The Art of Obituary Writing

This comes from an obituary in the Anchorage Daily News on page A8, Thursday, March 17, 2011:

Mike Lawless, 59, died March 2, 2011, at his home in Two Rivers. . .\ He was one of those unforgettable characters who was unlike anyone else, with his charisma, intelligence, quick wit, and unmistakable crooked smile. All will remember Mike as a kind, loyal and generous friend who was always willing to lend a helping hand.

He was a man of his word, strong in both body and mind and never allowed any hurdles to keep him from his objectives. He loved to "chew the fat." Mike was intelligent and well-read and fed his mind with knowledge of all kinds. Mike was a true patriot with a passion for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

Mike was a devoted father. He considered his children his legacy and was thrilled each time a new grandchild was born.

He is survived by his siblings, Hosanna (Dixie) Lee and Katt Pinette; wife, Rose; children, Ira, Tiffany, Melissa, Jackson, Nathan, Marie, Bernadette, Jeanne, Antonia and Blair; many precious grandchildren; niece, Bethany Bogart; nephew, Daniel Lahaie; and his loyal dog, Kobuk, who was with him until the end.

Pretty standard obituary fare.   But the name sounded familiar.  I went back to page 3 to a story I'd just read:

FAIRBANKS -- A 19-year-old Alaska man has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the death of his father.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that Blair Lawless is being held on $1 million bail in the death last month of his 59-year-old father, Melvin "Mike" Lawless, at his Two Rivers home near Fairbanks.  .  .

Blair Lawless also faces charges of vehicle theft and tampering with evidence. He was arrested March 2 in Anchorage, after a day-long manhunt following his indictment on the murder charge.

I realize that for obituaries people tend to say nice things about the dead.  I think it should be possible to find things you can say without violating the truth.  Take this line from the obituary:

All will remember Mike as a kind, loyal and generous friend who was always willing to lend a helping hand.

 Apparently not all.  Even if his son Blair is not guilty, somebody apparently murdered him.  Someone who probably has a different view of the deceased.

I'm always a bit curious when no cause of death is listed or someone dies of 'natural causes' at age 45.  There was another obituary the same day with a unique cause of death.

Palmer resident Nick Charles Stachelrodt, 45, died unexpectedly March 12, 2011, in Ketchikan while protecting his parents.

I don't mean to make light of the situation in either case.  Two people have died and left behind people who will miss them.  And I decided to hold this post for 30 days  before pushing the publish button. 

Detroit Hospitality Includes Mid April Snow for Alaskan Guests

My son's future in-laws have been more than hospitable and we've met a lot of interesting and friendly folks.  We've been eating an array of delicious food, including a great selection of vegetarian fare.  I really needed a run this morning to make a dent on all those delicious calories. 

They were such good hosts they even provided snow this morning for their Alaska guests.  So with socks for mittens I went out for a refreshing run. 

My run Friday in Chicago was in cloudy, windy weather, but there were signs that spring was near. 

Great American Art: Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry

Our host took us on a tour to counter our images of Detroit. There's no denying that Detroit is in trouble, but there are also signs that Detroit has been and will once again be a city of importance. Perhaps most symbolic of the people, the industry, and the art of Detroit, is the Diego Rivera mural Detroit Industry that covers four walls in a courtyard in the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). It was the most satisfying part of the tour for me Sunday.

DIA - Diego Rivera S. wall - click to enlarge

From NPR:

In 1932 Edsel Ford, the son of Henry Ford and president of the car company that bears the family name, and William Valentiner, the director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, commissioned Rivera to paint two murals for the museum's Garden Court. The only rule was the work must relate to the history of Detroit and the development of industry.
Soon thereafter Rivera and his wife, painter Frida Kahlo, arrived in Detroit and began studying and photographing the Ford automotive plant on the Rouge River. The factory so fascinated and inspired Rivera that he soon suggested painting all four walls of the Garden Court. Ford and Valentier agreed and soon Rivera's commission was expanded.   .  .  .

The Controversy
Many people objected to Rivera's work when it was unveiled to the public. He painted workers of different races – white, black and brown, working side by side. The nudes in the mural were called pornographic, and one panel was labeled blasphemous by some members of the religious community. The section depicts a nativity scene where a baby is receiving a vaccination from a doctor and scientists from different countries took the place of the wise men. 

