Lake Research Partners Poll Shows Dan Sullivan Narrowly Leading Eric Croft In 2009 Anchorage, Alaska Mayoral Race

Andrew Halcro was first off the mark on this info. A Lake Research Partners poll of 500 likely Anchorage voters shows that the two biggest names in Anchorage's 2009 mayoral race have the greatest name recognition. And it shows that conservative Dan Sullivan (pictured at left) has slightly forged ahead of left-of-center Eric Croft. Alaska Report also picked up on this story, and referred to a press release from Eric Croft that has not been posted on his official campaign website.

Here are the numbers:

-- Dan Sullivan: 21 percent
-- Eric Croft: 18 percent
-- Another Candidate: 33 percent
-- Undecided: 28 percent

The poll did not provide a breakout of the other candidates, although no other candidate received more than 13 percent. The latter number implies the potential of more than just a two-person race. The interesting question is where would Eric Croft be at this point if two other lefties, Matt Claman and Sheila Selkregg, weren't in the race. I sense an effort by progressives to try to coalesce around Croft. In contrast, Sullivan has most of his core constituency to himself, although Paul Honeman and, to a lesser degree Walt Monegan could make inroads. Honeman has already been running an aggressive advertising campaign; I see his ads appended as the leaders to nearly every KTUU news video lately.

Because the Croft campaign retained Lake Research Partners as the official campaign pollster, we can assume that Eric Croft commissioned the poll.

The candidate filing period is in effect until Friday February 13th at 5:00 P.M. Visit the Municipality's Election Page, which has a partial list of candidates, for more information. Here's the full list of mayoral candidates, with links to websites where available:

-- Dan Sullivan: December 2007 press release outlining his vision HERE.
-- Eric Croft: Official campaign website HERE. Myspace website HERE.
-- Paul Honeman: Official campaign website HERE. Myspace website HERE.
-- Walt Monegan: Official campaign website HERE.
-- Sheila Selkregg: Official campaign website HERE.
-- Merica Hlatcu - ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2006
-- Jacob Seth Kern - Official campaign website HERE.
-- Dominic S.F. Lee - President and CEO of Little Susitna Construction
-- Melanie K. Leydon
-- Larry Shooshanian
-- Phil Isley

The Anchorage Press published an article on December 11th providing more background on some candidates.

APOC summaries on municipal candidates available HERE.

Troopergate's Last Spasm: Alaska State Senate Votes 16-1 To Find Todd Palin And Nine Palin Aides In Contempt, But No Penalty Likely

While a growing number of Alaskans were growing content to allow Troopergate to "gracefully" exit the public stage, as evidenced by a KTUU January 28th poll which showed that only 53 percent of respondents thought the legislature should take further action, there are others who demand more accountability now. The Anchorage Daily News and CNN report that on February 6th, 2009, the Alaska State Senate voted 16-1 to find Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, and nine Palin aides in contempt for failing to show up when ordered by subpoena to testify in the Legislature's "Troopergate" investigation of the governor.

Senator Con Bunde (R-Anchorage Hillside) cast the only vote against it. Senators Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River), Gene Therriault (R-Fairbanks) and Tom Wagoner (R-Kenai) were excused. These four senators constitute what's referred to as the Senate Minority, a group of five Republicans who opted out of the majority coalition.

However, the Senate resolution also said there should be no punishment because Todd Palin and the others did eventually submit written statements to the investigator, Steve Branchflower. Senator Hollis French (D-Anchorage), who provided the legislative and financial muscle behind the non-partisan Branchflower investigation which rendered an "abuse of power" finding against Sarah Palin but otherwise exonerated her, explained the Senate's action. "People kept saying 'You've got to do something about the subpoenas -- what are you going to do about the subpoenas?" said French, who sponsored the resolution. "And while there was practically no support for doing anything regarding the governor, a lot of people were upset that the subpoenas were ignored. It memorializes their contempt and it balances that wrongdoing with their compliance once the suit was resolved," French concluded.

But fueling the resolution was the fact that Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg delayed compliance with the subpoenas and advised others to follow suit while he sued in order to kill the subpoenas. But after he lost his court fight, cooperation was immediately forthcoming. Colberg did not have an immediate comment on the Senate resolution, saying he needed to read it first.

