It’s not news that political campaigns are rife with bogus ads, fake stories, and unsubstantiated attacks, but the level of subterfuge in this election cycle has unfortunately reset the bar. A Republican-backed super PAC is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to create and post mailers in support of someone named Carol Hafner, who is listed as a Democrat on the Alaska Senate race ballot, despite living in South Dakota. Hafner’s son Eric, supposedly running…
Readers may have received mailers promoting Carol Hafner as a progressive Democrat for the U.S. Senate in Alaska and attacking candidate Mary Peltola as a “MAGA lite.”
Trouble is, Hafner has never visited or lived in Alaska. A quick search online reveals that she has made other longshot forays into politics in both Alaska and Wyoming, taking about 14% in the Democratic primaries there. It’s also a family affair: her son Eric is simultaneously running…
My name is Jeff Ivaniszek, and my family has a cottage on Lutak Spur Road. I would like to remind folks about bear safety. Please remember that bears are wild animals and not pets. Give them distance, especially sows with cubs. I’m worried that someone is going to get hurt at the Chilkoot River bridge or while fishing in the river. And please remember your bear spray and hike/fish with other people.
Thank you for…
Sunday, August 2
A citizen turned in a found debit card on the Haines Highway. The owner was contacted and picked up the card.
A caller at 31.5 mile on the Haines Highway requested information and updates about wildfires.
A caller on FAA road reported a person tried to shoot a bear in front of their house.
A caller in the 300 block of Lynnview Drive reported a loud, intoxicated person in the area.
An…
Former mayors back in the race
Former mayors Doug Olerud and Jan Hill are seeking a return to office.
Olerud and Hill are the only candidates so far to officially enter the race for mayor. That could yet change, and individuals have until Aug.…
In addition to banning outhouses in the townsite, the Haines Borough assembly also approved a 30-day window for letters of interest in managing the Port Chilkoot Dock. The body also discussed potential conditional use permit fees for heliports during its two-hour meeting on Tuesday.
Bears
David Crowley has a strategy to win over the voters who backed democratic socialist Francesca Hong on Tuesday: make the governor’s race an existential fight against “MAGA extremism.”
Wisconsin Democrats have spent the past day scrambling to unite the far left and centrist factions of the party after a bitter primary battle defined by questions of electability and how far left of an ideology to pursue. The same is happening in Michigan, where the party has just three months to mend broken fences and get progressive Abdul El-Sayed elected in another competitive state this November.
Crowley told POLITICO he plans to use GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany and President Donald Trump as the foils that bring everyone together.
“We’re not all going to agree on everything. But I think we agree that the ultimate goal is making sure that we don’t have a MAGA extremist and congressman Tom Tiffany sitting in the governor’s office,” Crowley said in an interview Thursday, adding that the state “has a grand opportunity in putting some level of check on Trump’s agenda” amid the “affordability crisis.”
Democrats view holding onto the governor’s mansion in Wisconsin — a top battleground state that Trump won by just shy of 30,000 votes in 2024 — as critical for acting as a bulwark against Trump. They’re hoping to secure a governing trifecta in the state for the first time since 2010.
Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who was hand-picked by current Gov. Tony Evers, said he plans to not only fold in the left flank, but also reach out to independents and previous GOP voters who “feel rejected by this current Republican party.” Evers himself ousted GOP then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2018 thanks to a coalition that cut across Democratic strongholds, independents and some Republican-leaning voters.
Crowley also said he’s already talked to “some Republicans who are more interested in defeating Tom Tiffany.”
Trump’s approval rating has been continually slipping, and Crowley’s advisers believe focusing on the cost of living under the Trump administration amid an unpopular Iran war is a sweet spot to hit a broad cross-section of voters.
But even as he committed to reaching out to voters who had backed Hong, Crowley told POLITICO he would not campaign with some of her top surrogates on the trail — and demurred when asked whether he’d bring on any Hong allies to staff his general election campaign, saying everyone is “welcome” at the table.
