Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel managed to get a fire truck parked right behind her at her sign-waving event on Friday evening at the corner of Northern Lights Blvd. and Seward Highway. The campaign appeared to have tied balloons to the front of the fire truck.
If city equipment has been positioned to give an appearance of support to a campaign, it would be misuse of taxpayer-funded assets.
Zaletel has the backing of the unions. She is being challenged by Kathy Henslee for a midtown seat on the Assembly.
It’s not a direct endorsement, but it’s a shady look for the fire department and for Zaletel to have a fire truck parked at the end of a parking lot, with no particular purpose other than to give her campaign gaggle some nice color in the background.
The Anchorage School Board has narrowed its search for a replacement for Superintendent Deena Bishop, who announced in November that she will retire in June.
The three finalists hail from Texas, Sitka, and Colorado.
Texan Jharrett Bryantt is an executive in the Office of Talent at the Houston Independent School District in Texas, which is described as one of the largest school districts in the nation. Bryantt has been an assistant superintendent and served in other capacities since 2013. A Teach for America alumnus who taught math and science in Houston before moving into administration, he has a doctorate in education leadership and policy from University of Texas.
Alaskan Frank Hauser has been the superintendent of the Sitka School District since 2021. He served as principal of Robert Service High School in Anchorage and as assistant principal of curriculum for Dimond High School. He was named 2019 Alaska Principal of the year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska and received his Masters from UAF; he has been in Alaska education for his entire school career.
Coloradan Mathew Neal is the current superintendent of Woodland Park School District, a position he has held since 2021. Neal worked in Kuwait as superintendent of American Creativity Academy and has worked in other leadership capacities in Colorado and Wyoming.
Some 23 people applied for the position of Anchorage superintendent. A search firm, Ray and Associates, managed the nationwide search on behalf of the board.
Complete information about the candidates and the interview process is at this link.
A virtual community town hall with the three finalists is planned for March 29, 5-6:30 pm. Details:
Webinar ID: 974 4618 5123
Tue, Mar 29 5-6:30 pm Superintendent Candidate Search: Community Town Hall
Being woke is moronic. Being a good person is epic.
As the world changes and becomes more and more complex, so does the role of businesses in it. With their ever-growing consumer base and expansive supply chains, businesses are now expected to play an active role in society beyond simply making a profit.
This includes being responsible for their workforce, the environment and the communities they operate in.
There is a growing trend among businesses to give back to their communities through nonprofits and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. These activities can take many forms, such as donating money to charities or causes, providing pro bono services, or engaging in community development projects.
In Alaska, there is a private oil company that does this well. They gave each of their employees $25,000 to give to the nonprofit of their choice. This empowered each employee to think through their giving. There was no match or strings attached. They could give it all to their church or to 100 different nonprofits; it was up to each employee to spend it as they saw best.
There are many reasons why businesses should get involved in nonprofits in the communities they do business in. It can be a way to improve employee morale and engagement.
Companies can create a sense of purpose and belonging in their workforce by allowing employees to use their skills and talents for good causes. When done correctly, philanthropy and nonprofit work can make a company not only do good but look good in the eyes of the public.
However, companies and their staff should not do philanthropy to solely look good. They must first consider whether they have any genuine interest in the cause they wish to support. If they don’t have any real passion for the issue, it will be challenging to implement and ineffective.
In addition, if a company wants to engage with nonprofits and other charitable organizations, they need to ensure that they understand what these groups do. Many people assume that all nonprofit organizations provide aid to those who cannot afford it. However, this is far from true.
For example, some nonprofits focus on environmental issues, while others may improve education standards in your community. To avoid falling into traps like this, it is essential to research various organizations and find out precisely what they do.
Posting on social media about joining causes can fall on deaf ears, especially if your own company has never worked on the causes they are posting on social about.
Showing up, rolling up your sleeves, putting in some hours at a soup kitchen, or painting a battered women’s shelter is what we need more of. Less talk, more action.
Less judging people from your WOKE soapbox, more humility, less fake inclusiveness, and more empathy. Stop talking about what everyone else should do and go do it yourself.
There is much benefit to donating time, talent, and money to aid nonprofits in the communities they serve. Here are practical things a company could partner with a nonprofit to do.
This includes: First and Second Amendment rights advocacy (NRA), helping plant a community garden, creating a breakfast program for kids who go to school without eating a meal, making sure kids have the books and supplies they need to be successful in school and putting on workshop showing adults and kids how to balance a checkbook.
