It's 10 am and 34 People Have Voted So Far

There are 890 people listed on the register in this precinct.  Some have gotten absentee ballots and some may have voted early.  


Most of the stuff was set up last night.  We were here at 6:15am (physically here, not necessarily mentally) and had to set up of the ballot box.  We walked through the instructions starting with opening it up and checking to see it was empty in all three chambers.  One chamber is for ballots that don't work right in the main slot and in case the power goes off.  Then there's an extra one if the main chamber gets full.  You have to open the top and put the ballots into that second chamber so there is room in the main chamber. 






Then you have to slide the Accu-Vote machine into place, plug it in, then turn it on.  Next we took the cover off of the compartment that has the tape. 










  The tape automatically starts and the window is supposed to have the precinct number and have a zero.  Then it lists a bunch of zeroes - I'm assuming one for each item on the ballot. 

Then each of the poll-workers signs the tape and it gets rolled up and the cover to this compartment is locked on.  There was a little metal bar with a metal security band locked on.   The tail of the security band kept getting caught in the cover as we tried to lock that on.  Eventually we got it right. 

We all had to take an oath to uphold the laws of the US, the State of Alaska, and the Municipality of Anchorage.

We had an early voter who was here before 7am who waited until it was time to start.  Then there was a steady flow.  By 8am we had had 11 voters, one of whom was a questioned ballot. (Someone who was from another precinct.)







We had a brief scare as someone asked about the Assembly race and why that wasn’t on the ballot.  He was right.  There were just two school board races.  No Assembly race.  But we figured out that the Assembly member from this district wasn't up for reelection.  But the voter said that his wife had voted early at Loussac Library and had an Assembly race on her ballot. 

This raised a question for me - if someone votes a questioned ballot in another polling place, could they vote for a candidate that isn’t on their own ballot in their home precinct?

We checked with , reported the situation the man told us about with the election office and checked on what happens to questioned ballots with races the voter isn't eligible to vote for.  They said that questioned ballots are hand checked for precincts and if they get a ballot with races they can’t vote for, those are voided. 

We’ve got strawberries, grapes, and muffins that the other workers brought in to munch on - and for people who voted. 

One Of The World's Most Important Writers Dies

The LA Times has a front page story on Chinua Achebe's death at 82.  It begins:

"When Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe was in college, a European professor assigned "Mister Johnson," which portrayed Africa as a land of grinning, shrieking savages. Time magazine called it "the best novel ever written about Africa."
Achebe was outraged. He vowed that if someone as ignorant as Joyce Cary, the novel's Anglo-Irish author, could write such a book, "perhaps I ought to try my hand at it."
The result was a masterpiece: "Things Fall Apart," his 1958 debut novel, changed the face of world literature by presenting the colonization of Africa from an African point of view. With more than 10 million copies sold in 50 languages, it established Achebe as the patriarch of modern African literature.
Achebe, who has been praised by Nelson Mandela as the writer who "brought Africa to the world," died Friday in Boston after a brief illness. He was 82."

People who think racism is simply the idea of consciously hating people because they are a different race are missing the bigger picture.  It's about how our unconscious minds are shaped to believe lots of stereotypes about the other race.  From parents, media, religion, advertisements, text books, all parts of our culture that shape our understanding of things.  This is illustrated later in the LA Times piece:

"Growing up, he had absorbed Western prejudices so thoroughly that, he later wrote, "I did not see myself as an African to begin with." But in college, it dawned on him that he had given up too much of his identity and could not accept white authors' portrayals of Africans as culturally inferior and subhuman. "

 If you've never heard of Chinua Achebe, now's a good time to read one of his books.   Loussac's library's online catalog lists 7 titles:

• UAA - one print copy
• Muldoon - one audio
• Matsu - one audio and one print
• Loussac - three print
• Kodiak - one print
• Valdez - one print

And if you aren't near Anchorage, I'm sure you can find a library copy or a used copy somewhere nearby.  Meanwhile, you can read the whole LA Times article here.

Ugly Anchorage or a City To Match Our Mountains? The Decision is NOW

OK, I admit, we're not likely to have a city to match our mountains. (Though there are places in the world where the city scape is spectacularly beautiful and in harmony with their environments.) 


Tonight the Anchorage Assembly 'starts' public hearings on changes to Title 21 - the Municipal Code that governs design criteria for developing Anchorage into the future.  I say 'starts' because this has been going on over ten years and was all set to be adopted when Sullivan became mayor and hijacked the process.  (Yes, I'm moving out of my normal even handed perspective into a more editorial one.  Sometimes there aren't two sides.  Sometimes one side is right and the other is not.  While I don't think this is a case of right and wrong, it is a case of much righter and much wronger.)

I see several interest groups here:

1.  Planners - those who recognize that every large successful business makes plans about what they are going to do in the future so that they can stay competitive.  These folks believe that governments, involving and representing the vast majority of citizens, should come up with plans for simple things that make, in this case, our city safer, easier to walk and bike in (this includes kids, the poor, the elderly), and just a lot nicer to look at.

Anchorage has gone through a very comprehensive process over a ten year period to come up with such a plan.

2.  The Builders - those who make their living in various areas of construction - from architects to pavers.  While this group is relatively small in percentage of the Anchorage population, they have, individually, a much bigger interest in this and have wielded a lot of political power to stop the community process from being implemented and with the help of Mayor Sullivan made radical changes to the plan so that they can continue to build with as little oversight by the City planning department.  They can continue to build with just their immediate costs in mind and with little interest to the impacts their buildings have on the availability of decent, durable housing, and the visual impact of their buildings of the neighbors.  Some of these people already do forward thinking projects, but most don't and don't want anyone to restrict them in any way.

3.  The average citizen who doesn't think much about long term impacts, doesn't think she has any power to make a difference, is terribly busy anyway, and/or doesn't even know what Title 21 is.

4.  The "in their own world' delusional types.  These are folks for whom out-of-context facts and half-truths are ammunition to support their own dysfunctional fancies.  In this case they are remnants of the Anchorage Tea Party movement who have declared Anchorage's Title 21 to be a conspiracy to take over the world by the same people who are pushing the UN's Agenda 21.   Glenn Beck is one of those pushing this bogey-man to get these folks to continue to vote against their own self interests.  Sorry, I know it's more subtle than this, but not a lot. Really, there were lots of these people at the Planning and Zoning meetings on Title 21.  Lots. 

While other parts of the US not only recognize same-sex marriage, our friends at the Anchorage Baptist Temple have managed to keep the words gay and lesbian out of our anti-discrimination law.

