Smokin' in The Good Ol' Boys Room / Pay Cuts for Workers, Pay Raises for the OverLords

Just when you think that things down in Juneau couldn't get any more atrocious, Mike 'COS' Chenault had a personal $74,000 item approved by the House - a "capitol stair landing" AKA a covered outdoor smokers' lounge.  Seems that Mike and his COS, Tom Wright, both smokers, feel entitled to a few more perks and damn it, the state should support their nasty habits.


If you haven't read the OpEd by Andree McLeod about the recent pay raises that Gov Parnell has given his personal staff, please take a minute and do so.  Parnell has been calling for ordinary state workers to take a pay cut and, of course, is all about denying the working poor a chance to be covered by health insurance (that would mostly be paid for by the feds), but he's also all about doling out extravagant pay raises to his staff. Keep in mind that none of these folks even have a job description.  His four aids will now cost the state some $1 million is pay and benefits in one year.

The fiscally conservative, lead-by-example Republicans that we keep electing are doing such a good job giving our money away to each other and the oil companies. 

The Alaskan GOP: The Party of Bear-Shit Crazy

Being an Alaskan political blogger has become a full-time occupation since the current legislative session began in January. Our local republicans have been accused of conflicts of interest (Micciche); ignoring the US Constitution (Chenault); padding their paychecks by keeping office supply money (Chenault and Olson); reinventing history by exonerating Exxon from culpability in the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Olson); sending an email to a secretary with the message 'What a crock of shit'(Chenault); making fart jokes in the Alaska House of Representatives (Chenault) and explaining why he voted to override a citizens' initiative and thereby letting cruise ships dump sewage in coastal areas by saying that Anchorage already does so (Micciche).

In this breaking story, GOP Party Chairperson, Debbie Holle Brown has now barricaded herself in the Republican Party Headquarters in Anchorage, had the locks changed and has threatened to have anyone entering the building arrested. Apparently, she's doing this to keep the old guard (Randy Ruedrich) from re-taking control of the party after Brown and fellow teabagger, Russ Millete took over in the Ron Paul coup last year.  Ruedrich already out maneuvered Millette by exposing Russ's lack of fund-rasing experience and general incompetence and had Millette demoted...

Crazy!

April 9th Update:
Debbie's out.  The GOP executive committee voted to remove Brown as the chairperson citing that she had raised less than $1000 for the party.  Since expenses were around $4000/month, the executive board said it was business, not politics that guided their decision.

Crude Dreams/Crude Schemes

Jack Roderick, long-time Alaskan public servant, oil industry analyst and author of Crude Dreams which examines the often slimly roll that the gas and oil industry has had with Alaskan politicians (Veco/Corrupt Bastards Club) gave public testimony the other day about the House and Senate bills that takes billions of dollars out of the state's coffers and gives it to oil companies.  He's not afraid to tell it like it is.  The senate bill passed by the absolute narrowest margins, 11-9 and two of the votes for the break came from ConocoPhillips managers, now in the Alaskan Senate, Kevin Meyer and SOLDotna's own Peter Micciche.

Roderick just put out on OpEd in the Alaska Dispatch.  You can read it here.

It's been reported all around the state how it's an obvious conflict of interest that these two were not only allowed to vote, but they were both on committees that pushed the bill through the senate. Roderick imagines that the national press will soon have a good time (once again) ridiculing politics here in the 49th state.  Let's see, a governor that was an oil company lawyer and lobbyist, two senators on the payroll of a major oil company, and a dozen representatives with direct or family ties to the industry vote for a bill that will enrich every last one of them.  And of course, the Republican party had to engage in some gerrymandering to get their way.

Roderick is annoyed (as we all should be) about the conflict of interest, but what particularity annoys him is that the money has been given to the oil companies without any requirement that they produce more oil or hire more Alaskans.

As previously mentioned in this blog and elsewhere, is that Senator Gary Steven's rider that would sunset the new tax scheme after three years if the extra oil wasn't produced  was defeated by the same 9-11 vote.  If the point of the give-away is to spur production, shouldn't we have that clause as an incentive for the majors to actually spur production?

Another Republican Makes Sense

I hope you all got to read Bert Stedman's Compass piece in today's ADN. If not take a few minutes to read it here.

Stedman, the Alaskan state senator from Craig and a Republican, is an accountant by trade and voted against Senate Bill 21 which gives multi-billion dollar tax breaks to oil companies without requiring  them to step up production.  Stedman makes several points and that I wish that our local legislatures, Peter Miciche, Mike Chenault and Kurt Olson would have the integrity and maybe the balls to respond to in detail.  Don't count on it.  Chenault and Olson have proven over and over again that the concept of integrity doesn't apply to them.  Micciche, a Conoco/Phillips manager, doesn't seem to know what the word means.

Questions that Senator Stedman has:
1) Why is the AK Dep't of Revenue's prediction of oil production in legacy fields twice the rate established by the major oil companies?
2) Why has the progressive tax rate been eliminated?  Alaskans own the oil, and progressive taxes are the compensation for the value of the oil at international rates. Otherwise we are selling our oil for 1990 prices.  That is insane! The progressive tax is just the way we Alaskans charge the market rate for oil coming out of the ground.
3) What drastic cuts are those who voted for the bill proposing to make up the monetary shortfall the state will now experience? Come on, let us know what you will fund (Knik Arm Bridge? Susitna Dam? Roads to Resources? Two gas pipelines?) and which you will cut (Education? Health Care? Rural energy? Mental health programs? Unfunded liability to state retirement systems?)


It's good that there are a few republicans left that ask honest questions and expect honest answers before selling out Alaska.  It's too bad that none of our local legislatures aren't that honest.

