We have been having days in Soldotna where it seemed we did not get our mail delivered. When I put something out to be picked up and it was still there at ten P.M. on Monday. I decided to find out what was up. I knew we had recently lost our beloved whistling mailman to retirement, but that was all I knew.
I spoke with Hector Rivera, the Postmaster here in Soldotna about the mail situation in our community and Alaska. The postal service as everyone already knows is planning cut backs and there is the discussion of cutting service on Saturdays, they also intend to close non-profitable post offices while combining some. That means the Kenai and Soldotna post offices may be combined with all carriers most likely working out of Soldotna. They are essentially not filling the vacant spots to decrease the workforce. The whole of Alaska is one postal district and they are only allowed to use a total of 10% temporary employees for the whole district. Their district manager has rotated staff so different post offices get extra help at varying times. The USPS rather than hire more staff is paying lots of overtime.
They are now short two carriers in Soldotna with the recent retirement of one carrier and one temporary staff on maternity leave. Many days they have only three carriers for five routes. They also have to work vacations in. The carriers are all working overtime up to twelve hours a day to try and get the mail delivered. They have about forty hours worth of mail delivery per day here in Soldotna and if only three carriers are available on a given day they have thirty-six hours of delivery, four hours short, with three carriers working twelve hours each (The hours with overtime equal 4.5 carriers when 5 are needed in other words.). If it is Monday or a day after a holiday like next Tuesday they have extra mail to deliver. That means next Tuesday some people will not get mail. Last Monday over 200 homes did not get mail delivered even with the carriers working twelve hours.
When the carriers are doing extra routes they also leave the post office later than normal because they have to prepare two routes to be delivered instead of one, so this sets all the usual times people receive their mail back. Then on top of that a carrier who is unfamiliar with the extra routes they are doing will be slower than the regular staff. The staff at the Alaska District Office was decreased significantly so the local offices have less help to fall back on when they need an extra hand or technical advice.
I was impressed with Mr. Rivera, he was a surprise to me. He has a lot of knowledge about what is happening with the USPS, cares about the carriers and the quality of mail delivery for the public. I was expecting the usual Alaska incompetence to be the problem and anticipated leaving a voice mail only to be ignored. One reason for my expectations were negative post office experiences in Nome where my mail was opened by a post office employee and from the old Postmaster in Homer who thought my uterus made me too stupid to figure out how to use a key when they had given me the wrong key to my post box. Mr. Rivera answered the phone right away and cheerfully described the situation for me. He went to Capital Hill in March and has been lobbying our legislators to protect our mail service. I just hope they are listening to him. The USPS is especially important here in rural Alaska where we have to order so many of the things we need from other places. It is also very important for the elderly who may not use modern technology for communication to keep in touch with family and friends.
Venting anger at carriers does not help and whenever they have to stop and explain why they are late or mail was not delivered the day before that may mean a couple less deliveries they can make that day. They are working their butts off in a very trying situation. I tried to think of what I could do to help and this post was my best solution besides walking my mail to be sent to the post office everyday when I go for a walk.
Update: KTVA has a report on their website featuring Senator Murkowski‘s anger about the USPS. They have cut distribution centers and are even moving the handling of western mail to a Denver Colorado distribution center. These decisions will delay our mail and as we all know it takes way longer to get mail here than in the lower 48. Shipping mail from Alaska to be received in another part of the state all the way to Colorado, then back to Alaska is insane. This will cause not just delays, but way more damage to materials shipped.
The people of Alaska must get involved and start voicing their opinions about the special needs for frequent efficient mail service in Alaska. Please contact Senator Murkowski, Senator Begich and Representative Don Young.
