ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The president of Quintilian blamed an optic cable break for a North Slope & Northwest Alaska internet outage that will take an undefined amount of time to fix.

“It appears there was a subsea fiber optic cable break near Oliktok Point, and the outage will be prolonged,” Quintillion President Michael “Mac” McHale said in a short statement provided by a company spokesperson. “We are working with our partners and customers on alternative solutions.”

The statement mirrored what the company released Saturday morning on social media.

So far, the company has not provided a specific timeline for the repair’s next steps.

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As a former prosecutor, I was shocked and saddened to read reporter Kyle Hopkins’ recent reporting in the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica on pervasive, unconstitutional, heartbreaking delays of violent felony cases. Judges granting continuances 50 to 70 times over seven to 10 years — with “typically” no opposition from the prosecution, and no mention of the victims. Victims and their families suffering years before the closure that a trial can bring, some even dying during the delays.

Hopkins’ reporting is recent. The problem isn’t. The Office of Victims’ Rights (OVR) has been covering delays for years in annual reports to the Legislature, beginning in 2014. In 2018, after monitoring nearly 200 cases, OVR said judges were mostly to blame.

Other causes have been noted: understaffed public defender and prosecutor offices; the incentive for defendants to delay because witnesses’ memories fade. But in 2019, OVR said, “It is up to the judges to control the docket, to adhere to standing court orders, to follow the law and to protect victims’ rights as well as defendants’ rights.”

In 1994, 86% of Alaskans who voted supported a crime victims’ rights ballot. That overwhelming mandate was enshrined in our state constitution. It includes victims’ “right to timely disposition of the case.” For years, Anchorage Superior Court judges have ignored this right.

After reading the recent coverage, I began searching. Maybe other jurisdictions had found solutions to similar delays. What I discovered shocked me even more.

In 2008, a working group co-chaired by an Alaska Supreme Court justice determined the average time to disposition for felony cases in Anchorage had nearly quadrupled. “This finding amounted to a ‘call to arms’ for improvements …(.)”

In November 2008, the state paid to send three judges, two court personnel, the Anchorage district attorney, the deputy attorney general and three public defenders to a workshop in Arizona about causes of delays, and solutions. David Steelman was a presenter. He worked with the Alaska group in Phoenix and Anchorage. That work resulted in a 59-page report dated March 2009.

I found Steelman’s report online (“Improving Criminal Caseflow Management in the Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage”). His findings are revealing.

Delays resulted from informal attitudes, concerns and practices of the court, prosecutors and public defense lawyers. To change this “culture of continuances,” it was critical the court exercise leadership and the attorneys commit to change. Judges and the public-sector lawyers must recognize they were all responsible for making prudent use of the finite resources provided by taxpayers. Unnecessary delays wasted resources.

Steelman recommended the judges and lawyers agree to individual performance measurements, and the court engage in ongoing evaluation of his Caseflow Improvement Plan. The plan included a “Continuance Policy for Anchorage Felony Cases.”

I found an unsigned Anchorage court order dated May 1, 2009. It included Steelman’s Continuance Policy recommendation that the court log every requested continuance in the court file, name the party requesting it, the reasons given, whether the continuance was granted, and the delay incurred if it was granted.

More telling, it omitted Steelman’s recommendation that, “Every six months, the chief criminal judge shall report to the Presiding Judge on the number of continuances requested and granted during the previous period(.)”

That provision might have ensured accountability.

After years of only bad news, in 2018, OVR reported a glimmer of “good news” — a pre-trial delay working group was formed by Anchorage Presiding Judge Morse and the court system. In September 2018, Judge Morse issued a Felony Pre-Trial Order. Its goals included reducing delays of felony case dispositions and minimizing the number of calendaring hearings. (Sound familiar?)

But, OVR added, “The real test will be whether judges will hold to the new plan and hold parties accountable for delays. The jury is out on whether the will to change is actually present, but the court ultimately will be responsible for improving this problem unless the legislature steps in and passes new laws to resolve this continuing violation of victims’ rights.”

The jury has been out since 2009. The court failed that test. Based on the ADN/ProPublica reporting, the court failed the test of 2018. Things are worse than ever.

And the court’s response? A spokesperson told Kyle Hopkins there was “new” training for judges on managing case flows, as well as an Anchorage presiding judge’s order limiting when postponements may be used. (Sound familiar?)

I also reached out to the court. I requested documentation of this “new” training and a copy of the latest order. I also asked about the unsigned May 2009 court order. I’ve received no response. Similarly, when Hopkins reached out to Anchorage Superior Court judges, none of the criminal docket judges responded directly.

There are two things courts and judges will respond to: their budget and retention elections.

First, the Alaska Senate and House Judiciary and Finance Committees should hold the court system accountable for its proposed budget. Require it to cost out delays from past years. According to a 2011 report by Steelman, just two Anchorage cases (each with over 70 scheduling hearings), “(M)ay have cost the State of Alaska the full-time equivalent of an extra prosecutor or public defender attorney.”

The court system has proven, since 2008, it can’t be trusted to not waste money on unnecessary delays. It must finally be held accountable by the Legislature.

Second, retention elections. Superior Court judges are appointed by the governor, but they must stand election for retention by the voters every six years. The Alaska Judicial Council evaluates each judge before their election and makes that information public. The council incorporates surveys of attorneys, law enforcement, child services professionals, court employees and jurors.

The Judicial Council does not survey victims, or those who assist them, such as OVR or Victims for Justice. It should. Other than the defendant, victims are the only ones with a constitutional right to a speedy trial. That right is being ignored by judges. Alaska voters who issued a mandate should know which judges are ignoring it.

