Alaska Redistricting Board: State Wide Testimony Today Overview And Rough Notes

The Alaska Redistricting Board met in a Statewide call-in to take testimony today on the six maps that were adopted in September for consideration.  They have been gathering feedback across the state before submitting the finalized maps.  

I took running notes, which are really rough.  In 2011-12 I posted such notes because there were no other ways to get the information.  This time round the Board is doing a pretty good job of getting the testimony posted on the Board’s website within a week or so.  

Today Board member Nicole Borromeo chaired the meeting and Board member Bethany Marcum sat in as well.  Board chair John Binkley also listened in and occasionally made comments.  They had scheduled times when different parts of the state could call in and get priority.  When there were no more callers from that area, they took calls from all over.  

Some of my quick impressions:

 Fairbanks callers overwhelmingly preferred Board version 4 (v4) and the AFFR maps.  And disliked v3.  They particularly opposed putting North Pole and Fairbanks into the same district.  

Southeast callers still have a bad taste in their mouths about the original maps that cut out Rep. Story from her district and put her against another Democratic incumbent. 

There were a couple comments from the Homer area that wanted Fritz Creek to be part of Homer.  This reflected a lot of testimony at a previous meeting.  

The meeting also got me thinking about the whole issue of what things really are important to be together in state House districts.  What’s important and what is merely cosmetic or emotional?   I’ll flesh that out in a later post.  I’m still thinking it through and trying to bore down to the key elements and not have a lot of fluff.  

So, here are my notes.  Some caveats first:

 GIANT APOLOGY ABOUT PEOPLE’S NAMES!!!  I’m listening in via the phone. The Board has the list of people who have called in and want to talk, so they aren’t asking people to spell their names.  Leave corrections in the comments or email me (see upper side bar right)

I type as fast as I can and while I once was a pretty good typist, my fingers are getting slower.  Also, my ears aren’t as good as they were.

So, what you should expect here is the gist of what people were saying and if there is something important you can look for it when the Board posts the Oct. 30, 2021 testimony.

Assume errors and omissions.  

 

Some Abbreviations
SEI = Socio-Economic Integration  FB= Fairbanks;  NP = North Pole v3 and v4 = Board maps versions 3 and 4 FNSB = Fairbanks North Star Borough AFFR = Alaskans for Fair Redistricting (3rd Party) AFFER = Alaskans for Fair and Equitable Redistricting (3rd Party)

About 10:15 am   Nicole Borremeo:  

James Squire = Delta, Gulkana - we should be connected with Eilson - they have missiles and so do we.  Drainage, geographic features should be part of this process.  I sent a map that does a much better job.

Up highway to Eilson, Denali Borough, Clear Air Force - moves the needle of SEI (Socio-Economic Integration) and compactness.  Koyukuk drainage.  

Directed to use the census numbers.  Our area has more PFD applications than shown in our Census Count.  No reason to deny them.  Privacy.  Boundaries in wilderness, not on highways.  If you can see campaign signs on both sides of the road, then that’s a problem because those people should be in same district.  

Nicole, Marcum - questions?

Fairbanks Area - AFFR Map

[Here's a link to the Board's Map Gallery]

Casey ?Cafort - Fairbanks.  Grown up in FB and NP and two distinct communities, shouldn’t be in one district.  FB oriented along river.  FMeyer.  V3 follows boundaries, but no reason to redistrict. Don’t follow those things precisely in Anchorage.  As recent UAF graduate.  Hope you keep UAF together - only AFFR map does that now.  UAF critical part of our community and economy.  Appreciate opportunity to be heard.

Nicole:  Thank you.  

Kelvin Rogers - Support AFFR and preference for version 4 over 3.  V3 makes no sense to me - puts us with NP a place I’ve been a few times over my 6 years in FB.  V4 splits up FB along lines that makes sense.  

10:19

?Bretta  McAdams - grew up in FB, schools here.  Learned to drive here.  Alaskalands, Blockbusters.  Like John Binkley.  V3 is political map by former politician that gerrymanders FB.  Also divides FB by n-s which is against the Chena River that goes east west.  Both AFFR and V4 give us better representation.  

10:22

Alissa Franklin? - FB community organizer here for about 21 years.  Raised and school and now work as organizer.  Really know the community.  Others my points as well.  Definitely not v3, unnatural to neighborhood, work, etc.  V4 and AFFR better job capturing that natural orientation.  Why v3 so bad?  D31  Ester, Fox, Goldstream, Farmers Loop - that’s a good hours drive to get to Two Rivers.  Completely different communities.  Talking about neighborhoods - how is this fair to any of these communities.  Eilson completely different needs from University.  How people compete with each other.   Not fair and equitable.  How do we best represent these needs without cutting district in half.  Majority of POC live in these areas.  Access to voting, have to cross two different districts to get to their voting place.  AFFER/AFFR? do better job of how we’re laid out, not competing with each other, but picking person who represents our communities/  Wish I could drive you around

Leo Hippert?  - Needlessly under represents FB  Treated FB differently from other places.  Things oriented east west.  As U student feel connected to U and Goldstream, Ester, similar values and have one voice on issues.  AFFR and v4 represents these, but v3 is bad.  AFFR has racial ???  NP and FB different interests.

Nicole - any SEI issues in AFFR maps that you’d like Board to consider.  A:  Not really didn’t do research on that.  

Stuart Chapin - FB for last 50 years.  Appreciate importance and glad listening to testimony.  Strongly prefer AFFR or v4 and feel v3 divides FB in ways that are not in the best interests.  Prefer AFFR for two reasons.  V3 under represents FB in state.  V3 doesn’t represent various communities that make up FB area.  FB along east west along Tanana River.  People who share values and service area interests should be grouped together .  AFFR much better than v3.   Hope you take the FB testimony into consideration because we all agree.

North Pole - Barbara Kendall?  50 years in Alasak.  Any plan for NP should include Eilson and Salcha.  Where we do shopping, churches, housing.  Some adjustment to AFFER plan, but concur that AFFR and v4 would do best.  Would increase population a bit - but in NSFB and better aligned.

Q:  You like AFFER.  Yes.  Prefer over v4.

Allison Cafort - lifelong FB resident, grew up in ?? And NP.  Now west FB.  Distinct communities and shouldn’t be in the same district.  V3 does that not good.  Also overpopulates.  V4 and AFFR follow east west orientation.  As current UAF student - keep U and Fox etc. together - where many faculty live.  AFFR map.  

