Wife of billionaire needs up to $875,000 from State of Alaska for pet project in New York

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 04:16:01 AM AKST

No...it's not a joke.  It's just another story from the "you just can't make this stuff up" department.

Per the ADN:

State legislators are considering spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money to support an arts and cultural center in New York City that its founder describes as an embassy devoted to increasing awareness of Alaska.

The nonprofit, Alaska House New York, opened in September 2008, in a 3,000-square-foot space in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. Until now, it has been privately financed by founder Alice Rogoff, a wealthy advocate of Alaska Native art. She describes it as an effort to promote the state's business and culture as well as sell art.

"I did this because I thought it was really important, not just for the state in the big picture but for the sake of village life and subsistence and Native people whose livelihoods are dependent on so much of this state's economy continuing to flourish," Rogoff said in an interview. "Well, I can't afford to keep New York open anymore so we're either going to close it or we're going to find funding for it.

"For the sake of village life and subsistence and Native people whose livelihoods are dependent on so much of this state's economy continuing to flourish..."

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving Native Alaskan artists the opportunity to sell their works as well as other Alaska products.  However, I have a few questions:

--Does Ms. Rogoff have financial records and forecasts to show what kind of return Alaskans can expect on their investment?

--Has there been a study done to compare which would be most profitable--spending $600,000.00 yearly on a house in New York, or instead spend the same on national seafood and/or tourism marketing campaigns?

--Who actually owns the artwork once it makes its way to the New York Alaska House?  If Ms. Rogoff pays the artists here in Alaska and then sells the art herself in New York, as it's normally done, why should Alaska provide six-figures to upgrade and maintain what is basically Ms. Rogoff's retail business?

Ms. Rogoff has done some investing in Alaska and that is always appreciated and encouraged.  What Rural Alaska needs is jobs, a restored salmon fishery, transportation, infrastructure, solutions to their out-of-control Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault problem, etc...Ms. Rogoff's husband is the 123rd richest man in the world and let's face it, The Alaska House in Soho New York is a pet project.  It is a distraction not worthy of Alaska's dwindling resources.

Palin's transparency-for-sale: At what cost? For this Alaska resident, about $65,000...**UPDATE**

by: Celtic Diva

Fri May 22, 2009 at 12:33:06 PM AKDT

Recently, I've done several posts on "backlash" attempts by the Administration.  Several of those posts expose how the Administration uses members of the media like Eddie Burke and ADN's Sheila Toomey as tools of their backlash.  These posts have directly led to several records requests which I have filed with the Palin Administration.

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110, I request the Office of the Governor to duplicate and provide me with a copy of:

1) any and all email contact between you or any employee of the Office of the Governor (statewide) and Alaska resident Eddie Burke,  

2) any and all emails to/from you or any employee of the Office of the Governor (statewide) that discuss Eddie Burke in any way,

3) any and all records requests submitted which target emails to or from Alaska resident Andree McLeod, and

4) a fee breakdown, invoice or any other document which assesses the cost of retrieving the McLeod emails and whether those fees have been/will be charged to the requester.

(This was basically the same records request I used for Sheila Toomey as well.)

This week, I finally received a response to those requests.  They also provided me with the "costs" I would have to provide before they would be able to do this records request for me:

To provide complete responses to the email portions of your request, we will need to electronically search the email accounts of the 71 current and former employees who have worked in the Governor's Executive Offices since December 2006.  For that electronic search, we will need the assistance of the State Security Office in the Department of Administration, Division of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS).  ETS estimates that each email account retrieval, search, and record production will require 16 hours to complete.  The ETS hourly rate is $54.84, so ETS estimates its costs per email account will be $925.44.  Based on that estimate, ETS's estimated costs for obtaining records from 71 employee email accounts total $65,706.

Division of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) is the State of Alaska version of any company's IT department.  ETS employees are public employees, paid with public funds.

In other words...ETS employees work for the people of the State of Alaska.

Yet, as an Alaskan citizen, I am being charged money...an EXORBITANT, UNREASONABLE amount of money...for a records search which is my statutory right as an Alaskan citizen.  

I'm being charged directly for something that's ALREADY PART OF THEIR JOB!

Plus, if it takes as long as they claim to do a simple email search on two names, then ETS should lose the "technology" part of their name...they have none.

Of course, just like with any "deal," now starts the negotiation. I sent these questions back to Linda Perez.

1) Am I correct in understanding your claim that it costs $925.44 to search and copy emails from one email account?  

