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Breaking: Miss Alaska Emma Broyles is the 100th Miss America

Emma Broyles, an Anchorage resident and Arizona State University pre-med student, has won the title of Miss America.

As a 15-year-old in 2017, Emma started competing in her hometown of Anchorage, winning Miss Anchorage’s Outstanding Teen in the first-ever competition she entered.

Broyles took a break from competitions and began college in Arizona, where she has studied biomedical sciences and voice performance in the honors college. Her career goal is to become a doctor specializing in dermatology.

Earlier this week, she won in the preliminaries for her social impact pitch about the power of Special Olympics.

The 100th Miss America Pageant was held at Mohegan Sun Arena at a casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on Thursday evening.

Broyles is the first Alaska woman to win the competition, and she was crowned Miss America 2022. The 2021 competition was canceled due to Covid-19.

The Miss America Pageant is a college scholarship program. The annual competition is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. It began in 1921 as a bathing suit contest but has evolved into a competition more focused on the whole person, including accomplishments.

Broyles won the centennial crown and a $100,000 college scholarship.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy was among the first to congratulate her from Alaska, writing, “Congratulations to Miss Alaska Emma Broyles who has been crowned Miss America in the competition’s 100th annual event! Your home state is proud of you, Emma! This is the first time Alaska has won the title — what an accomplishment.”

Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka also sent a tweet within minutes, writing, “Congratulations Miss Alaska, Emma Broyles, on winning Miss America in its 100th year of competition! We have so much potential in our State, it’s great to see Alaska leading the nation.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote, “A big congrats to Emma Broyles, of Anchorage, the first Alaskan ever named #MissAmerica! Emma is studying biomedicine at @ASU, and her charity in the competition is @SpecialOlympics, an awesome organization near & dear to my whole family. Way to go, Emma! We’re so proud of you!”

The pageant final night has in the past been on ABC on primetime network TV, but this year was available via live-streaming only on NBC’s Peacock service.

Bronson appoints domestic violence unit in prosecutor’s office, Monica Elkinton to lead

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Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson on Thursday announced the creation of a specialized Domestic Violence Unit of the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, specifically targeting domestic violence in Anchorage. He named prosecutor Monica Elkinton as deputy municipal prosecutor in charge of the unit, made up of five long-time prosecutors, four administrative support staff, and two Anchorage Police Department officers.

The Municipal Prosecutor’s Office handles almost all the misdemeanor criminal charges in the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage, which is over 10,000 cases per year. Domestic Violence cases (such as assault, criminal mischief/destruction of property, and other crimes) consist of roughly half of the crimes prosecuted by the office.  The Domestic Violence Unit specifically focuses on crimes involving intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect, as well as animal abuse and neglect cases that can be a precursor to domestic violence against partners or household members.

The MOA also prosecutes a unique crime called “Family Violence,” which consists of committing a domestic violence assault in the presence of a child, an act which has been shown to have long-term trauma consequences on children’s brain development. Each of the specially-trained prosecutors handle caseloads of 300-500 cases at once. The APD officers stationed in the domestic violence unit are charged with enforcing bail and sentence conditions, which prohibit abusers from contacting their victims after arrest.

In addition to Elkinton, Mayor Bronson appointed Travers Gee, another deputy municipal prosecutor in charge of general trial cases at the Prosecutor’s Office. Both will serve under Municipal Prosecutor Sarah Stanley.  

Elkinton, Gee, and Stanley are all long-term employees of the Municipality and have served under several administrations.

Click below to watch Deputy Municipal Prosecutor Monica Elkinton discuss the new specialized unit.

Municipality of Anchorage Domestic Violence Unit

Don Young continues quest on pot reform, asks Biden to drop cannabis from Schedule 1

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Congressman Don Young and Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH), sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, urging them to remove cannabis as a Schedule I substance and to engage in legislative efforts to reform federal cannabis policies. Young and Joyce are co-chairs of the Cannabis Caucus.