I have three additional questions:
Why not have the amendment that would revert that tax structure back to ACES if the oil companies didn't step up production?  If the goal is to step up production, why not make it mandatory?

If oil did drop to $40 a barrel as Kurt Olson mentioned at the recent town hall meeting in SOLdotna, how much more production would be needed to have the same amount of revenue come to the state as we are now getting and should we expect that much extra production with the new bill?

Why has Gov Parnell not allowed the experts he has hired to look into the tax law to testify to the legislature and why haven't the three oil-company stooges we have representing us demanded that information?

Well, Micciche, Chenault and Olson, got any honest answers?

Micciche: Doing Something Stupid in Juneau

To nobody's surprise, the Alaska senate passed the massive tax break bill for the major oil companies.  The vote that will give these companies billions of dollars of extra profits was predictable.  All seven of the Democrats voted no along with two Republicans, Stedman and Stevens.  The remaining 11 Republicans voted in favor of the give-away, including two ConocoPhillips managers that serve on the Senate, Keven Meyer and SOLdotna's own Peter Micciche.  In most places on the planet, Meyer and Micciche wouldn't be allowed to vote because of conflict of interest, but Alaska law is very lax about that.  While both men declared that they did have that conflict, all it took was the objection of their fellow Republicans to override the declaration.  The best government money can buy.

When asked about restructuring oil taxes, Peter said last month, “I think we have enough votes to do something stupid. My job is to make sure we don’t,” he said. “If it’s fair and protects Alaskans, I’m likely to be for it. If it goes the governor’s way, I probably won’t.”  Well, basically the bill isn't fair and it doesn't protect Alaskans, but it does pad the already record profits of oil companies.  Stunningly, there is no requirement of any extra production from the oil companies.  That is simply stupid.  But what can you expect from people who get their paychecks from the folks that will gain the most from this legislation?

Micciche was able to get his amendment passed that kept the base rate at 35% rather than the 33% the finance committee recommended, but that 'compromise' does little more than placate his ego that he is the great compromiser.

The vote was also 11-9 opposed to Steven's amendment that would have sun-setted the new law if the oil companies didn't step up production.  There's the moment of truth.  If the bill is supposed to stimulate production according to the R's who supported it, why not make sure that it does?  By voting against Steven's amendment, there is no question that this bill is a sham and designed only to give away the resources that each and every one of us in Alaska owns.

Micciche has stated that no one can explain why a progressive tax is any good.  Well Pete, it's called capitalism: supply and demand.  What business would sell their product for a low price when they could easily get a whole lot more for it?

Well, it is what it is.  Next up it will be curious to see how the senate and our own former mayor will vote on spending bills.  How much will they spend on the Susitna Dam, the two gas pipelines, the Knik Arm Bridge, the Port of Anchorage, public funding of private schools and other such boondoggles being proposed?  Let's face it we're SOL n Alaska these days.

Mike Chenault: COS eats COS

Click to enlarge this COS

Mike Chenault is a hack-blogger's dream and this past weekend, has shown Alaskans what he is made of:  A steamy pile of Shit!

Here's what happened.  The secretary for the mayor of Valdez sends an email letter to Gov Parnell and all state legislatures that encourages them to consider moving forward with a large diameter natural gas pipeline that would have Valdez for its terminus.  Nothing wrong with advocating for your own home town, right?

Mike Chenault, or someone using Mike's email and signing off as Mike, replies to one and all,

"What a crock of shit"

SOL will refer to this reply as COS for expediency.

The email reply goes to the secretary who is mortified to received such a vulgar response from the Alaskan Speaker of the House.  The mayor of Valdez, Dave Cobb, is also a bit offended, but the guy has some dignity and wit.  He's quoted as saying "I'm not going to stoop to his level, but I'd like to."

Well, after the COS hit the fan, the brainiacs at Chenault headquarters went into spin control.  It was decided that Mike's Chief of Staff (SOL will use COS for expediency) would take the blame.  So an apology, not from Mike (who thinks he is hot shit or that his shit doesn't stink), but from Tom Wright (the COS) who says he accessed Mike's email and sent out the reply intended for Mike's peers and it was inadvertently sent out to the secretary.

Do you believe that COS?

So, Mike's COS is the fall guy for Mike's COS remark and has to eat the contents of the COS.  Mike might have a large body and even larger ego, but he must have the tiniest set of balls to not man up on this one.  If he let Wright access his email and send out a reply like that, he should fire the COS. The apology should have come from Chenault in any case, where exactly does the buck stop?

Can you belive that crock of shit?
Check out the story here in the Valdez Star and here on the Mudflats

The bigger issue, of course is the natural gas pipeline.  I'll have a post about that coming up.

SOL in Alaska

Oh, Crap, and I literally mean Oh, Crap. 

One of the first bits of legislation passed by the Republican controlled House of Representatives has been HB80 sponsored by Republican Governor S Parnell. It repeals the rest of the citizens initiative passed back in 2006 that prohibited cruise ships from pumping sewage into Alaskan waters.  Parnell had previously weakened the initiative by cutting back a cruise ship tax that was meant to finance the infrastructure in those towns that were impacted by cruise ship tourists. It was just COINCIDENCE that Parnell proposed the tax roll-back after the cruise industry treated the governor to a cruise.  Move along people, there's nothing to see here, just republicans serving their masters.  Oh, and that is not you, fine citizens of Alaska.

HB 80 pretty much give a green light to cruise ships to dump their sewage and waste water most anywhere and without having to bother to tell people where they took their dump.  I can see there will be a lot of happy commercial fishermen out in PWS, Glacier Bay and the gulf as they pull in nets filled with shit.

So, the voters of Alaska approve of an initiative, and Republicans feel that they can go around the desires of the people?  Obviously...

