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Patrick LeMay: Newtok, the time to relocate is now

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Patrick LeMay: Newtok, the time to relocate is now

By PATRICK LEMAY

Newtok Village has experienced two newsworthy events within the last four months. In September 2022, flooding and erosion severely impacted the community because of remnants from Typhoon Merbok.

A couple of weeks ago, a fire destroyed the school’s power plant.

In the big picture, these two noteworthy events are merely a small part of the ongoing slow disaster that has been destroying this community since 1954 when the school was located well over one mile from the river.

Now, the school is located with a meager 35 feet of land protecting this valued community emergency shelter and education center from being forever lost to the river, just like many houses that used to be located adjacent to the river.

The land between the 1954 river shoreline and the school once held the community’s landfill, sewage lagoon, barge landing, water source, and homes; all these pieces of critical infrastructure are long gone due to the land eroding away. It is documented that well over $30 million has been spent on planning. Some would estimate that up to $80 million has been spent on planning since the 1980s.  

Now is past the time for action.  It is time to listen to the elders of the community. Elders have clearly stated for decades that the No. 1 priority of Newtok Village is to relocate to a safe location chosen based on science and professional engineering judgement. 

The new community site of Mertarvik is approximately eight miles from the current village site on bedrock instead of the silt river delta that was chosen in the 1950s without an engineering assessment; the location was simply chosen based on it being the farthest location that the barge with construction materials to build the school could be reached. Erosion of the village site was destined to occur eventually based upon the very obvious geological features of the land itself.  

The question was not whether erosion of the village location would occur; but, rather when?  Erosion was indeed inevitable.  The time is now to build housing stock in Mertarvik so that the residents of Newtok will not be left behind when future storm events occur now that the community no longer has a school with a reliable heating source to evacuate to.  

Newtok’s extremely obvious need for additional housing in the safe pioneering Mertarvik location on solid ground is based on severe coastal erosion that is occurring frequently.  The situation is dire and beyond critical.  There is no more time to spend on planning.  Action is required now.  Newtok has been in flux for at least three decades since the need for relocation became obvious.  Declaration of this need unfortunately disincentivized investment in the maintenance of infrastructure in Newtok.  This lack of investment resulted in a severely distressed housing stock, poor living conditions in homes that have a documented case study of residents having a 25% increased rate of upper respiratory diseases due to mold in homes caused by flooding, and severe overcrowding with three generations living in one home.

Newtok is relocating to the new high ground community in Mertarvik due to persistent erosion precipitated by permafrost degradation, reduced sea ice in the Bering Sea, as the river is tidally influenced, and flooding. These conditions have led to a deadly, real-life problem, and time is of the essence.  

The Ninglick River is consuming community land and facilities as erosion advances towards the community’s last remaining infrastructure. Newtok  cannot be considered a viable place to live anymore. With a documented erosion rate of 70-90 feet per year, the erosion rate at Newtok is the highest in Alaska.  

The unique combination of thawing permafrost, flooding, and erosion that all occur together simultaneously is known as Usteq and is catastrophic to the Newtok community’s population. Furthermore, the compounded hazard of Usteq is much greater than the individual component processes; permafrost thaw, flooding, and erosion are all parts of an escalating feedback loop.

Newtok simply must relocate, and housing is the number one priority needed to reunite this community as one family on the same side of the river. If the definition of infrastructure is roads, utilities, and public works, then very little additional infrastructure is needed in Mertarvik to allow the remaining 155 people left behind in Newtok to relocate.

Please don’t misunderstand me. More infrastructure is required in Mertarvik to support the anticipated total population once the relocation of human life is complete. The critical Tribal infrastructure required at the present time to complete the immediate relocation of human life is houses for the people to live in and a school.  

If the No. 1 priority is housing, then the No. 2 priority is a school. Currently, Mertarvik has a temporary school set up for the fortunate families that have already relocated. However, it is at capacity. With school construction taking two to three years to build in a remote location, the need for school funding is NOW. 

Patrick M. LeMay, PE is the Newtok relocation project manager.

Paulette Simpson: The ticking demographic time bomb

Suzanne Downing
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Paulette Simpson: The ticking demographic time bomb

By PAULETTE SIMPSON

Years ago, I attended a college commencement where a Jesuit priest offered graduates some good advice:  When you’re about to make a big decision, first ask yourself, “How do I know, and what if I’m wrong?”

