In what’s being called a “West Coast International Alliance,” Alaska Airlines and American Airlines have inked a deal that brings advantages to frequent fliers going between the airlines.
What does it mean for Alaska residents who fly on the iconic airline that bears the name of their state? It means your next trip abroad could put miles into your Alaska Airlines mileage account.
While traveling on American, Alaska Airlines’ mileage plan members can redeem miles for the partner airline, and starting this spring will also earn Alaska Airlines miles on any American Airlines flight, domestic or international.
The Alaska Airlines-American Airlines partnership had been scaled back in the past couple of years. In the past, there was a stronger reciprocity agreement between the two airlines, and the announcement today restores those reciprocal benefits that were lost in 2018.
This is certainly a shot over the bow of Delta Airlines, which is not a member of the oneworld alliance.
Starting in the summer of 2021, Alaska mileage plan miles can be used on all of the “oneworld” airlines. Alaska already partners with one of the 13 other oneworld airlines, such as Japan Airlines, Qantas, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific. American Airlines is a oneworld member.
In 2021, Alaska elite level benefit holders will also have priority boarding, more access to premium seating, and baggage benefits when they fly on American or any of the oneworld airlines. And they’ll be able to access 650 lounges within the oneworld network as an MVP Gold or Gold 75K member.
Former State Sen. Charlie Huggins, Becky Huggins, and daughter Hallie Johnston, all of Wasilla, were in New Hampshire for the baptism of the youngest Huggins granddaughter, when they were able to get tickets to attend the rally for President Donald Trump on Monday evening.
“We had a blast. Everyone was nice, polite and they were strong Trump supporters. Earlier we were given a tour of ‘radio row’ where they were mostly covering the primary actions,” said former Senate President Huggins.
“It was a huge crowd, but it was a joy to go to, you didn’t feel scared, harried, or frustrated. It was a fabulous experience,” Becky Huggins said from Wasilla, where the couple has returned home.
The three were seated directly behind President Trump as he spoke, and therefore appeared in most of the televised spots and many news photographs of the event.
Hallie Johnston and Becky Huggins are to the left of the podium in this screenshot from PBS.…And there’s former Senate President Charlie Huggins, to the left of the teleprompter.
Former Alaska Republican Party Chairman Jim Crawford has filed a letter of intent to run against incumbent Sen. Natasha von Imhof, District L.
Von Imhof won the seat in 2016, beating Rep. Craig Johnson and upstart Jeff Landfield in the primary for the largely conservative district.
Crawford, born and raised in Anchorage, is an advocate of the statutory formula for the Permanent Fund dividend.
He also is a critic of the way the State has handled deposits into the Permanent Fund, saying that an auditor has pointed out serious flaws that need to be corrected, including $99.8 million that should have gone to the fund in 2018.
Crawford was deputy executive director of Alaska State Housing Authority. “I was a banker, we cleaned them up, straightened out all their problems. That was the worst financial statement I’d ever seen. This state financial statement is the second worse I’ve seen in 40 years.”
Crawford was state chairman for the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole in 1992, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, George H.W. Bush in 1988, and Donald Trump in 2016.
Crawford says he will not join a binding caucus: “My vote is not for sale.”
Sen. Mike Shower of Wasilla offered two bills on Wednesday, both which would end the binding caucus system in the Legislature.
Shower, who along with other conservative senators was stripped of his committee and staff by his fellow Republicans because of their votes on certain caucus priorities in 2019, has offered Senate Joint Resolution 17 and SB 187.
SJR 17 would prohibit a political caucus in the Legislature from compelling its members to vote for or against a bill, appointment, veto, or other measure. It would be a constitutional amendment to be voted on by Alaskans at the next general election. It was referred to three committees – State Affairs, Judiciary, and Finance.
SB 187 would put the same language into statute. The bill was referred to State Affairs and Judiciary. The bill was referred to State Affairs and Judiciary committees.
The party caucus is a voting bloc called together by party leaders to discuss strategy and positions. Decisions made by caucuses can be binding or nonbinding on members. The party caucuses are not open to the public, and no formal record is kept of their proceedings. They are considered deliberative strategy sessions. Members of the majority caucus are rewarded with larger offices and better positions on committees.
For many years in the Alaska Legislature, the Republican caucus has had a rule that binds members to voting on the budget as a group, regardless of their individual differences on the budget.
Shower cited the Air Force Honor Code and a Colorado constitutional amendment that prohibited the long-standing binding caucus in that state. He said that the caucus rules may not be actual bribery but have the same coercive effect.
Joshua M. Kindred of Anchorage was confirmed this morning by the U.S. Senate as the United States District Judge for the District of Alaska.
On a vote of 54-41, the Senate confirmed Kindred on near party line vote on Wednesday. Two Democrats — Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema — voted to confirm him.
Kindred is 134th District Court judge confirmed by Senate during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Kindred is the son-in-law of Pam Birch and the late State Sen. Chris Birch.