Lori Huffer?  15 years FB.  And unique NP area.  Thanks for listening.  Support competitive fair and equitable map.  NOT v3.  Interested in AFFR and V4, better represents our communities.  FB and NP seen as separate communities.  Thanks for insuring we’ll have appropriate representation by not using v3 and focusing on AFFR and v4.  

Q:  Any SEI issues?  I guess we lost her

Gary Kendall - NP- overview comparisons of versions.  Balance several criteria - pop.  Compactness, SEI.  In interest of representation give more weight than just population .   AFFER map seems to be the best balance of factors under consideration.  NE corner of D6C - portion goes north of the river and down toward NP, that would be better placed with 9E, NP Moose Creek, based on where people are and work and interests  D8D, westward with Badger Road border- move it up and make border along the river better than the road itself.  AFFER map does better job of bringing in North Creek Salcha and Eilson .  Thank you.

Martha Roberts - final FB in queue for now.  50 years in FB mostly in University and now just north of Farmers loop.  Agree with others v3 shouldn’t be used.  FB in5 districts all the others have 6 districts.  Also separates NP from Eilson.  Main testimony is against v3 map.  I prefer the Senate minority map which puts my area with ??  Which seems better than with Fox.  

Nicole:  FB has 5 districts in both v3 and v4.

Martha:  Oh, I miscounted.  When release Senate pairings?

Nicole:  Not yet, plan to do closer to Nov 10.  These are still draft form.  

Move outside of interior - 

Sen. Tom Begich - State senate minority leader, here because Wednesday you asked views on constitutionality.  Touch lengthy.

Alaska Court have focused on lover deviations of house districts over time.  But Board seems to be moving to maps with higher deviations.  Many 3rd party plans have said there can be lower deviations without sacrificing the other criteria.   Likelihood v3 and v4 lawsuits because 

of deviations.  Those decisions March 21, 2002 Court - priority must be given first to Federal Constitution, VRA, and then to Alaska Constitution.  1.  Contiguousness and compactness, SEI, Community boundaries, geographic boundaries.     Representation over SEI.   Overemphasizing  SEI over others is inconsistent.  

First you draw the map with Alaska Constitution, then 

Reynolds and Brown - federal considerations — Alaska SC found Alaska should have narrower standards.  Newly available tech advances make it easy to meet lower deviations.  10% deviations in Anchorage meet federal standards, but burden shifted to board that lower deviations impracticable. If districts can be created with our technology.  Boroughs and cities are defined as SEI, then Board is compelled to lower the deviations.  As you heard from FB.  

All FB and Matsu districts and 16 Anchorage districts are all .14???   And Kenai and SE also .

Focus on deviation emerges from Hickel and 1998 - AK constitution requires relatively SEI - means we compare to proposed districts to previous districts and alternative districts.  

Board reduces FB representation and gives extra FB to other district.  

Hickel - excess pop shouldn’t be given to other districts.  It may be necessary to divide a borough, however where possible all the excess population should go to one district.  You want to give representation to those who deserve it.  Board maps don’t that   Proportional representation.  

Board’s counsel has interpreted this differently.  Kenai Peninsula Borough ….   Recognizes that it shouldn’t divide the municipalities, was open for legitimate non-discriminate polices.  In that passage, court conclusion honed in on MOA and Matsu B’s together because fractional seats.  That’s important.  Underscores how interpreted by the courts and how interpreted now.  

Footnote seven:  2002 case Matsu 3.8 and Anch - .? Would support 20.4 seats.  But Board gets 17 and Matsu gets 4 for 21 seats.  Saying because way board did it, created an additional seat.  Today, the over pop 5.8 for Matsu and 15.8 of Anchorage would create total of 16 + 6.  Excess then 2001 combining excess would be excess of ??? Seats and would have to look north or south to do that excess.   West was not excluded as an option.  Can’t be absorbed - 2001 told board to take hard look at north.  Now, today Board trying to do that.  Kenai, Matsu, Anch. And FB need low deviations meeting standards.  AFFR maps do this.  Board is compelled to meet standards of 3rd party maps.

Cordova with SE?  Court acknowledged to Baranof Island would be compact, but further would not.  Including Cordova in D5 to reduces deviation.  That ruling allows Board to consider Cordova with SE to reduce deviation.  

ER and Anch - part of SEI of Anchorage, but compelling testimony should ER be separate.  2 districts from ER and Peters Creek.  Might be compelling to combine house districts in this area into single Senate seat.  Anchorage neighborhoods substantial dispareity.  SEI - multiple compact continuous districts.  In Groh we considered ….   

If low deviations can be met without sacrificing AK constitutional criteria, it’s important.  

Kenai-  less disruption to overall map, should be considered.  Multiple ways to do Anch and FB under 1.4% deviation  SE   - more mathematical precision in urban areas.  Limits opportunities for gerrymandering.  

AK court has ruled that Delta Junction (2001) has no constitutional right to be in a single house district, as long as each portion is integrated.    Board should take hard look - Saxman is part of borough, more connected to Ketchikan than with other Native districts in SE.  

How you arrived at higher deviations is what matters.  

Lengthy answer - hope it answers your questions.  

Nicole:  Thank you.  Board did ask for clarification and apology.  Clarification - Board chose John Binkley to chair meeting but we are all equals.  

Returning to Fairbanks:

Darla Hudson?  - short comment.  Don’t support v3.  No sense to put FB with NP.  Been here for ??30 yers. Listening to Mr. Squires - not grouping Delta with Koyakuk.  Natural borders.  ??

Eilson and Salcha do most shopping in FB, not in Delta.

Christina Buckington??  - After reviewing maps, Doyon coalition along with aspects v4 and Minority Senate map.  Do not support v3.  Donut shape Doyon keeps contiguous urban and rural areas together.  Also integrate tribal communities.  Minority map keeps communities together though I haven’t reviewed the map beyond FB area. 

Mindy O’Neall - Presiding officer of FNSB Assembly - voted - stayed away from comments about one map.  Biggest concern - general underpopulation of overpopulated districts.  FB has right to 5 plus districts.  Ask that extra population be put into a single district.  Due to urban nature it’s unnecessary to require to go through other districts to get to other side of districts.

Neighborhoods that share values and common - Excess pop into one district rather than spreading among five districts. 