Under current law, cannabis is classified as Schedule I substance alongside significantly more dangerous substances such as heroin and LSD, and above morphine, methadone, and cocaine in the Schedule II category. This classification prevents cannabis from being accepted for medical use, causing research restrictions and preventing patients, including veterans, from accessing it, the two congressman wrote.

Earlier this month, Young, Joyce (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, urging him to swiftly implement proposals to allow veterans to access medical cannabis.

On Nov. 16, Young introduced the States Reform Act with Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA), Congressman Peter Meijer (R-MI), and Congressman Brian Mast (R-FL). The legislation, if it passes, would protect state-legal cannabis policies by ending federal marijuana prohibition.

In May, Young helped Congressman Joyce introduce the Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses and Medical Professionals Act. The bill would end federal marijuana prohibition by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

In April, Young introduced the Gun Rights and Marijuana (GRAM) Act, legislation to secure the Second Amendment rights of Americans living in jurisdictions with legal adult-use and medicinal marijuana.

Stunning reversal: CDC panel admits clotting issue serious, says J&J shot is risky

In an announcement that is stunning in its health ramifications, a panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today that most Americans should get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for Covid-19, rather than the Johnson & Johnson shot, which can cause serious blood clots. Press release here.

Although considered rare, the clotting has led to the death of nine people, while the CDC says Moderna and Pfizer doesn’t appear to have that risk, and also appears to be more effective in preventing serious cases of Covid.

Johnson and Johnson issued a statement defending its vaccine.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has the final say on whether to accept the panel’s recommendation. She has accepted all of the panel’s recommendation since she became head of America’s leading health agency.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a one-shot treatment, while Pfizer and Moderna require two shots for what is considered full effectiveness, although it’s now widely known that the virus is mutating and breaking through the vaccine’s protective device. Boosters are needed for all three of the vaccines, and to date, it’s unclear how long Americans will have to get a booster shot every six months to be partially protected from the effects of Covid.

Until Thursday, the government had maintained all three Covid vaccines are equal, although concerns about J&J have been rampant. Some people chose the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because it requires just one shot, while others took it because it was what was available. The homeless and transients have disproportionately received the J&J shot because it’s hard to track them down to give them a second shot.

In April, CDC had been cautionary about the Johnson & Johnson shot, but even though reports suggested the vaccine increased the risk of of a rare adverse reaction called “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome,” which involves blood clots with low platelets, particularly in adult women younger than 50 years old, the government recommended use of the vaccine.

Read the April 23 statement by CDC supporting Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine.

After pausing its use in October, in November, the CDC said the benefits of J&J outweighed the risks, and recommended people continue to receive the shot.

Read the November update on J&J at this link.

The CDC still has the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on its recommended list, but only for those 18 and older.

View the CDC vaccine recommendation list at this link.

More than seven million Americans have been given Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and another 10 million doses have been shipped, as of October.

Michael Tavoliero: Enough with the ADN

By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO

It is time to boycott, divest and sanction the Anchorage Daily News, its owners, employees, advertisers and supporters.

Enough of these Marxists who ridicule, criticize, and condemn the good and honorable leaders of our community. They have no intent of to improve our community. Their sole purpose is to help the political elite maintain power and control over Anchorage and Alaska.

The ADN’s campaign against on the Bronson Administration is shameful. It seeks to squelch free speech, censor dissenting opinions and beliefs, and ban or boycott the Bronson Administration and any of its supporters who do not comply with the ADN’s orthodoxy. It is a continual and constant hatchet job wielded by the ADN’s management under the grace of the ADN’s owners.

Enough.

With the change of ownership to the Binkley Company LLC, many members of the Anchorage community were encouraged. We thought that a fair and balanced approach to journalism would finally become the norm, because most of us saw the sire of the Binkley brood, John Binkley, as a respected and thoughtful conservative.