The other Troopergate investigation, launched by the state's Personnel Board, completely exonerated Governor Palin. But many Alaskans remain suspicious of the outcome since, although the Board by definition is an independent body, its members are appointed by the Governor. One can see how the perception of a conflict of interest could arise. The Personnel Board's findings are discussed HERE and HERE.

A contempt finding was one of four demands levied by a grass-roots organiazation called Alaskans For Truth, formed to pursue Troopergate to a more accountable conclusion. Their four demands:

-- Censure Governor Sarah Palin who, the Branchflower Report found to have "abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act" which provides “The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust".

-- Seek contempt charges against the Governor’s husband, Todd Palin and the state officials who willingly ignored the Legislative Council's subpoenas during the investigation.

-- Hold hearings on whether Gov. Palin and her husband, committed perjury in their sworn statements to Timothy Petumenos, in his function as independent counsel to the Alaska State Personnel Board.

-- Call for an independent investigation to determine if Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg or others engaged in criminal witness tampering in advance of the Branchflower investigation.

A legislative response to Alaskans For Truth reveals another reason why no punishment is expected to be levied. Rep. Mike Doogan (D-Anchorage) was one of only three lawmakers to address their concerns directly, and Alaskans For Truth posted his response HERE. Here's what Doogan had to say about prospective penalties:

Seek contempt charges against the governor’s husband and state officials who ignored subpoenas. Again, we have no contempt-of-the-Legislature powers. We’d have to go to court. Since the Senate Judiciary Committee did not go to court to enforce the subpoenas, I doubt the courts could find those who ignored the subpoenas in contempt. Again, I suppose we could pass a resolution, but I don’t think there’s much more we could do.

Consequently, it appears that the real purpose of the Senate's resolution is simply to ensure that the legislature has the last word on Troopergate rather than Governor Sarah Palin. If Governor Palin is smart, she will leave it there rather than lash out in a tit-for-tat mode as she has in her ongoing feud with the media. Meanwhile, even though Alaskans For Truth are unlikely to reach their specific goals in this case, their advocacy alone could educate enough Alaskans in order to minimize a recurrence of a Troopergate-like scandal.

Fairbanks, Alaska School Board Panders To Transgendered Students, Votes 4-0 To Include "Gender Identity" In The District's Nondiscrimination Policy

On Tuesday February 3rd, 2009, during a meeting of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board, board members began discussion of a proposed amendment to the District's nondiscrimination policy to include gender identity and make "transgendered students" a protected class. They concluded the meeting by voting 4-0 in favor of the amendment, although the amendment was only up for a first reading. The measure would amend six different policies, including policy #130, 131, 534, 1011, 1012, and 1046.7. The District's policy manuals and administrative regulations are accessible via this link. [Note: Photo above left is of the infamous "pregnant man" Thomas Beatie, described in this ABC News report.]

Full story published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, which inexplicably only published favorable reaction to the change (the 191 comments appended to the story make up for that deficiency).

The recommendation for the change was authored by the district’s policy review committee, which promoted the change to ensure the safety and protection of students who identify with a gender different from the gender assigned at birth. The issue was brought to the committee’s attention when a high school administrator and school counselor said students had raised concerns of bullying and harassment toward other students who might be questioning their gender identity.

The current policy addresses sexual orientation but not gender identity — which are two separate issues, according to Gayle Pierce, labor relations director for the district. “Gender identity is a distinctly different issue than sexual orientation,” Pierce said. “Sexual orientation refers to emotional and sexual attraction to another person based upon his or her gender.”

Pierce defined gender identity as referring to a person’s own internal and deeply felt sense of being a man or woman, which can be different from the gender assigned at birth. “These two issues should be specifically addressed because safety and privacy among those dealing with gender identity are not the same as when sexual orientation issues are present,” Pierce said.

A handful of local residents expressed their support of the proposed amendment, including West Valley High School Counselor Jeff Walters, Barbara McCarthy, and a transgendered female, Beverly Chmelik. All played the "safety" and "protection" cards.

Only four of the six serving board members were reported present (one position is vacant and is to be filled via appointment in March). Three of the board members explained their votes. “I support the change in the policy,” school board president Leslie Hajdukovich said. “I think we have to look out for all our students.” Hajdukovich occupies Seat E; term expires October 2011

“I think it’s important that every student feel safe,” board member Sue Hull said. “I hope folks will be sensitive to the needs of all students as we move forward with this policy. It’s very clear cut.” Sue Hull's support is particularly disappointing; she is the Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Rep. Scott Kawasaki's House seat in 2008. Hull occupies Seat C; term expires October 2010.

