According to data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Juneau’s sea level is dropping fast, about 4.41 feet every 100 years. Those with property that touches the ocean along the coast are ending up with more land, as time passes.
Those who live in Juneau know this to be the case, and scientists have a name for it: Glacial rebound, when the earth’s solid surface rises after glaciers melt, bouncing back from the weight the ice had put on the land. This scientific name for this is “glacial isostatic adjustment” or “isostatic rebound.”
“The relative sea level trend is -13.43 millimeters/year with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 0.31 mm/yr based on monthly mean sea level data from 1936 to 2023, which is equivalent to a change of -4.41 feet in 100 years,” NOAA reports about the change seen in Juneau, where the measurements are taken near the Coast Guard station in the support area of downtown.
Here’s the Juneau water level chart provided by NOAA though 2023:
Screenshot
In Nikiski, on the Kenai Peninsula, the relative sea level trend is -10.45 millimeters/year with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 0.85 mm/yr based on monthly mean sea level data from 1973 to 2023, which is equivalent to a change of -3.43 feet in 100 years.
Here is the Nikiski water level chart:
In Kodiak, the chart is interrupted by the 1964 Alaska earthquake, but still shows the relative sea level trend is -9.65 millimeters/year with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 0.7 mm/yr based on monthly mean sea level data from 1964 to 2023, which is equivalent to a change of -3.17 feet in 100 years.
Not all parts of the Alaska coastline show such a dramatic change. Prudhoe Bay, for instance, shows an ever-so-slight increase in water level.
The ocean, like all water, will find low spots to fill in and the changes in river deltas also creates variable conditions, as explained by NOAA about the data in Westen Alaska.
The biggest impact is the retreat of the Little Ice Age, a period from the 13th to 19th centuries when glaciers advanced. During the time of 1300 to about 1850, glaciers covered up to one third of Alaska. Now, however, only about 5% of Alaska’s land is covered by glaciers. Juneau, sitting so close to the Juneau Icefield and Mendenhall Glacier, is experiencing routine flooding from dammed up water alongside the glacier, a condition that has developed as the glacier retreated.
“A negative trend does not mean the ocean surface is falling; It indicates the land is rising more quickly than the ocean in a particular area. Trends close to zero indicate the land is rising at nearly the same rate as the ocean,” NOAA says.
Ketchikan shows only a slight drop in sea level during the observation period. It may have experienced glacial rebound earlier than Juneau and earlier than monitored by scientific methods.
You can explore more locations and look at the charts provided by NOAA at these links:
NOAA and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium signed a formal memorandum of understanding to advance “Indigenous Knowledge,” science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and workforce training opportunities for tribal communities with the goal of building climate resilience.
What that indigenous knowledge is in the 21st Century seems to be a moving target. Does it involve Raven stealing the Sun? Turtle Island, the creation story? It’s unclear what native lore has to offer in informing science, but the Biden Administration is embracing it nonetheless, and spending taxpayer dollars to promote it.
“NOAA is excited to team up with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium to accelerate information-sharing aimed at building climate resilience, adaptation and co-production of knowledge in communities across the United States and tribal nations,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Indigenous Knowledge has made it possible for Indigenous Nations to persist and thrive for millennia. These knowledge systems are needed more than ever to inform NOAA and our nation’s approach to environmental stewardship.”
“The American Indian Higher Education Consortium is honored to partner with NOAA to collaborate on shared goals and issues,” said Ahniwake Rose, AIHEC President and Chief Executive Officer. “This collaboration will create opportunities for our faculty and students, combine Indigenous Knowledge with western science to achieve strong climate resilience for our tribal nations and across the country and empower our tribal colleges and universities to be leaders in the ongoing response to climate change.”
The memorandum of understanding will lead to “incorporating Western science with traditional ecological knowledge at 35 accredited U.S. tribal colleges and universities.”
With a goal of making the U.S. and tribal nations more resilient to the risks of a “rapidly changing climate,” the new MOU is designed to identify opportunities for collaboration, including:
Identifying western science and Indigenous Knowledge priorities for the AIHEC, an organization that provides leadership and influences policy for 35 accredited U.S. tribal colleges and universities.
Building a network of faculty and students from tribal colleges, universities and NOAA climate leaders and scientists that will facilitate information exchanges, identify projects of interest and enhance student learning opportunities.
Creating opportunities for NOAA to learn from faculty and students from tribal colleges and universities through coordinated partnerships that promote co-learning and co-development of knowledge, include community-driven research to advance NOAA’s mission to build a Climate-Ready Nation, as well as shared AIHEC-NOAA objectives.
