Anchorage Daily News

Tuesday's indictment of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens was a grim day in Alaska's history. Before his legal troubles, Sen. Stevens had a distinguished career of public service dating back before statehood. Now the man once hailed as "Alaskan of the Century" faces federal felony charges for allegedly filing false information on official forms about $250,000 worth of gifts, supplied by the man who was at the time the state's most powerful political operative, Veco's Bill Allen.

It's a shame the career of such an influential Alaska figure has sunk to this point. Regardless of whether he is convicted, Sen. Stevens showed bad judgment in getting so financially entangled with a lobbyist and political power broker who had already had run-ins with the law.

The federal indictment does not charge Sen. Stevens with bribery. It does allege that Bill Allen and Veco were seeking official actions from Sen. Stevens, and sometimes got them. But there was no quid pro quo for all the gifts he took, according to federal authorities.

Instead, what the indictment describes is a relationship of mutual back-scratching between a powerful insider and a powerful politician. Alaskans have seen too much of that already in the Veco scandal and elsewhere -- and that may help explain why Sen. Stevens was behind in his re-election race even before the indictment was issued.

It may turn out that what Bill Allen did for Sen. Stevens did not break federal corruption laws or Senate ethics rules. Nonetheless, Sen. Stevens will have trouble explaining to Alaska voters why they should tolerate such cozy arrangements between their elected officials and insiders who want to influence them.

BOTTOM LINE: Legal or not, Ted Stevens' dealings with convicted lobbyist Bill Allen are a black mark against his distinguished career.

Safe Harbor

Its record is reassuring

Safe Harbor Inn, a transitional housing motel at Fourth Avenue and Sitka Street, wants to expand to the old Ramada Inn in Muldoon. Some potential neighbors are worried that crime will go up and property values down, that Safe Harbor will be a magnet for street drunks. Some also complain that they didn't know such a facility might be coming to the neighborhood.

First, Safe Harbor is no homeless camp. It's a motel for people who have become homeless but who are trying to put their lives back together and work toward permanent housing.

Guests can't just walk in off the street. They have to be referred by a sponsoring agency. Guests or the sponsoring agency cover room charges. Guests need to be working through whatever problems landed them in homelessness. There are rules for keeping up rooms and behavior based on mutual respect.

Mostly, however, there's warmth. Safe Harbor director and one of its founders, Lynne Ballew, maintains that hospitality and a peaceful place to call your own is key to getting back on your feet.

Tremendous support for Safe Harbor since it opened its doors in 2001 testifies to its worth. Money from the city, state and Rasmuson Foundation has counted in six figures. In-kind contributions furnish rooms, fill cupboards and even keep candy on the pillows for newly arrived guests. Volunteers have helped with everything from landscaping to moving.

Numbers talk too. Ballew reports that about 70 percent of Safe Harbor's 2,350 guests have gone on to permanent housing. Only 4 percent have gotten the boot for bad behavior, and in the last year there were 18 police calls to the facility. Given that at any time 120 guests are filling the 55 rooms, that number is not out of line.

Safe Harbor didn't try to be a surprise in Muldoon. It's been public knowledge for some time Safe Harbor was trying to expand and that Ballew had the Ramada Inn in mind. But neither was news of the potential expansion mailed to nearby residents. So it's natural that homeowners and other residents would wonder what sort of facility is coming to the neighborhood.

Some are planning to take a tour of the Safe Harbor on Sitka to get a better idea. That's good for both the inn and the neighbors. We bet they'll get along pretty well.

BOTTOM LINE: Safe Harbor should be a good neighbor in Muldoon.

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