You could also help out in these areas: if there is a disaster in your community, showing up and helping clean up and rebuild without wanting any recognition or award, creating a microloan program for adults and kids to test out their business ideas, stopping into a local nonprofit and just ask them, “What do you need help with?”
Another simple thing anyone can do is this, cleaning up lakes, rivers, and ponds that are full of trash and cleaning up historical areas in your community.
And at the same time, the corporate culture also benefits through this because: The business gets to know about different cultures and communities, it builds relationships with nonprofits and other stakeholders, it promotes its brand and products (if they can add value to people), and it can increase its reputation and can attract new clients and partners.
Here are some benefits to being a businessperson that gives their time, talent, and/or money. It helps your community, and that’s all you really need to know!
Even though that is the most significant benefit, there are still others that can be: It helps you become more self-aware. It can also provide you with a sense of belonging, which almost everyone longs for.
Volunteering enables you to feel connected to something bigger than yourself. It gives you a chance to explore your interests. You will find out what you enjoy doing and what you would like to pursue when you are doing something outside of your comfort zone.
It can also enhance your leadership abilities. Leadership requires people skills, and volunteer experience will teach you how to interact with others effectively. Volunteering builds confidence. This work allows you to prove yourself and boost your self-esteem.
If you own a business or run a business, think of the impact you can have if, instead of posting the next cool hashtag or image filter to support a nonprofit on social, you had your staff help build and take care of a community garden with people who actually lived in the community your business is in.
Doing good needs to move away from posting cool things on social media and toward helping actual people with the everyday needs in their life. Do not worry about trying to convince everyone on social media to do this; just go do it.
Being Woke is moronic. Being a GOOD person is epic.
John Quick is Vice President of business for Must Read Alaska. One of his many super powers is to help your business discover how to best use social media and technology to connect with customers, drive traffic, tell your authentic story and increase sales. He’s entrepreneur and a former regional director for Samaritan’s Purse and is known as “chief implementor and red tape cutter.”
The Alaska Supreme Court upheld the redistricting plan for Skagway and Juneau, which pairs Skagway with the northern neighborhoods of Juneau, as well as Haines.
“We AFFIRM the superior court’s determination that the house districts comply with article VI, section 6 of the Alaska Constitution and should not otherwise be vacated due to procedural aspects of the Board’s work. We REVERSE the superior court’s remand to the Board for further proceedings under the superior court’s ‘hard look’ analysis relating to public comments on the house districts. There is no constitutional infirmity with House Districts 3 and 4 and no need for further work by the Board,” the Supreme Court said.
The Supreme Court also upheld almost all of the lines for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which has been paired with Valdez into a House district, with the exception of one carve-out called the Cantwell Appendage:
“The Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the City of Valdez separately challenge the superior court’s determination that House Districts 29, 30, and 36 do not violate article VI, section 6 of the Constitution and should not otherwise be vacated due to procedural aspects of the Board’s work. We AFFIRM the superior court’s determination, with one exception: We conclude that the so-called “Cantwell Appendage” violates article VI, section 6 of the Constitution. The Cantwell Appendage renders House District 36 non- compact without adequate justification. House District 36 reaches across a local borough boundary, within which voters are by law socio-economically integrated with other borough voters,7 to extract Cantwell residents from District 30 and place them in House District 36,” the court wrote.
But the court said the lines drawn for Senate Seat K, Eagle River, constituted gerrymandering, “violating equal protection under the Alaska Constitution, and we therefore AFFIRM the superior court’s remand to the Board to correct the constitutional error.”
The Senate Seat K area now includes a portion of Muldoon, and Democrats objected strenuously to having Muldoon linked with Eagle River.
Every 10 years the political boundaries are shifted to even out the population that is represented in the Alaska House and Senate. The redistricting process follows the completion of the U.S. Census, which was done late in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was not made final until August of 2021, when the Alaska Redistricting Board took up the task of redrawing the House and Senate boundaries.
This story will be updated. The complete ruling is found here:
Democrat State Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson is dropping her run for U.S. Senate in Alaska after just one month, and instead will seek reelection to the state Senate.
Gray-Jackson told sources that fundraising hasn’t gone well. The first quarter fundraising period ends next week and she can’t raise funds while she is a sitting senator in the Legislature, due to state law that intends to prevent corruption.
The Alaska Democratic Party had courted Gray-Jackson for well over eight months, begging the public to send the Anchorage Democrat a note of support to run. She had always appeared to be somewhat reluctant. At 68, she is also a bit on the old side to start a six-year Senate career.
