Luke Hopkins Officially Wins Election To Become The New Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor, But Opponent Tammie Wilson May Go To The State House

It's now official. After the final count of early, absentee and questioned ballots, Luke Hopkins widened his lead over Tammie Wilson from 617 votes to 844 votes to be officially declared the winner of the November 3rd runoff election in Fairbanks North Star Borough mayoral race. Hopkins drew 9,107 votes to Wilson’s 8,263 votes. Unofficial results by precinct HERE.

The runoff was necessitated because no candidate in the October 7th general election drew the 40+ percent necessary to avoid a runoff. Hopkins and Wilson were the top two finishers, and it was hoped that most of the supporters of the other candidates would have migrated to Wilson. This did not happen.

Hopkins takes office on Monday November 17th, and the borough will begin the process of naming his replacement on the Assembly. As for Tammie Wilson, she retains her seat on the Borough Assembly for the time being; her seat isn't up for grabs until 2011.

However, bigger things may be in store for Tammie Wilson. Her name, along with the names of North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson and District Republican Party Vice-Chairman Mike Prax, have been forwarded to Governor Sean Parnell as nominees to replace John Coghill as District 11 representative. Coghill was selected by Parnell in October to replace Gene Therriault as the new District F senator when Therriault resigned in August to become Parnell's senior policy advisor on Alaska energy.

The three are further discussed in this News-Miner article. Tammie Wilson has spent one year on the Borough Assembly, having previously grown into the role of neighborhood organizer. But she said she’s also found time to follow state issues and has a daughter who worked as staff for a Palmer-based state lawmaker. Wilson said she worries state spending could be too high and also generally said the state could do more to help Fairbanks’ neighborhood-level road service areas. Wilson first moved to Alaska seven and a half years ago, while others on the list of applicants have lived here far longer. But she said strong support during this fall mayor’s election proved voters support her largely conservative messages, something that has already curried favor with the district committee, causing it to put her on their short list to replace Coghill.

Doug Isaacson is starting his second term as North Pole’s mayor. A former mortgage broker who previously served on the city’s council, he beat a slate of challengers to keep the mayor’s post last month. Isaacson said his experience with city issues would help him serve effectively at the state level, whether it be on statewide issues or direct help for North Pole. The town of 2,000 serves a much more populated surrounding area and hosts multiple oil refineries and electrical generation plants, making it a notable cog in the state’s energy wheel.

Mike Prax is a former Borough Assembly member and current district vice chairman for the Republican Party. Prax works with the issues group Clean Team Alaska and is a former Republican Party district chairman for a separate district.

The person selected would only serve through 2010, unless he/she ran for and won an election in November 2010. At this point, I believe Tammie Wilson has the edge, because I don't think Parnell would want to strip North Pole of their newly-reelected mayor, and Prax' credentials aren't nearly as impressive as those of Wilson and Isaacson.

Alaska Congressman Don Young Courageously Votes Against The H.R. 3962 Health Care Boondoggle, Says It's A Vote To Rescind Freedom

On November 8th, 2009, CNN reports that the U.S. House of Representatives voted 220-215 to pass H.R. 3962, dubiously named the "Affordable Health Care Act for America". The vote proceeded almost along party lines, with Democrats supporting it 219-39, and Republicans opposing it 176-1. Rep. Joe Cao (R-Louisiana) was the only Republican who voted in favor of the bill, but he represents a heavily-Democratic district. View the full roll call vote HERE.

The full 1,990 page bill can be viewed HERE (it takes a couple of minutes to load).

H.R. 3962 seeks to expand health care coverage to the approximately 40 million Americans who are currently uninsured by lowering the cost of health care and making the system more efficient. To that end, it includes a new government-run insurance plan to compete with the private companies, a requirement that all Americans have health insurance, a ban on denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and, to pay for it all, a surtax on individuals with incomes above $500,000. Other key provisions are posted HERE, and other summaries of the bill can be found here.

One of the 215 voting against the bill was Alaska Congressman Don Young. After the vote, Rep. Young released a statement to the Anchorage Daily News, characterizing it as "a vote to rescind American freedom", explaining that the bill "doesn't include accessibility, portability, or affordability. What it does include is insurance without access. What is the point of holding an insurance card if you can't find a doctor who will accept it? Insurance is only one small portion of a much larger problem, and this bill ignores that. This is more about political tactics than what's good for this country, and it's shameful."

