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Governor’s State of State Address to highlight five Alaskans, and ask lawmakers to set aside differences for greater good

Gov. Mike Dunleavy will deliver his fourth State of the State Address on Tuesday at 7 pm, to the combined House and Senate, and to the people of Alaska. It can be watched online at this link and on the governor’s Facebook page.

The address will be in person once again, rather than given remotely, as it was in 2021, when the Legislature was grappling with Covid.

His address will highlight the state’s accomplishments on budget discipline, crime, and steering Alaska through a tumultuous period that included the 2018 earthquake, the 2019 wildfire season, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

He will share with Alaskans his goals for the legislative session, including resolving the PFD and a fiscal plan, among others. He will stress the importance of remaining optimistic and call on everyone to set aside their differences to focus on achieving outcomes that benefit all Alaskans. His goal is to deliver a positive vision for the future with initiatives focused on long-term solutions that realize state motto of “North to Alaska.”

In his address, Dunleavy has chosen five Alaskans to highlight for their endurance, resilience, and achievements:

“Each of our five guests is an exemplary Alaskan,” said Governor Dunleavy. “My fellow Alaskans constantly impress me with their determination and diversity – through nationwide competition, overcoming addiction, helping out their neighbors, and displaying resilience in their field. These five guests symbolize the spirit of Alaska and I am honored to have them attend the State of the State this year.”

Emma Broyles broke ground as the first Miss Alaska to win the title of Miss America in the 100-year history of the competition. She used her platform during the competition to openly discuss her experience with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in hopes that viewers could relate to her experience.

Carley Rose Kelley is a survivor who is breaking addiction cycles. Today, at age 27, she is three years sober, after surviving domestic violence and drug addiction. She is a client navigator and peer support specialist for at-risk and homeless youth at My House in Wasilla. She is also one of Governor Dunleavy’s People First Initiative advocates. The People First Initiative addresses several public safety issues facing Alaska today, including domestic violence, sexual assault, missing and murdered Indigenous persons, human and sex trafficking, foster care, and homelessness.

Captain Andrew Viray is a lifelong Alaskan who was commissioned into the Army National Guard as an infantry officer after graduating and is serving as a plans and projects officer until he takes command of an Infantry Rifle Company in the coming months. Capt. Viray has been a leader in our COVID response since we first stood up our Joint Task Force in March 2020. He has also served as a staff planner in the Joint Task Force emergency responses in Fairbanks, the Mat-Su, and Yakutat.

Sergeant Ken Noland, Staff Sgt. of Operations, is one of the most senior Corrections officers. Sgt. Noland is a diligent and generous officer who has mentored and trained his peers in those values for more than 25 years.

Sergeant Elondre Johnson is an 18-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers, assigned to the Bethel Post. In recognition of his outstanding service and his model example to fellow Troopers, Sgt. Johnson was named the 2020 Alaska State Trooper of the Year.

The State of the State Address fulfills a section of the Alaska Constitution that requires the governor to provide the Legislature with an annual update: “The governor shall, at the beginning of each session, and may at other times, give the legislature information concerning the affairs of the State and recommend the measures he considers necessary.”

Charlie Pierce hires Jake Thompson as campaign manager for gubernatorial race

Candidate for Alaska governor Charlie Pierce, now serving his second term as the mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, has hired Jake Thompson as his campaign manager. Thompson was a member of the Pierce campaign for borough mayor, and has a career in broadcasting at KSRM Radio in Kenai, where he hosted the “Tall, Dark, and Handsome” Show and “Sound Off With Jake Thompson.”

“Jake is a welcome addition to Team Pierce and will be overseeing campaign operations. I look forward to his leadership as we move forward. Please join me in welcoming Jake to Team Pierce,” Pierce said in a statement on Tuesday.

The campaign has also launched its website at charliepierceforgovernor.com.

Pierce, a Republican, is the third GOP member to challenge sitting Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. From the Wasilla area, Rep. Chris Kurka has also filed a letter of intent to run for governor, although he cannot actively fund-raise during the legislative session, which is usually at least 120 days. Pierce has no such restriction on campaigning.

Bruce “Roger” Walden, also a Republican, has filed as a gubernatorial candidate. For the Democrats and undeclared candidates, Former Gov. Bill Walker and former Rep. Leslie Gara are in the running. Billy Toien is a Libertarian Party candidate on file with the Division of Elections as a candidate.

