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Breaking: Sec. Deb Haaland, in retribution, revokes land swap for life-saving road from King Cove to Cold Bay airport

Suzanne Downing
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Breaking: Sec. Deb Haaland, in retribution, revokes land swap for life-saving road from King Cove to Cold Bay airport

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland late Tuesday revoked a land swap approved by the Trump Administration that would have allowed for a one-lane gravel road to be built through Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, so that the people of King Cove could reach the Cold Bay Airport.

The land exchange was between the Interior Department and the King Cove Corporation, and had been authorized by former Secretary David Bernhardt in 2019.

Haaland’s environmentalist staff decided that land exchange is not consistent with her goals for government.

“This action applies to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska that was created by President Carter’s landmark Alaska National Interest Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980, which conserved more than 100 million acres of federal land in Alaska. As part of President Biden’s commitment to upholding America’s conservation laws, the Department intends to initiate an environmental analysis that will include robust nation-to-nation consultation and consider, among other things, the 2013 land exchange considered by Secretary Sally Jewell and a subsistence evaluation under Section 810 of ANILCA,” Haaland’s statement said.

The announcement came one day after Haaland had been forced by President Joe Biden to partially approve an oil development called Willow in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, something Haaland had vehemently opposed. Her surprise ruling on King Cove appears to be a quid-pro-quo to signal to Alaska her displeasure, and to signal to environmentalists that she is still one of them.

“This decision is the latest act in Secretary Haaland’s disingenuous playbook: Tell Alaskans, particularly Alaska Native people, that you support something, like Native veteran allotments or the King Cove Road, then purposefully delay it for years so it can never actually happen,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“While Secretary Haaland claims that she wants to consider alternative land exchanges, that will push the entire process back to square one and place the lives of King Cove residents at risk today,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “The fact is her decision to halt the land swap increases the likelihood that a resident in King Cove won’t be able to receive life-saving medical treatment in time due to bad weather at the villages airstrip. The 11-mile road from King Cove to Cold Bay would connect residents in King Cove to an all-weather airport in Cold Bay and would save lives. It makes zero sense that Secretary Haaland would want to deprive Alaskans of the life-saving services the road would provide access to.”

Breaking: Ninth Circuit rules in favor of King Cove Road

Currently, when a resident in King Cove needs a medical evacuation, emergency services are dependent on good weather at the village’s airstrip. The community of Cold Bay has an all-weather airport that provides significantly greater access to emergency services.

“The debate around approving the construction of a road to connect the people of King Cove to life-saving resources has created a false choice, seeded over many years, between valuing conservation and wildlife or upholding our commitments to Indigenous communities. I reject that binary choice. I am a lifelong conservationist, and I believe deeply in the need to protect our lands and waters and honor our obligations to Tribal Nations. Respecting Tribal sovereignty means ensuring that we are listening – really listening – to Tribal communities. I have instructed my team to immediately launch a process to review previous proposals for a land exchange, rooted in a commitment to engagement in meaningful nation-to-nation consultation with Tribes, to protecting the national wildlife refuge system, and to upholding the integrity of ANILCA’s subsistence and conservation purposes,” Haaland said in her statement.

In reality, the Democrats believe that the King Cove Road would create precedent that would lead to oil and gas development on the North Slope. Democrats believe that the road is favored by Republicans because it could be used as a model for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development.

Meanwhile, 950 residents of King Cove have been trying to build an emergency road to get to life-saving help for 40 years.

Alaska Democrats’ newsletter says King Cove Road is just a stepping stone to ANWR oil and gas development
Anniversary: Eight years since cruel federal decision to not allow road out of King Cove

Anchorage man arrested in connection with death of Colorado woman

Suzanne Downing
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Anchorage man arrested in connection with death of Colorado woman

John Angerer, 53, who has lived in Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Boulder, Colo. was taken into custody in Anchorage last week on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of a Colorado woman in 2006. He is in the Anchorage Correctional Complex awaiting extradition to Colorado.

On June 4, 2006, two hikers located a badly decomposing body of a woman, later that year identified as Angela Wilds, in the South Saint Vrain Canyon, roughly 3.3 miles outside of Lyons in unincorporated Boulder County, Colorado. The body was completely nude, except for a cross ring on the left hand.

Wilds’ body appeared to have been dragged from a nearby shallow grave, presumably by a large predator. Deputies located a pair of yellow ski pants, a sleeping bag, and a pillow in a pillowcase, all neatly folded up near the gravesite. There was no information in the area that identified the victim. She remained unidentified for months.

