Page 906 – Must Read Alaska

Will TSA extend travel mask mandate next week?

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April 12, 2022

Will TSA extend travel mask mandate next week?

The federal mask mandate for travel has been extended three times since President Joe Biden made his ruling in January of 2021. It is now poised to expire on April 18. But will the White House extend it into the summer?

“The American people have seen through the false logic that COVID-19 only exists on airplanes and public transportation. They see it every day when they go to a grocery store, restaurant, shopping mall, or movie theater with no masks in sight, leading them to demand unneeded mandates come to an end. In response to this outcry, 21 states have filed suit to put an end to this egregious transportation mask mandate overreach,” wrote a group of U.S. senators and congressional representatives to the president last week.

“In addition, you’ve received letters from various transportation stakeholders urging you to put pandemic-related travel restrictions behind us. Specifically, the White House received letters from the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America, and the American Bus Association, all of whom are imploring your Administration to either repeal the transportation mask mandate immediately or let it expire.”

The April 8 letter was signed by Republican Reps. Sam Graves (Mo.), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Garret Graves (La.), ranking member on the Aviation Subcommittee; Republican Sens. Roger Wicker (Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and Ted Cruz (Texas), ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee.

While most of the country has dropped mask mandates in workplaces and schools, the Biden rule says nose and mouth coverings must be worn in airports, planes, bus stations, buses, railroad stations, and trains.

Complicating the decision this week is that many Democrats in the ruling class in the nation’s capital have contracted Covid, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Seventy-two high-ranking political leaders who attended the Gridiron Dinner (an annual event for the political elite held at an exclusive, invitation-only journalism dining club called the Gridiron Club) subsequently came down with the virus, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and . It was the first Gridiron Dinner since 2019, and all guests were required to show proof of vaccination.

In March, the White House official and TSA said that during the month extension, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would work with agencies to “help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor. This revised framework will be based on the COVID-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science. We will communicate any updates publicly if and/or when they change.”

On the NBC Today Show on Monday, White House Covid-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said the mandate for masking travelers “is absolutely on the table.”

As the Biden Administration evaluates its options, attorneys general from 21 Republican-led states, including Alaska, sued the federal government over the travel mask mandate, arguing the rule is federal overreach. CEOs of major airlines including Alaska Airlines wrote to the Biden Administration that the mask requirements are out of step with “the realities of the current epidemiological environment.”

The masking rule has led to an outbreak in defiant behavior on commercial air carriers that has resulted in airlines developing no-fly policies for those who won’t comply, and to asked the Biden Administration to create a nationwide “no fly list” for passengers who are identified by the airlines as being overly unruly, or for those who attack flight attendants, gate agents, and fellow travelers. Mask mandates are the origin of an estimated three-quarters of bad behavior by travelers, the airlines told the Administration.

The sticking point is that defining unruly behavior can be subjective and violate travelers’ constitutional rights.

Of 5,981 such reports to the Federal Aviation Administration last year, 72% were related to masks. The agency started investigations of 1,105 of those cases, which was 300 percent more than any year since the FAA began collecting data in 1995.

The FAA took enforcement action in 390 cases since the mask mandate went into effect in January of 2021. Prior to that, several airlines already had a mask mandate in effect for travel on their carriers.

Alaska joins lawsuit against federal face mask mandate on planes, trains, buses

Ted Cruz, Susan Collins, and other senators file bill to end mask mandates on airlines

Flight cancellations continue at Alaska Airlines

Suzanne Downing

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April 11, 2022

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Flight cancellations continue at Alaska Airlines

On Monday, 37 Alaska Airlines flights were canceled, about 4 percent of the airline’s scheduled flights. Some 183 flights had delays, about 24 percent of all Alaska Airlines flights. 13 flights have already been canceled for Tuesday. Many of the canceled flights are for those to or from the airline’s main hub, SeaTac. Sixteen flights from SeaTac and 17 flights to SeaTac were canceled Monday, although not all of them were Alaska Airlines flights.

The airlines has suffered from cancellations since April 1. More cancellations are expected Tuesday and Wednesday, as a shortage of pilots continues to plague the company. The airlines has begin to trim its spring schedule, eliminating 2 percent of its flights. Some of those eliminated flights are showing up as cancellations.