And we're just as far behind the rest of the US in planning and zoning standards that help prevent the worst of developer practices.  Good developers support planning because then they can do well designed projects that make sense for their immediate client in the short term, and also for their client and the rest of Anchorage in the long term.  Without the guidelines, they get undercut by unscrupulous builders and get forced into shortcuts that ultimately hurt their clients and the rest of us.

The builders argue there is a shortage of land in Anchorage to develop so they shouldn't be restricted.  I'd argue the shortage means that what is left is at a premium and the price of the land will mean their clients can afford to do things that have long term value for their clients and the rest of us.

Is the Title 21 that came out of the community planning process perfect?  Certainly not.  If you want perfection, try soap bubbles.  But it's a lot more reflective of what the greater public that particiapted in its creation wanted, than the developer mangled rewrite that Dan Coffey got two lucrative contracts from Mayor Sullivan to do.  Even Sullivan didn't take all off Coffey's recommendations. 


Here's some background from those who have worked for years to improve the design quality of Anchorage including tips for what you can do: 

Tuesday, January 15, Loussac Library Assembly Chambers, 7pm.

[My sense is that this won't be finished tonight.  But you should be at the Assembly Chambers to let the Assembly members know how the public feels. And to get riled up by the nonsense some people are spewing.  And to fill my space since I'm out of town. In the previous meetings the Tea Party folks were there in number and volume opposed to any government planning because this was all an Agenda 21 conspiracy.  If you absolutely can't go, watch online.  But one of the best ways to influence the Assembly is to be there in person for your interests.  Bring the kids so they can learn how democracy works.  Let them see what happens if their voice is or isn't represented.]

You don't have to understand the newest code.  The Assembly certainly doesn't.  They only received copies of it last weekend, and it's over 700 pages long. 

Just come and talk about what you're an expert on:  Why you choose to live here, and what problems you've lived with that you want fixed before another ten years go by.  

Folks who scorn improving the city's quality of life will be there talking about their property rights and fighting sidewalks and landscaping because it's 'too expensive.'  Your voice is very much needed.

Tell the Assembly you want them to approve the 'Provisionally Adopted Title 21' that went through 8 YEARS of public review and compromises.

Anchorage Citizens Coalition will prepare technical comments after we've gone through the newest Title 21 with the help of our great volunteers.  If you can help on any particular issue, please contact us.

We have two kinds of threats from the Assembly:  

1.  The Assembly hasn't yet learned that if we want small, walkable neighborhood shopping districts they need to help by concentrating commercial/retail development, not scattering it all over town into industrial and residential districts.  We need 'Mixed Use District Zones,' that will produce compact shopping areas next to neighborhoods, and other strategies that they threw out last year.

2.  The Tea Party, the Building Owners and Managers Assoc. and the new Planning & Zoning Commission didn't get all they wanted from the Assembly's Title 21 Committee, and we can expect them to come back for more on issues such as 

• allowing taller commercial buildings inside neighborhoods (B1A and B2B zones,) 
• squeezing homes onto lots that are currently considered 'too small,'
• reducing the open space children need for outdoor play,
• dumpster screening,
• sunlight into neighborhoods, and more. 

Here's what we expect to be at stake as the Assembly votes on Title 21:

• sidewalks on both sides of the street and to connect schools, parks and neighborhoods (keep pedestrian standards.)
• keeping tall buildings from shadowing our yards and south facing windows, (keep midtown and other B-3 business zoning, business height transition standards for neighborhoods)  (Note: no standards have yet been developed that protect homes from shadowing other homes.)
• incentives to build small, active, walkable neighborhood shopping districts out on the main streets, (bring back mixed use zoning districts, do not scatter mixed uses into industrial and residential zones.)
• keeping ticky tacky cookie cutter houses out of our neighborhoods, and making sure new homes have more landscaping and less asphalt. (Strengthen standards for single family and multifamily design, landscaping, garage front domination.)
• protecting our wildlife corridors and fish habitats (Restore 50 foot stream setbacks, limits on fences & buildings next to streams.)
• making sure children have decent, attractive play space near their homes.  (Maintain 'useable' open space standards.)
• making sure it's safer to walk in midtown as it continues to grow.  (Restore height restrictions in midtown that allow for increased height only after building adds landscaping, sunlight protection, public space, plazas, etc.)

Besides going to the meeting you can:

Call your Assembly representative.  http://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Pages/MemberProfiles.aspx

Work with your Community Council to adopt a resolution promoting the Provisionally Adopted Title 21 and supporting Anchorage 2020.  http://www.communitycouncils.org/  Other councils' resolutions are available for your review by contacting AnchorageCitizensCoalition@gmail.com

More info is at accalaska.org and at the Facebook site Free Title 21

The muni has posted all relevant Title 21 documents at: http://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/Projects/t21/Pages/Title21Rewrite.aspx

Dan Bern, My Favorite Songwriter/Singer, Packs Out North Friday Night

As I've said in previous posts this week, I first experienced Dan Bern performing in 1997 at Loussac library.  He blew me away. 

He carries on the tradition of Gutherie and Dylan's songs that commented on the state of the world.  Long narratives in a singing style that . . . well the first time I heard him, he came out and sang, then stopped, and said something like, "Some people say I sound like Dylan . . . but  you don't do you?" with a big grin on his face.

What struck me then was how his songs started with  unexpected premises and then wandered through a stream of conscious jumping from topic to topic, all the while telling the story.  Not unlike some of my blog posts.   "If Marilyn Monroe had married Henry Miller" for example.  These are sophisticated musical musings that are funny, thought provoking and musically seductive.  Sure, everyone knows who Marilyn Monroe is, but you also have to know who Henry Miller was and that Marilyn Monroe was married for a while to Arthur Miller (and who he was).

The Wasteland, one of my favorites from early on, wraps up the dilemmas of an age in evocative words and music that starkly express the darker side of American dream.  It starts:

Wasteland

Sound Clip

I saw the best of my generation playing pinball
Make-up on, all caked up 
Looking like some kind of china doll
With all of Adolf Hitler's moves down cold
As they stood up in front 
Of a rock and roll band
And always moving upward and ever upward
To this gentle golden promised land
With the smartest of them all 
Moonlighting as a word processor
And the strongest of them all 
Checking IDs outside a saloon
And the prettiest of all 
Taking off her clothes
In front of men 
Whose eyes look like they were in some little hick town 
Near Omaha 
Watching the police chief 
Run his car off the side of a bridge

 

He just tells the story and let's the audience work out what it means.