In short, consider the source of the knowledge that informs your decision and contemplate the consequences of getting it wrong.

Elected officials spend public money and allocate finite resources.  For guidance in getting it right, they sometimes defer to well-connected constituents, lobbyists, or “experts” who spend their careers arriving at predetermined conclusions. 

Currently, Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau are experiencing declines in student enrollment.  These are not new demographic developments. There’s been plenty of time for local leaders to craft rational policies and plans to address this depressing, potentially devastating trend. But they haven’t.

In May 2018 the City and Borough of Juneau’s long-time trusted consultant Gregg Erickson warned that Juneau School District (JSD) enrollment counts have been in decline since 2004.  Last year, Erickson projected Juneau’s 2022-23 student count to be 4,225.  According to the state’s Department of Education website, it’s now 4,183 – once again proving Erickson’s estimate right on target. 

Juneau’s peak school enrollment in 1999 was 5,701. By 2032, the number is forecast to drop to 3,035. 

Ignoring facts doesn’t change them.  Juneau’s aging population and declining school enrollments have helped create a demographic timebomb that James Bond is not coming to defuse. The current Assembly didn’t create the conditions that caused this scenario. Nonetheless, it falls upon them to manage the fiscal pressures of reduced state funding for fewer students alongside increasing numbers of seniors. If their answer is to simply raise taxes, how many more people will be forced to leave?

Keeping the cost of living affordable in a town with sluggish growth that can’t even hold on to a Walmart is no small challenge.  But to tax and spend freely and force vanity projects on an unwilling electorate is cynical, disrespectful, and ultimately counterproductive.

In fairness, one CBJ Assembly member might have a clue. In a February 25, 2022, Juneau Empire letter to the editor, Assemblymember Carole Triem wrote, “Instead of being distracted by the shiniest new projects and the loudest voices, we should spend money where it matters the most.”

This past October, Juneau voters rejected spending money on a new City Hall. Previously, voters twice approved bonds to finance necessary upgrades to Centennial Hall convention center, demonstrating they are willing to spend money to fix problems, but not to create new liabilities.

In 2019, the Juneau electorate also said “no” to a new performing arts center.  In response, the CBJ went behind the voters’ backs. They linked the ratified Centennial Hall renovations to the rejected performing arts center and gave it a new name.  

To avoid another pesky public vote, the CBJ and “Capital Civic Center” promoters are seeking handouts from Alaska’s congressional delegation ($35 million) and the state ($10 million). Even if these windfalls come to pass, the facility will still need more money, as well as funds for furnishings.

Minimized, if not ignored, are the very real costs of operating and maintaining a $75 million facility, costs that will be borne by Juneau taxpayers for generations to come.

Bob Banghart, multi-talented proponent of the CCC was quoted in the Juneau Empire opining that the civic center “…is something this community needs to mature into.”  

Such an implicitly condescending statement suggests that those not yet convinced of the necessity of a $75 million facility obviously must be educated until they “mature” into agreement. But demographic data shows this community is already plenty mature.  

The revealing comment sadly reflects the attitude of Juneau’s “let them eat cake” ruling class that dismisses cost of living concerns as not relevant to their priorities. 

The Empire article also quotes civic center promoter/former mayor Bruce Botelho. Like a TV preacher hyping his crystal cathedral and promising salvation for anyone who will pony up, Botelho says, “I think it is visionary in the terms of what it will do not only this generation but future generations and the impact it can have in the state.”  So, the Capital Civic Center is good for Alaska?  Botelho may be right about it impacting future generations because they’ll surely be paying for it. 

Propaganda won’t stabilize Juneau’s population or subsidize our public facilities. Identified community priorities (housing, childcare, cost of living, landfill) should always take precedence over the shiny and new.  

Perhaps it’s time to subject our elected officials and ourselves to the scrutiny of “How do I know?” and consider the sobering consequences of “What if I’m wrong?”  

Paulette Simpson is a Juneau resident.

Dave Bronson: Everyone needs a place

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Dave Bronson: Everyone needs a place

By MAYOR DAVE BRONSON

Reflecting on more than a year and a half as mayor of Anchorage, I realize now more than ever, that the issue of homelessness touches nearly every aspect of our great
city. Whether we are talking Parks & Recreation, Police, Fire, or our Health Department homelessness touches every department within the Municipality. In the community, we know that homelessness is impacting our workforce, our small businesses, and our image as a top tourist destination. With that understanding, it is essential that we approach it effectively, compassionately, efficiently, and quickly.

