NRSC Pledging Support to Miller; DSCC Doesn’t Reveal Plans for McAdams
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010, Top Stories | View Comments
Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC
The national group that works to get Republicans elected to the Senate is congratulating Joe Miller on his win in the primary. The National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a statement last night applauding Miller as its nominee, and pledging its support. Just days ago Miller was accusing the NRSC of what he called “meddling” in the campaign on Murkowski’s behalf.
But now that he’s the presumed nominee, NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh says his group is willing to help Miller with staff and funds, but they’ll wait to see if he requests it.
The national group that helps Democrats get elected to the Senate says it believes Scott McAdams is a strong candidate, but it would not say whether it plans to send money and support staff up to Alaska. A spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says it never talks about fundraising strategy. The DSCC would not go on tape with APRN about the Senate race or its level of support for McAdams.
Senator Mark Begich says he fully plans to ask the DSCC and others to get involved and contribute to the McAdams effort.
Begich says he thinks the race is wide open, and will likely be tightly contested in the end.
Begich says that since McAdams won the Democratic primary last week, his campaign has garnered tens of thousands of dollars in donations from Alaskans.
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Poll Shows Close Race for Senate Seat
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010, Top Stories | View Comments
Ed Ronco, KCAW – Sitka
The first poll taken after Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded the race to Joe Miller shows a tight race between Miller and McAdams. Rasmussen Reports surveyed 500 likely voters on the phone just hours after Murkowski conceded the GOP primary to Miller Tuesday night. It shows Miller just six points ahead of McAdams, 50 to 44. Two percent of those surveyed are undecided and 4 percent said they’d support a different candidate. KCAW’s Ed Ronco spoke to McAdams a few hours before Murkowski’s concession about the campaign ahead.
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Miller Credits Supporters for Primary Win
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
Joe Miller hit the ground running today with a flurry of national media interviews. As he moves on to the general election, Miller says he’s gratified to be the Republican candidate.
Miller credits many supporters with helping secure the primary win.
Miller says he believes he’ll be able to raise the money needed to fund the general election campaign against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott McAdams of Sitka. He says he hasn’t talked to the Tea Party Express about additional support. The Express poured a lot of money into the primary, but Miler says he doesn’t expect the national group to be involved in the general election.
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Why the Republican Primary Was Much Closer Than Predicted
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
In late July, Ivan Moore Research found Joe Miller polling more than 30 points behind incumbent Lisa Murkowski. At the time, Moore told APRN it didn’t look like Miller could even get close to Murkowski in the primary with numbers like that. But what a difference a few weeks make.
Moore says a number of factors led to Millers surprise win, including the type of primary in Alaska.
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Alyeska Publishes Report on Pump Station 9 Spill
Wed, September 1, 2010
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Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
An Alyeska report on May’s oil spill at Pump Station 9 sheds light on its cause, and raises concerns about pipeline operations.
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Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Forces Calista President onto Administrative Leave
Wed, September 1, 2010
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Angela Denning-Barnes, KYUK – Bethel
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta’s Native Corporation, Calista, has put its long-time President on administrative leave, because of a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
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Memorial Service Scheduled for Slain Hoonah Officers
Wed, September 1, 2010
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Casey Kelly, KTOO – Juneau
A memorial service has been scheduled for the Hoonah Police officers killed last weekend in what authorities say was an ambush by a lone gunman.
Interim City Administrator Bob Prunella says Officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka will be honored in a ceremony next Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Hoonah High School gym. Prunella says he’s heard the memorial will be attended by law enforcement personnel from across the country.
The suspect in the police shootings, 45-year-old John Marvin, Jr., was arraigned in Juneau Tuesday.
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Rats Eliminated from Aleutian Island
Wed, September 1, 2010
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Sam Wright, KDLG – Dillingham
All of the rats on Rat Island in the Aleutian Islands have been killed as part of a large habitat restoration project.