He also has a lot of baseball songs - including one about Pete Rose, the Hall of Fame, and betting, and another one I heard the first time Friday on Armando Gallarraga's perfect game stolen by umpire Jim Joyce's bad call on what should have been the last out.  Another on the golden voice of Vin Scully. 


 These photos were taken at Friday night's concert.  The purple shirt was before the break. 

Patrick McCormick stood in for his Dad Mike, the founder of Whistling Song productions which has been bringing up folkish musicians to Anchorage for a long time.  Mike's knowledge of music and hospitality has been the main reason we've had so many good musicians playing here.  Many, like Dan, have stayed at the McCormick's house when they were here.  Dan's talked about it being a wonderful change from most tour stops, being able to stay with a family.  And he's watched Patric grow up over the years he's been coming to Anchorage.   Patrick told a story about Dan coming to one of his basketball games when he was in the third grade. 

Having spent a good part of the week at the songwriting workshop and two concerts, I've got lots more to write and not enough time.  Rather than write one long, long post that won't get up til Wednesday or Thursday, let me stop here and I'll add more later.

"Picture Michelangelo with a briefcase and a beeper" - Songwriting With Dan Bern in Anchorage

Click To Enlarge

We had to write and sing a one line song to introduce ourselves.

Then we had to write lyrics in a

2

2

2

7

8

8

8

8

pattern - haiku like, 2 syllables, 2 syllables, etc - about a moose encounter.

And then sing it to the group.

Regular readers know that I can listen to music, but making it?  That stopped when I hung up the oboe in high school.  My talents clearly lay elsewhere.  But Dan Bern is such an incredible songwriter/singer, that I signed up for this songwriting workshop with the expectation that I'd just get to know more about him and where all the songs come from.

He writes and sings in the troubadour style of Woody Gutherie and Bob Dylan.  Long song stories that take you to on  unexpected places where you meet a surprising cast of characters.  And when it's over, you often have to gulp as you realize what it was all about.  He even has a song about Guthrie handing the torch to Dylan from his deathbed and how he (Dan) climbed in to sing to Bruce Springstein on his deathbed.  Here are the lyrics and here's a short audio clip.  He's written about lots of celebrities including Charles Manson, Marilyn Monroe, Tiger Woods, Joe Van Gogh (Vincent's son),

He writes songs about important issues of the day - True Revolutionaries, Gambling in Sports (he's a big baseball fan), Alien Abduction,  AIDS,  or Dan's first ten days as  President. 

Check out any of those songs and you'll see his imagination is not ordinary, and he's got music in his genes.


And Dan was Dan last night and everything he did  - including the introductions - was part of learning songwriting.  So I had no choice but to sing my intro, and while it was more talking than singing at first, I began to realize during the class that I've just had this image of me as not a singer all these years.  And there's no reason why I shouldn't liberate my inner singer.  Songwriter at least.

He also answered questions - about where inspiration comes from, writing groups, - with advice that's good for any creative process, like writing a blog even.  Like, you could write three lines (or three days) and when you hit the fourth, you nail it.  And have to toss all that came before. 

I first heard Dan long, long ago.  I'm not even sure, except it was at Loussac library and it was probably 1997 (When Dan Bern  - the CD came out.)  My son had heard Dan open for Ani DiFranco in Anchorage and essentially told us we had no choice but to go hear Dan Bern who was coming back to Anchorage.

And he was right.  By the last song of the evening - Estelle - I was in the zone. Such a wild and crazy adventure lament. (The link goes to a YouTube of it.  Still one of my very favorites.)  We've gone to quite a few Dan Bern concerts since, including the great pair of shows at Cyrano's November 25 (Mike, there's no year listed on the tickets, just the date).  In the last few years I haven't kept up with Bern's music so I'm looking forward to the Saturday night concert at Out North.  (There are concerts Thursday and Friday night too.  Check at OutNorth 270 8099 X 203.)

But I'm rushing this post out, even though it reflects my being tired, because there are still a few spots in the song writing workshop Tuesday night and Wednesday night.  While people are going to all three, you can go to just one or two.  Call Out North at 279-8099 extension 203 to get your space.  This guy is the real deal. 

If you look carefully at the second picture, you'll see we all got fortune cookies.  Our homework is to take something from the fortune and make a short song - use the fortune itself, or just one word, or the thought. 

I've put a lot of links to song lyrics (many of which have a 30 second audio clip and Estelle to a video and a lot can be found on YouTube) but this one - Art on the Run - seemed appropriate for a blogger who is trying to get this up so people can see it while they can still act on it. 

Take the best idea you got sprouting from your brain like cauliflower
Stick it in the microwave leave it for a quarter of an hour
Write poems on the freeway, write screenplays in between submitting faxes
Draw pictures at the Wendy's drive through window, on your way to do your taxes

Because you're not a child you're not a child
Days flash by, like numbers on a TV dial
Forget that novel, man; could be haiku is more your style

Making art on the run, art on the run, art on the run
Art on the run, art on the run, art on the run
Chopin in his Chevrolet and digital machine
Singing melodies while pumping gasoline
Picture Michelangelo with a briefcase and a beeper
When's the last time that you had a really good night's
SLEEEEEEP?   (All of Art on the Run is here.)

For those of you outside of Anchorage, he'll be in Palmer on Sunday.  And if you're Outside (of Alaska), here's his tour schedule.

Barbara, he'll be in Toronto October 18. 

It's late.  I'm going to open my fortune cookie now.

Let's see, do I write about loyalty or should I do one on numbers?

As Shell Is About to Drill, What Do We Know About Arctic Sea Ice?

Image from World Atlas

I'm treading on ground I know little about here, but one thing led to another.  Given the assurances BP gave us about safety in the Gulf, I think it behooves us to ask as many questions as we can about safety in the Chukchi Sea. There's a lot here and it's technical, but I dare you to go through it, even if you only skim.  And this post has also been influenced by power and internet outages.  So the present tense changes each time I start writing again.

This post began with an email from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Frontier Science website about their new Arctic Sea Ice videos.  I thought it relevant to see what Shell Oil had up on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.  I was close to posting Tuesday night when I was having trouble with blogger and saved the post and reopened it to find most of the post gone.

A severe storm that's been predicted for Anchorage has just made its presence known through noisy wind slamming windows and mimicking airplanes flying over the house.  We're supposed to have 80 to 100 mile/hour winds.  I was sure that the electricity would go out before I finished this.  Now that I have to recreate much of it, I can only cross my fingers.  I've gotten candles out just in case.  In my heart of hearts, I know this will be a better post for being rewritten, but I'm still not happy. 