Nicole:  clarify - testify on behalf of  NSB Assembly A:  Yes

Ellen Murray McKazy? - Live -   2007 retired from teaching at UAF.  AFFR map best for us.  Binkley map out of balance.  Would have me with NP.  Not my community.  Overpopulates us. Underprepresented and Matsu and Anch overrep.  Does not match east-west orientation of FB.

V4 and AFFR maps respect east west divide.  First choice is AFFR map.  Second v4.  Thank you for considering my opinion and for your work.  

Nicole:  switch to SE, Kodiak, Kenai

???   I wanted to voice opinion of Kachemak, Homer on Kenai.  I oppose v3  spell my name: 

No thanks Terry, we have info already.  Board proposed maps v3 and v4 strongly oppose.  Seperating Fitz Creek from Homer makes no sense.  

Don’t understand Doyon map very well - Sen Minority looks very logical to me as well as the AFFER Kenai Peninsula looks logical.  Alll the others including AFFR makes no sense.  Separating Frizt Creek is out of the question.

Nicole:  We did Homer area weeks ago and others made same point.  

SE callers:

Mr. Witte???  I can’t do better than Sen Begich, but would add minimizing deviation so opposed to v3 and v4 and support Doyon, AFFR, and Senate Minority because they have smaller deviations. Oppose AFFER because of Mendenhall - and v3 because of obvious intentional carving out rep Story.   

Nicole:  For the record, the Story was corrected early on the map.  Can I ask a question about the deviation.  United Ketchikan Wrangell borough - keep Prince of Wales?

I’m in Juneau and I’ll leave that to SE people.

Nicole - divide between Juneau and Valley?

Mr.  Valley homogenous in terms of economics  AFFR and Sen Democrats have minor differences but keep valley as one district.  

Jaeleen Kookesh - Sealaska Corp - thank Board for their service.  Appreciate opportunity to comment.  Sealaska proud to work with Coalition with Doyon- urge to consider this map.  Specifically to issues of importance.  Borders of house districts inSE.  Rural Alaskan communities and support of Doyon around FB and NSB.

SE:  Compact, contiguous and SEI population 3.89 districts - two senate seats and four districts.  Preferred SE Alaska Island district.  Angoon, Kake, Sitka.  Key feature of SE is islands.  With exception of Admiralty Island in north.  Some options for Juneau.  [Can’t keep up with details]  Many rural communities with areas that do not share concerns and culture.  We support our coalition partners for rural communities

3.  Concerns about FB v3 map.  About 800 people more in each district.  Will submit written testimony.  Want to thank you.  History my late father lost his seat in rural Alaska. 

Nicole:  can PofWales Island be split?

Kookesh:  We didn’t look at breaking up communities.  Looking at PoW - at least the traditional Native communities stay together.  Don’t want to speak for the island.  

Nicole:  If you of PoW contacts, please have them contact us.

11:40

Jim Ayers- Thank you for service, maps and tables.  Worked in Juneau for most of 40 years - Douglas, Auk Bay.  Worked with some of you and respect you very much.  Our community is wonderful place to live, work, raise a family.  Community works well.  Talked to you a few weeks ago.  Community naturally meeting the fair, balanced, non-partisan way - Valley flow together.  Downtown flow together.  V3 and v4 bring divisiveness.  Board says they corrected concerns about line cutting out Story.  I heard that - if that correction you referred to mean you are no longer pursuing that?

Nicole:  yes it was corrected.  Unfortunate software glitch. No intention to pit current elected representatives.   Board has no knowledge where representative live.  No intention to pit incumbents against each other or protect them.

Ayers:  State suffers from continuing strife and divisiveness. Imperative you consider whether you actions increase that divisiveness in our state.  I worked with Bill Hudson.  He was elected in Juneau several times and he likely would be elected again.  If there is a reason or motivation of some to change the representatives we’ve elected, they should choose a candidate and not change the district to achieve your goals. Support Doyon, and ?? maps.  Urge you to do right thing for us.  And thank you again for your public servie.

Nicole:  Question from John Binkley

Binkley:  I have Borromeo’s comments - I believe the architect of that area in v3 and v4 have - there was an appendage and what you’re suggesting it was ??  [hard to understand I think he’s emphasizing it was accidental.]  We decided not to formally make those changes.  Just making maps - public hearing process  [can’t understand, bad connection]  

Ayers;  30 second Response?  Thank you so much Sen.  We’ve known each other a long time and great respect for you.  And firmly believe in your forthrightness and what you’ve said. I’ve looked at maps.  I don’t support v3 and v4.  I do support Doyon and irrespective of politics, I do believe you’ll look at the best aspects of the redistricting.  

John:  I’ll call back in and try to get better connection.

Nicole

Susan Warner in Gustavus.  Thank you for your work to fairly redistrict and for offering Doyon map that retains connection with Juneau and Haines.  Please consider D33 boundaries to have a say in our inside waters adjacent to our community.  

11:58am  Nicole:  that includes all the callers we have in queue.  

Juli Lucky:  We will be available until 4pm to call in.  

Calls will be prioritized by time for areas, but anyone can call. 

12:34   Caller from Juneau

?? Lyman - some maps left me horror struck.  Most favor Senate Minority map.  Don’t know how ? Harbor put together - or putting representatives together, clear gerrymandering.  My preference is Senate minority map. 

Nicole:  comments from Board.  Ms. Lyman, the board is committed to a fair map and no intentional gerrymandering.  

Times for certain regions:  SE currently, PWS and Kodiak, but no calls in line so anyone can call now.  

1pm Kenai Pen. Anchorage Matsu

2pm Northwest (I think that’s what she said)

3pm Statewide

12:43

Caller from Fairbanks

Leslie Peters - live just south of Chena Pump Road, since 1975.  Past redistricting.  This time since I’m retired I had time to look at maps carefully.  Don’t agree with v3 or v4.  I prefer plan forAFFR, less community division and less deviation.  Allows North Pole to have its own rep.  I’ve worked and taken class at University and don’t have that much in common with other places.  More in common with peoples over the ridge.  Mr. Binkley know that.  Putting districts in direct conflict.  Should look at AFFR maps.  Thank you for your efforts, has to be tough task.  

Binkley:  thank you Leslie for coming out and testifying and paying attention. It is hard, daunting putting all the pieces together statewide. To get the best possible map.  We share a district, we’re neighbors.  Do we keep the district as a whole or take the extra .2 population.  Which part of FB do we send to that extra district?  West side?  Eilson?  Or the North side?  Or keep it altogether even tho overpopulated.  