School board member Sean Rice said the issue of gender identity was relatively new to him but that he supported the amendment. “This is something I really stand for,” Rice said, “and hopefully every kid believes they have a place in our schools and in our community.” Rice occupies Seat F; term expires October 2011.

The next scheduled meeting of the school board is February 17th. The agenda hasn't been published yet; when it is, it will be available via this link. Thus it is unknown whether or not they'll have the second reading of these amendments. Those who are concerned about this issue can contact the school board by e-mail. Collectively: schoolboard@northstar.k12.ak.us

Individually:
-- Leslie Hajdukovich: lhajdukovich@northstar.k12.ak.us
-- Wendy Dominique: raad@gci.net
-- Sue Hull: hull@gci.net
-- Kristina Brophy: kbrophy@northstar.k12.ak.us
-- Sean Rice: srice@northstar.k12.ak.us
-- Howard Thies: arcticmn@gci.net

Analysis: First, there is no need for a special protected "gender identity" class. Each discrimination provision already accounts for both sex and sexual orientation; thus there is already adequate protection. Second, gender and sex are interchangeable. Gender is determined solely by genitalia. Just because a guy "feels" like a girl doesn't make him a girl. This is not a problem from the waist down; it is a problem from the neck up.

This has also created too many problems elsewhere. Remember Lawrence King? His school indulged him, allowed him to wear women's clothes and lipstick. He got capped, and his murderer will probably end up spending most of his life in prison. Two wasted lives. A less severe problem occurred at Southern Utah University when a transgendered activist named Kourt Osborn attempted to get housing in a male dormitory. Osborn looks, dresses and even sounds like a male. But Osborn can't live in a male dormitory at Southern Utah University because, medically, he's still a woman. Osborn says he is undergoing hormone treatment but hasn't had sexual reassignment surgery. And that was a key factor in his recent denial for housing in the spring semester. What a bucket of worms!

In any event, there is only one acceptable outcome. Boys with male genitalia will ONLY use male facilities, girls with female genitalia will ONLY use female facilities. Case closed - no alternatives accepted.

Decrease In Natural Gas Drilling In Utah And Wyoming Does Not Bode Well For Alaska; Conoco And BP Sustained 4Q2008 Losses

We've become so accustomed to and dependent upon Big Oil in Alaska that we take their presence - and their taxes - for granted. We frequently go beyond responsible criticism of their actions and transform them into "al-Qaeda in Alaska".

But the cornucopia isn't bottomless. For the first time in quite a while, two of the Big Three producers experienced quarterly losses. British Petroleum just checked in with a 4Q2008 loss of $3.3 billion, although their overall profit for the year was still $21.2 billion. Earlier, ConocoPhillips reported a stunning 4Q2008 loss of $31.8 billion. Only Exxon reported a profit during 4Q2008 - $7.82 billion. Free-falling oil prices were the catalyst. The "windfall" profits of previous quarters will be used to carry the producers through these upcoming leaner times, but Conoco's losses were significant enough to cause them to trim their workforce by four percent and reduce charitable contributions.

But even though oil & gas prices have now stabilized, the effects have been felt in the Lower 48 as well, where production costs are lower and environmental challenges less severe. On February 3rd 2009, the Deseret News reports that tumbling petroleum prices have slowed the pace of drilling in Utah's biggest gas field, the Uintah Basin, to the lowest level in four years. The number of drilling rigs operating statewide is down to 23, or fewer than half the record number of rigs that were working last August, according to the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

Most of Utah's drilling activity takes place in the Uintah Basin near Vernal, where one operator, Colorado-based Gasco Energy Inc., said declining natural gas prices combined with "sticky high service costs" have made drilling unprofitable. Gasco still operates 120 wells but has put on hold an experiment in horizontal drilling, which can dramatically boost production if the drill finds the right gas seam, typically thousands of feet underground. The number of gas wells completed in January was 63, down from 84 for the same month last year. Drilling is at its lowest level since December 2004.

The slowdown also is being felt in Wyoming, where the number of drilling permits fell to 446 in January from 623 for the same month last year. "That's an indication that the permit activity is slowing," said Bob King, interim supervisor for the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "It hasn't been long enough to make a definite trend, but we definitely have seen a drop."