Mark Begich:
Email
D.C. phone. (202) 224 - 3004
Anchorage phone. (907) 271 - 5915
Juneau phone. (907) 586 - 7700
Kenai (907) 283 - 4000
Lisa Murkowski:
Email
D.C. phone 202-224-6665
Anchorage phone 907-271-3735
Kenai phone 907-283-5808
Don Young:
Email
D.C. phone (202) 225-5765
Anchorage phone (907) 271-5978
Juneau phone (907) 586-7400
Kenai phone T (907) 283-7701
malfeasance
Found in notes received from the public defender agency secondary to my FOIA request. DA John Earthman engineered my wrongfull arrest/incarceration 3 days after I filed an appeal.
Showing posts with label City of Soldotna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City of Soldotna. Show all posts
7/11/10
UNFRIGINBELIEVABLY LOUD CONCERT IN SOLDOTNA ANGERS HUNDREDS, UPDATE
I can’t even begin to describe how angry I am especially considering my past experiences on the Kenai Peninsula. Being one of the biggest nerds in Alaska I was trying to read a book and my apartment was being shaken by music that was so loud I could not believe it. At first I thought it was one of the many boom box cars that circulate all night. I then went for a walk looking for the source thinking erroneously that it must be a neighbor close by. Because who the hell would think that a concert by the sports arena on K-Beach Road over two miles away would be allowed by the city of Soldotna to play music so loud that people were angry and upset all over the city. Holy crap!!! I was not even very close to it and my apartment was shaking, there were homes that literally must have been vibrating all around the concert. What kind of thinking process went into issuing this permit? Well, first of all let’s look at the “business” that sponsored the event. It was Hooligans, aka Sodom and Gomorrah. I am not prudish, but have to ask should a business that promotes drugs, drunkenness, prostitution, and has shady business practices be allowed to promote concerts which if not managed properly could cause problems for the people in the community? The City of Soldotna says, Hell YES to that. I have my own personal story about Hooligans I should write some time. Imagine how people who came here to have a nice relaxing vacation are feeling about Soldotna this morning. If I was them I would never come back. How's that promoting tourism thing workin our for ya?
We have had problems with vandalism, theft, and harassment at the apartments I live in from some teenagers who live next door to Borough Mayor Carey. He doesn’t ever seem to notice, even when the police have them in his back yard at 3 A.M. standing in a row with their hands on the fence which btw is right outside my kitchen window. Of course when I called about them at 2:30 AM the dispatcher gave me the Kenai Peninsula law enforcement run around. There are some kids who already had no trespass warrants for this property. When they ran through the property at 2:30 A.M. (insomnia) with at least one of them wearing a helmet with a face covering looking behind them as if someone was chasing them I found this alarming considering the vandalism and theft history here recently. I thought the police might be chasing them. I already had a police chase and arrest one night right in front of my apartment. So, to have the dispatcher ask me if they were playing paint ball as if I am just a silly ass for calling got this response, “Look buddy, my IQ is fairly high, people who are playing paint ball generally have paint ball guns!” I then called the manager of our apartments who is a retired police officer who has a business as a consultant to police departments with corruption problems. He does not put up with any crap. Sometimes I think maybe there might be a God, because what are the chances with all I have been through with police corruption in Alaska that he would show up to manage the apartments I live in. The reason he and his wife are here is because the owners of the apartments are fabulous people. As it turned out one of them was on juvenile probation and was not supposed to be out by himself let alone at 2:30 A.M. and the other was a runaway they had been looking for.
Some kids at a house close by were having bon fires in their back yard starting about 9:30 P.M. or 10:00 PM. Why? They are teenagers, they wanted to drink beer, smoke pot, and boys think fires are cool. My concern was a fire burning all night with a bunch of intoxicated kids running around acting like idiots tending it. This was about a week before all the fires in the spring, when it was really dry. I got the run around from police dispatch and then the fire department. I got no response and the kids came on the property here and took firewood for their fire and someone threw rocks at my apartment. That is how they ended up with no trespassing warrants.