Unless it is something that they don't really want to do.

Quoted yesterday, House Speaker, Mike Chenault of Nikiski said "The voters have spoken..." voicing his reluctance to support resurrecting a coastal management program. A program he opposes because he doesn't want local communities to have a say in what might happen in their areas.

But from out of the other side of his mouth, Chenault has no problem ignoring what the voters have said about cruise ship sewage. 

Folks, it is only going to get worse!

The Brown Queen of the GOP: Through the Looking Glass, Comically

It's official, Russ Millette, the elected chair of the Alaska GOP was ousted last night by the Republican Party leadership and in his place, Kasilof's own Debbie Holle Brown has ascended the throne.

Former party chair, currently under investigation for various shenanigans, Randy Ruedrich led the coup.  Claiming that Millette was basically incompetent, a charge that no one disputes, the Republican Executive Committee decided to have Debbie Brown, the elected vice-chair, take over the top position.

Yes, THAT Debbie Brown who always had something (inane) to say at Kenai Borough Assembly meetings.  THAT Debbie Brown that asked to have the three-minute public testimony allowance expanded just for her because it took her at least three minutes to give her introduction to what she was going to say.  That Debbie Brown whose word salads make Sarah Plain seem like a Rhodes Scholar. THAT Debbie Brown who when serving on the Kenai school board, the rest of the board and school superintendent had to create a new rule to keep her from making unauthorized, and well, crazy statements on behalf of the board. 

Brown, who herself was under investigation for misusing Party funds apparently was cleared, but her husband, former borough assemblyman Jack Brown, faces over $30,000 in fines by APOC for misusing District 34 funds.

Well, does Ruedrich and the old republican guard think they can use Brown as a puppet?  Do they think she has the capacity to really lead the party?  Will she actually have any power?

Ruedrich and company are not taking chances.  They've already transferred the republican political war chest to a fund out of Brown's reach.

It will be fun watching to see how all of this will unfold. 

Ethics 101 for Micciche

Former Soldotna mayor and now state senator, Peter Micciche made the front page of the ADN Wednesday in an article that addresses his possible conflict of interest.  It's common knowledge that Micciche is a superintendent at the Conoco Phillips LNG plant in Nikiski and he now serves on the senate resource committee and on two other senate committees that involve the gas and oil including acting as vice chairman of the special committee evaluating the governor's oil-tax bill.

It's reasonable then, that Alaskans might have some concerns of a possible conflict of interest. A mid-level executive for one of the big-three oil companies will now help make the rules that regulate and tax those very companies.

Peter dismisses the idea that there is a conflict and vows that his desire to serve honorably will be easy to track.  He cites the 2008 ethics committee's conclusion that let then Representative Kevin Meyer, another Conoco-Phillips employee, vote on matters involving oil production. If the ethics committee OK'd Meyers, he concludes that they would do the same for him. Meyers now also serves in the senate. The ethics committee cleared Meyers to vote on matters concerning the oil industry, but did Meyers serve on committees that might advance big oil agendas?

Let's take a look at the Alaska legislature's code of ethics:

(1) high moral and ethical standards among public servants in the legislative branch of government are essential to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the people of this state;
(2) a fair and open government requires that legislators and legislative employees conduct the public's business in a manner that preserves the integrity of the legislative process and avoids conflicts of interest or even appearances of conflicts of interest;
(3) the public's commitment to a part-time citizen legislature requires legislators be drawn from all parts of society and the best way to attract competent people is to acknowledge that they provide their time and energy to the state, often at substantial personal and financial sacrifice;
(4) a part-time citizen legislature implies that legislators are expected and permitted to earn outside income and that the rules governing legislators' conduct during and after leaving public service must be clear, fair, and as complete as possible; the rules, however, should not impose unreasonable or unnecessary burdens that will discourage citizens from entering or staying in government service;

Point 1 is a given.  The rub is that what one person considers ethical, another might find immoral. It's essential to keep in mind that these ethics rules are set to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the people of this state. I think that politicians need to understand that they have to be reasonably ethically responsible to all people in the state, not just to those who agree with their politics.

The second clause is also open to interpretation, but the closing few words, avoids conflicts of interest or even appearances of conflicts of interest, applies to Mr Micciche.  Certainly, Micciche can bring some knowledge of the oil and gas industry, especially an understanding of LNG, but as a mid-level manager, there does appear to be a conflict of interest with him serving on these committees.  If he pushes forward with Parnell's ACES overhaul, at least 40% of the voters are going to think he is in cahoots with his employers.  The ONLY way Peter can avoid the appearance of conflict of interest is to remove himself from these committees AND to go before the ethics board to see if he should recuse himself from even voting on oil and gas issues.

The third condition notes the difficulties citizen-legislatures have.  It is legitimate to have oil industry employees in the house and senate.  Their knowledge and insight to resource extraction is needed.

Peter dances around the fourth clause.  While he has provided the minimum amount of information in his financial disclosure, to be completely above suspicion, he should release a more detailed accounting of his salary and his stock holdings.  His backs off of his own pledge to serve honorably by being easy to track, by choosing to hide his complete financial ties to the oil/gas industry.

Peter has issues with how integrity and ethics apply to politicians. In the ADN article, he justifies his own committee memberships by (incorrectly) noting that Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a lawyer for the IBEW, served on the Labor and Commerce committee, but then withdraws that statement saying that he wasn't sure if Wielechowski actually was a member. Of course, the truth is that Wielechowski didn't and doesn't serve on that committee, well because in Bill's own words, "I just think it's inappropriate. It raises the appearance of impropriety. I work for the labor union. Sitting on the labor committee, it just didn't feel right to me."  But in his own mind, sitting on committees that will govern the hand that feeds him seems OK to Micciche.  He thinks that can justify his own ethics, we all should, well, trust him.  Who needs stinking ethics rules saying that there shouldn't be appearances of a conflict of interest?  It's not as if Alaskan legislatures have been found guilty of corruption any time recently, right?