Alaska Airlines and the union that represents its pilots have been stalled for three years and is now the subject of federal mediation.

ANCSA association endorses Tara Sweeney for Congress

Suzanne Downing

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April 11, 2022

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ANCSA association endorses Tara Sweeney for Congress

Alaska’s Native corporations are getting behind one of the 48 candidates for Congress in Alaska’s election that will replace the late Congressman Don Young. The ANCSA Association board of directors has voted to endorse Tara Sweeney for Alaska’s lone congressional seat.

“The decision recognizes the historic opportunity before Alaskans to elect the state’s first Alaska Native and female congressperson,” the board said in a statement. “It is rare for ARA to support a political candidate but a candidate as experienced and qualified as Tara Katuk Sweeney is also rare,” said ARA President Kiln Reitmeier. “As our nation‘s ﬁrst Alaska Native Assistant Secretary of Indian Tara fought tirelessly from our nation’s capital in Washington D.C. to help create jobs and economic opportunity for all Alaskans, including those in rural communities.”

Sweeney is former co-chair of Alaska Federation of Natives and was Vice President for external affairs for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, a Native corporation created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Board members include Sophie Minich of CIRI, Gail Schubert of Bering Straits Native Corporation, Sauna Hegna of Koniag, Anthony Mallott of Sealaska, Skoey Vergan of Aleut Native Corporation, Michelle Anderson of Ahtna, Rex Rock, Sr. of ASRC, Jason Metrokin of Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Andrew Guy of Calista, and Sheri Buretta of Chugach.

Sweeney is one of dozens who will be on the June 11 special election primary ballot, part of the process of picking the temporary member of Congress, who will be elected in the special general election in August and who would serve until January. Almost simultaneously, an election for the permanent seat will be taking place, starting Aug. 16 with a primary and ending in November with the general election.

Ironically, it was Congressman Nick Begich who pushed ANCSA through in Congress when he served as Alaska’s lone representative in 1971. The bill extinguished Alaska Native aboriginal claims, and was signed by President Nixon that year, ushering the way for Native corporations and the development of Alaska’s oil on the North Slope. His grandson, Nick Begich III, is now running for Congress.

New Must Read Alaska poll: Sarah Palin, Nick Begich are top two Republicans on the ballot for Congress

Tshibaka opens campaign office in Anchorage, formally files with Division of Elections

Suzanne Downing

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April 11, 2022

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Tshibaka opens campaign office in Anchorage, formally files with Division of Elections

With a group of supporters surrounding her, Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka opened her campaign office at 607 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Earlier in the day, the Alaska-raised Republican filed formally with the Division of Elections, which puts her on the Aug. 16 open primary ballot. She is running against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is under water with Republican voters in Alaska but who has the support of the national Republican establishment, including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Tshibaka said she first decided to enter the race after Murkowski cast the deciding vote to advance Deb Haaland’s nomination to the Department of Interior. Haaland leads President Joe Biden’s assault on Alaska’s energy industries.

“I’m running for the Senate because it’s time for a change, and I want to fight for the Alaskans who fought for me,” Tshibaka said. “I owe everything to this state. My parents came to Alaska before I was born, were homeless for a while, but then pulled themselves into the working class after my mother got an oil job. I had the opportunities I’ve had because of the Alaskans who came around to help our family when we needed it, and I know that’s the same story countless other Alaskans can tell. When I’m the next U.S. senator from Alaska, I will always remember the Alaskans who elected me and what they’ve done for me.”

Tshibaka initially launched her campaign on March 29, 2021, and she was endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump three months later.

Tshibaka says Murkowski’s overall record proves she has stopped listening to the people of Alaska.

“Everywhere I have been in Alaska over the past year, people have told me the same thing: It’s time for a change,” Tshibaka said. “Whether it’s in rural Alaska or a city, no matter a person’s race, age, or gender, no matter if they’re retired, working, unemployed, or a stay-at-home mom or dad, people all feel the same way. Lisa Murkowski has forgotten all about them because she cares more about her popularity among the Washington, D.C. elites.”

Tshibaka’s top priority is to revive the Alaskan economy by protecting the jobs provided by resource industries and to stand against those who want to block access to the state’s natural resources.