You know down here on the peninsula it seems there are no laws to protect citizens from actions of those who have bad judgment about safety or being good neighbors, it is all a “civil matter”. That is what they told me about theft of my property in Homer, the abuse my cat suffered, or lying to law enforcement to get me falsely arrested, they did not charge Robin or Steve Hume with crimes, it was just a “civil matter”. It’s funny how those things are illegal in other places, but not here, isn’t it. Yes, law enforcement, especially the state troopers have been trained to say that to people who have complaints about anything. As if as a citizen I can go right down and get a court injunction against their behaviors. For one thing the law libraries as I found out the hard way have essentially been eliminated here. They have put Alaska case law and statutes on computers and you can only access the information at a designated law library. They also have the printed statutes. This means if you do not live in Homer or Kenai you have to go pretty far to even access this limited information. This is done on purpose, they know most people will just get tired of the hassle and most will not be able to figure out where to even start the case. There is very little information about how to file cases. There is absolutely no staff to provide assistance except unlocking of doors. They just tell people they don’t need any other information than what is on the computer. Of course this is not true. In Kenai I have actually had to run between two different rooms which would have to be unlocked each time. The treatises, etcetera, have been eliminated. In other words the ability to do research to put a logical case together has been blocked. To understand how to use the courts one must understand the legal history, supreme court decisions, and constitutional law. This is a violation of the 7th amendment right to trial by jury in civil cases, but hey, what isn‘t a constitutional violation in Alaska?
Then there is the insanity of allowing music to be played that loud at a concert with no regard for the safety of those attending the concert. There is no question about music this loud damaging hearing. When people allow their kids to go to a concert they probably think there are regulations about loudness, there aren’t any regulations or apparently any common sense either. If my apartment shook two miles away how could it not damage hearing? Loud noise increases stress hormones so an event like this has an effect on people with health problems, but they don’t think about that sort of thing do they, they only think about money. The bands sounded like they were pretty good and I actually liked the music they were playing. They could have had a concert with the volume at a decent level and I would not have even known about it. A state trooper told me the city of Soldotna issued them the permit for the concert and they could do nothing about the noise. They did ask them to turn it down. I did not notice a difference. I was told they would make them end the concert at one minute after 10 P.M., it was after 10:30 when the bone rattling noise finally ended. It was quite a relief.
Remember it does not make money for anyone for law enforcement to respond to everyday calls of disturbing the peace, safety issues, or even harassment and vandalism as the defendants will most likely not be sent to prison. Law enforcement does not make the laws, they wanted to stop that concert, but could not. It is very profitable to arrest drug and alcohol offenders as it is a sure thing they can send them to prison due to harsh legislature being passed which is job security for many and prison-industrial complex companies make more money the more prisoners there are. Even if a prison is state run and not private, they buy supplies from these companies. If police go tell kids to stop doing an unsafe activity they are preventing problems which could result in kids getting in less trouble and the community being safer. In fact having them know they are being checked and watched will change their behavior. Why doesn't the fire department have the authority to investigate unsafe situations? Perhaps they do and they were just giving me the Kenai Peninsula ignore.
My warning to these kids is don't mess with me, I may look like a typical moderately obese middle age woman, but, I‘ll go Madea on your ass. Did I mention I have PTSD and could snap at any moment?
Now when I went through being wrongfully arrested which resulted in wrongful imprisonment(with medical malpractice and torture), my cat starved/abused, and my property destroyed or stolen by one of the Homer areas most upstanding citizens, Robin Hume (she said sarcastically) I went to the borough meeting held in Homer and told that story during the three whole minutes I was allotted(In 2007). I know this is surprising, who could believe I could tell a story in three minutes. I can’t even believe it. I left a lot out which almost caused me to have a seizure. The reaction from the borough was absolutely non-existent, but as I have learned since, typically Kenai Peninsula Borough. The reason is businesses are all that matter to the borough. Their motto should be, ScrewThe People. I have had to learn this lesson several times as I could not believe it was as pervasive as it is. The man who was borough mayor at that time did everything he could to avoid me which I have also learned is a typical Alaska politician technique. There is one exception, Mark Begich did call me himself to discuss something we disagree about. I still disagree with him, but was very impressed considering my past experiences in Alaska. Remember Sarah Palin’s staff told me the Department of Law(Directed by Tallis Colberg) told them not to talk to me or help me with anything.
