Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a Democrat running as an independent for president, has brought in more donors from past Donald Trump supporters than he has from those who used to support Joe Biden, according to a POLITICO analysis on Wednesday.
That may signal that Kennedy is able to draw more votes away from the Trump side than would seem intuitive, considering Kennedy is very liberal on many issues. Kennedy known for his environmental activism and his opposition to vaccine mandates, which puts him all over the map politically.
The POLITICO analysis of campaign finance records revealed that Kennedy has been able to attract donors who have not contributed to presidential campaigns during the last two elections, “suggesting he is activating people who have been turned off by what major parties have been offering.”
In fact, two-thirds Kennedy’s $10 million raised from large-dollar donors through Sept. 30 came from voters who did not make any federal donations during either the 2016 or 2020 election cycles, the news organization said.
It’s still too early to know who Kennedy threatens most — Trump or Biden — since Kennedy only declared as an independent on Oct. 9, more than a year before the presidential general election.
In other news related to the Kennedy campaign, a man was arrested twice last week after trying to break into Kennedy’s home in Los Angeles. Kennedy was home at the time of both attempts. President Joe Biden has refused to allow Kennedy to have Secret Service protection, even though his father and uncle were politically assassinated in the 1960s.
There may be more things to do in Anchorage this winter to keep the winter blues at bay. O’Malley Ice and Sports is nearly ready to reopen the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, restoring its historic use hosting recreational play, hockey games, entertainment and exhibitions, the management company said.
But first, it has to get through an approval at the Anchorage Assembly, which on Tuesday, Nov. 7, will consider the resumption of events at a venue that had been commandeered for homeless mass shelter in 2020 by former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.
The Sullivan has taken a lot of work to get restored from that period, in which facilities were damaged heavily by the vagrants and criminals that were the overwhelming clients of the mass shelter, established during the Covid pandemic. The clients that were housed there were typically people who were unable to fit in at any other shelter, due to their behavioral issues.
“Having restored productive use of the Ben Boeke and the Dempsey Anderson Ice Arenas, O’Malley is now collaborating with Municipal Maintenance and is in the final stage of repairs restoring the ‘Sully,’ allowing it to resume its iconic use and presence in Anchorage,” the company said. O’Malley Ice and Sports says no additional funding will be required from the Municipality and the taxpayers to return to normal operations.
O’Malley manages the Boeke and the Dempsey arenas, and has the operating agreement to restore the Sullivan.
The company said it would appreciate support from the public in moving the arena back to the uses taxpayers paid for: “Please write or phone your Assembly Representativevoicing your support for O’Malley and thank them for entrusting O’Malley to bring the Sully back online serving the Anchorage community!”
Today, we will take a short look at wind energy in the Railbelt, keeping Chugach’s proposed 122-megawatt wind farm west of Mount Susitna in mind.
The US Energy Information Administration describes wind energy generation in Alaska as providing around 7% of Alaska’s renewable generation from 60 megawatt of utility-scale generation located mostly in the Railbelt and along the southern and western coasts. Wind-diesel hybrid systems are increasingly popular in rural communities off the main grid.
The largest wind farm in the state is Eva Creek, 24.6 megawatt installed near Healy, operated by Golden Valley Electric Association. It went into service in Oct 2012. Rationale by GVEA for the project was to help GVEA meet its Renewable Energy Pledge. More on those sorts of pledges in my next piece.
Here in Anchorage, Chugach Electric Association entered into a power sales agreement with Cook Inlet Regional, Inc. to purchase electricity from CIRI’s 17.6 MW wind farm on Fire Island. Chugach maintains a Fire Island Wind web page. CIRI’s Fire Island Wind, LLC subsidiary also maintains a web page with details on the project.
Costs are most important, as electricity from Fire Island is on average 1.7 times the cost (9.7¢/kWh for wind compared to 5.5 – 6.0¢/kWh for everything else). It produces perhaps 3% of Chugach’s retail load, meaning its current impact on our electric bills is small. However, when you increase that percentage, by definition, monthly electric bills will increase. The more wind generators, the larger the increase in monthly bills. Note that this is all before we have any discussion about the impact of intermittent generation on the stability of the grid.
Like solar, wind is also intermittent, though a better overall performer. In 2022, Fire Island produced on average 35% of its rated capacity. Turns out that Fire Island is a good place to install a wind farm. There was a proposed Phase II that would have installed another 11-22 turbines that ended up being not sufficiently economic to pursue.
Gathering information for this post was an interesting journey. Julie Haskett at Chugach was most helpful, as was Matt Perkins at Alaska Renewables. CIRI, the owner / operator of Fire Island Wind was unresponsive to the point that published e-mail addresses bounced internally.