When asked whether he would campaign with controversial, leftist social media influencer Hasan Piker, Crowley responded: “No.”
“I don’t know Hasan, but I always want to be focused on Wisconsin voters,” he added.
Hong has committed to hitting the trail with Crowley ahead of November, but many of his allies see her as too much of a political liability to be directly involved. They’re worried her brand of democratic socialism — and past controversial social media posts about defunding the police and canceling Thanksgiving — could affect Crowley’s wider appeal.Crowley also isn’t budging on a key campaign policy issue that divided the primary: He will not embrace the moratorium on data center development that Hong ran on.
“No moratorium,” Crowley said in the interview, adding he and Hong do agree on adding “guardrails” on data center development and operation via a package of legislation.
“I let folks know exactly where I stood on data centers,” he said. “That’s why we were able to not only consolidate many of those undecided voters, but get many rural communities to support us as well, because we have a common-sense approach to make sure that we’re protecting our environment, protecting our water, and protecting ourselves … when it comes down to these data centers.”
Politics
After months of anticipation, Ashley Cooke’s self-titled sophomore album, ashley cooke, arrives tomorrow, August 14, with a collection of songs that give fans a deeply personal look at the experiences, relationships and emotions that shaped the most recent chapter of her career.
The 15-track project finds Cooke leaning into every side of herself, from fiery breakup anthems to vulnerable reflections on love, heartbreak and the complicated space in between. Featuring songs including “xs,” “baby blues,” “excuses,” “the hell you are,” “when we’re 30,” “if i’m being honest” and more, the album ultimately became a reflection of the lessons Cooke learned through real-life moments.
As the release date finally approaches, the songstress recently turned to social media to answer questions from fans, admitting that it was starting to hit her that the album was actually about to come out. When asked about her favorite tracks, she revealed that while the whole record “top down” is filled with songs she loves, she’s recently found herself gravitating toward “the girl who cried wolf,” “if i’m being honest,” “Johnny ‘n June,” “dance around it,” “man behind the glass” and “excuses.”
One song in particular, “the girl who cried wolf,” holds an especially important place on the album. In fact, Cooke revealed that the track almost didn’t make the final cut yet has turned into one that she feels will make the biggest impression on listeners as it will leave them on a cliffhanger wondering “will she go back or is she actually done this time?”
The record had originally been finished with 14 songs before some ups and downs in a relationship she had been navigating at the time inspired her to return to the writing room.
She wrote, “Fun fact: this song was not supposed to be on the record. the record was finished with 14 songs, but then some stuff went down in the relationship I was in/out of for most of this era and I asked some of my favorite cowriters (Gemilyweisband Glauren hungate Gjoefoxmusic) to get together and write it out. we had about an hour of a therapy session that turned into writing this song and I somehow convinced the label to let me sneak it on.”
This song came up again when she revealed that one of her favorite lyrics on the whole record is, “when did I go from the girl who never cried to the girl who cried wolf?” During an interview with Girls in Low Places, Cooke also revealed that the song was nearly chosen as the album’s title track, but she ultimately felt her full name better represented a project that captures every side of who she is in this stage of life.
“I love it because A, it feels like the most quintessential, sonically correct to what I do, who I am. Even the visuals are all coastal. And I’m from California and Florida, so it feels like very much just me. But the whole record is really about the ins and the outs of this relationship,” she explained. “I think people are going to relate to the ins and the outs of it and find themselves in it. But it really it’s just the most honest and quintessential me that I’ve really experienced yet in music.”
While heartbreak is woven throughout the project, Cooke also explores a few different sounds and emotions. As she points out, “dance around it” leans more pop, “if i’m being honest” takes a more acoustic-country approach, while“ the hell you are” delivers a fiery, revengeful feel.
