Rep. Kawasaki hosts BBQ fundraiser in Fairbanks
Originally published Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 12:00 a.m.
Updated Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 3:30 p.m.
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — State Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, is hosting a “Catch of the Day” Salmon BBQ Fundraiser in Fairbanks today. The event will be from 4-7 p.m at the Democratic Headquarters, 3354 College Road near Beaver Sports. The fundraiser will feature Copper River red salmon caught while Kawasaki was dip netting in Chitina.
Kawasaki, a candidate for State House District 9, will be discussing various topics including the need for energy relief and economic development in Fairbanks.
For more information, contact Kristen at 590-0315.
Community Discussion
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Is it legal to sell sport caught fish?
Scott Kawasaki will have some 'splainin to do. Something mighty fishy with his wanting to give the Canadians 500 million bucks of our money when they are saying that they will not touch our line until the end of the next decade. For most who live in Fairbanks, a wait that long might as well be the end of the next century. Hey, Scott- didn't you listen to those public hearings where Alaskans said "NO!" to the deal? Why did all you Democrats vote like sheep? Huh?
Oh wait, isn't this the same guy who worked for the hospital and saw nothing wrong with FMH having a monopoly? Yeah, now I understand. I understand why I want all incumbents gone.
KAWASAKI IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN A SAD JOKE. GREAT EXAMPLE OF "LIFETIME" POLITICAL WEASEL. SHAME ON YOU FAIRBANKS FOR ELECTING THIS IDOIT THROUGH THE VARIOUS LEVELS...TRY LOOKING AT PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATION.
I try to refrain from making commments on here since I enjoy the banter amongst our fine citizens, but hardinglake you must not know Mr. Kawasaki to insult him like you are doing now. First and foremost, Mr. Kawasaki has done a fine job on the Fairbanks City Council and as a state representative. He has worked hard to gathering input from the people in Fairbanks who elected him and he also works hard to keep the people of Fairbanks informed of important actions taken in Juneau. It is a cowardice thing to hide yourself behind a call name and insult a man that has been working for this community a lot longer than someone like yourself has. Now compare your record of public service to Mr. Kawasaki and see who has done more to make Fairbanks a community we are proud to call home. Also, if you feel so inclined to cast stones nameless call sign person be sure to run for public office yourself. Let's see if you have the guts to work to better your community in such a public way.
First of all, anybody can go to a fundraiser, eat the food and not donate a dime, so I don't think he is selling anything.
Second, there has never been any confusion about the fact that a gas pipeline from the North Slope would take a long time to build. The Big 3 and others have done a great job of turning the energy crisis into an excuse to defeat the TransCanada proposal. You think they will give you anything better? Take a look at their history in this state and try saying it again without your face turning red.
TransCanada would have started THIS SUMMER had it not been for the Conoco/BP cheerleaders (Ramras, Lyda, etc) in Juneau stalling the vote as long as they could.
As for the ALASKANS who testified against TransCanada, most were either employed by the oil industry or from the chamber of commerce. REAL balanced.
Please check your facts before you post.
hardinglake: If he continues to get elected, chances are people like what he has done and what he has to say. As for experience, one session in Juneau will give you more of that than a lifetime of armchair blogging. And by the way, if you press that little button above the shift key (it says CapsLock), you might not sound like you just escaped from the looney bin.
He might be in violation of state laws regarding what you can do with personal use-caught fish. Personal Use fish are for personal and family use only. It might be different, however, if they were fish harvested under subsistence regs in the Glenallen subdistrict.
From 5 AAC 77.001
(f) In this chapter, "personal use fishing" means the taking, attempting to take or possession of finfish, shellfish or aquatic plants by an individual for consumption as food or use as bait by that individual or his immediate family.
I happen to have gotten to know Rep. Kawasaki fairly well over the years. He and Steve Frank are the only politicians that have ever walked up to my house and asked to talk to me. (I lived in a different district in Sen. Frank's time). I haven't agreed with him across the board, but I respect him and his motivation for serving. It's easy to spew venom when you can hide behind a nickname.
I'm not sure what he was thinking with the salmon fundraiser thing, though.
Some folks need to pay attention. Scott is not charging for fish, so there is no foul. If anyone wants a piece of red salmon, they should come to the fish cook out.
Scott is one of the hardest working and ethical people I know. He walks his district and pays attention to what people are saying. It's too
I wish they required an IQ test before they allowed folks to post messages, that would eliminate some of the slams that are aimed at Scott but not even close to being accurate or informative.
Here's the scoop on Scott's fish, as forwarded to me by News-Miner staffer Tim Mowry:
According to Alaska State Troopers, Kawasaki’s fundrasier is within the law because he is not charging a fee for the fish or the fundraiser, a fact that Kawasaki confirmed.
“If anybody wants to come to the event they can,” Kawasaki said. “We’re not charging.”
Lt. Lantz Dahlke with Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Fairbanks, said it would be illegal to charge a per plate fee for the fish or admission to the fundraiser to eat the fish, but if Kawasaki wants to donate it to his cause for free, that’s his right.