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Captured Brown Bear Cubs Staying in Sitka for Now
Wed, September 1, 2010
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Robert Woolsey, KCAW – Sitka
Three brown bear cubs captured in Sitka this August will remain in town indefinitely. Officials with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game report that several out-of-state zoos initially interested in the cubs have found bears elsewhere. Sitka’s Fortress of the Bear is making arrangements with the state to house the bears permanently.
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Alaska News Nightly: September 1, 2010
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News Nightly | View Comments
Individual news stories are posted in the Alaska News category and you can subscribe to APRN’s news feeds via email, podcast and RSS.
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Murkowski Concedes Senate Primary Race
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
Senator Lisa Murkowski last night conceded her re-election bid. In a hastily called press conference after many of the state’s absentee, questioned and early ballots had been counted, the senior Senator said she didn’t foresee a scenario where the Republican primary would turn out in her favor.
“And that is a reality that is before me at this point in time. And for that reason, and for the good of the state of Alaska, which is – this is what this is all about,” Murkowski said. “It’s for the good of the state of Alaska. I am now conceding the race for the Republican nomination. I’ve shared that information with Mr. Miller just a few moments ago.”
Throughout the day, the election night ballot count had changed in her favor by only 38 votes at the time of her concession. She had won in 21 House districts, mostly in Southeast and Anchorage, but not by enough votes to balance her losses in Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and Matsu. At the end of the day, Joe Miller was still in the lead by a 1,630 vote margin. That’s about one and a half percent of the total 104,000 votes cast.
During her seven-minute speech, Murkowski thanked the people around the state who have supported her over the years as well as the volunteers and staff in Anchorage and in Washington DC. She said it’s now time for her to complete her job she was elected to.
“We’ve got legislation that’s going to be before us in Washington DC when we get back in September. I know for a fact that some of the case work that we’re working on here – we’ve got six hundred-some-odd files where we are providing that help, that assistance to Alaskans all over the state,” Murkowski said. “That work is going to continue. And we’re going to make sure that we hold the federal agencies accountable to the people of Alaska.”
“We’re going to keep doing our job for the people of the state that we represent.”
Murkowski said she plans to return to Alaska after her term is over this year.
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Alaska Responds to Murkowski’s Decision to Concede
Wed, September 1, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
You couldn’t call it a surprise, but still Alaskans were sympathetic as they reacted to Lisa Murkowski’s decision to concede her campaign for re-election to a second full term.
“I’m bummed. She’s one of the best Senators I’ve had. And I’m said to see this turn of events,” Robin Phillips, a former volunteer and staffer for Murkowski from Anchorage, said. “But she always puts Alaska first. And I think that’s why I know she would be great at whatever she decided to do.”
“It’s not only a loss for our state. I think it’s a loss for our country. Because I feel that she was a young woman that really represented all the people, not just certain groups,” Susan Fischetti, from Eagle River, said. “She has Alaska in her heart, and I know that everything that she and her family did was for the good of our state. Never for herself.”
Senator Mark Begich said in a prepared statement that Murkowski served Alaskans with “energy and grace.” He said he was grateful for all the support she has given him for the two years they have served together.
The Republican Party is welcoming Joe Miller into their camp. Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich said he looks forward to working with Miller along with Don Young and Sean Parnell during this year’s General Election campaign.
And Democratic nominee for the Senate – Scott McAdams – called Senator Murkowski a “class act” who always put Alaska first. He – along with Begich – said they agreed with Murkowski on the majority of issues effecting Alaska.
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Murkowski Concedes to Miller
Tue, August 31, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Photos by Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage
Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded her bid for reelection to primary opponent Joe Miller early Tuesday evening saying it was for the “good of the state of Alaska.”
She said it had been a “terribly long week” and “difficult on all sides,” during a press conference in Anchorage.
Murkowski had watched Miller’s lead dip and climb back during the course of Tuesday’s counting of absentee and other ballots but she said did not see a path to winning.