Here are two Frontier Science videos on Arctic ice.  The first is Modeling Arctic Ice:




and the second one on Bering Sea Ice Movements


Tuesday 10:26pm - the electricity just went out, but J had lit the candles already.  The wind is huffing and puffing and banging tree limbs against the house. 

So, I wanted to see what Shell Oil had about sea ice.  At the Alaska Press Club Conference in April I learned at one panel that included a Shell representative and other Arctic researchers, that Shell (and I think other corporations) had agreed to share their research findings in the Arctic and not keep them proprietary.  So if that has happened, then the Frontier Scientists should have access to it.

A Shell webpage on Oil spill prevention and response got me to a pdf of a report:  PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO OIL SPILLS IN THE ALASKAN ARCTIC.   On page three it had a Prevention Toolkit.  The tools listed included:

• Redundancy - "Shell applies a multi-layered well control system designed to eliminate the possibility of a low probability, high impact event. If any one system or device fails, it should not lead to a blowout."     It suggests that there are different systems to notice problems so if one fails another will pick it up.  I'd note that in Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell wrote that airplane crashes happen when five or six backup systems go wrong at once.
• The Safety Case Approach - "As an example, Shell has used the “Safety Case” approach recommended by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling for all its contracted drilling rigs, globally, for many years."  That's odd, since the spill occurred in 2010 and the National Commission report came out in 2011.  How could they have used this approach for many years?  Maybe the approach was around and the Commission endorsed it in its report.  Ah, writing is so tricky.
• Safety Culture - "Since 90% or more of all incidents are caused by human error, a true culture of safety that permeates and guides all activities is perhaps the most important method of spill prevention"
  
• Blowout Preventer - "In the unlikely event that measures of early detection fail, mechanical barriers such as blowout preventers (BOP) can seal off the well."
• Ice Management - For the previous tools, I've just given an excerpt of each, but since this is the issue we started with, I should give you their whole explanation:

"Shell’s exploration activities will occur during a four-month period from mid-July through October, in predominantly open water conditions. However, to address the natural variability of ice conditions during thaw and freeze up, Shell has developed an Ice Management Plan (IMP) to ensure safe drilling operations and identify conditions that may put operations at risk.

Shell’s ice management system is a combination of ice monitoring, forecasting, and management techniques. Monitoring includes satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar, airborne and vessel reconnaissance. Forecasting incorporates data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Canadian Ice Service. Shell will use specialized software to integrate ice speed and direction data from the vessel’s radar, aerial reconnaissance, and satellite imagery in order to predict individual ice floe movement, allowing modification of ice management operations on a real-time basis. Shell has established strict protocols to be followed in the event of potential hazards. Ice management vessels can be used to deflect approaching ice around the rig and, if necessary, the rig can quickly stop drilling, secure the well, and move safely off-site."  [emphasis added.]

I wasn't paying close enough attention the first time and glazed over the Ice Management Plan (IMP) but I did see "strict protocols to be followed in the event of potential hazards" and googled that and got to "2010 Plan of Cooperation Camden Bay, Alaska" and this relevant paragraph:

"Shell has developed and will implement a Critical Operations and Curtailment Plan (COCP), which establishes protocols to be followed in the event potential hazards, including ice, are identified in the vicinity of the drilling operations (e.g., ice floes, inclement weather, etc.). Like the IMP, the COCP threat classifications are based on the time available to prepare the well and escape the location. The COCP also contains provisions for not initiating certain critical operations if there is insufficient time available before the arrival of the hazard at the drill site."

At this point I started questioning my obligations as a blogger.  How far am I supposed to go digging? Couldn't I just say my job was to start raising these issues and let someone else take the baton from here?

But how much trouble would it be to look up COCP and IMP?  It turns out, not much at all.  I found them easily.  But then writing up what I found was another issue altogether. That took time.  Time enough to lose most of what I wrote and then get disconnected from the internet by a windstorm taking out our electricity.  I just looked out the window.  It is really, really dark out.  The only lights I can see are a few car lights off in the distance.   I guess a severe storm is an appropriate context for writing about Chukchi Sea emergency oil drilling procedures.  I have an hour left on my laptop battery.


CRITICAL OPERATIONS AND CURTAILMENT PLAN (COCP)
Chukchi Sea, Alaska  (Total of 16 pages)

That's a mouthful, but if you actually think about it, it really says what it's about - a) critical operations and b) curtailment plan.  You'll see below.  It basically is about procedures.  It . . .

• Identifies Planned and Unplanned Critical Operations
• Identifies Circumstance/Conditions  Requiring Curtailment 
• Severe Weather Sea    
• Ice     
• Sea Spray .
• Unavailability of Materials, Personnel, and / or Equipment   
• Well Control

The first three are weather caused issues.  The fourth is about human caused issues.  The last one isn't real clear.  Here's what the COCP says about Well Control:

"Critical operations, other than efforts to restore primary well control, will not be undertaken during a well control event (e.g., drilling will cease pending circulation of a kick out of the hole and adjusting mud density to prevent further kicks from entering the wellbore). The curtailment of critical operations due to a well control event is the responsibility of the Shell Drilling Foreman."

I guess this means if something goes wrong with the well, they'll stop everything else, but I'm not sure. 

Then it goes into different kinds of Time.
There's ST or Secure Time which is how long it takes to secure the rig
There's MT or Move-Off Time - how long it takes to get people evacuated
There's  T-Tine or Total time, which combines ST and MT.
But there is also HT or Hazard Time, how long, in hours, before the hazard arrives.

My question was what if the Hazard Time is less than the T-Time?  That is, if the hazard is due to arrive before they have time to curtail and evacuate? It turns out that got answered in IMP below.*

Then there's the curtailment decision process which basically is about who makes the decisions and who gets told by whom.

And then there's training:

All personnel will be made aware of their roles and responsibilities described within this COCP and the IMP through a training program to be taught before the vessel is on site. All persons with a key position in the COCP will be provided a copy of this document, and training will be provided by Shell prior to deployment. This training will include a table-top exercise that will be carried out prior to initiating operations in the Chukchi Sea.

 Table-top exercise, according CSOOnline,

"is a great way to get business continuity plans off the written page without the interruption of a full-scale drill. Rather than actually simulating a disaster, the crisis management group gathers for three hours to talk through a simulated disaster.

Just talking is good up to a point.  I'd really like them to be doing some shipboard training in a storm. 