After dip netting at Chitina for 25 years, Kawasaki said he was well aware of the law.
“I know what a personal-use fishery is,” he said. “I completely know the law. This is fully within the law.”
Unlike a lot of dip-netters who made the long drive to Chitina only to come up short of fish this summer, Kawasaki said he and two other dip-netters made the trip to Chitina in late June and had good success.
“We limited out in about six hours,” Kawasaki said. “We lucked out.”
I have met Scott kawasaki, and have rarely had a negative thought about, or experience with him. I wonder if hardinglake isn't a friend or family member of Jim Holm's?
That said, there are two distinctly separate issues raised above.
Sale of EITHER sport caught -or- personal-use fish is against statute. But Scott isn't apparently selling his fish to anyone. Rather, he's giving away a free meal, and taking VOLUNTARY donations. That's not a sale.
However, a often-ridiculous aspect of the statutes relating to, or governing, personal-use fish is that, technically, by the letter of the law, as pasted above by hot4teacher, giving away personal-use fish, (to a neighbor, friend, etc.), is a game violation, relative to the intent of the term/category 'personal use.'
I've never heard of that statute EVER being enforced to the letter of the law, however. Not in 30 years of residency.
In fact, both in Native cultures, and in non-native cultures, persons who have done well with their years' harvests, have customarily invited persons either for a meal, or to take a fish/piece of meat home. It's classic sharing (and sometimes bravado) in the hunter-gatherer world when a person does well, they share.
If the statute were enforced to the letter, it's likely that every single Alaskan who has gifted their neighbor a fish, or traded a fish for a package of moose (illegal in both aspects, as bartering is often considered to be more or less the same as sale), would be eligible to be cited, prosecuted, fined, or (????).
I suspect that portion of the statute was put in place to emphasize that the personal-use resources should be respected, not abused, or over-harvested.
The fact is that if folks think that the courts are overly-burdened, slow and ineffective now, just imagine if every person who ever gifted some smoked or fresh fish from Chitina's or Kenai's personal use fisheries were to receive a citation and a court date!! THAT would be comedy in the making!!
But now I gotta' ask those who posted above, wanting the law enforced to the letter; have you ever given away a personal-use-harvested State resource?? Bartered packages of wild game of any kind?? Purchased or taken ivory in trade that wasn't properly marked?
If so, be mighty cautious. Karma can be a heavy burden sometimes. ;^>)
So. I checked for myself to see just how EFFECTIVE Representative Scott Kawasaki has been for the people of Fairbanks while in office. I checked the sponsor summary section of the BASIS page of the Alaska State Legislature web site. It's easy to find. NOT ONE of Representative Kawasaki's bills passed. He was co-prime sponsor with Representative Wilson (R) on a bill to extend the sunset on the Midwife Board which did pass. It seems he has adopted the David Guttenberg mosus operandi - don't do anything but tell people how hard you are working for them. Then you can't be blamed for anything.
Yes, Rep. Kawasaki is a cute little guy who works nights at the hospital in the admissions office. He will listen, nod his head and sympathize with you . . . then do absolutely nothing about it.
I don't care if my Representative is cute or ugly. But, I'd sure like him or her to be effective.
I too have met Scott... I've never had a bad thought or feeling about him. I couldn't make it to the BBQ, but I support him..he's good people.
Scott, you've got my vote.
I'm a hardcore conservative, but I would vote for Scott way before I'd vote for any Republican out there. He's a man of integrity. Success in Juneau is not about passing a bunch of laws. Most of the time, it's more about derailing stupid laws.
Much ado about fish. Scott is doing a fine job. If you think that the only way, or even the best way to judge a rep is by the number of bills passed, you are way out of kilter with reality (unless your some kind of east coast greenie that cant get enough or laws and regs). Scott has been an outspoken rep for working people and families and an independent voice for Fairbanks.
My comments had nothing to do with Rep. Kawasaki at all. I've never met the guy and have nothing against him. In the first place, I thought it was a little odd that the News Miner was posting a (brief) piece advertising a campaign fundraiser...but even more strange that it was broadcasting to the world that (technically) he may be violating the regs.
hot4teacher,
That was the only thing that I 'took' from your post wherein you pasted the pertinent sub-section of the personal-use fisheries regs. Your posting of the regs were accurate; to even give a personal-use salmon to a neighbor or friend -is- technically a violation. You are correct in that.
I was addressing others, as well as generically commenting on the fact that the section that you pasted has never, in my experience, been enforced to the letter of the law. My comments about 'karma' had nothing to do with you, but were rather aimed at others above.
I appreciated the fact that you posted the sub-section that you did, as it brought clarity to something that others had muddied, and either wanted enforced to degrees it never has been, or in another (somewhat opposite) case, (ironically involving a Trooper responsible for enforcement) denied that the regs stated that at all.
As stated earlier, the regs -DO- state what you pasted, and no, they've never, in my expereince, been enforced that way. Likely because it would be impossible to do so without the State ending up looking completely goofy.
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