First Friday Preview on Snowy Rainy Day from Empty Capitol

 

 The snow was blowing hard and wet when I walked over to the Capitol around noon today.  But that didn't slow down the kids on the swings at Capitol Park.

Lot's of doors were closed with no lights on inside. The Clerk's Office at least had a sign. So many people are at the Energy Council Conference there's no need to stick around.  House Minority Chair, Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula's newsletter to constituents characterizes the Energy Council hiatus this way:

There has been some concern about the Legislature sending 21 members to the Energy Council meeting in Washington DC. Three out of the 15 members of my caucus are going. While I do not agree with every view of the Energy Council, I believe the work our legislators will do is important for Alaska.

The Energy Council is a legislative organization comprised of energy producing states and countries, including 11 states and Canada. The Council provides a forum for discussing government policies regarding energy and the environment. While traditionally concerned with fossil fuels, the Council is also expanding discussions on alternative energy forms, such as wind power. With so much of Alaska’s budget dependent on oil and gas production, it is essential that we have a strong voice in these discussions.

The three House Democrats who are going will also take advantage of the opportunity to meet with several people and groups that are essential in forming national and international energy policy. Among their extra-curricular appointments are meetings with:

·         Alaska’s Congressional Delegation;

·         Pete Rouse, Juneauite and Senior Advisor to the President;

·         The Federal Coordinator of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects;

·         The Environmental Protection Agency office that is in charge of Outer Continental Shelf permitting;

·         A member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;

·         The Department of Transportation on pipeline integrity issues and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System; and

·         Our very own Senator Kim Elton in his current position with the Department of Interior.

Topics of discussion at the Energy Council meeting include:

·         Natural gas policy;

·         Market monitoring by the Federal Energy Regulation Commission;

·         Report from the U.S. Department of Energy;

·         Report from Copenhagen;

·         National security and energy;

·         Clean energy program development;

·         Smart grid implementation; and

·         Research projects.

While a learning experience for Alaskan legislators, going to DC is also an opportunity to teach people about Alaskan energy issues. The work they do there is valuable for the state. I always look forward to hearing from them when they return – and then forging ahead with the session!

I went across the street from the Capitol to see if the Juneau-Douglas City Museum had a First Friday schedule for tonight and got a preview of their new exhibit by local artist Puanani Maunu.  There will be jazz too I was told.  These are all big, bold paintings.

  

  

I'm a sucker for ravens and I love the overall effect.  

A couple of the individual pictures don't feel 

completely right to me, but others are dead on. 

[BTW, I think all 16 were on sale for $1300 or $1400, 

so if you're interested call the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

I expect this one will go tonight. Ravens do that to people.]

  

And since I'm on the topic of art, here's audio tech Heather (she helps record the hearings) changing the pictures in the Capitol stairwell the other day.  The landings have pictures from different schools around Alaska. 

  

Here's a picture of the stairwell I took a while ago, 

waiting for an appropriate place to post it.

  

And here are pictures done by students at Mikelnguut 

Elitnaurviat Elementary School in Bethel, Alaska.

 

And here's a picture through the now mostly rain distorting windows of the bridge between the Capitol and the Thomas Stewart Building.  Looking down Seward Street.

UA Presidential Candidates in Juneau

Here's a bit of video from each of the candidates. 

It took a while to get the video up - my laptop memory was getting too full and had to get backed up and more space made available.  I'm going to put these three videos up with minimal comment.  But you can hear the quote I gave in the previous post on Gen. Gamble about his management style - at about 7:45 into the second video.  

I figured I should spend more time with the people I didn't know and particularly with the person that Alaska knows least - Dr. Lisa Rossbacher.  The conference room at the Centennial Center in downtown Juneau was divided into four parts.  A common room with food in the center, and three curtained off rooms, with one candidate in each room.

For the first session I went to see Dr. Rossbacher.

Dr. Rossbacher answers questions about her experiences lobbying the Georgia legislature, how a PhD is important.  Along the way she mentions her research on below surface water on Mars, and her  week in Houston as an Astronaut finalist.







Gen. Patrick Gamble answers questions about his experience dealing with the legislature, his assessment of the current University of Alaska main campuses, and his experience in academia.





I went to hear Chancellor Pugh on the third round (the candidates stayed in one place and the audiences switched rooms to see them.)  I'm afraid my video doesn't capture too much.  As you can see in the video, he's talking about pretty micro level issues about specific classes. That may well be a result of the questions he got.  But I didn't stay the whole time.  I went back to hear more from Dr. Rossbacher, the least known candidate. 