As a pragmatist, I must admit that as a society we may never entirely “solve” the homeless challenge. However, I am convinced that we can manage it in a way to feel safe on our streets, trail systems, and in our neighborhoods. I am confident we can be a city where tourists leave with the overwhelming sense of wanting to return and where our business owners are motivated to invest time, energy, and money in our beautiful city.

To effectively manage our homeless challenge, we must first understand it at a very fundamental level.

Regardless of how someone becomes homeless, each person must have a place to go at every moment of every day. Whether it be in a home, a place of employment, a restaurant, hiking with friends, worshiping at church, or exercising at the gym, it really does not matter. Everyone needs a place.

For our fellow citizens who are experiencing homelessness, they too need a place. For some, that place might be a hotel that has been converted into housing, a shelter that has been built to protect them from the elements, or a church that has opened their doors to support them. What we must strive for is that their place is not a street corner or under a blue tarp in our parks.

It is my job as Mayor to ensure the places our unhoused citizens live are good for both them and our city.

If we are to be a successful and prosperous city going forward, we must effectively manage our homeless situation, and we must do it collaboratively.

This is not an easy or simple task. But it is one we must face together. We need more shelter space. We need more drug and alcohol detox and treatment beds, as well as the trained labor force to staff these facilities. Ultimately, we need more housing development. We need more housing, of all types, across all levels of affordability. It is time for our city to come together to make it easier, and more affordable for citizens to build, develop and ultimately live in Anchorage.

This will all cost money, but we will pay a far greater price as a community if we are not successful in this endeavor. Our businesses, especially in downtown and midtown, will continue to struggle. We will slouch further toward the failed models that are Seattle, Portland, and San Diego, amongst others. Tourists may avoid Anchorage itself as they pass through to the rest of Alaska. Private investment in our city could shrink as more residents consider moving to the Valley or even out of state.

The good news is that we have accomplished a great deal so far over the last 19 months.

We have successfully marshaled new housing operations being managed by public-private partnerships with more in the works. The Assembly and I are focused and motivated to deal with this great challenge. While we may differ on some tactics on how to accomplish our shared objectives, we agree that doing nothing is simply unacceptable.

We must provide places for those who need them so that we can once again feel comfortable to use our parks and trails as places to recreate; so that our business owners no longer bear the brunt of dealing with a problem that is collectively ours; so that we restore the Sullivan Arena to its original intent as a sporting and community event center; so that we can get our great city back on the right track.

I am confident we can meet this challenge and be a successful, prosperous, and forward-thinking city. But first, everyone needs a place.

Dave Bronson is the mayor of Anchorage.

Assembly devolves into community bashing, but Girdwood gets a win on Holton Hills, despite Constant harping

Suzanne Downing
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Assembly devolves into community bashing, but Girdwood gets a win on Holton Hills, despite Constant harping

In the end, Girdwood got a win on Tuesday, if only because members of the Anchorage Assembly think the mayor of Anchorage is too incompetent to execute the transfer of a large parcel of Heritage Land Bank property to a private developer to build more housing in the community south of Anchorage.

The Anchorage Assembly meeting spent time giving Assembly members the opportunity to say repeatedly that it’s the fault of Mayor Dave Bronson, who they don’t trust to finish the work started by former Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson to significantly increase the density of Girdwood.

Assemblyman Chris Constant spun tales of poison cookies, rich privileged NIMBYs, and part-time Girdwood residents who have too many houses, in a long-winded Constant-style diatribe against the constituents of the area.

Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, who favors the project, said she just could not vote to move it ahead because the mayor isn’t competent to direct the completion of the Holton Hills land transfer, which would double the developed acreage in Girdwood, a somewhat self-contained community south of Anchorage.

Under Quinn-Davidson as acting mayor, a request for proposal was issued for the land to be released by the Heritage Land Bank. CY Investments, owned by Connie Yoshimura, got the contract to develop various housing, to include single-family homes, some mixed use, and some condos. Under the proposed proposal, the city and CY Investments would have split the profits of the development of about 100 homes. There was no guarantee that workers in the Girdwood area would be able to afford the houses, however. Much work would need to be done to satisfy Girdwood that the project would benefit the community.

