielson AFB, Alaska.

Murray Walsh: With a new city hall, what’s love got to do with it?

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Murray Walsh: With a new city hall, what’s love got to do with it?

By MURRAY WALSH

I voted for the new Juneau city hall bond issue last year. I know a lot about the city’s office situation. I worked there for 12 years and I have done a lot of business in the various buildings since my employment there. Most of the spaces are deteriorating and inefficient. The city staff and Assembly who have been trying to explain the situation and demonstrate the need, are telling the truth.

However, I am not at all sure I will vote for the issue this time around. The Assembly had a chance to earn my vote and they blew it. It used to be commonplace that if there was a potential windfall from increases in property values, the Assembly would lower the mill rate so that the actual amount of tax paid would be about the same as the prior year.  

Not this year. Everyone who pays property tax is going to pay more, a lot more. It will be about a thousand bucks more for me. I know other homeowners who will pay double or triple that. Usually, a significant tax increase is debated and justified and, in some cases, sent to the public for a vote. The tax from this year’s property value inflation is “found money” and should not have been taken from property owners on a whim. 

The Assembly could have levelized our taxes but all they did was adopt a fig leaf of a reduction that allows them to say they lowered the rate. This was an opportunity to show that the Assembly cares about us, the source of their revenue. We could argue whether the area-wide increase in value was based on credible analysis or not. I do not want to bother with that because the real issue is the collective character of the Assembly and how they view the taxpayers. Are we citizens to be served or sheep to be shorn?

Juneau has shown that it will vote for capital projects that the public will use like parks, swimming pools, roads and schools. There is less enthusiasm for facilities to be used by the bureaucrats and officials. There must be a strong sense of appreciation and affection for the ‘crats before we will vote to upgrade their workplaces.  

I thought, in 1995, that there was strong support for new police building. But the first vote failed because that support was not strong enough to overcome the spurious arguments of the vote no crowd.

It is possible that the Assembly fumbles the ball every now and then and that such fumbles, or missed opportunities, are not really signs of contempt for the electorate. Still, it is hard to miss signs of haughtiness and excessive self-importance in our local leaders.  

I detected such a sign last year but pushed it aside when I voted “yes.”  What was it?  The very conceptual design for the new city hall showed the new Assembly Chambers would be on the second floor with a huge, panoramic view window. The current chambers, even with the six-inch lift for the Assembly desks, is on the much more accessible and humble ground floor and is designed so that the Assembly members are looking at the audience and the people speaking to them as equals. 

When we vote, we elevate people and give them power over our lives. But in return, we expect a measure of empathy and respect, especially when it comes to taxation.

So, is the public sufficiently fond of the CBJ staff and Assembly to vote for the new city hall this time? The Assembly had a very good chance to show some fondness for us. My vote was for sale! It still is but now the Assembly is going to have to show, somehow, that they do not actually view us as cows to be milked to feed their dreams of new digs.  

The city election is on Oct. 3. The Assembly has until then to show us that love does have something to do with it.

Walsh is a semi-retired land use consultant residing in Juneau since 1976.  His favorite Tina Turner song is “River Deep.”

Hoax? Excavation has found no unmarked graves at Manitoba school

Suzanne Downing
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Hoax? Excavation has found no unmarked graves at Manitoba school

Facts are facts, in spite of what the New York Times has written on several occasions about unmarked graves of children on the grounds of Canada’s Catholic boarding schools.

No evidence of human remains have been found during the excavation of a Catholic church basement on the site of a former Manitoba residential school for indigenous students, according to the CBC.

Chief Derek Nepinak of Minegoziibe Anishinabe told social media accounts that a four-week excavation yielded nothing.

CBC had said that 14 “anomalies” were detected using ground-penetrating radar in the basement of the church on the site of the former Pine Creek Residential School last year. Those who had attended the school, who the CBC calls “survivors of the school,” had spoken about “horror stories” in the basement.

The tribe hired an archeological team from the University of Brandon to excavate this summer. The tribe had a pipe ceremony at the beginning of the dig, and built a “sacred fire” to “ensure elders, survivors and intergenerational survivors felt supported.”

According to the CBC, 150,000 indigenous children “were forced to attend residential schools,” with more than 60% of the schools run by the Cahtolic Church. Pine Creek school was run by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890 to 1969.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says it has a record of 21 child deaths at the school. But the idea that mass unmarked graves were at the site has been debunked, with no evidence found for such claims, raising concerns about the claims of the other supposed graves.

Previously the mainstream media went at length with the story that mass graves had been found not only in Manitoba but in Kamloops, British Columbia, at another school campus.

The elders of the British Columbia First Nation Band Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc also announced the discovery of a mass grave of more than 200 Indigenous children.

“We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths,” Rosanne Casimir, chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, said in a statement on May 27, 2021, according to media reports at the time.