Report Says Sexual Assualt Increased While Gamble was Air Force Academy Commandant

[UPDATE July 12, 2011:  President Gamble was one of 21 people listed in an Inspector General report who "were not responsible for, and did not contribute to or abide, sexual assault problems at USAFA.  When informed of problems, they took appropriate action."  The full post is here.]

From a New York Times article on April 5, 1995:

The report said the percentage of female students indicating they had experienced at least 1 of 10 forms of sexual harassment on a recurring basis was 78 percent at the Air Force Academy, an increase from 59 percent of the female students who responded to the same survey in 1990-91. The questionnaires were sent to randomly selected students at each academy.

Why is this relevant?  Because last night, University of Alaska Presidential Candidate, Gen. Patrick Gamble, mentioned at the community reception in Juneau, that he had been the Commandant of the Air Force Academy.  Because of how quickly the finalists were announced and then arrived, I'd only glanced at his resume and hadn't caught that reference  [it's under Previous Assignments.]

Commandant of the US Air Force Academy. Directed all training, policy development, dormitory, food service, military classroom education and logistics support for 4000 students.  [Emphasis added]

But by this afternoon my brain had managed to link his comment and stories about sexual harassment at the military academies.  

So today I checked when Gen. Gamble was the Commandant at the Air Force Academy. His curriculum-vita doesn't mention dates, but Google led me to Wikipedia which does:

June 1993 - November 1994, commandant of cadets and commander, 34th Training Wing, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

So Gen. Gamble began as Commandant two years after the initial study and left five months before the GAO study cited by the New York Times. 

The article does say:

Service academy officials disputed these particular conclusions and pointed to two recent incidents. After a female freshman at the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs told school officials that several young men had sexually assaulted her in February 1993, 12 other women came forward with other claims, ranging from date rape to groping. An instructor and cadet were court-martialed, three other male students resigned and three more were disciplined.

 So this would appear to have happened during Gamble's tenure.  This does indicate that not everything was ignored.  But there are twelve women cited (it doesn't say how many specific cases) and two people court martialed and three people disciplined.  Three others resigned, presumably with nothing on their records.  It does show that in some cases there was a response.

And the report says 78% of women experienced some form of sexual harassment and eight presumed harassers were impacted.  (According to Table II.1 of the GAO study they included 90 of the 517 women cadets in their sample.)

A year and a half in charge of the Air Force Academy is not a long time.  And there's clearly nothing here to suggest anything about sexual harassment on Gen. Gamble's part.  However, this issue does raise some questions about his management effectiveness.

Wednesday night, Gen. Gamble spoke of his outcomes based approach.  He said management was about people, about "giving them a clear expectations of what the outcome you want is, and not getting in the way of them getting there"

We know there was a 1991 report which reported significant levels of sexual harassment at the military academies.  So when he took command in April 1993, one would expect that he might have considered it important enough to give his management team "clear expectations of what the outcome [he] want[ed was]."

We don't know what happened.  There are various possibilities:

1. It wasn't a priority item for him so he did not make lowering the incidence of sexual harassment one of his expectations for his Air Force Academy team.
2. He did make it a priority, but was not effective in changing the outcomes
3. He did make it a priority, but the impacts didn't show up until a later study. 

A September 2003 General Accounting Office (GAO) study - the next one listed in my search of the GAO site - did include this note that suggested that sexual harassment was still an issue nine years later:

Additionally, during the survey period, issues associated with alleged sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy became widely reported in the press, and several Air Force and Department of Defense (DOD) investigations commenced. Due to concerns about the overall lower Air Force Academy survey response rates, we extended the survey period by a week to March 7, 2003, at all academies.

Another case, which may or may not have surfaced while Gamble commanded the Air Force Academy, is discussed in a Dec. 14, 1996 Colorado Springs Gazette article [note I got the article through the UAA library and the link may require a password]:

A settlement was reached Friday in the case of a former Air Force Academy cadet who claims she was brutalized during survival training at the Air Force Academy more than three years ago.

Attorneys for both the Air Force and Elizabeth Saum agreed that they wouldn't comment on specifics of the agreement. The academy also declined to comment.

"We thought the settlement was just," said Doris Besikof, Saum's attorney, after a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Denver. "She (Saum) is pleased she has closure. That's what she desperately needed."

