Spring has come to the Great Land. Our sandhill cranes are back, a robin was singing in one of our big birch trees the other day, and some of the local critters are getting spring fever – more on that in this week’s video offering—first, some Alaska news.
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Let’s start with a dumb crook. Here in the Great Land, bootlegging runs are still a thing, only they’re done by airplane, into some of the dry villages. And, as Fairbanks pilot Kenneth Jouppi found out the hard way, getting caught can cost you that airplane.
Forced forfeiture of a plane used to transport a six-pack of beer to a dry village does not violate the excessive fines clause in the U.S. Constitution, according to the Alaska Supreme Court.
Pending further appeals, Friday’s decision means Fairbanks pilot Kenneth Jouppi must give up his Cessna 206 as punishment for ignoring beer loaded onto a flight routed to the dry village of Beaver in 2012.
“Obviously, we’re quite disappointed in the opinion,” Robert John, Jouppi’s attorney, told KUAC Monday.
But he says the case may not be finished yet.
“The odds are good that we’re gonna be seeking review in the United States Supreme Court,” he said. “So we gotta muster our resources and proceed forward.”
Good luck with that; the Supreme Court hears about 1 percent of the cases put before it, and given that this guy was convicted, it would appear that due process is satisfied.
He must have been supplying a pretty good party, too:
More than a decade ago, a Fairbanks jury found Jouppi, owner of KenAir, LLC, guilty of a misdemeanor bootlegging charge. Evidence presented at trial showed Jouppi had helped a passenger load cargo that contained about 72 beers — mostly in boxes — onto the plane.
The plane didn’t leave the airport, though, because Alaska State Troopers had been on scene watching the incident with a search warrant prepared.
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Oops.
Alaska Man score: 1 of 5 moose nuggets. I’ll give Mr. Jouppi a point for serving as an object lesson.
See Also: Which Beer Is Most Popular in Your State? We Have the Answer.
Now here’s a neat thing: If you want to learn about sea ice in the Alaska Arctic, talk to an expert.
The ocean off Utqiaġvik is covered with ragged ice ridges in early April. Iñupiat whalers build trails across the blue and white terrain to get to their hunting sites. It’s hard to imagine a better spot for studying sea ice.
That’s why a group of 20 specialists gathered there earlier this month for the Sikumiut Field School, a week-long workshop funded by the National Science Foundation. Some participants were scientists working with climate models or satellite data. Others were residents from different parts of the Arctic — people with hands-on knowledge about when the ice is safe for travel.
“The whole idea was to bring all these experts together to learn from one another about sea ice,” said Melinda Webster, a researcher at the the University of Washington, who helped organize the event. “The amount of generous sharing that there was in both storytelling and knowledge – it was phenomenal.”
It’s never good to underestimate the knowledge of people who may lack a lot of formal education but have tons of first-hand experience. The Natives who live in the Arctic have literally thousands of years of experience and knowledge piled up through the generations; it’s good to see scientists taking some time to tap that tribal knowledge.
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Alaska Man score: 5 moose nuggets. Well done.
See Also: It’s Earth Day – Let’s Review the Left’s Insane Climate Predictions and Hypocrisies
Now, let’s talk about squirrels. (And, yes, I talk to the squirrels. Birds, too.)
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