But that site has never been excavated, nor have there been any dates set for an excavation. As with the Manitoba school, there were soil disturbances that the tribe speculates are unmarked graves. But that did not stop the New York Times and other media outlets from claiming that there were bodies.

New York Times wrote in 2021 that there was actual evidence that children were buried in Kamloops, when no such excavation has been cone.

Indigenous group said in 2021 that they discovered the remains of as many as 751 people, who they said were mainly indigenous children, on the grounds of the former Marital Residential School in Saskatchewan, which operated from 1898 to 1996. But there is scant evidence to support this claim since there have been no excavation. If true, it would average about 8 deaths per year over 98 years. No group has given substantiation to how many of supposed graves might be of children.

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission says more than 4,100 students died while attending the schools, from neglect, abuse, and genocide. In many cases, families never saw their children again and were never told of their fate, according to families and survivors of the schools, which all closed in the late 1990s.

Governor’s budget director is out

Suzanne Downing
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5
Governor’s budget director is out

Neil Steininger, the director of the Office of Management and Budget for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, is leaving the Dunleavy Administration. The administration said it cannot comment on personnel decisions but the decision appears to be the governor’s, and insiders chalk it up to a difference in budget philosophy.

Steininger was hired to run OMB in January 2020. He had worked in various administrative roles in state government since 2012, when he started as a Permanent Fund dividend specialist at the Department of Revenue.

After Dunleavy let go his first budget director, Donna Arduin, in 2019, there was a temporary replacement before Steininger was promoted in 2020. It’s not been announced who will serve in this role for the next three years.

Peltola finally reveals that her town hall is by telephone only

Suzanne Downing
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Peltola finally reveals that her town hall is by telephone only

It’s the Biden 2020 hide-in-the-basement campaign strategy: Rep. Mary Peltola earlier this month announced that at the end of August, she would host a town hall to hear from Alaskans.

Peltola’s August 9 announcement that she would have a town hall on Aug. 29.

This week, Peltola revealed the details — it will be a phone call town hall only:

“I’ve been traveling all over Alaska for the last few weeks, and one concern that I keep hearing from people is the high cost of energy. That’s why I’m holding a telephone town hall meeting this coming Tuesday, August 29, for all Alaskans to discuss this issue.”

In reality, Peltola was gone from Alaska for the first half of the month but showed up Aug. 16 at the Silver Salmon Creek in the Lake Clark area, at a invitation-only fishing event. Then she met with Biden officials who have been touring the state and attended a reception at the Kenai Classic, squeezing in fundraisers for her reelection campaign between stops, including one at a home on the shore of Cook Inlet in Anchorage on Thursday night.

“Register below and you can call in the comfort of your own home to ask questions and listen to updates on what I’m doing to make energy more affordable, accessible, and reliable in Alaska,” Peltola wrote in an email. “I can’t wait to speak with you!”

The telephone format allows her and her staff to control the meeting and eliminate any dissent or signage that might show up at a physical town hall.

To register for her telephone town hall, follow this link.

Peltola’s first time sport fishing? She shows reel rookie mistake

Exclusive: Ketchikan’s Trevor Shaw debriefs from Milwaukee after GOP debate

Suzanne Downing
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18
Exclusive: Ketchikan’s Trevor Shaw debriefs from Milwaukee after GOP debate

Trevor Shaw, assistant secretary of the Alaska Republican Party, is at the Republican National Committee meeting this week and attended the presidential debate on Wednesday.

Shaw, who was the youngest person to ever serve on the Ketchikan School Board and who has been a state party officer for nearly a decade, said the debate was “top notch.”

“Everybody was at the top of their game,” he said. “I came in without expectations, which is a little hard since I’ve been involved for so long.”

Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Nikki Haley had the best breakout moments, according to many of the people Shaw spoke with who attended in person.

The most negative reaction from the audience was not to Chris Christie, who received a lot of boos from the room that were audible on the televised debate. Shaw said that former President Mike Pence ended up getting on the audience’s nerves with his constant interrupting of other candidates and going over his time.

“There was a lot of head shaking toward Pence,” Shaw said. “If you go by the ‘boos,’ it was Christie, but Pence had a favorable reaction at first that shifted, and people were the most frustrated with him.”

Shaw said that Ramaswamy was impressive, entirely unscripted, at times moving people practically to tears with his life story and passion for America, and Shaw was also impressed with DeSantis. He was able to meet both of them during events this week.

Also attending the RNC meeting and debate was Alaska GOP Chairwoman Ann Brown, and her husband Fred Brown, National Committeewoman Cynthia Henry and her husband Ken Henry, and National Committeeman Craig Campbell and his wife Ann Marie Campbell.

