The ADN published a list of homeless people who died in the past few months in Anchorage.
Twelve people who were homeless or familiar with life on the streets have died outdoors in Anchorage this spring and summer, most of them in woods and parks. Only one death has been classified as a homicide. (Click here for the full list)
Another article asks: What's killing the homeless in Anchorage?
The city's homeless alcoholics are struggling with a complicated disease and can't see the consequences of their actions, said Melinda Freemon, director of the Homeward Bound residential program that helps them get off the streets. Many are in emotional tatters. They can't think beyond getting the next bottle of booze, the next meal, a place to camp.
Freemon says they are dying because of the "long-term health effects of chronic alcoholism ... the cumulative effect of years of living in unsafe conditions."
Anchorage, she said, is sorely lacking in help. People must wait months for a treatment bed. The number of detox spots in the area has dropped from 35 to 10.
This is the story in Anchorage. I would like to know about the rest of Alaska.
Another thing I would like to know is if the deaths of homeless people in Alaska, who clearly have mental health problems, are in any way related to the $650,000 "lost" and recently found in Sarah Palin's last budget.
Housing programs for the homeless received a $650,000 boost after it was discovered the money had been incorrectly deleted from then-Gov. Sarah Palin's budget proposal.The board of directors for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority approved the money and it was included in a budget forwarded to Palin's office.
There, the money was apparently compressed into a smaller sum with another pool.
David Teal of the Legislative Finance Division says the lapse escaped everyone's attention until after the session.
Most of the deaths in Anchorage ocurred before the quitter governor resigned.
A lot of deadly stuff goes on in Alaska. The figures for suicides and alcoholism are staggering.
The tally of deaths during Sarah Palin's short time in office is mounting. Some deaths (254) were the result of mismanagement of Medicaid and Medicare state programs (funded by bad, bad federal money). Now it seems that money destined for the homeless with mental health problems has been lost then found again. In the meantime, 12 people died in Anchorage alone.How many more examples of mismanagement and inefficiency have yet to surface? How many more people have paid with their lives for Sarah Palin's inability to govern? She's no longer the governor, but the effects of her 31 months in office continue to be felt by the most vulnerable among Alaskans.
These things make any speculation about her teeth, facelifts, hair extensions and all the rest of it seem very trite indeed. But such speculation serves to highlight Sarah Palin's priorities in and out of office. How could such a shallow person cause so much damage in such a short time?
I will have to continue to write about her frivolous side together with the more serious issues or my head would explode.
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11 comments:
Well if they are dead, then they aren't any State responsibility right?
Why would SARAH care about dead transient natives?
Was there ever an investigation into a couple of mysterious fires that did have something to do with Sarah-- her church fire and the tragic one in which a nurse died.
Both were suspicious. A million dollar church fire destroyed church records, and no one was hurt. A million dollars should warrant an arson investigation.
The nurse may or may not have know about Sarah's birth issues. Some wrote that they were seen (and photographed) talking together during a late stage in Sarah's "pregnancy" with Trig. The thing that was suspicious about this fire is that the nurse's two dogs also died under her bed. Dogs wouldn't just sleep through a fire unless they were drugged. As for the nurse, you would think that she would wake up coughing and try to escape. Was there an investigation?
Some crimes may be accidential- the result of neglect. Others appear more suspicious.
anon@21:34: If you are overcome by the chemicals in a beginning fire, you will not wake up unless you are roused.
Fires frequently do not kill but smoke inhalation will, due mostly to the chemicals involved.
In our Burn Center we can quite easily often save badly burned victims but their chances plummet if they have an inhalation injury.
Then again, why would Sarah NOT be a firebug? She's loony enough. It might easily fit into the sociopath pathology she has exhibited.
And when you are the Queen, laws don't apply to you.
Anonymous @ 21:34, that picture are referring to might be the one of Palin talking to Beth Kerttula -- who vaguely resembles the now-deceased nurse Darlene Miller, who's older than Kerttula.
The interesting thing about Dar Miller's biography is that she was a hospice nurse for most of her 23 year career in Wasilla home care and hospice, but she started out as a neonatal nurse practitioner.
An ideal background for assisting care of a premature DS baby with heart and newborn jaundice issues...
I was told in no uncertain terms elsewhere to not speculate on this incident because it was not central to the mission of the blog, but I feel it is something that should be investigated more thoroughly.