Val Van Brocklin is a former state and federal prosecutor in Alaska who now trains and writes on criminal justice topics nationwide.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.

Lately I’ve spent too much time at the Seattle airport and not enough time exploring the Emerald City.

It’s not just about downtown Seattle, either. I’ve been catching up with friends in the area and we shared stories about visiting the nearby San Juan Islands or taking the Victoria Clipper up to Vancouver Island (bring your passport).

There are some seasonal events, though, that make a trip to Seattle more compelling.

First on the list is Seattle Museum Month. Every February, area museums team up with local hotels to offer half-price admission.

There is a catch. To get the half-price admission, stay at a downtown hotel. There are 70 hotels from which to choose. Even if you just stay for one night, you can get a pass which offers up to four people half-price admission.

It’s very difficult to visit all of the museums on the list. Just visiting the Seattle Art Museum, right downtown near Pike Place Market, can take all day. There’s a special exhibit now featuring the mobiles of Alexander Calder and giant wood sculptures of artist Thaddeus Mosley.

But there are many ongoing exhibits at SAM, as the museum is affectionately known. Rembrandt’s etchings, an exhibit from northern Australia, an intricate porcelain sculpture from Italian artist Diego Cibelli, African art, Native American art and so much more is on display.

It’s worth the long walk to the north of Pike Place Market to visit the Olympic Sculpture Park, a free outdoor exhibition by SAM featuring oversized works, including a giant Calder sculpture. The sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula are part of the package.

My other favorite art museum is the Burke Museum at the University of Washington. What I remember most about the Burke Museum is its rich collection of Northwest Native art.

But the term “museum” covers an incredible array of collections. A visit to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum is a chance to see the most fanciful creations of renowned glass blower Dale Chihuly. It’s right next to the Space Needle.

You have to go up to the top and see the new renovations.

“They took out most of the restaurant,” said Sydney Martinez, public relations manager for Visit Seattle.

“Then they replaced the floor with glass. Plus, they took the protective wires off from around the Observation Deck and put up clear glass for an uninterrupted view,” she said.

If you visit the Space Needle in February, there’s hardly ever a line!

Getting from the airport to downtown is easy with the light rail system. There’s a terminal adjacent to the parking garage in the airport. The one-way fare for the 38-minute train ride is $3. From downtown, there are streetcars that go up Capitol Hill and down to Lake Union.

Martinez encourages travelers to check out the Transit Go app.

“All of the buses require exact change and sometimes that’s a hassle,” she said. “Just add finds to your app using a credit card and show the driver when you get on.”

Pike Place Market is a downtown landmark in Seattle. Fresh produce, the famous fish market, specialty retailers and restaurants — there’s always something going on. Now there’s even more to see.

Following the destruction of the waterfront freeway and the building of the tunnel, the Seattle Waterfront project has made great strides on its revitalization plan. The latest milestone is the opening of the Overlook Walk.

The Seattle Waterfront project encompasses much more than the new waterfront steps. Landscaping, pedestrian crossings and parks still are being constructed. But you cannot miss the beautiful staircase that comes down from Pike Place Market to the waterfront.

“There’s a really large patio at the top overlooking Elliott Bay,” said Martinez. “The stairs go down to the waterfront from there, but there also are elevators.”

Tucked under one wall is a completely new exhibit from the Seattle Aquarium, which is right across the street on the water. The Ocean Pavilion features an exhibit on the “Indo-Pacific ecosystem in the Coral Triangle.” I want to see this for myself!

Wine lovers love Washington wines. And Seattle shows up to showcase the increasing variety of wines available around the state. Taste Washington brings the region’s food and wines together for an event in mid-March.

Hosted by the WAMU Center near the big sports stadiums, Taste Washington features 200 wineries and 75 restaurants for tastings, pairings and demonstrations. There are special tastings, special dinners (plus a Sunday brunch) and special demonstrations between March 13 and 17.

There’s another regionwide feasting event called Seattle Restaurant Week, where participating restaurants offer a selected dinner for a set price. No dates are set yet, but Martinez said it usually happens both in the spring and the fall.

It’s not downtown, but it’s worth going to Boeing Field to see the Museum of Flight. This ever-expanding museum features exhibits on World War I and II, in addition to the giant main hall where there are dozens of planes displayed. I love getting up close to the world’s fastest plane, the black SR-71 Blackbird. But take the elevated walkway across the street to see the Concorde SST, an older version of Air Force 1 (a Boeing 707) and a Lockheed Constellation.

One of the most interesting exhibits is the Space Shuttle Trainer — used to train the astronauts here on the ground. There’s an amazing array of space-related exhibits. Don’t miss it.

Some travelers come to Seattle for sports. Take in home games from the Seattle Kraken hockey team or the Seattle Sounders soccer team this winter.

Other travelers come to see shows. Moore Theatre is hosting Lyle Lovett on Feb. 19 and Anoushka Shankar on March 13. Joe Bonamassa is playing at the Climate Pledge Area on Feb. 16. There are dozens of live music venues throughout the area.

It’s easy to get out of town to go on a bigger adventure. The Victoria Clipper leaves from the Seattle Waterfront for Victoria’s Inner Harbour each day, starting Feb. 16. If you want faster passage, fly back on Kenmore Air to Lake Union.

The Washington State Ferries offer great service from downtown Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula. Or, drive north to Anacortes and take the ferry to the San Juan Islands. Or, just drive north to Mukilteo and catch a short ferry over to Whidbey Island.

There are fun events all year in Seattle. But I’m circling February on the calendar for Museum Month. Plus, I need to see that grand staircase from Pike Place Market down to the water!