Leslie:  Thank you.  I looked at deviation numbers and I understand that.  Biggest reason tried to find those that have less deviation.  Thanks for listening.  

12:48  Andrea Dewees - calling from SE Lifelong Alaskan.  In support of map proposed by the Senate Minority, best for SE.  Appreciate your considering interests of voters not incumbents.  I like how Juneau is grouped.

12:52

Catherine Heinz?   Thanks for having this on a Saturday.  I live in Two Rivers, a pretty gerrymandered district and I hope this will change.  I think you know what I’m talking about.  I looked at proposed changes and want to throw my support to v4 or Doyon.  Want to see the communities united and not spread out - like Chena Hotsprings.  That’s all.  

Binkley:  Thanks for participating.  I appreciate what you’re saying over past cycles - your current rep is from Tok and that’s difficult for someone in NSFB is difficult. 

Catherine:  I realize that represent statewide issues as much as when my neighbors talk about what’s important to us and whether this person in Tok knows anything about our neighborhood, schools, etc.  A huge district that person has to carry and canvas.  Not useful.  

Binkley:  I appreciate that.  Question before us really is do we keep the whole Borough together in five overpopulated districts or do we break it apart and send a small portion to a rural district.  

12:59

1:05  Anchorage Chelsea ??  Support the AFFR map.  Only one that fairly represents the diverse communities of east Anchorage, Mountain View and downtown.  Not connected to ER.  Although the board may prefer one of their own maps, I’m hoping they consider AFFR.  I live in South Anchorage.  AFFR doesn’t pair hillside with East Anchorage. 

Nicole:  Any SEI criteria to consider?

Not at this time, but I’ll get back to you if they come up.  

1:33  Christopher Constant - speaking personally.  Not as chair of Assembly redistricting committee.  PreferAFFR map.  ER kept separate.  ER has own perspective.  Govt Hill connected with ER is several maps that are politically opposite with how we live and organize our lives.  ER prides itself on large maps, wells and sewer system.  In my neighborhood small lots, city utilities.  Listen to ER they have been clamoring for their own city.  They have unity of demographics and economics that is very different from our community.  So strongly urge you to use AFFR map.  

2pm - Alaska NW Districts now

John Sowell??? Juneau  Concern with redistricting maps.  Against each other.  Takeoverof the country.  Adding  districts to make up imbalance.  We’ll be in SC.  Hope we do.  I am aware the intention is to have story.  I think there is something untoward about redistricting.  Maintain our representation .  That’s about it.  Thanks.  Not much business this afternoon.  Do want to be more specific.  Can’t give.  Representation here in Juneau.  Thank you.

2:12 

Kotzebue - John Lincoln - President of NANA regional corporations.  15,000 shareholders in NW Alaska including Buckland And Deering.  Keeping our SE Integrated  together.  Clear evidence of 

Roads, ancient social ties and more.  All testifiers in Kotzebue want to keep Buckland And Deering together.  

3:09 - John Rasmon?  - FB  would like to keep Salcha, Wainright, and ??  together.

Nicole:  Thanks for your clear preference of v4.  

3:15 back  Anchorage

Diane Preston - After navigating your website you did a lot of work.  AFFR and AFFER maps hard to navigate.  AFFR map seems the best.  AFFER pairs me with Chena Hot springs road and separates me with my across the street neighbors.  Senate Minority also splits my neighborhood too.  V4 keeps me with my neighbors. AFFR looks the best for Fairbanks.  

3:29 Anchorage caller

Laura  ??  AFFR plan shows all neighborhoods equally represented no district varying more than 36 people.  Only one that fairly groups downtown, mt. View, Fairview.   Doesn’t group downtown with JBER.  Follows community council districts as much as possible.  Has Chugiak and ER form own Senate district.  Eagle Exit wants to separate so they should have their own Senator.  

3:47 pm caller from Fairbanks

Mary Elizabeth ??? - here over 30 years.  Important to all of us.  My issue concern with v3 not fair for the Borrough.  According to the Census, we should get 5.23 house seats.  Five seats for the borough and then one other seat with the excess population.  Should go to an adjoining district to meet one person one vote standard.  

Binkley:  What part should be put into an adjacent district?

Mary Elizabeth ??  - West side - they have their own style.  

Binkley - where do we put the extra 4000 people - go into a district with representative far away - people complained about being represented by someone from Tok.  

4pm

Nicole Borromeo, also online Bethany Marcum and Chair John Binkley have been online and we are signing off now.  Adjourned.  

 

While There's Chaos At The Assembly Meeting, People Testify Calmly And Respectfully At Redistricting Board

Yesterday afternoon, about 50 or 60 people showed up at the Dena'ina Center to look at maps lining the walls and to testify about what they liked or didn't like about the maps.  

 

These were state maps and Anchorage maps mostly, created by the Board (versions 3 and 4) and by the four 3rd party maps that the Board voted to show around the state.  

There was also testimony by 18 or so people.  Everyone wore masks, though most folks took them off while testifying which they did a long ways from anyone else. They were required and there was a supply available at the sign in desk.   There was a lot of room, though people did get fairly close in some cases to talk about the maps.  Here's a brief version of the kind of things people said. Excuse me if I don't get all they said, or worse, if I mix it up a bit.  

 Gil Stokes talked about the removal of a polling place where he lived and how difficult this made it for the many people who were older and that he hoped they would reinstate this place to vote.  Board member Nicole Borromeo said she'd refer his message to the Division of Elections who made those decision.

Alex Baker complained that in the Board's maps (I think) his neighborhood - Fairview - had been split into three different districts.  This would mean common issues for the neighborhood, like problems with Merrill Field wouldn't get the attention they need if they were represented by one person.  There were also issues about the businesses along Ingra and Gambell being split into different districts.  He generally favored the AFFR map.

Alex Jorgerson also favored the AFFR map.  In one map (the Board's?) Taku-Campbell area was split up in ways that did not reflect the neighborhood.  There was something about 3 different schools.

Kim Hays said she was from the Raspberry-Dimond area also preferred the AFFR map.  And if not AFFR the Board's v4 with AFFR's version of her district.  

Steve Colligon, one of the AFFER map makers, said there was a new version of the map they wanted to submit for the record.  