NOAA sharing with AIHEC any publicly available opportunities for faculty, students, interns and fellows, funding solicitations and board and committee opportunities with the goal of enhancing the capacity of indigenous and tribal communities to respond to climate change. In turn, AIHEC will share these educational and leadership opportunities through communication channels within tribal colleges and universities.
The AIHEC identifying for NOAA the training and educational needs of faculty and students at tribal colleges and universities to advance climate literacy and capacity for climate resilience.
NOAA and the AIHEC working together to develop strategies to improve how NOAA’s student learning opportunities, climate services, funding solicitations and community engagement can best be tailored and sensitive to the needs of tribal nations and communities.
The entire taxpayer-funded project advances the goal of perpetuating the fear of climate change among the population of tribal members and up-and-coming federal science workforce. No such agreement on knowledge is being formed with Christian colleges or other religious institutions that have belief systems — just Native groups, who had no written language prior to western contact, and whose beliefs were handed down by oral lore passed down through the generations, subject to interpretation.
American Indian Higher Education Consortium is a support network for the nation’s accredited tribal colleges and universities and works to influence public policy on American Indian and Alaska Native higher education issues through advocacy, research, and programmatic initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities, lands, and tribal nations; and through its unique position, serves member institutions and emerging tribal colleges, according to the group’s description.
Two stories coming out of New York City over the past week say much about how strange – and divergent – our society views news stories. A jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of homicide for placing a chokehold on career drug addict and subway rider Jordan Neely, while Luigi Mangione was arrested for gunning down United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Daniel Penny is almost always identified as a Marine Corps veteran (Semper Fidelis, Daniel!) in the media, which is really nothing new. Have you ever noticed how service affiliation is usually mentioned when Marines get in trouble? It’s usually not such a public matter when an Airman or Coastie runs afoul of the law, but when the accused once wore the eagle-globe-and-anchor, that fact always makes it in the lead, especially if the crimes were particularly gruesome; i.e., Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Ng. It comes with the territory.
Sgt. Penny’s accused crime was detaining Neely with a chokehold we all learned in boot camp. Recruits were shown how to administer chokeholds in the unfortunate situation of a firefight going south and matters being reduced to hand-to-hand combat, and were then partnered up and instructed to choke the other recruit, but only to the point of almost losing consciousness.
My practice partner was not a very bright guy and his ability to follow directions was a constant source of irritation for our drill instructors. My two years of junior college experience, and the completely useless highly exalted associate’s degree that came with such academic rigors, labeled me the best educated member of the 65-man platoon; therefore, I was often assigned the undesirable task of trying to square away the more wayward Marine wannabes.
In what was apparently his only successful case of grasping what was taught during our 13 weeks stay at MCRD, this other recruit held his grip until my vision started fading, clearly not understanding the almost part of almost losing consciousness. I’m happy to report that he came to understand the almost part when it was my turn to practice.
What I learned was that this chokehold was really effective, even when the chokee is flailing about and tapping frantically. Sgt. Penny, USMC, apparently learned this lesson as well, and effectively and deservedly applied that knowledge to the now deceased Neely, a fact that many of us believe should have led to universal recognition of Sgt. Penny, perhaps even keys to the city or a lifetime pass to the New York subway.
Yet, there are those who fault the good sergeant for his community goodwill, most notably Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who earlier in the year found some bizarre sense of righteousness by releasing a gang of illegal aliens who viciously attacked New York City police officers. Coming to his side to blame racism for Neely’s death, Black Lives Matter co-founder Hank Newsome called for black vigilantes to even the score.
“Racism is still alive and kicking in America,” said Newsome. You know who’s not? Jordan Neely. And New York subway patrons are safer because Sergeant Penny took action.
The other New York death – the blatant daytime shooting of Brian Thompson – reveals a bizarre and opposite reaction. At first, the comments supporting shooter Luigi Mangione and saying that Thompson deserved his demise seemed satirical, or perhaps attempts at gallows humor, but apparently they are heartfelt. There are people who hate health insurance companies so much that they can excuse a person being gunned down in cold blood on the streets of New York. And it gets worse.
Hybristophilia is the attraction some women feel toward violent criminals. Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, even Charles Manson all had female admirers. Have you seen the comments about what a hunk this Luigi guy is?
It’s got to be anathema to feminists. If it isn’t (and there don’t seem to be any loud feminist voices decrying this attraction), it should be . . . unless homicidal retribution for denying insurance claims trumps basic human decency.