In November of 2006, DNA analysis confirmed the woman’s identity. Law enforcement conducted an extensive investigation. In 2009, the investigators connected John Angerer to the crime scene and, also, to the victim.

Detectives drafted an arrest warrant for Angerer. A judge authorized the arrest warrant, but Angerer had left Colorado for Alaska and was considered a fugitive from justice.

In 2010, Angerer was arrested in Juneau, extradited, and charged with Second Degree Murder. The case proceeded to a preliminary hearing on July 12, 2010. Following the preliminary hearing, a judge determined that the charge was not supported by probable cause and, as a result, dismissed the case.

Following a dismissal at this juncture, an individual can be re-arrested and prosecuted if significant, new evidence is developed that supports a renewed prosecution, Colorado law enforcement said.

For the past several years, investigators with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office have continued to work on the case. That investigation has included identifying new witnesses, re-interviewing individuals previously known to law enforcement, consulting with forensic pathologists, and submitting further items to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for testing and DNA analysis.

The District Attorney’s Office presented the case to the Grand Jury. On Feb. 16, 2023, the Grand Jury returned an indictment for the crime of Second Degree Murder. The indictment was sealed pending the arrest of the defendant. The court will conduct the extradition process in Alaska.

Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson stated, “I am glad that we were able move our investigation into the homicide of Angela Wilds forward. I am proud that our detectives didn’t give up on this cold case, we know Angela’s family has been waiting a long time for this day to come. Her family is in our thoughts as we take the next steps in the judicial process.”

District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “We are determined to secure justice for the murder of Angela Wilds, some closure for her loved ones, and answers for our community. I am grateful for the tireless efforts and dedication of the investigators and prosecutors on this case. We sincerely appreciate the time and service of the grand jurors. Today’s announcement is an important step; we are committed to the work ahead.”

Angerer has a long list of interaction with the justice system, with previous arrests in Alaska for stalking, domestic violence, criminal mischief, property damage, disorderly conduct in Ketchikan, assault with a weapon, and more. He is held on a $250,000 cash bail by order of Judge Kari McCrea.

Photo: Juneau Police Department from 2010.

Pirate, now in Northern California, faces headwinds as public is up in arms

Bob Maier: Ballot neglects to tell voters that Proposition 14 will add about $68 in taxes to home worth $400,000

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Bob Maier: Ballot neglects to tell voters that Proposition 14 will add about $68 in taxes to home worth $400,000

By BOB MAIER

Once again, “It is all about the children.”

Proposition 14 on the April 4 Anchorage municipal ballot, which voters will see this week in the mail, proposes to amend the Municipal Charter by removing the taxation on marijuana from the tax cap calculation.

In Anchorage, the terms for the commercial sale and marketing for marijuana were approved by voters with the express promise in the ballot language that the new revenue provided by the taxation would fall under the Anchorage tax cap.

Here we are just a few years later with a proposition before us to be voted upon that will back-track on the ballot language that was approved by voters.

In 2023 the taxation on marijuana received by the Municipality will roughly be $6 million, which will reduce the burden on property taxpayer’s dollar for dollar.  If passed, Prop 14 will result in an increase of $68 in the annual property tax bill on a home with a $400,000 valuation with the removal of the $6 million from the tax cap according to numbers provided by the Municipality.  

This information is not included in the ballot language.

Make no mistake about it, despite the way it is being sold, Proposition 14 is a property tax increase.

So, just what does Prop 14 propose? The ballot language dedicates the revenue from the marijuana tax to be utilized for “Child Care and Early Education” along with creating an “Accountability Board of Child Care and Early Education.”

Do we really need to create more bureaucracy in our education system?

If Prop 14 passes, this new “Accountability Board” will surely have the need for increased revenue as their number one priority for this brand-new Anchorage Municipal program.

In 2009 voters approved the “Repair Our Tax Cap Initiative” with a 62% margin, reversing the attempt by then-Mayor Mark Begich to alter the Tax Cap calculation.  

In 2016 voters approved another “Repair Our Tax Cap Initiative” by a similar 62% vote, reversing the attempt by then-Mayor Ethan Berkowitz to alter the Tax Cap calculation.

Utilizing “Child Care and Early Education” as a Trojan horse to un-lock the voter approved provisions of our tax cap will haunt Anchorage property taxpayers. If Prop 14 is approved, you will certainly see future proposals to dilute our tax cap even further utilizing this same formula.

Let us respect the initial promise made by the Municipality of Anchorage, the one approved by voters and keep the marijuana tax inside the tax cap calculation.