“Lisa Murkowski had her Senate seat literally handed to her by her father, so she’s never had to feel the sting of the bad decisions she’s made,” Tshibaka said. “Every time she votes with her Washington, D.C. friends against the interests of Alaskans, she harms the people of this state, but she doesn’t feel it. We, the people, pay the price for her popularity.”

Tshibaka said Murkowski has cast too many votes against the views and values of Alaskans.

“Just last week, Murkowski voted to confirm leftist Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, who thinks the rules don’t apply her, has a record of leniency on child sex offenders, and can’t differentiate between the genders,” Tshibaka said. “Lisa Murkowski also opposed constitutionalist Justice Brett Kavanaugh and joined Democrats in an attempted filibuster of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She also voted to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country even after they committed multiple crimes against U.S. citizens. These are not the votes a senator from Alaska should be casting, but Murkowski has made poor decisions like this over and over.”

Chugach Electric Association hires, then cancels new CEO

Suzanne Downing

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April 11, 2022

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Chugach Electric Association hires, then cancels new CEO

Hal Halpern was supposed to start work as the new chief executive officer at Chugach Electric Association this week, as current CEO Lee Thibert is set to retire at the end of the month after six years on the job.

But suddenly last week, the Chugach Board of Directors canceled the contract with Halpern, without explanation. Word is that it was because a background check didn’t come up with entirely favorable results.

Chugach Electric Association has named Arthur Miller acting CEO, effective immediately, a day after the board said it was “not moving forward with employing Hal Halpern” as the utility’s new CEO. Miller has been with Chugach for nearly 32 years, most recently serving as executive vice president of regulatory and external affairs.

Halpern had signed a three-year contract, which was announced by the association on March 9.

“With over 15 years of C-suite experience, Halpern joins Chugach from Cooperative Light & Power in Minnesota, where he served over three years as CEO. In his new role, Halpern will oversee the development of Chugach’s utility strategies and business growth,” the utility’s board wrote in March.

When Thibert announced his retirement, the board hired a Rochester, N.Y. search firm, JK Executive Strategies, to sort through the more than 100 applications for the position. It was a sole-source contract with a woman-owned company to conduct the executive search. Thibert was originally going to stay on until the end of April, but that appears to have changed with Miller now the acting CEO

Halpern was relocating from Two Harbors, Minn. to Anchorage and is said to have retained a lawyer over the cancellation of his contract.

The screw up over hiring a new CEO comes as Chugach has been absorbing Anchorage’s ML&P in the merger approved by voters, who in 2018 approved selling ML&P to Chugach for $1 billion. The combination of the two utilities was expected to lead to lower long-term rates for all utility ratepayers with an estimated savings of over $200 million over the next 15 years, but Chugach has already asked for a rate increase from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. It has also canceled that rate increase request, having run into political headwinds.

Chugach Electric withdraws its 4% rate increase request

The hiring blow-up also comes just before board elections. Voting for the board opens April 20, when two candidates will be elected to serve a four-year term on the board. Four of the candidates were selected by the nominating committee and one candidate was approved to run by member petition. More information about the Chugach Electric Association board election is at this link.

Chugach is hosting a candidate forum on Thursday, April 14 at 4 p.m. in the board room at 5601 Electron Drive. Members are invited to listen as board candidates answer questions about the member-owned cooperative and board service.

Names of members who vote in the annual election go into a drawing and two members will win one free year of electricity (up to 10,000 kWh). More information is posted at: www.chugachelectric.com.

President Biden bans homemade and 3-D-made guns with wide-ranging rule that will impact hobby gunmakers

Suzanne Downing

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April 11, 2022

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President Biden bans homemade and 3-D-made guns with wide-ranging rule that will impact hobby gunmakers

President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice issued a rule Monday to ban home-made firearms, which the Biden Administration calls “ghost guns.”

Biden also announced the nomination of Steve Dettelbach as the permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Dettelbach must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before taking over as head of the ATF.

“President Biden has chosen yet another ATF Director candidate with ‘Gun Control Incorporated’s’ stamp of approval,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “We’re currently mobilizing our 4.5 million members in opposition to his nomination – just like we successfully did with the previous failed nominees.”

Dettelbach is an advocate for reinstating the ban on so-called “assault weapons” and federal “Brady Registration” checks on private gun sales. He was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio during the Barack Obama presidency.

