By SUZANNE DOWNING
In newspaper jargon, the expression is “if it bleeds, it leads.”
Apparently, the reporters, editor, and editorial page staff at the Anchorage Daily News decided to take it literally and go after Gov. Mike Dunleavy for a veto.
The Blood Bank of Alaska was the supposed victim in this attempted tabloid crime thriller, and the governor was seen as the hatchet man, wielding a weapon that … gave the blood bank money but less government money than desired by some?
To be clear, blood banks are a critical part of living in a modern world. Millions of us, whether we realize it or not, rely on a system to keep us safe if we, or a loved one, ever needs a planned or urgent medical procedure. Clean blood is critical to that, and the United States has come miles from the trauma of the 1980’s and the tainted donations of the past that caused infections and grave harm.
But noble efforts can also lighten scrutiny. The Blood Bank of Alaska, which has received (checks notes) millions of dollars from Alaska’s state treasury over the past decade or so, should be careful that it doth not protest too much, and marshals the press to defend it when it simply gets less state money than expected. That kind of offense-defense could come with scrutiny. And it should.
The Blood Bank of Alaska resides in a very large facility, one that the ADN reported in 2016 cost over $45 million Some of that funding came from financing (i.e., debt), some came from donations, and a chunk came from lawmakers and governors who believed in the corporate mission.
What happened next was extraordinary, especially for reporters in 2024 to have missed: An expose in 2016 detailed how the blood bank was making mass appeals for blood donations, while at the same time being paid to ship nearly one out of every six batches of blood to California. When pressed about details on the contract, the blood bank declined to provide them, citing “contractually driven” reasons.
Fast forward to 2022, and the blood bank was before the Legislature, asking for funding. This time, its CEO said to the House Finance Committee (May 4, 2022) it was for $3 million to “create instate testing and laboratory services.” The Legislature obliged with $2 million and Gov. Dunleavy did not veto a penny.
By simple arithmetic, that meant two-thirds of the funding for the laboratory was secured in 2022.
Come two years later, to 2024. The capital budget was brought up in the Alaska Legislature’s Senate Finance Committee. A draft version included $1.5 million to the Blood Bank of Alaska.
A board member with the blood bank had requested additional funding. When questioned by senators about the total cost, the blood bank board member said the same number, $3 million was the total cost. However, the request this year from the blood bank was for $2 million, purportedly for equipment.
The Legislature obliged, partway, and funded $1.5 million.
Which brings us to Dunleavy’s veto. The governor was almost certainly reviewing every transaction, which is supposedly and sincerely believed to be essential. But politics is about making decisions with finite resources for infinite needs.
What can be summarized from this? The Blood Bank of Alaska had, on multiple occasions over the years, said it needed $3 million to build an instate testing facility. Even after the veto, the Legislature and governor had, over two years, funded the blood bank with $3 million. All the governor did was reduce dollars that were not even requested on the record by the very organization receiving the money.
The timeline may seem dry and procedural, but reporters and the editorial board of Alaska’s largest newspaper, instead of doing some basic Google search-like work that would take less than an hour, whipped up outrage fanned by certain lawmakers who are virulent opponents of the governor on a topic their own paper could have provided essential context.
What this story represents is the laziness of the contemporary press, and the persistence of editorial prejudices. A person can politically, and even personally, hate a politician but still look clear-eyed at his decision. A person can love the mission of an organization, while still holding it to account. But it is in the stories and editorials such as the blood bank veto coverage that the seeds of future attacks are grown.
Pay close attention and wait for the forthcoming article next year about a trend in the heartlessness of the governor, and pointing to this instance as one of several case studies, as the newspaper uses its own specious stories as proof.
Jefferson said an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people. Let’s hope the readers of Alaska’s largest (fast-fading) newspaper exercise more education and thought than its what the ADN is serving up.
Suzanne Downing founded Must Read Alaska in 2015 with a goal of keeping the mainstream media in Alaska more accountable.
The number of people that are sucking up millions of dollars in this state under the guise of “non profit” organizations has reached an unsustainable level. When the money begins to dry up, the hew and cry becomes louder and louder, because the parasites are voracious and will never be satisfied.
The “laziness of the contemporary press” has been on full display for decades. For ADN, the laziness goes way back. There is nobody there who actually does any real research. I still remember when one of their writers received a Pulitzer Prize for a completely fabricated series of stories. I don’t remember if the prize was taken back later but I doubt it.
The blood bank was shipping nearly one out of six batches to California? I wonder how many other states were doing this? If all of the states were sending a certain amount that would be suspicious in my mind. If the CCP is on the receiving end of those batches going to California, that would be an easy way for them to build their dna database of the entire nation. They might not know who the donors are, but they would have an American’s dna sample. Who needs hospital records to be hacked when the blood bank can just send the samples?
You really can’t hate the mainstream media enough.
The still relatively new blood bank building is the most palatial nonprofit office I have ever seen, and it may be among the most lavish in the US – especially the executive offices. (Not surprisingly, the top salaries are also surprisingly high.) When the building was originally financed and constructed the organization used a business model, complete with financial projections, that no one who saw it found remotely believable.