Vote NO on Proposition 14.

Bob Maier is a property taxpayer residing in Anchorage.

Ryan Redington, grandson of Iditarod race’s co-founder, is the winner of the 2023 race

Suzanne Downing
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8
Ryan Redington, grandson of Iditarod race’s co-founder, is the winner of the 2023 race

Ryan Redington came across the finish line under the burled arch today in Nome at 12:15 pm, winning his first-ever Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The weather was sunny and 4 degrees, with blowing snow.

Redington is the son of racing legend Raymie Redington and the the grandson of Joe Redington Sr., who is considered a co-founder of the Iditarod. “Something he has dreamed about his entire mushing life. I’ve heard him say it countless times when meeting new people and talking about this race. ‘The winner gets a 50 pound bronze statue of my grandpa and that’s my dream- to take home that trophy.'” his Facebook page wrote on Monday evening. This is his 17th Iditarod race.

In his three previous races in the Iditarod, Ryan Redington has placed in the top 10 finishers.

The crowd in Nome as Ryan Redington wins the 2023 Iditarod.

Pete Kaiser was about 10 miles behind Redington, who has set the pace for much of the race.

Redington was born in Knik, Alaska into the legendary mushing family, a tradition he carries even as he trains in fall and winter in Brune, Wisconsin. In the summer, he and his dogs give tours in Girdwood, Alaska.

Joe Redington, Sr. co-founded the race in 1973, and helped establish the route as a National Historic Trail.

Like his father and grandfather, Ryan has been mushing ever since he “could hold onto the sled”, and has excelled at sprint and marathon sled dog races across the Midwest and Alaska. His daughter Eve and son TJ also carry on the family tradition of racing sled dogs, according to his website.

Ryan’s best time before 2023 was in 2021, when he placed seventh. He is also the winner of the 2019 and 2021 Kobuk 440 in Kotzebue.

San Francisco considers $5 million in reparations for black residents whose ancestors were slaves

Suzanne Downing
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San Francisco considers $5 million in reparations for black residents whose ancestors were slaves

While San Francisco-area banks like Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic are reeling from the consequences of their bad management decisions that prioritized woke policies over sound banking principles, the City of San Francisco is considering a proposal that would give a $5 million lump sum payment to each eligible black resident of the city and county.

The proposal, originally recommended to be drafted in 2019 by the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to the Board of Supervisors, says the City and County of San Francisco should pay the debt it owes to black residents for “generations of disinvestment and displacement.” Subsequently, the draft of the plan was completed by San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee and was prepared by the Human Rights Commission.

A climate change for banks: Feds explain rescue plan for woke Silicon Valley Bank, Signature of New York

Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton introduced a resolution supporting the creation of a San Francisco Reparations Plan, and the Board of Supervisors approved the plan.

“This prescient resolution was adopted in August 2020, in the same year as a litany of events that would change national reparations discussions, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests following the police murder of George Floyd by in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These events brought nationwide attention to the ways in which city and state actors have historically played a role in driving institutional anti-Black racism at a systemic and policy level. In addition to shining a light on the way that disproportionate policing impacts Black communities and how global health events had disproportionately fatal outcomes for Black people, 2020 illuminated other ways that government agencies have either passively or actively contributed to unjustifiable socioeconomic, health and educational disparities along racial lines,” according to the draft recommendation.

Over the course of a two-year term, the 15-member committee was tasked with developing a San Francisco Reparations Plan that addresses the “institutional, City-sanctioned harm that has been inflicted upon African American communities in San Francisco. The legislation specifically prioritizes improving education, housing, workforce development, economic opportunities, financial stability, small businesses, transit access and food security while reducing violence, health disparities and over-criminalization experienced in our city’s Black communities.”

The committee was made up of:

Seat 1: An individual who works for a media outlet that principally serves the African American community, is a storyteller of African American stories, or is a historian with expertise in African American history.

Seat 2: An individual who has been displaced from San Francisco due to gentrification (residency in San Francisco not required).

Seat 3: An individual with expertise in private equity, venture capital, or fundraising in the financial industry.

Seat 4: An individual who is 65 years of age or older and who has lived in a predominantly African American community.

Seat 5: An individual who has been incarcerated.

Seat 6: An individual who has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

Seat 7: An individual who has experienced or is experiencing homelessness.

Seat 8: An individual with expertise in the impact of redevelopment activities in the Fillmore District and the Western Addition on Black communities.

Seat 9: An individual with experience as a small business owner principally serving the African American community.