There are several outstanding questions that someone needs to address:
1. No data on failures of Fire Island turbines over the last decade.
2. Actual operational time for wind turbines tend to be shorter than planned operational time (20 – 30 years) or operational lifetime loans are based upon (20 years). No actual data on these lifetimes either.
3. How will these be retired? What happens to the blades and turbines? Texas Monthly ran an August 2023 piece on a wind turbine graveyard in Sweetwater, Texas as an appropriately hair-raising cautionary tale.
4. One commenter in my first article noted that the proposed site of CEA’s new large wind farm is uncomfortably close to a pair of state game refuges with avian migration routes and nesting areas. There are aviation restrictions near these refuges. What impact will the proposed large wind farm have on bird populations? Better yet, what impact has Fire Island had over the last decade?
Like we discussed last month, if we choose to plop down a wind farm of the size necessary for utility-level generation requirements, we will consume massive amounts of land in the MatSu. How much? That is a highly variable number, ranging from 20 – 50 km2 for a proposed 122-megawatt wind farm.
Once again, we are back to local opposition to the proposed West Susitna Access Road. If you build something this big, you are going to need access to it.
We are back to many of the same conclusions we drew last month about solar:
While wind performance is better than solar, it is still highly variable. The more variability you introduce into the grid, the more instability you also introduce. Once again, wind does not come with any sort of storage. How much instability can we stand?
Wind farms use a lot of land. We are looking at tens of square kilometers necessary for Chugach’s proposed wind farm.
CIRI has been remarkably tight lipped when asked about data on their installation. Advocates and CEA were most helpful. My experience is when someone is not answering questions, this means they are hiding something, lying by omission to the public.
Finally, wind has known negative impact on bird populations. There is no interest at any governmental level or from the Usual Suspects in Big Green in what those impacts may be. It must be nice to advocate an energy generation technique that does not trigger any environmental scrutiny.
Yes, we can do Big Wind, but at what cost? Cost to the environment? Cost to bird populations? Increased electric costs to rate payers? Costs of increasing grid instability including blackouts (rolling and otherwise)? At what point does the cost-benefit analysis tell us to do something else?
We will never answer that question unless you actually do one, with all the costs publicly addressed in an open and comprehensive manner.
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.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate committee on Tuesday that the Hamas attack on Israel could spin off violence by Islamic radicals inside the United States, and he said several times in the hearing that Americans should be “vigilant.”
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago,” Wray said, referring to the Islamic State terror group during a hearing in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. “It is a time to be concerned. We are in a dangerous period. We shouldn’t stop going out, but we should be vigilant.”
Hamas and other radicalized Islamist groups have ramped up their calls for attacks on Americans and the U.S., Wray said. The agency is specifically concerned about lone-wolf individuals who are not associated with any organization but act in response to the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas crossed into Israel and slaughtered over 1,400 Jews.
He said the agency is receiving an increased number of tips from Americans and that the agency has several active investigations into people associated with Hamas.
Although Jewish people make up 2.4% of the population in the United States, they are targets of about 60% of religious-based hate crimes, Wray said, adding, “That should be jarring to everyone.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the committee that his department is also seeing an increased number of threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab Americans ever since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
“Hate directed at Jewish students, communities and institutions add to a preexisting increase in the level of antisemitism in the United States and around the world,” Mayorkas said.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan said Jewish leaders have told her that worshipers are now afraid to go to synagogues. That statement was echoed by Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott.
“I know our Jewish families all across my state and all across the country are pretty scared to death right now,” Scott said.
“This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance,” Wray told the committee. “We shouldn’t stop conducting our daily lives, going to schools, houses of worship, and so forth, but we should be vigilant. You often hear the expression, ‘If you see something, say something.’ That’s never been more true than now, and that’s partly why the American people are reporting more tips and leads to us and we’re pursuing those threats and leads.”
The Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees considered, discussed, and pondered higher-risk investments. But ultimately, at the Tuesday special meeting the trustees backed away from a strategy of moving some of Alaska’s rainy day fund into riskier positions.
The board of trustees is putting together a four-year strategic plan to increase the value of the Permanent Fund to $100 billion, something that seemed possible several years ago, but has been slipping away recently, due to various conditions.
The decision on the strategic plan has been put off until the board’s December meeting, but the various comments from trustees shows a reluctance to change the current return goal of CPI +5.
The Permanent Fund ended Fiscal Year 2021 with $81.9 billion in value, which was a record, and showed a record return of nearly $30%. At that point, reaching $100 billion seemed possible. With a Percent of Market Value draw to pay for state operating costs, it provided about $3.1 billion to the state budget.