A factor is also that Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the sitting Republican, has a $6 million war chest. The Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka is thought to have raised about $2 million.
Gray-Jackson is the only Democrat who has filed to run for the U.S. Senate seat, which has been held by Murkowski since 2002, when she was appointed to the seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski.
I doubt any of us expected to be thrown into a line from the Grateful Dead, but here we are two year later: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
And so it began
I first heard the word “Covid” while on a trip to the Galapagos Islands in February, 2020. One week later, after a friend, my wife and I made it back to Ecuador, all flights to and from those islands were canceled. We felt like we were surfing just ahead of a 100-foot wave of uncertainty.
Upon arrival in Miami the beginning of a Covid-driven change was apparent. In the first class lounge, 50 percent of those present wore masks. The majority of mask wearers were from Europe and Asia.
We left Alaska in September, 2019 for a road trip through Canada to the Lower 48, with plans to return to Alaska in April 2020. On March 7, 2020 we flew unmasked to Seattle and reunited with our truck camper on Whidbey Island.
On March 13, 2020 President Trump announced a Covid National Emergency. On March 16, the nation began the 15 days to slow the spread experiment. During that time Whidbey Island looked like a scene from the Walking Dead, minus the zombies. No one dared hike in the parks and traffic was all but non-existent on the roads. It was eerie.
I turned my attention to concerns of our ability to drive back to Alaska in April. Canada had closed its borders to all but essential travel and initially Alaskans returning home were not considered essential.
I called the offices of the late Don Young, and Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski. One hour later I received a return call from Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office. Rachel listened to my concerns and said that honestly, with everything else going on, no one had thought about Alaskans driving home. Four hours later I received another call from Rachel reporting that Sen. Sullivan contacted Secretary of State Pompeo before he had a scheduled meeting with his counterpart in Canada. My concerns were conveyed and Alaskans returning home by road were now considered essential travel.
Three days later I received a return call from someone in Rep. Don Young’s office and I told her the problem had been handled. Ten days later, after we were already back in Alaska, a person from Sen. Murkowski’s office called and told me nothing could be done and we should fly home — a recommendation that suggested sitting on an airplane might be safer than isolating in our self contained truck camper while driving.
I realized at that point many more poor decisions were likely to be forced on us.
Looking back, the original vector that got me involved was a mask.
I’ve never been directly involved with politics beyond researching candidates and their platforms. Until the recent mayoral campaign, I never contributed to or volunteered for a campaign, whether local or national, in my life. But I have always voted.
After unelected acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson was appointed by the Assembly she changed the mask mandate. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz had an exemption for mask use during exercise. AQD removed it that exemption.
Having retired from medicine, I knew extreme cardiovascular exercise while masked could be harmful. I naively thought since neither the unelected acting mayor nor any Assembly members had a license to practice medicine they simply didn’t realize this fact. On Nov. 8, 2020, I sent my first email to Austin Quinn-Davidson and later forwarded the same email to the Assembly. I shared peer-reviewed medical journal articles showing the danger of mask use during exercise.
I thought I might get a thank you and a change to the mandate. Instead I got some puzzling responses. I made it clear in that email I was not anti-mask and at the time wore masks in the big box stores as required. I just wasn’t willing to risk my well being by exercising with a mask on.
“I recognize that you aren’t in the column of people supporting masks. But having the source material is better than not,” said Assemblyman Chris Constant. To this day, that response makes zero sense.
“Thanks you very much for sharing your email to the mayor. You provide a very valuable insight to the challenges of wearing a mask while exercising. I understand your frustration and I hope we can find the right balance between safety and practicality,” said Assembly Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance.
“Good call! You won’t get an argument from me as I’ve tried to fight these mandates from day one!” said Assemblywoman Crystal Kennedy.
I received a call from Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, who thanked me for the information and supporting my position.
The AQD Mayor’s Office sent a boilerplate response saying my message would be forwarded to the “covid team.”
I received no other responses, including from my own District 5 assembly people, Forrest Dunbar and Pete Petersen.
I started to attend Assembly meetings including showing up over an hour beforehand and waiting outside the Loussac in the winter cold in order to assure my ability to address the Assembly during public comment.
I started to closely monitor the State Covid Dashboard for case counts, hospitalizations and deaths. I realized the number of deaths per 100,000 was much lower in the Mat-Su, which had no mandates, than in the Municipality with draconian business killing lockdowns and mandates. I pointed out during one of my three-minute testimonies and also by email that at the time the Mat-Su had 27 deaths per 100,000 while the muni had 41 per 100,000. I questioned the advice being given the Assembly and mayor by Janet Johnston, PhD mathematician and epidemiologist.
