March 29, 2021

House passes emergency declaration bill

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would retroactively extend the state’s disaster declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he believes the move to be unnecessary.

The House Coalition made of mostly Democrats, independents and led by Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, argued the declaration would provide the governor legal tools to combat the pandemic now and should the situation change in the future.

“It’s been a rocky year, but we can finally see the shoreline and a clear path to return to life as normal,” Stutes said in a news release. “(The bill) is unequivocally good policy because it simply gives the state flexibility in case we get another surprise during the home stretch.”

The governor and many Republican lawmakers said the state needs to move away from an emergency response footing and more toward reopening the state’s economy. Republicans tried to remove the declaration language in a floor session Thursday, leading to an hourslong debate over the direction of the state in managing ongoing health and economic crises. House Republicans Kelley Merrick, R-Eagle River; Sara Rasmussen, R-Anchorage; and Bart LeBon, R-Fairbanks; voted for the bill.

Read more: https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/news/house-passes-emergency-declaration-bill/

March 29, 2021

As climate change increases Alaska's wildfire risk, power companies say California-style blackouts

As climate change increases Alaska’s wildfire risk, power companies say California-style blackouts could arrive in Alaska


JUNEAU — It started with what sounded like an explosion.

By mid-August 2019, Alaska’s fire season had already set records. Wildfires were threatening Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula and covering much the state with smoke. Record-low rain fell in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and when the wind started gusting on Aug. 17, forecasters were already predicting “extreme” fire risk.

That evening, the gusting winds pushed over a tree that fell onto power lines owned by Matanuska Electric Association, the regional power utility. The energized lines fell to the ground and made explosive contact with the ground, throwing so much electrical power that they turned the ground into glass, according to investigators.

The resulting fire, which became known as the McKinley Fire, spread quickly.

In 24 hours, it destroyed 52 homes, three businesses and 84 other structures. No one was killed, but hundreds of people had to suddenly flee. Approximately 4,300 acres burned, and the state spent almost $15 million trying to extinguish it.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2021/03/28/as-climate-change-increases-alaskas-wildfire-risk-power-companies-warn-that-california-style-blackouts-could-arrive-in-alaska/

Note the subtle bias in the headline. The power companies could also have Texas-style blackouts.

March 29, 2021

Here's how a mother-daughter team helped vaccinate 98% of Mekoryuk's population

Of all the communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta with public vaccination data, Mekoryuk on Nunivak Island has vaccinated the highest number of eligible people against COVID-19. 98% of residents age 16 and older have gotten their shots. A mother-daughter team helped their community reach that goal.

Linda and Shara Davis are Mekoryuk’s two health aides. Linda started working as a health aide for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Mekoryuk 13 years ago. Shara, her daughter, began working in the same position soon after.

“We understand each other,” Linda said. “Not only a good co-worker, but a friend, and my daughter.”

“I like working with my mom,” Shara said. “We support each other a lot, and we’re always there helping each other.”

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/03/26/heres-how-a-mother-daughter-team-helped-vaccinate-98-of-mekoryuks-population/

March 29, 2021

Anchorage's parking boss quits in rift with city, after pandemic hits revenues

The head of the organization that oversees Anchorage’s downtown parking abruptly resigned Friday, in what appears to be a split with city officials after the pandemic caused a large drop in revenue.

Andrew Halcro, executive director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority and a former state legislator, announced his resignation Friday morning, effective immediately.

In a scathing letter to Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson, Halcro wrote that he could no longer lead the organization after a “pattern of bad faith dealings” with the municipality.

Halcro, in his letter, accused Quinn-Davidson’s administration of removing the ACDA’s board chair, Terry Parks, and of not following through on a deal to exchange $5.7 million for ACDA’s ownership stake in the Anchorage Police Department headquarters building.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/03/26/anchorages-parking-boss-quits-in-rift-with-city-after-pandemic-hits-revenues/

March 29, 2021

Dunleavy tells feds Alaska is taking over management of 800,000 miles of river

Gov. Mike Dunleavy says, after 62 years of Alaska statehood, he’s finally asserting the state’s right to control submerged lands under navigable lakes and rivers.

“We’re now at the point where we will be physically exerting our sovereignty,” he said during a press conference Friday.

Dunleavy sent a letter to President Biden announcing his stance.

His position has implications for commercial guiding permits and wilderness access on 800,000 miles of river, but Dunleavy’s message is equally about symbolism and state’s rights. It’s a statement of defiance to the federal government.

He said he’s asking the federal agencies “to stop bothering Alaskans” who are on navigable rivers.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/03/26/dunleavy-to-feds-give-us-our-riverbeds-and-stop-bothering-alaskans/

March 29, 2021

Five dead after helicopter crash near Knik

PALMER, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crashed in Alaska killing five people and leaving one in serious but stable condition, authorities said.

