“Through the darkness on that September morning 18 years ago, the brightest quality of America shined through – people of different creeds, races and backgrounds risking their lives for one another, coming together to console and to pray.
“As President Bush said in an address to the nation, ‘terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.’
“In honor of those we lost on September 11th, let us renew our commitment to the ideals of America, seek greater unity with and respect for our fellow countrymen, and invite the protection of God onto our country and our brave soldiers defending freedom around the world.”
The Alaska Fallen Firefighter Memorial Committee, the Alaska State Firefighters Association, and the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association along with other agencies from across Alaska will gather for a ceremony on at 6 pm, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019 at the Alaska Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Anchorage.
This ceremony is a remembrance of Alaska firefighters and emergency responders who have died in the line of duty. This year’s service will include speakers from across Alaska commemorating the service fire and emergency responders provide everyday throughout the year.
At the end of the service a special bell ceremony will “ring home” those firefighters in Alaska who were killed in the line of duty.
The Alaska Fallen Firefighter Memorial is at 5th and A Streets.
Eighteen years ago today, terrorists upended our world.
Nothing has been the same since they piloted hijacked jetliners into bloody infamy, murdering nearly 3,000 men, women and children as the planes they had hijacked crashed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon and an empty field near Shankville, Pa.
In the bloody years since, the United States has spilled blood and treasure battling terrorists in faraway places. Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and brushfire wars in countless back alleys around the world have cost us thousands of our best and brightest.
Yet, the fight is far from over. At some point, Americans – even our leadership – will come to understand there is evil in the world and people who not only mean us harm, but mean to destroy us. When we fight them and leave them able to continue, as we have done in Iraq and Afghanistan, they do what can be expected – they change, they adapt, they continue the bloodshed.
But today is a day for remembering those who died on that horrific day in September some 18 years ago. The United States is pausing today. Americans are ringing bells, observing moments of silence, listening as the names of the dead from that fateful morning are read aloud. We remember where we were and what we were doing on the fateful morning.
In 2013, we wrote on 9/11: “All these years later, America has changed. Security has become paramount. We have engaged in two wars, though the world seems less safe. Yet, this nation continues, unbeaten, thriving in the face of adversity. Despite it all, this nation has shown a resilience, a strength, a resolve since the cowardly attack on that chaotic day so long ago, that sets it apart. But it also has shown compassion and a willingness to share its dream of a better world.”
Not much has changed and the fight goes on.
As Americans, we must stand together to defeat any threat to our country and our children’s futures.
God bless the innocents, the cops, the firefighters and the soldiers who have given their lives in the fight to keep us free. God bless America – and never forget.
Officials from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, to solicit comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Alaska LNG Project.
The Alaska LNG Project would deliver a supply of natural gas from the North Slope fields to Nikiski for export, and would have some in-state availability, although most would be sold internationally. The Alaska Gasline Development Authority is the lead agency developing the project.
The meetings will be held simultaneously in Nikiski at the Nikiski Recreation Center – Banquet Hall, and in Healy at the Tri-Valley Community Center. Both meetings are scheduled from 5-8 pm.
The Anchorage School District reviewed the Sept. 6 disqualification of a Dimond High School swimmer whose swim suit revealed perhaps too much for one referee who was officiating the swim meet last week.
The district interviewed several people who were at the swim meet between Dimond and Chugiak High Schools last week, and concluded that the swimmer was discriminated against because of the shape of her body. According to one account, the swimmer is very shapely, not willowy, and she was wearing a suit issued to her by the school. It showed a lot of buttocks, more than what the rules may allow.
“The Anchorage School District has concluded that our swimmer was targeted based solely on how a standard, school-issued uniform happened to fit the shape of her body. We cannot tolerate discrimination of any kind, and certainly not based on body shape. This disqualification was heavy-handed and unnecessary,” the district announced in a press release.
The Dimond High School coach forwarded his appeal of the swimmer’s disqualification to the District which presented the appeal to the Alaska School Activities Association on behalf of the team.
The District seeks to:
Reverse the swimmer disqualification
Return all points to the team
Decertify the official
Suspend, with the intent to revise, the NFHS suit coverage rule, as it is ambiguous and allows the potential for bias to influence officials’ decisions.
“We owe it to our student athletes to provide a fair and consistent atmosphere in which they can train and compete to their fullest potential. ASD will not tolerate any actions that discriminate, target, or otherwise create an unsafe or inequitable environment for its student athletes,” the district wrote.
