The Coast Guard rescued a plane crash survivor approximately 35 miles northwest of Juneau, Sunday.
Sector Southeast Alaska command center personnel launched an MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew from Air Station Sitka at 5:38 p.m. to respond to the last known position of an emergency locator transmitter alert near Excursion Inlet.
At 7:05 p.m., the aircrew located the single engine fixed wing crash site, which was a Piper PA-18 Super Cub, lowered their rescue swimmer, and extracted the survivor from the crash. The survivor was reported to be the only person on the aircraft and was transferred in critical condition to awaiting local emergency medical services at the Juneau International Airport.
Coast Guard District Seventeen command center personnel received the alert at approximately 5:31 p.m. and confirmed receipt of the alert with other aircraft in the vicinity before relaying the information to Sector Southeast Alaska command center personnel to respond.
“Massive thanks and a job well done to the expeditious work of the aircrew that conducted this rescue,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Matt Bitinas, a situation unit watchstander at Sector Southeast Alaska command center. “This individual’s life was saved due to their actions.”
The pilot of the plane, well known in bush flying circles in Southeast Alaska, was later medevaced to Harborview Medical Center’s trauma unit in Seattle, where friends said he is still in rough condition.
Bill Popp, the president of Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, a public agency, has filed for mayor of Anchorage.
He said in a statement that he will pivot away from his role at AEDC to focus full time on his campaign. It’s unclear if he is on paid leave at AEDC, since earlier he said he would remain at AEDC through December.
Popp said he is running to bring professional competency and decorum to local government. He said Anchorage cannot take another step back in improving business and public service availability.
Popp is considered a liberal. He served on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and as a special assistant to two Kenai Borough mayors. He came to Anchorage with his family inn 1968, when his father was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Popp joins a race that has three other strong candidates: Incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson, former Assembly Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance, and former legislator and school board member Chris Tuck.
His candidacy is not a surprise, as Popp has been telling people for weeks that he would officially file on Sept. 12.
He appears to be using the AEDC data base to reach possible contributors for his campaign, according to one resident who was reached out to by Popp.
The Anchorage mayor’s race may cost candidates up to $700,000 apiece, not counting the independent expenditure groups, which work separately.
The election ends April 2. Anchorage votes by mail, with ballots in the mail in the middle of March.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has officially opened a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
McCarthy directed a House Committee to open the inquiry, pointing to the mounting evidence that the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and associates took millions of dollars from foreign interests and that President Biden knew about it.
“House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,” McCarthy said during the announcement.
“Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption,” he added.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was immediately asked by reporters about her views on the matter. She objected to the impeachment proceedings and said House Republicans opening such an inquiry into President Joe Biden distracts from the appropriations process. And she said the bar for impeachment was being set lower.
McCarthy pointed to ongoing House investigations, saying Biden knowingly lied about his knowledge and involvement in the foreign business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden.
“Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions, dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his son’s and his son’s business partners,” McCarthy said.
Biden has repeatedly dismissed questions about him benefiting from an overseas payments, but has not yet responded publicly to the impeachment inquiry.
Murkowski, who voted against convicting former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment, voted in favor of impeachment during the second impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, President Biden has sent nearly his entire cabinet to Alaska this summer to keep Murkowski in the Biden fold. The motive for such an extraordinary parade of White House officials was even noticed by Politico, which wrote:
“Alaska, while beautiful in the summer, is not exactly close to Washington D.C. But few senators are as critical to the Biden agenda as Murkowski. Her influence in the tightly controlled Senate has made her a magnet for top White House staff.”
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, agreed with Murkowski, saying, “I think the impeachment inquiry is absurd. The American people want us to do something that will make their lives better. Not go off on these chases and witch hunts.”
But McCarthy, facing pressure from his caucus, also pointed to testimony from IRS whistleblowers, who testified that during their investigation into Hunter Biden, who faces gun and tax charges, they uncovered about $20 million in payments to the Biden family and associates. According to bank records testimony, those payments came from entities in Ukraine, Russia, China, and more to various shell companies.
