Murkowski Concedes to Miller

Tue, Aug 31, 2010

Photos by Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage

Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded her bid for reelection to primary opponent Joe Miller early Tuesday evening saying it was for the “good of the state of Alaska.”

She said it had been a “terribly long week” and “difficult on all sides,” during a press conference in Anchorage.

Murkowski had watched Miller’s lead dip and climb back during the course of Tuesday’s counting of absentee and other ballots but she said did not see a path to winning.

“Based on where we are right now, I don’t see a scenario, where the primary will turn out in my favor,” she told reporters. “I’m now conceding the race for the Republican nomination.”

She told reporters and several sullen supporters standing at her side that she had called Miller just before the press conference to tell him of her decision.

Murkowski thanked her supporters and called them the “best of the best.”

Prior to the press conference, Miller told KTUU-TV in Anchorage he felt “pretty good” about how the count had gone. He was asked if Murkowski should drop out. “No, that’s her decision,” he said.

Miller now faces Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams (right), the Democrat who easily won his party’s nomination.

Tuesday’s count showed Miller with 52,988 votes or 50.78 pct of the vote. Murkowski had 51,358 votes or 49.22 pct. Some 1,630 votes separated the two candidates. That was a margin similar to the one Miller had started with on Tuesday morning.

The Republican senate primary captured national headlines this past week as both campaigns sought to cast the returns in the most favorable light.

Miller’s candidacy was boosted early when he won the endorsement of former Governor Sarah Palin.

“Do you believe in miracles?!” Palin said in a Twitter message shortly after Murkowski’s announcement. “Thank you for your service, Sen. Murkowski. On to November!”

Miller, a Tea Party favorite, also had won the endorsement of Fox TV host and former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Throughout the campaign, Miller had chided Murkowski for being too liberal.

Murkowski had run strong in Anchorage and various other parts of the state, but Miller led in Fairbanks and in much of the Mat-Su Valley.

Vote Gap Between Murkowski and Miller Narrows Slightly

Tue, Aug 31, 2010

The absentee ballot count today in the Republican U.S. Senate primary shows a slight narrowing of the gap between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller at this hour. As of 5:00 p.m., Miller is leading Murkowski by 1,469 votes, down from 1,668 votes after last Tuesday’s election.

Thousands of absentee ballots were counted today at the Anchorage office of the state division of elections. The ballots are pivotal in the outcome of the race for Alaska’s available US Senate seat in the November election.

But things were quiet this morning as election volunteers, most of them women, sat at their workstations. Both the Miller and the Murkowski campaigns had sent observers to watch the proceedings. Gail Fenumiai, division of elections director, said ballot counting was taking place at the same time in Wasilla

Fenumiai said questioned ballots, those voted on election day, but without proper address identification, are verified by a bipartisan review board. Despite fears expressed by the Miller campaign regarding mishandling of the vote count, the operation seemed to go smoothly. Other than a handful of reporters, there were few members of the public in evidence at the division office in Anchorage.

When new numbers were posted to the state election division website shortly before eleven this morning, the returns showed a slight lessening of the gap between the two candidates – in Murkowski’s favor. John Bitney speaks for Lisa Murkowski’s campaign.

The districts reflecting the early returns were in Anchorage and Eagle River. Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said he wasn’t worried about them

Shortly after noon, Matanuska Valley election officials finished counting absentee votes in Wasilla. Those returns lessened Miller’s advantage by about one tenth of a percentage point.

Photo and Story by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

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UPS Pilots Seek State Help

Tue, Aug 31, 2010

A plan by rapid package shipper UPS to furlough Anchorage based pilots is meeting resistance with the help of Alaska’s elected officials.

Earlier this year, UPS announced plans to furlough some 300 pilots nationally, citing a company-wide cost cutting regime. Almost all the pilots affected, 262 of them, were based out of the company’s Anchorage hub, because the furloughs affect the pilots with the least seniority, and the recently established Anchorage hub has the greatest number of junior pilots. Pilots are fighting the move. Bob Thrush, president of the Independent Pilots’ Association says UPS has gone back on its word

Alaska Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski have put pressure on UPS to reconsider, and Alaska governor Sean Parnell and Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan have contacted UPS officials on the issue. So far, about 109 UPS pilots from Anchorage have already lost their jobs.