The point: If production is continuing to slow in Utah and Wyoming, where costs and challenges are less than in Alaska, what reason have we to expect that the producers will suddenly ratchet up production here in Alaska? We have to be prepared for the possibility of a sustained slump. Our penchant for jacking up oil and gas taxes on a whim must cease.

The other point: We must try to create a more business-friendly climate in Alaska. The misguided cruise ship initiative we passed two years ago is now starting to put a damper on cruise ship activity. We just narrowly averted imposing additional restrictions on the mining industry last summer, when we recovered our wits and shot down Ballot Measure 4. If Alaska is open for business, we must talk and act like it.

This becomes even more important now that we know that the Palin Administration busted the bejesus out of their revenue forecast. In December, the Administration forecast a $450 million shortfall based on a projected oil price of $62 per barrel, although leading commodity forecasters were projecting an oil price in the $40-$50 range. Now the Administration is forecasting a $1.65 billion shortfall based on a more realistic $41.17 per barrel oil price. More about this issue on Andrew Halcro's blog. These people in Juneau are a bunch of freaking amateurs. Fortunately, we have over $7 billion in savings, but the Palin crew could end up burning that up in no time.

I don't suggest we roll over like puppy dogs for the Big Three like we sometimes did during the Murkowski Administration, but the anti-producer rhetoric of the current Administration must be moderated. The recent decision by the Department of Natural Resources to allow Exxon to drill two wells at Point Thomson is a cautious step in the right direction. We must see more of this from the Palin Administration.

KTUU Channel 2's Highly Respected Steve McDonald Reportedly Fired By General Manager Susan Lucas In Anchorage, Alaska

Update February 13th: KTUU has re-hired Steve McDonald as news director, although he won't have an on-the-air anchor role. Susan Lucas appears to have taken some responsibility for the snafu.


On his daily program, KFQD's conservative talk show host Dan Fagan just revealed that Steve McDonald (pictured at left), the news director of KTUU Channel 2, Alaska's leading broadcast news outlet, has been fired on February 2nd, 2008 by the station's general manager, Susan Lucas, who herself earlier replaced Al Bramstedt. The Anchorage Daily News has now picked up on the story.

The podcast of Dan Fagan's show will be available HERE by 7 P.M. Alaska time tonight, and will remain up for 24 hours. He first announces the firing almost immediately during the first hour.

Dan Fagan has now explained that there was friction between Steve McDonald and Susan Lucas, which came to a head on Sunday February 1st. Lucas wanted late night anchor Mike Ross to do the local news cut-ins during the Super Bowl telecasts and the late news afterwards. McDonald wanted Jill Burke to perform both tasks. Apparently there was a mix-up in communication; although Ross did the cut-ins, Burke did the later newscasts. Fagan now reiterates this on The Alaska Standard. He believes this merely was the final straw and there could be other issues. To add insult to injury, Fagan has just told us that Lucas actually had Steve McDonald physically escorted from the building.

Susan Lucas confirmed the firing to ADN, but would not divulge details. She disclosed that her phone has been ringing off the hook, but opined that many callers had inaccurate information. Since Dan Fagan was the first to break the story, this implies that she's questioning the accuracy of Fagan's information.

The replacement news director is not an on-the-air news personality. The new lead anchor to replace McDonald is expected to be either Mike Ross, Jason Moore, or Maria Downey. My money is on Ross; he's a natural. And on tonight's 5:00 P.M. broadcast, Mike Ross was indeed anchoring.

Here's his official bio, while it still can be extracted from KTUU's website:

Raised in Ohio, Steve and his wife Jan came to Anchorage in February 1981. They were only supposed to be here for six months so Jan could finish a project for the oil company she was working with at the time, but one look at the Chugach Mountains changed all those plans and the couple decided to make Anchorage their permanent home.

Steve began his broadcasting career spinning records (yes, music was on records back in those days) at KABN radio in Big Lake. A few months later he landed a job with KNIK radio and doing sports play-by-play for its sister station, KBYR.

In 1982, Steve broke into the news business as a reporter at KTVA. Four years later he became news director, where he led a small but spirited group of journalists. At KTVA Steve worked for Alaska broadcasting pioneer Augie Hiebert. It was Mr. Hiebert who taught Steve that it's the job of a journalist to serve the public by providing good, solid and fair information. It's a lesson that's never been forgotten.

In 1996 Steve moved on to Channel 2 News -- a newsroom with the same kind of philosophy. At Channel 2 News, Steve is the news director, helping manage a news team that numbers more than 50. He also reports and anchors from time to time.

