Casey Kelly

Gov. Bill Walker says most state employees will get layoff notices in June if the Alaska legislature does not approve a fully funded budget for next fiscal year.

In an email to state employees this morning, Walker says he plans to sign the FY16 budget lawmakers sent him last month, but will veto portions that are not funded.

Lawmakers last month approved a $5 billion budget that only provides $2 billion in funding. The governor called a 30-day special session on April 27, but so far legislators have been unable to reach a budget deal. The shortfall could be made up by tapping the state’s Constitutional Budget Reserve, but that requires support from three-quarters of lawmakers in both bodies. The Democratic-led House Minority wants to reverse cuts to education and other programs in exchange for voting to use the savings account. Members of that caucus also want action on Medicaid expansion and a bill to provide sexual assault education in schools.

In his email to state workers, Walker says he’ll ensure the budget “is used for critical priorities such as life, health, and safety.”

He also says he hopes the legislature can “come together and finish their work with enough time to keep the State government running beyond July 1^st.”

Walker will hold a press conference in Anchorage today at 1:30 p.m.

Below is the email Walker sent to state employees:

From: Alaska Governor Bill Walker (GOV sponsored)

Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 8:02 AM
Subject: From the Desk of the Governor
Dear State Employee:

I want to let you know about an action I must take later today. As you know, the Legislature was not able to reach a compromise to get the required votes to access funds in the Constitutional Budget Reserve. Therefore, the unfunded budget transmitted in HB 72 for fiscal year 2016 provides State spending appropriations of $5 billion, but only provides $2 billion in State funding. As a result, I had no choice but to call the Legislature into special session on April 27th. Since then, I have been working with legislators to either reach a compromise to fully fund their budget or pass a new budget with full funding, but they have not been able to get there.

I have made clear I cannot accept a budget that is not fully funded. To do so would put the State in the position of not being able to fulfill our obligations. This is unacceptable.

Later today, I will sign the budget bill the legislature passed in April. However, I have little choice but to veto the unfunded items in the bill. That means I will sign the fiscal year 2015 supplemental portion of the bill, as that is fully funded, but I will veto portions of the fiscal year 2016 budget, as that is not fully funded. Should the Legislature not pass a fully funded budget before July 1st, I will ensure the money that is in HB 72 is used for critical priorities such as life, health, and safety.

One consequence of HB 72 being unfunded for 2016 is most State employees will receive a layoff notice in early June if the Legislature fails to pass a fully funded budget by that time. We have until July 1st before we need to start shutting down any State functions that are not necessary to protect the life, health, and safety of Alaskans. However, we have contractual and moral obligations to let our employees know they may be temporarily laid off on July 1st if the budget is unfunded.

It is my sincere hope members of the Legislature can come together and finish their work with enough time to keep the State government running beyond July 1st. I will work every day to help legislators do this. I am committed to keeping our State open and ready for business.

I value the work each and every one of you do daily. You educate our children; you keep our airports open, our roads plowed, our communities safe, our seniors protected, and provide so many more critical functions. We rely on you to make Alaska the great state it is. I am gravely concerned the legislative stalemate continues to interrupt the hard work you do every day to serve fellow Alaskans.

Over the next few weeks, we will work together to keep Alaskans healthy and to provide for a sustainable fiscal future. I will keep in touch with you as we make progress.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,
Bill Walker
Governor
State of Alaska

Update | 3:00 p.m.

Juneau police say they served a second arrest warrant on Scott Michael Tomaszewski this morning. The warrant was issued from the Montgomery County (Maryland) Police Department for murder in the first degree, armed robbery, and burglary in the first degree. Tomaszewski continues to be held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center without bail.

Original post

A man suspected of killing a married couple in Rockville, Md. last weekend was arrested Saturday on board a cruise ship docked in Juneau.

Scott Michael Tomaszewski, 31, was taken into custody without incident at about 8 a.m., according to the Juneau Police Department. He was lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Center and held without bail as a fugitive from justice.

JPD said Tomaszewski had an outstanding arrest warrant for burglary in Montgomery County, Maryland. But according to various media reports, he also faces two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Richard Vilardo, 65, and Julianne Vilardo, 67. Montgomery County Police say the couple died of cutting or stabbing wounds. Tomaszewski was their neighbor.

The only cruise ship docked in Juneau on Saturday was the Coral Princess at the Franklin Dock.

A day after Juneau police said they’d no longer put out press releases about every threatening phone call to schools, Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller said the district would still notify parents and the media.

But he says authorities believe the recent spike in such incidents is being perpetrated by someone seeking attention, and he urged the press to tone down coverage.

“This has always been, we believe, about them getting attention,” Miller says. “And the more attention we give them, the more they want to do it. So we’re kind of feeding our own monster if you will.”

Since late April, at least eight Juneau schools have received threatening calls. All of them have featured a computerized or electronic sounding voice that vaguely mentions a school shooting. There’s been no specific threat, and no actual incident has occurred. A JPD release Thursday said the calls may be continuing because of “heightened media coverage.”

Juneau schools have responded to the calls by going into either stay-put mode or lockdown.

Miller says he’s spoken with school administrators in other parts of Alaska who have received similar threatening calls. He says they’re reviewing safety procedures, but the district hopes less attention will mean the calls stop.

“I am hopeful it will help. We are also looking at some of our phone screening protocols to make sure we don’t encourage this by doing the wrong thing,” he says.

The Juneau Empire on Thursday announced it would scale back coverage of every threatening call. KTOO plans to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the calls merit coverage.

