Rogue Chugach Electric troll makes news
But first, set your clock ahead an hour Saturday night
Good morning from Somewhere in Alaska!
Are you ready for ‘spring ahead’? Here comes Daylight Saving Time
Dan Fagan writes that the days are getting longer quickly now as Alaska marches to springtime. It takes some determination to wake up in the dark again, which is why I am up early this morning and getting the newsletter out an hour early. But within about 10 days, the daylight will catch up with those darker mornings.
Ballots go in the mail for Anchorage elections
By Tuesday, local Anchorage ballots should be in the mail and by Thursday, most voters will have received them, at least if they life in Anchorage. If past elections are any indicator, ballots will be mailed all over the world from the Anchorage Election Office. Watch MustReadAlaska.com for voting information and news this weekend so you don’t get shortchanged during this all-mail-in election.
What ever happened to ‘Westchester Goon’?
A prolific Twitter troll taking potshot political operations from his desk at Chugach Electric during working hours. Ratepayers might be concerned about what Chugach Electric is spending their money on. We have the time stamps on dozens of his tweets attacking people at City Hall and beyond.
This is a damaging issue for the new power monopoly in Anchorage, created after former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Mark Begich put together the sale of Municipal Light & Power to Chugach. Now, there is a movement afoot at the Alaska Center (for the Environment) to pack the board of Chugach Electric with its anti-natural gas puppets. (More on that story later.)
Mr. Goon’s sordid social media history is a reminder that there are lots of circles of influence, and one of them is a liberal Twitter society, where people hide behind monikers and express beastly and awful things.
Moral of the story: Stay civil, remain above board, and say things that you could stand behind if your grandma called you to have a little chat about manners. Or stay off of Twitter.
Mary, Mostly Contrary
The Alaska representative voted in favor of more violent crime in Washington, D.C., and, as it turns out, even the dementia president can’t go there.
Assembly votes to give Muni employees ‘fairly mediocre’ parental leave
The parental leave package is supported by the mayor, who just wanted it done the correct way, through deliberation and appropriation, not by mayoral edict of a petulant member of the Assembly who was mayor for eight months.
Anchorage School Board won’t cut $8,600 from a $960 million budget
Board member Dave Donley tried to cut the financial support to education industry groups that skim money from school districts and push radical causes, but the school board in Anchorage is aligned with those causes, so it was a no-go.
Three more Republican-led states leave ERIC
Florida, West Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, and Alabama have lost faith in ERIC, the same system Alaska uses and that the Municipality of Anchorage uses to mail local election ballots all over the country. Alaska is still a member of the organization.
Learn more about our newsletter sponsor this week:
Results from Monday’s poll:
Ouch! We noticed the phone version of the poll was not working this week and hope that glitch is gone by Monday, when we’ll publish the next poll. Thanks to everyone who weighed in:
Biden 2024 budget could eclipse announcement on Willow Project
We’re on pins and needles about this announcement, and not terribly optimistic. The longer it takes, the more political the decision is likely to be.
Biden budget II: $6.8 trillion in federal spending, $5 trillion in taxes
There’s no way a Republican House will let this budget through. It’s a fantasy budget.
Girdwood, Whittier 911 calls will be routed to Sitka police dispatcher
Sitka will use the money from the contract to attract and retain good dispatchers.
Governor takes a swipe at Anchorage Daily News over persistently biased reporting; reporters snap back
Every once in awhile this governor gets a burr under his saddle about the newspaper, and goes on a Twitter rant. This one was well-deserved, but the newspaper is hitting back. The newspaper declares war on parental rights.
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Today in history
March 10, 1959 – The Alaska House of Representatives voted to give the governor of the new state of Alaska a salary of $25,000 a year.
Price of Alaska oil: $79.10
Price of Henry Hub gas: $2.54
Alaska North Slope Production: 475,188
Permanent Fund (principal and earnings reserve): $77,307,000,000
COLUMNS
Jamie Allard: Our girls shall not be erased by Hershey
Putting a trans woman on a candy bar wrapper to celebrate Women’s History Month is an offense against women. Rep. Jamie Allard says we must fight for women again.
Alexander Dolitsky: Will the past predict the future of U.S.-Russia relations?
The Lend-Lease Agreement was to fight the Nazi aggression in World War II. But then mistrust set in.
David Ignell: George is still in peril due to Office of Children’s Services
The writer has a cause and won’t stop until George is back at home with his mom. Will that happen?
Tim Barto: Encouraging someone to lie to get into the military is unethical, at the very least
When Rep. Andrew T. Gray told someone to lie on their application, he did the entire country a disservice, and he soiled his own good name.
MULTIMEDIA
Take a video tour inside Alaska’s largest cold-weather shelter
It’s not a place most on the Anchorage Assembly have ever visited (they say it is unsafe), but you can tag along with John Quick as he videos the inside of the Sullivan Arena and talks to the people trying to help the homeless.
Mayor Dave Bronson, extending olive branch to Assembly
John Quick has a heart-to-heart with Anchorage’s mayor. Find out what the buzz is.
MUST READ ALASKA PODCAST
We’ve had 6,895 downloads of our podcast in the last 7 days. Our last few podcasts, available at any of your podcast providers:
Preservation Alaska. Once it’s gone it’s gone
Dorene Lorenz is a champion for all things historical
Rep. Gray is passionate about foster care, affordable housing, and potholes
Pastor Bob Roberts Jr. is an international peacemaker
Undercover Billionaire star & Tedx Talk Speaker RJ shares his life story
Rachel Ries is running for Anchorage Assembly seat 6
Gwen Adams is a modern day HERO
Rep. Jamie Allard of Eagle River is true to her word
Representative Ben Carpenter on budgets and audits
The Man, the Myth the Legend Pastor Dean Curry
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