Checking Back in on the Last Day of August
I've been on vacation in Poland, but local happenings keep on happening.
I fully intended to stay more active over these last two weeks, but soaking up Grandma’s cooking and traipsing around ancient Polish castles, salt mines, and mountain trails has taken up a lot of valuable time and energy. It’s been wonderful!
We have about a week left on this adventure. A more normal posting schedule will return soon.
In the meantime, here’s a summary of some recent updates and happenings in Interior Alaska.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough has released an excellent candidate information packet that features a photo, biographical information, and a non-partisan position statement from each of the candidates (that had chosen to respond) running for Borough Assembly, School Board, the Interior Alaska Natural Gas Utility Board (IGU), Fairbanks City Council, and North Pole City Council, along with sample ballots and information about the voting process.
You can download the packet below, or find it here on the Borough Website.
If you see candidates whose platform speaks to you, I’ve written a list of ways you can help their campaigns here.
Our local elections are October 3.
From Yarrow Silvers, for the Alaska Current:
Ben Carson’s ‘Little Patriots’ Curriculum Not Being Implemented Throughout Alaska
Despite claims on social media from the former Housing Secretary's conservative think tank, supplemental curriculum is not implemented statewide.
Following Ben Carson’s tour, supported and partially organized by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing’s conservative think tank took to social media to announce its patriotic and faith-based curriculum was being installed in Alaska’s public education system.
That isn’t exactly true, though, as Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) Commissioner Deena Bishop later clarified that individual districts can decide whether to adopt the “Little Patriots” curriculum.
From Bella Martinez, for the Alaska Current:
OPINION: Fairbanks, We Need More Full-Time Citizens
Election workers make your ability to vote a reality. They ensure our community is represented by the people we want without ever saying a word about who to vote for. Isn’t that what being an Alaskan is all about? Isn’t that at the heart of living in a community with one another, sacrificing to ensure our shared survival?
Living in Alaska is hard and will only get harder for many of us without proper representation. Our ability to ensure a prosperous future lies in our elections. It lies in your hands and whether you choose to use them to help your community have a say in their future.
We can choose to give our time to this process, which many take for granted. The last day to register to vote is Sept. 3, and the only requirement to be an election worker is to be a registered Alaskan voter.
I hope you come out to the polls to vote on Oct. 3, but more than that, I hope you choose to give your time to your neighbors. Ensure they may exercise every right they hold under our constitution and may have access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Dermot Cole has been doing a lot of research around the Kinross ore-hauling operation. Some of the highlights include a post stating that the kind of trucks that will be involved would be illegal in all other 49 states, protestors being removed at a recent Kinross event, and more. Jack Barnwell of the Daily News Miner also has a story about protesters around the Carlson Center.
Here’s a picture of one of the trucks in the wild. Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways is leading efforts against the ore-haul plan.
From Jack Barnwell, for the Daily News Miner:
Want to create your own budget for a city? Now you can.
The City of Fairbanks wants more public engagement and education on its budget process, so it’s launching an online simulator.
City staff provided the City Council with an overview at a work session last week.
Chief of Staff Michael Sanders said the new simulator will allow the public to explore how to balance a city budget based on the various revenues, operational and capital expenditures.
“It will be a very good tool for letting the public see what we are doing,” Sanders said. “This gives them the ability to give us a good deal of data on what they want.”
Seems like a great idea.
And just for fun, here are a few picture of my partner Kat, my friend Robert, some family and I enjoying all that Poland has to offer (part 1).
Thanks for reading, and hope you’ve been well.