As with other funds, it has suffered from a tumultuous market impacted by Bidenomics, and has has been in the mid-$70 billion for several weeks. There is only $1.1 billion in the Earnings Reserve Account.
Deven Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer said he appreciated the conversation about the target rate of return
“The ability of the Board to acknowledge and rely on the professionals and consultants – that was impactful,” he said.
“Today’s meeting piqued public interest and may have appeared to be a brainstorming session – but was ultimately a public meeting in action as the Trustees, staff, and advisors debated important topics for the future of the corporation and the fund,” Chairman Ethan Schutt said. “None of this is final yet as staff has a bit more work to do to inform the process.”
The trustees will take final action on the strategic plan initiatives during the December Board, including:
– Growing the Fund to ensure long-term sustainability and real growth
– A constrained approach to tactical Fund leverage with defined parameters
– Advancing work on key person risk mitigation measures
– Consideration of an Incentive Compensation funding structure for long-term retention of talent
– A long-term vision for expanding APFC’s presence in the heart of financial markets
– Further consideration of the need for Personnel Record Exemptions
In discussing measures to support corporate functionality, the board talked about the need for public transparency, and improved processes. The board will not be pursuing exemptions to the Open Meetings Act and the procurement statutes within the strategic plan.
The next meeting of the board of trustees will be on Dec. 13-14, 2023, in Juneau and via webinar.
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan announced seven coastal communities in Alaska will receive more than $72 million in investments this year for critical maritime infrastructure.
The funds come through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will benefit port, harbor, and dock improvement and development in communities across Alaska. The IIJA provided $2.25 billion in funds available over five years to the Port Infrastructure Development Program, which is a key funding avenue for Alaska coastal communities. These grants, from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, are also partially funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
Grant recipients (information provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation):
Cold Bay Dock Infrastructure Replacement (Cold Bay): $43.3 million for the construction of a new dock in Cold Bay, in the Aleutian Islands, to complete necessary surveys, geotechnical work and analysis, design, permitting and replacement of the aging and only existing dock in the community.
Cape Blossom Port Planning Project (Kotzebue): $2.4 million for the planning of a new port at Cape Blossom. The planning project will assess the viability of developing the first U.S. deep-water port north of the Arctic Circle and will include a feasibility and cost-benefit analysis.
Metlakatla Port Improvements Project (Metlakatla Indian Community): $3.4 million for the improvement of the Port of Metlakatla, including the installation of barge fender and batter piles, preparation for the replacement of breakwater infrastructure, and repairs to the boat haul out mechanism.
Arctic Deep Draft Project (Nome): $11.2 million for the construction of water and wastewater, fuel, power, and communications infrastructure to expand and deepen the Port of Nome.
Deep Water Port Development (Wrangell): $421,000 for the planning and engineering of a 40-acre deep water port site in Wrangell in Southeast Alaska. This includes environmental risk assessment, permitting, assessment of property bulkhead and utility extension requirements, and a feasibility study update.
Yakutat Small Boat Harbor (Yakutat): $8.9 million to replace the existing 60-year-old harbor in Yakutat. This includes the replacement of the floating dock, stringers, and steel pipe mooring piles, as well as the installation of a fire suppression system, covered gangway, and relocation of the existing seaplane float.
Jackolof Bay Dock Replacement Project (Seldovia): $2.3 million for the replacement of the Jackolof Bay Dock, including a floating pier that supports commercial and subsistence fishing, freight services, and transportation to and from Seldovia on the Kenai Penninsula.
“It was great to get a call from Secretary Buttigieg today, sharing the good news about how Alaska fared in the competitive Port Infrastructure Development grants. Coastal Alaska communities rely on ports and harbors for transportation, trade, and subsistence activities—and that’s why I fought to ensure funding for these projects in the bipartisan infrastructure law. Today’s grant announcements are the direct result of that work, funding planning, development, and construction activities as we seek to ensure that our rural ports can support the needs of Alaska communities,” Murkowski said. “Projects like the Port of Nome aren’t just crucial for economic development and transportation improvements, but will also provide strategic capability for our country in the Arctic in furtherance of our national security interests. I’m proud to support and help advance them.”
“As I often say, Alaska is a resource-rich but infrastructure-poor state. With more coastline than the rest of the United States combined, maritime infrastructure is critical to our state,” Sullivan said. “The large number of grants awarded to our coastal communities is a reflection of Alaska’s dependence on waterfronts and the great need we have across our state for infrastructure improvements. As a member of the Commerce Committee, which oversees transportation and maritime issues, I always request that senior administration officials come to Alaska to understand our state’s unique needs. The many visits by federal officials over the last few months, including Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, who I hosted in Kotzebue, are clearly paying off. I appreciated Secretary Buttigieg’s call today to share this good news. These awards are hugely beneficial to Alaska’s maritime economy and transportation abilities, and will improve our coastal supply chain.”