2) Is this the standard rate and is everyone charged this fee who makes a request of this nature?

I received a reply, where Ms. Perez states:

1. Yes, the Division of Enterprise Technology Services charges $925.44 to conduct an electronic search of a state e-mail account and make electronic copies of the search results. I have attached a breakdown of the ETS process and resulting fee estimate.

2. Yes, these ETS costs are a standard rate that we charge whenever ETS conducts an electronic search of a state e-mail account to respond to a public records request.  Of course, these rates could change based on, e.g., changes in personnel costs or changes in the amount of time needed to complete the work.

I guess the ONLY way to find out if that's true with Sheila Toomey and Eddie Burke is to do my records request, right?  See the catch?

Of course, Governor Palin's penchant for secrecy is...well...no secret anymore.  Many who have filed records requests with the state have had to look into their pocketbooks first to determine how much honesty they can afford.  This was well documented by the New York Times during the campaign:

The governor and her top officials sometimes use personal e-mail accounts for state business; dozens of e-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.

I'll be sending my request modification to them sometime today.  While I will be significantly shrinking the parameters, which should significantly reduce the price, it's still going to cost several thousand. (I'll have to figure out the money end when I know the final tally.  I jokingly asked my husband if we could sell the house.  He didn't laugh.)

I'll update you when I know the final cost of this "open and transparent" government.

***************************UPDATE*************************

My reply to Linda Perez:

Ms. Perez:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Several points:

-- I want to make sure that I have a clear understanding of the situation so, in summary:

1)     The ETS charges $925.44 per individual email account if they find it necessary to electronically search it.

2)     The ETS per/hour charge is $57.84

3)     This means that per individual email account, it takes an ETS employee 16 hours to do an electronic search.

Is this correct??  

If so, what type of "electronic search" on one email account for two names takes 16 hours?  Is that in anticipation that there will be a great many emails that will fit the "Eddie Burke" and "Sheila Toomey" search parameters?  If I shorten the date range to, say, one year or maybe six months...will it take less than 16 hours?

-- Your original response to my request (pdf file "Linda Kellen fee letter") also stated:

"Once you pay the fees and the record compilation is completed, we intend to review the records to determine whether they are truly responsive to your requests and whether they include any confidential or privileged information that should not be disclosed."

Since the letter was unclear, I wanted to ensure that some of the "16 hours" for the electronic search time was NOT actually taking into consideration the time required to "review" the documents to determine "privilege."  My understanding is that any estimate of anticipated costs for search and copying cannot include time likely to be spent reviewing the documents to see if they can or should be withheld due to a claim of privilege. (5902 S-11105 Fuller v. City of Homer, 113 P.3d. 659, 666)

-- I would also like to make these modifications to my records request:

1)  Change the "start date" to July 1, 2008.

2)  Limit the Governor's Office employee email accounts to be searched to Governor Sarah Palin, Linda Perez, Bill McAllister, Kris Perry and Sharon Leighow

3)  I would like all other parameters of my request(s) to remain the same.

-- Finally, per Section 40.25.110 of the Alaska Statutes, I would like to request a reduction or waiver of the final fees, once we have come to an agreement upon the modified request.  As we live on my husband's income because I do not have regular employment due to disability, my family would be unable to afford the extra expense.  Also, my request and use of these records more than qualifies as an exercise benefiting the public interest.  The results of my records request(s) will be published on my blog, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis, which is specifically geared to Alaska issues.  I'm also using this as an opportunity to educate my readers not only on the workings of state government in general but specifically on the process surrounding the State of Alaska Public Records Act.  

Thank you and I await your response,

Linda Kellen Biegel

Thanks to your comments here and on Mudflats, as well as some of the private emails, I was able to craft that response!  Thank you for all of your help and support!

I stopped by the Governor's Office Monday and submitted some requests for records

by: Celtic Diva

Wed Dec 24, 2008 at 05:00:00 AM AKST

The first letter is in regards to Meghan Stapleton's alleged "volunteer" employment with the McCain/Palin Campaign and now with the Governor herself:

Linda Perez
Administrative Director
Office of the Governor
Third Floor - State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0001                

December 22, 2008

Re: Public Records Request

Dear Ms. Perez:

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110, I request the Office of the Governor to duplicate and provide me with a copy of every contract and/or agreement the State of Alaska or any entity or agency of the State of Alaska awarded to Meghan Stapleton and family members and/or any company related to Meghan Stapleton and family.  