Then Randy Ruedrich, also from AFFER, expanded on Steve's comments.  He said they'd found a unique way to deal with the excess people in the  north Fairbanks area. [Excess people just means that when you divide the population into equal 18,335 districts, Fairbanks ends up with left over people who have to be paired with people from elsewhere to make another whole district.]  In the past he said they'd put them into District 5 that wrapped around Fairbanks and took up much of the Interior.  Now he'd found an ingenious way to create a good district out of them.  He also mentioned that the Alaska constitution requires maps pay attention to natural geographic boundaries like rivers.  

Normally, if someone is facing left, I'd try to put them on the right side of the post, like with Ruedrich above.  But everyone was facing left, from where I was.  So I figure moving the pics around is more interesting.  But they were all facing the front table where Board member Nicole Borromeo was listening and  taking notes.  

She told Steve and Randy that they weren't going to accept any new official maps, but would take the changes into consideration.  In the picture here, the person to her right is staff member TJ Presley.  He quickly moved over to near where the mic was so that he could change mics between speakers and clean off the one just used.  

The other Board member at the meeting was Bethany Marcum who stayed near the maps so she could answer questions from people looking at the maps.  

Retired dentist Jason Rampton, gave his coming to Alaska with the military story and wanted to emphasize that many active and retired military live in Eagle River and so connecting the bases with the ER area made good sense.  He said half of Eagle River was active and retired military and I'm still wondering how to fact check that.  

Jason Lesard from District 23 was next and I just forgot to take his picture.  He suggested that the Board include copies of the current districts at these presentations so people can compare them to the maps on the wall.  

Emily Becker complained about the constant references to the Supreme Court ruling that all of Anchorage was one Socio-integrated unit and so neighborhood considerations didn't need to be taken into consideration.  She argued that there were lots of diverse populations and their community voices were lost by dividing them into separate districts.  [This is not different from what Dr. Rampton was saying about ER.]

At this point, the Board's administrator pointed out that the Board's office in the University Mall was open and people could call and order paper maps and then pick them up.  Or drop in, but if they called first, they wouldn't have to wait for someone to put a packet of maps together.  

I think this is Stanton Moll.  (If not my apologies to Moll and to this speaker.)  My notes say he preferred AFFR particularly because it heeded the advice that JBER should be divided according to the gates, because those locations are where people on the base interact most with the community. 

Jordan Harary began reciting the motto on US currency - E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One.  He emphasized that today this was no longer true.  We are a divided nation.  He said there are political players trying to make the maps more Democratic and more Republican.  He urged the board not to let that happen and said he favored the Doyon map.  

[I pulled out a $5 bill to check the spelling of E  Pluribus Unum.  I figured that was faster than googling.  Only the E Pluribus part was showing. The Unum was covered by a seal.  I couldn't find the words anywhere on a $1 or a $20.  I'd also note that despite all the rhetoric about being divided, I'm convinced that a relatively small percentage of the population is seriously divided from the rest.  But they are really noisy.  I base this on the fact that 57% of US adults are fully vaccinated and 66% have had at least one shot. That means only 34% haven't been vaccinated. Some for legitimate reasons, and the rest because . . . But conflict gets clicks and eyeballs and most media can't resist using alarming headlines.  And after a while they believe it.]

Kevin McGee, from the local NAACP, was concerned that the diverse populations of Anchorage not get divided and are fully represented.  He emphasized the one person one vote standard and the other three key requirements.  He preferred the AFFR map.  Didn't particularly like the AFFER map or the v3 and v4 maps.  He was against the minority votes of Government Hill and Muldoon being lost by pairing them with Eagle River.  He liked that the Doyon maps gave Doyon members power in their own districts and didn't match them with North Pole.  His final words were to use AFFR and Doyon maps. 

Nora Morse (I hope I've still got the names and pictures matching) preferred AFFR map because it follows community council neighborhood boundaries.  [That's not true in my district.  I'll try to use their map as an example of the problems of balancing deviation, compactness, contiguity, and socio-economic integrity in another post.]

I took advantage of being there and shared that at the previous round of redistricting, the board didn't do the Senate pairings (indicating which House districts would be paired into Senate seats) until the last week before final approval  there was no public testimony  taken at that point.  So I was recommending that the current Board make sure there's opportunity for public testimony about the Senate pairings before the new plan is finalized.  [I'd note also that in looking up that post from last time, I saw that in that last week of the 60 Board process before approving the plan, June 7- 12, 2011 they also discussed metes and bounds and truncation.  Two arcane processes that are discussed in those posts that week in 2011.  You can use the links to prepare ahead for those actions.  Metes and bounds is more technical mapping and describing the boundaries.  Truncation is deciding which current Senate seats will be shortened or lengthened to maintain staggered terms - 1/3 of the Senate is up for election every two years.]

I couldn't take my own picture while I was testifying and then forgot the next two.

Kimberly Collors(sp?) is involved in her community council.  She wanted to know what the Senate pairings would be.  Something about the Muldoon curve and the East Anchorage Community Council being split.  Appreciates v4 ???  Likes that AFFR map respects downtown.

Tasha Holeh from Mt  View liked the Doyon map.  

Louise Donhauser talked about Mt. View and the large homeless population.  

Lois Epstein, from downtown Anchorage, pointed out that if you start mapping from the north you end up with a very different map than if you start from the south.  Instead, she said you should  start with neighborhoods.  She also said that leaving out incumbent information doesn't really prevent gerrymandering.  The Board should be transparent and put that information in.  On the assumption that house districts would be paired in order, she said District 23 should be 22 so that Government Hill would be paired with East Anchorage. And that AFFER was unacceptable.  

Finally Don More said that as he testified before he's from West Anchorage and he thought v4 did a good job of West Anchorage.  He also mentioned AFFER following drainage patterns.  

To the folks who testified, I hope I didn't distort your words or meaning.  And hope you are upset with your pictures or lack of pictures.  If you do have a problem, please leave a comment so I can fix it.  

Street Side Support For Health Care Workers

 It seemed like the right thing to do:  go to a rally supporting health care workers this afternoon near the Alaska Native Medical Center.  

People had homemade signs and were out there waving at passing cars at Tudor and Elmore.  

The sun was low to the west spreading a brightness on the sign holders.  

I had thought the pedestrian bridge over Tudor would be a good spot to take pictures from, but assumed it would be full of people.  It was empty so I was free to take pictures from above.  Eventually someone with kids was up there too.  

I counted about 30 people on this corner.  There may have been a few more on the side below the bridge.

All things considered, it didn't seem like an overwhelming show of support.  I wanted it to be packed, but I also didn't want to be  in a packed crowd, even outside.  Maybe others felt the same.  It doesn't reflect the number of people who have gotten vaccinated, though those numbers are still too low.

