Troopers Use New Armored Vehicle to Arrest Homer Man Firing Pistol

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Photo Credit: Megan Peters

Photo Credit: Megan Peters

Alaska State Troopers used an armored tactical response vehicle Wednesday night to persuade a Homer man to surrender after troopers said he fired a .44-caliber handgun when troopers announced themselves outside his house on Char Court.

Timothy A. Magee, 39, was arraigned Thursday on two counts of third-degree assault, a felony, for causing fear of injury to Wildlife Trooper Trent Chwialkowski and Trooper David Chaffin. He also was charged with fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons for allegedly being drunk while shooting a weapon.

The Special Emergency Response Team responded to the scene with a BearCat armored tactical vehicle, one of three $280,000 trucks purchased last March. This was the first use of a BearCat on the Kenai Peninsula.

No weapons were fired by troopers and no one was hurt in the incident, including a woman at the home at the time, said Lt. Dane Gilmore, deputy commander for E Detachment.

Read more from this story HERE.

Mountain Rescue Ends Well (+video)

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Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kurtz

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kurtz

A distressed hiker on Mount Marathon called into City of Seward Dispatch via 911 at 4:33 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12. Dispatch advised the Seward Fire Department that the hiker was calling from his cell phone and had said that “he was in a bad spot.” Fire department personnel made contact with the stranded hiker to determine an approximate location and identify the best access to him.

Phone conversations and visual scanning of the mountain eventually helped locate the hiker who was clinging precariously to the mountainside on a near vertical slope south of the established climbing and hiking paths.

Rescue crews were transported to the top by Seward Helicopter Tours and then hiked down the ridge to a point above the stranded hiker. During the operation, the fire department volunteers set off a flare which brought another couple of good samaritans racing to the scene.

According to SFD Chief Eddie Athey and Assistant Fire Chief Sean Corrigan, the hiker had received a laceration to the head, and was dehydrated and disoriented.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lisa Murkowksi, Quoting Reagan, Embraces Homosexual Marriage

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Photo Credit: John Shinkle

Photo Credit: John Shinkle

Lisa Murkowski endorsed the right of gay couples to marry on Tuesday, joining Rob Portman and Mark Kirk as the third Republican senator to do so…

Murkowski told POLITICO that it was no overnight epiphany.

“I didn’t just wake up and say: ‘Oh my gosh I’m going to do this. No, it’s something that I’ve been giving a lot of thought to over a long period of time,” Murkowski said…

[See Murkowski’s Gay Marriage Views ‘Evolving’ HERE from March 28, 2013]

Murkowski portrayed support for gay marriage as support for smaller government and less federal intrusion and said it was in line with long-held Republican values.

“Like Reagan, Alaskans believe that government works best when it gets out of the way. Countless Alaskans and Americans want to give themselves to one another and create a home together. I support marriage equality and support the government getting out of the way to let that happen,” Murkowski wrote.

Read more from this story HERE.

Months Later, Deafening Silence from Alaska State Government Regarding Investigation of Assault, Interference with Juneau Pro-Life Protest

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photo compre“What does it mean to be illegal? When you go through these various scandals, you are told “this was illegal, that was illegal, the next thing’s illegal.” Nobody gets held accountable. Nobody gets fired. Nobody goes to jail. So what does it mean to say these things are illegal? It’s just part of the decay of bureaucratic big government that is across the board just beginning to fall apart.” —Newt Gingrich

The scandals of the Obama Administration are what Newt Gingrich was speaking of. But he might as well had been speaking of what has happened in the aftermath of events on the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on April 2nd and 3rd of this year when a group of peaceful law-abiding citizens exercising their First Amendment Rights to free speech and assembly, were accosted, physically assaulted, and threatened by employees of the Department of Administration and the Legislative Branch. Using state vehicles and resources, state employees carried out illegal acts that also violated parking laws in an attempt to thwart a peaceful demonstration.

Governor Parnell’s office made a non binding, non committal statement that they would look into the matter when it first happened on April 2 and would make sure it didn’t happen again. Much to the shock, amazement, and frustration of the demonstrators, it did happen, even more strongly, the very next day. So much for Parnell’s standing up to defend Alaskans’ state and federal rights.

Senator Dunleavy was notified and on the Senate Floor spoke of these instances, calling them an outrage and asked that a Senate investigation be carried out.
Senator Huggins, as Senate President has stated in the interim, that a full investigation is underway and for people to allow time the process to work.

After waiting over two months for “the process to work,” I wrote Senator Huggins a letter by email, outlining my concerns [see letter below] on June 7, 2013. Well, it is now June 18th. I have yet to hear a single word from Senator Huggins, except for an automated response stating that his office had received my letter and that he would reply shortly. Apparently, Senator Huggins must use a different dictionary than me since “shortly” is long past and I fear as I said in my letter, it appears that Senator Huggins wants “this matter to be swept under the proverbial rug.”