Only Walker and Toien have announced running mates so far. Under the new scheme of voting, candidates for governor must have running mates for the primary election. The last day to file as a candidate for the primary election is on or before 5 pm, June 1, 2022. The top four vote getters in the primary election will be placed on the general election ballot, where voters will rank them in the order of their preference. It’s a voting method used in Maine and places like San Francisco, and it was approved by Alaska voters via a ballot initiative pushed by Outside dark money in 2020.

Tongan relief effort in Anchorage being coordinated with support of mayor, governor, Polynesians across region

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The Polynesian community in Alaska is rallying to support the people of Tonga with a fundraising effort underway to help the Pacific islanders recover from the tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption on an uninhabited island in the Tongan archipelago on Jan. 14-15.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced their support of the relief efforts, including asking those who are able to donate specific items, including flour, granulated sugar, batteries (AA or larger), flashlights, portable camping tents to Manai Fou Assembly of God Church, 2600 16th Ave., Anchorage.

Donations will be received this Tuesday and Wednesday from noon until 8 pm. Those items will be shipped to Tonga from the West Coast, said Junior Aumavae, chief equity officer for the Municipality of Anchorage. Shipping logistics are still being worked on, he said.

People can also make an online donation at Polynesian Association of Alaska, which will forward the funds to Samaritan’s Purse, a relief organization that will be moving needed supplies by cargo plane to Tonga.

Financial assistance will also be used locally to purchase satellite phones so that Tongans in Alaska can communicate with their relatives in Tonga, who are cut off from the world in every other form of communication. Each satellite phone costs $1,778.

The Polynesian Association of Alaska is spearheading efforts, along with the Governor’s Office and the Municipality of Anchorage’s Portia Erickson, Terrance Shanigan, and Junior Aumavae to coordinate shipment of donations with Samaritan’s Purse and others.

Donation can also be made to the following organizations:

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Act for Peace

CARE

Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Plan International

World Food Program (WFP)

InterAction

GlobalGiving

Hot take: Assemblyman Constant admits he is out to destroy Mayor Bronson’s ‘lawless gang’

In an email to a constituent, Assemblyman Chris Constant admits that he is a man on a mission: He wants to destroy Mayor Bronson and especially City Manager Amy Demboski, a “snowflake” and “crybaby” who he says is trying to run “roughshod over the law.” Constant says Demboski should “strap in.” It’s unclear if he was referring to a jockstrap or a seatbelt.

Constant says he and his fellow leftists will be relentless in their antagonism of the Bronson Administration, until the administration is exposed as a “lawless gang.”

Constant is the vice chair of the Anchorage Assembly and worked tirelessly to get Forrest Dunbar elected, an effort that failed in May’s runoff. Constant represents downtown Anchorage and is not up for reelection this year.

Alaska Airlines plane stuck in Dillingham

An Alaska Airlines / Horizon jet is stuck on the apron to the runway in Dillingham, where conditions were so windy and icy that the plane could not be brought to the terminal on Sunday.

The pilot did an engine shutdown of Horizon Flight 2211 because she could not control the aircraft, according to sources on the ground.

The passengers were evacuated with a forklift in an approved disabled passenger lift, five people at a time, according to MRAK sources. The plane then proceeded to remain without power overnight and the wings have reportedly iced up. Dillingham has no de-icing equipment.

The image above is from Monday night’s FAA camera in Dillingham, showing the aircraft to the right.

This story has been updated with information from Alaska Airlines, as of 9:55 am Alaska Time, Jan. 25. The plan has since departed Dillingham.

Alaska Airlines employees can now wear ‘they/them’ proper pronoun buttons

The Alaska Airlines company store just got even more woke. Not only can employees wear Black Lives Matter buttons on their BLM shirts, they now have the option of wearing proper pronoun buttons: She/Her; They/Them; or He/Him.

Alaska Airlines employees are allowed to wear pins that are sold in the company store. American flag pins are also now sold in the store.

The proper pronoun pins can be purchased at this link.

Leigh Sloan: State’s hold harmless provision rewards schools for losing students

By LEIGH SLOAN

It’s no secret that Alaska’s educational system leaves much to be desired. We currently have the 4th lowest standardized test scores in the nation and we spend the 4th highest of any state on education.

Something is not adding up. It’s not fair to point the finger of blame on teachers, administrators, or even the individual school board members. There is something in our system that is fundamentally flawed and it’s time to take a look at more innovative strategies we can employ to better serve our students and support Alaskan families. 

Our lack of performance is not a lack of concern for our children, but at some point we have to realize that our funding strategies are not producing the results we need. It’s a matter of shifting our thinking from funding public schools to funding the education of students. 