Girdwood residents complained that no study had been done on the impact on Girdwood; there are water, school, traffic, and public safety considerations to doubling the housing in Girdwood, where many of the existing homes are, admittedly, often vacant because they are second homes, or are rented out as AirBNB or VRBO vacation rentals. Girdwood is a different neighborhood than anywhere in Anchorage because it is defined as a ski resort community and is somewhat insulated geographically and demographically from the rest of Anchorage.

Assemblyman Chris Constant has been a strong proponent of the development. Constant is a business partner with Yoshimura at Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Alaska Realty Referrals, but has not recused himself from the deliberations concerning Yoshimura’s other financial interests.

During the deliberation, Quinn-Davidson said that the pushback from Girdwood “drives me nuts, and I think it gives us a bad name. I think it’s a bad vote for the Assembly. It shows that we are not interested in development.”

Constant put up a passionate fight, and with a shaky voice attacked members of the Girdwood community who had testified.

“It wasn’t just aggressive testimony, it was possibly dishonest testimony that was aimed at personal attacks because they couldn’t win on the ideas. Attack ideas, and if you can’t win there, you then attack the process, and if you can’t win there, you attack the people,” Constant said.

“Yes, the mayor’s team is a disaster,” Constant said. “But there is one party here who is not a disaster and who has a good track record. That’s Connie Yoshimura and her investment company. She is a successful developer that brings projects to fruition regularly in this community, unlike the people who led the charge against her, who have failed in their developments in Tacoma and other places, where they are actually causers of loss and causers of failed projects.”

No one on the Assembly challenged the right of Constant to be involved in the discussion, considering his financial ties to Yoshimura. And so he continued bashing Girdwood:

“I have learned in this process that there are people who if they come forward with projects from Girdwood, my my default setting will have to be ‘no.’ And they will have to convince me to change my opinion. Why? Because they spread rumors that Connie Yoshimura was attempting to poison them with cookies. And because four times one of my closest peers on the Assembly, even last night at midnight, asked me ‘have you been to the ethics board,’ after having disclosed four times the nature of my relationship.

“These people who are fighting against this cause have brought shame upon this body and we have enabled it. And I am so sad that we’re going to watch this project crumble because we enabled people who are so privileged, that they are going to sit in their third or fourth home in Girdwood while they rent out short-term rentals, and they enjoy the fact that property values they have are going to stay high because they stopped this project,” Constant said.

“There is shame to be had for all of us, because we were unable to live up to our values,” Constant continued.

The Assembly voted 7 to 5 to postpone indefinitely, with Constant, Quinn-Davidson, Daniel Volland , Joey Sweet, and Kevin Cross voting against the postponement.

Voting with Zaletel in killing Holton Hills were Assembly Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance, Pete Petersen, Kameron Perez-Verdia, Felix Rivera, Randy Sulte, and Robin Dern.

Anchorage school district lost 5,455 students, but the budget balloons by $54 million

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Anchorage school district lost 5,455 students, but the budget balloons by $54 million

By DAVID BOYLE

In the just-released preliminary budget for the next school year, the Anchorage School District wants to increase its current budget by a whopping 6.4%.  

And the general fund budget will increase by $49 million — an increase of nearly 9%.

This means the district’s budget will be more than $905 million, an increase of more than $54 million over last year, which does not include an additional $55 million for the PERS/TRS retirement programs. 

This large budget (not including the PERS/TRS) equals $20,534 per student based on next year’s projected enrollment.  

Here is the chart on next year’s ASD budget:

It appears as if the district will depend upon the Legislature to fund this increase as many districts and students (their travel to Juneau funded with K-12 dollars) lobby legislators.

Seeing that the makeup of the Legislature is ripe for giving the educational bureaucracy increased funding, the education industry leaders have descended upon lawmakers, demanding a huge increase in the Base Student Allocation (BSA). 

The mantra is that “BSA funding has been flat since 2017.” The Senate has responded with Senate Bill 52, which increases the BSA by $1,000. This would cost the State more than $250 million with no more accountability than we now have.

ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt doesn’t believe the district and other state school districts have been asking for more and more money. 

In the February ASD Connect newsletter to the public he writes, ““…I hear over and over again from some that this session is about school districts asking for more money.  I want to be clear — the districts around the state are not asking for more money.  We are asking that systematic flat funding, which are cuts, are finally addressed after seven years, in the wake of chronically declining academic performance across the state.”