From the Detroit Art Institute website

Rivera was a Marxist who believed that art belonged on public walls rather than in private galleries. He found his medium in the fresco, where paint is applied to wet plaster. Its vast size allowed him to explore grand and complex themes, which would be accessible to a large audience. In Mexico, Rivera's murals tied modern Mexican culture to its indigenous roots, revealing the ancient Indian cultures as Mexico's true heritage. Similarly, Rivera's Detroit Industry murals depict industry and technology as the indigenous culture of Detroit.

 From the Detroit News:

Many rich patrons of the DIA balked at the idea that a gigantic image of a factory, Ford Motor Co's Rouge Plant, was going to be the centerpiece of the DIA, according to press accounts of the day. Dozens of religious organizations were convinced Rivera had mocked the Holy Trinity in a panel that depicts a child vaccination. The scene shows a young child with a horse, a cow and sheep at the infant's feet. The composition of the figures forms a triangle like that of a nativity scene.

Additionally, groups representing hundreds of thousands of Metro Detroiters demanded that any public funding to the DIA be cut due to Rivera's work. A front page editorial in The Detroit News on March 18, 1933, neatly summed up their anger:

"Rivera's whole work and conception is un-American … and foolishly vulgar," the unsigned editorial states. "It bears no relation to the soul of the community, to the room, to the building or to the general purpose of Detroit's Institute of Arts. … This is not a fair picture of the man who works short hours, must be quick in action, alert of mind, who works in a factory where there is plenty of space for movement. The best thing to do would be to whitewash the entire work (and) completely return the court to its original beauty."

As the threat became more real, the international press soon picked up on the drama.

The irony is that Rivera, so-called loyal socialist, was in complete awe of Henry Ford and Detroit's technology
"Henry Ford (is) a true poet and artist, one of the greatest in the world," Rivera said shortly before he arrived in Detroit, according to press accounts. Rivera, according to his autobiography "My Art, My Life," believed American engineers — creators of factories, skyscrapers and highways — were the nation's true artists and Detroit perfected the best expression of American art: the large-scale factory.
While Rivera had no intention of glossing over the misery in factories or Detroit streets, he was clearly entranced by its manufacturing muscle.

The section below shows tours for the middle class who came to watch the workers.  The iPad tours pointed out that Rivera had painted Dick Tracy and the Katzenjammer Kids. into this section.  The Tracy figure is to the left of the ladies in a triangle all on his own, the Katzenjammer kids are on the other side of the ladies.  Again, double click to enlarge all these pictures.

The Detroit Institute of Art has an online audio tour of the murals.  And, a surprise bonus, our Anchorage Museum membership cards got us in free and a discount in the bookstore.

Detroit - Fisher Building

We were taken on a quick tour of Detroit today.  The first stop was the Fisher Building.








From the National Park Service:

In the late 1920s, the Fishers hired master architect Albert Kahn to design a building as both a philanthropic and commercial investment. The Fisher brothers wanted to spare no expense, and Kahn designed a $9 million Art Deco masterpiece that lavished 1/4 of its expense on art work and luxury materials. Reflecting the wealth of its owners, the completed Fisher Building accommodated the needs of the automobile owner by "enabling its patrons to leave their cars, attend to all shopping needs . . . visit their doctor, dentist, banker or broker, attend the Fisher Theater, and return to their cars without having to leave the building."

Wikipedia on the Fisher Building:

 The Fisher Building (1928) is an ornate Art Deco skyscraper located on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was constructed of limestone, granite, and marble, and was financed by the Fisher family with proceeds from the sale of Fisher Body to General Motors. It was designed to house office and retail space.

Wikipedia on Fisher Body:

1960s Logo (from Wikipedia)

Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan, which is now an operating division of General Motors Company. The name was well known to the public, as General Motors vehicles displayed a "Body by Fisher" emblem on their door sill plates until the mid-1980s.                    

Detroit1701 offers this history:

In the later decades of the Nineteenth Century, Lawrence P. Fisher built carriages to be drawn by horses in his shop in Norwalk, Ohio.  He fathered eleven children, including seven sons who would become extraordinarily rich by building bodies for the new automobile industry.  Lawrence Fisher’s brother, Albert,  had established the Standard Wagon Works firm in Detroit in the 1880s to build horse drawn wagons and carriages.

  In the early 1900s, two of Lawrence Fisher’s sons—Frederick and Charles—moved from Norwalk to Detroit to work at the C. R. Wilson Company, another Detroit carriage manufacturer.