A fire in the 5600 block of North Douglas Highway burned down a garage and claimed part of a nearby house tonight.

Fire Marshal Dan Jager says many Juneau firefighters were at a training exercise in Auke Bay when the call came in.

“So we could see the huge, dark, black column of smoke from quite a ways out of town,” he said.

Both the garage and house were unoccupied at the time of the fire, and Jager says there were no injuries.

About 20 to 30 firefighters responded. An engine from the downtown station was the first on scene. The crew used hand lines and hoses to knock down the flames.

North Douglas Highway was closed in both directions and Alaska Electric Light and Power shut off electricity to the area for about an hour.

The garage and house are owned by Joe Newman and Nancy Davis, who live in a neighboring house. They were remodeling the home that burned, which is a rental property.

Jager and Newman walked around the burned out area where the garage stood. Jager says he was trying to get a sense of what the garage was used for, and what might have been inside.

“He had some appliances, you know, different types of power tools and things like that, some personal items, stored lumber,” Jager said.

Jager says it’s too soon to say what caused the fire or estimate damages. The flames also damaged fiber optic lines used for telecommunications.

Even though the weather does not appear to be a factor in this case, Jager says the dry stretch we’re having right now means people should be careful when it comes to lighting fires.

“A lot of people are getting their open burn permits, which is required, and that’s great,” he said. “But if they don’t have to be burning, we’re strongly suggesting that they don’t.”

Jager says his investigation likely will continue on Friday.

(Video courtesy Jos Bakker, USFS bear volunteer)

U.S. Forest Service officials are concerned about a stressed out mama bear near the Mendenhall Glacier.

John Neary, director of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, says the bear is becoming more aggressive toward hikers, mountain bikers and off-leash dogs.

“She doesn’t move off. She’ll stand her ground on the trail. She’ll even approach hikers, wanting them to move back away from her,” Neary says.

He says the black bear and her three cubs have been seen most often on East Glacier Trail, which has been closed temporarily to give the animals some space. Neary says the cubs are a little more than a year old, and could strike off on their own soon.

In 2013, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game tagged the mother bear, called Bear 103 by wildlife officials.

“The radio collar data plus our own observations show her using much of this area – Dredge Lakes, the backside of the Steep Creek area, the Steep Creek Trail by the meadows, the Trail of Time. She could be sighted anywhere along this zone,” Neary says.

He says the Forest Service will look at reopening the East Glacier Trail in about a week. In the meantime, Neary says trail users should be extra cautious, and keep dogs leashed.

Bars in Alaska are now offering pregnancy tests.

The pilot program is meant to reduce the number of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome in the state. Alaska has one of the highest rates in the country. Supporters hope the tests will reach women early in pregnancy — a crucial time when they might not know they’re expecting.

Inside the ladies room at the Peanut Farm in Anchorage, a dispenser advertising free pregnancy tests hangs on the wall. Press the button to get one of the self-administered urine tests, and on this day they’re all out.

The front of the machine features a poster showing a silhouette of a pregnant woman drinking from a bottle. The text at the top says: “Remember the last time you had sex?”

Aimee Rathbun says she didn’t notice the dispenser at first.

“So, I don’t know if it would catch my eye to make me take a test before I drank,” says Rathbun, who’s at the Peanut Farm to watch a college hockey game.

Rathbun wonders, who’s the target audience? She believes most women will quit drinking when they find out they’re pregnant.

“I think anybody that might suspect it wouldn’t drink except if they were addicted,” she says. “You know, if they had a drinking problem then maybe it wouldn’t really change things.”

State health officials estimate more than 120 children born in Alaska each year have fetal alcohol symptoms, ranging from mental and physical disabilities to impaired growth to organ damage. Alaska also has a high rate of women who binge drink, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University of Alaska is conducting the two-year study. Researcher David Driscoll says it will look at whether pregnancy test dispensers in bar bathrooms can be more effective at preventing fetal alcohol syndrome than posters by themselves.

“Most of the strategies that we’ve used in the past have been relatively effective,” Driscoll says. “But we’re always looking for ways to try and improve our ability to provide information.”

So far, the tests are in just four bars statewide, but Driscoll plans to add more soon. He says women are already filling out an online survey they’re asked to take when they use the dispensers.

Between health care, education and social service costs, the state can spend millions of dollars on a person with fetal alcohol syndrome over the course of his or her lifetime. So, advocates say the $400,000 pilot project could have huge benefits.

“A lot of women now understand that they shouldn’t drink,” says Deb Evenson, an Alaska-based educator, whose fetal alcohol prevention work spans more than 30 years. “But a lot of people are still drinking in early pregnancy, and before they know they’re pregnant, and that can cause a lot of damage.”

Evenson applauds the pregnancy tests as something new, even if people have known about fetal alcohol syndrome for decades.

“This isn’t new information and somehow it’s missing big segments of our society,” she says. “And so I think all the way that we can share the information in every direction is really a good idea.”

Back at the Peanut Farm bar, basketball and hockey play on several giant screens.

General Manager Travis Block says he was wary about putting the pregnancy test dispenser in the ladies room at first. But after learning about the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska, and the potential savings from preventing the disorder, he’s a supporter.

“People are going to drink, and that’s what we’re here to do is, you know, provide entertainment,” he says. “But each person has to make up their own decision on what they want to do with their body.”

He says maybe the tests will make some women think twice about how much they drink and what the consequences might be.

*Editor’s Note: Aimee Rathbun’s name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.