That concept is lost on Peter. In his own mind, he can separate his professional life from his legislative life, but justifying ones own honor is not what the code of ethics is all about.


On his Facebook site, Peter slams the previous senate's bi-partisan makeup, which had a republican as the president and a fair mix of people from both parties on committees.  He touts the current senate majority's makeup as truly being bi-partisan.  Well, there are only two Dems that joined that coalition,  and Dems, who account for about 40% of the voters in Alaska, have been shut out as players.  Micciche likes to make up his own reality about what constitutes a balance of power. As long as you agree with Peter, you are fair and balanced.

If you're curious about how Peter and ethics sometime diverged when he was mayor of Soldotna, you can follow some links listed below.

Attempted Hutchings Building/Chamber of Commerce purchase:

May Day, May Day - Corporate Welfare in SOLdotna Day (Peter commented as FromSoldotnawithLove on this post)

May Day Vote Update

Central to the Debate (from the Redoubt Reporter)

The Soldotna Cemetery Debacle:

The Burial Plot Thickens

 

,

State of the State: The Madness Begins

The Best Big Oil Can Buy  Chris Miller — Associated Press

The legislature has gaveled in and the Republican-led House, Senate and executive branch has begun what might be the craziest session in AK history.  Let's take a look at some of what is being proposed:

1) The Kenai's own Mike Chenault has introduced HB 9, legislation that could result in the arrest of federal agents if they tried to enforce any possible future national gun control laws.  The new federal proposals include ammo clips designed to hold more than 10 rounds as well as automatic weapons. Never mind that the Alaskan law would be void as it violates the US Constitution.   Alaska has the highest rate of all states per capita of deaths by guns, only DC has more gun-related deaths. One might think that our politicians might offer something to address the problem rather than ways of making it worse.

2) Not to be outdone, Republican Bob Lynn has introduced HB 55 that would allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms.  Hey, now that we have over 300 million guns in the US and we in Alaska are doing all we can to make it easy for everyone to pack heat, let's face it, there's going to be more and more school shootings. The Republican/NRA answer is to turn the country into an armed nightmare.

3) Republican Mark Neuman has offered up a stand-your-ground gun law that would make it legal to blow someone away anywhere you are legally allowed to be.  Seriously.  Anyone remember the shooting at The Sports Authority a few years back? Thanks to our already lax laws, two gangbangers were let free despite shooting and killing another doper in the parking lot there.  The dead guy, who had stolen some bling from a pusher, saw the hit men coming, pulled his gun, but was slow on the draw.  Since he had pulled down, it was OK for the other gangsters to shoot away. In the middle of the day with customers all around. I think some of these politicians have watched too many spaghetti westerns.

The logic behind both of these bills escapes me. It does seems that the 2nd amendment to our constitution has trumped the whole purpose of that document as stated in its preamble: to provide for domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare of citizens. I know of 20 kids and 5 teachers who no longer have life and liberty and I know that their families are not going to be able to pursue happiness for quite some time.

The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and religion. As a nation, we have restricted speech in some cases. There are laws prohibiting libel, threats, and yelling fire in a crowded theater. We have restricted religious beliefs by outlawing polygamy and hallucinogenic drugs used in religious ceremonies.

But we'd rather bury children than confront the problems guns cause.

4) Republican Wes Keller has proposed a bill to allow the state to fund religious schools.  Cool - can't wait to see the reaction when a madrassa (Islamic relgious school) requests to be let in on the gravy train.

5)Republicans Eric Feige and Charisse Millett are trying to restrict local governments, native organizations, citizens and environmental groups from questioning resource development and would require these people/groups to post a bond which would be forfeited if they lost in court.

6) Republicans Neuman and Charlie Huggins have proposed legislation that would pump millions more into the Knik Arm Bridge.  Yes, Republicans, the party of fiscal conservatives (well only when Dems are spending), would throw money at this project that reeks of cronyism, cost-over runs and would primarily benefit their buddies with property near the project.

Of course, the Biggies are the Corporate Welfare Bills that the bi-partisan Senate had stymied the last two sessions:

7) Republicans House Speaker Mike Chenault and Rep. Mike Hawker have introduced HB 4, to fund a 24" natural pipeline from the slope.  Initially, there would be $335 million of state money appropriated, but the cost of that pipeline would be around $8 Billion and that's without considering overruns.  The stunning thing about this bill is that the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation work and reports would all be done in secret and with no oversight.  And then there's the competing large-bore pipeline that TransCanada/AGEA is now proposing instead of that original plan to pump natural gas through Canada and into the midwest. Alaska has already committed $500 million for that. Two in-state pipeline projects...?  Really?

8) Then there's the $2 Billion/year giveaway to the major oil companies that Governor Parnell is still trying to pitch.  It got nowhere with the bi-partisan in the past, but that safety net is no longer there.

I wonder how many of these bills will become law?  Thanks to gerrymandering and now with no opposition (despite 40% of the voters casting ballots for Dems last election), we could be about to witness the complete sell-out of Alaska.