“The Treasury Department alone has more than 150 transactions involving the Biden family and other business associates that were flagged as suspicious activity by U.S. banks,” McCarthy said. “Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family. Biden used his official office to coordinate with Hunter Biden’s business partners about Hunter’s role in Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.”
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has spearheaded this investigation, raising concerns about an array of issues, including whether Air Force Two was used by Hunter Biden for his deals and whether President Biden’s Department of Justice interfered in Hunter’s case.
McCarthy said the impeachment inquiry is about getting to the bottom of the allegations and finding the facts. He encouraged Biden and his team to fully cooperate.
The impeachment committee will be led by Comer as well as Jim Jordan of the Judiciary Committee as well as Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who leads the Ways and Means Committee.
“I do not make this decision lightly,” McCarthy said. “Regardless of your party and who you voted for, these facts should concern all Americans.”
Even though the Anchorage School Board doesn’t do a good job running its own schools, it seems to want to tell the MatSu School Board how to structure and run its meetings.
At the Anchorage School Board’s most recent meeting, student representative Joshua Pak said the MatSu School Board was reducing the visibility of its student representative by changing its policy.
Joshua stated that the MatSu School Board wants to reduce its student representative to provide only a short report. He found it “shocking” that the MatSu Board did this.
The only change to the MatSu Board Policy 9110 is to remove the student representative from the board dais, not to remove the student representative’s voice. The vote was 5-2 in favor of the change.
As a result, Joshua is planning to write a resolution to “condemn” the actions of the MatSu Board. He is rounding up all the state’s school board student representatives to work on the resolution condemning the MatSu Board.
Maybe he should stay in his own lane and “condemn” the actions of the Anchorage School Board and Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt for removing the charter of the Family Partnership Charter School earlier this year, which drove many students out of the district altogether.
Board member Andy Holleman also voiced his disagreement with the MatSu Board saying that it was a “gift” or “accommodation” to have a student representative on the board.
It’s interesting that Holleman pays so much attention to the MatSu Board’s meetings and seems to have coordinated beforehand with Joshua in the condemnation of the MatSu Board.
Holleman also seems very concerned that students should have a voice greater than the parents or other Anchorage taxpayers. He said, “There are not a lot of venues for students to speak except for the three minutes to speak at a board meeting.”
Holleman should know that parents also only get three minutes of democracy to voice their concerns to the board. Why should a student get more time than parents to speak?
While Margo Bellamy was board president, the Anchorage School Board put students first in line to testify, even before parents, in the public testimony period.
Because there is only one hour allotted for early public testimony parents are pushed to the back of the line for their testimony — maybe even to the end of the meeting, which can come several hours later.
Holleman believes that it is very important the student representative has the opportunity to ask questions.
“Having a place where you can ask questions as things are presented to us…makes this a better board,” he said.
Parents can ask questions at board meetings but the board is directed to not respond to those questions. Holleman believes students should be heard but parents should not be able to question the board and get answers.
Holleman said he was very disappointed in how the MatSu Board treated its student representative.
“It was terrible how they treated the student representative,” he said.
Holleman further stated that students were the clientele of the district and should have a seat at the table. It appears hearing the students is more important to the board. Holleman believes unless a student representative is sitting at the dais with the board, that voice is not heard.
The fact that the student representative on another school board isn’t at the dais seems to be the major issue for him.
Maybe member Holleman should concentrate more on student attendance, graduation rates and other metrics showing student progress in Anchorage, which are historically low.
Attendance in grades 9-12 in May of 2023 was just 51.6%.
Students in grades 9-12 on track for graduation in June 2023 was a dismal 70.4%
The four-year graduation rate in Spring 2023 was an unimpressive 81%.
Here is the chart presented to the board at the Sept. 5 meeting:
Board member Holleman and Student Representative Pak should stay in their own lane and improve education outcomes for all Anchorage students.
President Joe Biden, speaking to troops in Alaska on Sept. 11, claimed that he was at Ground Zero in New York City on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after terrorists took down the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
While at the podium at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, he falsely claimed that he toured the ruins.