“Based on where we are right now, I don’t see a scenario, where the primary will turn out in my favor,” she told reporters. “I’m now conceding the race for the Republican nomination.”
She told reporters and several sullen supporters standing at her side that she had called Miller just before the press conference to tell him of her decision.
Murkowski thanked her supporters and called them the “best of the best.”
Prior to the press conference, Miller told KTUU-TV in Anchorage he felt “pretty good” about how the count had gone. He was asked if Murkowski should drop out. “No, that’s her decision,” he said.
Miller now faces Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams (right), the Democrat who easily won his party’s nomination.
Tuesday’s count showed Miller with 52,988 votes or 50.78 pct of the vote. Murkowski had 51,358 votes or 49.22 pct. Some 1,630 votes separated the two candidates. That was a margin similar to the one Miller had started with on Tuesday morning.
The Republican senate primary captured national headlines this past week as both campaigns sought to cast the returns in the most favorable light.
Miller’s candidacy was boosted early when he won the endorsement of former Governor Sarah Palin.
“Do you believe in miracles?!” Palin said in a Twitter message shortly after Murkowski’s announcement. “Thank you for your service, Sen. Murkowski. On to November!”
Miller, a Tea Party favorite, also had won the endorsement of Fox TV host and former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Throughout the campaign, Miller had chided Murkowski for being too liberal.
Murkowski had run strong in Anchorage and various other parts of the state, but Miller led in Fairbanks and in much of the Mat-Su Valley.
Vote Gap Between Murkowski and Miller Narrows Slightly
Tue, August 31, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010, Top Stories | View Comments
Photo and Story by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
The absentee ballot count today in the Republican U.S. Senate primary shows a slight narrowing of the gap between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller at this hour. As of 5:00 p.m., Miller is leading Murkowski by 1,469 votes, down from 1,668 votes after last Tuesday’s election.
Thousands of absentee ballots were counted today at the Anchorage office of the state division of elections. The ballots are pivotal in the outcome of the race for Alaska’s available US Senate seat in the November election.
But things were quiet this morning as election volunteers, most of them women, sat at their workstations. Both the Miller and the Murkowski campaigns had sent observers to watch the proceedings. Gail Fenumiai, division of elections director, said ballot counting was taking place at the same time in Wasilla
Fenumiai said questioned ballots, those voted on election day, but without proper address identification, are verified by a bipartisan review board. Despite fears expressed by the Miller campaign regarding mishandling of the vote count, the operation seemed to go smoothly. Other than a handful of reporters, there were few members of the public in evidence at the division office in Anchorage.
When new numbers were posted to the state election division website shortly before eleven this morning, the returns showed a slight lessening of the gap between the two candidates – in Murkowski’s favor. John Bitney speaks for Lisa Murkowski’s campaign.
The districts reflecting the early returns were in Anchorage and Eagle River. Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said he wasn’t worried about them
Shortly after noon, Matanuska Valley election officials finished counting absentee votes in Wasilla. Those returns lessened Miller’s advantage by about one tenth of a percentage point.
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Ballot Counting Continues
Tue, August 31, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010, Top Stories | View Comments
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage and Dave Donaldson, APRN – Anchorage
APRN’s Juneau correspondent, Dave Donaldson, is keeping tabs on the returns today.
The vote counting continues on Friday and on September 8. By state law, the division has up to 15 days after the election to review and count absentee and questioned ballots.
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Lt. Governor Responds to Vote Tampering Allegation
Tue, August 31, 2010
Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010 | View Comments
Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage
Lieutenant Governor Craig Campbell is responding to a complaint by the Miller campaign of alleged vote tampering at the Mat Su Division of Elections office. An attorney for the Miller campaign, Thomas Van Flein, wrote a letter to the Division of Elections yesterday accusing a Murkowski campaign observer of accessing election information on a state computer. Campbell says the full review of the incident is not complete. But he has determined the security of the voter system could not have been compromised.