I'm not sure what the best way is to show one's support.  Well, sure, the best way is to get vaccinated and then to wear a mask when you're going to be close to other people, particularly inside.  

It took about two months to get to 20%, but from December to mid February, basically only first responders could get shots.  Then things opened up, first for seniors, then for everyone else.  Below is the screen shot I took a month ago.  Below, it shows that by May 13, 2021 we had 50% of people 12 and above with at least one shot.  Three months later we were up to 59.3% with at least one shot and 53.5% with both shots.  In the last month we're up less than 3% with one and 3.5% fully vaccinated.  

In the last month, 16,609 people got their first shot.  21,608 folks got their second shot.  It makes sense that more got a second shot, because these are people who had already made the decision to get the first shot.  

No wonder our hospitals are in a state of emergency and we're getting national coverage for how poorly we're doing.  

Maybe the anti-vexers will start getting their shots when their approved for those under 12.  Maybe they think that age refers to level of maturity not years since birth.  

Yes, the post is a filler while I sort through all that happened at yesterday's redistricting board meeting. 

"Don’t call them “at-risk.” They’re “at-promise" And 3 Other Articles Of Interest

Let's start off with some good news.  If you're only going to link to one of these articles, I recommend this one.   There are better ways to do things.  For one things, being smaller and close to your people helps.   I also want to disclose that the head of Fledge is a close relative.

Novel Holding Company Africa Eats Has Raised $1.8M For Its Impact Startups (Forbes)

About a year ago, Fledge, which operates about 10 impact accelerators around the world, launched Africa Eats, a holding company with 27 agriculture and food-focused Africa-based graduates of the networks’ programs. The goal: supporting entrepreneurs on-the-ground with an intimate understanding of how best to address hunger and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, the company has raised close to $2 million—and, despite the pandemic, the portfolio companies are doing fine.

Another good news story, where calling attention to labels can make a difference.  Not 'at risk.'  'At promise.'  Most kids want to be good people, they just need support for those dreams.

Caring for the environment helps South King County kids recovering from trauma or hardship find a sense of purpose  (From the Seattle Times)

"This summer, Park, Amine and Tracy are among two dozen mostly South King County youth learning to be stewards of the environment. 

They clean urban lakes during kayak patrols, plant trees, learn field mapping skills and test water quality in streams and rivers on state parks and public lands. They’re on water or trails several days each month. They’re paid $15 an hour for the work — enough to keep most of them from having to take other part- or full-time jobs that would otherwise consume their days — and they’re getting leadership training so they can help lead conservation and pollution prevention efforts in the future. . .

Many of the youth involved in Unleash the Brilliance have faced early adverse experiences “on steroids,” says Dorsey. Amine was peer pressured into regularly using drugs in middle school; his grades and relationship with his parents tanked. Park’s family faced bankruptcy. Other youth bore witness to their parents’ addictions, moved around a lot or lived in extreme poverty. Some have a history of being incarcerated, skipping class or facing delays graduating from high school. 

Dorsey sees them for their potential. Don’t call them “at-risk.” They’re “at-promise,” he says."

How much do your peers impact your behavior?  This Atlantic article addresess peer pressure and vaccination.  

The Anti-vaccine Con Job Is Becoming Untenable:  Why targets of deliberate deception often hesitate to admit they’ve been deceived

"Something very strange has been happening in Missouri: A hospital in the state, Ozarks Healthcare, had to create a “private setting” for patients afraid of being seen getting vaccinated against COVID-19. In a video produced by the hospital, the physician Priscilla Frase says, “Several people come in to get vaccinated who have tried to sort of disguise their appearance and even went so far as to say, ‘Please, please, please don’t let anybody know that I got this vaccine.’” Although they want to protect themselves from the coronavirus and its variants, these patients are desperate to ensure that their vaccine-skeptical friends and family never find out what they have done. . .

Shifting from an individual to a relational perspective helps us understand why people are seeking vaccination in disguise. They want to save face within the very specific set of social ties that sociologists call “reference groups”—the neighborhoods, churches, workplaces, and friendship networks that help people obtain the income, information, companionship, mutual aid, and other resources they need to live. The price of access to those resources is conformity to group norms. That’s why nobody strives for the good opinion of everyone; most people primarily seek the approval of people in their own reference groups."

Do you know whether your insurance company is insuring coal companies?

U.S. INSURERS FAIL ON CLIMATE ACTION:   Global insurers make coal increasingly “uninsurable”; whole industry fails to act on oil & gas  

LONDON (December 2, 2020)—U.S. insurance companies lag behind their global peers and play a key role in enabling the fossil fuel industry, the Insure Our Future campaign revealed today in its fourth annual scorecard on insurers’ climate policies. 

Insuring Our Future: The 2020 Scorecard on Insurance, Fossil Fuels and Climate Change finds that most European and Australian insurers no longer provide coverage for new coal projects, which has made it harder and costlier to secure the insurance that coal projects need to operate. Coal companies face rate increases of up to 40%. Controversial projects—like the Adani Group’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia—are finding it hard to obtain insurance at all. This demonstrates the insurance industry’s unique power to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.  

 More useful for most folks is the scorecard here.  

Unfortunately, smaller companies like All State and State Farm aren't listed here.  They are both independent companies.  But Geico is owned by Berkshire Hathaway which is one of the worst offenders.

 

Will Anti-Maskers Kill Halloween?

 Here's a letter to the editor in the Anchorage Daily News today.

For sight impaired, see letter written out below

I have to admit he packs a lot into such a short letter.  

Personal liberty:  He's trying to curtail other people's personal choice to wear masks.  Wonder how he feels about tattoos.  

• What about people who have made or purchased attractive masks and now enjoy them as a fashion statement?  
• What about people who have relished the ability to hide a disfigurement on their face or just something they don't like about how they look during this time when many others wear masks?
• What about people with low immunity who need a mask for more than just COVID?
• What about scuba divers and snorkelers?
• I was going to say 'what about' here too, but we already know that these people never liked face coverings that some Muslim women wear.  
• What about White Nationalist protesters who want to hide their identity from surveillance?

Halloween:  His 'No Masks ever" is pretty broad.  Is this also part of some religious group  that thinks Halloween violates sacred beliefs?  Will they still be yelling 'no masks ever' three months from now?