This seems to be doublespeak at its finest. Bryantt has neglected to explain that funding outside the BSA was added over that time. And he seems to imply this “lack of funding” is the reason for declining academic performance.  

 Despite what Bryantt says, many of the education industry proponents have done just that — asked for more money with no accountability for results.

Alaska education industry wants your PFD, but will our graduates even be able to read their diplomas?

In the 2023 school year, the Anchorage School District had 5,455 fewer brick-and mortar-students than in 2017. It received $9 million fewer state dollars due to that decrease in students.

Contrary to what Bryantt says, the declining academic performance has dropped consistently over the years — with or without additional funding. It’s been near the bottom for decades — since 2003, according to the latest NAEP results.

As one can see from this graph on 4th grade reading, Alaska student academic performance has lagged other states since 2003. Note that 10 points in the NAEP equates to one year of education.  In 2022 Alaska’s 4th graders are more than one academic year behind lower 48 students in reading proficiency.

In 4th grade reading for 2022, only New Mexico performed worse than Alaska.

The 4th grade reading metric is said to be an indicator of student success — a child learns to read by 4th grade, then reads to learn thereafter.

Can Anchorage voters expect better student outcomes with this $54 million increase? Or will we be here again next year at the bottom of the NAEP scores while the Education Industry begs the legislature for more and more dollars? 

And if they get the money, will they spend it on the classroom or on extraneous requirements such as diversity, equity, or indoctrinating children on transgender issues? 

After all, there is no accountability written into the request. The school district will do what it always does, increase what it wants, and then come with its hand out to you, the taxpayer (or Permanent Fund shareholder), to fund it.  

What do you think? The Anchorage School Board needs to hear from you.  You can testify or send comments here: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/4329

David Boyle is the Must Read Alaska education writer and former executive director of the Alaska Policy Forum.

Did Biden blow up Nord Stream gasline? Writer Seymour Hersh says he did

Suzanne Downing
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Did Biden blow up Nord Stream gasline? Writer Seymour Hersh says he did

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh is reporting today that the United States was responsible for blowing up a major gasline that supplies Europe with energy from Russia.

Hersh was an investigative reporter for decades for The New York Times and The New Yorker. On Wednesday, he published a damning report on Substack about how President Joe Biden ordered the blowing up of the Nor Stream undersea gasline last summer. The White House responded quickly, calling it ‘complete fiction.'”

Hersh’s story tells many details that could only have come from Deep State sources. His timing, publishing the day after the State of the Union address by Biden, is a curious touch. Hersh, now 85, has never before published on Substack, a home for independent writers and the new location for the Must Read Alaska newsletter.

“Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning,” Hersh writes.

“Two of the pipelines, which were known collectively as Nord Stream 1, had been providing Germany and much of Western Europe with cheap Russian natural gas for more than a decade. A second pair of pipelines, called Nord Stream 2, had been built but were not yet operational. Now, with Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian border and the bloodiest war in Europe since 1945 looming, President Joseph Biden saw the pipelines as a vehicle for Vladimir Putin to weaponize natural gas for his political and territorial ambitions,” Hersh says.

Adrienne Watson, a White House spokeswoman, told a reporter, “This is false and complete fiction.” But the story is now being carried by international newspapers in Europe and could have long-term consequences for international relations.

“Biden’s decision to sabotage the pipelines came after more than nine months of highly secret back and forth debate inside Washington’s national security community about how to best achieve that goal. For much of that time, the issue was not whether to do the mission, but how to get it done with no overt clue as to who was responsible,” Hersh reports.

“President Biden and his foreign policy team—National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and Victoria Nuland, the Undersecretary of State for Policy—had been vocal and consistent in their hostility to the two pipelines, which ran side by side for 750 miles under the Baltic Sea from two different ports in northeastern Russia near the Estonian border, passing close to the Danish island of Bornholm before ending in northern Germany,” Hersh writes.

Hersh has broken numerous investigative stories in his career, including the cover up of the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidential campaign, the secret bombing of Cambodia, and the circumstances surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden during the Obama administration. His sources are deep and the trust he has built with them goes back 50 years.

Read the entire Hersh report, How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline, at Substack, where Hersh launched his bombshell as his first Substack post just a few hours ago.