Seat 10: A person who is employed by or in a leadership position in a charitable, social service, or religious organization principally serving the African-American community.

Seat 11: A person who works in the technology industry with experience in the field of technological equity.

Seat 12: A person who is between the ages of 14 and 24, inclusive, with experience working with community groups serving the African American community.

Seat 13: A person representing the sectors served by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (construction, building and trades, hospitality, and medical sectors) with experience working in predominantly African American communities.

Seat 14: An individual with experience as a parent or caregiver of a child or children experiencing barriers to or disparate treatment in education.

Seat 15: An individual who has lived or is currently living in public housing.

The reparations report can be accessed at this link.

Peltola votes in favor of ‘woke’ ESG investing rules to harm Alaska resource development

Northrim CEO reassures customers: Bank is strong

Suzanne Downing
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Northrim CEO reassures customers: Bank is strong

In response to the uncertainty surrounding the banking industry and stock prices on Monday, the chairman and CEO of Northrim Bank reached out to account holders on Monday with a letter describing the bank’s strong position.

“We have always been measured and balanced in how we approach our banking operations. Our conservative strategy includes strong liquidity and credit quality, exceeding the regulatory requirements of a well-capitalized bank, a diversified investment portfolio and the ability to borrow if needed. We continue to monitor the environment and adjust our strategy as necessary,” wrote Joe Schierhorn on Monday afternoon.

Northrim (NRIM) stocks took a dip in early morning trading but recovered most of their value by the end of the day. Friday’s closing price was 48.97, and Monday was $46.34, after a slightly bumpy ride through the trading day. Since it was established in 1990, the bank stock has continued to strengthen.

Monday’s stock journey for Northrim Bank. Top graphic shows the stock performance since the bank’s inception.

Northrim is no stranger to watching the bottom fall out from an economy. It was founded after the stock market crash of 1987, when oil prices dropped to single digits and 13 financial institutions failed across Alaska, displacing customers and opening the way for a group of investors to start Northrim — in a trailer in the middle of a parking lot. The founders raised $8 million to open the bank, which began accepting customers on Dec. 4, 1990.

It grew out of the ashes of a major recession in Alaska, staring with 21 employees, one branch, and its initial $8 million in assets. Today it is a statewide bank with more than $2 billion in assets, still considered small by global banking measures.

Just two weeks ago, Northrim’s board of directors approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of 60 cents per share, a jump of 20% from its prior payout. The dividend, to be paid, Mar 17 to shareholders of record as on Mar 9, is the 11th dividend increase in five years.

By comparison, Silicon Valley Bank, which was closed by regulators on Friday, was among the top 20 American commercial banks, with $209 billion in total assets and $175.4 billion in total deposits at the end of 2022. It was focused on financing more than half of U.S. venture-backed technology, green energy, and bio-tech companies.

Silicon Valley Bank was the nation’s 18th largest, but as account holders rushed to remove their funds, the bank was unable to meet the demand for what became a run on the bank.

Other regional banks folded last week, including Silvergate, Signature Bank of New York, and First Republic.

A climate change for banks: Feds explain rescue plan for woke Silicon Valley Bank, Signature of New York
Permanent Fund’s exposure to Silicon Valley Bank is slight


U.S. Interior Department mapped ANWR wrong, took too much land, court finds

Suzanne Downing
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U.S. Interior Department mapped ANWR wrong, took too much land, court finds

A U.S. District Court has found the Department of the Interior’s mapping agency should have considered additional mapping that was available in the 1950s when the boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was created. The court has sent the matter back to the agency inside of the Interior Department to reconsider the boundary line.

ANWR was established in 1960 by President Dwight Eisenhower, and was at the time called the Arctic National Wildlife Range. It had an area of 13,900 square miles. The wildlife range was expanded to 19.3 million acres and renamed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter when he signed Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System. ANILCA mandated wildlife studies, as well as an oil and gas assessment of the coastal plain, sometimes called the 10-02 area.

The State of Alaska argued that the Bureau of Land Management incorrectly surveyed the western boundary of ANWR, and erred when it withheld approximately 20,000 acres of land on the eastern North Slope from the State. The mapping agency, called the Board of Land Appeals, set the boundary at the Canning River, but maps created by the BLM put the boundary several miles to the west at the Staines River. The error cost the State of Alaska about 31 square miles of land to which it was entitled. The decision has important implications for oil and gas development on the eastern North Slope.