Privately made guns have no federally tracked serial numbers on them. Last year, the administration said that 20,000 of these types of guns were reported to federal authorities as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations. The guns make it more difficult for law enforcement to track down the original owner of a gun, since it is effectively untraceable.

The Biden rule makes unserialized “buy build shoot” kits illegal. Gun plans and molding materials for 3-D printers are also illegal, as is making a firearm with a 3-D printer if there is no serial number on the firearm.

“This rule clarifies that these kits qualify as ‘firearms’ under the Gun Control Act, and that commercial manufacturers of such kits must therefore become licensed and include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver, and commercial sellers of these kits must become federally licensed and run background checks prior to a sale – just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms,” the Biden Administration said.

The Justice Department will require federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize the weapon. If an individual builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawn broker or another federally licensed dealer, that dealer must put a serial number on the weapon before selling it to a customer, the administration said. The requirement applies to guns made from individual parts, kits, or 3-D printers.

Further, the new rule ensures that firearms with “split receivers” are subject to regulations requiring serial numbers and background checks when purchased from a licensed dealer, manufacturer, or importer.

In the past, ATF issued a regulation defining the frame or receiver of a firearm as the part that is regulated by the Gun Control Act.

“However, we have seen the increasing popularity of firearms using split or multi-part receivers that house key components in multiple structures,” the White House wrote on Monday.

“Some courts have recently interpreted decades-old regulatory text in a way that, if broadly applied, could mean that as many as 90 percent of firearms in the United States today would not have a frame or receiver subject to federal regulation. The final rule updates the regulatory definitions of ‘frame’ and ‘receiver’ to ensure that firearms using split or multi-part receivers continue to be covered by our common-sense gun laws,” the White House said. The rule is meant to get around these court rulings that protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

Additionally, all federally licensed firearms dealers will be required to retain key records until they shut down their business. When they shut that business down, they put transfer their records to the ATF. Previously, dealers were permitted to destroy most records after 20 years. According to ATF’s National Tracing Center, on average more than 1,300 firearms a year are untraceable because the federally licensed firearms dealer destroyed the relevant records that were more than 20 years old, the White House said.

President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget calls on Congress to deliver the funding needed to implement the president’s comprehensive strategy to seize guns from Americans and he said he will push to make gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed with the guns they sell.

New Must Read Alaska poll: Sarah Palin, Nick Begich are top two Republicans on the ballot for Congress

Suzanne Downing

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April 10, 2022

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New Must Read Alaska poll: Sarah Palin, Nick Begich are top two Republicans on the ballot for Congress

A poll commissioned by Must Read Alaska over the weekend shows that Sarah Palin has both a chance of winning the race for Congress, but also has a high negative factor and could hand the race to the leading candidate supported by Alaska Democrats — Al Gross.

With campaigns eager to make claims to voters during this hurry-up special election season, Must Read Alaska has invested in ground-truthing what Alaskans are really thinking about concerning those on the ballot. The results were surprising:

The survey asked questions of 955 likely 2022 primary voters, such as: “Of several possible candidates in the 2022 election for Congress, if the election were held today, for whom would you vote?” The response was:

Sarah Palin: 31%
Al Gross: 26%
Nick Begich: 21%
Christopher Constant: 7%
Josh Revak: 3%
Tara Sweeney: 2%
Another candidate not listed: 4%
Undecided: 6%

This result contradicts a poll advertised by candidate Gross in his fundraising push to his national audience, which says Palin has 42%, Gross has 40%, and 18% are undecided.

The MRAK poll was conducted by a major national polling firm, Remington Research Strategies, which has a B rating from FiveThirtyEight.com for accuracy. It is the first known major poll to be conducted in Alaska in the race to replace the late Congressman Don Young, since his death on March 18.

Between April 7-9, surveyors asked likely primary voters in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks a series of questions about some of the more well-known names on the primary ballot.

There will be 48 names on the primary ballot; only those considered most viable for the general election ballot were included in the poll. This survey did not dive into the ranked choice voting methodology that Alaskans will use in August and in November. (The first ballot voters will face, which must be postmarked by June 11, is a “pick one” election with the top four heading to the August special election ballot.)

