I got into words with USC administrators on site who wouldn't answer questions and wouldn't identify themselves. They came back and scolded me, said they were with Media Relations and called my news director to report me
USC Director of Media Relations Emily Gersema and her office let LA press into campus and into the LAPD police line & provided statements on the eviction, while USC student media was kettled and pushed out of view and denied any comment
No Public Information Officer was on site here tonight for this LAPD operation, as required by California law, as my professor Alan Mittelstaedt repeated for the last 2 hrs.
Officers kept pushing press back referring us to a PIO that wasn't there
.
@Walmart
has hired a private security firm, Brosnan Security, to patrol the rain-soaked field where
#CampFire
evacuees are camping. There are no reports of security concerns or crime. They wear vests, handcuffs & pepper spray & patrol the field in trucks day and night
@nsprnews
NEW: At least 29 students have been suspended by
@USC
for involvement in the protest encampment, incl at least 4 evicted from student housing.
That also includes student negotiators who met with Folt & Guzman last week, prior to the encampment eviction by LAPD on May 5. Story TK
USC faculty is gathered outside Bovard, where a delegation is inside negotiating w Folt & Guzman urging they drop disciplinary action against student protesters.
Here w
@ZainShafiKhan
@USCAnnenberg
The first visitor is Bruce Funk of Whitehorse, who has been visiting Haines for the last 45 years. As the band played, he was greeted by tourism director Steven Auch and the Mayor Olerud. Funk had tears in his eyes and replied "I'm just happy to be back"
Children's shoes at the edge of Tlingit Park in Haines, in honor of the native children who's remains were found at the Kamloops residential boarding school, and all those who suffered the violence of the boarding school system.
Haines Mayor Douglas Olerud with Bruce Funk of Whitehorse, first visitor across the border. He says he plans to do some fishing, visit friends, & check on a property he owns in town. "It's a bit overwhelming, I wasn't expecting this," he said of the reception. "It's nice."
Trident Seafoods announced a base price of 50 cents per lb for Bristol Bay sockeye this season.
Fishermen called it demoralizing, shocking, weakest they've seen given inflation, and a "slap in the face." It's less than half of last year's base price of $1.15 per lb.
I grew up hearing my dad's stories about driving to Homer from CA to work in the cannery, arriving a month too early, sleeping on the beach, finding his way. An adventure that led to many of my own in Alaska, & now reporting in Homer where it all began
Soldotna Library providing direct access to essential community resources, posted in the stall in the bathroom. So important!
"Remember, your librarians are here to help. Just ask"
✨️personal news✨️ I left KBBI in Homer and am back in Bristol Bay, Alaska- this time as director of the
@kdlgradio
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report!
I'm thrilled to be here, and part of such a unique nightly (7 day/wk!) Show covering the region's fisheries, economy & cultures 1/
Volunteers report Walmart's private security guards are interfering with food & clothing distribution at this field. On
#Thanksgiving
they told a man who brought turkey sandwiches he couldn't give them away there. Volunteers confronted them and argued to keep the food
When I was a reporter in Haines in 2021-22, they told me never to do an in-person interview with Bill Thomas, only phone. He's a longtime political power player + known sexual harasser
Bill Thomas, a lifelong Haines resident and Alaska State House member from 2005 to 2013, is seeking to return to the Legislature by challenging Rep. Andi Story for the District 3 seat that includes the Mendenhall Valley and areas to the north.
So
@kpfaradio
has a creek running beneath the station in Berkeley, so there's a full scale pump and vacuum operation going on to prevent flooding. And, our news tech & producer Peter Stickney volunteered to watch it overnight tonight. Thank you, Peter! Community powered radio🙏
I've lived in some cool places in Alaska, including above a radio station, and in a former jewelry store, but this has been the coolest - below a converted railcar called the Moose Caboose. Goodbye for now, hope to be back.
Volunteers say Walmart's private security call themselves "asset protection" and drive around the area, intimidating people and putting pressure on evacuees to leave
My colleagues
@ZainShafiKhan
persistence and courage is so admirable. But we wouldn't have to do this kind of chase down if USC
@PresidentFolt
answered questions, responded to requests to comment or spoke to us at all
@AnnenbergMedia
A volunteer told me Walmart security guards have come over to the encampments aid station and told people to go to a nearby Toys R Us promising services, meals & goods - when they checked it out, there was nothing but a donation hub giving out clothes
At least 13 USC protesters now face suspensions, and evictions: "Two of the students were also told that they would need to move out of their USC housing by 5 p.m. tomorrow."