Before the Binkley Company LLC purchase of the ADN, the newspaper was the Anchorage Daily Pravda. Its goal was to seek and destroy the reputations of honorable conservative members of our community, while supporting leftwing politicians who destroy economic development opportunities in Alaska. It was an instrument of the deep state.

But now with this latest editorial hit job demanding the City Manager Amy Demboski be fired, the ADN demonstrates its willingness to use every Saul Alinsky angle to pick apart, intimidate, and excoriate the new mayor and his organization.

ADN is the current equivalent of the China Daily. Its sole focus is journalistic bullying. The editorial department presents what looks like real news articles, artfully crafted with an Alinsky spin, especially regarding local news events.

The ADN’s quest is to disguise and blend freedom of the press with Saul Alinsky’s 13th rule: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Alinsky wrote, in part: “Obviously there is no point to tactics unless one has a target upon which to center the attacks.” (Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky).

Historically, what better target is there than Amy Demboski, who has tirelessly served the Anchorage community?

This is not journalistic competence or professionalism. It is not our Founders’ anticipated goal of the 4th Estate designed to check and balance a government of, by, and for the people.  

As Thomas Jefferson argued correctly, given the choice between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government,” he wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter. But honestly, why does our free press remain liberty’s assassin in a community such as Anchorage?

Indeed, the ADN, its owners, its staff, and its advertisers and supporters are a compliant trusted ally of the Marxist cabal which seeks to destroy conservatives, our children’s futures, and our American system.

This is muckraking, yellow journalism, and propaganda designed to persuade the public that their targets are worthy of our disdain and to exile offenders without due process from our community.

It is we as conservatives who have the true power in our understanding of our constitutional republic. We have in our numbers a profound sense of maturity, patience, and intelligence. We have a community largely composed of those who have sworn the oath to support and defend our constitutional republic.

It is time to demand that same faith be put into action.

Why should we purchase this Marxist propaganda for our news when there are so many other respectable media sources available to us, such as locally Must Read Alaska and the Alaska Watchman and globally the Epoch Times and Newsmax?

Why should anyone buy the products and services from the companies who support the ADN through their advertising?

Conservatives, it’s time to put our money where our mouths are. We must cancel all support for the owners of the ADN, its employees, and anyone advertising in the ADN.

Boycott by withdrawing your support of the ADN and all of its parts.

Participate in divestment campaigns by putting pressure on any entity or institution, public or private, and ask that they withdraw investments and support in the ADN

Endorse campaigns to pressure local and state governments to end any taxpayer subsidies and other forms of support for the ADN.

The Anchorage Daily News, its owner, the Binkley Company LLC, has four members who each have a share in this business. These owners are responsible for the current offensive noise coming from the ADN. They are James M. Binkley, Member, 12%, Kai Binkley Sims, Member, 12%, Ryan E. Binkley Manager, Member, 51%, and Wade M. Binkley, Member, 25%.

Alaska is still a small and friendly community. Contact them personally and let them know your disappointment.

Chugiak and Eagle River, especially, the Demboski family are your friends and neighbors and do not deserve this type of venom.

Michael Tavoliero is a realtor in Eagle River, is active in the Alaska Republican Party and until recently chaired Eaglexit.

Dunleavy, four other governors demand Pentagon withdraw unconstitutional vaccine mandate in National Guard

Five governors, including Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, are calling on the Pentagon to rescind the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for National Guard members.

In their letter, the governors say the mandate is unconstitutional, and that National Guards report to governors of the states, unless called upon by the federal government.

“We write to request you withdraw part of your and the Service Secretaries’ directives to National Guard members in their Title 32 duty status concerning the COVID-19 vaccine,” the letter states. “We acknowledge your right to establish readiness standards for the National Guard for activation into a Title 10 status. However, directives dictating whether training in a Title 32 status can occur, setting punishment requirements for refusing to be COVID-19 vaccinated, and requiring separation from each state National Guard if unvaccinated are beyond your constitutional and statutory authority,” the letter states.