The Republican National Committee also criticized the vote, saying "Today with help from their liberal House allies, President Obama and Nancy Pelosi finally got what they have been creating behind closed doors these past months -- a government-run health care experiment that will increase families' health care costs, increase the deficit, increase taxes on small businesses and the middle class, and cut Medicare".

Brookstone Lesbian Manager May Have Deliberately Baited Peter Vidala Into Criticizing Her Gay Marriage, Then Had Him Fired In Boston

Thank God Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed the proposed gay nondiscrimination ordinance in August, or this story might be datelined Anchorage instead of Boston.

According to the Fox News Channel, Peter Vidala was working as the second deputy manager at a Brookstone store at Boston's Logan Airport on August 10th, 2009 when a Brookstone manager from another store stopped by. During the visit, the other manager, who remains unidentified by name but is a lesbian, mentioned FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES that she was marrying her partner, a woman. Vidala said he briefly left the store to visit the airport's chapel, then upon his return, took issue with the manager mentioning her impending marriage FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES.

"I found it offensive that she repeatedly brought it up," Vidala said. "By the fourth time she mentioned it, I felt God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter, so I did. But my tone was downright apologetic. I said, 'Regarding your homosexuality, I think that's bad stuff.'"

Goodbye, job! In response, the lesbian manager then said, "Human resources, buddy — keep your opinions to yourself," before exiting the store. Sure enough, just two days later on August 12th, Vidala, who had been employed for just a matter of weeks, received a termination letter citing the company's zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment and inappropriate and unprofessional comments. Read the termination letter HERE. Vidala discusses the case on the YouTube video embedded below:



In a statement issued to FoxNews.com which was obviously riddled with spin, Brookstone President/CEO Ron Boire claimed that a "thorough and fair investigation" had been completed in the matter. "We do not comment on any specific personnel issues," the statement read. "However I will say that Brookstone is an equal opportunity employer, meaning that we maintain a healthy, safe and productive work environment free from discrimination or harassment based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, or other factors that are unrelated to the Company’s legitimate business interests. We are proud of our diverse workforce of varying cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds."

Is Anchorage Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg A "Communist"? Bill Starr Links Her "Social Equity" Budget Amendment To The Communist Manifesto

Obviously, Anchorage Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg is not a Communist, per se. But one can easily understand how some conservatives could have gotten that idea during a meeting of the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday November 3rd, 2009. Media stories on this issue from KTUU Channel 2, the Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Daily Planet, and Alaska Dispatch.

The subject of discussion was Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposed six-year fiscal plan, a long range general overview of the city's priorities. Without extending the common courtesy of prior consultation with the mayor's office, Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg, who is considered part of the "Socialist Six" majority on the 11-person assembly, offered several amendments to the plan, one under the heading of "Social Equity." Watch KTUU news video below:



A second related KTUU video is directly accessible HERE.

Red flag! Red flag! Assemblyman Bill Starr, a conservative Assembly member from Eagle River, immediately reacted. "This Selkregg manifesto now speaks to words such as social equity," Starr said. Then afterwards, Starr continued, "It speaks to several platforms that are solidly entrenched in the communist planks. One of them is sort of leveling of ... moving toward a classless society".

Bang! The brouhaha was on! Dr. Selkregg immediately fired back, saying "If you think that makes me a communist, I think that what I'll have to say to you, is that you sound a lot like a McCarthy person, I mean for goodness sakes". Older liberals frequently like to throw out charges of "McCarthyism" at conservatives to deflect criticism. But Selkregg later explained herself further, saying that her amendments weren't related to communism at all. "When we make our decisions, there's a sense of fairness and we don't make decisions that result in poor people or middle class people paying a lot to the benefit of people who are very wealthy," she said.

But Starr stood by his characterization. "I do (stand by what I said). I think it's a fair analogy. I think the role of government is what we're analyzing at this point and where we move into the social program needs, how we provide that social equity, that's not our job," Starr said. Nevertheless, the Assembly passed Selkregg's amendments by a 6-5 vote, split along ideological lines (the Socialist Six voted as a bloc).

