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Current Topics
Attorney General's office: an RTO formed under HB 307 not a utility Petroleum News
Can a Closed Nuclear Power Plant From the ’70s Be Brought Back to Life? Wall Street Journal
Holtec officials said Gov. Whitmer asked them to consider reopening the plant. State lawmakers pledged $300 million to the reopening plan, and it received up to $1.52 billion in federal loans. Whitmer said, when announcing the loan to Palisades, the renewed plant will provide power and help meet clean energy goals “by removing three million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually, roughly equal to the emissions of 650,000 cars.”
Kroger and Albertsons megamerger gets its day in court. Axios
Stuff I Found Interesting
RCV Repeal highlights "danger in the discretion. Alaska Memo
“To give the Division that much latitude could be decisive. It was decisive in this case,” he said. “So, you have a division that maybe they’ll bend over backward for a particular petition, maybe they’ll just follow (the regulations) and disqualify it. We can’t allow the Division of Elections to have that kind of latitude.”
Rural Alaskans could see slower mail delivery in new USPS plan for cost savings. Alaska's News Source
(My Comment: We depend on USPS to deliver ballots to polling places and return ballots to appropriate collection sites. This will impact daily life and elections.)
Economy
Bellweather Trial in Kroger-Albertsons merger begins. Alaska Public Media
Kroger and Albertsons vs. the FTC: Here’s what to expect in merger trial. Anchorage Daily News
Kroger and Albertsons will face off against regulators seeking to block their proposed $24.6 billion merger. A hearing that could determine the fate of the deal, set in a Portland federal courtroom, is expected to last three weeks.
A Trial Asks: If Grocery Rivals Merge, Do Workers Suffer?. New York Times
“Recognizing that there’s a web of intersecting harm that can happen is an extension, in my mind, of the underlying principles of antitrust enforcement,” said Christine Bartholomew, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law who teaches antitrust. “The pendulum is swinging back to recognize the broader types of harm from anticompetitive conduct.”
Little-Known Company Key to $20 Billion Kroger-Albertsons Deal. Wall Street Journal
The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal in February, saying that combining the two biggest U.S. supermarket companies would eliminate the fierce rivalry in markets where Kroger and Albertsons have competing stores, leading to higher prices for shoppers.
Education
Teachers Are Burning Out on the Job. Wall Street Journal
High-school math teacher Cory Jarrell says he saw student behavior deteriorate, yet his school grew more lenient in administering consequences. He also didn’t feel like teaching offered much opportunity to advance in his career. “When I got into teaching my one thing was about learning and love of learning,” Jarrell said. “In the end, it was less about the learning and more about babysitting.” He left teaching this summer. Teaching has long been a relatively low-paid profession that comes with job stability, a decent retirement and a sense of purpose. More teachers no longer feel that is a good deal.
How Well do Ohio Private Schools perform compared to public ones?. Governing
Most of the districts had mixed results. In Euclid City School District, private schools bested public schools in grades 3-8 and most of high school, but the district edged out private schools in English Language Arts II and American government.
Public school students in Berea City School District performed better on tests in grades 3-8 and most of high school, but private high school students performed better in science.
Politics
How ‘the license plate bill to end license plate bills’ finally passed. Alaska Public Media
It’s a cumbersome process and, for years, lawmakers across the political spectrum have joked about and criticized that they have to deal with the specialty license plates. It’s a waste of time and resources, they said. But, ironically, they were also unwilling to give up the power.
Voters will decide minimum wage ballot measures in several states. Alaska Beacon
In Alaska, the referendum on the minimum wage has three parts: It would raise the current $11.73 minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027, require employers to provide workers the ability to accrue sick leave, and prohibit companies from punishing workers who fail to show up at employer-sponsored meetings involving political or religious topics.
Health Care
Concierge medicine goes to college. Axios
Concierge medicine is being pitched to a new demographic: college students and their anxious parents. It's the latest example of how expanded access to health care is available to those willing to pay — a trend critics say drives up costs without necessarily improving outcomes.
(My comment: Concierge medicine is SB 45. It was promoted by a MatSu clinic owner. Concierge medicine is great if people have money to pass for the “board room membership”. The Senate tried to put sidebars on it to require only Alaska clinicians could enter into this business but the House took that out; so now corporate “doctor offices” will be permitted into our market to take yet more money out of Alaska economy. As “S” corporations or LLCs, they will not pay corporate taxes in Alaska because we don’t have a personal income tax.)
Surprise billing law helped PE-backed providers. Axios
Pfizer joins direct-to-consumer drug sales. Axios
(My comment: As a nurse practitioner, this news is very concerning. Americans overuse medications already. There are solutions to many ailments that are simple and involve lifestyle changes.)
Whooping cough is surging in Southeast Alaska. Alaska Public Media
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