“It’s about time that the BLM recognized that the Canning and Staines are two different rivers, that don’t even connect to each other,” said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “The ANWR boundary cannot be what the BLM says it is. Their position that the boundary follows the Canning River until an unmarked location, where it hops over a nine-foot riverbank, crosses more than 10 miles of open tundra, and only then joins the Staines is simply preposterous. This is yet another attempt by the federal government to prevent the State from receiving land that it is entitled to under the law, and we’re extremely pleased to be able to take the fight back to the IBLA.”

“We are very pleased with the Court’s order,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. “Once IBLA considers the proper maps—the maps that actually existed when the boundary of ANWR was being set—we believe that the intended boundary is unquestionably at the Canning River, not the Staines River as IBLA incorrectly found.”

In its order, the Court said a series of USGS maps dating from 1951 should have been considered in determining the United States’ intended boundary for ANWR.  The Board of Land Appeals had only looked at later maps published after ANWR’s establishment to find “intent.”

“The State wants the BLM to follow the text of the public land order that created ANWR, which the federal government wrote for itself,” said Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle. “When it does, it’s clear that the State is entitled to this land by operation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.”

Alaska administratively appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals following the Bureau of Land Management’s initial decision in 2016. The Board of Land Appeals issued a decision in favor of BLM in 2020 and the State sought judicial review of that order in March 2022.

ANILCA has a “no more” clause, stating says there are to be no more lands in Alaska withdrawn to federal control, unless Congress approves it. President Carter had used the Antiquities Act to expand the refuge as a way to protect it as a wilderness.

Pi Day: May it last forever

Suzanne Downing
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Pi Day: May it last forever

On March 14, math nerds and pie lovers of the world celebrate the number pi, written π or 3.14. Pi is such a revered number that it has a national day named in its honor: Congress made Pi Day official in 2009, an annual fete of the mathematical constant.

Why March 14? It is numerically 3.14, which are the first three digits of pi. The digits of pi, which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, always end up as 3.14, and so pi can answer questions about circles, spheres, and space itself. Pi, in reality, has an infinite number of digits, as far as anyone has determined. In 2021, researchers at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (Switzerland) calculated 31.4 trillion more digits, bringing the total to 62.8 trillion decimal places, without any discernible repeating patterns.

Pies of any sort are great object lessons for explaining how the 3.14 is arrived at. You take a string or piece of yarn and measure around the pie. Then you take a ruler or tape measure and measure the string to get the circumference number. Then measure the length across the pie, going across the middle, or diameter. Now divide the circumference by the diameter and you will get 3.14. If you want to calculate the area of the pie (the circle), you use the formula “pi r squared,” or pi times the radius (a straight line from the center to the circumference of a circle) squared.

After you’ve conquered the calculation, Must Read Alaska recommends you reward yourself with a slice of pie — at 3:14 pm, preferably. And if not pie, then pizza and a pint. And if not pizza and beer, then a slice of pineapple. You’ll figure it out.

Permanent Fund’s exposure to Silicon Valley Bank is slight

Suzanne Downing
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7
Permanent Fund’s exposure to Silicon Valley Bank is slight

The Alaska Permanent Fund has just a slight exposure to the Silicon Valley Bank, which was shut down after being taken over by federal regulators on Friday.

“Last week, U.S. banking regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank, a bank that specialized in commercial banking for the technology sector. Over the weekend, federal entities took measures to ensure that the depositors of Silicon Valley Bank would be held harmless. At this point, a handful of additional banks are experiencing substantial distress or have also been closed by banking regulators. These banks include Silvergate, Signature Bank, and First Republic,” said the Alaska Permanent Fund in a statement

“The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has exposure to these banks in the form of passive investments in index funds. As of Dec. 31, 2022, the market value of these investments totaled $7.6 million. The total market value of APFC investments on December 31 was $74.4 billion. 

The APFC said that many portfolio companies in its private equity portfolio used Silicon Valley Bank for operating purposes. As of today, APFC understands that those companies’ deposits have been guaranteed by the federal government.

“The APFC is a fully diversified global investor,” stated Executive Director Deven Mitchell. “At any point in time, some sector of the economy can experience distress.”  Chair Ethan Schutt stated, “The Board of Trustees is committed to maintaining prudent diversification of its investments. While the U.S. and global economies continue to make progress toward emerging from the global pandemic, we should not be surprised by periodic reversals in various sectors.”

The APFC said it will will continue to closely monitor this situation.

Over 1,500 green energy companies, including solar, wind, and “Environmental, Social, and Governance” entities had their accounts at SVB.

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