Well, well, well -- "Palin to Reimburse State for Family Travel"

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.adn.com/palin/story/700958.html

By LISA DEMER
[e-mail]

Published: February 24th, 2009 01:02 PM
Last Modified: February 24th, 2009 01:11 PM

Gov. Sarah Palin has agreed to reimburse the state for the costs of nine trips for her children. An agreement announced today settles an ethics complaint filed in October.

The charges that Palin has agreed to reimburse include the cost of her daughter Piper flying on a state plane to the start of the Iron Dog snowmachine race in 2008 and airfare and one meal for daughter Bristol to accompany Palin in October 2007 to New York for a women's leadership conference, according to the settlement.

The settlement was signed by Palin and Anchorage lawyer Tim Petumenos, who was hired by the state Personnel Board to investigate the complaint.

<snip>

Palin was under intense scrutiny as the candidate for vice president.

Various news media reported state had spent tens of thousands of dollars on Palin family travel. Gwartney's complaint said Palin broke rules that forbid state officials from using their jobs for personal gain. It cited the news reports as evidence. Gwartney is a registered Democrat.

[BOSSHOG]

1. But she's a member of the party of honesty and integrity

[emulatorloo]

4. It is the LIBERAL MEDIA's FAULT!!!!!!!!

[malaise]

2. Has she addressed housegate yet?

Was the house built for free as pay off for the sports center?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/11/111018/34/47/627460
<snip>
The Palin's two-story, four bedroom, four bath home on Lake Lucille is worth $552,000. "Todd Palin built the house with friends who were contractors, he said in a recent television interview."

At the same time the mighty Todd was building the house, the Wasilla Sports Complex was under construction right down the road. Just who were these "friends who were contractors" who did such a huge favor for the Palins by building their house for them? Was it payback for the sports complex contracts? Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice asks the question, below the fold.

A list of subcontractors on the job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. Spenard actually filed a notice "of its right to assert a lien" on the deed for the Palin property after contracting for labor and materials for the site. Spenard's name has popped up in the trial of Senator Stevens—it worked on the house that is at the center of the VECO scandal as well.

Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were. The house was built very near the complex, on a site whose city purchase led to years of unsuccessful litigation and, now, $1.3 million in additional costs, with a law firm that's also donated to Palin collecting costly fees from the city.

Dorwin and Joanne Smith, the principals of complex subcontractor DJ Excavation & Development, have donated $7,100 to Palin and her allied candidate Charlie Fannon (Joanne is a Palin appointee on the state Board of Nursing). Sheldon Ewing, who owns another complex subcontractor, Weld Air, has donated $1,300, and PN&D, an engineering firm on the complex, has contributed $699.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. No, she hasn't addressed the house yet,

but she's really been trying to cover her tracks lately. Here's another interesting piece from this morning's paper. "Governor's Staff Defends her Expense Claims" http://www.adn.com/palin/story/700199.html
I think it's funny that she's got her staffers working on all this "CYA" stuff. Is that what we're paying them for?

Also a very whiny letter to the editor from her was printed this morning complaining about Mark Begich misrepresenting her re the stimulus ---- WAAAAAHHHHHH:

Now that the federal stimulus bill is signed into law and the money is being offered to states, our administration is analyzing the various funding streams to determine how Alaskans can benefit without creating new or expanded programs that eventually we can't pay for.

Suddenly, though, Sen. Mark Begich has raised the specter that I would reject all of the stimulus money and hurt Alaskans in the process. Alaskans should rest assured that where the stimulus money will help our private sector economy and provide a genuine safety net for individuals, we won't hesitate adding it to a fiscally sustainable spending plan.

I must also set the record straight on Sen. Begich's false claim that he has not been informed about my stance on this bill. I wrote to our congressional delegation twice on this subject, the first time solo on Jan. 7, and later joined by House Speaker Mike Chenault and Senate President Gary Stevens. My D.C. staff was in frequent communication with the senator's staff, including face-to-face meetings and written communications.