ICE MANAGEMENT PLAN (IMP)
(Total 50 pages)

Then I went looking for the Ice Management Plan (IMP). [Doesn't Shell know the definition of 'imp'?  Dictionary.com's first definition of 'imp' is:

"a little devil or demon; an evil spirit."]

Is that the acronym you'd want for your plan for managing ice [assuming humans can do more than respond to ice movements in the Arctic] to prevent oil spills?  Was it a Freudian slip?

Here's the overview from the the little devil's Table of Contents:

• VESSELS  COVERED BY IMP  
• SHELL ICE AND WEATHER ADVISORY CENTER
• ICE ALERT LEVELS AND PROCEDURES  
• ICE MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY  
• WELL SUSPENSION   
• MOORING SYSTEM RELEASE/RECOVERY MOVING ONTO OR RETURNING   TO THE DRILL SITE
• TRAINING

In more detail:

• Vessels - this is probably the most technical section that describes the ships and their capabilities.  For example:
  
  "The Kulluk has an Arctic Class IV hull design, is capable of drilling in up to 600 feet (ft) [182.9 meters (m)]) of water and is moored using a 12-point anchor system. The Kulluk mooring system consists of 12 Hepburn winches located on the outboard side of the main deck, Anchor wires lead off the bottom of each winch drum inboard for approximately 55 ft (16.8 m). The wire is then redirected by a sheave, down through a hawse pipe to an underwater, ice protected, swivel fairlead. The wire travels from the fairlead directly under the hull to the anchor system on the seafloor.
  
  The Kulluk is designed to maintain its location in drilling mode in moving ice with thickness up to 4 ft (1.2 m) without the aid of any active ice management. With the aid of IMVs, the Kulluk would be able to withstand more severe ice conditions. In more open water conditions, the Kulluk can maintain its drilling location during storm events with wave heights up to 18 ft (5.5 m) while drilling, and can withstand wave heights of up to 40 ft (12.2 m) when not drilling and disconnected (assuming a storm duration of 24 hours)."

• Shell Ice and Weather Advisory Center (SIWAC)   - Unit in Anchorage that monitors ice and weather conditions and gets the information out to the drilling rigs.
  
  
• Ice Alerts and Procedures    - Color coded chart from green to red (black is shut down.)  This gives a sense of how long it takes to shut down, because 24 hours notice is green.  Between 24 and 12 hours they initiate risk assessment.  Between 12 and 6 hours limited operations and begin to secure the well.  Under 6 hours the well should be shut down and anchor recovery should commence.
  
  *This section also answers the question I had above about what happens if the hazard time is greater than the total time to shut down:
  
  "Guidance Note: If T-Time becomes greater than HT at any time, well securement and drill site evacuation contingency plans will be implemented."
  There are also more detailed charts and description of who is responsible for doing what in the event of a shut down.

• Ice Management Philosophy   -  I don't know how to take their use of the word Philosophy here.  Is it an attempt to make this sound grander than it is?  If so it is good to know that Philosophy still has a noble image.  But I'd hardly call this a philosophy.  Particularly after reading McPhee's The Control of Nature, I'd call this more a religious doctrine of faith - We believe that if we have these procedures in place, God will not allow bad things to happen. Really, this is just a list of conditions of alleged readiness.  For example:
• "The IMVs will be capable IMVs, with the appropriate ice strengthening, and have been contracted to support the exploration campaign."
• "A systematic approach for risk mitigation is adopted by developing effective work processes.
  Development of effective ice management strategies based on available information (global and local)"
  
• Well Suspension Procedures  - Why is this not reassuring? 
  
  "As part of securing the well, well suspension procedures will be established. These procedures will supplement the detailed well securing procedures that will be contained within the Rig Operations Procedures and will be specific to securing the well in response to the threat of hazardous ice."
  OK, it's not quite that bad.  There is a more detailed table of things to do (p. 16) though I don't have the expertise to know how adequate it is.  


• Mooring System Recovery and Release  - Again, I don't have the expertise to evaluate this, but it is always disconcerting when one of the options - Running of Wires - in the cell for "Advantages" has the word 'none.'  If there are no advantages to that method, then why is it there? 
  
• Moving onto the Drill Site   -  Clarifies who decides when to return to the rig.
  
  
• Training -  Each ship will have a table top exercise and it has a list of people who will participate. 

Both the IMP and the COCP have what I'll call a "good judgment clause."

This is obviously a complicated affair.  These two plans - the CRITICAL OPERATIONS AND CURTAILMENT PLAN (COCP) and the ICE MANAGEMENT PLAN (IMP)  are more about gathering weather data, who makes decisions and who communicates with whom.  These are important things, but they don't really address the technical issues of ice flows in the Arctic and how to shut actually shut down the rig in an emergency.  Those are referred to, almost in passing, in what I'm calling the IMP's 'good judgement' clause. (p. 1)

"This plan is not a substitute for good judgment.

Guidance Note: This document is not intended to contain detailed procedures. Detailed procedures are contained within the vessel-specific operating manuals." [Emphasis added.]

So, the actual procedures for dealing with ice emergencies are yet somewhere else.  Perhaps they are so detailed that there is a justifiable reason for their not being here with these plans.  And presumably each vessel has different plans.  But those more detailed manuals would be critical for someone evaluating the adequacy of the plans.  And given the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, I don't think anyone is willing to just trust the assurances of the oil companies.  But the internet is still out at my house this morning - though the electricity came on around 7am, so I can't search for the operating manuals of the vessels.  (That's an excuse I'm happy to use to get this post done.  Maybe I'll do a follow up post.)

I would note that the Critical Operations and Curtailment Plan (COCP) also has a 'good judgment' clause:

"No contingency plan can adequately cover all conceivable situations and circumstances, nor is this plan intended to be a substitute for good judgment and experience in dealing with unexpected situations."

This is way more than I was expecting to do on this and I haven't even scratched the surface.  I hope it piques some people's curiosity and they try some links and go exploring further.  If you find anything interesting, please report back in the comments.

NOTE: It's 2:30pm Wednesday.  I'm at the dentist's office where there's wifi.   I need to review this, but I'm not sure the internet is working at home, so I'm scheduling it to post at 5pm. I think it's mostly ok. If our home internet isn't working and there are problems, I'll fix it later.
5:51 - I didn't have internet at home so now I'm at Loussac library working on this.

It wasn't until the end of this that I found the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) webpage with lots of links related to their permitting of Shell's 2012 Chukchi oil exploration.

2:35pm Thursday - I thought this went up Wednesday night, but it didn't.  OK, I'll hold it another day.

