Alaska
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9:48 p.m.
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Hidden away here in Juneau, Alaska, we have one of America's finest songwriters. Alaskans and others who attended the Alaska Folk Festival over the past 35 years eagerly awaited Buddy's performance, because he always had a new song or two that would grab you in some way. Now we're about to lose him, and you need to send him a card. Why after the squiggle. ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 10:07 p.m. - 12 clicks 
Not much information as this earthquake just happened within the last few minutes, but a 7.2 earthquake has hit the Aleutian Islands (in Alaska), and a tsunami warning is in effect. Too early right now for information on damage or any tsunamis occurring, but I'll continue to update this diary (as I would with severe wx liveblogs) as information comes in. Information right now from the USGS : ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 6 clicks
In response to a freedom of information request, the State of Alaska is releasing some 24,000 pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails sent from mostly private accounts while she was Governor. News organizations are asking for help from the public in sorting through them for the most interesting parts. ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Putting major policy issues like air quality regulation by the EPA and promotion of the Keystone pipeline into the spending bill is a tactic I expect from the Republicans. That Senator Begich, Democrat from Alaska, agreed to both of these provisions is a huge disappointment. These kinds of issues need stand-alone discussion so the people's voices can be heard. That President Obama may sign...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Congressman Don Young [R-AK] was appointed by the Governor of Alaska to the state's single US House seat in 1972, after losing the election to Nick Begich [D], father of current US Senator Mark Begich [D]. The senior Begich was lost in a plane crash near Juneau two weeks before the 1972 election. Young has been re-elected to the seat every two years since then. Young always seems u...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
This Saturday I decided to take my young friend, Wesley, from South Florida for the first trip he has ever been on down the river. I introduced him to fishing for Copper River Red Salmon (in the Klutina River) the prior week and though we didn't catch any he was "hooked". I thought a trip down the Gulkana would be a good opportunity to show him the type of place he had moved to while providing a...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 6 clicks
USGS: The large blue square. Magnitude 7.1 Date-Time Friday, September 02, 2011 at 10:55:54 UTC Friday, September 02, 2011 at 01:55:54 AM at epicenter Location 52.184°N, 171.684°W Depth 35.5 km (22.1 miles) Region FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA Distance...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Topics: Feds question former BP chief Hayward about financial records, Gulf oil flow; BP Holds Gulf Spill Assessment ‘Financially Captive’; Oil Company Who Profited In The Deepwater Horizon Spill Tries to Get Out Of Paying Royalties; Alaska oil pipe may flow only 10 more years; BP launches first TV ad since oil disaster; BP Finds Success in Reports About Its Failure; BP’s Mega Safety Program Ope...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
As I write this I am still regaining the feeling in my fingertips and and toes. It's been cold here in Anchorage. It feels like it's been hovering around 0 since winter started. As I was taking out the trash after returning from a Thanksgiving weekend away, I saw what first looked like a pile of rags. Instead it was one of the many homeless people who inhabit our city, wi...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Topics: BP’s Top U.S. Officer Called to Testify at Gulf Oil Spill Trial, Judge rules BP's 2009 oil spill in Alaska was accidental, BP Staff May Face U.S. Criminal Charges After Spill, WSJ Says, In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export, Deep Gulf drilling thrives 18 months after BP's oil spill, In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export, Shrimp season worst in recent history, A Gu...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
A storm that formed off the Aleutian islands is preparing to move inland over western Alaska with predicted winds of up to 100 miles per hour, record snowfall and flooding along the coast. The National Weather Service (you might recall it as ion of those "costly" federal agencies Republicans thought should have its budget drastically cut earlier this year ) is calling it a storm o...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Who could have possibly seen this coming? Staff member to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is going to jail. Arne Fuglvog, who has long played an influential role in Alaska fisheries politics, will be sentenced to 10 months in jail if a judge agrees to his plea deal on the charge of falsifying fishing records. This is the sort of thing that happens when you put the foxes in charge o...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
For any who may be reading this series for the first time : this is a thought experiment where I try to see what would happen if the size of the House of Representatives were doubled to 870 members from 435. And yes , I know Republicans have the trifecta. This entire series is theoretical to begin with, gimme a break. Ohhhhhhhhhhhk! La-homa where the wind comes sweeping down the plain! And t...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 9 clicks
Cross Posted at Legal Schnauzer Does God have curious ways of making sure that corrupt SOBs pay for their misdeeds? I'm starting to think the answer is yes after learning earlier today that former Alabama Governor Bob Riley crashed his motorcycle in Alaska. Riley used his long-planned motorcycle trip as an excuse to escape testifying (so far) in the ongoing federal electronic-bingo pros...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