Parents Television Council Asks CW Affiliates To Preempt November 9th Airing Of "Gossip Girls" Which Shows A Sexual Threesome

The Parents Television Council (PTC) is asking CW Network affiliates to preempt the next episode of “Gossip Girl” scheduled to air on November 9th, which will feature major characters in a sexual threesome according to CW’s own ads for the upcoming episode. The program airs at 9 P.M. ET/PT and 8 P.M. CT/MT. More information about the specific episode has been published by InsideTV.

In their press release, PTC states, “To include a storyline like this on a program that is expressly targeted to impressionable teenagers is reckless and irresponsible. We are asking each CW Network affiliate to use their common sense and preempt this episode... CW has been defending graphic content on ‘Gossip Girl’ by asserting that they don’t target teenagers. Such a claim doesn’t even pass the ‘laugh test.’ The network’s own promotions talk about the program as a ‘parent’s worst nightmare.’ How many 30-year olds care what their parents think? Zero. Only a teenager would be responsive to a parental ‘forbidden fruit’ marketing ploy like that, and CW knows it,”, said PTC President Tim Winter in a letter sent to CW Network President Dawn Ostroff and to each affiliate.

PTC issued this alert about a week after they published a report showing that portrayal of violence against women on television has doubled in five years. The PTC says it counted more than 400 violent acts against women in prime time on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox shows in February and May this year, as opposed to only 200 in the same time frame in 2004. Overall, the report shows there were more than 3,900 total violent acts in prime-time during those two months this year, a two percent increase from five years ago.

In response to the new complaint, CW spokesman Paul McGuire said the target audience for "Gossip Girl" is 18- to 34-year-old women, with a median viewer age of 27 years old. But the network had no comment about the PTC itself. Nevertheless, despite CW's disclaimer, PTC is correct in its presumption that teenagers might be susceptible to a parental ‘forbidden fruit’ marketing ploy, so CW is being intellectually dishonest. Here's a 20-second YouTube promo of the episode:



The Parents Television Council is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media.

Analysis: It's unrealistic to expect this sort of rubbish to be removed from TV altogether. But it's got no place on mainstream cable. This type of filth needs to be confined to subscription channels which are generally only available separately from basic cable or satellite TV packages in order to better facilitate parental control. We also need to exercise more self-discipline and refuse to watch this stuff.

Former Anchorage Cop Sammy Cohen Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse, Child Exploitation, And Possession Of Child Porn

On October 29th, 2009, Sammy Cohen, who was on the Anchorage Police Department for 11 years before he was arrested in 2005 and charged with 10 counts of second-degree abuse of a minor, five counts of exploiting a minor and six counts of possessing child pornography, was convicted of 16 different charges of sex abuse and child exploitation. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual abuse and one count of possessing child porn, and the jury hung on three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a minor. The jury had been deliberating since October 22nd. Cohen's Alaska Court System record is available HERE. Media stories from the Anchorage Daily News and KTUU Channel 2.

A federal agency first tipped off police in 2005 that the 54-year-old Cohen had explicit images of children on his computer. Shortly thereafter, allegations of abuse emerged publicly, and he was arrested. He was accused of molesting his daughter from 1999 until 2001, when she and her mother left Alaska after the Cohens' divorce. Cohen's first trial in 2008 ended in a mistrial before testimony began. Cohen's defense attorney requested the mistrial, claiming he needed more time to prepare. State prosecutors were initially unable to locate the alleged victim but then found her two days before trial was scheduled to begin. The mistrial was granted without prejudice, meaning the prosecution could subsequently re-open the case without violating double jeopardy.

Nicholas Showers-Glover Found Guilty Of Murder, Chimps Out In Anchorage Courtroom

On October 29th, 2009, Nicholas Showers-Glover got the smirk wiped off his face when was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault and third-degree assault in the March 2nd, 2007 shooting of 22-year-old Kori Johnson and 18-year-old Jennifer Olson. Olson subsequently died of her wounds. Media stories from KTUU Channel 2, KTVA Channel 11, and the Anchorage Daily News. You can review all previous posts HERE, beginning with the most recent post.

Upon hearing the verdict, many of Glover's family members broke down and cried; one was particularly inconsolable. Glover himself immediately chimped out, bolted to his feet, and slammed the tabletop. He was promptly swarmed and handcuffed by court officers. The family members were removed from the courtroom.