“Ground Zero in New York — I remember standing there the next day and looking at the building. And I felt like I was looking through the gates of hell,” Biden told the soldiers and airmen gathered to hear him speak.
However, fact checkers around the internet have found him to have told yet another lie. In Biden’s memoir “Promises to Keep,” he wrote in 2008 that he was in Washington on Sept. 11 and also on Sept. 12.
“I headed back to the Capitol the next morning” — Sept. 12, 2001,” his memoir said, making no reference to any quick trip to New York City at a time when all planes would have been grounded and trains not running, as the country was in a state of emergency.
C-SPAN footage from Sept. 12, 2001 shows Biden speaking on the floor in the U.S. Senate, according to those who reviewed them.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency and has suspended the state’s excise tax on motor and locomotive fuel for the next month.
The executive order, which the governor says is necessary because of high inflation, takes effect at 12 a.m. on Wednesday. It remains in effect until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 12.
“From runaway federal spending to policies that hamstring domestic energy production, all Bidenomics has done is take more money out of the pockets of the middle class,” Kemp said Tuesday.
“While high prices continue to hit family budgets, hardworking Georgians deserve real relief and that’s why I signed an executive order today to deliver it directly to them at the pump,” the governor said. “Working with partners in the General Assembly, we’ll continue to help Georgians weather the economic headwinds caused by this president, his administration, and their allies in Congress.”
Georgia collects more than 31 cents per gallon for gasoline and 35 cents per gallon for diesel fuel.
On Monday, AAA said Georgia’s gas prices have steadily declined for the past two weeks. As of Tuesday, Peach State motorists are paying an average price of $3.57 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, up from $3.242 a year ago and below the national average of $3.836.
That’s less than in California, which also has a high tax on gas. Drivers in California are paying an average of $5.439 per gallon — 51 cents of that is tax. Washingtonians are paying $5 per gallon, including a tax of more than 49 cents per gallon. Alaskans pay more than $465 typically, much higher in rural areas. Alaska has a gas tax of just under 9 cents.
Oil prices are generally higher than the nation has seen since November, with West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, staying above $85 per barrel, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday. “A strong U.S. jobs report last week stirred rumors of possible action at the Federal Reserve, but it was Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend production cuts through the end of the year that crowded out most of the economic indicators last week.”
“Despite the uptick in crude oil prices, Georgians are feeling some relief at the pump,” Montrae Waiters, AAA-The Auto Club Group spokeswoman, said in a Monday statement. “Gas prices may ebb and flow until we get beyond hurricane season and its threats to Gulf Coast oil and gas production and refining.”
Total U.S. crude inventories, including what is left in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell below 800 million barrels this week, a level not seen since 1985. The country has just 46 days worth of supply in total reserves, an all-time low. During the Trump Administration, the U.S. had a record 92 days of reserve inventory, double what it has today.
Last week, President Joe Biden canceled all of Alaska’s pending oil and gas leases on the North Slope. Since he campaigned for president, he has pledged to end oil and gas leases on all federal land.
Rep. Mary Peltola is flying with President Joe Biden back to Washington, D.C. on Air Force One. Peltola put out a press release that said she and the president will spend the time discussing his trip to Asia and “the role of oil and gas. “Alaska’s role in Pacific Rim strategy and energy markets.”
Congress reconvenes on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Peltola gave remarks Monday at the Joint Base Emendorf-Richardson commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on America by terrorists, in which she talked about how even as far away as Alaska, people experienced the impacts.
“While Alaska may be far from Ground Zero, we too felt the impacts of that day. Many of our brave soldiers were deployed overseas in the following years, where they fought and some died in the service of this nation. Everyone standing here today is in their debt,” she said.
Perhaps not everyone feels the debt — Peltola voted against funding troops earlier this year because the bill did not induced enough provisions for accommodating transgenders in the military.