Saum's 1994 complaint has been among the most serious - and publicized - sexual harassment allegations at the academy. It was the subject of news reports and inspired a segment by ABC News' "20/20." Since then, the academy has significantly expanded its sexual harassment prevention efforts and toughened discipline for offenders.

In her lawsuit, Saum said she was targeted for sexual harassment from her first day at the military school in 1992. The alleged abuse culminated in 1993, Saum's sophomore year, during the vigorous and realistic Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape program, the suit said. A requirement for graduation, the 20-day course teaches cadets how to survive in the wild, avoid capture, endure physical or mental torture and escape captivity. The Air Force dropped several components of the course in 1995. .  .

The times in this case leave it open whether anything was actually reported while Gen. Gamble was Commandant.  Since he took over in June 1993, the incident may have occurred prior to his arrival.  The article says it was first reported in 1994.  General Gamble left in November 1994, so the odds are he was there when it was reported.

What's my point here?  The situation at the Air Force Academy during Gamble's reign raises questions about the effectiveness of General Gamble's leadership in an issue that is significant to a large percentage of UAA students and faculty.  Remember, he takes credit in his CV for directing 

 "all training, policy development, dormitory, food service, military classroom education and logistics support" 

at the Air Force Academy when 78% of the women cadets reported sexual harassment on a recurring basis.

It's possible that the search committee has carefully reviewed all this and determined that Gen. Gamble's role was exemplary.  And I would understand that they might not wish to draw attention to the issue if not asked.  So I'm asking.  But somehow I doubt this was ever discussed. 

What action did Gen. Gamble take on sexual harassment at the Academy?

The candidates' names have been public for four days, making it difficult  for anyone outside the committee to actually figure out there might be an issue here and to contact people who were at the Air Force Academy at the time to determine whether Gamble did make a vigorous effort to change the campus climate or not.

If he didn't, that raises questions about his values and priorities, given that studies had revealed an appalling rate of complaints among women cadets.  If he did give it a high priority, it raises questions about the effectiveness of the management style he shared with members of the Juneau community last night.

And even if I had put all this together before last night, simply asking about this at a community reception wouldn't have been enough.  Gen. Gamble is a skillful speaker and could convincingly dismiss this all.

It really does require some confirmation from other sources.  Like some of the female cadets at the Air Force Academy in 1993 and 1994. 


Here's the summary of the 1995 GAO Report based on studies during 1993-1994.

Summary

In an update of an earlier study that reported widespread sexual harassment of women at the nation's military academies, GAO found that a majority of female recruits in academic year 1993-94 continued to experience sexual harassment. The most common forms of harassment included demeaning remarks and visual displays, such as posters or graffiti. However, between 36 and 42 percent of the women at each academy reported unwelcome physical contact of a sexual nature, including fondling and kissing. Academy men perceived an improved atmosphere for reporting sexual harassment, with significant declines in the percentages seeing negative consequences for reporting sexual harassment. The responses of academy women, however, showed no such change in perceived consequences.

GAO found that: (1) more than 70 percent of academy women reported experiencing at least one form of sexual harassment on at least a monthly basis, while about 11 percent of men reported such exposure; (2) the proportion of women at the Naval and Air Force Academies who reported sexual harassment on a recurring basis significantly increased from the 1990-1991 academic year; (3) the most common forms of sexual harassment were verbal comments and visual displays; (4) although men perceived an improvement in the atmosphere and less negative consequences for reporting sexual harassment, women did not perceive an improvement; (5) between 36 and 42 percent of the women were subjected at least once during the year to physical behavior that interfered with their performance or created a hostile environment; and (6) 11 to 22 percent of the women reported sexual advances that were tied to some aspect of their academy careers. [Emphsis added.]

Working at Home Watching the Snow Melt

I'm working on a couple of projects that have been delayed by blogging. Also trying to get some video edited from last night's introduction of the University of Alaska President Candidates here in Juneau.

We had serious rain yesterday. My raincoat worked great except where it dripped onto the front of my pants. But I did find a new use for my laptop - pants drier. The heat of the battery on my pants did the trick.

While Juneau got rain, the mountains got powdered.

And today, the snow level was down to our level. Though it's pretty much all melted.

