The summer solstice has come and gone. I hope everyone had an awesome solstice weekend! Several people illegally camping at Davis Park in Anchorage torched it when city officials showed up to kick them out after years of not enforcing the law. Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) vetoed a bill that targeted the Department of Revenue for refusing to cooperate with the legislative auditor since 2020. Mark Sabbatini left his role as editor of the Juneau Empire to start his own news site, the Juneau Independent. And more candidates filed to run for the Legislature.

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Solstice weekend in Fairbanks 

I spent the solstice weekend in Fairbanks for the first time, and it did not disappoint! A big shout out to the Binkley family for hosting me this weekend and giving me the full Fairbanks solstice experience. 

I have always wanted to go to the Midnight Sun Baseball Game and finally made it. I flew up on Friday afternoon. I could feel the Fairbanks heat as soon as I walked outside. In addition to being hot this weekend, there was smoke and small amounts of ash from the fires around Fairbanks. But that did not stop everyone from having a great weekend! 

The Fairbanks Goldpanners faced off against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. It was a full house at the stadium. The game started at 10 pm. Before the game started several Fairbanks legislators presented a citation commemorating the 120th anniversary of the game. One of the coolest parts of the game was right at the end of the national anthem, four F-35s from Eielson Air Force Base flew over the field. It was perfectly timed! Hats off to all the people who were able to make that happen. Later in the game, the four pilots actually showed up to watch the game. None of them had to pay for a drink. 

Representative Nick Begich (R – Alaska) was at the game and threw out the first pitch. I chatted with him after and did an interview with him on Facebook Live. You can watch that here. 

The Glacier Pilots got off to a 7-0 lead in the early innings. The Goldpanners had a few good opportunities to bring some runs in but kept suffering from good double plays by the Goldpanners. They had one two run inning but could not manage to get any traction beyond that. The Glacier Pilots won 7-2. 

I definitely recommend going to the game if you have never attended. It was a great atmosphere and everyone was having a good time. It was something else watching a baseball game with no lights that started at 10 pm.

I met up for lunch the next day with my buddy Representative Will Stapp (R – Fairbanks). Great call on Ajimi, Will! If you have not been, it’s a great Japanese restaurant. After lunch, Will gave me a tour of Fairbanks, including much of his district. He also took me on Fort Wainwright, where I saw the barracks he stayed in when he first came to Alaska in 2006. I also got to see a bunch of helicopters, including my favorite, the Chinook. We also stopped by and said hi to my buddy John Anderson, who is a firefighter on Fort Wainwright. And for the golfers out there, Wainwright has an incredible golf course. 

The 10k Midnight Sun Run was Saturday night. I had heard about it but did not realize just how big of a party it is. After hanging out at James Binkley’s house with a bunch of his friends and family, we headed to the race are in some boats down the Chena River. My only regret is not stopping by the Boatel. It looked absolutely lit. 

It’s hard to describe the environment in the neighborhood the race goes through. Many of the houses throw parties and people are in their front yards and driveways partying as the runners pass by. I was invited into one guy’s house who poured me a margarita! He had also just cooked a pig. While I came to Fairbanks for the baseball game, this was just as fun.

I spotted Senator Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska) running the race. I was told he runs it every year. After the serious runners passed by, the runners with costumes started running by. I had a great time handing out with my buddy Yuri Morgan (who also ran the race) and his family. Yuri is a lobbyist whose office is next to mine in Juneau, so we have gotten to know each other well over the last several years. 

I got back pretty late and went straight to bed. I flew back to Anchorage this afternoon. Fairbanks is definitely the place to be for solstice. Thanks again to the Binkleys and my buddy Yuri Morgan and his family for making my first solstice in Fairbanks an incredible experience! 

Other Happenings 

Several of the people staying at Davis Park deciding torching it was better than going into shelter or attempting to get their lives in order. Imagine what would happen to you if you or I decided to torch a park? I have already received reports of people from Davis Park who are now camping in other parts of the city. I will be investigating that this week.  

This one is pretty wild. The Legislature will almost certainly override this veto when they come back next January. But the message Dunleavy is sending by vetoing this bill is not great. The Department of Revenue has refused to cooperate with the legislative auditor for five years on oil tax matters, including tax settlements.  

The following people filed letters of intent for the Legislature this week: 

• Perennial candidate Nick Danger for the Downtown Anchorage Senate seat, held by Senator Löki Tobin (D – Anchorage).
• Representative Nellie Jimmie (D – Tooksok Bay) filed for re-election. 
• Representative Cathy Tilton (R – Wasilla). She did not indicate an office. 
• Representative Frank Tomaszewski (R – Fairbanks). He did not indicate an office. 

This is super loose. Representative Jamie Allard (R – Eagle River) posted this exchange where she offered to buy two vintage dressers from Facebook Marketplace. The seller refused to sell to Allard because of her political beliefs. Allard posted the exchange but did not say who it was. Then the seller, Jessica Horwatt, chimed in on Allard’s post. You can’t make this stuff up. Horwatt, an Anchorage realtor, seems to believe in equality, unless you don’t share her political beliefs. She must be a blast to hang out with. 

This one is pretty bizarre. Check out this letter from the executive committee of the Resource Development Council about the featured speaker for their annual lunch this week. The speaker, Steve Goreham, was a bit loose but I don’t think it merited this letter. A lot of people must have complained. Goreham could probably best be described as a loose, conservative Bill Nye. His talk focused on how humans contribute little to climate change and that most renewable energy is inefficient and not cost effective. 

This Week’s Loose Unit 

That relator Jessica Horwatt was definitely in the running this week. But the loose actions of someone else eclipsed her. This week’s Loose Unit is Mark Sabbatini. I heard Sabbatini was leaving the Juneau Empire a few weeks ago. On Monday, I heard he was leaving to start his own news site. I posted it and figured good for him. 

But then Sabbatini got loose. He posted that he gave three weeks notice but I guess left out that he was starting his own thing. After going rogue on the Empire’s Facebook page, Sabbatini said he was fired and his access to all systems was cut off. Very loose! But it gets even looser. 

According to this Sitka Sentinel story, Sabbatini was fired after his bosses saw his post after the Landmine tweet! Classic Loose Unit behavior. 

If you have a nomination for this week’s Loose Unit, or if you have any political news, stories or gossip (or any old pics of politicians or public officials) please email me at jeff@alaskalandmine.com.