Furthermore, Sen. Begich did not solicit our comments about the final package, and some of the changes he helped broker actually reduced federal spending in areas where we would have preferred increases -- for example, a $70 million reduction in highway funds.

Alaskans expect the delegation and the administration to work together.

-- Gov. Sarah Palin

To which I say, Governor, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[malaise]

9. She sure is trying to cover her tracks

but I'm not sure how she'll sort out the house. Ted Stevens must have scared the dickens out of her. This can't be just blind ambition or can it? :hi:

[rainbow4321]

11. No doubt she is trying to scrub her record clean for 2012

Which is why, any articles that are seen NOW online need to be archived on someone's computer..probably not just by using the "save to favorite" option for the link but screen saves or print stuff out and file the hard copies..cuz you know things that were seen online "before" about her and her bullshit will suddenly become "website unavailable" (or edited) come 2011-2012.

[malaise]

13. Good idea

I agree.

[rainbow4321]

16. Now we have Suburban-gate

From the OP:

"The news comes just after state officials announced Palin had turned in her state Chevy Surburban"

She reportedly has switched over to driving her own car now..a Jetta.
Guess she won't be piling all of her clan into THAT thing any time soon, which I imagine she did with the state's Suburban.

[zbdent]

3. good thing she wasn't an Obama appointee ...

she'd be in some serious trouble, even if she HAD paid all her bills just before being nominated by Obama ...

:sarcasm:

[BOSSHOG]

6. But she has conservative values dontcha know, wink, wink!

[Arctic Dave]

7. Steve McCallister has his hands full trying to keep the lipstick on this pig.

:)

[Blue_In_AK]

8. That's "Bill," and, yes, he does.

It seems like she's on some kind of whirlwind tour to rescue her image, what with the sudden interest in western Alaska's troubles, paying taxes on the per diem, pumping up her "fiscal conservative" bona fides vis-a-vis Murkowski and Knowles, repaying travel money, etc. etc. If one didn't know better, one might think that she's getting ready to run for something. :rofl: She must think we all have short memories.

[Arctic Dave]

10. Steve, Bill, Putz, whatever. You know, that guy. :)

[Contrary1]

12. Some of the comments are a riot:

glide wrote on 02/24/2009 02:27:26 PM:
HYPOCRISY:
noun,

1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2. An act or instance of such falseness.
3. see Sarah Palin

:rofl:

[malaise]

14. This one is important

onejrkitty wrote on 02/24/2009 03:56:49 PM:

A few posters here are under the impression Palin has agreed to pay, or even has already paid, the reimbursment.

Please note: she has 120 days to make the reimbursement. She has not yet done so.

We need to follow up and be sure the amount is reimbursed !

She won't do it, " ... until a court tells me..."

[rainbow4321]

15. "Palin had her staff amend records to state clearly that the first family had been invited"

WTF??? Falsifying documents to get reimbursed!!!!!!!!??????????

Oh REALLY...first time, Well if THAT doesn't jusify someone going over all of her past financial records involving state funds, I don't know what does.

[spanone]

17. only because she got caught....that's the great republic thingy

they only come clean after the fact.....

[rainbow4321]

18. Her staff (or SP herself?) is whining because her Jetta is too small and not safe

This after she turned in the state's Suburban after learning that she would have to pay taxes on it for when she used it for personal reasons.

Well, Sarah...go out and get your OWN FUCKING Suburban. Problem solved.

http://www.adn.com/palin/story/700199.html

Still, Palin has decided to give up a state Chevy Suburban -- a loaner from her security detail -- that she had use of while working in Anchorage and living in Wasilla, said Bob Cockrell, part of her security staff.

"We turned it in today," Cockrell said.

Palin's decision on the vehicle related to a recent determination that she owed income taxes on the value of any personal use of it, McAllister said.

The governor intends to start driving her own car, Cockrell said, adding that he isn't pleased with the decision because her car -- a Volkswagen Jetta -- is small and not as safe as the state rig.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. If she stayed down in Juneau where she's supposed to be,

she wouldn't even have to drive, except to the grocery store maybe.