Black Bugs - Google Searches for Jan/Feb 2010

My notes for this bi-monthly post mostly got wiped out because blogspot saves changes almost instantly.  I hit something accidentally and everything disappeared.  I hit Control Z (Undo) but it didn't come back.  Blogspot instantly saved my changes and so wiped out everything I had saved for five weeks, but not posted.  It was gone forever.

So, necessity being the mother of invention, I'm looking at this regular google search post from a different angle this month.  It seems a lot of people have little black bugs.  So, for the last three weeks of February, these are some of the ways people got to my post 
Tiny Black Bugs - Fruit Fly or Fungus Gnat?

black bugs flying around house plants - New York
black gnats in house - from somewhere in Eastern time zone.
black tiny non-fruit flies - Louth, Lincolnshire, UK
"fruit flies" "house plants" "fungus gnats" - Palisades Park, New Jersey
fungi gnats - London
fungus gnat - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
fungus gnats picture - Quebec
fungus gnats versus fruit fly
gnats black - San Mateo, California
gnats bugs - from Friendswood, Texas.
fungus gnats bananas -  San Antonio, Texas
fungus gnat larvae -Odessa, Texas
house gnats - Pacific Coast Time
how to eliminate tiny fruit fly -US eastern standard time
insects homes colorado tin - Littleton, Colorado
little flies in houseplants - Brggen, Germany
little tiny black bugs that skip and fly and infest my house - Orlando, Florida
photos of small black flying gnats - St. Louis, Missouri
pics, gnats in my plants that bite - Houma, Louisiana [extension service said they don't bite]
pictures of gnats and fruit flies - Vienna, Virginia
picture of soil gnats - Seattle
show me pictures of all gnats - Houston, Texas
small black bugs in house - central Canada
mall black bugs that look like fruit flies - Newport Beach, California
small black flies related to fruit flies - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
small black insect fruit - from Nerang, Queensland, Australia
small dark flies in my hous - Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada
small flying black bugs in kitchen picture - Hawaii time zone
small gnats february seattle wa - Boise, Idaho
tiny black aphids on houseplants - Champlin, Minnesota
tiny black flies in offic
tiny black flies in seattle - Lynnwood, Washington
tiny black flies on car - Bellingham, WA
tiny black gnats - Liverpool, New York<
tiny black insects in house thailand - Thailand
tiny flies in houseplants? - US Central Time
tiny fruit flies - mountain time
tiny fruit flies - This one was from the US Dept. of Agriculture in Livonia, New York
what are small black flying gnat like bugs in winter time - Kansas City, Missouri
what are small black insects on my houseplant - Eastern Standard Time
winter gnat - 


And a few of the other terms that were interesting to me:

kiwi oatmeal - Got to my low calorie oatmeal post.  There's a regular trickle of people searching for low calorie oatmeal, but this is the first one I've seen that included kiwi in the search. Good to know I'm not the only one who sees the potential of cooking kiwi in oatmeal. (The fruit, not the bird.)  

pantsof Korean - got to a picture of the Pope

what ethical obligations do you personally feel towards wolves and whales? - Got to one of the Google Search posts and then went to "To Live and Die in Wales, Alaska"

what to do with tight stomach on botton left side and retum feel funny to can't move my bowels what to do - This one from Surprise, Arizona got to the main page.

stink pen with an ordinary matches - got to the picture (left) of S holding his bottle of homemade pig stink mitigator




pictures of elephants in the hospital having a baby - and I do have pictures of an elephant hospital in the Thai elephant conservation center post. But not having a baby.



Yahoo v. Google

This first one below is a Yahoo search with what the person got from the Yahoo search page.  I don't see any of the words they were searching for (except 'a' and 'the' and 'to'.)  I probably have some of those words on my blog, but you'd think they would highlight them in the search findings. i am a pharmacist in vietnam,when i live in the u.s.a do i have to study from the beginning pharmacy degree - 

Here's a google search that also isn't really related to anything on my blog, but at least all six words - even if not in order - were on the page they found:

hercules caucus who ate cows - 

What Do I know?: Cow Parsnip - Heracleum

The genus is named for Hercules, who is reputed to have used these plants for medicine. Early in each year, Native Americans peeled and ate the young sweet, .... University Caucus Formation Love Fest · Alaska Community Services Lobbying ...

whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2007/07/cow-parsnip-heracleum.html - Cached -    
 




For people who are wondering how I know about these searches and where they come from, I use Sitemeter.  You can go to the sitemeter button on the right hand column and see what information is available by clicking on the number which is around 176,000 now.  Here's a picture of what it looks like.  This is an image (not actual text) so the link there doesn't work.  Actually, I could link it, but then you wouldn't find again, so go look.  While Sitemeter gives the choice to have the data private, I leave it open so people can see what kind of data are collected.