Back Online. ACS Message Misleading, But Sam Was Great

If you call the tech help line for ACS (611) you get a message (still, 36 hours after the power first went out) that says

"Currently we are experiencing a widespread outage in the Anchorage area.  We are also experiencing troubles in Fairbanks.  If you are not in one of the affected areas  . . . a technician will be with you shortly."

Here's most of the message:

Welcome to Alaska Communications Repair and Technical Support.
Select one of the following options.
For assistance with your wireless phones press 2.
For internet technical support press 3.

In order to assure quality customer care for our valued customers this call may be monitored or recorded.

Thank you for calling Alaska Communications.  For your convenience, there are self-help and remote assistance  options on the web at support.alaskacommunications.com

Currently we are experiencing a widespread outage in the Anchorage area.  We are also experiencing troubles in Faribanks.  If you are not in one of the affected areas and are experiencing and interruption with your internet service please disconnect the power to your modem and any router you may have for sixty seconds  . . . and a technician will be with you shortly.

It told me the wait was 21 minutes.  Fortunately I have a speaker phone option so I could do other things.


Sam answered the phone 20 some minutes later and was amazingly calm, polite, and patient.  When I told him I was sorry but I had to turn on my computer, he said, "You probably waited for me a long time, so I can wait for your computer to boot up."  Wow!

He then proceeded to get me to link to the ACS modem and walked me through various pages to  change the password to the modem.  From what he said, I understood that in trying to fix things all the passwords had to be redone.

My beef?  Why are they continuing to say that Anchorage and Fairbanks have widespread outages, but others should hold on and get assistance?  Anchorage is back on line and we need technical assistance to get our home computers connected again.

Yesterday I bought that line, thinking if there was nothing they could do, I shouldn't add to the delays by calling when they can't do anything about it.  But someone last night said ACS was working.  So today I decided to call, to check and, as a blogger, find out what the problem was, since I was able to get internet yesterday at Providence and at Loussac.

If every Anchorage ACS user needs to change the modem password - and you have to go through technical help to do that - that could take forever.  Or at least a week or two.

But Sam was fantastic.  Not only did he convey patience and understanding of my frustration, but he also was able to fix it quickly.  When we got to about the fourth screen and he said, "You should see ...." I said, "I think you've done this before."  He replied, "Once or twice."  People like Sam make customers like me feel ok even when the company has screwed up.  ACS should give him some sort of bonus.  

Clutter Wars: Old Photos - Checkpoint Charlie 1964-2010, Loussac Opening

My new strategy in the Clutter War is to get rid of things in the garage to make room for boxes from the house.  But I'm being distracted by what I'm finding - like old photos.

Here are some pictures from the year I was a student in Göttingen, Germany.  I'm in the window the day I painted my room in the Forum student housing building on Brüder Grimm Allee, on my scooter (I think it's a Lambretta, but I don't remember for sure and can't find pictures on line that match this model.  But I did find a history of the Lambretta here, beginning before it made scooters, including a 1939 declaration that the factory was  a "model of fascist establishment.") There's a picture of me at the Fasching Party and one with Claudia in Berlin at Schloss Charlottenbe[u]rg.  These are all 1964 and 1965,

In 2010 we visited Berlin and I took and posted this picture of Checkpoint Charlie which is now just a tourist attraction with a guy in a soldier suit in the middle of bustling Berlin.  But I couldn't find my old pictures until today.  The back of the 1964 picture says, "Checkpoint Charlie from ramp on Western Side looking over the wall.  Barbed wire on bottom of picture is on top of the wall."  That's me looking at the sign.   In those days the space between East and West Berlin was no-man's land and today it's just a historical footnote in the middle of Berlin at a point where you otherwise would have no idea this had been the border.

In the last set, you can see Loussac library at what I think was the official opening in 1986.  Then there are two kids preparing for Halloween (this picture is here for their spouses to enjoy).  And finally a picture my son took of his father during the red beard period.  I don't have exact dates but these are mid 1980s.  

OK, back to the garage.  I don't think I've made much room today.

Yesterday's Election Shenanigans

I was tired last night and not in a particularly good mood. So even though there was conflicting information I didn't pursue it.  But Mel at Bent Alaska covers it in detail and the story is going to be disturbing. From Bent:

"Yesterday, we reported that an administrator of Jim Minnery’s Protect Your Rights – Vote NO on 5 Facebook page posted the following notice: Attention Young People or First Time Voters – YOU CAN REGISTER AND VOTE AT THE SAME LOCATION TODAY !! It is super easy. Take a few minutes TODAY and stop by a polling station, register to vote (all you need is your AK driver’s license) and cast a NO Vote on Prop. 5. We really need you to vote. Tell at least 3 of your friends how easy it is."

As soon as I heard that there was a rush of people to the polls and they ran out of ballots,  I began to suspect that this was an intentional attempt disrupt the elections.

Mel's post makes it clear that the "Protect Your Rights" folks knew full well that the information was false.  They'd sent an earlier email out to their list telling people exactly when the registration deadline was. Is it possible the person who did the FB page and the email acted alone and didn't know about the deadline?  Not likely.  



The generally conservative - but with straightforward local political reporting - blog Alaska Pride (no, not gay pride) had this headline March 28:

Dittman Poll Shows 50 Percent Support Anchorage Proposition 5 Vs. 41 Percent Opposed; One Anchorage Got An Earlier Start, More Money, And Remained Civil

 Let's go back to 2009 when the Anchorage Municipal Assembly had hearings on an ordinance that would have done the same thing this ballot initiative tried to do.

Mayor Mark Begich had resigned to take his US Senate seat and liberal Assembly Chair Matt Claman assumed his job as Acting Mayor until the Municipal election in April, when he was defeated by current Mayor Dan Sullivan.  The new mayor doesn't take office until July 1.  There were enough votes to pass the ordinance on the Assembly, but Minnery and his Anchorage Baptist Church friends flooded the Assembly with people to speak against the ordinance - including busing people from outside of Anchorage.  Assembly chair Debbie Ossiander ruled that everyone could talk, even people from outside of Anchorage.  This strategy worked to delay passage of the ordinance for weeks, long enough that Mayor Sullivan took office and then vetoed it.

The liberals were outsmarted in terms of strategy.  And while busing in people from outside the city and getting the Assembly chair to let them speak pushes the limits of fair play, there is a long tradition of using the rules to thwart your opponents.  It tends to be ok if your side does it, but not if the other side does it. 