One response to that email surprised me.
“There are lots of dashboards one can use, I am thankful for the sacrifices and hard work that has resulted in a dramatic reduction in COVID cases since the mandates were enacted last fall. It worked, but we can’t become complacent. The mask ordinance is intended to be temporary. I hope with the vaccinations and continued adherence to safety protocols that we will be able to return to normal before too long,” said Assembly Chairwoman LaFrance.
That response is dated Jan. 23, 2021 — over a year ago. It doesn’t look like the “adherence to safety protocols” returned us “to normal before too long.”
Was she implying the State Covid Dashboard had inaccurate information? Not likely. Probably she didn’t want to face the fact the restrictive mandates were not achieving the goal when compared to the Mat-Su.
I later got a surprise email from Assemblyman John Weddleton. He has continued to respond to many of my emails and I’ve enjoyed our exchanges, although we have to agree to disagree at times. He sent me a link to a three-page writeup by Janet Johnston, PhD, outlining why another community 44 miles away linked to the municipality by the road system could not be used as a control study comparison of a community with mandates and one without.
Ironically, in a later presentation at an assembly meeting, Dr. Johnston touted the benefits of mask usage referencing a study from Bangladesh. That study compared Covid spread in neighboring villages. So essentially she believed a study that compared differing communities but wrote that it was improper to compare the Mat-Su to Anchorage.
At later meetings I pointed out that I felt the Covid relief funds were poorly spent by the Assembly. When assembly members talked of hospital staffing shortages, I pointed out the Covid money they squandered on things like trail projects and hotel purchases could have supplied all the traveling nurses needed to fill the staffing gaps.
Unintended Consequences
I began pointing out both in person and via email the unintended consequences resulting from their mandates. A very memorable Assembly meeting included cardboard tombstones, each representing a business directly killed by those mandates.
Protesters hold cardboard tombstones representing businesses shut down by the Assembly mandates.
A compelling testimony was given by Mr. Perez, the owner of the recently closed restaurant Table Six. When everyone was talking of business closures he put a verbal face to the problem by reading the names of the 58 employees of Table Six that no longer had work.
The Assembly’s solution was to enact another rule limiting signs in the Assembly to 8 1/2 x 11. No more tombstones. An incredibly tone-deaf move.
Meanwhile, thanks to the reaction to Covid forced on us by the Assembly and past mayors, the suicide ideation rate, opioid overdoses, domestic violence, homeless population, and child abuse rates all increased. Our children were removed from school and upon return forced to wear masks regardless of the fact they had little to fear from a case of Covid. There are plenty of studies showing the delay in social development in children secondary to that forced mask usage.
Vaccinations and labels
Admittedly, I’ve been a pain in the butt for most of this Assembly and former unelected acting mayor. As a result I’ve been labeled “anti-vax” and a “Covid denier.” This is ironic considering, as pointed out in a previous Must Read Alaska article, I’m vaccinated and volunteered at a Municipal vaccination site. I’ve shared far more scientific data with this Assembly than I’ve ever received replies.
Apparently I caused a bit of a stir with the “Silent Nine” article by asking two simple vaccine mandate questions of the Assembly members and mayor. Since that time, Weddleton has answered the two questions when asked by one of his District 6 constituents why he wouldn’t answer.
He responded by saying he had answered my questions yet I can not find that email response and I keep them all. I asked him to produce the original so I could do a mia culpa on Must Read Alaska as a correction to the article. I’ve not received a copy of that original response yet. For the record here are Weddleton’s present answers.
1) Do you support mandatory Covid vaccination to maintain employment, enter businesses, receive healthcare, or fly (vaccine passports)?
No. I’m vaccinated and glad I am. It’s a benefit to me but since we know we can still get C-19 and share it with others, I am puzzled what broad societal benefit is gained by requiring others to vaccinate.
2) Do you support mandatory Covid vaccination for school children to attend classes?
No. But I let the elected School Board make decisions for the ASD.
To date, Mayor Dave Bronson, Assembly members Allard, Kennedy and now Weddleton have answered. Crickets from the others.
I recommend you think about this long and hard when filling in the little ovals on your ballots. If you want a more responsive assembly perhaps the incumbents need to go.
I, being a District 5 constituent, will be voting Stephanie Taylor.