When asked their favorable/unfavorable opinion about Republican Sarah Palin:

37% said their opinion was favorable.
51% said they have an unfavorable opinion of Palin.
12% had no opinion of the former Alaska governor.

When asked their opinion about Republican Nick Begich:

28% were favorable.
30% were unfavorable.
42% had no opinion.

The same question was asked about Republican Josh Revak. Responses were:

8% were favorable.
29% were unfavorable.
63% had no opinion.

Democrat-backed candidate Al Gross, who ran for Senate in 2020 against Sen. Dan Sullivan, drew these responses:

32% favorable.
51% unfavorable.
17% with no opinion.

The unfavorables for Palin and Gross were identical at 51%. The favorables for Gross were smaller than those for Palin — 32% for Gross vs. 37% for Palin. The name recognition for Palin and her role as a lightning rod led to only 12% having no opinion on the favorability question.

Participants were asked if an endorsement from the family of the late Congressman Young was important to them: “In the upcoming special election to fill Don Young’s seat, are you more likely if less likely to vote for a candidate that claims to have the backing of Don Young’s family?” The answer shows that for many, it’s not going to make a difference in their decision:

20% were more likely to support the candidate.
28% were less likely.
52% said it made no difference to them.

The polling on Palin shows the former governor can’t lean on former President Donald Trump’s endorsement for support without risk. When asked, “Are you more likely or less likely to support Sarah Palin if you know that Donald Trump supports her candidacy?” the overall result was:

29% were more likely to vote for Palin.
48% were less likely.
23% said it made no difference to them.

By region the breakdown shows the former governor cannot use Trump without losing support:

Juneau: 16% said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to vote for Palin, while 73% of respondents said the Trump endorsement would make them less likely to vote for Palin.

Fairbanks: 38% said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to vote Palin, while 33% said it it would make them less likely.

Anchorage: 30% said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to vote for Palin, while 45% said the Trump endorsement would make them less likely.

The respondents were self-described as:

46% Conservative.
29% Moderate.
22% Liberal.
3% Not sure.

The poll demographics:

Anchorage (Southcentral): 71%

Fairbanks: 14%

Juneau: 15%

Republican: 38%

Democrat: 29%

Very conservative: 27%

Somewhat conservative: 25%

Moderate: 25%

Progressive: 23%

Female: 53%

Male: 47%

Remington Research Group of Missouri typically works for conservative clients. Its parent company is owned by Axiom Strategies, which has signed a contract to work with Nick Begich this campaign cycle, and which worked on the Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson campaign in 2021 and the successful gubernatorial campaign of Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. This poll was a combination of phone, online, and text survey, and the pollsters say the confidence rate has a 3.1 margin of error, with 95% level of confidence. The Anchorage numbers for the poll include people on the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su.

Alaskans are choosing a new member of Congress after the death of Congressman Young. The special placeholder election for a temporary House member takes place during a June 11 primary that has 48 people on the ballot, and an Aug. 16 general election, which is a ranked choice voting (rank your favorites, 1 through 4) ballot. The winner of that will be sworn in as a member of Congress until the regular election is completed in November. The November winner will have to get 51 percent of the vote on a ranked choice ballot.

Are you interested in supporting the work of Must Read Alaska and polls like these? Contribute to the cause of keeping the mainstream media honest by donating at this link.

Nick Begich campaign swings through Mat-Su with Politico reporter in hot pursuit, as race for Congress heats up

Suzanne Downing

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April 10, 2022

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Nick Begich campaign swings through Mat-Su with Politico reporter in hot pursuit, as race for Congress heats up

Nick Begich, the Republican running for Congress for Alaska’s open congressional seat, spent Saturday in the Mat-Su Valley, where he spoke to 75 people at the Mat-Su Republican Women’s Club at the Mat-Su Family Restaurant, and received a standing ovation. Several members of the club, including Cathy McCullom, have already endorsed him.

Begich picked up the endorsement of club member Debbie Jarvis of Willow, and several others to be announced in coming days, the campaign said.

Begich launched his campaign for Congress at the end of October. By the time Congressman Don Young had died on March 18, he was joined by six other candidates. After Don Young’s death, another 40 signed up to see if voters will choose them to fill out the seat, either temporarily in the special election or for the two-year regular seat, bringing the field to 48 for the June 11 special election primary.