But telling people to go to the polling place to register, knowing they had to register 30 days earlier, in an attempt to disrupt the election crosses the line for me because it resulted in legitimate voters not being able to vote.  Clearly it's in the dirty tricks category.  But the First Amendment allows people to lie in most circumstances.

Assuming then they were intentionally getting unregistered people to the polls, what was their goal? 

If the anti-Prop 5 folks read the polling data that said Prop 5 was ahead 50% to 41%,  perhaps they decided to cause enough irregularities at the polls to challenge the election if they lost.  I don't know.  Now that they've won,  what will the Prop 5 folks do?  It would seem that even with a challenge, they are too far behind to get enough votes to win.  I'd emphasize the word seem.  I'm sure there are other possible scenarios. 

It's clear, to me anyway, that Minnery's group's Facebook post and emails were intended to get unregistered voters to the polling places to ask to register and then vote, which Minnery knew they were not entitled to do.  He couldn't help but know that this would disrupt the election process by diverting the attention of the voting officials from helping qualified voters.  And that it would increase the number of challenged vote ballots needed way beyond the normal level.  What his reasons for doing this were and what all the consequences were, we don't know.  Was he hoping to establish a grounds for challenging the election if they lost, which the Dittman poll suggested?

Of course, it also raises the question of how the Dittman poll could be so far off.  Last week it was 50% to 41% in favor.  And this week it is 58% to 41% against.  That is a HUGE margin of error.  Was Dittman really that far off?  Or is the vote count off?

I'd note that the ADN reported Tuesday that "More than 3,800 people had already voted at Loussac Library, City Hall or Chugiak Senior Center through Sunday . . . [and a]nother 2,675 people had requested absentee ballots. . ."   The absentee ballots have not been counted yet, nor, I believe, have the early votes.    But if 2,000 of the absentees actually send in their ballots, the total outstanding would only be about 5800 or 9.5%. 

Again, I encourage you to look at Bent Alaska's post on this.

AIFF 2011: UFAQs - Unasked Frequently Asked Questions about the Festival

[This is an updated version of similar posts from previous years.  If you only read one of my posts on the festival, this is the one to read.]

I'm not sure its cricket to have FAQs if no one has asked any questions so these are UFAQs - Unasked Frequently Asked Questions. This is information people might be or should be asking for. Below are links to posts with general information about the Anchorage International Film Festival.

Where's the official AIFF site?

Who won in each category?
2010 Winners -   No page of my picks last year  Official AIFF 2010 Winners Page 
2009 Winners -  My 2009 winners post -  Official AIFF 2009 Winners Page
2008 Winners - My 2008 winners post  -  Official AIFF 2008 Winners Page



What do all the categories mean? ("official selection;" "films in competition," etc. ) This is an updated post from 2008, but still gets the basic information across.  It also covers the process for how films get selected for the Festival and how the winners get chosen. 


What  films are the best films this year (2011)?
Films in Competition are the ones chosen  to compete for the Golden Oosiker awards.  Here are guides to each category - something about each film and when and where they will play. 

Films in Competition  - Features and Documentaries 2011 (My post)
      Link to Festival Genius Features Schedule
      Link to Festival Genius Documentaries Schedule

Films in Competition -  Animation 2011  (My post)
      Link to Festival Genius Animation Schedule
Films in Competition - Shorts  (coming soon I hope)
      Link to Festival Genius all Shorts Schedule
Films in Competition - Super Shorts   (coming soon I hope)
     Link to Festival Genius all Super Shorts Schedule
The films in competition for Snow Dance (Alaskan films) have not been announced yet as I post.  Short documentaries are included in documentaries, but none were picked to be in competition.  

What is Festival Genius?  
Festival Genius  is a national software program that AIFF began using last year.  It lets you sort films in many ways.  You can sort just to see all the films (each film is listed with a picture) in a category, for instance, or see the schedule for the films in a category.    My links sometimes do one, sometimes the other.  Also, the links only go to page 1, be sure to check for any additional pages linked at the bottom of the pages.
If you register on Festival Genius, you can use it to make your own schedule of films you want to see.  You can also make comments and reviews.
NOTE:  Once you're in Festival Genius, there doesn't seem to be a link back to the local AIFF website.  



Short films are grouped together into 'programs.'  How do I find which short films are playing together and the same of program?
Easiest place is the printed program. As of last year (2011) when they added Festival Genius software, things are easier to find.
Animation Programs - The link goes to all programs that have animation.  Some are programs that might have one animation in it.  Animation-Wrld Wide is the program with all the animated shorts. (There weren't that many this year, but the ones in competition appear to be pretty strong.)  There are also two feature animations - George the Hedgehog and Lady of Names.  George, I'm told, is definitely adults only, but Lady will be shown at the kids free showing at Loussac on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Snowdance Programs (films made in Alaska or by Alaskans)
Short Films - There's also a short documentary category.
Super Shorts
(The links only go to page one.  Check at the bottom for more pages.)

I'm not interested in the festival, but if there are any films on my favorite place, food, sport, etc.,  I'd go.  Are there any?

The Festival Genius software  allows you to look at a list of countries and then see what films are being shown from that country.  Click on the blue (where the red arrow points below) and it will open a list of countries.  Then pick a country, and wait until it loads the films from that country. (This screen shot is from 2010)

I counted 26 countries this year.

The film festival spans two calendar weeks and so you have to check for each week.  Just click on the week and it changes.  The Screenshot above is from last year, but here's a link to the same page this year:


http://anchorage.festivalgenius.com/2011/films

 Then click on the countries window to see the list of countries.  Choose the one you want and they will give you all the films from that country in the festival.

To find out about films of special topics, you need to look through the films themselves. 

How do I find your blog posts on specific films or film makers?  There's a tab below the page heading for Anchorage International Film Festival 2011.  I'll put links for specific films here as I post them  (check for the video posts there too)

Do you have videos of the Festival? - I'll add the video posts as they happen on my web with links at the Anchorage International Film Festival 2011 tab on the top of the page.



Where will the films be shown?
Locations:   Bear Tooth, was the main venue last year.  This year there are only eight showings there - all features, all at 8 pm. 

1230 West 27th Avenue (West of Spenard Road) - 907.276.4200

Out North has two rooms for screening. 
3800 DeBarr Road, (two blocks SW of Debarr and Bragraw)  907.279.8099



The Alaska Experience Theater has a large and small theater.
333 West 4th Avenue # 207  (4th and C St)  (907) 272-9076

Marston Theater (Loussac Library) will have the Family Programming on Saturday Dec. 10.