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed a court action Tuesday against the Biden administration, claiming they have failed to respond properly to a request for information on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.The Trump administration approved the oil and drilling leases in January 2021, shortly before the former president left office. The Biden administration canceled them last month, citing concerns about climate change.
AFP filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the secretary of the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, according to court documents provided by the organization.
The departments acknowledged the requests were received but have not provided them, according to AFP. The group asks the U.S. District Court to order the departments to release the information.
A spokesman with the Bureau of Land Management told The Center Square the department does not respond to pending litigation.
The court action is the second filed this month over the canceled leases. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is asking a federal court to reverse the Biden administration’s decision. The agency said the leases are legal and the Biden administration did not get Alaska officials a chance to fix any problems.
The AIDEA is also asking the court to order the Biden administration to proceed with the leasing and development of the area.
The Interior Department’s decision hurts Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said when the lawsuit was filed.
“The federal government is determined to strip away Alaska’s ability to support itself, and we have got to stop it,” Dunleavy said in a statement. “Alaska does responsible oil and gas development in the Arctic under stricter environmental standards than anywhere else in the world. Yet the federal government is focused on trying to stop our ability to produce oil and gas.”
Rep. Mary Peltola is not the only vulnerable House Democrat who has taken campaign cash from anti-Israel Democrats such as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who donated the maximum amount allowed to Peltola’s reelection campaign.
According to campaign finance data, vulnerable Democratic lawmakers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and New York have taken donations from Political Action Committees (PAC) tied to anti-Israel “squad” Democrats such as Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Peltola took $5,000 from Jayapal’s Build Our Movement PAC in February 2023 and $1,000 in September 2023.
According to research by the Daily Caller, the Build Our Movement PAC donated$5,000 to Democratic Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton in the 2022 midterm cycle. Stanton won Arizona’s fourth district 56.1% to 43.9% in the midterms.
The PAC also gave $3,000 to Democratic Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who defeated her Republican challenger 56.4% to 41.4% in 2022.
Democratic New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas received $8,000 overfivedonationsfrom Build Our Movement and Democratic Illinois Rep. Nikki Budzinski was given$3,000 by Jayapal’s PAC. Pappas won 54.1% to 45.9% in 2022 and Budzinski won by a similar margin in the most recent election cycle.
Read about the other House Democrats and the cash they have taken from anti-Israel PAC and politicos at The Daily Caller.
An amendment offered by Sen. J.D. Vance, which would prohibit funds appropriated for the Department of Transportation from being used to enforce a mask mandate in response to the Covid-19 virus, passed the Senate, 59-38, with Alaska’s two senators voting in favor of the amendment.
Although the measure passed on a bipartisan basis, all of the senators voting against the amendment it were Democrats. But it’s notable that there was a split in the Democrats, with many crossing over to support the amendment.
Mask mandates in transportation were part of the federal response to Covid-19, and impacted airline travel, as well as travel in trains, buses, and taxis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still says mask mandates are effective in curtailing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, although many health advocates question whether the benefits are worth the enforced regulations, citing personal breathing problems, behavioral issues, and mental health deterioration stemming from the forced wearing of masks.
In January 2021 the CDC mandated that travelers on all public transportation hubs wear masks, in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating them for any and all interstate travel.
The mask mandate extended to all manner of transportation, including those aboard fishing boats in Alaska. In 2021, Murkowski raised objections to the mandate, saying it was endangering those working in already dangerous situations.
“So I’ve got fisherman, commercial fisherman that are out there in the water – I’ve got crabbers, salmon fisherman, and cod fisherman that are trying to deal with a mask because they are concerned about failure to comply. This is more of a safety hazard than anything else. You’re out on a boat, the winds are howling, your mask is soggy wet – tell me how anybody thinks this is a sane and sound policy?” Murkowski said in a hearing involving the head of the CDC at the time, Rochelle Walensky.“You’ve got a situation right now where the fishermen are more concerned about the liability in failing to have the mask on rather than prudent marine safety protocols. This is absolutely, absolutely a crazy policy. I don’t understand how we put our Coast Guard men and women in a situation where they know that safety is an issue, a broader safety issue, than the fear of transmission when you are outdoor, in the elements and you are now being required to wear a mask. So I would hope the CDC would reconsider this quickly, quickly, quickly.”
By April 2022, a federal judge in Florida voided Biden’s mask mandate, saying the mandate overstepped the authority of his office.