Jim Wojciehowski is a retired physician assistant who has attended numerous Anchorage Assembly meetings and has testified about the Covid policies of the former mayors and Anchorage Assembly.
The Palmer Chamber of Commerce has changed the name of its iconic farm-friendly festival, which honored the hard work of pioneers who settled in the area and brought agriculture to Alaska.
The new name is Braided River Festival, in honor of all the rivers that flow through the area. It’s a rebrand, and without saying so, the Chamber is indicating that Colony Days is politically incorrect because of the word “colony.”
Colony Days has gone on for decades, and features a parade, booths, activities for kids, races, reindeer, a rodeo, car shows, and more.
The community of Palmer was founded in 1935, after 200 or more families were relocated to Palmer from the Midwest under the New Deal, a program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each family was given 40 acres in the region, and the only requirement was that they establish a self-sufficient farming community. The early colonists, as they were called, suffered many hardships to make a life in Alaska in territorial days. Today, Palmer is the agricultural heartbeat of the state, with farms throughout the area. Families of the colonists are proud of their hearty heritage.
“After decades of successfully hosting one of the summer’s largest festivals in the valley, we felt it was important to rebrand it to reflect what it has grown into: a celebration of the many aspects of what makes Palmer unique,” said GPCC Executive Director Ailis Vann. “A braided river is made up of smaller rivers, creeks, and tributaries that come together to form one large, powerful force. For decades, the Palmer Chamber has also grown into a larger force thanks to the support of our community partners. It also speaks to the natural beauty of the Palmer area, including the Matanuska and Knik Rivers.”
Colony Days and the Colony Christmas festival were originally created by the “occupants of the Matanuska Colony Project 86 years ago,” the Chamber wrote. “The Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce eventually took on organizational duties for the event and grew it into what it is today; a three-day, indoor and outdoor celebration that features a parade, food trucks, vendor booths, family activities, music, and other opportunities to highlight local businesses in Palmer.”
This year’s event is scheduled for June 10-12.
Deputy Mayor Pamela Melin says she is disheartened and saddened by the actions of the Chamber of Commerce, which have taken away the beloved Colony tradition.
“My children have celebrated along side me as an adult. Now I have grandchildren who I would love to share these experiences with. To disregard our rich history is not the answer to a cohesive future. If we have truly grown as a people, we wouldn’t apply such politically driven and divisive labels such as ‘occupants’ of the Matanuska Colony Project. I fear the impact to our local businesses that could bear the brunt of such a decision. The people of Palmer deserve to know the following: What led to this radical change and rebranding?Was there data supplied that required this change?Who was the motivator behind determining the need and we’re there special interest groups involved in the decision making?Who was the key author and designer of the rebrand? Did the board members or members debate or have an opportunity to weigh in on such an impactful decision? Did the members even know this was happening?”
There is still a Colony High School in Palmer, but it may be next on the list for a name change to erase the history of the people who came to farm the land.
From Nenana to Fort Yukon, Republicans officers in the Interior of Alaska have organized and voted unanimously to endorse Nick Begich for Congress. Begich is a Republican, son of a Libertarian dad (Nick Sr.) and a Republican mom, and he has his own roots in the Interior with a mining claim he owns with his dad just north of Chitina.
District 36 is the largest political district, geographically speaking, in the state, and that makes it the largest political subdivision in the country. Notable, it includes Congressman Don Young’s hometown of Fort Yukon.
It’s safe to say that District 36 contains approximately one fourth of all the land mass of Alaska with over 52 communities. It is the signature “Interior” District and is represented by Republican Rep. Mike Cronk of Tok.
Already, Begich has gotten the endorsements from Eagle River District 22 Republicans, and Homer Republicans, as well as the Kenai Peninsula Republican Women’s club.
“I think Nick is best prepared for the job and really represents the majority of Alaskans with his policies yet will work well listening to and representing the interests of all Alaskans,” said Elijah Verhagen, chair of District 36.
Republican candidate Nick Begich received yet another big endorsement on Thursday: The Alaska Outdoor Council has just voted unanimously to endorse him for Congress.
One of the most respected organizations that advocates for hunting and fishing, the Alaska Outdoor Council was ranked by the University of Alaska as a top influential advocacy organization in Alaska. It has thousands of members and raises millions of dollars to advocate for access to Alaska’s outdoor recreation opportunities.
Begich filed for office in late October and has been chalking up an impressive list of endorsements, including from several Republican districts, and leading Alaskans from across the state.