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream

Biden’s death watch for oil: 10 years left for America

Suzanne Downing
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Biden’s death watch for oil: 10 years left for America

President Joe Biden, in his second State of the Union address, went straight for the jugular of American energy independence and the Alaska economy. He proposed massive taxes on oil companies and blamed them for the energy crisis and for not producing enough oil. And he said the country is going to need oil for just about another decade as it converts to an all-electric future, with 500,000 charging stations being installed across America by the IBEW.

Biden’s comment came in the middle of his address but the end-of-oil remark was not included in the officially released version of his speech.

Biden described conversations he had had with oil companies executives. When he asked them why they are not reinvesting in their companies, Biden described them as responding that they are afraid he is going to shut down oil refineries anyway, “so why should we invest in them?”

“I tell them, we’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”

Republicans in the hall burst out in laughter, while Democrats jeered.

Biden, the leader of the Democratic Party, had just articulated the party’s platform of supporting the premature death of the energy-producing economy in America, which is responsible for the top three exports of oil, gasoline, and natural gas. He described no plan for providing the electricity for the hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles he said the government is investing in through tax credits. Nor did he say how America would get the minerals needed to build the electric vehicles.

At the same time, BP announced it is dialing back its earlier promises to cut carbon emissions by 35-40% over 10 years, saying the demand for oil is rising, and the company will only cut back 20-30% by the year 2030 so it can produce more oil and meet the global demand.

Rep. Mary Peltola tweeted throughout the speech, but said nothing in defense of Alaska oil projects like Willow or Pikka, which would take at least five years to bring to production. Willow alone is projected to produce about 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years.

Instead of standing up for Alaska’s economy, Peltola posted a tweet from the AFL-CIO about building the electric economy.

Biden also touched on his support for transgender rights for children and asked Congress to set in statute federal abortion rights. That was also supported by Peltola.

The speech was a sharp contrast to the practical and pro-active address given by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan at the Alaska Legislature today, when he called on the president to approve the Willow and Pikka projects, open up resource development to the Ambler Mining District, and to quit punishing Alaskans by shutting down their economy.

Sullivan speaks to Alaskans about purpose, the state’s role in national security, and the promise of resource economy
Peltola picks at non-union workers as ‘scabs,’ invites Alaska labor boss to State of Union address

Sullivan speaks to Alaskans about purpose, the state’s role in national security, and the promise of resource economy

Suzanne Downing
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Sullivan speaks to Alaskans about purpose, the state’s role in national security, and the promise of resource economy

In themes familiar to Alaskans, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan on Tuesday spoke in Alaska’s Capitol to a joint session of the Alaska House and Senate, calling on Alaskans to help him fight to keep the promise of Alaska alive, and to lean into the purpose of our state for the greater good of all of America.

He challenged legislators and all Alaskans to rise to the call of citizenship in a Republic, and to engage in the arena, hearkening back to the words of President Teddy Roosevelt in his famous “Man in the Arena” speech.

Sullivan was positive about Alaska’s potential and pivotal place in national security.

He was not so bullish on the Biden Administration, saying he felt no need to be present at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C., when he could be with Alaskans.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in world than right here, right now with the people who really matter,” he said. 

He also criticized President Biden for issuing 44 executive orders relating to Alaska — more than any other state, in the two years since he took office. Sullivan described the Biden Administration’s “war on Alaska,” as running counter to Sullivan’s top priorities for Alaska: Revitalizing Alaska’s economy and growing jobs for Alaskans, and providing security to the United States in a time of rising global tensions.

“No other state has gotten this kind of unwarranted attention,” Sullivan said of Biden’s executive orders, adding that even Democrats senators are stunned when they find out how much Alaska has been targeted by the Biden Administration.

Sullivan described the Willow and Pikka oil projects on the North Slope and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska as on the cusp of bringing a renaissance in jobs and activity to the state, not to mention over 200,000 barrels per day of oil into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and billions of dollars in revenues to local, state, and federal coffers. If only the Biden Administration won’t spike the projects.

He praised the activation of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, first formed in 1943, and now activated in Alaska as of 2022. He described how he has nearly nailed down a new icebreaker that will be home-ported in Juneau soon, bringing a crew of 200 and hundreds of related jobs, while also finally having an icebreaker located in the state.