“We need to fundamentally shake up the entire big government system. There has been a deep deep decay of the bureaucracy of this country—it’s out of control—it’s unaccountable—nobody manages it.—Newt Gingrich

So when people in high positions of leadership in our government, whether it be state or federal, violate and infringe on laws and fundamental GOD-given rights that are protected by the Constitution, both state and federal, and are not held accountable to those laws by others in government and the courts, what is the point first of all, of the laws, and secondly of all the money that is taken from hardworking Americans to pay these leaders whose job IS to uphold the Constitution?

_____________________________________________________________

Senator Charlie Huggins
Senate President

June 7, 2013

Dear Senator Huggins,

I am writing you today regarding the incidents that occurred on or near the Alaska state capitol steps on April 2nd and 3rd of 2013, when the First Amendment rights of peaceful law abiding citizens were violated. [see link]

Many concerned Alaskans, including myself, contacted Senator Dunleavy and asked him to get to the bottom of the issue. He had told us the Senate was investigating this matter.

He has been asked on more than one occasion since then, what the status of that investigation was. His response has been that it is his understanding that it is being investigated and if we want more information we need to contact your office.

Therefore I am contacting you to ascertain what is the status of this investigation? Sen Dunleavy has asked us to give the Senate time to investigate—we have. However it is long past due for a response. Sen Dunleavy asked us to trust in the process—we have. But in the words of the great President Ronald Reagan, we trust but must verify. What is the status?

I hope to hear from you shortly, with a full explanation and straight answers. Given the recent failures of government on Washington D.C. we still want to believe that our rights in Alaska will be protected. However, should this not be the case, I and others are prepared to take this matter to a higher level such as going even further with the news media, ACLU, Liberty Counsel, Heritage Foundation, and any other organization interested in transparent government. We will not let this matter drop. We will not allow this matter to be swept under the proverbial rug. The actions that occurred were blatant violations of the First Amendment. The perpetrators, regardless of position—up to the highest level of government, who ordered Alaska State government employees, property, such as vehicles, and other state resources to carry out these illegal acts—must be held accountable and charged with penalties to the fullest extent of the law.

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
Amy Walker
Palmer, Alaska

As Alaska Goes, So Goes America?

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

Mid-term elections are problematic for the party holding the Presidency; mid-term elections following scandals or highly divisive policy choices are particularly problematic.

The Republican Party experienced disaster in 1974 following Watergate, the granddaddy of all modern political scandals, losing 49 seats in the House and four in the Senate, giving Democrats a filibuster-proof majority in that body. When Reagan won his second term in 1984 (carrying 49 out of 50 states), the GOP held a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate only to give up 8 seats in 1986 and control to the Democrats following the Iran-Contra Affair.

Bill Clinton sold himself as a New Democrat in 1992, but after seeking to implement Hillarycare and raising taxes, voters sent his party to the cleaners in 1994, with the Republicans gaining back control of the House (in a 54 seat swing) and the Senate (9 seat change) for the first time since the 1950s.

The mid-term elections of 2010 followed a strikingly similar path. After the passage of the Stimulus Bill and Obamacare, the Democrats experienced the greatest reversal of party fortunes in House history. The GOP picked up 63 seats and leadership of the House, as well as 6 seats in the Senate, though Democrats retained control of that body.

Both scandal and unpopular policy choices are once again in the mix as 2014 begins to take shape, and the outcomes in a few key states may change the entire balance of power in Washington.

Read more from this story HERE.

Unusual Record-Setting Heat Wave Baking Alaska (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to residents of the 49th state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven — or a tropical paradise.

With temperatures topping 80 degrees in Anchorage, and higher in other parts of the state, people have been sweltering in a place where few homes have air conditioning.

They’re sunbathing and swimming at local lakes, hosing down their dogs and cleaning out supplies of fans in at least one local hardware store. Mid-June normally brings high temperatures in the 60s in Anchorage, and just a month ago, it was still snowing.

Read more from this story HERE.

Legislation Finalizing Sealaska Land Claims Advances in U.S. Senate

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Photo Credit: SitNews

Photo Credit: SitNews

The Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization and Jobs Protection Act (S. 340) was approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by unanimous voice vote. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

The measure provides Sealaska Corp., the Alaska Native regional corp. for Southeast Alaska, with 70,075 acres to finalize transfer of land owed to the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).

“It has taken six years, but today we’ve taken a major step toward fulfilling the promise made to Southeast’s 20,000 Alaska Natives more than four decades ago,” U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said. “This has been a difficult process because every acre of the Tongass is precious to someone, but we have worked tirelessly with all of the stakeholders to address their concerns. I truly believe that all of that work has resulted in the best bill possible. It will help the region’s timber industry grow, while at the same time protect more than 150,000 acres for fisheries and habitat.”