Feeling much better, so wanted to share - last week I tested positive for COVID. I got the J&J vaccine in April, but still got pretty damn sick - fever, cough, congestion, and lost taste and smell (still gone). Spent the week on the couch. Delta is no joke. 1/
"Black lives matter.
Water is life.
Together we stand.
United we fight"
Oakland marching to reclaim MLK's radical legacy, stand against police brutality, gentrification, and a war against the poor
#ReclaimMLKOak
Flying in to Haines, Alaska today! Excited to dive back into reporting and hyperlocal news + the wide wonder of Alaska stories
@KHNS_FM
@CoastAlaska
@AKpublicnews
It's a bit of a rough ride for the news team 🐈🐈 but we're in good spirits
Today, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are touring detention facilities in Texas. Since press is largely restricted, this is an important opportunity to learn more on detention operations
#DemsAtTheBorder
Just left the 1st CBP facility.
I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me.
Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets.
This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress.
My cousin's house burned down in the
#GlassFire
today, located off Santa Rosa Creek in east Santa Rosa. She & her husband evacuated and are physically fine, staying w family. After 4 consecutive years evacuating they were prepared, & also it's somehow even more devastating.
Tomorrow on
@UpfrontKPFA
we'll be speaking with the brother of Mario Gonzalez, who died in Alameda Police custody Monday. The family is demanding an independent autopsy to determine cause of death. They say he was a healthy 26 yr old, father & family caretaker & they want justice
NEW: At least 29 students have been suspended by USC for protest involvement, but some will now be able to attend graduation events.
That's after days of faculty pressure, incl a sit-in, open letters & negotiations
With
@ZainShafiKhan
@AnnenbergMedia
All eyes are on Alabama as warehouse workers in Bessemer begin voting today on whether to form Amazon’s first U.S. union.
How does the process work? What’s happening behind the scenes?
@GrimKim
is in Alabama with
@RWDSU
and
@BAmazonUnion
organizers to explain.
This is bad. Alaska now has only 1 federal district court judge for the entire state (pop ~733k) after the abrupt resignation of Joshua Kindred.
He leaves 77 open criminal cases + 148 civil cases, according to the Clerk's office:
Anne Johnson, 83, has lived in Oakmont for 37 yrs. She didnt have cell service & did not get the County Nixel alert to evacuate the
#GlassFire
Sunday night. She and her neighbors called & alerted each other at around 11pm, and she was ready, since she evacuated in 2017.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough will pay $237,500 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against former mayor Charlie Pierce, filed by his former assistant.
'“There’s not enough money in the world to go through what I have,” she said.'
via
@sabinepoux
Surprise development for USC's graduation celebrations - shuttle drivers are planning a walkout on the day, Friday May 10.
"Drivers say the move is to protest “repeated labor law violations” by the university."
HUGE news for the Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska, and the world in mitigating extreme climate change - keeping the largest temperate rainforest in tact.
Thanks to Native leadership, particularly Alaska Native women organizing to make this happen.
It took a ridiculous amount of work, but we did it, fam! We restored protections to almost 10 million acres of the nation’s largest forest and my homelands.
.
Today was my first day as a reporter with KHNS! In person, in the radio station, plus sun shining here in the Upper Lynn Canal ☀️ I'm thrilled to be here.
Send me news tips, questions or recs to corinnesmithak
@gmail
.com
Haines high schoolers had their prom last night! ✨ It included grades 9-12 (about 80 students), in order to have a real dance party, I was told. The theme was Hollywood glamour, and it was held at Harriet Hall at the fairgrounds, decked out with a red carpet and mocktail bar
Can confirm
@usc
LAPD pushed us back far from the action yelling "are you press or are you protesters?"
Clearly threatening and intimidating. We all had cameras, press passes and large signs w "Student Journalist" taped to our backs
NEW from me: USC encampment members held a press conference addressing the pre-dawn eviction, condemning admin & demanding all charges and disciplinary actions be dropped.
@AnnenbergMedia
Soldotna Library providing direct access to essential community resources, posted in the stall in the bathroom. So important!
