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Current Topics
Renewed Southeast Alaska wastewater discharge permits require better bacteria controls. Alaska Beacon
The communities – Haines, Skagway, Sitka, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Peterburg – must make improvements to reduce what are deemed to be overly high levels of fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria that are being discharged into marine waters, under terms of the renewed permits.
Kroger and Albertsons grocery megamerger halted by 2 courts. Alaska Public Media
A federal judge in Oregon has blocked temporarily the merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, ruling Tuesday in favor of federal regulators.
The ruling makes it increasingly unlikely that the deal, worth $24.6 billion, will eventually succeed. Kroger runs many familiar grocery stores, including Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer and King Soopers. Albertsons owns Safeway and Vons.
(My comment: Yay!)
Albertsons sues Kroger and ends failed grocery megamerger. Alaska Public Media
Albertsons has sued Kroger, launching a new chapter in the supermarket wars after the two largest U.S. grocery chains failed to convince multiple courts that they should be allowed to merge to take on bigger rivals such as Walmart.
National Security
Trump targets Canada with tariff threats - and trolling. The Wall Street Journal
The strained personal connection between the two men stands to complicate Canada’s ability to navigate a second Trump term. The incoming president wants to renegotiate a free-trade deal between the two countries, and has said he would levy tariffs of 25% on imports of all goods from Mexico and Canada. Trump has also demanded that Canada invest more in its military and to secure its borders.
(My comment: I am very concerned about this threat to trade with our largest trade partner and ally in the Arctic. I am hoping that there is a rational policy that will prevail, preventing this crazy tariff threat.)
The threats posed by the global shadow fleet--and how to stop it. Atlantic Council
The Andromeda Star turned out to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet, a collection of mostly aging ships that transport sanctioned cargo, especially crude oil. They have obscure ownership, are poorly maintained, and obfuscate the details of their identity. Many frequently obfuscate their movements by manipulating their automatic identification systems (AIS), and many also frequently change their flag registrations.
(My comment: why should Alaska care about this? Because these “shadow ships” are likely navigating through the Bering Straits. Likely cargo: oil. Twenty year old tankers, leaking oil, or worse becoming disabled, spilling even more oil. Alaska and the US need more Navy and Coast Guard presence in the Aleutians and Alaska’s west coast.)
Opinion: Anchorage's vital role on the global security stage. ADN
Anchorage is located at the intersection of several critical geostrategic zones. The Arctic’s growing importance is undeniable, as climate change opens new maritime routes, and resource competition intensifies. At the same time, the region has become a focal point for military posturing from both China and Russia,
(My comment: This is one of the important topics that will be discussed through the new Senate Special committee on Arctic Affairs which I will chair.)
Local Indigenous communities key to Arctic security, experts say. CBC News
The new policy, announced Friday, highlights the key role of the region's Indigenous communities, and experts in transatlantic defence say that collaboration with Arctic communities is essential as the region sees more marine traffic as sea ice melts, as well as mounting territorial threats from Russia and China.
Economy
Biden seeks to end subminimum wages for workers with disabilities. Axios
The median hourly wage for these folks was $3.46 as of May, per the department's analysis. (The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.)The overwhelming majority of employers that are paying below minimum wage are nonprofit community rehabilitation programs that serve people with disabilities, typically in shelters or segregated settings.
Stunning stat: 10% of these workers earned $1 an hour or less in parts of 2023 and 2024, the Labor Department says.
Growth of sports betting may be linked to financial woes, new study finds. Alaska Beacon
While states have cheered the new tax revenue from sports gambling, some new studies have linked the burgeoning industry to lower consumer credit scores, higher credit card debt and less household savings.
(My comment: Gambling is a tax on people who can’t do math. Exactly why I oppose the idea of opening up gambling in its multiple forms in Alaska. It’s a tax on people who can’t do math.)
Increase in Port of Alaska surcharge could raise price on goods. Alaska Public Media
The cost of shipping goods to Alaska could rise next year in response to increased fees at the Port of Alaska. The Anchorage Assembly voted last month to increase a tariff surcharge for the Port of Alaska Modernization Program, which applies to all items moving through the port. The program was established last year and helps fund the modernization of the aging-port.
More parents say child care problems are keeping them out of work. Axios
Child care issues are increasingly keeping parents out of the workforce, finds new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. If parents can't work, that means less income for families and fewer workers for businesses to hire.
Southeast Alaska set to lose nearly a fifth of its population by 2050, report says. Alaska Public Media
According to a recent report by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Southeast Alaska’s overall population is projected to drop by about 17% by 2050 — or roughly 12,000 people. That’s about the populations of Sitka and Wrangell combined. Compare that to Alaska’s overall population, which is projected to drop by 2%.
Politics
'Veto-proof': New Alaska Senate minority promises to counter bipartisan majority. Alaska's News Source
All are issues that the Senate majority will support, and the Senate minority, the 19-member conservative-leaning House minority, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy will oppose.
Incoming Alaska Supreme Court chief justice applauds first female majority. Alaska Public Media
“Male judges have dominated the court system since it was created, and it’s about time that, at least for a bit, there’s a majority of women on the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals previously was all women, until a fourth judge was added.”
Why running the government like a business would be a disaster. The New York Times
Businesses and government do fundamentally different jobs, and efforts at remaking government with an eye to cost-cutting can end in disaster. That’s because a lot of what the government does is hard to quantify and involves complicated tasks that inevitably require bureaucratic coordination and, yes, inefficiency.
Why politicians' wealth matters. Axios
The economic background of political leaders influences how they govern — richer lawmakers generally push for policies that favor business interests and those of the wealthy. Politicians in the U.S., and around the world, have always been wealthier than most Americans — yet even so, the wealth of the incoming Trump team is extraordinary.
(My comment: Not just the politician’s wealth, but that of their family as well. With Alaska’s unlimited political contribution limit, a wealthy family member can contribute millions of dollars to a campaign.)
Can you guess how these 10 ambiguous Ballot Measure 2 votes were counted? Alaska Public Media
Healthcare
America's health decline. Axios
The U.S. outspends other countries on health care by a landslide. But it's not buying us the longer, healthier lives that people in other countries enjoy. That will only become more true over time.
1 big thing: America's vanishing pharmacies. Axios
Independent pharmacies were likelier to close from 2010 to 2021, possibly because pharmacy benefit managers steered patients to their own in-network pharmacies, a study in Health Affairs found.
(My comment: In Alaska, the PBM industry has closed pharmacies in communities, leaving the citizens with no local place to purchase medications or get professional advice.)
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