“I thank the President for taking the time to visit us on this day, and for sending so many members of his administration to Alaska in recent weeks. As they toured the state with our Senators and me, they learned about our unique needs, and came to understand the vital role that Alaska plays in our nation’s security. Alaskans are proud to be America’s first line of defense, and on behalf of us all, I say: welcome, Mr. President,” Peltola said.
Peltola has endorsed Biden for president and said earlier she is frustrated that he canceled oil and gas leases in Alaska.
On the anniversary of 9-11, the Biden Administration announced another prisoner swap with Iran, a country that wishes death to America.
The offer is five Iranians for five Americans, and Biden has sweetened the pot by unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds for the country, with which United States severed diplomatic relations in 1980. Iran is considered a terrorist state.
Sen. Dan Sullivan quickly issued a comment about the deal.
“On this somber, sacred day, it’s outrageous and insulting that Americans received the news that the Biden Administration has cut a sweetheart $6 billion-deal with Iran,” Sullivan said. “While I welcome any American hostage being freed and reunited with their family, this deal with Iran only serves to incentivize the terrorist regime to take MORE Americans hostage. I also seriously doubt the $6 billion dollars unfrozen will not end up fueling Iran’s efforts to destabilize the Middle East, oppress its own people, and target Americans and our allies. This deal rewards the malign behavior of the largest state sponsor of terrorism, a regime with the blood of thousands of Americans on its hands.”
The $6 billion comes as a waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar, free from U.S. sanctions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the deal last week, a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place.
The Department of State designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984. Iran continued its support for terrorist-related activity in 2021, including support for Hizballah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various terrorist and militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East, according to the State Department.
Congress had not been informed about the details that involved the $6 billion until Monday.
The state of Washington has a goal of ending the sale of new gasoline vehicles by 2035. It also has created a Transportation Electrification Strategy, or TES, to ensure “that electric vehicle incentives and infrastructure are accessible and available to all Washingtonians.”
However, it’s going to need a lot more charging ports.
According to the Electric Vehicle Council, the state will need 3 million by 2035. It’s not yet known whether this includes both private and public charging ports, but the price tag is in the billions of dollars.
Either way, the state has a long way to go.
Currently, there are roughly 4,500 public EV chargers in the state, mostly level 2 charging ports and just under 1,000 direct current fast charging ports.
Charging infrastructure is one of the critical aspects of making EV use en masse practical. Recently US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm went on a road trip across the country to promote EV use, but the fleet hit a snag when there weren’t enough chargers for them all to use.
To meet the 3 million mark, Washington state will need to install 250,000 ports every single year starting this year – in 2021, just 460 were built.
Then there’s the cost, a topic that was raised at the state Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council’s most recent meetingon Wednesday. The council is preparing a draft update to the TES, which will include more details about the EV charger requirements.
Regarding the goal of 3 million charging ports, EV Council Co-Chair Tonia Buell said “my biggest question is how are going to do that?” She also told meeting participants that she did not know of any funding sources at this time that might cover the costs.
Those costs will vary depending on the type of charger installed. The average cost of installation is $300 to $1,500 cost for single EV port level 1, $6,000 for single EV port level 2, and $10,000-$40,000 for DC fast charging port.
However, in an email to The Center Square, Buell wrote that this just represents the equipment side of installation costs, which can be three times higher. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the total installation cost for a 350kW DC fast charging port can be as high as $172,000.
While a level 1 charger cost is estimated to be far less, it’s not considered practical for EVs used daily. A 30-minute charge on a level 1 port will only get a vehicle five miles, whereas a DC fast charger can provide enough energy for an EV to go 200 miles or more.
Even if the state only needed to install level 1 charging ports, the estimated price tag would still be $3 billion, and $18 billion if only level 2 charging ports were installed.
The TES draft update will include a forecast of what types of charging ports will need to be built.
Right now, there are 104,000 all-electric vehicles registered in Washington, placing it fourth in the nation in terms of total EVs. Another challenge for the coordinating council is how to get more drivers into EVs, which can cost more than what many households earn annually.
The TES draft update will be available for comment next month. The state Department of Commerce will submit the final draft to the state Legislature by the end of the year.