"Remember, your librarians are here to help. Just ask"
Haines is ready to welcome Canadian visitors! Whoever shows Monday morning (!) and makes their way to the Haines Visitor's Center (!!) will be greeted by the mayor, tourism staff, and a band ready to play 'O Canada' 🇨🇦
Incredible scoop by
@jennwadsworth
: during the protests, the FBI warned San Jose Police of paid protesters out to "agitate & commit violent acts" via - intel no more reliable than the Onion. Prompting a more violent response.
Just when we thought the Bristol Bay salmon run was tapering off, yesterday was the 2nd biggest harvest day of the season with 2.5 million fish caught !
Plus we visit the Nushagak sonar counting escapement, & a special call from a fisherman's proud mom.
Great news: Berkeley, Alameda and Oakland community colleges, incl Laney and Merritt colleges, are offering FREE tuition this fall.
93 "late start" classes are still open!
I'm so proud of our team and my fisheries reporters! Tonight we dive into this year's lower, older, bigger, "pulse-y-er" sockeye run, seafood markets, and how climate change will impact Bristol Bay salmon - in freshwater lakes and open ocean. Listen here:
A group of Haines High School students participated in a broadcast journalism class last week, I was honored to co-lead and talk with them about interviewing, writing and recording scenes and developing stories for air. Then they dove right in! 1/
At least 12 student protesters received interim or full suspensions from the University, a media liaison from the “Gaza Solidarity Occupation” told the Daily Trojan on Sunday evening.
Dozens gather in Soldotna, AK decked out with rainbow flags, colorful crowns, with kids and dogs, setting out for a march and celebration for Soldotna Pride in the Park
#PrideMonth2023
Protesters are expected.
Sonoma County is keeping a running tally on what hotels have vacancies vs which are full, allow pets, prices, & notes on waived fees for
#GlassFire
evacuees.
See the list on the Sonoma County Tourism website here:
"San Francisco is a city that too much enjoys being scratched behind the ears by an adoring world, while ignoring its endemic sclerosis, soft corruption, casual misery and fiscal ticking time bombs."
@EskSF
w the sharp + revealing breakdown on SF elections
#Smalltownreporting
: interviewee laughs when I don't already know where they live 🙃 then describes general directions "oh we're right there."
Haines just created home addresses a few years ago. It's all mentally mapped so well, which I love, but takes time to learn. Here I go!
BJ Hopgood, 79, evacuated her home in
#Calistoga
at 3am Monday. She saw the
#GlassFire
flames as she drove to pick up her friend, then stayed w family. Now she's waiting for a call from the County abt a hotel room. She needs oxygen but doesn't have a place to plug in. AQI is 250
I've been up for 24 hours. My
@USCAnnenberg
colleagues even longer. I'm so proud to be a part of student journalism at this moment!!
Check our reporting from throughout the night on USC's 2nd eviction of the Gaza solidarity encampment:
Travel day 4 attempting to get to Haines from Juneau. Boarding the LeConte ferry with many upper Lynn Canal residents after days of trying to get back from the holidays. Marine forecast says gale warning, gusts to 50 kts, with heavy freezing spray.
Will we make it!??
Some exciting personal news: this summer I'll be hosting & reporting for
@KFSK1
in Petersburg, Alaska! Covering impacts of COVID-19, fishing & community affairs, also for
@CoastAlaska
I'll miss
@kpfa
but I'll be back in the fall w
@UpfrontKPFA
to cover the 2020 elections 💪
Personal update: Last week was my last day at
@KHNS_FM
. I'm grateful for this year covering local news for such a unique part of the world - rural Alaska, transborder, pandemic - deeply connected communities facing complex issues.
Made it back to Haines! And the last mile was digging out my car, which was fast with help from a generous fellow passanger. Many relieved and happy people back in Haines and Skagway today, me included! Story tonight
@KHNS_FM
Tonight at Haines' First Friday, 7 year old Olen Stickler is the featured artist at Corlix gallery,, showcasing his drawings for the first time, as well as offering cupcakes for his birthday.
My story on Haines' museum's infrared photography project got picked up by
@NPRWeekend
- "Lingit people have been kind of systematically dispossessed of their culture and material heritage over the years. And the reasons are many - economic pressures...1/
"80% of the Earth's biodiversity is within Indigenous people's lands and territories. We're not being paid for it (i.e. cap and trade) No paper money can provide the value of the sacred" - Eriel Derenger of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
#Women4ClimateJustice
@WECAN_INTL