Ideological Symbolism - People who are so emotionally upset by masks, it seems to me, see masks as rebukes to their belief systems.  Every mask, to them, must seem like someone saying, "You're wrong."  I'd note that many of these same people also get irate about people of color complaining about racist language.  They tell them to not be so 'sensitive.'  

Willful Ignorance - Who is guilty of mask stupidity?  It seems to me it's the anti-maskers.  [Does anyone else think it's bizarre that we even have that word?] In answer to the question in the letter - vaccinations protect about 90-95% of the vaccinated from getting COVID.  But we don't know who that 5-10 out of 100 are.  It appears - the scientists are studying this as it happens and evolves so most conclusions are tentative - that for most vaccinated people who do get infected, there will be mild or no symptoms.  However, they can infect others. So the masks both protect the person wearing it and other people.  But people like the letter writer do not seem to care about other people, at least those who disagree with their world view, so it's hard for them to understand such feelings as empathy or caring.  

Ultimately anyone has the right to wear a mask for any reason, except those committing crimes with a mask to hide their identity.  I'm actually hoping that masks will become a fashion.  At least with masks, unlike with tattoos, you can change them or just leave them off.  

[Technology that reads the internet for those with sight problems can read text and make it into audio, but cannot read text in images, so it helps to write out such text.]

The Letter:

"No Masks

Stop this mask stupidity.  If you're vaccinated and it works, why wear a mask?  This ridiculous nonsense must stop.  No masks ever.

-Nicholas Danger, Anchorage"

GAMERS ALERT: Free Online Redistricting Mapping Software Let's You Help Shape Alaska's House And Senate Districts [Updated]

An email [it's copied below] for Alaska Redistricting Board update subscribers today says that they have worked out an agreement with Tufts University for maps making tools for the public to use.  [You can subscribe to the Board's updates here.]

The 2020 detailed census data are not out yet, but people can start practicing with the 2010 data now. Below is the email with a link to the software and two example maps.  

I haven't tried this yet because I wanted to get it out to people immediately.  For anyone interested in mapmaking or in politics, this is a must.  It's a good opportunity to get non-political tech people paired up with non-tech political people.  

I hope gamers see this as a real life game and that they can keep the Redistricting Board accountable by showing them that better maps (maps that meet all the Federal and State requirements more efficiently and equitably) can be made.  When there were challenges to the Redistricting Board's maps in the 2010 round, maps were submitted to the courts to show that better maps could be made.

As I looked at the example maps below I realized there are some requirements for valid districts that mappers need to know. Here's an early post from the 2010 Redistricting round that details some of the Federal and State requirements.  For instance, 

The Federal Constitutional Redistricting Principles are, briefly:

• A.  "One Person, One Vote". . ."legislative seats must be apportioned exclusively on the basis of population and the populations of the respective districts must be substantially equal."
• B.  "Districts of as nearly as equal size as practicable.  Maximum overall deviation of the no more than 10%, (i.e. plus or minus 5%)  Deviation is the measure of how much a district or plan varies from the ideal.  Good faith efforts to make deviations as small as practicable must be made. 

There are forty House seats.  Each has to be as close to equal as possible.  

The official 2020 total Alaska population which is  733,391 divided by 40 = 18,334.775.  

But it's impossible to have a fraction of people in every district, so it's necessary to have some deviance.  .  Ideally, each district deviates from 18,335 by less than 1% (That would be 183 people). 

But while mappers have to get all the districts equal, they also have requirements for compactness and for "relatively socio-economically integrated areas"   That's why some districts can deviate up to 10%, though that is discouraged.  Urban districts with lots of population should be under 1% deviation if possible.

So here's an enlargement of the first map below.  It's pointing to "percentage of deviation from the ideal"  That should make sense to you now, but let me repeat the details again.

Population Balance refers to the fact that every House district has to be as close to 1/40 (there are 40 house districts) of the official 2020 total Alaska population which is  733,391 divided by 40 = 18,335.  

I'm confused by the numbers in the red circle.  It says percentage, and 8.860 percent is under 10%.  But I don't know why it has a comma instead of a period.  I have an email into the Board to clarify that.  It could just be the way that software handles percentages.  I'll update this when I hear back. [UPDATE July 22, 2021:  Yes these are numbers and if I had read the note more carefully, I would have realized you need to hove the cursor over the numbers to get the percentage of deviation.]

Now, here's the email:

"Good morning subscribers,

Thanks for your continued interest in Alaska’s redistricting process. Census data for 2020 is expected in late August and the Board is looking forward to getting to work.  Drawing maps will be challenging and public feedback is an essential part of the process. 

 

One of the ways you can provide input is by sending the Board your map ideas. To facilitate this the Board is working with The Redistricting Lab at Tufts University to deploy a customized, web-based, publicly available map drawing tool.  This platform is available now for your beta testing at: 

https://www.akredistrict.org/create/

REMINDER: the data and blocks shown are from the 2010 Census; the 2020 data will be uploaded in late August – we’ll send out a notice at that time. Any maps you create until then will be based on 2010 population data and so are not appropriate for formal submission to the Board.

The web mapping tool uses a "paint brush" concept (for coloring) to shade in areas you wish to assign to a district, which are denoted by 40 individual colors.  This customized version allows painting at the Census block level, the most precise level of geography available and the same one which the Board will use to draw new legislative districts.

As you "paint" a district, the population will be dynamically totaled under the Population tab.  To assist you, under the Data Layers tab you'll find tools to overlay the state with existing legislative district boundaries, incorporated city limits, borough boundaries and school districts.

If you would like to view population distribution you may make selections to shade Census blocks with population density under Data Layers -> Demographics -> Population.

The system supports undo/redo, and allows you to "lock already drawn districts". This enables drawing perfectly adjoining districts by respecting blocks you have already colored into a previous district.

Use the Save/Update button to save your work, share plans with others (copy and send the URL) or submit directly through the website for Board consideration (once we have gone live with 2020 data, expected at the end of August).

Please take a little time to experiment with the tool so we can identify any bugs prior to our public launch. Your feedback would be appreciated; simply reply to this email.

Thanks,

Peter Torkelson

Executive Director

Alaska Redistricting Board 

P.S.  Here are a few tool tips to get you started:"   [Below are the two example maps that were at the end of the email.  You can enlarge them considerably by clicking on them.]