The Alaska Wild Berry Theater has one event - a ski movie - Saturday Dec. 10 at 2pm

5225 Juneau Street (Off Old Seward and International Airport Road) 907) 562-8858

Cyrano's has one film - A Director Prepares:  The Story of the Exxon Valdez.  

413 D Street (Downtown) (907) 274 2599

My understanding is the director pulled his film out of the festival last year because it wouldn't be shown in HD.  This is a special showing in HD.  

Two shows, Tuesday Dec. 6, 7pm and 9pm

There are special events at other venues.  You can check all the venues next to the window where you check the countries on Festival Genius (see screenshot above). 

What workshops are there?
There are  five workshops with film makers.  These are listed on the local site, but NOT on Festival Genius.  There's an $8 fee for most of the workshops, but they are free with Festival Passes.

What are your criteria for a good movie? When I made my picks for the 2008 best films, at the end of the post I outlined my criteria. The link takes you to that post, scroll down to second part.


Should I buy a pass or just buy tickets as I go?  

Tickets are $8 per film ($5 for kids, except at the Bear Tooth). All films passes are $100. (There's only one type of pass this year.) So, if you go to thirteen films, the pass is cheaper. But there are other benefits to the pass. You do have to get a ticket (free) for each film and only a certain number of seats are held for passholders, but you do get priority seating with your pass.
And if you have a pass, you'll go see more films because you'll think "I've paid for them. I should go and get my money's worth."
The pass gets you into Workshops free and a few extra events, though this year they give you a discount, and half price to the opening night film and the awards (which are $20 each, $10 less than last year.)

Another option is to volunteer and get a pass to a movie.

You can buy tickets at the venues.  You can also get advanced tickets at the venues.
You cannot buy tickets online this year.


What about family films? 
Saturday, December 10, 11:30am to 5pm  at Loussac Library - in the Marston Auditorium.  FREE
Here are the AIFF links for family events.
NOTE:  The link goes to page 2 of the schedule because it includes the all the movies in this category at the Loussac Library.  This event is free.  Check page 1 for week one showings of Lady of Names.

Who Are You Anyways? - who's paying you to do this? does your brother have a film in competition? What is your connection to the festival? From an earlier post here's my  
Disclosure:

Well I blogged the  2007 festival  and the AIFF people liked what I did and asked if I would be the official blogger in 2008. They promised me I could say what I wanted, but I decided it was better to blog on my own and then if I write something that upsets one of the film makers, the Festival isn't responsible.  They had a link to the blog last year.  They also thrown in a free pass for me since 2008.

I probably won't say anything terrible about a film, but I did rant about one film two years that I thought was exploiting its subject as well as boorishly demeaning a whole country. I mentioned in an earlier post that if I sound a little promotional at times, it's only because I like films and I like the kinds of quirky films that show up at festivals, so I want as many people to know about the festival as possible so the festival will continue. Will I fudge on what I write to get people out? No way. There are plenty of people in Anchorage who like films. They're my main target - to get them out of the house in the dark December chill when inertia tugs heavily if they even think about leaving the house. But if others who normally don't go out to films hear about a movie on a topic they're into, that's good too.

I did a post last year for Film Festival Skeptics who might be sitting on the fence and need to be given reasons to go and strategies to make it work.  

How do I Keep Track of What's Happening at the Festival?
  I'll be blogging the film festival every day.  The link below will be my festival posts only, starting with the most recent.

Anchorage International Film Festival (AIFF 2011)


Are there other Alaskan Film Festivals? 
There are some events called 'festival' that I know of in Anchorage, but they aren't major film events like this one.  There is another organization,  that puts Alaska in it's name and rents a postal box in Alaska, but has no other connection that we can find to Alaska.  You can read about that at  Comparing the ANCHORAGE and ALASKA International Film Festivals - Real Festival? Scam?

Anyone who knows of other legitimate film festivals in Alaska, let me know.  I've heard stuff about Sitka in 2008.  And there's also an Indigenous Film Festival Feb. 2011. [Not updated since 2010]

Occupy Anchorage and Title 21 People Lure Me To Assembly Meeting

Occupy group at Assembly Meeting

I'm still trying to finish a post from the last Assembly meeting I attended last June (on the mayor's veto, coming soon, I promise) but both the Title 21 citizens' group and Occupy Anchorage folks were both set to testify at the Assembly meeting at 4:30 today.  And though I knew I was going to be late, I came anyway.  Didn't matter.  It's 5:20 now and the Assembly just got started and they're doing housekeeping stuff.  So I had a chance to talk to some people before the meeting.  I'm waiting for one of the videos to get uploaded now.  The Loussac Library where the Assembly chambers are has wifi, but it's slow.

Jo-Ann Chung,Pamela Scott,   Assembly Member Elvi Gray-Jackson

5:27  They are honoring former Assistant Muni Prosecutor Pamela Scott and now Jo-Ann Chung who have gotten judicial appointments.  Both approved.


5:36  Now they are recognizing and celebrating Alaska native Heritage Day November 25, 2011.

I have a 6:30 meeting nearby.  Am I going to get to see anything I came to see at 4:30?

Now it's a liquor license issue on Muldoon. Now a whole slew of them.  The image has a few of the many they are approving. There's one for a Tesoro Station on Government Hill that had problems with selling to inebriates that seems like it's going to be held til later.

The video's ready now, so I'll post it. 

You can watch this live on cable or online.
Though who knows when the Occupy folks and the Title 21 folks.

Assembly member Trombley is now questioning someone about the Sullivan Arena and asking why they had a monthly loss of $750,000. The respondent says it's for the year and there is money coming in through visitor taxes and other items. Now Trombley is asking about the new figure of $39,000.

I could go on and on. Now Assembly member Starr is questioning about how someone had asked his girlfriend to marry him using the scoreboard at a hockey game, but so many lights were burned out she couldn't read her name.

I'll post this now.

UPDATE: 6:10pm - someone is now talking his 3 minutes to tell the Assembly about the dangers of power toothbrushes. His time was up but Assembly Member Gray-Jackson asked him to continue up to 3 more minutes. Dental profession has recognized harm called toothbrush abrasion. Spinning, rotating, osculating power toothbrushes.

I've been here since 5:45pm and I'm really starting to wonder how the Assembly plans its time. I understand the importance of honorary motions etc. But it seems there are some really serious meaty issues before the Assembly and they ought to address them.

This guy wants the Assembly to take action to prohibit sales of power toothbrushes so that kids don't live their lives with the pain of toothbrush abrasion.

6:15 pm Assembly is now going to take its dinner break. And I'm going to leave and miss all this for my other meeting. But I do have another video I'll put up later.