UPDATE: Last night we had someone break into a car and steal a tricycle that belonged to an elderly woman. The owner just came by to tell me there had been eggs thrown on the side of my apartment. It feels like we are under seige. Apparently this is going on all over Soldotna and they are especially targeting apartment buildings. There is a huge problem with meth here. I know from my experience in the Homer area how reluctant the state troopers are to look for meth labs, I hope the Soldotna police don't have the same attitude. Since I have insomnia and end up awake a lot at night I am rearranging my furniture for maximum viewing and management is taking some security measures. We are afraid they may try and get in apartments next. I sure hope they pick me and not one of these little old ladies. This is rediculous I have lived in Tacoma and L.A., anyone who says the crime is less in Alaska is full of crap. If I get lip from another police dispatcher there is going to be trouble.
We have had problems with vandalism, theft, and harassment at the apartments I live in from some teenagers who live next door to Borough Mayor Carey. He doesn’t ever seem to notice, even when the police have them in his back yard at 3 A.M. standing in a row with their hands on the fence which btw is right outside my kitchen window. Of course when I called about them at 2:30 AM the dispatcher gave me the Kenai Peninsula law enforcement run around. There are some kids who already had no trespass warrants for this property. When they ran through the property at 2:30 A.M. (insomnia) with at least one of them wearing a helmet with a face covering looking behind them as if someone was chasing them I found this alarming considering the vandalism and theft history here recently. I thought the police might be chasing them. I already had a police chase and arrest one night right in front of my apartment. So, to have the dispatcher ask me if they were playing paint ball as if I am just a silly ass for calling got this response, “Look buddy, my IQ is fairly high, people who are playing paint ball generally have paint ball guns!” I then called the manager of our apartments who is a retired police officer who has a business as a consultant to police departments with corruption problems. He does not put up with any crap. Sometimes I think maybe there might be a God, because what are the chances with all I have been through with police corruption in Alaska that he would show up to manage the apartments I live in. The reason he and his wife are here is because the owners of the apartments are fabulous people. As it turned out one of them was on juvenile probation and was not supposed to be out by himself let alone at 2:30 A.M. and the other was a runaway they had been looking for.
Some kids at a house close by were having bon fires in their back yard starting about 9:30 P.M. or 10:00 PM. Why? They are teenagers, they wanted to drink beer, smoke pot, and boys think fires are cool. My concern was a fire burning all night with a bunch of intoxicated kids running around acting like idiots tending it. This was about a week before all the fires in the spring, when it was really dry. I got the run around from police dispatch and then the fire department. I got no response and the kids came on the property here and took firewood for their fire and someone threw rocks at my apartment. That is how they ended up with no trespassing warrants.
You know down here on the peninsula it seems there are no laws to protect citizens from actions of those who have bad judgment about safety or being good neighbors, it is all a “civil matter”. That is what they told me about theft of my property in Homer, the abuse my cat suffered, or lying to law enforcement to get me falsely arrested, they did not charge Robin or Steve Hume with crimes, it was just a “civil matter”. It’s funny how those things are illegal in other places, but not here, isn’t it. Yes, law enforcement, especially the state troopers have been trained to say that to people who have complaints about anything. As if as a citizen I can go right down and get a court injunction against their behaviors. For one thing the law libraries as I found out the hard way have essentially been eliminated here. They have put Alaska case law and statutes on computers and you can only access the information at a designated law library. They also have the printed statutes. This means if you do not live in Homer or Kenai you have to go pretty far to even access this limited information. This is done on purpose, they know most people will just get tired of the hassle and most will not be able to figure out where to even start the case. There is very little information about how to file cases. There is absolutely no staff to provide assistance except unlocking of doors. They just tell people they don’t need any other information than what is on the computer. Of course this is not true. In Kenai I have actually had to run between two different rooms which would have to be unlocked each time. The treatises, etcetera, have been eliminated. In other words the ability to do research to put a logical case together has been blocked. To understand how to use the courts one must understand the legal history, supreme court decisions, and constitutional law. This is a violation of the 7th amendment right to trial by jury in civil cases, but hey, what isn‘t a constitutional violation in Alaska?
