Fireworks, Festivities,
and a new Fracas
June 26, 2020
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Dear Friends and Neighbors, |
There's a holiday weekend coming up soon! Independence Day is one of my favorites (not least because it's Karen's and my anniversary!)
Oh, and at the bottom of this newsletter are some important deadlines, including one that's tonight.
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Festivities for the Fourth
We’ve all been going a little stir crazy, so I'm happy to report there are some actual in-person events coming up! Just in time for the Fourth of July, there are plans for some appropriately-distanced fun.
Juneau's traditional fireworks display is set for July 3 at 11:59 pm. The safest way to enjoy them is to treat them like a drive-in movie and watch from your car. If you don't have a car, CBJ requires a mask and six feet of distance from people who aren't in your household. Keep your neighbors safe!
Haines is having a reverse parade! Genius. I wish I'd thought of it. The floats will be parked at the Fairgrounds and parade goers will drive a set parade route among them. There'll also be an 11 pm fireworks display at Picture Point.
Skagway will have a parade, egg toss, classic car display, and more for the Fourth. They're also requiring proper distance outdoors— including painting stars at 6-foot intervals along Broadway!
There's a lot of fun to be had. Please have it safely. If you can't stay physically apart from people outside your household, please wear a mask. Alaska's Chief Medical Officer told the House Health and Social Services committee this week why they really do help. (The key phrase is "source control.")
I promise it's not partisan. The Juneau Chamber of Commerce sent a clear message at the start of this week's meeting: masks are pro-business. Without them, we risk having to ratchet down our economy again before it recovers. So please have a wonderful Fourth of July, enjoy the festivities, and stay safe.
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I slept on my front stoop last weekend for Night Without a Bed to raise money for Family Promise! (Thanks to a night owl neighbor for sharing the picture.)
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Fixing the Funding
There's good news and bad news for small business help. The state CARES grants will now have fewer restrictions, so businesses that end up with up to $5,000 from the federal government can still get the state grant. It's the right direction. Struggling Alaska small businesses need the help.
It's just frustrating to see the executive branch try to take another constitutional shortcut with this program. Remember the last time? Rather than changing the rules by convening the legislature to... change the rules, the executive branch is ignoring the clearly written words the Dunleavy Administration itself put on paper. Words approved by the legislature. To absolutely no one’s surprise, there's another lawsuit. That will force a judge to decide whether this is so egregious we have to stop any of the CARES grants from going out at all.
I hope our neighbors with small businesses don't get caught on the horns of that. But it's hard to see a judge reading rules that say you can't qualify for the grant if you get so much as a form approved by the federal government first (and you're doubly out if you get a federal dollar) and saying 'yes, it's perfectly reasonable for the executive branch to decide $5,000 of cash in hand from Uncle Sam is A-OK.
I’ll keep pushing to get this done the right way so Alaskans don't have to wait.
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UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield and T&H President Richard Peterson sign an agreement in 2018 formalizing a partnership between the Tribe and University. |
Turn and Face the Strange
That line from David Bowie's "Changes" nicely captures this week in education. School districts are starting to roll out plans for starting classes in the fall when COVID will still be an issue. Here's Juneau's. This is Skagway's.
Also, UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield retired, which makes me want to weep. Caulfield worked for the University of Alaska for over three decades. He helped pioneer UA’s blended and distance learning programs statewide. In his ten years at UAS, he made an indelible mark. Rick helped center Alaska Native culture and studies as a vital element of higher education. He was a tireless advocate for students. His leadership and collaborative approach helped UAS establish the Statewide College of Education, improved vocational programs like the Maritime Multi-Skilled Worker credential and mine training, further integrated the three UAS campuses into one University, cut costs, and forged joint degree programs with UAF. It's the kind of innovative, cooperative, efficient approach the University Regents are thinking about discouraging by dissolving UAS into another university.
The good news is that Karen Carey, the current provost, will become Acting Chancellor until a new University President (whenever they get one) makes a permanent decision. Provosts get a lot done, and Karen is one of the best. I look forward to working with her as we work to save—and improve—UAS.
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Did someone forward you this newsletter?
Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more?
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The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has mortgage and rental help for Alaskans who’ve lost wages due to COVID. The deadline to apply is TONIGHT.
You can now request an absentee ballot online. You don't even have to mail in a form. This is super easy, and will help keep voters and poll workers safe—and distanced—on election day. |
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If you haven’t already, make sure you fill out the census! The self-reporting deadline is the end of July. You count, so get counted!
City governments & school boards make countless vital decisions about our communities. Want to take part in the decisions? Check out the League of Women Voters' How to Run for Local Office seminar .
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Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email!
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Visit Me!
Alaska State Capitol
Room 419
Juneau, AK 99801
800 550 4947
907 465 4947
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Contact My Staff:
Edric Carrillo
907 465 6419
Cathy Schlingheyde
907 465 6827
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