“These young athletes are phenomenal competitors and their hard work, determination and grit in the pool should be an inspiration to us all. We wish our Dimond Lynx the best of luck in their meet this weekend.”
The case drew national attention, including a brief report on NBC News with Lester Holt on Tuesday.
The disqualification appears to have stemmed from an official’s interpretation of rules governing high school swim uniforms.
Immediately after the disqualification, the Dimond HS swim coach filed a protest with the official to contest the decision.
The coach’s protest was quickly denied at the meet, and he appealed it to the district.
“Because swimming and diving suit coverage rules and regulations have been an ongoing national discussion, the Dimond High School Swim Program has made deliberate efforts over the last year to ensure athletes’ uniforms meet the regulations prescribed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation,” the district wrote.
“This year, the Dimond swim team has purchased approved, team suits for every swimmer that meet the requirements put forth by the NFHS. The disqualified athlete was wearing the approved, school-issued suit during the race. In the first three meets this year, the Dimond swim team has had no disqualifications related to the wear of the swim uniform.”
The district explained that the NFHS sets the rules and regulations by which athletic competitions are conducted, and officials make decisions guided by those rules.
“However, we expect all referees and officials to conduct themselves in a manner that respects the dignity and rights of every student athlete regardless of the young person’s gender, body shape, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, or disability,” the district wrote.
“We owe it to our student athletes to provide a fair and consistent atmosphere in which they can train and compete to their fullest potential. ASD will not tolerate actions by its coaches, students, staff, or community members that discriminate, target, or otherwise create an unsafe or inequitable environment for its student athletes.”
When Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others rolled out the “Green New Deal” to America on Feb. 7, they hailed their resolution as a comprehensive plan to address climate change and economic inequality.
The responses I heard upon its release ranged from exuberance to disdain, as my friends and family read, watched and digested the sheer magnitude of the social and economic programs included in the Green New Deal.
The one topic that almost everyone came back to was the sheer cost of implementing the goals laid out in the legislation. How were we supposed to pay for it? What was it really going to cost?
Experts and policy groups were quick to supply some numbers. Over $1 trillion in regulatory and administrative costs. Between $51 and $93 trillion over the first 10 years for full implementation.
But those numbers were crunched and reported on within the first three weeks of the Green New Deal’s launch. What if a group spent some time and studied a portion of the plan in-depth?
That’s exactly what my organization, Power The Future, did. In collaboration with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, we undertook a months-long deep dive into the prospective costs of implementing only the energy and climate-related facets of the Green New Deal for a typical household in five representative states (Alaska, Florida, New Mexico, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania).
Using readily-available and public statistics as starting points, we focused our research on four categories:
Additional electricity demand;
Costs associated with shipping and logistics;
New vehicles; and
Building retrofits.
The results are staggering. We found that a typical household in Alaska would pay more than $100,000 the first year, more than $73,000 for years two through five, and over $67,000 annually after that to implement the Green New Deal’s goals in energy and climate-related changes.
With the median Alaskan household annual income sitting at $66,251, who, if anyone, could afford the Green New Deal?
Before any readers start shouting, “Show me the math!”, we’ve done exactly that. The costs associated with the Green New Deal’s implementation are actually understated. The study excluded the costs to bring air cargo into compliance, for lack of available data.
Alaskans know all-too-well that this is a major pathway for delivery of so many of our goods and would be costly to change. The study also excluded a myriad of other Green New Deal program costs, such as a government takeover of healthcare and a guaranteed jobs program.
There was also no publicly available data on the costs to replace combustion engine-driven snow machines, ATVs, boats or private airplanes, so those weren’t included in the study.
For Alaskans, these are highly-used secondary sources of transportation to/from business, recreational and subsistence activities. Think of the costs associated with replacing each of them with electric capacity-driven alternatives.
Adding those numbers to the equation would likely make the Green New Deal even more gut-wrenching to the average Alaskan household.
The takeaway from all of this is that the Green New Deal sounds great to some on the far left of the political spectrum, but a closer look reveals the Green New Deal to be a smorgasbord of programs that would decimate Alaskan families, who simply cannot afford a $100,000 plus bill.
It’s time for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her far left allies to go back to the drawing board, because Americans will not, nor should not, accept a plan that will bankrupt our country.
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national non-profit advocating for energy workers and development opportunities, while pushing back on radical green groups and the ideologues who fund them. Contact him at [email protected].
A bold new entrant into the journalism scene in Alaska is led by the former editor of the Catholic Anchor, who in partnership with the president of Crystal Clear Creative, has launched the Alaska Watchman, a news organization that will be covering mainly social issues from a Judeo-Christian perspective.