Sullivan said that while America has two icebreakers, one of them is broken, which leaves just one operational. Russia, on the other hand, has 54 icebreakers, many of them with nuclear capabilities. Even Singapore has more icebreakers than the United States, he added, with a note of exasperation, considering it is one degree north of the Equator. But change he has pushed for is on the horizon, with icebreakers now being built at shipyards in America.

He warned of the rise of authoritarian governments around the world, such as in Russia and China, and how important Alaska is to protecting the nation during an era of global power dynamics he predicted will continue well into the future.

When asked during a brief question and answer period following his speech, Sullivan praised the military personnel stationed in Alaska for tracking the Chinese spy balloon that went across Alaska last week. He said that data about the aircraft was transmitted to the Department of Defense, where decisions were made to allow the spying device to continue on its path across America. Sullivan said he thought it should have been shot down earlier in its journey, rather than later. He also indicated that he needed to be careful about what he said publicly about the incident, and said that others speaking on the record have probably overshared knowledge that is or could be classified.

In addition to the usual Alaska topics of energy, mining, fishing, and tourism, Sullivan talked about the problems of addiction, domestic violence, and the mental health crisis, particularly as it impacts many young people, who are hooked on social media and are becoming depressed and suicidal.

But he ended on a positive note — where he started — by reminding lawmakers that Alaska is like no other place on earth, and that the people of the state are not too divided to be able to work together to move the state ahead. Alaskans share with each other and pull together during tough times, and have a unique generosity of spirit. He once again called for Alaskans to dig deep to create a place where a sense of purpose is preserved, and where the spirit of community is interwoven with endless possibilities.

America is not fully America without Alaska, Sullivan concluded, and Alaska has a strong purpose and a place in America.

Senator Sullivan’s speech in full can be read at this link.

Consistent: Peltola votes against ‘Show Up Act’ for federal workers, is a no-show in committees, floor votes

Suzanne Downing
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Consistent: Peltola votes against ‘Show Up Act’ for federal workers, is a no-show in committees, floor votes

Last week, Alaska’s Rep. Mary Peltola voted against the “Show Up Act,” a bill that passed the House 221-206, which would roll back the federal rules relating to telework to what they were before the Covid pandemic, when the federal government let many workers clock in from home. The idea of the bill is to get the federal workforce back into a regular working environment and make government more accountable.

Democrats voted against the bill that requires agencies to reinstate the telework policies that were in place on Dec. 31, 2019. According to the legislation, agencies may not implement expanded telework policies unless the Office of Personnel Management certifies that such policies, among other requirements, will have a positive effect on the agency’s mission and operational costs, says the summary from HR 139.

On Tuesday, Peltola was a no-show at her Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, which had testimony from the high-ranking officials of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency that is up for reauthorization. Top Transportation Department and FAA officials and airline industry experts, including representatives from the Airline Pilots Association, National Transportation Safety Board, National Business Aviation Association testified on aviation safety.

Alaska is the state that is arguably the most dependent on aviation and has the top cargo hub in America, the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and Peltola issued a press release in January, celebrating her influential role as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Read Peltola’s press release at this link.

Also on Tuesday, Peltola was a no-show again in her Natural Resources Committee, where the committee met as a committee of the whole to consider the Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress.

Related document to that committee’s deliberations is at this link: HNR 118th Authorization and Oversight Plan 01.27.23 

Peltola was also a no-show for the House vote today on HR 97, which would remove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 vaccine requirement for non-citizens entering the United States. That measure passed 217-208, with Democrats voting against the resolution, which must also pass the Senate. The resolution also disapproves of the actions of the DC Council in allowing non-citizens to vote in the District of Columbia.

Last week, Peltola walked out of the Natural Resources Committee’s first meeting, after she said that there was too much partisan bickering. A debate about whether the House rules meant that firearms are or are not allowed in committee had ensued for about 15 minutes when Peltola walked out of the meeting, which had been going on for two hours. The meeting was an organizational meeting for the committee to establish rules and procedures. She later told reporters that the bickering was just too much for her.

Two weeks ago, Peltola was a no-show on a House floor vote on the protection of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because, she later explained to reporters, she needed to use the restroom.

Peltola says she missed Strategic Petroleum Reserve vote because she used the bathroom and then left early
Rep. Peltola skips out on vote to protect Strategic Petroleum Reserve
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