“The U. S. Supreme Court has for decades affirmed in cases, such as in Perpich v. Department of Defense, 496 U.S. 334 (1990), that the National Guard is under the command and control of the Governor of each state unless those members are called to active service under Title 10. The Militia Clauses found in Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution clearly state, ‘…reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress,’” the letter states.

The letter was signed by Govs. Mark Gordon of Wyoming, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, as well as Dunleavy.

Separately, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt also asked the Pentagon to suspend a requirement that Oklahoma National Guard members receive the vaccination, noting 800 soldiers — 10% of the Oklahoma National Guard was not vaccinated and had no intention of getting the vaccine. The Oklahoma National Guard requires none of its members to become vaccinated for Covid, in defiance of the Biden order.

Alaska’s budding model Quannah Chasinghorse is on special Elle edition

Quannah Chasinghorse has been making the rounds in the modeling world. The 19-year-old Alaskan is in Paris this week for Fashion Week, where she’ll be walking the runway representing some of the biggest fashion houses, including Chanel.

She’s also on the cover of a special digital issue of Elle magazine, which features her discussing what it’s like to be the “first Indigenous woman to walk for certain luxury brands (she’s Hän Gwich’in and Sicangu Oglala Lakota).”

“The 19-year-old model is a warrior for her culture and the land her people have inhabited for thousands of years,” the magazine said.

In her cover shoot, she’s wearing a $3,445 blazer and $1,195 bustier by Dolce & Gabbana. Tiara, earrings, necklace are also Dolce & Gabbana Alta Gioielleria.

“Raised by strong matriarchs, she’s a fourth-generation land protector for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in her home state of Alaska. Her mother, Jody Potts-Joseph, has worked for cultural reclamation since before Chasinghorse was born, and frequently took her dog mushing when she was a child. At this past Fashion Month, Chasinghorse appeared on the runways of Chloé, Savage x Fenty, Gabriela Hearst, and Prabal Gurung, and became the first Indigenous woman to walk for Chanel, tweeting that the experience ‘[made] me feel comfortable, seen, and beautiful!’ For many Native Americans, and Indigenous people across the globe, this much light falling on a fierce advocate for our issues makes us feel seen, too,” the story continued.

According to her bio, Chasinghorse spent her early childhood in Arizona, Mongolia, and New Mexico before returning to her mother’s homeland in Alaska. She lives in the Interior, including Kenny Lake and Fairbanks.

Read the story and see the photo shoot with Chasinghorse at this link.

Earlier this year, Chasinghorse was on the cover of Vogue Mexico and Vogue Japan. She is signed with the international modeling agency, IMG Models.

Dunleavy budget includes $2,564 PFD, plus rest of unpaid 2021 PFD, but spending plan still lower than last year

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday introduced his budget for the fiscal year that will end June 30,2023. 

The FY23 budget package includes:

  • A $24 million increase in funding for public safety over last year, including adding Troopers and VPSOs and advancing 5 programs in the People First Initiative to protect Alaska’s most vulnerable.
  • Fully funds K-12 education, as it has every year since the Dunleavy Administration
  • Funds 100% school bond debt reimbursement ($79 M), resulting in property tax relief for residents
  • A $310 million G.O. Bond package to invest in Alaska’s infrastructure and build the economy
  • A $2,564 PFD payment, according to the Governor’s 50/50 Plan, for eligible Alaskans in 2022 without new taxes or an overdraw on the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve.
  • Paying the $1,250 balance of the 50/50 dividend for 2021, through the supplemental budget.