Joel Davidson had been with the Catholic Anchor for 13 years, but had long dreamed of starting the Alaska Watchman, he told Must Read Alaska. He wants to cover issues that are hot-button items for people of faith, and issues that pertain to the attack on family values.
With video and web, the Alaska Watchman will explore social issues including free speech, religious freedom, marriage, abortion, LGBTQ controversies, and more.
Davidson and Jake Libbey are raising money for the project with this video, released today:
Davidson is a life-long Alaska who lives in Palmer with his wife and children. Besides his longtime experience at the Catholic Anchor, he was a reporter for the Frontiersman from 2004-2006.
The website for the news organization is already launched and populated with several stories, including a story on Drag Queen Story Hour, Planned Parenthood sex-ed materials, Alaska Bar Association freedom of speech issues, and more.
Davidson will appear on Wednesday at 5 pm with Jim Minnery on the Family Mattersradio show on KVNT 92.5FM or 1020AM to discuss the project and its unique niche in the Alaska news landscape.
A letter sent by 19 Democratic legislators and one Republican, criticizing Gov. Michael Dunleavy for supporting due process in the Pebble Project, lacked the signatures of the vast majority of Republicans, with the exception of Sen. Gary Stevens of Kodiak.
The letter was in response to a letter written by Dunleavy to the chief executive officer of Wheaton Precious Metals Corporation, which stated the state would defend the mine against unfair interference and “frivolous and scurrilous attacks.” Dunleavy has said often that he supports due process,
According to the Democrats’ letter, which was also sent to the CEO of Wheaton, the mining project is on the “edge of Bristol Bay.” In fact, the Pebble Project is 230 miles by river from Bristol Bay, or about the same distance by air as Anchorage is from Homer.
“Opposition to this project is both local and statewide, and is not frivolous, slanderous or interference. As individual Alaskans, our opposition to this project arises from the potentially severe social, economic, and cultural risks that the Pebble Mine represents,” according to the lawmakers who signed the letter that was released on Monday.
“Alaskans will vigorously defend their existing cultural and economic interests, and assuming that permitting will be pro forma carries substantial risk. As Alaskans, we refuse to jeopardize an existing, sustainable resource for the sake of an economically dubious project,” they wrote.
A few days earlier, Rep. Chuck Kopp, a Republican, penned an op-ed that ran in Alaska newspapers in which he supported mining as a way to end the despair that has led to lawlessness throughout rural Alaska and he called for an end to divisive and “caustic rhetoric, inaccurate information, and a false dichotomy that says it’s either mining jobs and infrastructure or protection of the environment.”
Suffice it to say, Kopp did not sign the letter to the Wheaton company CEO but stayed on the side of the fair permitting process of a State of Alaska asset.
Mining projects across Alaska.
Alaska’s mining industry breathes new life into our communities
By REP. CHUCK KOPP
A lot of news lately has focused on the very real concerns we have about our future here in Alaska. Lack of public safety, job opportunities, education funding and a weak economy all present challenges that are bringing people together in unprecedented ways to realize a more secure future for our state.
For the first time since statehood, we are seeing year-over-year declines in our population as working-age adults and their families leave Alaska in search of work, taking their expertise with them. The Anchorage Economic Development Corp. reports a loss of 900 jobs just in Anchorage in 2018, and projects another 700 in 2019, as well as 1,000 in 2020. The statewide job loss numbers are much bleaker.
This situation underscores the importance of taking seriously every opportunity to turn this around. A recent announcement of a major oil producer leaving Alaska is a poignant reminder of how critical it is for us to have a stable investment climate, and that the oil and gas sector alone can no longer carry the freight for us. More diversity to our revenue stream is needed, and we do not have the luxury we once had to dismiss viable prospects right in front of us.
The economic strain has a direct nexus to our public safety crisis in rural Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica special report ‘Lawless’ is an astounding observation of just how many of our rural communities are desperate for public safety and other resources necessary to thrive. Numerous cash-poor villages and towns are in terrible predicaments without any public safety presence and few options.
Is there any good news? Yes. Alaska’s mining industry. It continues to weather severe and often unwarranted criticism, while providing almost 15,000 jobs in communities around our state. Just six producing mines, two development projects and several advanced exploration projects are each the single largest property taxpayers in their regions, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into local economies and providing critically needed infrastructure and high-paying jobs that are breathing new life into rural communities long deprived of hope to improve their economic condition.