But it’s not just doe-eyed women longing for the undivided attention of a murderous psychopath who are making favorable remarks about Mangione, United Healthcare had to take down their Facebook condolences page because of all the hateful “he deserved it” comments and the 80,000 laughter emojis that were posted on it.
Even McDonald’s fast food empire is taking hits. A few months ago, Donald Trump was allowed to work at one of the restaurants in an effective campaign gimmick, which got Lefties all riled up and screeching for boycotts of Big Macs and Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, but now one of their employees somehow recognized the killer with the killer abs and alerted law enforcement who swooped in to make the arrest. The hamburger chain is now being referred to as the place where snitches work.
So, if a military veteran takes charge of a dangerous situation by subduing a crazed drug addict who spends his time imitating Michael Jackson and threatening subway passengers, that veteran is to be treated not as a hero but as a criminal.
On the other hand, if a handsome guy guns down a business executive on the sidewalk, he is to be exalted in the heroic tradition of Robin Hood. This is made all the more bizarre because Mr. Mangione hails from a very wealthy east coast family and used a gun to do his deed; facts that, again, one would think should make him unattractive to those on the left, but it seems to be those very people who support his actions. Again, forwarding a hateful agenda against the healthcare industry – and capitalism in general – is what really counts.
Thankfully, the jury saw that Daniel Penny was a good guy trying to help other people. Hopefully, the jury – once he comes to trial – will find that Luigi Mangione is a bad guy who did a bad thing.
Tim Barto is a regular contributor to Must Read Alaska.
ActBlue, which is a funding application that all Democrats in Alaska use, is under investigation by Congress for its probable use of foreign donations to Democrat candidates, such as Rep. Mary Peltola, the Alaska Democratic Party, and Democrats in the Alaska Legislature.
On Tuesday, the Committee on House Administration’s Chairman Bryan Steil announced findings of his subpoena of ActBlue that reveal that only in September of 2024 did ActBlue create policies to “automatically reject donations that use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined,” by its solution provider, a company called Sift, an artificial intelligence-powered fraud detection service.
“While this is a positive step forward, there is still more work to be done to ensure our campaign finance system is fully protected from fraud and unlawful foreign interference,” Congressman Steil said.“The documents provided to the Committee also confirm that ActBlue still accepted these concerning payment methods in July, a period when Democrats raised a record number of campaign money before implementing these safeguards.”
Steil is still working to create transparency in campaign funding to prevent foreign funds from being illegally funneled into U..S. political campaigns.
Backgroundof the committee’s work
On Oct. 31, 2023, following reports that ActBlue was accepting political contributions without a three-digit card verification value (CVV), Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue’s practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.
On Nov. 27, 2023, ActBlue respondedto Chairman Steil’s letter saying it did not require a CVV in order to contribute on their website.
On Sept. 6, 2024, Chairman Steil introduced H.R. 9488, the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act. The legislation prohibits political committees from accepting an online contribution unless the contributor provides the CVV and billing address associated with the card and from accepting online contributions from prepaid cards. It also adopts a top legislative recommendation from the FEC to prohibit individuals from knowingly aiding or abetting a person making a contribution in the name of another person.
On September 11, 2024, the SHIELD Act passed the Committee on House Administration by a voice-vote.
On Sept. 18, 2024, Chairman Steil sent letters to the Attorneys General from Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, updating them on the Committee’s investigation into ActBlue, a major democratic fundraising platform. Along with the letter, the Attorneys General received the data and evidence that the Committee has collected over the course of almost a year.
On Oct. 28, 2024, Chairman Steil sent a letterto ActBlue demanding documents and information related to the platform’s donor verification policies and potential vulnerabilities that foreign actors may exploit to illegally participate in the U.S. political process.
On Oct. 30, 2024, Chairman Steil issued a subpoena to ActBlue for documents related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors to use the platform to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.
Investigative journalist James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, blew open the ActBlue business model, when he interviewed people across the country whose names were being used as funding “mules” to candidates, unbeknownst to the supposed donors. The practice of using “straw donors” is a form of identity theft sometimes called “smurfing.”
In October, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a website where people can check to see if they have been victimized by ActBlue or other funding application that funnels funds to political campaigns.
A judge has granted preliminary injunction to stop the planned merger between Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores.
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson of Oregon and Washington ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to stop the proposed $24.6 billion merger.
“There is ample evidence that the divestiture is not sufficient in scale to adequately compete with the merged firm and is structured in a way that will significantly disadvantage C&S as a competitor. C&S’ history of unsuccessful grocery store ventures and its continuing dependence on defendants throughout the TSA period also suggest that the divestiture will not adequately restore competition,” Nelson wrote in her ruling. “The deficiencies in the divestiture scope and structure create a risk that some or all of the divested stores will lose sales or close, as has happened in past C&S acquisitions.”
