Obama officials find another world on visit to rural Alaska

[Are_grits_groceries]

BETHEL, Alaska — Four of President Obama's cabinet members whirled through a pair of remote Alaska communities Wednesday to hear an earful about the state's novel needs and the borderline third-world conditions in some villages.

Obama administration officials have been on a whistle-stop tour of rural America since July 1, according to the White House. But they won't see anything else quite like village Alaska, where many towns have pockets of homes without running water or flush toilets, and families commute on snowmachines and four-wheelers instead of SUVs.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the trip in khakis and jeans, with Alaska Sen. Mark Begich playing tour guide.

"I've never been to Alaska and I was so excited this morning I couldn't sleep," Donovan told the crowd, perched on a wooden stool. "I wrote (my sons) a postcard this morning to say I was about to embark on one of the most incredible days of my life."

Then he announced millions in grants for rural housing.

Bethel is the hub of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one of the poorest regions in Alaska. During the last census, one-third of adults weren't in the workforce, according to the state. The region's suicide rate is roughly five times the national average and police say nearly all their service calls are alcohol related -- even though the sale of liquor is banned inside the city limits.

The sprawling city is also a proud traditional Yup'ik community where families put food on their table by subsistence hunting, fishing and berry picking. The Eskimo language can be heard on any street corner and on the radio.
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/73675.html

Apparently Palin could see Alaska, but she couldn't see how to help these people. Ironically, Todd is part Yup'ik, I believe.