This is great news . Yesterday the Obama administration took another step in helping us break the shackles of foreign oil by offering up more areas for oil and gas drilling, including in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Alaska coast . The only bad part about it is that the sale of the 15 leases will be stretched out over 5 years from 2012-2017 with the Alaskan leases coming up towards...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mon 9:45 p.m. - 5 clicks
Oh, the crazy world of Alaskan politics. We elect republicans because they are fiscal conservatives and scorn democrats because they love to spend. There are a series of bills before the new legislative session and included are several, all sponsored by democrats, that would force the state to save a sizable chunk of the state's growing wealth. Included in the bills is SB142 sponsored...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Jan 17 - 12 clicks
Back in November, I wrote about Bob Ermold's opinion piece in the PC about predator control. Bob got all slobbery about the wisdom of Corey Rossi, the unqualified director of the State of Alaska's Division of Wildlife Conservation . Corey was originally selected by then Gov Sarah Palin to run the AK Dep't of Fish and Game, but he was not appointed after a near-revolution in the department...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Jan 12
New Year's Day, 2012: a time to appreciate the place where I live. Please add your comments about the good things Soldotna has going for it..Here's my start: 1) Tsalteshi Trails - this winter cross-country ski/summer running and biking trail system is a gem not only for Soldotna, but for Alaska. Get out there and get fit! 2) Maybe it's just me, but I love the bridge and the lights ...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Jan 1
If you picked up the PC today, the lead story is a fluff piece praising the glories of Mike Chenault, the speaker of the AK House of Reps. "I was the best fit for the job" explained the not-too-humble north-roader. Jumping in with the alleluias was Kurt Olson, SOLdotna's representative to the state house. Mike is proud to have brought home the bacon to the Kenai as the peninsula rec...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Dec 29
OK, if you are a regular reader of SOL, you know that my take on things is a bit left of center. As such there's not too many Rs that my conscience will let me support. But there are a few. I've become a big fan of the Alaskan Senate President, Gary Stevens, who represents Kodiak, Homer and Seward. He's not in anyone's pocket, he's practical, and his reasons for supporting ...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Dec 15 - 15 clicks
This just in - KPBSD Superintendent Steve Atwater is one of the two finalists for Carol Comeau's position in Anchorage. Read the ADN story here . By most all accounts, Steve has done a good job here on the Kenai, and after years of the previous superintendent's divisive school leadership, one can only hope that if he does get the Anchorage job, his replacement will be as competent and profession...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Dec 15 - 16 clicks
Topics: BP spill may lead to criminal charges: Prudhoe Bay Spill, Did BP violate its Alaska probation? Federal trial begins in Anchorage, BP Pipeline Rupture May Force It to Pay More for 2006 Spill, BP faces revoked criminal probation in Alaska, BP Alaska Probation Hearing: Was Worker Fired for Calling Company Unsafe?, BP manager's email listing safety concerns debated at spill trial, BP to Secu...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Dec 5
Topics: Chevron Brazil oil spill may be bigger than thought, Brazil federal police official says Chevron unprepared to deal with oil leak, Major Oil Leak At Offshore Chevron Site In Brazil, Chevron takes blame for Brazil oil spill, Prosecutors aim to revoke BP probation: Prudhoe Bay Spill, Prosecutors seek to revoke BP's Alaska probation, BP leak causes big stink in Texas City, BP Can’t Use Tran...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Nov 21
I'm not a religious person. This video was sent to me today and it made me feel better. I hope it makes you feel better. If not, flame on. There seems to be plenty of that to go around. This video from the small Yupiq Eskimo Village of Quinhagak, Alaska, was a school computer project intended for the other Yupiq villages in the area. ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Nov 17
Just what is happening here? The Peninsula Clarion poll has Fred and Mike running neck-to-neck. Considering the Clarion doesn't have much readership outside of the Central Peninsula, and that Fred probably has his strongest support in Sterling, Nikiski, Kasilof and Ninilchik areas, I'm not too sure how accurate the poll is. Again and again, I have to come back to the fact that Joe Mil...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Oct 15
All along, the borough mayor's race pit Mike Navarre vs the other candidates, but who would have guessed that Fred Sturman would have been the top of those five? I guess I'm not really surprised by voters on the Kenai - just how many were snookered by Joe Miller after all? The run-off will tell a lot about who we are here on the Kenai Peninsula as the two surviving candidates offer completely di...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Oct 5
Yay! What could make me happy to read a list of banned books Alaska Dispatch posted? A book I've been wanting to read by an author I love is on there - "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. Each year during Banned Books Week I try to read at least one of the "most banned" books of the moment. Though honestly, it's not much of a challenge. EVERY good book ...