2022 PFD Payment & 2021 PFD Remainder Payment

  • $1.7 billion for a 2022 PFD payment of $2,564 to all eligible Alaskans. The amount reflects the Governor’s proposed 50/50 dividend plan
  • $795.6 million to fund the remainder of the 2021 PFD using the 50/50 plan
  • Does not exceed the 5% POMV draw for the 2022 PFD or the 2021 remainder PFD (estimated at $1,200 for every eligible Alaskan)

Public Safety

  • $2.9 million for an increase of 10 new Village Public Safety Officer positions and to give existing VPSO’s a 5% raise – with the overall goal of increasing VPSOs to 100
  • 15 new Alaska State Trooper positions (appropriation will be worked out with lawmakers during the 2022 session)     
  • $5.1 million to purchase new equipment for body cams, vehicle cams for law enforcement
  • $750 thousand to fully fund new state criminal prosecutor positions in the Department of Law 
  • $1.0 million for additional support staff in the Alaska Department of Corrections to support correctional officers
  • $1.8 million in supplemental funding to the Alaska Court System for audio/video equipment to resume jury trials and a full five-day work week 
  • $1.4 million to expand booking capacity at Hiland Correctional Center
  • $6.3 million for domestic violence and sexual assault prevention programs

“The Alaska Department of Public Safety and the Alaska State Troopers are committed to meeting our mission of ensuring public safety and enforcing fishing and hunting laws across Alaska. Public safety is job number one for the Dunleavy Administration, and this new initiative is evidence of that,” stated Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. “These additional resources to address the high rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, human sex trafficking, MMIP, and other important issues impacting Alaskans are welcomed in our efforts to make Alaska a safer place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Statehood Defense

  • $10 million increase for the Statehood Defense program
  • Funding allows Alaska to fight President Biden’s effort to shut down state’s resource-based economy

General Obligation Transportation and Infrastructure Bond – $310 million

Ports and Harbors:

  • $175 million – Knik Arm Port Infrastructure
  • $10 million – Port of Nome Deep Draft Port project
  • $8.3 million – Craig Harbor improvements
  • $5 million – Seward Freight Dock Expansion and Corridor Improvements

Surface Transportation:

  • $25 million – Juneau Access Project
  • $22 million – Northern Access to University Medical District

Airports:

  • $14.1 million – Wasilla Airport Runway and Terminal
  • $7.5 million – Ketchikan International Airport Terminal
  • $6.5 million – Warren “Bud” Woods Palmer Municipal Airport Taxiway Construction

Education, Public Safety & Community Infrastructure Projects:

  • $18.5 million – University of Alaska Fairbanks – Bartlett Hall and Moore Hall Modernization and Renewal
  • $5 million – Nenana Fire Hall
  • $5 million – Craig Mariculture Infrastructure
  • $6.5 million – Kenai River Bluff Stabilization

Transportation

  • $200 to $250 million to replace the Tustumena with federal highway funds
  • New AMHS budget creates an unconstrained sailing schedule allowing all AMHS vessels to operate by maximizing the use of federal transportation dollars
  • The All-Alaska Highway Safety Initiative – targets improvements to bring down crash rates beginning with the 15-mile section of the Seward Highway between Potter Marsh and Bird Creek

“This budget invests in transportation for Alaska, improving safety, supporting our economy, connecting our communities and providing jobs. A safe and efficient transportation network benefits us all, our families, businesses, and industries,” said Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Ryan Anderson.

Resource Development

  • $4.9 million for State primacy over federal wetland permitting under the Clean Water Act
  • $830 thousand for hazardous waste mitigation under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

K-12 Education

  • 100% school bond debt reimbursement ($79M) to 18 local governments for school construction bonds passed in 2014 and earlier ($79M) 
  • Full funding for the Base Student Allocation formula
  • Full funding for school construction and maintenance in Regional Education Attendance Areas
  • $54.9 million to replace the Napakiak school, due to the erosion from the Kuskokwim River

Energy

  • Full funding for the Power Cost Equalization program
  • $1.5 million for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
  • $2.5 million to fund an AEA Strategic Plan for Railbelt Assets to improve power transmission and make the grid more reliable and resilient
  • $17 million for the Rural Power System Upgrades program
  • $5.5 million for the Bulk Fuel Upgrades program