On Friday Begich spoke at the Fairbanks Alaska Outdoor Council, which had recently endorsed him unanimously, and then attended the Fairbanks Outdoor Show. While in the Interior, Begich learned that he had been endorsed by District 33-North Pole Republicans. He is the only candidate to receive endorsement from Republican districts, which include (new district numbers), District 6-Homer, District 22-Eagle River, District 29-Valdez-Mat-Su, District 33-North Pole, and District 36-Nenana-Fort-Yukon. His endorsements include Kenai Peninsula Republican Women and the Republican Women of Fairbanks.

Politico, an online political news site from Washington, D.C., sent correspondent David Siders to Fairbanks to shadow Begich during his two day travels. Siders interviewed Begich and others at his events.

Siders, who wrote on April 2 about Sarah Palin’s sudden entry into the race, also came to the Mat-Su Family Restaurant for the Mat-Su Republican Women’s Club meeting and interviewed several more people, including Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes, who was one of Begich’s earliest endorsements.

Next week, Begich heads to Southeast Alaska, with stops in Juneau, Haines, and Ketchikan.

There are two elections being held for Alaska’s congressional seat this year, each with a primary and a general election. The special election to determine a placeholder for the seat in Congress has its primary on June 11. Ballots will be in the mail on April 27 and that ballot will have all 48 names on it, including Sarah Palin, Santa Claus, Tara Sweeney, and Al Gross. The top four vote-getters in that election will go to a ranked choice voting general election ballot that will be included with the regular ballot for the Aug. 16 primary, where voters will also pick their favorite for the two-year seat.

The temporary congressional member in the special election will be decided by late August. Meanwhile, the top four vote-getters in the regular primary will head to the general election ballot, where voters will rank them in November for the two-year seat. That winner will be sworn in in January with for the new congressional term.

With 64 days to special primary to replace Don Young, congressional candidates are on the move around Alaska

Alexander Dolitsky: The Dnieper River, Kiev, Zebra

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

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April 10, 2022

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Alexander Dolitsky: The Dnieper River, Kiev, Zebra

By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY

Anatoly Mikhailovich Mikisha was a talented and accomplished mathematician in his late 30s. He was a rocket scientist, working in the Moscow Aviation Institute in the 1960s and 1970s—the years I knew and communicated with him.

At that time, it was the most prestigious university in the former Soviet Union for aerospace engineering and for research in the structure of satellites and systems engineering in spacecraft. Anatoly Mikhailovich and his family were residence of Moscow, in the Russian Federation.

Anatoly’s wife was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine. Almost every summer, Anatoly, his wife and their young daughter vacationed in the Chertoroy, a long white–sand beach on the Dnieper River, about 20-30 minutes north from Kiev by the river ferry.

Chertoroy was a popular vacation spot loaded with numerous small, one–room, corporate cabins available for an affordable rent via the Soviet Trade Unions. There were also some private cabins and tents set everywhere in between and around the corporate cabins. The cabins were more like shacks, with only one window and one door, hastily constructed to protect people from the weather.

Every summer our family’s friend, Naum Osipovich Talinovsky, a leading engineer and manager in the Leninskaya Kuznitsa shipyard in Kiev, was able to secure a cabin for both our and his family in Chertoroy. Our families had been loyal friends since prior to World War II and always looked forward to sharing summers together.

Chertoroy was a popular vacation spot for all age groups. It was a place where Soviet citizens from around the country (Baltic Republics, Russian Federation, Georgia, Armenia, etc.) could experience the pure fun and joy that life offered during the summer season—playing beach volleyball, beach football (soccer), swimming in the Dnieper River, relaxing on the beach, and congregating at night near the bonfire with a group of friends. It was a one happy melting pot.

For a long time, every morning, Anatoly would sit by the river, perhaps contemplating something meaningful. One day, my teenage curiosity encouraged me to approach this mysterious man. “My name is Sasha, I live in this cabin, to the right,” I introduced myself, pointing to the cabin. “I am Anatoly Mikhailovich Mikisha, I am from Moscow. Every year my family vacations here, too,” responded Anatoly, scanning me up and down.