Steve has won a number of awards for his reporting, as well as two Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for documentaries that he wrote and produced. Steve and his wife Jan have three kids: Heather, Regina and Michael. Along with his family, Steve enjoys all sports, especially, baseball and playing hockey. He loves riding his mountain bike through Denali National Park and he prays fervently that some day his beloved Cleveland Indians will win the World Series.

You can still e-mail Steve with your support and sympathy HERE for the time being. There's also a Facebook site that will be devoted to Steve McDonald, now available HERE (thanks, Sandra).

You can also contact the station directly to express your opinion about McDonald's firing. KTUU's contact page is HERE (no published e-mail address for Susan Lucas):

-- Phone: 907-762-9202
-- Fax: 907-561-0874
-- E-mail talkback@ktuu.com
-- E-mail mdowney@ktuu.com (Maria Downey, assistant news director)

I have just learned that Susan Lucas is no stranger to "abrupt terminations"; she abruptly resigned from a previous position as president and general manager of KVVU Channel 5 in Las Vegas in August 2004. No reason was given. Nonetheless, I hope that Lucas will step forth and explain this decision publicly. It could be that there's something we don't know. But from my perspective, Steve McDonald was a class act, totally dedicated to journalistic integrity. He wasn't the authoritative class A personality like his predecessor, John Tracy, but he was a consummate professional, and his professionalism rubbed off on the staff (although I wish Leyla Santiago would get rid of the frog in her throat when she speaks). As a matter of fact, it was during McDonald's tenure that Tracy Sinclaire finally became a professional weathercaster and stopped blocking the visual aids while she presents the weather.

Steve McDonald also moderated several candidate debates over the years. He was faultlessly professional and unbiased. He will easily find another job; this could be a potential opportunity for KTVA Channel 11 to hire him and instantly become a much more powerful competitor to Channel 2.

While Alaska's Mount Redoubt Remains Quiet, Three More Volcanoes Go Off: Mt. Sakurajima And Mt. Asama In Japan, Mt. Karymsky In Russia

Update March 22nd: Mount Redoubt erupts to 50,000 feet, ashfall expected in Susitna Valley with slight chance in Anchorage. Details HERE.

As of this post, Alaska's Mount Redoubt remains relatively quiet. According to the latest Anchorage Daily News story, two holes -- one more than the length of a football field across -- have formed in Drift Glacier below the summit. Each of the holes, known as fumaroles, is blowing steam and volcanic gas 2,000 feet into the air. And a vast sunken area known as a "collapse feature" also has appeared in recent hours. And a thin mudflow is streaming down the 10,197-foot mountain. But no eruption. Critical links to monitor:

-- Alaska Volcano Observatory Redoubt Page
-- Latest NOAA Ash Trajectory Forecasts (if it erupts)
-- Mt Redoubt Webcam #1 (Hut)
-- Mt Redoubt Webcam #2 (CI)
-- Webicorder Graph Output

However, three more volcanoes in the Pacific Basin popped their corks this past weekend, spreading ash as far as the Phillipines and Vietnam.

Bloomberg reports that according to information posted by the Japan Meteorological Agency on its website, seven minor eruptions occurred at Mount Sakurajima on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, throwing rocks up to 2 kilometers (link to Sakurajima webcam HERE). In addition, eruptions at Mount Asama in central Japan and Karymsky Volcano on the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka were also reported. There were no reports of damage or injuries. However, Yahoo News reported ashfall from the Asama eruption on some sections of Tokyo. Here is an ITN report of the Asama eruption captured by YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXE9ZRLqpUE



“I woke up after midnight to the sound and shake of the eruption,” Daisuke Tanaka, 24, a convenience-store attendant, who lives about 20 kilometers away from Asama, said by telephone today. “The sound was as if an airplane was taking off nearby and it continued for 30 minutes.”

Chunks of rock from the explosion were found about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) away from the volcano. Ash was detected over a wide area, including central Tokyo, the USAF's Yokota Air Base, and as far as eastern Chiba. In Tokyo's western district of Fussa, the local government office was flooded with calls from residents asking about "the mysterious white powder" falling from the sky and fire departments fielded calls from people afraid the ash was from a nearby blaze.

In the town of Karuizawa, southeast of the volcano, the ash was thick enough to obscure road markings in some areas, town official Noboru Yanagishi said. "Some people said they heard a strange noise in the morning when the eruption occurred," he said.