Leigh Sloan

In Alaska, we have the benefit of a number of different charter schools and homeschooling funding available for families who choose these options. However, our funding formula is very complicated and often prioritizes schools over students. For example, part of the funding formula is called a “Hold Harmless” provision. The idea of this principle is that if schools lose more than 5% of its students, the school will continue to receive funding for 75% of those lost students.

What incentive does a business have to retain customers if they are rewarded for losing 5% or more of those customers? This begs the question: who should schools really accountable to? Should they be accountable to the administrators running them? Should they be accountable to the school boards? Or should they be accountable to the families who are impacted the most? 

Good teachers’ hands are tied when it comes to their efforts to increase student achievement because they are not given the freedom to make curriculum choices and necessary interventions that actually work for their students. They are made to jump through bureaucratic hoops that keep schools politically correct instead of academically sound.

While the nation is elevating conversations about critical race theory, gender nonconformity, and other experimental social doctrines, our students are struggling to read, write, and do basic math. Parents and students alike are being forced to compromise their deeply held values just to participate in the “free and appropriate” education that all American children are supposed to be able to access.

Since the pandemic and other shifting fault lines in our culture have been made more apparent, American parents are waking up to the realization that education is one of our most fundamental exercises of liberty and freedom of speech: the freedom to educate our kids according to our values.

We are reawakening to solution-oriented thinkers like Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell who advocated for innovative strategies and reforms in education also known as school choice. School choice, where the funding follows the child, gives parents to power to hold schools accountable to producing real educational outcomes for their students. 

Gov. Mike Dunleavy recently signed a proclamation acknowledging School Choice week on Jan. 23-29. 2022. On Saturday, Jan. 29, 1-3 pm at Anchorage Baptist Temple, Alaska Policy Forum is co-sponsoring a free School Choice Celebration event in partnership with National School Choice Week.

You will hear from parents, teachers, administrators, and public officials on the value of school choice and how we can advocate for greater school choice innovations in Alaska. If you have an organization that would like to reserve an information table at this event, follow this link: akschoolchoiceconvention.com

Kelly Tshibaka: Joe Biden, worst president in history, brought to you by Lisa Murkowski

By KELLY TSHIBAKA

Joe Biden is the worst president in the history of the United States. He could not have accomplished this humiliating “achievement,” though, without Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s consistent support.

Through his COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Mr. Biden intentionally violated the constitutional and civil rights of millions of Americans, imposing his will on their bodies by threatening their livelihoods. 

Mr. Biden previously pledged not to issue such a mandate, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki even conceded the federal government did not have that authority. White House chief of staff Ron Klain also publicly promoted the idea that the shot mandate was the “ultimate workaround” of the limitations on Mr. Biden’s executive power. Mr. Klain’s retweet of an MSNBC anchor was noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the ruling that struck down the mandate.

Let’s remember that Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the majority to block Mr. Biden’s tyrannical power grab, would not be on the court if Ms. Murkowski had prevailed in opposing their nominations. Without Mr. Kavanaugh and Mrs. Barrett, the ruling could have gone the other way.

To knowingly violate the Constitution was a breach of Mr. Biden’s oath of office. To oppose the confirmation of justices who went on to block Mr. Biden’s shot mandate remains a stain on Ms. Murkowski’s record.

What’s more, by his own standards, Mr. Biden has been an abject failure in combatting COVID-19. When COVID-19 deaths reached 200,000 during former President Donald Trump’s time in office, Mr. Biden said, “anyone that is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president.” COVID-19 death totals now exceed 850,000. I’ve lost loved ones to COVID-19 this past year — I imagine others reading this are also grieving. 

Mr. Biden blasted Mr. Trump for the COVID-19 testing program during his campaign, promising he would do better. In fact, he has promised an improvement in testing availability month after month, but things still have not improved. Americans suffering from COVID-19 are waiting for hours, even days, to get tested and have access to critical treatment. 

In December 2021, Mr. Biden said he “wish [he] had thought” about expanding test availability. This was around the same time he renounced federal responsibility for COVID-19 and said it must be solved at the state level. Yet, he still imposes mandates that are debilitating health care systems, controls access to shots and provides inadequate allotments of monoclonal antibody treatments.

In a new CBS poll, Mr. Biden also gets failing grades for his handling of the economy — only 38% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, and a mere 30% approve of his approach to inflation.