While the 2024 Republican convention will be held in Milwaukee, Wisc., where this meeting and debate occurred, the 2028 convention will be held in Houston. The venue was voted on during Friday’s Republican National Committee meeting.

“After a smart business decision made by the RNC last spring to allow us to select the next convention city earlier than ever, we are looking forward to seeing Houston in the spotlight come 2028,” Ronna McDaniel, chair of the RNC, said in a statement. “The entire RNC membership is eager to work with Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Host Committee, and Houston First Corporation to follow in Milwaukee’s footsteps by delivering an incredible convention for our Party.”

Sparks fly at GOP debate, as Vivek Ramaswamy spars with field

Fourth arrest of Trump

Suzanne Downing
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Fourth arrest of Trump

THE CENTER SQUARE | MUST READ ALASKA

President Donald Trump surrendered, was processed,and released from the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, an historic day in America.

He faces charges brought by District Attorney Fani Willis that he tried to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Fulton County authorities charged Trump and 18 others, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former state Republican Party Chair David Shafer, as part of the effort. The Fulton County indictment of Trump is the fourth against the former president and the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump addressed reporters on the tarmac before boarding his aircraft bound for New Jersey. 

“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice,” Trump said. “We did nothing wrong at all. They’re interfering with an election and there’s never been anything like it in our country before.

“And we have every right, every single right to challenge an election that we think is dishonest. So we think it’s very dishonest.”

Even before Trump formally surrendered to authorities at the Atlanta facility, the former president’s attorneys and prosecutors agreed to set a $200,000 bond.

While Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she would like to see the case go to trial within six months, legal experts say that is a tall order.

“The idea that this case would go to trial in six months is optimistic, and I think it’s optimistic, even if you put aside that Donald Trump is facing three other indictments,” Jonathan Entin, a professor emeritus of law and adjunct professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University, told The Center Square.

Additionally, Shafer, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former assistant U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Clark want the case transferred to federal court.

“The Georgia indictment reflects the Sergeant Joe Friday mantra of ‘just the facts, ma’am’ and could end up being easier to prove than the latest federal indictment against Trump by avoiding trying to directly blame him for the chaos of Jan. 6,” civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone, of Los Angeles-based V. James DeSimone Law, told The Center Square via email.

“The task of prosecuting 19 defendants and proving acts occurring in other states may be a daunting one,” DeSimone added. “But by charging acts in other states, the indictment demonstrates how Trump and the alleged co-conspirators developed a plan to invalidate the popular vote in a sufficient number of states to alter the results of the election.

Other details:

  • A hearing will take place later, at a time to be determined.
  • Trump posted his mugshot to X (formerly known as Twitter), his first post on that platform since he was banned by former Twitter owners in January of 2021.
  • The charges include violating the Georgia RICO Act—the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act; Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer and other charges.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation Thursday into whether the Department of Justice coordinated with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Georgia on the fourth indictment of former President Donald Trump.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Fulton County District Attorney Willis demanding all records of communication with the DOJ to determine whether it was “politically motivated.”

“Turning first to the question of motivation, it is noteworthy that just four days before this indictment, you launched a new campaign fundraising website that highlighted your investigation into President Trump,” the letter said. “Additionally, the forewoman of the special grand jury you convened to investigate President Trump earlier this year bragged during an unusual media tour about her excitement at the prospect of subpoenaing President Trump and getting to swear him in.”

The investigation comes the same day Trump turned himself in to the Georgia jail.

“Last week, the Fulton County Superior Court’s Clerk publicly released a list of criminal charges against President Trump reportedly hours before the vote of the grand jury,” the letter from Jordan said. “A Fulton County court has disqualified you from targeting current Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones as part of your probe on the grounds that you actively supported and held fundraising events for his Democratic opponent. And unlike officials in other jurisdictions, Fulton County officials ‘have suggested [they] will process [the former President] as [a] typical criminal defendant[], requiring mug shots and possibly even cash bond.’”

Notably, IRS whistleblowers recently testified that the DOJ interfered to protect the president’s son, Hunter Biden, in the legal investigation into his alleged tax, gun and other crimes.

Republicans kicked off a similar investigation into New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg after brought his charges against Trump. Bragg has a long history of anti-Trump comments and even ran for election on the promise to prosecute Trump.

Trump faces 91 total charges across indictments in New York, Florida, Washington, D.C., and now Georgia. Those charges are related either to Trump’s handling of classified documents, his alleged payments to Stormy Daniels, or his alleged work to overturn the 2020 election results.

The Georgia indictment features 41 charges against 19 of Trump’s alleged co-conspirators.

Trump has blasted all the indictments, calling them a political effort against the Republican frontrunner. Trump currently holds a wide lead over his primary challengers, most of whom promised at Wednesday’s debate to still support him for president even if he is convicted.

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