Judge Nelson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said the two grocers’ claim that they would not be able to compete against Costco, Walmart, and Amazon unless they merged didn’t sway her.
“The overarching goals of antitrust law are not met, however, by permitting an otherwise unlawful merger in order to permit firms to compete with an industry giant,” Nelson said.
“The FTC, along with our state partners, scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons. This is also a victory for thousands of hardworking union employees, protecting their hard-earned paychecks by ensuring Kroger and Albertsons continue to compete for workers through higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions,” the FTC said, identifying the main reason that the FTC is opposing the merger — unions oppose it.
Kroger said in a statement, ““Kroger is disappointed in the opinions issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and the Washington State Court, which overlook the substantial evidence presented at trial showing that a merger between Kroger and Albertsons would advance the company’s decades-long commitment to lowering prices.”
Judge Nelson, considered a partisan Democrat by many, was originally appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Democrat Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon. She was nominated by Biden and confirmed to the federal court by nearly a party-line vote in 2023, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski crossing over to vote in favor, and Sen. Dan Sullivan voting against.
Reporters in the U.S. Capitol said that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski would not answer questions from the media after her Tuesday meeting with Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense.
Manu Raja, chief congressional correspondent for CNN wrote, “After meeting with Pete Hegseth, Lisa Murkowski avoids cameras and ignores questions.”
POLITICO’S Anthony Adragna gave the same account, that Murkowski “roundly declines all questions from reporters EXCEPT to say she isn’t meeting with Gabbard this week.”
Huffington Post reported Murkowski saying, ““I had a conversation. I appreciated the opportunity for the exchange.”
CBS reported Murkowski saying, “I had a good exchange with Mr. Hegseth and let’s see what the process bears,” as she headed for the members-only elevator.
Sen. Murkowski says she had “a good exchange” with Pete Hegseth.
When asked if she would support him she said again “I had a good exchange and let’s see what the process bears.” pic.twitter.com/qOzDXhyTHD
As for Hegseth, Fox News reported him saying of the conversation, “It was excellent. I appreciate her input a great deal.” But he also did not answer reporters’ questions about whether he has Murkowski’s support.
The Senate is the body in Congress that has the constitutional power to confirm or not deny the president’s nominees. All of President Joe Biden’s nominees passed the Senate in 2021, but several of Trump’s are in peril, including Hegseth, who has been attacked by anonymous sources and unfounded “me too” allegations of the sort lodged against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation. Trump has nominated unconventional, non-Swamp nominees to run the many departments of his administration, with the hopes of bringing back prudent government to a country that has been besieged by Biden’s bizarre, woke leadership team.
Hegseth is scheduled to meet with another reluctant senator, Susan Collins of Maine, on Wednesday. Both Collins and Murkowski, members who are in the Senate because of ranked-choice voting and in Murkowski’s case non-party primaries, are considered unfriendly to Hegseth as a nominee for Defense, and both are routinely hostile to Donald Trump as a president.
Hegseth met with Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan last week, and Sullivan had praise for the nominee, who is a war veteran.
“I had a productive meeting with SecDef nominee @PeteHegseth today,” Sullivan wrote on X last week. “We focused on the importance of restoring lethality and warfighting as the core mission at the Pentagon as well as the strategic importance of Alaska. I’m confident Pete will work to refocus our military on lethality and peace through strength, as well as getting rid of the damaging woke policies of the Biden admin, some of which I witnessed firsthand as a Marine Corps Reserve Officer.”
Hegseth met with several other senators, including Sen. John Thune and Sen. Joni Ernst, who now appears to be a “yes” vote for Hegseth.
A beachcomber walking the shore of Spasski Bay on Monday came upon a gruesome discovery: Two sets of human remains and various debris from what appears to be the fishing vessel Wind Walker.
The beach is about four miles east of Hoonah.
“Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Juneau and Hoonah responded to Spasski Bay (approximately 4 miles east of Hoonah) after human remains were located on the beach. A Juneau based Alaska National Guard helicopter transported Alaska Wildlife Troopers, NOAA Law Enforcement Officers, and SEADOGS K9 search team to the area. Responders located two bodies among debris from the F/V Wind Walker. An AWT Vessel also assisted in the search of the area,” the Alaska State Troopers reported.
The bodies were not identified but were transported to Juneau by the Alaska National Guard helicopter. Searchers scoured an area of about five miles of shoreline, including using search and rescue dogs, but no other remains were found. The State Medical Examiner will make the final positive identification.
