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Print article JUNEAU State Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, is being sued by a constituent who says Reinbold violated her free speech rights by banning her from the senator’s official Facebook page and removing comments critical of Reinbold. With a legal complaint filed Friday in Anchorage Superior Court, Chugiak resident Bobbie McDow is seeking legal fees and an injunction against Reinbold that prevents her from removing posts that criticize her. Reinbold said Friday morning that she was unaware of the lawsuit and couldn’t comment on it. The suit says Reinbold has been removing comments that criticize her anti-mask viewpoint and that McDow was banned from Reinbold’s senatorial Facebook page this week. ....
Alaska state senator fined for violating Capitol’s mask mandate Published 3 hours ago Share on Facebook Print article JUNEAU The head of the Alaska Senate’s Rules Committee has fined Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, $250 for violating the mask mandate in the Alaska State Capitol during a legislative meeting last week. Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, called Reinbold’s action an “egregious” violation of rules imposed before the Legislature convened this year. She is the first lawmaker to be fined this year. Under the Capitol’s rules, the fine will be deducted from the daily food-and-housing expense payments that Reinbold and other lawmakers receive. According to a document obtained from the Legislature’s nonpartisan administrative office, the fine was assessed last week and has already been paid. ....
Print article JUNEAU A dispute over anti-COVID policy in the Alaska Senate appeared to reach resolution Monday, but another arose in the state House on the same day that two more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the Alaska State Capitol. Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, wore a CDC-compliant facemask Monday in the Capitol, ending a weeklong dispute that saw her removed from committee hearings and told to leave the floor of the Alaska Senate. Reinbold had previously declined to provide proof of a negative COVID test and wear a mask that follows the Capitol’s rules. “What you’re seeing this morning is the Senate organization is 100% compliant on following the rules of the COVID-19 mitigation policy,” said Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, as he left the Senate chambers next to Reinbold. ....
Print article JUNEAU The case of a severely ill Alaska Senate aide is influencing how the Alaska Legislature deals with a senator who has declined to follow the Legislature’s pandemic precautions. As of Thursday, seven people who work in the Alaska Capitol have tested positive for COVID-19 since an outbreak began in late February. An additional 22 people have quarantined in connection with those cases. Konrad Jackson, a top aide to Senate President Peter Micciche, is one of the seven cases and has been hospitalized with significant breathing problems. A spokesperson for Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau confirmed that Jackson is a patient there. Through the spokesperson, Jackson referred questions about his condition to Capitol officials. ....