Rep. Harry Crawford Wants To Buy Steel

Rep. Harry Crawford was sitting on a bench in the Capitol as I was walking by, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries, I asked what his current hot issue was.  In the video below, he explains HB 8 which would have the State buy 100 million tons of steel while the price is low to have ready for building the gas pipeline.



I really don't know anything about buying and storing steel.   I did look for five year steel prices on line and found these charts from metalprices.com.

I hadn't looked at anything like this before the 'interview,' so I didn't ask Crawford about the fact that while it is true that prices are low now after a recent spike, that spike appears to be an anomaly, at least over the last five years.  According to the chart, the end of January 2010 was relatively high not counting the spike. 


Or is the spike the future that was simply interrupted by the current economic downturn?

There are a lot of questions I didn't ask and this was a pretty impromptu encounter where Crawford, understandably, kept to an overview. 

Below is the heart of HB 8.  I don't see any instructions about price ranges.  Would the State be obligated to buy the steel even if the price were no longer 'low?'

In any case, Crawford is showing original thinking and is willing to take a risk.  Assuming that he's already looked into all the unasked questions and found answers that confirm this proposal, it probably deserves some serious attention.  If not, it only proves that he's thinking in broader terms than most, but whether it's a good idea is yet to be demonstrated. 

From HB 8:

  PIPE FOR A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.

a) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall, under AS 36.30, enter into a contract for the purchase of pipe suitable for a natural gas pipeline project under AS 43.90(Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) in a quantity sufficient for the portion of the pipeline to be constructed within the state. The department shall store the pipe until it is delivered to a licensee in accord with an agreement  entered into under (b) of this
(b)  After a license is issued under AS 43.90.190(b), the Department of Revenue shall enter into negotiations for the purchase by the licensee of pipe acquired by the state under (a) 14 of this section. The terms of the purchase may include an exchange by the state of some or all of the pipe for a state interest in the natural gas pipeline to be constructed by the licensee and any other terms that the department considers necessary to protect the interests of the state. The Department of Revenue may enter into an agreement negotiated under this subsection and arrange for the delivery of the pipe to the licensee under that agreement.


Here's another source which shows a peak in  mid 2008 and then quickly back to normal ranges.  As I say, this is not an area of expertise for me at all.  I'm just raising questions. 

Steelmaking Raw Material and Input Costs

Year/ Month	Thermal Coal $/tonne	Coking Coal $/ton	Iron Ore C/dmtu	Natural Gas $/1000m3	Steel Scrap $/tonne	Electric C/KwH
2007 M1	55.0	94.3	84.7	302.0	264-270	6.09
2007 M2	56.7		84.7	302.0	280-285	6.18
2007 M3	59.3		84.7	302.0	295-310	6.16
2007 M4	60.1	94.6	84.7	281.9	315-320	6.19
2007 M5	60.0		84.7	281.9	295-305	6.20
2007 M6	66.0		84.7	281.9	295-300	6.51
2007 M7	72.1	95.1	84.7	280.4	280-290	6.61
2007 M8	74.3		84.7	280.4	275-285	6.83
2007 M9	73.3		84.7	280.4	280-290	6.55
2007 M10	80.2	97.8	84.7	308.2	275-280	6.44
2007 M11	90.6		84.7	308.2	280-290	6.22
2007 M12	97.5		84.7	308.2	295-310	6.25
2008 M1	98.3	106.1	140.6	369.7	385-400	6.39
2008 M2	141.4		140.6	369.7	390-405	6.38
2008 M3	126.7		140.6	369.7	490-510	6.54
2008 M4	131.8	113.9	140.6	428.4	510-530	6.64
2008 M5	142.7		140.6	428.4	570-580	6.80
2008 M6	171.2		140.6	428.4	635-660	7.40
2008 M7	192.9	122.0	140.6	517.0	630-640	7.78
2008 M8	169.7		140.6	517.0	385-390	7.63
2008 M9	160.7		140.6	517.0	240-245	7.35
2008 M10	115.7	129.1	140.6	576.7	220-225	7.23
2008 M11	98.8		140.6	576.7	205-210	7.04
2008 M12	84.3		140.6	576.7	230-235	6.88
2009 M1	85.7	137.1	101.0	576.7	270-275	6.90
2009 M2	80.8		101.0	520.9	200-205	6.98
2009 M3	65.4		101.0	412.9	195-200	6.84
2009 M4	68.1	143.4	101.0	309.6	220-230	6.78
2009 M5	69.1		101.0	309.6	220-225	6.89
2009 M6	76.5		101.0	309.6	230-235	7.18
2009 M7	79.1	151.2	101.0	244.4	245-250	7.11
2009 M8	77.7		101.0	222.5	320-325	7.17
2009 M9	72.5		101.0	222.5	285-290	6.99
2009 M10	76.1	n/a	101.0	232.2	260-265	6.68
2009 M11	84.4		101.0	232.2	290-300	n/a
2009 M12	87.9		101.0	232.2	310-320	n/a