 

Alaska's COVID Numbers Are Going Back Up

In the Alaska Daily COVID-19 Count 3 tab below the banner up top, I've got a spreadsheet with Alaska COVID stats since March 15, 2020. It's 3 because numbers 1 and 2 got so long and bulky, I needed a new one.  I started it because the state just kept replacing yesterday's numbers with today's and it was hard to know if things were getting better or worse.  They've got fancy dashboards now with graphs, but they are only posted three times a week now.  This week only twice because there was a holiday Monday.  Along with updated numbers on the chart.  I post some comments to give the numbers a little more meaning.  

In the last few weeks, the numbers have changed.  They were going down.  Then they seemed to level off.  And now they are going back up.  This isn't over yet.  I've kept my COVID posts mainly in the COVID tab, but given that we are moving up again, it seemed useful to repeat yesterday's (Friday) comments here in the main section of the blog.  You have to go to the tab to see the chart.

Friday, July 9, 2021 - Our direction has definitely changed.  We're going back up.

Two new deaths reported today for a total of 370 Alaskans. Note, reported doesn't tell us when they happened.  We don't know if it was in the last two days or ta while ago and that stats are just catching up.

There were 14 new hospitalizations.  27 COVID patients are hospitalized in Alaska.  There are 48 ICU beds available in Alaska.  That's a reasonably high number for the time I've been following it.  But it could drop if hospitalizations spike. That number is also affected by non-COVID patients.

You know that most of the hospitalizations lately are of unvaccinated people.  Not only are these people risking themselves, they're giving the virus time to mutate into ever more contagious and severe versions.  AND they are endangering all those under 12 who haven't been approved yet for vaccination. And they're using up medical facilities and the patience and time or health care workers unnecessarily. Most of the kids will probably have slight or no symptoms, but a number of them will get sick enough to be hospitalized.  But the anti-vaxers really don't seem to care about anyone but themselves.  It's like a bunch of are in a big rowboat trying to get to shore, but part of the group insists on jumping up and down and rocking the boat.  

117 more people tested positive in the last two days.  Nearly 60 a day.  

But what concerns me most is that Test Positivity was reported at 2.43.  That's the highest number I have (there were days when the numbers weren't available) since April 30, 2021.  There were about   6600 tests since Wednesday.  

Talk To Your Opposite - NPR's One Small Step

Have you given up on dialogue with people who vote differently than you? NPR is asking for volunteers who still believe they can talk over political fences.   

An Alaska Public Media webpage has this description:

"No matter their political leanings, a majority of Americans agree that divisiveness is a major problem impacting our ability to deal with the pandemic and serious challenges facing our country. There is hope: A majority of Americans also say they are optimistic that our country can overcome political divisiveness in the years ahead.  At a moment like this, aren’t we called to try to find a better way forward — together?

One Small Step is an effort to reconnect Americans, one conversation at a time.

Apply to be matched for One Small Step"

The map shows seven locations where they are trying this:  Anchorage, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, Nevada, and Vermont.  I can't tell from their map the cities in the other states.  I'm not sure how diverse a group you get from people who listen to NPR.  Maybe it's more diverse than I realize, but I think the audience leans left. But maybe it just leans rational.  But that no longer includes most Republicans.

Let's see if this goes anywhere.  

Blooming Hoya And Dripping Icicle - The World Is Better Than Media Portray

 

These hoya flowers are past their prime.  It's a natural part of the cycle of birth and death.   

From Bloomscape:

"Hoya plants are some of the easiest indoor houseplants to care for. They are slow-growing vining plants native to tropical and subtropical Asia. They are also known as Wax plants due to their thick and shiny foliage. As Hoyas mature, they produce clusters of sweet-smelling star-shaped flowers."

 They were pretty amazing a week ago.

And even though those blooms are gone, there's a new cluster starting to bud.  

This plant has been growing downstairs in our 'greenhouse' - really a room with lots of south facing windows - for years. It does tend to bloom most years with minimal care on my part.  

Spring is technically here according to the calendar, but we still have plenty of winter on the ground and icicles hanging from our roof.

[While the drop on its way down is kind of neat, I accidentally deleted the drop that was just below the end of the icicle, still suspended by a trail of water.  The whole three foot icicle, after growing for a week or two, came crashing down just after I took this picture.]

[UPDATE March 24, 2021 1:30am:  I found the deleted album on my phone and there was the other picture.  So here it is:                                                                                                          ]

But we are getting significantly more light every day.  At Anchorage's latitude we are gaining almost 6 minutes a day - an hour in 10 days.  That's just the official 'daylight' but we have much longer twilight periods than further south.  

Yesterday I pulled out my bike - the old one with the studded tires - to ride to a routine annual physical not far from our house.  

And here's rider's view on my way home.  I'm still amazed at how well the studded tires worked on the icier parts of the way home.  

This pictures in this post are for Barbara and an Anonymous commenter  in recent days lamenting the sorry state of the world.  Our news media give us a negatively skewed view of things.   

But we also have had a lot of positive things happening.  My sense is that the anger of Republicans that boiled over on January 6 is a reflection that they feel their privilege slipping away.  They, of course, don't think of it as privilege.  They still believe in various mantras that help justify why rich people are rich and poor people are poor.  Mantras that put all the onus on the individual and ignore how social norms and beliefs, economic and legal infrastructure, and the media portrayal of some ideal USA, all combine to advantage white males.  But their anger now reflects that women and people of color have made great strides toward equality.  The election of a black president brought it all home, for many.  White males no longer can assume they get to go to the front of the line.  Now women and minorities have much better access to good education and then good jobs.  Just look at how the number of women doctors and lawyers and members of Congress have increased in recent decades.  The same is true for people of color.  For example.

Our job now is to change the conditions that produce people who understand their place in the world and work to make the world more just for everyone.  No individual has to save the world.  We all just have to take care of our selves and our families and friends.  If we have energy and resources and creativity left over, then we can help others, then we can work for a happier society. 

But when we do work to improve the conditions we live in,  we should working humbly.  Not to prove how good we are.  Not to make others grateful to us.  But in recognition that we've been lucky to have what we have and that in our own gratefulness, we want to share it.  Some of what we have we have earned through our own hard work.  Some because we've been the lucky winners of the birth lottery.

But nature itself is a lottery which affects our happiness.   I've heard that, despite what one might think, more people get down during spring and early summer than other times of the year. I did double check on that and found that indeed, spring and early summer are the worst.  And it's more so further north than closer to the equator.  So I send my hoya flowers and dripping icicle to all.  May you find pockets of peace and hope that you can fill up with good stories, good friends, good food, and good ideas.