He received a low rating on a poll of the Alaska Bar Association. Trump’s first choice, Jon Katchen, withdrew his name after scoring low on the bar poll. Kindred scored even lower. The Alaska Bar Association is dominated by liberal lawyers.
Kindred had worked in the District Attorney’s office in Anchorage, and for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, a trade group. Most recently, he has been the Department of Interior’s Regional Solicitor for Alaska.
Kindred was born in Goldsboro, N.C. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2002 and his law degree from Willamette University College of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Willamette Law Review.
The selection of more conservative judges has been a hallmark accomplishment for President Trump. But the appointments must make it through the Senate. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed on a 54–45 vote, and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, 50-48.
As of February 12, 2020, the United States Senate confirmed 193 “Article III” judges nominated by President Trump, including two for the Supreme Court, 51 for the United States Courts of Appeals, 137 judges for the United States District Courts, and two judges for the United States Court of International Trade.
Three other U.S. District Court judges were also confirmed by the Senate today for New York, Missouri, and Illinois.
TRUMP SURPASSES FOUR DECADES OF INCUMBENT VOTES IN N.H.
Has the field narrowed? Three strong Democrats are emerging out of the New Hampshire Democrat primary: Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.
Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, the two leading candidates for many months, are fading fast, while Klobuchar appears to be a rising star.
“Feeling the Bern,” Biden had left New Hampshire for South Carolina before polls even closed to try to shore up his campaign, which appears to be on the rocks after a fourth place finish in Iowa, and a fifth place in New Hampshire.
Biden canceled his appearance at his own campaign party in Nashua, N.H. Neither he nor Elizabeth Warren came away with any delegates from New Hampshire.
South Carolina is next in the primary process, after the Nevada Caucus, and it’s where failing campaigns go to die, as supporters of Jeb Bush in 2016 will recall.
While polls were not closed in New Hampshire, Biden jumped ahead to South Carolina.
Sanders was cruising to an easy victory on Tuesday night, but as the night wore on, Pete Buttigieg started nipping at his heels. Unofficial results are giving Sanders and Buttigieg eight and six delegates each, respectively, and Amy Klobuchar will likely be awarded six delegates.
Red lantern candidates Michael Bennet and Andrew Yang dropped out before the night was over.
At the 10:30 pm mark, the Democrat field had brought in nearly 232,000 votes, with nearly 79 percent of the Democrat votes counted.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, President Donald Trump was winning 85 percent of the Republican votes cast.
The Republican field was limited to Trump, Bill Weld, and “other” candidates. Trump had over 98,000 votes after 10:30 pm Eastern time.
There are 22 delegates for the Republicans. Trump has 19 of the bound delegates so far. Only Bill Weld stood a chance of getting any delegates; he must cross the 10 percent threshold and was far short after 10:30 pm Eastern time.
HOW IT COMPARES TO 2016
Bernie Sanders also won the New Hampshire primary in 2016, defeating Hillary Clinton by 22 points, 152,193 to 95,355 votes. She went on to become the nominee for the party, however.
In 2016, Donald Trump won New Hampshire’s Republican primary in a crowded field. He took 100,735, while John Kasich got 44,932 and Ted Cruz won 33,244. Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie were 31,341, 30,071, and 21,089, respectively.
It appears that Trump will surpass the number of votes that he received in 2016 during the New Hampshire primary, while Sanders, facing a more diverse field, will bring in fewer votes than four years ago, and barely 26 percent of the overall Democrat vote.
Update: At 11 pm Eastern time, Trump surpassed his votes in 2016 with almost 105,000 votes and 93 percent of the vote counted.
With 70% of precincts results in at 10:30 pm, Trump had surpassed the New Hampshire primary vote total of every incumbent president running for re-election over the last four decades.
Trump also broke his own Southern New Hampshire University Arena attendance record, with an estimated 11,800 crowding the stadium at Monday’s rally. Another estimated 2,000-3,000 could not get in.
Something to think about as politicians on the Left line up to push their fixes for climate change: A Pew Research survey concludes the issue ranks near the bottom of the list of American concerns.
In fact, it ranked 17th of 18 on the list concerns in 2019. Moreover, it has ranked at the bottom or near the bottom since 2014.
What was at the top of the list? The economy, followed by healthcare costs and education, as you might expect. Climate change even ranked below “improving the country’s roads, bridges and public transportation systems.”
Does that mean climate change is not causing concerns? In Alaska, we know it is, but across the nation the concern is not the top worry.
Fear is a powerful political tool and the notion of havoc caused by climate change plays into the hands of those who would upend the American economy with programs such “The Green New Deal,” which is little more than a ploy to redistribute wealth and political power.
When a politician suggests we “need to do something” about climate change, we should ask why he or she is not more concerned about out real worries.
Sen. Dan Sullivan today announced the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Port of Alaska a $20 million grant for infrastructure. It’s a patch for a project that has eaten up hundreds of millions of dollars in the past decade to get ahead of failing docks and pilings.
Since September, the port has received $45 million in federal grants to upgrade its aging infrastructure and help pay for a new fuel and cement terminal, Sullivan’s office said.
