Maybe I'm confusing my sleazy politicians, there seem to be so many of them
nowadays.
This is a portion of an article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week:
Another beneficiary of Governor Murkowski's decision to plow the state's share
of federal transportation dollars into bridges is a controversial $223 million
span near Anchorage that would connect that city with a nearly deserted port.
The bridge will be called Don Young's Way after Alaska's lone House member, who
also serves as chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
It could be Don Young's way in more senses than that. The Anchorage Daily News
reports that Art Nelson, Mr. Young's son-in-law, is part owner of 60 acres of
what he described as "beautiful property" on land that will be opened up to
development by the bridge.
"A bridge would change everything," reported the Daily News. "Don Young's Way
would . . . make the land much more valuable." Mr. Nelson, told the paper he
did discuss his partial acquisition of the 60 acres with Mr. Young. One of the
other owners of the land is fisheries lobbyist Trevor McCabe, a former
legislative director for none other than Sen. Stevens. Until last October, Mr.
McCabe was partners with state senator Ben Stevens, the son of Ted Stevens, in
a consulting firm called Advance North that represents salmon fishermen who are
regulated by the state Board of Fisheries, which is chaired by none other than
Mr. Nelson, Rep. Young's son-in-law.
If you're confused, so are Alaskans, who joke that eventually all the relatives
of its leading politicians will get bridges for Christmas. Some are urging the
state to cut back on pork: "Though enriched by $60 a barrel oil and record
levels of federal highway aid, Alaska cannot afford to fulfill the dreams of
grandiose politicians and connect every dot on the state map," the Daily News
editorialized last month.
Rep. Young's spokesman told me that his boss had nothing more to add other than
what was already on the public record. But Gov. Murkowski has come out with all
guns blazing in defense of both controversial bridges. "Alaska has been held up
to public ridicule by the special-interest extremists," he said in his State of
the State address last month. He proposed funding a two-year "long overdue"
public relations campaign that would "accurately portray Alaska." While he
didn't put a price tag on the proposal, odds are that one of Alaska's members
of Congress will be standing by to propose a federal earmark to pay for it.
End of quote.
Walt
--
"Anything more than 500 yards from
the car just isn't photogenic." --
Edward Weston
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Never saw that reported anywhere. :-)
>
>
>
> Winsor
> Long Beach, California, USA
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 12, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Walt Wayman wrote:
>
> > It's not a "bridge to nowhere." It goes to an island where a bunch
> > of his kinfolks own property.
>
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