Then there is the insanity of allowing music to be played that loud at a concert with no regard for the safety of those attending the concert. There is no question about music this loud damaging hearing. When people allow their kids to go to a concert they probably think there are regulations about loudness, there aren’t any regulations or apparently any common sense either. If my apartment shook two miles away how could it not damage hearing? Loud noise increases stress hormones so an event like this has an effect on people with health problems, but they don’t think about that sort of thing do they, they only think about money. The bands sounded like they were pretty good and I actually liked the music they were playing. They could have had a concert with the volume at a decent level and I would not have even known about it. A state trooper told me the city of Soldotna issued them the permit for the concert and they could do nothing about the noise. They did ask them to turn it down. I did not notice a difference. I was told they would make them end the concert at one minute after 10 P.M., it was after 10:30 when the bone rattling noise finally ended. It was quite a relief.
Remember it does not make money for anyone for law enforcement to respond to everyday calls of disturbing the peace, safety issues, or even harassment and vandalism as the defendants will most likely not be sent to prison. Law enforcement does not make the laws, they wanted to stop that concert, but could not. It is very profitable to arrest drug and alcohol offenders as it is a sure thing they can send them to prison due to harsh legislature being passed which is job security for many and prison-industrial complex companies make more money the more prisoners there are. Even if a prison is state run and not private, they buy supplies from these companies. If police go tell kids to stop doing an unsafe activity they are preventing problems which could result in kids getting in less trouble and the community being safer. In fact having them know they are being checked and watched will change their behavior. Why doesn't the fire department have the authority to investigate unsafe situations? Perhaps they do and they were just giving me the Kenai Peninsula ignore.
My warning to these kids is don't mess with me, I may look like a typical moderately obese middle age woman, but, I‘ll go Madea on your ass. Did I mention I have PTSD and could snap at any moment?
Now when I went through being wrongfully arrested which resulted in wrongful imprisonment(with medical malpractice and torture), my cat starved/abused, and my property destroyed or stolen by one of the Homer areas most upstanding citizens, Robin Hume (she said sarcastically) I went to the borough meeting held in Homer and told that story during the three whole minutes I was allotted(In 2007). I know this is surprising, who could believe I could tell a story in three minutes. I can’t even believe it. I left a lot out which almost caused me to have a seizure. The reaction from the borough was absolutely non-existent, but as I have learned since, typically Kenai Peninsula Borough. The reason is businesses are all that matter to the borough. Their motto should be, ScrewThe People. I have had to learn this lesson several times as I could not believe it was as pervasive as it is. The man who was borough mayor at that time did everything he could to avoid me which I have also learned is a typical Alaska politician technique. There is one exception, Mark Begich did call me himself to discuss something we disagree about. I still disagree with him, but was very impressed considering my past experiences in Alaska. Remember Sarah Palin’s staff told me the Department of Law(Directed by Tallis Colberg) told them not to talk to me or help me with anything.
UPDATE: Last night we had someone break into a car and steal a tricycle that belonged to an elderly woman. The owner just came by to tell me there had been eggs thrown on the side of my apartment. It feels like we are under seige. Apparently this is going on all over Soldotna and they are especially targeting apartment buildings. There is a huge problem with meth here. I know from my experience in the Homer area how reluctant the state troopers are to look for meth labs, I hope the Soldotna police don't have the same attitude. Since I have insomnia and end up awake a lot at night I am rearranging my furniture for maximum viewing and management is taking some security measures. We are afraid they may try and get in apartments next. I sure hope they pick me and not one of these little old ladies. This is rediculous I have lived in Tacoma and L.A., anyone who says the crime is less in Alaska is full of crap. If I get lip from another police dispatcher there is going to be trouble.
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