Detroit’s early automobile entrepreneurs found it extremely difficult to raise capital.  Since they were short of funds, many of them basically assembled cars from parts made by independent suppliers—machine shops, carriage builders and the like.  Until about 1914, Henry Ford’s automobiles were basically assembled from parts made by the Dodge Brothers and other Detroit suppliers.  Henry Leland, who built engines for R.E. Olds’ Oldsmobiles and helped create the Cadillac Motor Car firm, may have been among the first to approach the Fisher Brothers about manufacturing bodies for cars.

Elevator Door

Frederick and Charles Fisher, along with their uncle Albert Fisher, formed the Fisher Body Company in Detroit on July 22, 1908.  Their firm was a quick success.  Five other Fisher brothers—Alfred, Edward, Howard, Lawrence and William—moved from Norwalk to work in the development of the firm.  All, or virtually, all early automobiles in the United States were open cars that provided some type of canvass that might be raised in inclement weather.  It was typically a good deal of work to put up that canvass with the isinglass windows.  If you have driven a soft top Jeep, you will be very familiar with this challenge.  The Fisher Brothers pioneered the development of an all-steel enclosed body and, I believe, Cadillac was the first vehicle firms to sell such cars.  This was a major step in making cars desirable since they could be driven in any weather, so long as the roads were passable.  The solid steel body and the electric starter encouraged women to drive and buy cars.

Abacus #1

[UPDATE Jan 2014 - I learned that Abacus has been closed for a while now.]

From The Abacus:

The standard abacus can be used to perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square-roots and cubic roots.
The abacus is typically constructed of various types of hardwoods and comes in varying sizes. The frame of the abacus has a series of vertical rods on which a number of wooden beads are allowed to slide freely. A horizontal beam separates the frame into two sections, known as the upper deck and the lower deck.

When I taught in Thailand 40 years ago, a number of the shopkeepers did their calculations on the abacus.  Their fingers flicked beads up and down with lightening speed.

A quick check at Mandarin tools shows us that the characters on the menu are in fact abacus in simplified characters. 

Trad.	Simp.	Pinyin	English
算盤	算盘	suàn pán	abacus

A history page at Abacus tells us:

The abacus as we know it today, appeared (was chronicled) circa 1200 A.D. in China; in Chinese, it is called suan-pan. On each rod, this classic Chinese abacus has 2 beads on the upper deck and 5 on the lower deck; such an abacus is also referred to as a 2/5 abacus. The 2/5 style survived unchanged until about 1850 at which time the 1/5 (one bead on the top deck and five beads on the bottom deck) abacus appeared.
Circa 1600 A.D., use and evolution of the Chinese 1/5 abacus was begun by the Japanese via Korea. In Japanese, the abacus is called soroban. The 1/4 abacus, a style preferred and still manufactured in Japan today, appeared circa 1930. The 1/5 models are rare today and 2/5 models are rare outside of China (excepting Chinese communities in North America and elsewhere).
It is thought that early Christians brought the abacus to the East (note that both the suan-pan and the Roman hand-abacus have a vertical orientation). Aspects of Roman culture could have been introduced to China as early as 166 A.D, during the Han Dynasty, as Roman emperor Antoninus Pius' embassies to China spread along the Silk Road.

Where's this all going?  I ate at Abacus #1 in Chicago on Thursday night.  The restaurant is owned by Luci and Rachel.  They reflect, in my mind, what is great about American possibilities.  I've known Rachel's father since summer 1966 when we were roommates in Peace Corps training in DeKalb, Illinois.  Rachel is now married to Luci who is from Romania.  He's busy driving a cab and managing this new restaurant on Fullerton and Ashland.

So what's a Romanian doing running a Chinese restaurant in Chicago.  Well, they have a chef from Hong Kong - Jackie - and the food was very good - lots of flavor but not at all heavy.   I wouldn't call myself an expert on Chinese food, but we did live in Hong Kong for a year and in Beijing for maybe a total of five or six months and we had Chinese hosts who  made sure we sampled very good Chinese food.  We've eaten great Chinese food.

Abacus is not American-Chinese food.  It's Chinese, but with a modern twist.  We had vegetarian dishes and we thought we'd have plenty of leftovers to take home for Rachel's dad who couldn't make it.  But we had to order him another dish because the food was so good we ate it all.

I do occasionally write about restaurants so this isn't too unusual for me, but I want to be clear that  I wouldn't recommend even a friend's place if I didn't really like it.  We did eat with the owners so I'm sure the chef wasn't being careless.  But I got to talk to Jackie and I think he knows what he's doing.

