🌱Anchorage Business Owner's Fraud + Young Introduces SERVICE Act

Hello, neighbors! Miranda Fraraccio here with today's Anchorage Daily.

First, today's weather:

Periods of rain. High: 39 Low: 32.

Here are the top stories in Anchorage today:

1. An Anchorage business owner has agreed to pay nearly $400,000 after fraudulently obtaining loans through a federal pandemic relief program. 65-year-old Robert Gross submitted false information for six companies he owned to obtain loans and advances from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program between April and September 2020. As part of the civil settlement agreement, Gross also admitted to making the false statements and agreed to terms in place of criminal prosecution. (Anchorage Daily News)
2. This past week, Alaska Congressman Don Young helped introduce the bipartisan Supporting Every at-risk Veteran In Critical Emergencies (SERVICE) Act. The SERVICE Act will enable law enforcement agencies to create local veteran response teams — teams of military veteran law enforcement officers that respond to other veterans who may be in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency. Once the situation is under control, response teams are empowered to work further with the veteran to connect them with resources to help them find long-term solutions for issues such as homelessness, mental health, addiction, and more. (Alaska Native News)
3. An additional 98 ballots have been counted in the special election to recall Anchorage Assembly member Meg Zaletel — not enough to affect her resounding lead among Midtown voters, according to updated preliminary results posted just ahead of the weekend. While the official stated reason for the recall is that Zaletel may have participated in an Assembly meeting with too many people present under a COVID-19 emergency order last year, campaigners on both sides say the vote is actually about policy disagreements and a struggle over the direction of politics in Anchorage. Zaletel has supported policies that many of the recall’s proponents have stridently opposed, including the city’s current and previous COVID-19 restrictions. (Anchorage Daily News)

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Today in Anchorage:

• Divots Golf Fall League (9:00 AM)
• "Make it Monday" forum - UAA: Anchorage's Partner in Economic Recovery and Workforce Development (11:30 AM)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Monday! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with a new update. If you're into these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to read along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a freelance copywriter for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and as an assistant producer for a live-lit storytelling show in Chicago. She holds a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies from The University of Rhode Island. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.