The Asama eruption was not big enough to disrupt daily life near the volcano, though many people awoke to find their cars covered in a fine layer of powder. National broadcaster NHK showed people in Tokyo lining up to get their cars washed or wiping the ash from their windows, with some drivers saying they first thought it was snow.

In Tachikawa, a district in northwestern Tokyo, some farming areas were coated with ash. "Because it's February and not harvesting season, there was no real damage to any crops," said Shoichi Matsumoto, a local official.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Japan Meteorological Agency had issued an advance warning of Mt. Asama's imminent eruption within 48 hours on February 1st. The warning not only verified, but the eruption actually took place earlier than expected. This is why the Alaska Volcano Observatory continues to believe an eruption of Mt. Redoubt is imminent; it could happen here with little advance notice.

Japan has 108 active volcanoes representing about 10 percent of the world’s total. Forty-three people died in 1991 after Mount Unzen erupted on the southern island of Kyushu, while 15,000 people were evacuated after Mount Usu erupted on the northern island of Hokkaido in 2000. The 2,568 meter Asama, which last had a minor eruption in August 2008, is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan. A major eruption in 1783 killed more than 1,000 people.

I've seen no Russian media reports on the eruption of Mt. Karymsky yet. More information about its history HERE.

More Anti-Smoking Terrorism: Kodiak, Alaska Wal-Mart's Tobacco License Suspended For 30 Days For Allegedly Selling Tobacco To A Minor

The nanny state is alive and well in Alaska. The Wal-Mart in Kodiak has had its license to sell tobacco suspended for 30 days for allegedly selling tobacco to an underage customer.

According to Kodiak's APRN outlet KMXT 100.1 (which includes an audio report), an underage customer attempted to purchase cigarettes at the store. Jennifer Spall, Walmart's public affairs officer for Alaska, explained that the cashier in question did request ID, which was proffered, but then keyed in the wrong information about the customer to the register, which then failed to alert the cashier of an ineligible customer. The register is programmed to flag keyed-in birth dates to alert cashiers to underage customers.

Apparently the license suspension has already taken effect, as Kodiak resident Ashley McClusky, who is not a smoker, said she witnessed tobacco products being removed when she was shopping on Monday January 26th. The suspension will be lifted on March 1st.

Wal-Mart's penance will also include retraining employees in the proper handling of tobacco sales, and effective February 1st, they will also implement a statewide policy of checking I.D.'s for anyone wishing to purchase tobacco products, similar to the store's policies on tobacco and liquor purchases in Anchorage. Walmart also apologized for the incident and for any inconvenience the suspension of tobacco sales may cause customers.

The State of Alaska routinely sends in teenage "narcs" to various stores in order to test cashiers for compliance in sales of alcohol, tobacco, and certain video games. The "narcs" use real IDs in order to avoid entrapment issues.

I have no objection to Wal-Mart carding everyone; I'm accustomed to it in Anchorage. I also have no objection to the state sending in underage "narcs" to test enforcement, since they use real IDs and there is no entrapment. But what I do object to is levying such a drastic penalty upon a merchant, when I can drive by any Anchorage high school and see students standing just outside of school property puffing away frantically (Anchorage School District officials repeatedly state that they can do nothing about it if it occurs off school property, even if they can see it from the school). Why are we punishing stores who inadvertently sell cigarettes to minors more harshly than the minors themselves? The minors are also breaking the law by smoking.

If this happened in Anchorage, the inconvenience to the customer would be marginal, since there are numerous alternatives, but what about a small town like Kodiak? Smokers in Kodiak have fewer alternatives, and they're likely to be more costly than Wal-Mart. Another nitnoid law that disproportionately screws small-town Alaskans.

This proves that our so-called "anti-smoking campaign" directed towards youth is a sham, nothing but smoke and mirrors. We spam the airwaves with cutesy-poo anti-smoking messages, many of which are considered lame by teenagers, at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, crap all over merchants who inadvertently sell a peak of fags to a teenage narc, then wink at teenagers smoking off school property in plain sight of school officials. Like so much of our public policy, it's all style and no substance. And why are we not holding parents accountable? There's no way the parents can NOT know their teenagers are smoking, unless they never set foot in their teenagers' rooms. Too many parents look upon their teenagers' rooms as foreign countries requiring a passport and visa for entry. And courts chip away steadily at parental sovereignty.