If you like real Chinese food without the gooey sauces, but light and tasty, this is a great place.  And the prices are really inexpensive.   Chicken dishes $7 for the small and $9.50 for the large.  Beef, $7.25 and $9.75.  Vegetable $5.95 and $8.50.  And the rice comes as part of the order. 

 

And, as you can see, the decor is simple and tasteful.  The restaurant business is pretty hard, so let's see how well Luci does.  Will nearby DePaul students discover it and like it? 

BTW, you can use a digital abacus at Mandarintools.

We're in Detroit - At Least the Suburbs

We drove past the Hemingway house in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, where Hemingway spent his childhood and where Frank Lloyd Wright lived, on a gray, windy, wet day and flew to Detroit.







This isn't the first time we've been in the Detroit airport, but the first time it's been our destination.  I've walked through this wonderful tunnel a couple times while in transit here.  The lights change colors and flow like Northern Lights and there is tinkling music that makes this walk almost fun.  I'm reminded that airports are the big depots of the present where cities spend many millions for giant travel palaces, taking the place of the great train stations of the past.  Except that people could possibly face the indignity of a TSA patdown to enjoy the luxury of the airport.  We've managed to go through without being scanned or patted down and the TSA officials in Anchorage were polite and respectful.  The ones in Chicago pulled that off less successfully, though it seems they were given instructions to be that way. 

We're in a hotel and will be picked up soon to go to an engagement party for my son and his fiance at her parents' home.  And we are delighted.

Detailed Redistricting Maps and Post Plan Public Hearing Schedule

[UPDATED April 30, 2020:  None of the links in this post is any good any more.  One suggestion for the next redistricting board is that they work something out with the State and/or Legislature or with the State Library to set up a website that will serve the Board and then be preserved into the future.  There was lots of useful information for the next Board and the public as we look ahead to a Board forming next year.  I haven't checked links on other posts about the Redistricting Board.  If they were to sites other than the Board's, they may still be up.]

I'm in Chicago and don't have time at the moment to look at these carefully, but I did get a message saying they have posted detailed maps.  So you can look now to see where you district has ended up in the draft plan.  Remember - this is the proposed, not the final plan.  So check out what they did in case you have issues.   In the Board's Plan 1, my census block has been carved out of my old district 24 and put into another district.  I have to check on the other one.