The Eurocopter AS50 crashed under unknown circumstances at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday.

Alaska State Troopers said in a statement Sunday that they received a report of an overdue helicopter and the location of possible crash debris Saturday night.

A rescue team from Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was dispatched to the crash site in the area of Knik Glacier just after 10 p.m., troopers wrote. The team arrived to find five occupants dead and a sole survivor, who was taken to a hospital.

Read more:
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/03/28/five-dead-after-helicopter-crash-near-knik/

March 29, 2021

Bay Area woman faces hate crime charges after alleged racist tirade at McDonald's

A San Jose woman faces hate crime and battery charges after allegedly going on a racist tirade at a McDonald’s, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.

Alena Jenkins, 40, allegedly harassed a worker and manager at a McDonald’s in Mountain View, calling them "stupid and F-ing" Mexicans, the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement published Wednesday.

An employee of the fast food chain told Jenkins to leave after she refused to wear a mask. She was allegedly eating inside the restaurant Saturday, in violation of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the restaurant. Santa Clara County had loosened up restrictions on indoor dining earlier this month and moved into the orange tier of the state's reopening plan this week. That said, businesses are not required to have customers dine indoors.

The worker told Jenkins to leave, but, instead, Jenkins allegedly harassed the employee: “(Expletives deleted) Mexican! Go ahead and call the cops!” she said, according to the DA’s Office. When he did call the police, she allegedly shoved a plexiglass shield and a sign at the worker.

Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Woman-charged-hate-crime-racist-tirade-McDonalds-16050170.php

March 29, 2021

'Your vacation is my home': Hawaii's residents are speaking out against tourists behaving badly

When visitors think of Hawaii and social media, they usually think of capturing the kind of images that make the state a popular hashtag on Instagram: beautiful beaches, magnificent sunsets and picturesque landscapes.

For Hawaii’s residents, it’s far different. It’s a woman proclaiming that she’s from New York as she allegedly assaults a resident of Nanakuli in western Oahu. It’s a visitor without a mask screaming and then reportedly spitting on a kupuna, a Native Hawaiian elder, in a supermarket. It’s tourists blocking highways to take photos, and reportedly refusing to move when asked.

These videos have gone viral for a reason: Many of Hawaii’s residents are rightfully upset over tourists behaving badly.

“Your vacation is my home, I live here,” Nalani Gasper, the Nanakuli resident who was reportedly assaulted by the self-proclaimed New Yorker, told KITV. “... I understand New York is very different in your ways, and that's fine. But [assault is] not, we don't do disrespect."

Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/hawaii-residents-locals-tourists-behaving-badly-16056414.php

March 28, 2021

This Bay Area county wanted to stop COVID. So it fined businesses 50 times more than any other

When Sara Dubon opened her first floral shop in the midst of the pandemic, she knew it might be financially risky. But she didn’t anticipate the risk from Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 prevention squad, who hit her with a $500 fine without any written warning after just one month.

The reason?

No posted notice about the six-person capacity limit at her tiny storefront in San Jose’s Westfield Oakridge mall.

“I should have no excuse, but I’ve never had a store before and I honestly just didn’t know I could get fined for that,” Dubon said, noting she followed county instructions for all other safety signage and protocols but missed that one. “When a business is doing well, maybe $500 doesn’t seem like much. But for me, that’s a lot of money.”

She has plenty of company among businesses that learned the hard way how Santa Clara County’s public health enforcers — unlike their counterparts in other counties — are almost as relentless as the coronavirus itself in searching out prey.

Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/28/santa-clara-county-businesses-are-at-least-14-times-more-likely-be-fined-for-public-health-order-violations/
(San Jose Mercury News)

March 28, 2021

First Lady Jill Biden to visit California next week for Cesar Chavez holiday

First Lady Jill Biden plans to visit the Forty Acres monument north of Bakersfield on Wednesday — the birthday of the late civil rights leader and labor organizer Cesar Chavez.

The White House said the “Day of Action” event in Delano would include the Cesar Chavez Foundation, United Farm Workers, and the UFW Foundation.

The location, now a National Historic Monument, is where Chavez — the son of migrant farm workers — first drew national attention to the harsh conditions for agricultural workers in the late 1960s with his union organizing, marches, boycotts and hunger strikes.

President Biden has sought to highlight Chavez’s legacy, selecting a bronze bust of the labor leader for the most visible position behind his desk in the Oval Office.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-27/first-lady-jill-biden-to-visit-california-next-week-for-cesar-chavez-holiday