Two unidentified bodies were transported to Juneau in the Alaska National Guard helicopter. An additional search of about five miles of shoreline in the area was conducted with the dog teams, and no other human remains were located. The remains are being transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and positive identification. Next of kin have been notified.
The Wind Walker sank in rough seas and high winds on Dec. 1, and a major search of the area where it was believed to have gone down was conducted, but searchers found not a trace.
Donald Trump Jr. minced no words on X/Twitter about Republicans who jump ship and put Democrats in power. He wasn’t talking about Alaska’s Legislature, but Texas’:
“It’s unbelievable what is happening in Texas right now. There is a group of so-called Republicans cutting a deal with liberal Democrats to elect a speaker instead of uniting behind the Republican nominee, @DavidCookTexas! Unbelievable! Republicans have a mandate!” Trump Jr. said.
Texas’ legislative organization does somewhat mirror Alaska’s, where a majority of Republicans were elected but a few of them cut deals and put Democrats in power in both the House and Senate. Now in the Alaska House, there’s a Republican minority of 19, after Chuck Kopp and Louise Stutes crossed over; in the Alaska Senate, the crossovers include Gary Stevens, Cathy Giessel, Kelly Merrick, Jesse Bjorkman, and Bert Stedman, who are the Republicans in the Senate Democrat majority, all rewarded with prime seats on committees.
In Texas, the GOP caucus voted for Rep. David Cook for speaker, but Rep. Dustin Burrows said he has the votes from Democrats and enough Republicans to take over the gavel.
The message from Don Trump Jr. is that he may call out other legislators, perhaps even from Alaska, who betray their team and put tax-and-spend Democrats in charge.
Suzanne Downing wrote an articleon the Regulatory Commission of Alaska’s ruling a month ago, in which it rejected the Anchorage Assembly’s request to be reinstated as a voting member on the Eklutna Operating Committee. This committee originally included all three electric utilities, Chugach, Municipal Light and Power, and Matanuska Electric.
Today, following the 2019 purchase of ML&P by Chugach (approved by the RCA Dec 23, 2020) only Chugach and MEA remain. The Muni relinquished its voting rights upon approval of the sale.
The Assembly’s attempt to insert themselves back into the Eklutna Operating Committee with voting rights is based on something called the Anchorage Hydropower Utility, a vehicle created in 2022 to allow the Muni to participate in the Fish and Wildlife Program for the Eklutna River. Gov. Dunleavy approved that program Oct 2.
If you take a look at the linked Anchorage Hydropower Utility document, you can see it is entirely oriented toward restoration of salmon runs in the Eklutna River. There is no expertise in electrical generation remaining at the Muni following the sale of ML&P. The two employees who worked these issues for ML&P transferred to Chugach after the sale. The RCA picked up on the lack of expertise several times in their ruling.
Note that Eklutna Operating Committee is obligated to provide the Muni some 41 million gallons of water per day, which explains the AWWU involvement in the structure. The Muni has rights to that amount of daily water.
Basically, the RCA noted that the Muni fully participated in the ML&P sale, raising no unresolved issues during the sale. They divested their internal expertise in electric utilities, though they do retain a minority share in a former ML&P generation plant as collateral for continued payments from Chugach. They were paid.
Yet now they are trying to leverage their interest in a stable flow of water from Eklutna Lake into reinstatement of a voting seat on an electric utility board. The RCA rejected these arguments, noting that Anchorage Hydropower Utility can most certainly attend meetings as a non-voting member.
RCA opinions are usually pretty dry, but there are some entertaining portions to this one. For example, a voting member is required to retain financial expertise to keep track of sales and book value of generation it owns. The Muni expressly chose not to retain separate, in-house financial expertise in this area and has no plans to acquire any.
The Muni argued that they would like to reopen the discussion on a voting seat before expiration of the two Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) 35 years from now. Yet they make no commitment that their two part-time representatives on the Anchorage Hydropower Utility from AWWU will still be working for that utility 35 years from today.
Worse, they made no case that they could bring technical and managerial expertise to Board Meetings at the level currently demonstrated by Chugach and MEA. This expertise also includes the team of employees backing the Muni participants. None of this exists nor is contemplated.
The Muni argued that they needed larger input on design of the Eklutna Project Fish and Wildlife Program. This request was rendered moot by Governor Dunleavy’s approval of that program in October.
All in all, this was a win for the good guys and a loss for the Assembly and their new BFFs in Eklutna. They have 30 days to appeal, a period that ends on Dec. 15.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