Alaska Real - Sep 28
I thought this article by Timothy Aqukkasuk Argetsinger in Alaska Dispatch was great - "Uqaġupta naalaġniuruksraurusi: When we talk, you listen." It's about the recent issue regarding legal action taken against parents for truant students. While I think there is risk to then excuse some of the parental action (or inaction) regarding ensuring kids are at school, where they might actually be jus...
Alaska Real - Sep 14 - 4 clicks
A few weeks ago, I was waiting in my car for my sister to come out of a grocery store, window down, and two young men, both white, were having a loud discussion about race. I tried (not very hard) to not listen, but as I was in the middle of the unnerving project I’ll describe in a bit, bad manners took over. They discussed different racial problems, whether minorities should be “blaming” eve...
Alaska Real - Sep 8 - 4 clicks
The Kenai Borough's mayoral race had two mentions in this Sunday's ADN's Ear . First up was a bit about how a fund-raiser for Mike Navarre had across-the-aisle supporters including some influential Rs such as Lisa Murkowski, Gail Phillips and Arliss Sturgulewski. Considering that Dale Bagely, the leading R in the race, was a strong backer of the scoundrel, Joe Miller, it's no surpri...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Aug 29 - 3 clicks
I thought I'd share a few photos I took on our last trip to Alaska. Politically the state may be...interesting, but geologically and photographically, it's astounding. ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Aug 22
In The Oil Companies We Trust The keys to vast reserves of oil off the coast of Alaska may have been handed to Shell this week after President Barack Obama's administration granted it provisional permission to drill exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea's frigid waters despite fierce opposition from environmentalists. Shell's record for polluting is excellent pdf. Shell’s Big Dirty Sec...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Aug 6
In another beat-down to environmentalists, Shell oil company on Thursday received preliminary approval from the US Department of the Interior to begin drilling exploratory oil wells in waters off of northern Alaska starting next summer. Despite the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, despite a total inability to clean up even much smaller spills on sea ice, drilling may begin in a year. ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Aug 4
Sorry ladies and gentlemen, I have about 10 minutes to get ready for work and head out the door, but I saw this story and decided it might be worth it to be a few minutes late, however the diary will be short on my commentary. BP pipeline leaks oily mixture onto Alaskan tundra BP reported yet another pipeline leak at its Alaskan oilfields, frustrating the oil giant's attempts to rebuild ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Jul 18 - 3 clicks
The threat of extinction for many (nearly all) Alaska Native languages has received some attention lately , much do to the release of an updates Alaska Native languages map . I'll leave some others (here, Talking Alaska ) to talk about the why and what is going on. What I get concerned with, whenever this topic comes up and the inevitable backlash of negative commentary, is the idea tha...
Alaska Real - Jul 14 - 4 clicks
Tea Party candidate for Senate Joe Miller has been ordered by an Alaska Court to cough up part of the State's expenses in rejecting Miller's spurious challenge to last year's election results. Remember Miller? He was the Sarah Palin and Tea Party (AKA Right Wing Of The Republican Party) darling who beat Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary for Senate. She turned around and ran an improba...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Jun 26 - 3 clicks
Sometimes you just have to smile. I hope you all read the most excellent OpEd piece in today's PC by Les Gara about the Governor's plan to give away a couple of billion dollars each year to the oil companies. A plan endorsed by Kurt Olson and Mike Chenault. Mr. Gara makes a convincing argument that the Governor is full of it, but if you've been following his attempt to overtur...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Apr 13 - 4 clicks
Last week, I published a diary requesting Letters to the Editor via VoteVets. Let me tell you, I don't ask you to do something that I'm not willing to do myself. My letter actually got published! To the editor: I am appalled that Rep. Don Young supported the efforts of Speaker John Boehner and other Republican House members to keep pushing us toward a government shutdown, when it was clear ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Apr 12 - 2 clicks
Captain Dave Carey has it out for white whales, but unlike Ahab, Dave doesn't have issues with a big sperm, but rather he has a thing for the baby belugas. Darn it, they might mess up Carey's vision of an industrial and polluted Kenai Peninsula and surroundings. Dave has been a big time promoter of the Chuitna and Pebble Mine proposals and it could be that it's not a good idea that poi...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Apr 10 - 2 clicks
Did you happen to see the informal assessment earlier this week that pegged Alaska as the fifth dumbest state in the US? We here on the Kenai are doing our part to show the world that our stupidity rank should match our 49th state stature. Want some evidence? Kurt Olson and Mike Chenault held a town hall meeting to make the case that the oil companies need bigger profits and that the sta...