It has been said that labor rids us of three great evils — idleness, vice and poverty. Strong and vibrant communities, healthy families and good mining industry jobs are all inextricably linked together, opening paths to freedom, opportunity and a thriving self-sufficiency. The only losers are suicide, crime and substance abuse.
It’s important to remember the abundance of our natural resources and our commitment to market them was key to our gaining statehood 60 years ago. Congress feared that Alaska would be unable to raise enough taxes due to its small population and end up as a welfare state. The tide finally began to turn in favor of statehood with the discovery of gold and other natural resources. We were able to prove we could “pay our own way” and that our value to the U.S. was significant.
Alaska has been a natural resource extraction state for well more than 150 years, with the mining industry as the bedrock of our economy for nearly a century. Most of our population centers, from Juneau to Fairbanks to Nome, were founded by miners. Oil and gas are relative newcomers, and while the energy sector has a bright future, so does our mining industry. Today more than ever, Alaska needs this industry to realize its potential to help stabilize our economy, strengthen our communities and move Alaska forward into a more secure and prosperous future.
The simple truth is, we are no less desperate today for the hope, opportunity and economic freedom brought to us by the mining industry than we were 150 years ago. If a development project is awarded a permit because it has incorporated significant public input and met the necessary and stringent permit process requirements, then we should enthusiastically welcome the jobs, economic freedom, and family stability that flows from a well-developed, well-planned, community supported project that breathes new life into absolutely desperate areas of our state.
What does such a project look like? As recently reported by KTOO, the Donlin Gold project is currently busier renovating a century-old church in Chuathbaluk than building a mine because caring for their neighbor is a high priority. Eric Morgan Sr., subdeacon of the Russian Orthodox church said, “we can’t express our thanks (to Donlin) … like thanks from the heart from the whole village.” Donlin spokesperson Kristina Woolston simply stated, “It was the right thing to do.” Friends, this is generous, peaceful and life-renewing service in cooperation with the community.
Alaska’s mining industry employs Alaskans, whose concerns and burdens for the environment and a better life are the same as our own. Our mining industry routinely works with their neighbors to help alleviate suffering and improve the lives of their region.
I think it is fair to say most Alaskans want a well-regulated mining industry to flourish in our state, and desire to encourage more of this type of investment. But it will be necessary to stop the polarization and divisiveness that comes from caustic rhetoric, inaccurate information, and a false dichotomy that says it’s either mining jobs and infrastructure or protection of the environment. Our modern-day mines in Alaska have repeatedly shown that both needs can be well accommodated. The future of our state depends on the effort of multiple industries and entrepreneurs working together to move us forward into a more secure future.
Every successful mine is an exciting story of new life being breathed into Alaska. We need more of these stories today.
Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2016. This commentary is dedicated to the memory of his friend, the late Alaska Sen. Chris Birch, a mining engineer and a strong champion of responsible natural resource development.
From the Alaska Support Industry Alliance: TheWillow Master Development Plan Draft EIS public meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, 6-8 PM at the Crown Plaza Midtown in Anchorage.
FERC sticks to strict guidelines about public comment, so you should have time to give verbal input, should you choose.
You may submit a personal statement via online comment form, emailor mail by October 29, 2019. Letters may be sent to Willow MDP DEIS Comments, Bureau of Land Management, 222 West 7th Ave., Stop #13, Anchorage, AK 99513.
The Willow Project provides for up to five drill sites, a central processing facility, an operations center, gravel roads, ice roads, ice pads, one airstrip, a nearshore staging area for module transfer, pipelines, and a gravel mine site. Construction activities could span more than seven years and at its peak, construction and design activities could employ as many as 2,000 people. Long-term, the project will create more than 300 jobs for operation of the field. Of the various development alternatives discussed in the EIS, ConocoPhillips prefers development Alternative B and module transfer Option 1. The BLM also prefers Alternative B and Option 1. Public comments in support of the selection of Alternative B and Option 1 will be helpful in ensuring these are selected in the Final EIS.
Willow will be the first development in the Bear Tooth Unit in the Northeast NPR-A (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska) on Alaska’s North Slope. Willow is approximately 30 miles west of the Alpine Central Processing Facility. Willow could be under construction in 2021 with first oil in the 2025-2026 time frame. Willow will be a stand-alone development capable of producing in excess of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). The project is estimated to cost $4 billion to $6 billion.
The attached sheet from ConocoPhillips outlines 10 Key Facts which can be helpful in your drafting of a public comment.