The Alaska economy was then and still is contracting in accord with the 80 percent drop in oil production, the flagging commercial salmon industry, etc. We are harvesting the Permanent Fund now, spending on state operations to the exclusion of keeping the corpus spending power level (or growing). Empire building within the out-sized Alaska nonprofit sector has softened but the blood bank is oblivious. If the blood bank cannot find a way to tap into BIA health care largess and into military spending then the sooner it comes to grips with state economic realities the more likely it is to survive.
Well, it seems the Blood Bank figured out a great angle. The NGOs have managed to block the mining of minerals, coal, crude oil and natural gas. With the fisheries an a serious decline and timber harvests a thing of the past, there isn’t much Alaska has left to offer in the form of natural resources. The Blood Bank figured out that there was at least one natural resource they could mine and sell with exclusivity. The blood of Alaskans.
That’s not their only source of income. The last transfusion I needed, my insurance was billed $800plus per unit. They don’t just give it away. They’re paid nicely for the donated blood! The cross match lab work was billed separately by the hospital. That cost the blood bank ZERO!!
The Blood Bank of AK is a non profit organization. Robert Scanlon, the CEO of AK Blood Bank rakes in $288,673 in salary and benefits. He cries “poor mouth” all the time and is overbearing with his constant phone requests that we donate more and more because the Blood Bank is “low” or “out of supply” and that Alaska is in dire straits for blood. So we the obedient, for free, take time off from work and daily schedules to clear the emergency. In the meantime Scanlon has sold our badly needed donations to outside groups for profit, all the while receiving millions from the State of AK.
When Scanlon is gone and the Blood Bank reorganizes and stops this scam I might think about returning to donating to the Blood Bank again. In the meantime I will donate directly to friends and family in need.
On another note, and speaking of blood banks, how much of our banked-blood is tainted with mRNA-shot residuals?
Sometimes I feel I’ve got to
Run away, I’ve got to
Get away from the mRNA you drive into the heart of me
The blood we share
Seems so ill everywhere
And I’ve lost my trust
For I toss and turn, from your corruption lust
Once I entrusted you
Now I’ll run from you
This tainted blood you’ve given
I gave you all my trust could give you
Take my health and that’s not nearly all
Tainted blood (oh)
Tainted blood
Good job! Lol
One can only wonder what might have happened if the Cowardly Lion had “stood tall” in Wasilla.
But he didn’t, and here we are.
Best article you have written in a long time, Suzanne. So many important points. Very glad you are doing the work the traditional media won’t!
In my opinion, the Alaska Blood Bank has become corrupted. I had been a regular donor, 2-3 times a year, from 1981 to 2015. Prior to 2015, the organization began making Federal and State changes. The changes peaked my curiosity about the cost of new buildings, maintenance costs, and staff changes. In 2015, staff and supervisors couldn’t or wouldn’t answer my questions, so I quit donating; I felt that my altruistic gift was being used for nefarious reasons. Then I read the articles in 2016 about the behind-closed-door contracts, specifically secret contracts with California, and my suspicions were validated. In my mind, all public organizations with secret contracts are suspicious. As with a lot of other organizations in today’s world, it started with a good pure intention and has become corruptible.
Not sure what the problem with shipping some blood out of state was or is. It should go from places with temporary surplus to places with temporary deficit, am sure it flows the other direction when needed.
ADN is trying to do anything to make a buck. They have lost the faith in Anchorage readers because of their constant leaning lies. This paper needs to hurry up and die.
Ryan Binkley should have stayed strictly with the family business ……tourism. Newspaper business is highly toxic and polarizing. It is not a good fit with the hospitality business. He will never make it into politics in Alaska.
“He will never make it into politics in Alaska.”
I wouldn’t bet on that. Alaska politics for the most part attracks idiots.
Neither did his old man.
We all have our opinion on how much public safety is required of our government and how much public safety should be funded. You get what you elect
Are the vampires running low on stock? It’s a shame that the covid shots have tainted so much blood that now they cannot keep supply up. Poor mud bloods.
Hold tight Purebloods, your boon is coming. The high demand will fetch a high price. A blood of such high quality that millions will be dying to obtain.
The blood bank is as corrupt as this Dunleavy Administration. They deserve each other in investigation and prosecution. Dunleavy always greases the hand that is willing to lie, cheat, and steal from the Alaskans. Its a fact. We will all celebrate the day Dunleavy is out of office.
Has anyone noticed the Alaska blood bank is requiring that donors provide a photo ID with DOB/ SSN? If requiring photo ID to vote is racist (as asserted by so many Democrat politicians), surely the AK BB requirements must be viewed as even more overtly racist? Who is trying to exclude certain races from donating blood with this photo ID requirement?
ADN lies all the time. Those communists should’ve been more up-front the blood bank was SELLING 1 out of 6 batches and shipping them out of state. But they won’t. Anything to make their enemy look bad. DK sounds like a “anybody but orange man bad” kind of voter. I guess he moved up after Mr. “all I got is a dog and banjo” Cowper was in office. A lot of interesting stories on that democrat.
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