http://www.anchoragepress.com/ The latest news from the www.anchoragepress.com website! Newsys Template Engine News http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 newsys-274862319 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c756a11586df131095797.txt During a recent purification ceremony inside the traditional sweat lodge he helped build in the maximum-security prison yard at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, inmate 360-849, a.k.a. Jarvis Perez, experienced a revelation. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:37:30 -0800 newsys-273142604 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c75684530fab592633739.txt There’s a difference between satisfaction and loyalty. In customer research, it’s been shown that what is important to a business isn’t so much how satisfied the customers are, but how loyal they are. What use is satisfaction when a customer will take off when someone else provides your service for five dollars less? Loyalty is key. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:25:04 -0800 newsys-274862248 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c75688159675117770734.txt Click on the slide show to see images from Election Central the evening of Tuesday, August 24. Photo essay by Alex Fox. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:25:04 -0800 newsys-273142602 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c742e9943ac4945614160.txt In boardrooms, and the Anchorage Assembly is the city’s boardroom in addition to being its lawmaking body, board members have something called “fiduciary responsibility.” “Fiduciary responsibility” is a somewhat technocratic term that’s easy to understand. It means being in charge of someone else’s interests. Suppose a family agrees to mind a friend’s Chihuahua while the friend is on a commercial fishing trip. That dog won’t feed itself. It won’t clean up after itself. And if the Chihuahua is left unattended, an eagle could swoop down and carry it off. There are lots of ways to fall short in the realm of fiduciary responsibility. They range from letting the Chihuahua crap on a carpet—an unexpected expense—to losing the asset entirely because no one was watching. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:25:04 -0800 newsys-272686928 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c7417df0420d529870132.txt Disgusted by the political game Politicians and government are not my favorite words. It’s time to choose and we’re told to get out and vote. I’ve read “nauseating” details regarding the cover-up of Pat Tillman's death and that army commanders, aided and abetted by members of the Bush administration, violated many of their own rules, not to mention elementary standards of decency, to turn the killing into a propaganda coup for the American side. (Jon Krakauer's Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.) Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:25:04 -0800 newsys-264052549 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6c19a3aee46953092553.txt Forty-eight years ago, in the month of August in 1962, I met Ted Stevens in my home village of Kotzebue. I had decided not to return to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks that fall and was working for B and R Tug and Barge, owned by Edith Bullock, a former Republican territorial legislator. I had absolutely no concept of politics. Just nine years earlier, our family was living in a sod house twelve miles up the coast at Ikkatuq. I was trying to decide what to do with my life and Stevens was trying to set his course in life by running for the United States Senate. Lowell Thomas, Jr. was making a bid for the U.S. Congress and they were making a bush swing together. In those days, Alaska was very Democratic and the Republican duo was trying to make inroads in difficult territory. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:57:40 -0800 newsys-262691554 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6c132351663784171516.txt The dust-up involving right-wing radio mouth Dave Stieren on one side and the Joe-Miller-for-senate-backing Bauer family of East Anchorage on the other illustrates two important lessons about politics: 1) The vast gray area between “I quit” and “You’re fired” is as likely as any place for a political dust-up to end, and 2) Political bullies sometimes threaten to exercise power they don’t have. Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:22:20 -0800 newsys-261532023 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6bfceaa39f2793542952.txt There's really only one race on the primary ballot Tuesday in which the outcome is in any doubt. That's the race on the Republican ballot for lieutenant governor. Fairbanks Representative Jay Ramras, Mead Treadwell and Eddie Burke are fighting this one out, and all indications seem to suggest it's going to be close. I know all three candidates so I thought I'd be in a fairly unique position to give some perspective on the race. Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:22:20 -0800 newsys-262320037 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6c3752b6f04964011132.txt Flashlight found one good sign among the numerous and criss-crossed tracks left by the herd of politic junkies running in the Alaska’s statewide primary. The Alaska Public Offices Commission seems to be moving faster, as evidenced by the APOC’s notice of a penalty levied on Alaskans for Open Government on August 5, a full 19 days before voters decide if the ballot measure the group supports will become law. The commission has long had a reputation for being under-funded, moving slowly and issuing decisions regarding campaign funding after the fact—after the votes have been cast and the alleged malfeasance has already affected an election. Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:22:20 -0800 newsys-262759107 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6c223878928065097836.txt The primary elections are upon us, on Tuesday, August 24. If you’ve missed our previous coverage of the big races, here are some handy links so you can refresh your familiarity with the two ballot measures and the statewide races. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:03:47 -0800 newsys-251543548 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6304d2ebb87436875663.txt I knew attorney Ronald West was an animal lover before he showed up at the Press offices with a soda cup in hand that had dog hair stuck to it, apparently from the cup holder in his pickup truck, which has a paw-print logo sticker on the driver’s side. I knew he was an animal lover, and that he’d been defending fellow animal lover Deborah Allen in court. Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:00:15 -0800 newsys-251425005 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6169a210364487539523.txt “You’re a brave soul,” said the grizzled commercial fisherman as he watched me pitch a tent on the aft deck of the M/V Matanuska. It wasn’t a compliment. The salty dog’s tone of voice and facial expression made his true meaning clear: “You’re a complete dumbass.” Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:03:26 -0800 newsys-252938142 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c62d24a998a6604688177.txt Ten years ago, Lisa Murkowski was in the state house representing District 18. A year before, oil prices had dipped to a low at just over $9 per barrel, and Alaska was staring at a pretty bleak future, unable to fully fund its oil-dependent state government at those prices. Of course, we had the Constitutional Budget Reserve tucked away, which would see us through a couple of years, but after that… well, who knew? Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:36:10 -0800 newsys-251424887 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c62bd5696fb5178583317.txt Guest op-ed by Shelby Carpenter August 11 marks the one-year anniversary of the Anchorage Assembly's courageous decision to pass Ordinance 64, which protected all residents of Anchorage from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Even though the assembly passed Ordinance 64 by a vote of 7 to 4, Mayor Sullivan vetoed the assembly's democratic vote. In spite of lengthy testimony and thorough documentation of discrimination against gay and transgender Alaskans, Mayor Sullivan insisted that there was no evidence of discrimination in Anchorage. The absence of Ordinance 64 means that all Alaskans—gay and straight—are vulnerable to discrimination. Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:58:12 -0800 newsys-250576807 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c632397e0cf9115242866.txt Coming next week: A remembrance of Senator Ted Stevens Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:58:12 -0800 newsys-249027672 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c6084a2eeeac891812539.txt The argument for parental notification Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:58:11 -0800 newsys-235719719 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c59a1af97521920274805.txt “Wow,” I thought. “The Grannies weren’t supposed to be this good.” I was standing on a chair in the back of the New Golden Saloon at the McCarthy Lodge in the small end-of-the-road town some 300 miles from Anchorage, watching the five guys I’d picked up at the airport some 28 hours earlier thrash around the stage area in colored wigs and old lady dresses, inspiring the first mosh pit ever in McCarthy’s only real bar. Thu, 5 Aug 2010 10:24:04 -0800 newsys-237654374 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c599ad7a49a4592238236.txt Bicycle activists have been lobbying city officials behind the scenes in preparation for new right-of-way rules that have been months in the making. Anchorage’s traffic code rewrite has been shuttling between various city departments—the city’s traffic, police and legal departments are involved—as well as organizations of stakeholders such as community councils, professional transportation associations and organized bicycle commuters. Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:06:48 -0800 newsys-234203630 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c59da9e74b6b223002139.txt Although I had been swimming on and off since moving from southwest Montana back to San Francisco in mid-January, my new season officially started on April 17th, the day I turned 60. It was a bright afternoon, the sun partially obscured by high thin clouds, gusts churning the surface of Aquatic Park, a manmade cove bounded by curved piers on the waterfront. That's where I swim, along with others whose notion of a swell time is plying chilly San Francisco Bay while wearing nothing but a cap and a Speedo. And chilly it was that day—water about 55 degrees, or 30 degrees cooler than the average municipal pool. Whatever pleasures await the cold-water sea swimmer—and they are incomparable, even, at times, transcendent—reaching them entails a certain amount of discomfort. Every swim begins with a double leap—the physical act of plunging into the water, the mental act of deliberately submitting to pain. Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:06:48 -0800 newsys-236936904 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c587fa198e09791511961.txt Guest op-ed by Dr. Monique Karaganis Recently, Jim Minnery wrote a piece ("Honesty on Measure 2 vital for teen girls," Anchorage Daily News, July 8) in support of Ballot Measure 2 that ignored some very key issues, glossed over others and took our organization to task for opposing the measure. After a discussion, the Alaska Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently decided to oppose Measure 2 and we thought our concerns were worth sharing with your readers. Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:06:48 -0800 newsys-234203627 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c587f54a4759086389871.txt Senator Davis should address speech therapy Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:06:48 -0800 newsys-236174835 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c50a3c0111b4950622230.txt In Alaska’s congressional races, challengers to the incumbents are common, particularly because incumbents’ tenures have traditionally been extraordinarily long. Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:06:48 -0800 newsys-225074599 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c50d0728b294448065833.txt In 1902 a pair of French brothers, Georges and Gaston Méliés, released their movie Le Voyage dans la Lune (that’s “a trip to the moon” for English-only readers) and treated moviegoers around the world to a combination of live-action, animation and special effects the likes of which no one had seen before. Their 14-minute tale of a pioneering voyage to near space also spawned one of film’s more popular—and problematic for viewers and filmmakers who want films to be believable—genres: the futuristic science fiction epic. Today of course we know space explorers are using rockets, and not cannons, to launch spacecraft. And most people agree that while we’ve reached the moon, the explorers sent from Earth did not find insect-like “Selenites” living on the lunar surface, let alone do battle with them. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:25:33 -0800 newsys-225074596 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c50cfe19abf3614398603.txt Twice in four days, semis carrying heavy equipment struck the overpass bridge at the Eklutna exit while traveling out of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway. Monday’s bridge strike appears to have taken a chunk of concrete about the size of a car door from one beam that spans the highway. Commuters gawked, Flashlight stopped for photos, and within about five hours the Anchorage Daily News posted a story, sans bridge expertise, that featured Anchorage Police Department spokesman Dave Parker commenting about how the too-tall arm of a backhoe struck the bridge. Parker said the crash happened during rush hour and the truck driver was adept enough to make it under the bridge without involving other vehicles, except those that followed behind and were hit by debris. No one was injured, Parker reported, and the trucker pulled over to wait for police. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:25:33 -0800 newsys-225074600 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c50d0d042bef292655523.txt Guest op-ed by Senator Bettye Davis While stories of the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 13 and the funding for the expansion of the state’s Denali KidCare program fade from the media’s news cycle, just under 1,300 children and more than 200 pregnant women will be faced with the daily reality of not having basic insurance coverage. That is why I sponsored this legislation and that is where my interests in this remains. Some may argue that they still have the ability to seek treatment at an emergency room. While that is true, let’s look at some scenarios that Denali KidCare would cover with a less costly visit to a doctor’s office. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:25:33 -0800 newsys-216458719 http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/08/26/news/doc4c50a4e102b59960757845.txt The Wasilla-based Conservative Patriots Group, a small collection of tea party ideologues, rescinded its endorsement of Mead Treadwell in the Republican lieutenant governor’s primary, after the group figured out Treadwell had donated money to Senator Lisa Murkowski’s campaign in March of this year. (CPG’s primary goal, it seems, is for Joe Miller to defeat Murkowski in the August primary; Treadwell’s donation was prior to Miller’s entrance into the race.) Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:25:33 -0800