University of Alaska

  • Year three of the UA Compact is nullified
  • $22.8 million in federal ARPA funds for new UAF research programs on critical minerals, heavy oil and unmanned aircraft
  • $94 million in federal grant funds for the UAF Seward Marine Center

Capital Budget Highlights

  • $5 million for a tourism marketing campaign to bring more tourists to Alaska
  • $72.3 million total, $19.5 million UGF for clean water systems in rural communities
  • $6.9 million allocated for maintenance at the Palmer wastewater treatment plant

The FY23 operating, mental health and capital budget totals $4.6 billion in Unrestricted General Funds (UGF), $912 million in Designated General Funds (DGF), $792 Other State Funds, and $4.6 billion in federal funding with the total of all funds at $10.9 billion

“Alaska’s improved revenue outlook means we have the freedom to continue strengthening essential state services and programs that make meaningful differences in the quality of life for all Alaskans,” Dunleavy said. “I look forward to speaking with Alaskans over the coming months about how it will move Alaska forward and working with members of the Alaska Legislature on passing this budget and a sustainable, affordable budget plan that includes a 50/50 constitutional amendment to preserve and protect the PFD. If we all are willing to compromise, and learn from each other, we can make 2022 the year that Alaska made the tough, but correct decisions.”  

With an emphasis on public safety, a fair and substantial PFD, education and infrastructure as his budget priorities, the Governor’s proposed budget still continues the trend of less state spending since he came into office. This budget puts Alaska on track to rebuild and thrive in fiscal year 2023 and into the future.

Fritz Pettyjohn: The PFD and the constitutional convention

By FRITZ PETTYJOHN


Why does our Constitution give us the chance, every 10 years, to call for a constitutional convention?  The answer is in Article I, sec. 2, which declares “All political power is inherent in the people. All government originates with the people.” If this is true, the people must have the right to intervene in the normal workings of their government, when the necessity arises. 

In the 62 years since the Alaska Constitution went into effect, such an intervention has not been needed. Now, for the first time, it clearly is. Alaska’s politicians have failed to resolve the future of the Permanent Fund Dividend. 

Partisan and personal rivalries have divided the Legislature into two warring factions. One wants the so-called full dividend, according to a formula adopted in the 1980s, which was followed until 2015. 

Another feels the state needs much or most of this money to provide the government services that Alaskans are accustomed to.

For the past five years these two factions have been at war with one another, and legislative sessions are dominated by this issue. Countless special sessions have been called. 

Nothing seems to work. Legislators, and governors, come and go. Elections are held. Promises are made. There’s no reason to hope that more elections, and new people, will change a thing.

If our politicians can’t resolve this issue, the people can. They must vote for a convention, and then elect delegates who they know and trust. They must closely monitor the deliberations of the convention, and in the end they must decide if the solution offered is acceptable.

Are the people of Alaska capable of this? Are there qualified men and women who are able and willing to serve as delegates? What are we afraid of? Ourselves?

They won’t admit it, but those opposed to a convention are afraid of the people.  They feel they can’t be trusted with this kind of power. Left unsaid is the belief that only an elite is qualified for such weighty matters, and the people aren’t.  

Or maybe the real reason for their opposition is that they just don’t like the dividend. In fact, the convention would have only one power, the power to propose amendments. And then it’s up to the people to decide. Yes or no? Is the solution offered acceptable?I think the people of this state are perfectly capable of exercising this power responsibly. So did the men and women who wrote our Constitution. Do you? If you don’t trust the people, who do you trust?  Some elite?

That’s not the Alaska way. That’s not the American way. There’s much more that needs to be discussed on this issue, and everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. We have a little less than a year before we, collectively, render our decision at the ballot box. I will continue to argue, as forcefully as I can, that the people should trust themselves. And that if you want the dividend, you should vote for the convention.

Fritz Pettyjohn got his start in Alaska politics working for Governor Jay Hammond, who was responsible for beginning the permanent fund dividend program.