Board Posts Detailed District and Regional Maps for Draft Redistricting Plans

Anchorage, AK - Today, the Alaska Redistricting Board has posted detailed maps for each of the Board's draft redistricting plans that were adopted on April 13, 2011.  Maps for House Districts and major regions of the state for both "Board Option 1" and "Board Option 2" are available for download at http://www.akredistricting.org. Additional maps, data, reports, plans submitted by the public and other materials will be posted to the Alaska Redistricting Board website by staff over the course of the redistricting process, which will culminate with the adoption of a final plan in mid-June of this year.  They've also posted a schedule of public hearings, again starting in Anchorage.  I won't be back for that one, so the rest of you should go.   Public Hearing Schedule      Monday, April 18 Community:  Anchorage, AK Location:  Anchorage Legislative Information Office Building, Room 220  Time:  2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Tuesday, April 19 Community:  Fairbanks, AK Location:  Fairbanks City Hall, City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor Time:  2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 20 Community:  Juneau, AK Location:  Alaska State Capitol Building, Room 106 Time:  1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Thursday, April 21 Community:  Cordova, AK Location:  City of Cordova Public Library Time:  1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 25 Community:  Healy, AK Location:  Tri-Valley Community Center (Fire Hall) Time:  12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Community:  Palmer, AK Location:  Mat-Su Borough Assembly Chambers Time:  2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 Community:  Delta Junction, AK Location:  Delta Junction City Council Chambers Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Community:  Nome, AK Location:  Nome City Council Chambers Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Community:  Dutch Harbor, AK Location:  Unalaska City Council Chambers Time:  1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Community:  Kotzebue, AK Location:  Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly Chambers Time:  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Community:  Tok, AK Location:  Tok Legislative Information Office Time:  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Community:  Cold Bay, AK Location:  City of Cold Bay Community Center Time:  7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 Community:  Bethel, AK Location:  Yup'iit Piciryarait Cultural Center Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Community:  Glenallen, AK Location:  Glenallen Legislative Information Office Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Thursday, April 28 Community:  Galena, AK Location:  Galena City Hall Assembly Chambers Time:  1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Community:  Barrow, AK Location:  Inupiat Heritage Learning Center  Time:  3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 Community:  Kodiak, AK Location:  Kodiak Island Borough Assembly Chambers Time:  12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Community:  Sitka, AK Location:  Centennial Hall, Maksoutoff Room  Time:  1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, April 30 Community:  Craig, AK Location:  Craig High School Library  Time:  11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Community:  Ketchikan, AK Location:  Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly Chambers  Time:  4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday, May 2 Community:  Wrangell, AK Location:  Nolan Center  Time:  11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Community:  Seward, AK Location:  Seward City Council Chambers Time:  2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 3 Community:  Petersburg, AK Location:  Petersburg City Council Chambers  Time:  11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Community:  Homer, AK Location:  Homer City Council Chambers Time:  11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Community:  Kenai, AK Location:  Kenai City Council Chambers Time:  4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 Community:  Skagway, AK Location:  Municipality of Skagway Assembly Chambers  Time:  9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Community:  Haines, AK Location:  Haines Borough Public Library  Time:  1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Community:  Valdez, AK Location:  Valdez City Council Chambers  Time:  2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday, May 5 Community:  Angoon, AK Location:  Angoon Elementary School, Gymnasium  Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Community:  King Salmon, AK Location:  Southeast Alaska Vocational Education Center  Time:  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Community:  Dillingham, AK Location:  Dillingham City Council Chambers  Time:  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Community:  Hoonah, AK Location:  Hoonah City Council Chambers  Time:  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Statewide Teleconference and Plan Presentations  A statewide teleconference will be held on Friday, May 6th via the Alaska Legislative Information Office (LIO) network.  Date:  Friday, May 6th Time:  9:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Location:  Alaska Legislative Information Office Network The full Redistricting Board will be in attendance at the Anchorage LIO, 714 West Fourth Avenue, Room 220, Anchorage, AK 99501.  The morning session will be reserved for presentations of plans and plan revisions by members of the public. Those wishing to present redistricting plans or plan revisions at the May 6th hearing must notify Redistricting Board staff by 5:00PM (ADT) May 2, 2011 via fax (907-269-6691) or email (info@akredistricting.org). Plan and plan revision presentations will be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes per presentation.   The afternoon session will be reserved for public comments on draft plans released by the Board. This is the last date for public testimony before the Board begins deliberations on a final redistricting plan. A supplemental notice will be issued listing the LIO locations participating in the teleconference and a toll-free call-in number for those who do not have access to an LIO.

The Book Table - Oak Park

This is one of those special independent book stores.  Obviously the people who buy books for this  store aren't using the same model as the buyers at chain book stores.  This book store is for people who think.  And then I noticed the prices were considerably lower than most places.  For new books.  So I talked to Jason at the counter.  I should have taken notes, but essentially I think he said they go through discounted lots and other sources of  lower priced books.  He also mentioned being kind if I recall correctly.  On their website, they expand:

 We have great publisher's overstock, and we do just about every other legal thing you can imagine to stock great titles at even better prices. After working in seven different bookstores between the two of us over the years, we learned a lot of secrets on how to get the best books and sell them at the best prices, so we do just that. Also, if we don't have a book in stock, we'll happily special order it--and even most special orders will be offered to you at a 20% discount, and it generally only takes a few days. 

We chatted a bit and soon he was looking for some books for me.  How about a first edition of Limbo?  $200.  Not exactly what I was looking for.  He got some more options.  I gave him more information, and bingo, he came back the just the sort of thing I was looking for. 

It's not like people don't know about this bookstore.  It's been there for eight years.  And the Chicago Reader named it the Best Bookstore for 2010. 

What the Constitution Says the Redistricting Board Should Do

Now that they've passed the draft plan and people start finding out how it affects their districts, maybe people will start paying attention.  Here's what their job is.  As you can see, there are nine sections before these two:

§ 10. Redistricting Plan and Proclamation

(a) Within thirty days after the official reporting of the decennial census of the United States or thirty days after being duly appointed, whichever occurs last, the board shall adopt one or more proposed redistricting plans. The board shall hold public hearings on the proposed plan, or, if no single proposed plan is agreed on, on all plans proposed by the board. No later than ninety days after the board has been appointed and the official reporting of the decennial census of the United States, the board shall adopt a final redistricting plan and issue a proclamation of redistricting. The final plan shall set out boundaries of house and senate districts and shall be effective for the election of members of the legislature until after the official reporting of the next decennial census of the United States.
(b) Adoption of a final redistricting plan shall require the affirmative votes of three members of the Redistricting Board. [Amended 1998]