SOL in Soldotna, Alaska - Apr 1 - 2 clicks
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is the second most visited national park in Alaska after Denali. Popularized by the nature writer and environmentalist John Muir in early 1900s after his visit in 1899, it was created a national monument in February of 1925 and elevated to national park status in 1980 with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Along with the ...
DailyKos (Alaska) - Mar 29
Mudflats had an excellent post about the EPA's involvement in Pebble Mine, and the federal government's involvement with Alaska in general. It's always amazed me how much Alaskans (and especially Alaskan politicians) can rail against the federal government, yet many, MANY times the involvement of the federal government was neccessary to stop the overreaching of the state and state politicians....
Alaska Real - Feb 8 - 4 clicks
Saw this story in the Frontiersman, pretty cool. Palmer man leads fight against depression There's a very powerful message here, and it's still amazng to me when I hear this kind of thing: Pagaran admits that, “I myself was ashamed to say I was Alaska Native until I was 25 years old, and I grew up in Alaska,” he said. “I would tell people I was oriental, Mexican — anything but Native. I...
Alaska Real - Feb 4 - 2 clicks
I've been wondering how this show I've been hearing about has been going, Flying Wild Alaska, about the Tweto family. Anonymous Bloggers has a great little summary . I must admit to being a bit hooked on Ax Men, though, on the History Channel. Especially after their cliffhanger episodes with the missing logger from the town I was born in (I kept looking for my auntie's house.) Though, really, th...
Alaska Real - Jan 26 - 2 clicks
Last night I "vocalized some frustration" about not recognizing the good things in and coming from the Alaskan villages - including encouraging the youth toward leadership and building the communities up. With serendipitous timing, I was forwarded this (also from the Tundra Drums) about a great opportunity some smart, hard-working kids have to go to New York City, and win huge resources...
Alaska Real - Jan 21 - 2 clicks
I read this opinion piece in the Tundra Drums today, and it was frustrating from the outset. Not because a lot of it isn't true, but because it's the least original thing to say about villages. "We've entered the Native Dark Age. Everything that used to be good, strong, and healthy about Alaska Native villages is gone or fading." It's the same perspective and complaint I've heard again and a...
Alaska Real - Jan 21 - 2 clicks
A few topics/stories I've seen making the online rounds: A Yup'ik Swan Lake Too cool! The Alaska Dance Theatre, Alaska Dance Theatre School, Alaska Native Heritage Center and Eugene Ballet Company are collaborating on a revision of the classic Swan Lake ballet with Yup'ik storytelling and dance. I used to be skeptical of these kind of attempts, but several years ago I went to the Anchorage ...
Alaska Real - Jan 17 - 2 clicks
I came across this article that I thought was an excellent summary of the Arizona shooting communication situation - "Who Is Winning the Tucson Murderer PR Blame Game." Clearly, right, left and center are talking about it, and many people I've talked to have had strong opinions - usually strongly pro-Sarah, or strongly anti-Sarah (we ARE in Alaska.) Not many undecideds in this one. But the arti...
Alaska Real - Jan 15 - 3 clicks
"At what point in our growing population do we draw a line that would further disenfranchise our descendents from benefiting from ANCSA? This very important issue needs a well thought out process by all Alaska Natives so that our descendents can benefit from ANCSA in perpetuity." I thought this was a pretty relevant issue brought up in the Cordova Times . As an "after born" myself - an Alaska Na...
Alaska Real - Jan 14 - 2 clicks
I liked this little bit in the ADN I just read , as it is part of, what I hope, are some moves in the right direction. I don't know if I even need to repeat the dismal statistics regarding Alaska Native people and suicide. The news has been out there about the bad numbers for years. Suffice it to say, there are far, far too many Alaska Native people dying each year in a 100% preventable way. I ...
Alaska Real - Jan 13 - 2 clicks
