A resolution in the Senate to consider impeachment of University of Alaska Regent Jim Hayes was introduced and referred to committee on Feb. 26, and there - a month later - it sits.

Unfortunate and painful as the process may be, it's time the resolution moved forward for the good of the state, our university and for the future of the board of regents.

... If Mr. Hayes has not met conditions for removal, it's hard to imagine what threshold must be reached.

He missed nearly half the board of regents meetings in 2006 and has not attended either of two meetings held so far this year. His endorsement letter written on home-made letterhead featuring his photo, the university seal and using his title as regent to solicit public funding for the nonprofit he and his wife operated stands in clear opposition to what most Alaskans would consider honorable. The same goes for a similar endorsement letter he crafted using his title as Fairbanks mayor.


... On top of this are dozens upon dozens of questionable administrative actions involving federal dollars - documented in the past four days in this newspaper - that were carried out in part by a man who should be no stranger to the accountability demanded in public venues. The entire debacle - and it can be considered nothing less - will at the very least prove to be a colossal embarrassment to the federal agencies involved and to Sen. Ted Stevens. [Surely Senator Stevens is way past embarrassment.]


... And of course he and his wife, Chris, have been indicted on numerous federal charges of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of public dollars. Mr. Hayes is innocent until proven guilty in the criminal courts, but no one can possibly believe a person could fully perform the duties required of a regent when faced with defending himself in a federal case that will take months, if not years, to resolve.