-- Direct link to KTUU news video Part 1 HERE.
-- Direct link to KTUU news video Part 2 HERE.

Jennifer Olson's mother held her daughter's graduation photo -- taken just weeks before her death -- up to his face. Glover, whose Alaska Court System record can be viewed HERE, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 12th, 2010.

Eielson AFB, Alaska Excluded From Final Round Of Competition To Host The F-35 Fighter Jet After Being Considered A Top Six Finalist In 2008

Disappointed members of Alaska's Congressional delegation announced on October 29th, 2009 that Eielson AFB did not make the final round of competition to host the new F-35 fighter. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that, according to Senator Lisa Murkowski, Eielson was on a short list of six bases under consideration for the F-35 at this time in 2008; this short list also included Shaw AFB, SC; Mountain Home AFB, ID; Moody AFB, GA; Hill AFB, UT; and Eglin AFB, FL. Specifically, this is in reference to the F-35A model, tailored for the U.S. Air Force. Alaska media stories published by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and KTVA Channel 11.

Congressman Don Young (R) said in this statement, “This is extremely disappointing news. With strong community support, vast air space, a lengthy runway, and close proximity to Russia and Asia, Eielson is the perfect location for these fighter jets to train. Alaska is on the front line when it comes to adversarial countries like North Korea and should be at the forefront of defense technology. Eielson is the best place for the F-35's and I’m sorry that the Department of Defense could not recognize that."

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) said, in part, ...“I am deeply disappointed that the Air Force abandoned its previous short list, which was based on the priorities of its warfighting commanders, in favor of a new list, based upon a point scoring system of uncertain validity. Although the Air Force will not tell us precisely how Eielson scored until tomorrow, we will be protesting this decision to senior defense officials. I am at a loss to understand why Eielson moved from one of the six most promising bases for F-35 deployment to today’s position where some 65 Air Force Bases are deemed more promising"... Full statement HERE.

Senator Mark Begich (D) said, in part, "Given Alaska's important geographic and strategic advantages for the overall defense of our country, I am disappointed to learn that none of Alaska's Air Force bases were chosen as one of the preferred locations to base a portion of the Air Force's first 250-300 aircraft in the F-35 JSF [Joint Strike Fighter]. This is particularly disappointing since the Air Force indicated last fall that Eielson was on the 'short list'. The Air Force designed this current selection process to be more objective and less political than those in the past, and I appreciate that. But I still plan to inquire how this process was managed and that the advantages of Alaska's bases were clearly understood and taken into account in this decision"... Full statement HERE.

And this is not over with. Alaska's Congressional delegation drafted a joint letter asking top Air Force officials for a briefing as to why the Air Force dropped Eielson Air Force Base from a short list of potential installations to base the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Read the letter HERE.

According to Southern Maryland Online, the F-35 is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter that will provide aircraft weapon support to troops on the ground, the ability to precisely drop/shoot weapons, and the ability to conduct airspace patrol and defense missions. will replace the following aging fighter aircraft, including the U.S. Air Force A-10s and F-16s, U.S. Navy F/A-18s, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, and U.K. Harrier GR-7s and Sea Harriers. One flight-ready F-35 currently costs $83 million to produce.

Three versions of the F-35 are being manufactured to support different mission needs: the F-35A, a conventional takeoff and landing variant for the U.S. Air Force; the F-35B, a short-takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) model for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.K.; and the F-35C, carrier version that is designed to take off and land on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The F-35B and F-35C will be tested and developed at NAS Patuxent River, MD.

Air Force Link reports the following 11 bases have been selected as candidate bases for the F-35A:

-- Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, Idaho
-- Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
-- Holloman AFB N.M.
-- Luke AFB, Ariz.;
-- Tucson International Airport Air Guard Station, Ariz.
-- Burlington International Airport Guard Station, Vt.
-- Hill AFB, Utah
-- Jacksonville International Airport Air Guard Station, Fla.
-- Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
-- Shaw AFB, S.C.
-- McEntire Air Guard Base, S.C.

The Deseret News reports that of these 11, Hill AFB, Mountain Home AFB, and Shaw AFB are the most likely to get active full operations squadrons that will fly the F-35 as early as 2013. Considering that Burlington is the only place on the list subject to extreme cold in winter, I wonder if Eielson's severe wintertime cold suddenly made it a liability for the F-35.