If there are public records that are described in this public records request that the Office of the Governor does not maintain, please let me know the name of the public agency that maintains those records and the name and address of each State of Alaska employee who is a custodian of the records.

If there is any public record, or portion thereof, described in this public records request that the Office of the Governor determines is exempt from disclosure, in whole or part, pursuant Alaska Statute 40.25.120, for each such record or portion thereof, please provide a written explanation that identifies the specific exemption in Alaska Statute 40.25.120 on which the Office of the Governor relies to withhold or redact the record, and sets out the legal rationale that the Office of the Governor believes supports its determination so that the determination may be the subject of judicial review.

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110(d), the Office of the Governor may waive the fee associated with its processing of a public records request if it determines that a waiver would be in the public interest. Because I am submitting this public records request in order to make the public records that are described in the request available to all members of the general public so that they can gain a greater understanding of the operation of their state government, I request that the fee involved to process this request be waived.

And finally, pursuant to Alaska Public Records statutes, copies of these public records may be supplied electronically.

Sincerely,

Linda Kellen Biegel

Let's just say I'm rather dubious about her volunteerism.

The second request is in regards to the racist emails that were sent 'round the state government.  Alaskans need to know if these folks inappropriately using the email system also hold jobs that require direct contact with the public and/or hold positions that influence which members of the public may benefit from state resources.

Governor Sarah Palin
c/o Linda Perez
Administrative Director
Office of the Governor
Third Floor - State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0001

December 22, 2008

Re: Public Records Request

Dear Governor Palin:

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110, I request your office to duplicate and provide me with a copy of every email communication document of a "racist" nature that Department of Administration Commissioner Annette Kreitzer has in her possession so far. These would be the inappropriate emails that, according to media reports and an Associated Press article, have been circulated by state employees on state servers recently. The article is attached. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska...  

The State Policy Regarding Personal Use of State Office Technologies states that contents of state employees' computers are subject to public records requests. While I am not requesting the names of the individuals, I am requesting the employment title, department and division of each state employee involved in the circulation of these offensive emails.  

If there are public records that are described in this public records request that the Office of the Governor does not maintain, please let me know the name of the public agency that maintains those records and the name and address of each State of Alaska employee who is a custodian of the records.  

If there is any public record, or portion thereof, described in this public records request that the Office of the Governor determines is exempt from disclosure, in whole or part, pursuant Alaska Statute 40.25.120, for each such record or portion thereof, please provide a written explanation that identifies the specific exemption in Alaska Statute 40.25.120 on which the Office of the Governor relies to withhold or redact the record, and sets out the legal rationale that the Office of the Governor believes supports its determination so that the determination may be the subject of judicial review.

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110(d), the Office of the Governor may waive the fee associated with its processing of a public records request if it determines that a waiver would be in the public interest. Because I am submitting this public records request in order to make the public records that are described in the request available to all members of the general public so that they can gain a greater understanding of the operation of their state government, I request that the fee involved to process this request be waived.

And finally, pursuant to Alaska Public Records statutes, copies of these public records may be supplied electronically.

Sincerely,

Linda Kellen Biegel

I don't trust that the same person whose judgment is so poor that they share their racial biases with their coworkers on State time using government equipment has the ability to put aside those biases when making important decisions affecting the lives of individual Alaskans.

As the Governor has a recent history of using every means possible to avoid turning over emails, I hope for the best but expect the worst.

This has been a hot topic nationally and while there have not been definitive rulings by high courts on some of the issues (i.e. should state employee emails from private addresses dealing with public issues be considered part of the public domain?)  Other states HAVE set precedents considering private emails sent on state email accounts to be public information (on a case-by-case basis).

Think I'll start getting that same "special treatment" that she gave Andree McLeod?

Troopergate question #9: Why did we form "Alaskans for Truth?"

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Sep 23, 2008 at 10:04:10 AM AKDT

I'd like Ed O'Callahan and Meghan Stapleton to show me specifically where the investigation is illegal...they can't.


2)  Ed O'Callahan has not passed the bar in Alaska.  Ed O'Callahan has admitted to providing "legal counsel" to Van Flein (Palin lawyer) and the Attny General.  How is that not practicing law in the State of Alaska?


3)  Sarah Palin promised to cooperate with THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL'S INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR.  She made this promise long before she had FILED ETHIC CHARGES AGAINST HERSELF with the Personnel Board...a group of people she has the authority to fire.

"HOLD PALIN ACCOUNTABLE RALLY"--SATURDAY, NOON TO 2:00 PM.  LOCATION TBA SOON...