“I apologize for asking. What do you see in this river? I noticed that you are sitting here every morning, staring at the river,” I asked sheepishly. Anatoly then turned and looked at me observantly, saying, “Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher born two and a half thousand years ago, said: ‘No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.’”

I was puzzled by this revelation and shared a thought, “It seems to me that river is the same every day, and I am the same, too.” Anatoly paused for a minute and then continued, “Yes, from a practical point of view, at the first glimpse, both the river and you appear the same on any given day.

But I am wondering: How can I mathematically, via eloquent equation, prove or disprove Heraclitus’s observation? For me, the river is always moving because it’s alive, so it’s never the same. On the other hand, every day people change because they gain new experiences, expectations, adaptations, emotions and knowledge—all of which shapes them.”

I was somewhat confused and lost by these interpretations—way above my age and schooling. But, at the same time, I was remarkably driven toward Anatoly’s creative personality and vivid observations.

From that moment on, I accompanied Anatoly every morning by the river, listening to his exciting stories about voyages around the world on the USSR Academy of Sciences research vessels. I also asked him numerous teenage-related questions about the meaning of life, equality vs. equal rights, human freedom, dignity and honor, happiness, and true friendship.

Our teacher/student bond and communication became strong and long lasting. Anatoly guided me for 12 years until my departure from the Soviet Union to the West in March 1977. Because of his affiliation with and his highly sensitive security position at the USSR Academy of Sciences, our communication, per his request, ended several months before my departure.

Nevertheless, among many of the life–related truths that Anatoly shared with me over the years, several have become prominent beacons in my life. Those most relevant and applicable to the social environment in our country today are as follows:

“Life is like a Zebra; it consists of black and white stripes. When you are in the white stripe, enjoy and hold it as long as you can, and at the same time educate and prepare yourself for a turbulence in the possible forthcoming black stripe. And when you are, by unfortunate circumstances, in the black stripe, compose and discipline yourself in anticipation of the white stripe; it will definitely come again.”

“You can equalize the poor with the rich only by taking away wealth from the rich. You can equalize the weak with the strong only by taking away strength from the strong. You can equalize the stupid with the smart only by turning the mind and dignity into shortcomings.”

“Some people are going to leave you, that’s not the end of your story, that’s the end of their part in your story.”

“If people want to live in a crime–free and democratic society, and if they want to defund or terminate altogether the law enforcement institutions, then everyone should obey the 10 commandments, most appropriately: Honor your father and your mother; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; and You shall not covet.”

“Happiness is when you can make other people happy and, subsequently, watch their happiness with an open mind and joy.”

Here is my song dedicated to my old friend and mentor, Anatoly Mikhailovich Mikisha, wherever he is, still alive or in the eternity.

My life is a river,
As waves rolling on towards the sea,
Wave upon wave, mighty and free,
The way to the sea may still be long,
But the river is rolling, it’s rolling along,
And I have never believed that a current so strong
Could slow down as suddenly as my song.

Alexander B. Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine, in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and was enroled in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also a lecturer in the Russian Center. In the U.S.S.R., he was a social studies teacher for three years, and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukranian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He lived first in Sitka in 1985 and then settled in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education from 1988 to 2006; and has been the Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center (see www.aksrc.homestead.com) from 1990 to present. He has conducted about 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky has been a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, andClipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. He was the Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. He has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology, and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka; Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia; Old Russia in Modern America: Russian Old Believers in Alaska; Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During WWII; Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East; Living Wisdom of the Far North: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska; Pipeline to Russia; The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in WWII; and Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers; Ancient Tales of Chukotka, and Ancient Tales of Kamchatka.

A few of Dolitsky’s past MRAK columns:

Read: Russian saying: Beat your friends so your enemies fear you

Read: Neo-Marxism and utopian Socialism in America

Read: Old believers preserving faith in the New World

Read: Duke Ellington and the effects of Cold War in Soviet Union on intellectual curiosity

Read: United we stand, divided we fall with race, ethnicity in America

Read: For American schools to succeed, they need this ingredient

Read: Nationalism in America, Alaska, around the world

Read: The case of the ‘delicious salad’

Read: White privilege is a troubling perspective

Read: Beware of activists who manipulate history for their own agenda

Read: Alaska Day remembrance of Russian transfer