TrooperGate Sequel: The Brother-In-Law

For the record, I didn't vote for SP, but I have to admit I was more-or-less impressed with the first few months of her term as governor. Her downhill slide began with Troopergate and if you remember that scandal, it involved the Kenai when she appointed Chuck Kopp as the head of the Dep't of Public Safety.  Chuck had a few skeletons in his closet, namely having several sex harassment charges brought against him by women who worked for the city of Kenai. He lasted about two weeks on that new job when the news about the charges escaped the gravitational abyss of the Kenai City Council .  I'm not writing now to rehash those memories, but it seems that the current governor has now appointed a former Pennsylvania judge to a state job. That non-Alaskan seems to have used his connection to Chuck Kopp and the christian right in Alaska to get the appointment. Oh, and that ex-judge is under investigation for illegally destroying evidence in a drug case and 16 other criminal cases and has a domestic violence restraining order against him. He was removed as a criminal court judge as a result and resigned shortly afterward. The PA judge in question, Paul Pozonsky, is married to Chuck Kopp's sister, Sarah

Alrighty, let's check out the chain of events.

1) Chuck Kopp was asked to step down as head of DOS after 2 weeks and given $10,000 for the bother.  He then took a law enforcement position in King Salmon for a while.

2) Chuck and his wife are hired by AK Senator Fred Dyson.  Chuck is Dyson's Chief of Staff.

3) There's an opening for a state job, a hearing officer for the AK Dep't of Labor.  Yes, the department that is suppose to promote Alaskan hires.

4) The application process for that job closes.  Interviews are conducted and maybe even some qualified Alaskan was about to be hired.

5) For some reason, the hiring process was re-opened and there was one more applicant, Paul Pozonsky. He got the job despite being from out-of-state, despite being under criminal investigation and despite being in violation of the ethical standards listed for employment for the position.

I guess the Alaska Republican Party is really all about family values, well if you are in the right family.

Check out a PA TV News spot about him here.

Read more about the story at the ADN here or at the Mudflats, here and here.

Post Election Post

Alright, SOL has been AWOL, well away on leave actually, but away nonetheless.  I happily missed the whole pre-election madness, but returned in time to vote.  The results were mixed.  Obviously, if you've read any of the posts here before, I was pleased with the way the national election went.  Obama did more than squeak by and dominated the electoral vote.  The Dems added Senate seats and picked up a few House seats.  All of the Republicans who made idiotic comments about rape and female body parts were defeated.

In Alaska, the news wasn't as good.  Redistricting favoring electing Republicans in some areas worked - more republicans were elected to the AK senate. Here on the Peninsula, redistricting wasn't a big factor in the senate race, but the election was over in the primary when Peter Micciche defeated Tom Wagoner.  Of course, most voters here thought that Joe Miller should have won the US Senate seat the last election.

So, the senate coalition of Ds and Rs that held power for the past few sessions is gone and that body is firmly in the grips of Sean Parnell, the oil companies and maybe even the religious right-wing.

It will be interesting to see what Micciche does in Juneau.  Will he be a tool of Conoco-Phillips, the folks that pay him?  Will he support Parnell's no-strings-attached give-away of billions of dollars to the oil companies?  Or will he insist, like the previous coalition, that there should be no breaks without commitments to actually produce.  It will be curious to see what Peter thinks about the future version of HB 9 that would build a very expensive and impractical small-diameter gas line from the slope (and pass the high costs on to consumers)as well as remove any sort of oversight in the planning or construction of it.  Sensibly, the previous senate coalition also opposed that boondoggle.

There's no hope for either Chenault or Olson.  They are both shills for big oil.

There are a couple of curious reads in the electronic world.

The first is a well-written piece by a white, middle-class christian woman and why she voted for Obama.  Read it here.

The next is a fun article in the ADN.  Seems that Canada, our socialist neighbor, is hiring oil field workers.  The country that is pro-union, that has universal health care, that outlawed handguns and has strict gun-control laws, a country that tightly regulates banks and avoided the current recession, that makes the rich pay their fair share of taxes (everyone pays their fair share in fact), where immigrants are welcome, a place where Obama's policies would be aligned with the CONSERVATIVE party, actually has a thriving economy.

So, that about blows all of the right wing hate that I've been seeing on the social media out of the water, doesn't it?

Billy Narkiewicz for State Senate

Reason # 213 while we’re SOL here in SOLdotna is the race for the Alaskan senate seat here in our district.  Only two republicans filed, incumbent Tom Wagoner from Kenai and our own mayor, Peter Micciche from SOLdotna. Democrats were AWOL, so the primary will essentially decide who will represent Big Oil in Juneau. 

Tom has been efficient in his inefficiency as our current guy in Juneau.  Since he refused to join the coalition, he’s been left out of having much influence in the senate, but to his credit, he didn’t completely roll over to the whims of Governor Parnell and Mike Chenault, the Speaker of the CBC. Their assault on ACES failed due to lack of any credible evidence that giving back some $2billion/year to the oil companies would do the state any good and a ton of evidence that things are darn good right now, despite the whine of Big Oil and teabag Rs. 

The race is close as Micciche has campaigned long and hard. He’s almost single-handedly resurrected the timber industry by planting his signs on every bit of bare ground on the Kenai.

Both men are gaffe-prone and that’s good business for bloggers.  Wagoner let himself be photographed palling around with a convicted terrorist, Schaeffer Cox, when that miscreant was down on the peninsula trying to start a well-armed red-neck insurrection a few years ago.  Tom’s campaign flier has him in a cowboy hat with oil derricks in the background. After redistricting, he has to convince Homer that oil is our salvation, he might not understand that the folks south of us kinda like K-Bay as it is.  He hasn't exactly been a friend of the lower peninsula and their quest to get natural gas piped down there either.