"Seeds of Change" Local Food, Alternative Energy, Foster Care Transition

[Update, July 25:  While the legislature appropriated money for this, I heard that Governor Parnell vetoed the appropriation for this project.]

I bumped into longtime friend, Eleanor Andrews (Probably half the state would say they're longtime friends of Eleanor) on the fourth floor of the Capitol Building Monday.  She was there with Dr. Mike Sobocinski - he and I took a while to figure out when we met before - to talk to legislators, and to raise a significant chunk of money to build a greenhouse near the Anchorage power plant where they would use the steam from the plant to heat the greenhouse.  They are planning a commercial quality greenhouse that would grow vegetables that would sold to local markets and restaurants.  Plus they would also make it as part of a  program for kids in foster care or institutionalized as they transition out into life on their own.  [As I reread this, I realize my description doesn't convey the amount of research that's gone into the business plan for this.[

Eleanor has had a long career that has included working at Mclaughlin Youth Center, being a union organizer, Director of Personnel at the Municipality of Anchorage, Commissioner of Administration for the State, and for many years now, the CEO and President of the Andrews Group.  She's working on this project as a member of the board of the Anchorage Urban League.  Mike is a psychologist who has worked with residential kids in public programs and now is an assistant professor at UAA.

So as they were going in to pitch their program to Rep. Berta Gardner I asked if I could come along.  The video shows the kind of thing that happens a hundred times a day in Juneau as someone visits law makers to discuss a program they are working on.






You can listen to the whole presentation to the Senate Health and Social Services Committee Monday March 1, 2010. First the committee hears a bill from Sen. Kookesh.

Mexican and Thai Food Day

Today was a great food day. 

There were pans and pans of 'Marilyn's Enchaladas'  in Rep. David Gutenberg's office around noon today. 

And the other end of the fourth floor had a full blown Mexican lunch hosted by various staffers in the neighborhood.  I think they said Mary in Sen. Wagoner's office was the energy behind this, but I didn't write it down. So not all the food in the capitol is brought by people trying to get legislators' attention so they can make their pitch. 

And then when J returned from Anchorage today, she pulled out some eggplant tofu and stir fried green beans from the Thai Kitchen.  All is well. 

Public Testimony on Operating Budget as Legislators Leave Town

Today at 1pm public testimony begins on the operating budget and it closes tomorrow.  This schedule is probably up somewhere, I got mine from a legislative staffer.  The best thing to do is check with the Legislative Information Office. 

Public testimony for the House Finance CS of the Operating Budget is scheduled as follows:

Today

1:30 – 2:30 Juneau

2:45 – 3:45 Bethel, Kotzebue, Barrow, Nome, Delta Junction, Offnets

4:00 – 5:15 Anchorage

Wednesday, March 3

1:30 – 2:45 Fairbanks

3:00 – 4:00 Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg, Dillingham, Cordova

4:15 – 5:00 Homer, Kenai, Valdez, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Seward, Mat-Su, Glenallen, Tok

Two days.  Four hours and 45 minutes today, and three and a half hours tomorrow.  Not much time to comment on a multi-billion dollar budget.

Some legislators I talked to were upset that the notice only came yesterday and people didn't have much time to prepare.

Some other legislators say that this is on the Finance Committee's calendar in addition to the email notice that came out yesterday.  They also said generally people who are following specific bills keep track of these things and are prepared to testify.  Basically, that means, I would guess, the people who specific funding at stake in the budget and their lobbyists. 