“There was a point that I was like, wait a minute, so all of this feels like me, but it’s not one specific sound. And I’m a Gemini, I’m all over the place. I’m very dual-minded. Duality is a big thing in my life. And it feels like this record has a lot of that in it. A lot of the duality and a lot of different flavors…It’s for people that feel all different kinds of ways and feel like they’re lovers, but also runners,” she noted.
The honesty that Cooke poured into these songs also meant having to revisit some experiences that aren’t necessarily easy to sing about. In fact, one of those more recent relationships that ultimately didn’t work out was with a collaborator who help Cooke write several songs for the album and even inspired some of the stories. Even though it can be hard to reopen some of those painful emotions of that relationship, she feels it’s worth it if it means helping someone else.
“I wrote a lot of it with him and about him, and now it’s no longer that…there’s a beauty in it, and I think that’s just the part of art that is complicated. But at the same time, yes, I’m making music for me that I can relate to that is therapeutic and cathartic for me. But I think people in the crowd listening to me perform, tell the stories, they see themselves in it, whether it happened to me a month ago or five years ago. And to me, that’s worth it. I’d rather be honest than make art that feels palpable for the world that I don’t relate to just for the sake of a hit because I’m like, ‘Well, then I can’t relate to it. It’s not real.’”
Back in March, she told the podcast host that her favorite song at the time was “johnny ‘n june” for its clever songwriting and how real and raw it is.
“It is one of the realest songs I’ve ever written. Every line in it is very accurate, including the name. So yeah, it’s very accurate. It’s clever, which I really love. So obviously Johnny and June. Johnny Cash. Yeah, this song has nothing to do with Johnny and June the couple. That’s why it’s clever. It’s basically talking about a man named Johnny in the month of June. And so it’s like, I’ve kissed this guy, I’ve gone here in August, I’ve done this in February or whatever, but I can’t stop thinking about Johnny in June. I was really proud of that one.”
She continued, “It’s because it is painfully real. I didn’t pull from any memories that I didn’t actually have of this specific person. And he’s heard it and he was like, ‘This is a good song.’ Yeah, it’s a very, very, very real song. And I think that’s why it’s my favorite.”
With ashley cooke arriving tomorrow, fans will finally get to hear the full collection and uncover the real emotions and personal experiences behind some of Cooke’s most vulnerable songs yet.
The post Ashley Cooke Gets Candid About the Heartbreak, Honesty and Real-Life Moments Behind Her New Self-Titled Album appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Gas station food might not have the best reputation overall, but these gas station pizzas are changing that. Customers actually like these pizzas.
Food Republic – Restaurants, Reviews, Recipes, Cooking Tips
Former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race last month amid sexual assault allegations, was announced as a speaker for a Labor Day event in Ellsworth, Maine, next month.
The event was organized by the groups Hancock County Activists and Acadia Action Peacemakers, according to information shared with the Hancock County Democratic Party. Both have been behind “No Kings” protests and other organized events in the area since the start of last year. Platner is slated to talk about the history of the labor movement in the U.S., as he did at the same rally last year.
Platner, who is from nearby Sullivan, Maine, dropped out of the Senate race following a July POLITICO report that a woman he dated accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Platner denied the allegation.
Marcia Myers, the chair of the Hancock County Democratic Party, said the event set to feature Platner was not a sanctioned party event but that the party often shares information about activist-led events in the area. The county party’s Facebook and Instagram posts mentioning Platner’s event were deleted, though the event was still listed on the party’s website.
The event was first reported by the Bangor Daily News.
Platner did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the event on Thursday.
Platner was replaced in the Senate race by former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, as Democrats are seeking to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins in an election of high importance to both parties nationally.
Outside groups supporting Collins have sought to tie Jackson to Platner, noting Jackson, who previously ran for governor, endorsed Platner’s campaign and appeared at rallies for him. Jackson called for Platner to drop out of the race after the sexual assault allegation.
Jalen Beckford contributed to this story.
Politics