The remaining pilots are slated to lose their jobs by the end of next March. Thrush says the furloughs were not necessary, because the pilots initially volunteered shift and vacation pay cuts to head off the furloughs

Many of the affected pilots have homes in Anchorage. IPA spokesman Brian Godet says if the UPS plan goes through, the pilots could be furloughed through 2014, and that could mean lost revenues of up to $61 million for the city and the state. But UPS spokesman Mike Mangeot, speaking from Louisville, Kentucky, says there are some changes coming

Thrush says if UPS decides to rehire any pilots, regulations demand that the furloughed pilots be offered their jobs back first.

Mangeot says UPS’s second quarter earnings indicate a 40 percent increase in Asian exports, and that growth could extend to Alaska

The state house transportation committee is getting involved in the issue. A hearing on the UPS layoffs is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9:00 in Anchorage to question UPS officials about the plan. UPS has 1,000 employees in Alaska and spends $328 million a year to run its operations in the state.

Live Work Alaska: 300 UPS Pilots Laid Off; 262 from Anchorage

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Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

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Students challenge their past and change their future

Mon, Aug 30, 2010

It’s a high school alternative that’s won national recognition- the Alaska Military Youth Academy. Last Friday the academy graduated its second largest class ever of previously at- risk teenagers.

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

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Berkowitz Plans to Give Alaskans Chance to Buy Share in Natural Gas Pipeline

Fri, Aug 27, 2010

Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau

Ethan Berkowitz wants to give Alaskans a chance to buy a share in the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline. The Democratic gubernatorial nominee Friday presented the first part of what he says will be a series of ideas involving energy.

Asked through his staff, Republican Governor Sean Parnell had no comment on the plan.

Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

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Students Challenge Their Past and Change Their Future

Fri, Aug 27, 2010

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

It’s a high school alternative that’s won national recognition–the Alaska Military Youth Academy. Friday, the academy graduated its second largest class ever – 156 cadets of formerly at risk teenagers.

Alaska Military Youth Academy

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Scammers Give New Twist to Identity Theft

Thu, Aug 26, 2010

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

The Anchorage Police reports a new twist in identity theft scams. The approach tries to capitalize on the victim’s trust in the police department.

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Parnell and Treadwell Present United Front

Wed, Aug 25, 2010

Governor Sean Parnell and Republican running mate Mead Treadwell presented a united front in a post election appearance Wednesday. Parnell says now that the dust of the primary is behind them, they aim to be the team to move Alaska forward.

Photo and Story by Ellen Lockyer, APRN – Anchorage

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Miller Maintains Lead; Waiting on Absentee Ballots

Wed, Aug 25, 2010

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

As of this morning, with nearly 98 percent of the statewide precincts reporting, Joe Miller’s lead over incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary has shrunk a bit, but the challenger still has a just under 2,000 vote lead.

Late last night, Miller credited his volunteers.

Murkowski’s campaign manager, Steve Wackowski, said the the results so far are not altogether a surprise.

In the congressional race, incumbent Republican Don Young easily won his primary and will face Democrat Harry Crawford, who was unopposed.

Governor Sean Parnell captured nearly 50 percent of the Republican primary vote, with Bill Walker second with around 34 percent. Parnell will face Democrat Ethan Berkowitz in November. Berkowitz beat off Hollis French’s late campaign surge to currently lead by more than 3,700 votes.

Diane Benson has 65 percent of the vote in the Democrat’s Lieutenant Governor’s race; Meade Treadwell collected nearly 50 percent for the Republican Lieutenant Governor’s nomination.

Ballot Measure One, dubbed the anti-corruption proposition by proponents and the gag-law by opponents, suffered a more than 32,000 vote drubbing. Alaska Education Association Barb Anguyuk was one of the leaders against Measure One.Meanwhile, Ballot Measure Two, which will require doctors to notify parents or guardians if a minor under the age of 18 seeks an abortion captured around 55 percent approval. Bernadette Wilson was the Vote Yes on Two campaign manager.

This primary’s award for closest primary race goes to the Republicans in House District 12 in the Valdez area.

As of this morning, unofficial results Eric Feige leads with 666 votes, Don Haase, 660, and Pete Fellman, 658. The eventual winner will face Democrat Bert Cottle.

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Anchorage Charter Schools Counter National Trend

Tue, Aug 24, 2010

In recent months, the national media has reported that charter schools are not meeting performance expectations. That’s not the case in Anchorage, however, where last night’s school board meeting showed the district’s charter school quite robust and effective.

Len Anderson, KSKA – Anchorage

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