The complaint also accuses the observer of trying to bring a back pack into the ballot observation room. Campbell says that claim appears to be true, but election officials stopped him. The Miller campaign says the observer also tried to use his smart phone from inside the observation room, which is prohibited. Campbell says it looks like that complaint is true.
Campbell says the full inquiry into the matter should be complete soon. Until then, he says its too early to say what type of repercussions may be in store for the observer or the Murkowski campaign. He says it’s unusual for the Division of Elections to have to investigate these types of allegations.
Campbell denied a request by the Miller campaign to station state troopers at the election offices where vote counting is taking place today.
Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage
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Judge Sets Hoonah Murder Suspect’s Bail at $1 Million
Tue, August 31, 2010
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Matt Miller & Casey Kelly, KTOO – Juneau
A Juneau magistrate has set bail at $1 million for the Hoonah man accused of shooting and killing two police officers last weekend.
45-year-old John Marvin Jr. appeared in Juneau District Court today (Tuesday) — escorted by a state trooper and a judicial services officer — dressed in red prison pants and shirt, slip-on shoes, and hands and feet cuffed and chained.
District Attorney Doug Gardner justified such a high bail amount by saying the shooting of Officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka was an “unprovoked slaying.” Both officers did not even contact Marvin Saturday night and were — instead – socializing with their own family members. Marvin also has a record – including a conviction for sexual abuse of a minor in 1993.
Magistrate John Sivertsen attempted to explain to Marvin his rights, but Marvin did not appear to be very responsive.
At least twice he blurted out, “I’m John McMartin Royal.”
Then, after reading the charging documents, he repeatedly asked “Who’s treating Officer Wallace?”
In partial frustration, Magistrate Sivertsen replied “I don’t know. I think he’s dead.”
Marvin was appointed a public defender who did not immediately contest the high bail amount.
Sivertson advised Marvin that – if convicted — he would face a minimum of 99-years in prison for each charge of murder of a police officer.
Today’s court hearing was also attended by members of the District Attorney’s office –a few of whom were visible upset — half-a-dozen Juneau police officers, state troopers from the Juneau post, and other courthouse staff.
Marvin’s next court appearance in Juneau District Court is September 8th unless a grand jury returns with a bill of indictment. Then, the case will automatically go to Superior Court.
Meanwhile, Hoonah’s Interim City Administrator Bob Prunella says counselors from SEARHC Behavioral Health led community stress management workshops today (Tuesday) at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. He says the counselors are also meeting with people individually as needed.
“I know they’ve already been meeting with a lot of the first responders and there’s two chaplains here that are connected to the state police, and they’re going to spend an extra day. So, some good stuff’s
happening,” he says.
Prunella says more reinforcements arrived Monday night for Hoonah’s depleted police force. Yakutat Police Chief John Nichols is doing patrol shifts, and two officers from Wrangell continue to fill in. Wrangell Police Lieutenant Merlin Ehlers is serving as acting police chief while Hoonah Chief John Millan takes time to grieve.
Classes were canceled at Hoonah School on Monday due to the police standoff with Marvin, who barricaded himself inside his home after the shootings. Interim Superintendent Charla Wright says counselors were available at the school today for students who may have trouble coping with the weekend’s violence.
“It’s important to let kids get into a familiar place, a safe place, and get back into a routine. And then there will be opportunities to grieve and express their feelings and we have a good support system for them to be able to have support,” she says.
Wright says both officers were involved in school activities. Wallace ran open gyms after school hours, and was a volunteer wrestling coach. Tokuoka had two children, a six-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.
State flags are lowered to half staff today and a memorial service is being planned.
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University of Alaska Collecting Data on Ocean Acidification
Tue, August 31, 2010
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Steve Heimel, APRN – Anchorage
The University of Alaska has established a research Center to gather data and run experiments on ocean acidification. The oceans absorb much of the Carbon Dioxide put into the air from the burning of fossil fuels, but that removal comes with a price tag that could involve our fisheries.
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