Meanwhile In Alaska: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
***This article contains audio, images, and language that is adult and might be NSFW.***
Before I made the trip back home to Michigan, I lived in Alaska for the better part of 10 years (2007 - 2017). I worked at a few radio stations and even one TV station. That TV station was YourAlaskaLink.com. They were the CW/Fox/ABC affiliate in Anchorage. Here I am representing The Lions while in the MCR (master control room).
I was there briefly for about a year and even though I have a degree in Broadcast Communication from CMU (Go, Fire Up Chips), TV wasn't my thing and I got back to radio as quickly as I could.
On my way out, they were slowly replacing the news team with some new personalities. And after I left, they hired Maria Athens. She became their lead news anchor.
And this is where it starts to get good and juicy.
Last Friday, she posted this video on her Facebook page.
In the video, as you can see, she makes some claims about the mayor of Anchorage one Ethan Berkowitz.
I've met him. Really nice guy.
But Maria claims (in the video) that the mayor had his genitalia exposed on an underaged girl's website.
The mayor's office was quick to categorically deny, deny, deny. Original post from The Alaska Landmine.
Maria, the newswoman/journalist in this story, then posts this.
Yup. Supposedly a picture of the mayor's backside.
Folks...this thing is just getting started.
Maria's place of employment (the TV station I used to work for) disavowed her statements. This comes from General Manager Scott Centers. I used to work for that guy.
The next day, Maria gets into an altercation in the parking lot at the TV station with a man (we later find out is the previously mentioned General Manager) and she gets arrested.
And then, this bombshell drops.
So apparently the mayor had some sort of consensual relationship with Maria while he was married. And word is now that Maria's fiance is also the station manager at the tv station.
Late Friday afternoon, Athens got into a physical fight with her station manager boss, with whom she was in a romantic relationship, according to court documents.
A charging document in the case says Athens and station general manager Scott Centers fought in a car “about work,” with Athens punching Centers and hitting him with her cell phone. Athens said she grabbed Centers' arm because he was driving erratically during the argument but denies attacking Centers. (Anchorage Daily News)
There is a boatload of craziness going on with this whole thing and you'd need a timeline to keep up. And luckily for you our friends at The Anchorage Press have put one together for you.
And finally the cherry on top of this messy/petty sundae, take a listen to a voicemail that our ace reporter left the mayor. Warning, contains strong language and some very anti-semitic comments. Including a death threat.
It's been transcribed below courtesy of The Anchorage Press. Again, we warn you of it's content and language.
Ethan, it's Maria Athens from Fox/NBC/CW/News Net National Alaska. Uh, I just learned through my g- my, eh, ah....Emmy-award winning journalism, you're also a pedophile and like little girls and children, and there's a website. I'm so f**king exposing you. I'm gonna get an Emmy. So you either turn yourself in, kill yourself, or do what you need to do. I will personally kill you and Mara Kimmel my g*d damn self, you Jewish piece of living f**king sh*t. You have met your match, motherf**ker. You have met your motherf**king match. I can't believe- I am such a good person, and thought I loved you. I f**king hate- I don't even hate you. I will pray for your Zionist f**king ass, you piece of sh*t loser. And, I'm putting this on the news tonight. Bye! Have a great Friday, you motherf**ker!
Read more about this crazy story here from heavy.com and for some reason, I truly believe we are nowhere near finished with this thing.
***Update - Hours after we initially posted this story, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has RESIGNED. Details below.***
I told you we weren't finished with this thing yet.