However, given the state of investigative, judicial and political entities in Alaska, I don't think the Dar Miller case will ever be closed. I believe the Wasilla Mafia is still quite active and powerful, even though its nominal head is sequestered in "an undisclosed location".
The church fire thing has always amazed me.
The very last word on it was...ATF had stepped in and results from investigation into accelerant used would be known in two weeks.
Early January, 2009.
Not one word since.
Not one word.
From ATF.
Not...one....word...from ATF.
Or AK.
Or anyone.
There is just too much dirty stuff going on, with or without Sarah, her influence still remains. Alaska Report has an interesting story about a guy who filed a complaint and asked for whistle blower protection granted under Alaska law. His name was disclosed, and he suffered the consequences of his action. Now, he has requested an investigation regarding both former governor Palin and former Attorney General Colberg who were asked to investigate and never did.
Does this go on other places, too? You Betcha! (no wink wink here). It is the sorry business of politics, power, money all of which go hand and hand. It certainly is the reason that Sarah didn't blink when McCain asked her. As VP, she was probably imagining locking up the former brother-in-law in Guantanamo! (just kidding, sort of).
It is an age old story of people in a position of power wanting to keep it. It is not about public service, or social issues such as the homeless would have addressed long ago. I think that even the most clean, honest, caring individual who starts out running for public office may have public interests at heart. Then, having to make necessary trade-offs, we all know who suffers.. the poor, homeless, uninsured, Native Americans, minorities, the list goes on.
Sorry for the dark view of things. I used to think that things would change if Clinton got into office, then, eight years later, Obama. The way things look right now, they will have to water down that health care proposal in order to get it passed. Then, it won't offer much in the way of real health care. I wish that they would prove me wrong.
I saw this the other day and was reminded of the Wasilla church fire.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/904493.html
I also read there are arsonists in that area. It doesn't make sense there is not more done to solve these crimes. Are the arsonists of Wat-Su Valley that clever or is this more corruption?
Parken, I am very intrigued by the fire on 1/5/09 that killed Darlene “Dar” Miller, the Hospice nurse and former NICU nurse. In my opinion, either lousy reporting or lousy fire investigating, or both. Seems to me some further investigation is warranted, but by someone other than Alaskan officials.
1/6/09 ADN article:
Woman rescued from fire dies after medevac to Seattle
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/644816.html
1/13/09 ADN article:
Death of hospice nurse shocks coworkers:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/653001.html
1/18/09 obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=122969241
4/7/09 ADN article:
Another fire considered suspicious hits Valley:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/751917.html
Dar Miller’s house on West Melanie Avenue was only about 1 mile from the Palin’s Wasilla residence, and she also owned a cabin at Trapper Creek not far from the property owned by the Palins. I would be very curious to know if the Palins were acquainted with her in any way.
“Though a cause has yet to be established, the long-smoldering fire apparently started near a bed on the first floor, burning so hot it charred beams and melted pictures on the wall. Miller's two dogs died next to her.” Yet she was found alive “breathing on her own and with a strong pulse” but the two dogs were dead??
“They encountered very low flames but significant heat and smoke damage, as if the fire had been burning for some time.” But the fire was reported at 7:00 p.m. so it was very early in the evening. I just can’t believe that a Hospice nurse would ever smoke in bed. And how could a cigarette start a fire that charred beams and melt pictures but did not char Miller? Sounds more like a flash fire caused by something/someone else.
Regina, I was watching a PBS channel yesterday and saw a report about thousands of rape kits sat untested in CA police evidence storage units.
It made me wonder how many rape kits in AK go untested to save money.
Some thoughts on the Dar Miller fire:
--How could her dogs have been dead beside her when she was still breathing?
--How could the dogs not have raised a huge barking alarm when they first sensed smoke, flame, odd scent? They were lurchers, known for their smarts.
--How could she be asleep on a daybed in the entry area -- an area that is typically cold and drafty in winter?
--I heard that in Alaska they have some feature in cigarettes that prevents them from causing a "smoking-in-bed" fire.
--Did Dar smoke?
--As a MatSu hospital employee (albeit in the hospice area), and as a former NICU nurse, Dar would have known EVERYTHING via professional gossip, medical gossip, the kind that is always confidential within the profession. Basheert -- weigh in on this, please!
--With her apparently v ethical life, I would suspect she might have risked her safety to be the first whistle-blower.
--I understand that arson forensics are way better than the newspaper info about these fires would suggest.
--Did it really take 30 min for the fire fighters to respond?
Geez.
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