§ 11. Enforcement

Any qualified voter may apply to the superior court to compel the Redistricting Board, by mandamus or otherwise, to perform its duties under this article or to correct any error in redistricting. Application to compel the board to perform must be filed not later than thirty days following the expiration of the ninety-day period specified in this article. Application to compel correction of any error in redistricting must be filed within thirty days following the adoption of the final redistricting plan and proclamation by the board. Original jurisdiction in these matters is vested in the superior court. On appeal from the superior court, the cause shall be reviewed by the supreme court on the law and the facts. Notwithstanding section 15 of article IV, all dispositions by the superior court and the supreme court under this section shall be expedited and shall have priority over all other matters pending before the respective court. Upon a final judicial decision that a plan is invalid, the matter shall be returned to the board for correction and development of a new plan. If that new plan is declared invalid, the matter may be referred again to the board. [Amended 1998]

Board Approves Draft Plan While I'm Away

I'm at the airport now waiting for our flight to Chicago and then on to Detroit.  Which is why I skipped this morning's Board Meeting. I had a few loose ends to tie up before we left. But the world works in mysterious ways.  After team teaching with Dennis at a UAA sociology class this afternoon about the organization Healing Racism in Anchorage, I went to the Thai Kitchen for dinner.

Before J got there, I recognized a gentleman I'd seen and chatted with at the Redistricting Board meetings recently.  He invited me to join him, I countered that he should join us at a bigger table.  And that's how I found out I didn't miss much at this morning's session where, Randy Ruedrich told us, they talked about Senate pairings.  We had a good dinner and interesting, amiable conversation.  But appears from the website, that the Board passed the draft plan at their afternoon session, which Randy passed up and I was in class.  Here's their official announcement.

Anchorage, AK - Today, the Alaska Redistricting Board adopted draft redistricting plans for the purpose of soliciting public comment before adopting a final plan. Two of the plans are statewide plans prepared by the Board that differ only in the configuration of state senate district pairings. The Board also adopted alternative plans for Southeast Alaska and the Mat-Su region that can fit with either of the Board's statewide plans.

All draft plans adopted by the Board today have been posted for public download at http://www.akredistricting.org. 

After the Board's action today, Chairman John Torgerson made the following statement:

"The Board worked hard in an open manner to build draft plans that protect Alaska Native voting rights while providing fair and equal legislative representation for all Alaskans."

Torgerson added that he believed the Board's draft plans achieve lower population deviation ranges than previous redistricting plans, stating that "A fundamental redistricting principle is the one person one vote rule which means that everyone's vote should be weighted equally. I believe our draft plans reflect the Board's commitment to that principle."  

The Board was required by the Alaska Constitution to adopt a draft plan or plans within 30 days of receipt of census data which occurred on March 15, 2011. After receipt of the redistricting data, the Board held hearings in Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kotzebue and Wasilla in addition to a statewide teleconference on March 31^st to solicit public opinion.

The Board began drafting redistricting plans in public work sessions at its Anchorage office on April 4^th.  

To set the framework for its draft plans, the Board initially focused on rural Alaska. One of the Board's first actions was to formally state their intention to draft a plan that included 9 Alaska Native influence districts. This was done to comply with the Voting Rights Act requirement of avoiding retrogression when drafting new redistricting plans. Retrogression occurs when a redistricting is drawn in a manner that worsens minority voting strength as compared to the previous plan.

In order to solicit a full range of opinions from Alaskans, the Board also adopted plans submitted by private groups as follows: statewide plans from Alaskans for Fair Redistricting, Alaskans for Fair and Equitable Redistricting and the Rights Coalition; regional plans from the Alaska Legislature's Bush Caucus, and the City and Borough of Juneau; and single district plans from the City of Valdez and the Bristol Bay Borough. The Board is releasing these plans as they were presented to the Board. The Board does not endorse any of these plans and did not attempt to verify the accuracy or legality of any private plans. 

The Board will begin a series of public hearings around Alaska on April 18 to take comments on its draft plans and private plans that were released today. The public hearing process will end with a statewide teleconference on May 6^th.  The Board will then begin meeting in public work sessions on May 16 to draft a final plan for adoption by June 13, 2011.

The Board's draft plans are subject to revision before the Board adopts a final plan.

Kay Brown's blog at Alaskans for Fair Redistricting gives details on what the districts look like in clear, precise reports.