 

Not to be out-done, PM has vowed to take down the senate coalition.  He needs every vote and has been courting Ns and Is to ask for the R ballot when voting and has asked Ds to switch to some other affiliation so they can vote the R ballot.  What is his main priority? To dismantle the senate coalition.  Yes, he has the audacity to say vote for me so I won’t cooperate with you.  Um, Peter, take off your oil-industry glasses.  The coalition is the only check and balance we now have in Alaska.  They are the only ones asking tough questions and not taking malarkey as answers.  Oh, that’s right.  He works for Conoco-Philips. Those oil-industry glasses are permanently attached.

Peter has a nice family and lives on the Peninsula year-round. He's active in fundraising for good causes like the Boys and Girls' Club and Rotary.  Tom likes to play golf Outside for most of the year and signs up for every junket when the senate is in session so he can swing the clubs anywhere but Alaska.

I wonder if Peter is receiving money from Governor Parnellquasi-legal slush fund established to unseat senators who joined the coalition.

I attended a meet and greet for hizzoner, Mr. Micciche the other day and as much as I like the guy and the sincerity he has as mayor, however often misguided (Cemetery & Hutchings Chevrolet), to make SOLdotna a better place to live, there was little common ground. He’s rah-rah for Chenault and Wackers’s HB 9 that would run a bullet line from the slope to tidewater with a spur to Fairbanks. Oh, the state would kick in about $10bilion in corporate welfare to make that happen, then the costs would be passed on to the consumers on the Kenai, Anchorage and the railbelt.  The citizens bear the brunt of the risk and Big Oil reaps the profits.  Oh, Chenault also wants no government oversight for the project, and that was one of the senate coalition’s big objections to the bill.  Thanks goodness.  Look what happened to the budgets of the Port of Anchorage and the valley prison with the absence of oversight. 

Peter supports Parnell’s decision to refuse federal funds to help low-income folks access Medicare.  I truly don’t understand this.  Let’s see, we should restrict the working poor from getting health care? I think we should no longer subsidize the health care of politicians who oppose health care for those who work but are paid low wages.  Maybe no one who makes over $100, 000/year should get state-sponsored health care. If the poor don’t need it, the rich maybe should pay their own way. Peter’s rationale is that he doesn’t want to be told by government he has to pay for something.  Does that mean we shouldn’t pay any taxes, have insurance for our house and car, register our vehicles?  Or does it just mean that you are pandering for the teabag vote and the mentality that we should have it all, but pay for nothing? 

Anyway, unless you’re a registered republican, an independent or non-partisan, you can’t vote in the republican primary.  If you can’t vote in that primary, you have no vote in deciding who will represent you in the state senate..

Well, that’s where Billy Narkiewicz comes in. If you can’t bring yourself to vote for either of the industry tools that are running, vote for BN.  His name is as least as hard to spell as Lisa Murcowskee and she kicked some Tea Bag ass as a write-in candidate. They are still pissed at her.

 And Billy is no RINO.  Well, he’s not a DINO, but rather a KINO. It’s all political theater.

 

Just Sayin' No

The polls are closed and with just under 600 ballots cast,  60% of the votes were opposed to the City of SOLdotna buying the Hutchings building.  There's about 100 absentee ballots yet to be counted, but even if all of those were in favor of the purchase, it wouldn't make a difference in the outcome.

If any one reason mattered, the rush to vote was probably the issue that torqued quite a few residents: too many questions, not enough time to get all of the answers.

Debbie Brown and the A-Pauling Republicans

So, Randy Ruedrich retired and the CBC Republicans have been ousted from leadership roles by a union of Paulbots and Teabaggers.   Russ Millette is now the Republican Party Chairman.


And now, please sit down and pour yourself a stiff drink, Kasilof's Debbie Brown is co-Chair.
Debbie, who makes former Gov Sarah Palin's word-salad rants seem erudite, somehow convinced the Ron Paul/Joe Miller/TeaBag coalition that she is leadership material.


Or maybe they were aware of the bard's warning:
“Dispute not with her: she is lunatic.” 
― William Shakespeare, Richard III


Anyway, it seems that Ruedrich drained the remaining $100,000 from the Repub's bank account before Russ or Debbie could put their names on the checkbook.


More details can be found here and here.


Debbie has appeared in SOL a few time before.  Check out what she did to earn that notoriety here.

Mike Chenault and Kurt Olson Get Spanked and Sent Home

This year's legislative special session has been very amusing.  The stunning news is that Gov. Parnell abandoned ship after the senate had the audacity to ask some tough questions of Bryan Butcher from the Dep't of Revenue about the Gov's oil tax plan (which was nearly identical to the plan that Chenault and the republicans of the house offered).  Well, Butcher was totally unprepared for almost all of the questions.  No kidding, Parnell said that the senate bullied Butcher when senators wondered what might actually happen if Parnell and the house had their way.

So, Parnell, sulking a bit like his predecessor was so apt to do, yanked the measure from the special session agenda.

The senate, and keep in mind that this body is made up of an across-the-aisle coalition headed by Republican Gary Stevens, responding to this unprecedented action by the governor, decided to gavel out and not even address HB9, Chenault's baby, that would sink about 10 billion state dollars into a natural gas bullet line from the north slope to some point in south central.

Wait a minute, you might wonder, the state is awash in money, shouldn't we help out Alaskan consumers and provide cheap natural gas to the masses?

Well, that's the line of bull that Mike and his peninsula partner in crime, Kurt Olson, would like for you to believe.  The Kenai is awash in voters who think that Joe Miller should be emperor, so Mike and Kurt can and have done whatever they've wanted under the guise of being conservative, pro-development republicans.

The bullet line that Mike and Kurt (and Mike Hawker from Anchorage) are hustling is just another boondoggle.  Mike, the conservative republican, is the boondoggle king of Alaska (Goose Creek Prison, Knik Arm Bridge, Port of Anchorage, the Susitna Dam are just a few of the multi-million and sometimes billion dollar fiascos that have come or are being developed under his watch as Speaker of the House).