I tend to think that even with a month's notice, the average person wouldn't be prepared to testify.  First of all, they only closed out the budgets last week.  Though the governor's proposed budget has been out a while.   The legislature's  "LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO THE BUDGET PROCESS" says: 

Even for people who have fully understand [sic] the legislative process, the budget often remains the mystery of mysteries. The appropriation process is difficult to track. Appropriations bills are lengthy and complex composed of hundreds of “line items” which must be negotiated one by one. House and Senate Finance subcommittees work out many of the details. (Ask for the list of Members of the Finance Subcommittees -- lobbying these key people can be important.) Although the subcommittees do hold public hearings, they are usually only for testimony from departmental experts. Late in the session, the subcommittee recommendations are submitted to the full House and Senate Finance Committee and the public. There is often one round of public testimony by teleconference. Generally a Joint House-Senate Conference Committee finalizes the budget late in the session. [emphasis added]

Moving on.  I have some videos to edit and post - one on the Seeds for Change program and another of Rep. Crawford on his bill to have the state buy steel today while the price is low and have it ready for the gas pipeline which will need to use a lot of steel.

I also got interviewed by one of the legislative interns who has a paper due soon on the role of the media.  She's very sharp and it should be an excellent paper.


So this is just an interim post while I get my stuff together.  

And after three days of steady drizzle to light rain, it's merely cloudy and the sun has made shadows if not completely emerged from the clouds. 

Oh yes, leaving town.  The Energy Council meeting is this week.   Here's what the AK Republican Website said about this in 2002:

Several members of the House Republican Majority will travel to Washington, D.C. this weekend to represent the state's interests as a major oil and gas producer at the annual spring meeting of the Energy Council, and to help support oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"The Energy Council has always been an important forum for Alaska to represent our interests as one of the nation's top energy producing states," said Rep. Joe Green (R-Anchorage) head of the state's delegation, and a member of the Energy Council's executive committee. "With Congress debating a national energy policy that directly impacts the future of our oil and natural gas industries, it is critical for the Legislature to have a place at the table at this conference."
The Energy Council is a legislative organization of ten energy-producing states ranging from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The member states produce more than 80 per cent of United States oil and gas and include leading coal, uranium and renewable energy-producing states. Associate members include Venezuela and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Newfoundland/Labrador.
Other members of the House Majority attending the Energy Council meeting include: Rep. Scott Ogan (R-Palmer), chair of the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas and a member of the Energy Council executive committee; Rep. John Harris (R-Valdez), member of the House Finance Committee; and Rep. Hugh Fate (R-Fairbanks) vice-chair of the House Resources Committee. Other legislators, including Rep Eldon Mulder (R-Anchorage), co-chair of the House Finance Committee, will accompany the Energy Council delegation with plans to visit members of the U.S. Senate to encourage them to support pending legislation to authorize oil exploration in ANWR.

"There is so much happening regarding energy right now that it's really in the best interest of the state to make our case clearly to any U.S. senators who still haven't seen the light on the importance of Alaska's energy to the nation's future," Green said.

The Energy Council's 2002 "Federal Energy and Environmental Matters Conference" starts Saturday and will continue through Tuesday. Among the items on the agenda are: increasing investment in the U.S. energy infrastructure; a status report on national energy legislation; forums on the impact of the national energy bill to the states; a roundtable on how the congressional committee process affects energy and environmental policy; and reviews of federal energy regulations and legislation.
State legislative sessions ordinarily scheduled for Friday and Monday will not be held, so some legislators may attend events in Washington, D.C., and other legislators may travel home to meet with constituents.

While this just talks about House Republicans, there are more than several legislators going because things are pretty much shutting down for the rest of the week.  Lisa Demer at the Anchorage Daily News writes:

JUNEAU -- Twenty-one Alaska lawmakers, including half the state Senate, are heading to Washington, D.C., this week for an energy conference that some go to year after year.
Nearly all are traveling at state expense.
The Legislature is essentially shutting down midday Wednesday. By the time lawmakers return on Monday, March 8, the 90-day legislative session that many complain is too short will have reached its 49th day . . .

Let's see, things are shutting down midday Wednesday and the second half of the public testimony on the  budget starts Wednesday at 1:30pm.  Well, according to the ADN article, about half the legislators will still be in town.  Probably members of the minority who don't have much say on the budget anyway.

J's Due Back Today, But I Wasn't Alone