Under ANCSA, which extinguished aboriginal land claims in Alaska, Sealaska was entitled to an estimated 375,000 acres of the 16.9-million acre Tongass National Forest to help improve the livelihoods of its shareholders. The government never made good on its promise.

Sealaska is currently owed some 85,000 acres, but under the compromise worked out in Murkowski’s bill it will accept about 15,000 acres less in exchange for 68,400 acres for timber harvesting, 1,099 acres for renewable energy resource and recreational tourism projects, and 490 acres of Native cemetery and historic sites.

Read more from this story HERE.

Murkowski, Rubio Join With Democrats to Kill Border Fence Amendment to Immigration Bill

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said late Tuesday that he supports securing the United States border with Mexico with a double-tiered fence but voted against an amendment to the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill that would have required exactly that.

Rubio and his fellow Gang of Eight Republicans helped the Democrats kill an amendment from Sen. John Thune (R-SD) that would have required the double-tiered fence be built, as current law requires, before amnesty was granted to America’s at least 11 million illegal immigrants. The only other Republican to vote against the amendment was Sen. Lisa Murkowski…

The amendment would have undercut Rubio’s promise to Univision’s Spanish-speaking audience this past weekend that amnesty would come before border security in the end. “First comes the legalization. Then come the measures to secure the border.” He added, “It is not conditional. The legalization is not conditional.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Makes Obama an Offer He Should, But Won’t Take

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Photo Credit: Human Events

Photo Credit: Human Events

When President Ronald Reagan recommended in 1987 that Congress should reopen a small sliver of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas exploration, it started an epic battle between those who believe more U.S. energy supplies make us more energetic and those who argue that we should not use or produce any more oil. Now, in an unexpected but bold move, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell has proposed that the Department of Interior join with the State of Alaska to fund a new, updated assessment of just how much oil and gas might exist under ANWR’s frozen tundra. It is a deal Obama should take, as it could settle once and for all the issue by providing ANWR’s owners — the American public – the information they need to make a decision.

Over almost 30 years, numerous bills to open ANWR have passed either the House or the Senate, and in one case, both bodies passed the bill, only to have it be vetoed by President Clinton. President Obama has stood firmly on the side of the anti-energy environmentalists against opening ANWR – the same ones who forced him to keep studying the Keystone XL pipeline to death – and therefore no one has expected any bill that might pass the House to be given a vote in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid decides what gets on the Senate calendar after getting his marching orders from President Obama. Part of the argument over ANWR has been over how much oil and gas might exist there.

Over those same 30 years, the information President Reagan based his decision on has gotten older and less relevant, given today’s technology for finding and producing oil. In 1984 and 1985, when the winter government seismic assessment program took place, technology was limited to 2 dimensional images (2D) with very little clarity and interpretative value. The government’s estimate of 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil at well below today’s prices, would be worth $1 trillion or more to our economy at today’s oil prices. But the government also estimated that the total oil in ANWR was between 16 and 42 billion barrels. Any of these numbers place ANWR in the highest class of oil reserves in the world. But the story could get much, much better.

In the thirty years since those estimates, the technology in the oil and gas business has gotten spectacularly better. Computers were very limited then, but today, the likelihood of oil and gas is found using 3 dimensional (3D) and even 4 dimensional (4D) analysis which shows what might have happened to hydrocarbons underground over time. When combined with new drilling as well as interpretive computing and materials technologies which would make NASA jealous, these amazing breakthroughs are remaking the United States and North America into the energy supergiant of the world. Governor Parnell’s proposal simply asks the president to join Alaska in the search for more information for the public about what they own, using the best technologies in the world in the dead of winter on some of the most forbidding territory in the world. An area, by the way, where the indigenous Inupiat Eskimo people overwhelming support efforts to find oil and gas in their traditional lands.

The implications of such new information could be staggering. In 1995 – 10 years after the ANWR report — the government estimated that the area around the famous Bakken formation in North Dakota held 151 million barrels of recoverable oil. Their estimate today is that the area holds 7.5 billion barrels, almost 50 times as much! If new information and new technologies had the same effect in ANWR that they have had on the Bakken, that would equate to about 500 billion barrels of oil, worth $50 trillion to our economy over its development.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Man, 63, Charged With DUI on Shopping Cart

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dui on shopping cart

Photo Credit: Tobyotter

Police arrested an Alaska man who they say was driving a motorized shopping cart while drunk and in possession of stolen cookies and cake mix.

Merrill K. Moses, 63, was arraigned this week in Fairbanks on charges of drunken driving, shoplifting and refusing to take an official sobriety test. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 5, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday.

A grocery store employee called police Wednesday night after seeing Moses drive into parking lot traffic. The employee was worried that Moses would collide with a car.

“When an officer arrived, a store employee was holding onto the handlebars of the cart to keep the suspect from driving any further,” said Sgt. Bruce Barnette at the Fairbanks Police Department.

Read more from this story HERE.