A real teenage anti-smoking policy would hold teenagers rigorously accountable for smoking. Either enforce it right, or abolish the law. End the duplicity and ambiguity.

2,080 Inmates Riot At Privately-Run Reeves County Detention Center In Pecos, Texas; Facility Trashed, Geo Group Inc. Suppressing Information

Update February 2nd 4:13 A.M: More updated information posted below in green.

Here's another good reason why we don't allow private prisons in Alaska. As many as 2,080 inmates from two of the Reeves County Detention Center's three buildings in Pecos, Texas began fighting in the prison yard about 4:30 p.m. CST on Saturday January 31st, 2009, according to county Sheriff's Office Dispatcher Anna Granado. It is the second disturbance at the prison facility in the last two months. Media stories from CNN, the Houston Chronicle, the Odessa American, the Associated Press, and NewsWest 9. I'm using CNN's numbers because they're most recent; earlier reports showed only about 1,000 inmates involved.

Authorities from several law enforcement agencies, some from as far away as Terrell County east of Dallas, responded to quell the violence. However, officials had not brought the unrest completely under control as of 1 a.m. Sunday. So far, three inmates have been officially reported hospitalized, including one with a severed finger. But the UrbanPsyche blog reports many other inmates have also been injured. The disparity in reporting would ordinarily be understandable, except the facility is run by a private contractor, Geo Group Inc. They may have a vested corporate interest in suppressing the flow of information; perhaps they're more interested in protecting their stock price.

Update February 2nd: CNN now reports that the disturbance was ended around 4 P.M. on Sunday February 1st. One prison building was heavily damaged, and about 700 inmates will be spending the night in tents. As a precaution, sheriff's deputies and officers from several other agencies remained at the facility Sunday night to augment prison personnel. Beginning Monday, some inmates will be transferred elsewhere until repairs to the damaged building are finished.

Officials claim they do not know what prompted the riots. However, according to the UrbanPsyche blog, which has inside sources, one inmate died because of a lack of timely medical care, and several inmates have died during the past several months due to health care issues. This has now been confirmed in a story by KDBC Channel 4 in El Paso. The lack of medical attention at several privately managed federal correctional facilities has come under considerable scrutiny lately. Here's 13 minutes of raw video from NewsWest 9 embedded below:



Previously, on December 12th, 2008, inmates took two workers hostage and set fire to the recreation area at the center in Pecos, located about 430 miles west of Dallas. The inmates, who had made several demands, surrendered later that night.

Ironically, during the week of January 14th, Reeves County Commissioners, fearing a recurrence of the earlier disturbance, approved spending $70,000 dollars on new fencing. The project would enclose the walkways from the housing unit to the recreation yard. The purpose would be to keep inmates moving from one location to the other and keep them from wandering off. But there was no time to implement the decision before the current outbreak.

The prison is a 2,400-bed, low-security facility, operated by Geo Group Inc. It houses federal prisoners as well as inmates from other states. Many of the inmates are illegal immigrants awaiting deportation back to their home countries. Geo Group Inc. operates 53 facilities in the United States, including one at Guantanamo. Geo Group's corporate history can be found HERE; they started off as a subsidiary of Wackenhut two decades ago, and their stock is publicly traded under the label "GEO".

This caps a bad week for the company. A Geo Group corrections officer was arrested in Indiana for allegedly helping a prisoner escape. Maurice Melton has been suspended without pay from his job at the New Castle Correctional Facility after his arrest on a felony charge of aiding an escape. He was being held in the Henry County Jail. Melton is accused of helping inmate Jeffery Kinartail, McCordsville, leave the dorm Thursday night (Jan 29) and driving him to Indianapolis. Kinartail was serving a sentence for cocaine dealing. Prison officials say Melton expected to be paid for helping in the escape.

These are some good reasons why we don't allow private prisons in Alaska, and why Anchorage voters previously rejected a private prison proposal for South Anchorage back during the '90s. There have been no such outbreaks of mass violence in Alaska's prisons in recent memory. However, to reduce overcrowding, excess Alaska prisoners are housed at the Red Rock institution in Eloy, AZ. This is a privately-run facility operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). And sure enough, on January 8th, two convicted murderers were seriously injured in a brawl involving 60 of the 878 Alaska prisoners housed at the facility. Apparently, private contractors do not teach their COs how to prevent fights from becoming full-scale brawls.