Sullivan noted that the port, where fuel, food, and construction materials arrives for most of Alaska, is in dire straits due to its corroding supports. About 2,400 shipping containers are unloaded at the port each week. Built in the late 1950s, the docks are reaching the end of their lifespan and have been patched together to withstand tides, salt corrosion, and earthquakes. The port is undertaking a modernization project to upgrade the infrastructure, which will also allow for deeper-draft cargo ships.
“I want to thank Secretary Chao for recognizing the dire state of one of Alaska’s most important pieces of infrastructure and heeding the call of Alaskans by approving this much-needed PIDP grant,” said Sen. Sullivan.“The Port of Alaska not only serves the most basic needs of a broad swath of Alaskans – including fuel, food, construction materials, and other goods – but also America’s security interests as an Arctic nation. The Port of Alaska is the only Department of Defense strategic seaport near the Arctic—a fact we cannot overlook as sea ice recedes, traffic accelerates and our country’s adversaries, particularly Russia, grow their maritime capabilities in the region. This grant will help restore the Port of Alaska’s status as a safe, cost-effective, reliable and resilient piece of infrastructure.”
Sullivan brought Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to Alaska to meet with Port Director Stephen Ribuffo in 2017. Since taking office, Sullivan has made the port a priority of his office, convening agency leaders over the past four years to educate them about the strategic nature of the port, as well as its importance to the state economy as a whole.
A port expansion that has spent more than $300 million ground to a halt in 2010 after it was discovered that the port pilings were seriously damaged and their load-bearing capacity was compromised. The port has been spending millions of dollars each year to surround the old pilings with new metal jackets, but those, too, have a limited lifespan, and only half of the pilings have been encased.
The overall cost of bringing the decrepit port up to grade could be $2 billion, according to a contractor’s estimate in 2018.
TARIFFS UP FOR FUEL, CEMENT
The Municipality of Anchorage in 2019 approved tariff increases on commodities coming through the port. Those tariffs were implemented Jan. 1, 2020. On fuel, the tariff will rise up between 4 and 5 cents every year through 2029, when the tariff will be 56.3 cents per barrel. Cement will also rise to reach $5.72 cents per ton by 2029.
The tariff increase is earmarked to pay for a $200 million petroleum and cement terminal.
The Pebble Project is nothing if not controversial. Even among Native tribes in the region where the copper and gold mining venture is being considered.
In January, several Northwest tribes signed a “Bristol Bay Proclamation” demanding that the U.S. government halt the permitting process for the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska.
Also signing the proclamation was Fawn Sharp, who is the president of the National Congress of American Indians.
Now, a letter from another group of Alaska tribes says they are actually supportive of the permitting process. Their letter, sent to President Sharp, objected to the proclamation opposing mineral development near their lands, and asked for consultation in the future before she takes such a stance.
“We want you to know of our sincere disappointment and frustration that you have chosen to engage in the Pebble issue without the courtesy of contacting us,” wrote Brad Angasan, on behalf of Alaska Peninsula Corporation and Lisa Reimer, on behalf of Iliamna Natives Limited.
“Apparently, you have taken information provided to you by others from our region who do not speak for those of us in communities closest to the proposed Pebble Project.
“For years, we have fought to have our voices heard in the debate about whether or not a mine a Pebble should be allowed to proceed through the permitting process and for years we have had to put up with organizations from outside Alaska taking positions without affording us the basic courtesy of hearing our views about this issue,” the tribal leaders wrote.
“The fact that our colleagues in the indigenous community would take an action against us without consultation is particularly disappointing. We have been engaged in the Pebble issue for nearly fifteen years. We have concerns about a mine near our communities, yet we also have concerns about the significant lack of economic opportunity for our people. We have put up with so-called regional and tribal organizations that tell the world that they speak with a united voice on the Pebble issue. Let us be clear – this is simply not the case,” the letter continued.
The letter acknowledges the permitting process has not been perfect, but also notes the people of the region have benefited from the exploration and environmental studies, and many have worked for the project or subcontractors to the project. That economic development is a welcome opportunity for their communities, where there are few jobs.
“We have taken it upon ourselves to learn about mining and to be informed about the range of issues we should be focusing our attention upon. We are participating in the federal NEPA review process to learn and to be heard. We want to know if a mine can be developed while protecting the salmon and subsistence resources that are important to our people. We also want a seat at the table with the proponent to ensure our voices are heard,” the tribes wrote.
“The economic and infrastructure opportunities generated by a mine at Pebble could be life changing for many in our communities. We have very few year-round job opportunities in our communities.
“Most do not participate in the commercial fishing industry that largely benefits coastal communities in other parts of our region. The cost of living in our communities is staggeringly high. We cannot afford to let an opportunity like Pebble pass us by without fully evaluating it. To do anything less would be irresponsible,”
The letter requests the president of NCAI to contact the tribal leaders and consult with them in the future before signing proclamations that impact their land and their economy.
NCAI is in the middle of its winter meeting in Washington, D.C. Among speakers on the agenda are Tara Sweeney, head of Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Congressman Don Young.