In fact, under Mr. Biden, the U.S. dollar’s global position is at a 26-year low, with many wondering if the dollar will soon cease to be the world’s reserve currency.

Amidst all this economic turmoil, Ms. Murkowski stepped in to bail out Mr. Biden, siding with Democrats to permit a vote to raise the debt ceiling and authorize more government deficit spending.

Mr. Biden also has surrendered America’s energy independence, rendering the United States a supplicant for oil to Iran, Iraq and Russia, contributing to nearly 30% in increased energy costs over the past year. 

Ms. Murkowski championed Mr. Biden’s energy-annihilating agenda by casting the deciding vote to advance the confirmation of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who has since led Mr. Biden’s assault on Alaska’s energy workers and has crippled domestic fuel production. 

In fact, Ms. Murkowski has voted to confirm over 90% of Mr. Biden’s radical nominees, who are spearheading his failing agenda.

Those confirmations include DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose policies have resulted in nearly 2 million illegal immigrant encounters at our border. In contrast, DHS reported less than 500,000 illegal immigrant encounters in FY 2020. 

Ms. Murkowski did not join the dozens of Republican senators who visited the southern border in 2021 to demand immigration policy reform. She did, however, vote in 2013 to allow millions of illegal immigrants, including those who committed crimes, to remain in the U.S.

Perhaps the most tragic event on Mr. Biden’s record for the first year was his entirely avoidable blunder in Afghanistan. Before his botched troop withdrawal, Ms. Murkowski expressed confidence in Mr. Biden’s “viable plan.” 

Ultimately, his reckless and ill-fated military withdrawal left 13 American service members dead, stranded countless Americans, and handed the country and billions of dollars of American military hardware to the Taliban. Apparently, these are the kinds of plans Ms. Murkowski believed were “viable.”

Ms. Murkowski is running for reelection, and she’s trying to brand herself as “independent.” But, she is not.

She’s a dependable supporter of Mr. Biden, the worst president in U.S. history.

Kelly Tshibaka is a born-and-raised Alaskan and a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alaska, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and the Alaska Republican Party. This opinion was first published by the Washington Times on Jan. 24, 2022.

Anchorage searches for superintendent who believes the school district is a racist institution

By DAVID BOYLE

The Anchorage School District is in the process of selecting a new superintendent to replace retiring Superintendent Deena Bishop.  The selection will impact the Anchorage community and students for the next few years. 

The superintendent sets the tone and helps the board set the policy priorities that will impact our students and parents.  Will the new superintendent emphasize best practices to improve student achievement? Or will that superintendent emphasize the dog-whistle diversion of diversity, inclusion, and equity?

The district has selected Ray & Associates, Inc. to help manage the selection process.  This firm was used in the past to select the current superintendent as well as the MatSu Borough and Juneau superintendents.  This was a sole source contract, which is permissible under ASD Board policy.

Ray & Associates has provided the district with a list of 31 qualities/characteristics that a superintendent should have.

Read: Your voice matters, public input on new search for school superintendent

Two of these qualities are, “Has a strong moral compass that is rooted in justice and equality” and “Is able to lead district diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.” This is a direct reference to Critical Race Theory and its tenets.

The contract has an entire page devoted to “Inclusion, Equity and Elimination of Institutional Racism.”  

The contract’s exact wording on this topic is:

“We recognize social injustice, systemic racism, socio-economic limitations and the disparities associated with the identification and placement of school district leadership personnel. Furthermore, this recognition has not only guided our recruitment and placement of school district leaders, it directly impacts our recruitment and selection of our search Associates and national office personnel.”

This is the only section of the contract that is bolded. These appear to be the most important criteria for selection. Note that the firm will use these criteria to “guide our recruitment and placement of school district leaders”. 

Ray & Associates continues with “We will recognize systemic racism as an equity problem for children’s access to a fair, thorough and effective public education.”

Believing “systemic racism” exists in our schools is apparently one of the most important qualities for the new superintendent.

Is that what the parents, teachers, and Anchorage citizens want? Are these the criteria most important to you in the education of your children?  

You can make a difference by voicing your opinions to the ASD Board. The Board is having virtual townhalls to get citizens’ input.  Here are the virtual townhalls:

Tuesday, January 25, noon -1:00 pm.

Thursday, January 27, 6-7 pm.

Click this link to join the webinar.

Webinar ID: 923 1591 8124,  Passcode: 117790

You can also contact all the Anchorage School Board members by emailing them: [email protected]

Parents and grandparents can let the school board know what it thinks about the Critical Race Theory priorities in the selection process.