Just how is the bullet line a disaster?  Let me count the ways:

1) It bypasses Fairbanks where arguably the need for natural gas is the greatest.  Funny, Parnell is now whining that because HB 9 won't be addressed this session, those in F'banks won't get the gas.  Well, to do so under HB 9, another line would have to be built, and a cleaning station would also have to be built as the gas from the slope is 'wet'. A good overview of the problem is offered here.

2) The state has been investing in natural gas exploration and production in Cook Inlet (Mike's and Kurt's home base).  It seems that the untapped reserves here could be huge.  Having the Fairbanks market would make local development more profitable and still beat the price consumers would have to pay for north slope gas. Oh, and Cook Inlet natural gas is 'dry' and doesn't need a cleansing station.

3) Even conservative estimates of how much consumers would have to be charged for north slope gas from HB 9 is considerably more than either a large diameter pipeline or a line from Cook Inlet to Fairbanks.

4) Mike and Kurt wanted to give the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation a blank check and no legislative oversight - basically an unlimited giveaway of state money.  During the regular session, the senate took its fiduciary responsibilities a bit more seriously and stripped the bill of that provision and others that would have prevented anyone from examining the records of AGDC. Seriously, Mike and Kurt were ready to give away billions and take away the ability of the state to even ask questions about where the money was going.

So, it's done for another year.  Sean, Mike and Kurt got spanked and sent home.

Thankfully there are some smart folks in the senate.

May Day Vote Update

Addendum: The Redoubt Reporter article about the Hutchings Property and Chamber of Commerce Building is worth reading.

After talking to some folks in the know, I am less inclined to believe that a sweetheart deal was made between the City of Soldotna, the Chamber of Commerce and the Hutchings family for the purchase of the dealership building.

When the Hutchings property came up for sale and the Chamber decided that this might be a good place to expand, they approached the city of Soldotna with the idea of buying it.  The original asking price was beyond what the council and mayor could support.  The next step gets a little fuzzy, but from what I understand, the Hutchings family offered the property in the range of the $2.1 million that the city eventually agreed to accept with voter consent.

Understandably so, when a small town negotiates for property, it is difficult to maintain transparency but not tip off a potential seller what the maximum amount the buyer (in this case the city) is willing to spend.

What has been lost on the City (the council and the mayor) and the Chamber, is that in their zeal to acquire the Hutchings building, perhaps there were some missteps.

1) Should another appraisal have been done considering the price difference between the borough assessment and the only appraisal actually done (which was $2.8 million, pretty much exactly the original price that the Hutchings family wanted)?

2) The city engineer did an estimate of how much it would cost to bring the building up to code, but this wasn't finished until 3 weeks ago.  If the Hutchings building has been considered for at least a year and half, wouldn't this have been good info to have a while ago? Did this repair estimate come before the price of purchase was fixed?  I don't know.

3) I still have had no official explanation of why there is a need of a special election.  While the building may have been considered for a while, movement on it didn't happen until recently.  Is there a bank foreclosing? Not to be too callous, but if this is the case, the city might have been able to get the building for a lower price from either the Hutchings or from the bank.  Is there another potential buyer? Well, maybe having another business come to Soldotna is better than having some commercial property taken off of the market.  It does seem that the hurried special election makes for a low voter turnout and keeps people from getting all of the information needed to make an informed decision.

4) How serious have the city and the chamber really been to find a new site?  Didn't the chamber sell some land over by Good Time Charlie's not too long ago?  Heck, what about just buying Good Time Charlie's - it's the perfect location for the VC?  Not too long ago, the Mullins family was looking at selling the bookstore property  - that could be a good site and there's already a traffic light there. A little while ago, the former Nightwatch/Tides Restaurant was sold.  The building next to Beemans is vacant.  For that matter, why not figure out how to better use the Sports Center?  It is certainly big enough for a convention and visitor center, there's plenty of parking and it's in a nice setting. The 2.8 million that the city (and including the $250K the chamber has offered to kick in) is going to spend on the Hutchings building can buy and build/remodel a lot. At the very least, the city should have designed what it wanted, got some figures, and with that ballpark figure, see what could be bought and remodeled for an equivalent price.  If there was nothing, maybe put the plans before the voters and build something new.

While I am not convinced that the city has made the best deal, I am more comfortable with the knowledge that it wasn't a back-door deal.  After the financial fiasco of the Sports Center (that costs the city around $1000 a day in lost revenues), we should be careful how we spend our money.

So, for me, the decision on how to vote comes down to weighing the benefits of what we will get: a spiffy hall that can double as the visitor center and as a cultural/meeting center vs, well, not having a cultural/meeting center at this time.

By the way, if there are CoC folks reading this, your newsletter describing fallout for a NO vote are all kind of lame.  Not one fact at all and maybe a bit of misinformation:

No change..?  Well, sometimes no change is good.
No future expansion of a community conference center..? Really,  if we don't buy this now, like never in a million years will be able to buy, remodel or build something?
No revitalization of the proposed property..? Again, like never in a million years?
No additional parking and infrastructure at the Soldotna Creek Park? Well, shuttle buses and legs still are an option.  When the traffic light is put in, that will open up parking on Birch St. What more infrastructure is needed at the park?

Actually,  a No vote just means 
1) That the city doesn't spend upwards of $2.8 million at this time.
2) The CoC deals with the small space and access issues (did anyone ask DOT to take the VC into consideration when it redid that intersection?  A traffic circle might have been the best option). 
3) If the city and CoC wants a convention/cultural center, that it goes through a more rigorous public process.

May Day, May Day - Corporate Welfare in SOLdotna Day?

