Wayne Barrett follows up on his teaser yesterday in the Village Voice's Runnin' Scared blog with a juicy in-depth story on Palin's not-so mavericky Alaska dealings. For instance, there is no such pipeline. And there won't be one unless and until Exxon approves the deal. ALSO, in 2006 "Palin received $24,000 in contributions from lobbyists, most of them tied to the oil industry." Not so very maverickish.
Then Barrett explores an interesting question. Who built Sarah's house?
"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."" At the same time, right down the road, the famous Wasilla Sports Complex was being built by Palin pals and contributors.
Did the sports complex contractors build the Palin house gratis? Details below:
Below is the last section of Barrett's lengthy article, in which he explores the Sports Complex to Nowhere and it's strange relationship with the House That Todd Built. Will somebody ask Mrs. Palin about this one, please?
The Book of Sarah (Palin)
Strafing the Palin record
By Wayne Barrett
===snip===
A list of subcontractors on the [sports complex] job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Building 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.
Ewing was one of the few sports-complex contractors, aside from Spenard, willing to address the question of whether he worked on the house as well, but he had little to say: "I doubt that it occurred, but if it did indirectly, how would I know anyhow?" The odd timing of Palin's house construction—it was completed two months before she left City Hall and while she and Todd Palin were campaigning statewide for the first time—raises questions, especially considering its synergy with the complex.
===more at link===
Nice pick, McCain. How's that team of wild mavericks working out for you so far? Maverickalicious.