There's a special election on May 1.  We SOLdotnans get to vote to give the city permission to buy the Hutchings' dealership on the Sterling Hwy for $2.1 million.  If we vote to buy the property, the SOldotna Visitor center will be moved from the cabin on south side of the bridge to the dealership.

Above and beyond the price of purchase, the city engineer did an analysis of estimated costs to bring the building up to code, to fix some things that are needing repaired, and to ready the building for occupancy.  That figure comes in around $570K for the upper estimate just to bring the building up to code. That does not include up to $170K more to put in a sprinkler system and to cover unknown problems that might come up.  The total price could be in the neighborhood $2.8 million.  The Chamber of Commerce says that they will pay up to $250K for repairs needed for occupancy.

Some things to consider.

1) The borough assessment for the property is $1.4 million.  Should we be paying almost a million dollars more than assessment for a building that could need $3/4 million dollars in repairs?  To be fair, a private company appraised the value of the property to be close to the selling price.  Does that mean that I should expect to sell my house in Soldotna for 50% more than the borough assesment? Maybe we need another couple of opinions.  Are there are other interested buyers?  Hutchings is a failed business, we are essentially bailing them out of that business.  If we wanted this property, wouldn't it be a better business practice to offer something below borough appraisal and see what happens?

2) Why are we voting on this so soon?  Shouldn't there be some public question and answer sessions town hall style meetings so the public can become more informed?  We have some other elections coming up soon (maybe you've heard that there's a presidential race this fall), why not schedule the vote during an already scheduled voting session?  Just how much is it going to cost to hold the special election? Having a special election in early May guarantees a low voter turnout and with a handful of folks going to the polls, it's much easier to sway the results.

3) What is the plan for the existing Visitor Center property?  It's prime river-front/highway property and the borough assessment is about $390K.  Will that property be sold (for a million dollars more than the borough assessment?) and the funds used to offset the purchase price of the Hutchings property? Is there already a potential buyer?

4)There are advantages to relocating the Visitor Center to the center of town - more visibility and proximity to the Soldotna Creek Park, but the Hutchings site poses just as many access problems as the current site.  Those exiting the site and wishing to turn south will have difficulties crossing the northbound traffic lanes in the summer.

5)The Hutchings building does offer some potential benefits aside from an expanded visitors' center. It's large enough to double as an arts and cultural showcase.

The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, the beneficiaries of the move,  will offer an overview of this proposal tomorrow (Tuesday April 17) at noon at Frosos.  Work prevents me from showing up, but if you are at all concerned, consider attending.

The Chamber has an info sheet about the purchase buried on their website.  You can get see it by clicking here.

Click To Enlarge Mike Chenault's Ego

I think I need the click to reduce option

It's the end of another legislative session and there's another showdown between the Alaska Senate and the House on ACES reform.  House Speaker, Mike Chenault, had the bill his branch of the legislature passed,  re-worked by the senate.  The house bill was the $2 billion/year giveaway to the major oil companies; the senate throwback to him just addressed giving credits to companies that would increase production but the senate version kept most of the rest of ACES intact.

Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc., one of Alaska’s new independent oil producers was in favor of the Senate version.  Mike didn't even allow the house to vote on the bill the senate sent over, but rather used a procedural ruse that prevented it from even getting out of the Rules Committee. Soldotna's representative in the house, Kurt Olson, was Chenault's partner in this latest attempt to give away state money to the richest corporations in the world.

A few years back, Mike proudly wore his CBC  (Corrupt Bastards' Club) cap.  He's presided over the House during some of the most stunning financial fiascoes in state history (Goose Creek Prison, the Port of Anchorage, the Knik Arm bridge, etc).  He gave himself a back-door raise with a bill that let legislatures pocket the money that was allocated for office expenses, and has gone golfing in the lower 48 on the state dime.

Just what are his qualifications to have such a powerful position in the state?  Well, he's got a high school diploma.

He has no background in finances, in petroleum engineering, or economics.  Well, he does represent Nikiski and I guess that might explain it all. 

Mike is simply a tool for Conoco Phillips.  The version of tax reform he is trying to push through comes with no strings attached.  The majors have pledged to do some development if the House version passes, but aside from loose figures far below the credit they would be given, there is no language requiring them to invest the money back in Alaska.

And Chenault (and Olson and Gov Parnell) think this is reform?

Ray Southwell: I Need Big Government to Help Fight Big Government

AP photo

So, Alaska Citizens' Militias second-in-command, Ray Southwell, and sworn enemy of Big Government and anything not in the Constitution, got his ass fired a while ago from CPGH. He was a constant cry-baby according to SOLdotnans working there.

What's a whacked conspiracy nut to do?

Well, go to the National Labor Relations Board, a branch of the despised Big Government that Ray wants to take down, and ask them to take up your cause. Read about it here.

WTF?!? So, Ray, you need big government protection so you can take down big government?  Stand tall, Patriot.  You don't need no stinking federal regulations. No, Sir.  Let the market decide.

Well, unless the market decides that you make a lousy employee.  Then it's time to thank your camo bible that the Supreme Commander in the Sky works in mysterious ways. Oh, or maybe it's just your way of infiltrating the commie pinko, tree-hugging NLRB.  Do you wear your strap-on device (aka peace maker), when you meet with your advocate?  Do you want to plug him as he plugs for you?

It's not unlike the ACT folks who decry every penny of tax, yet are the first to call up Soundoff to whine when their roads aren't plowed.  Or like Mrs Ted Spraker who publicly denounces Obamacare while she is covered by socialized medical insurance.

Folks here on the Kenai are against government until they need it.

Then they are against it when someone else might legitimately need it.

Or in Ray's case, he wants to destroy it.

But first, he needs it.