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After Seventy Five Years, Holland America Still Sails to Alaska with the Same Intrepid Spirit

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After Seventy Five Years, Holland America Still Sails to Alaska with the Same Intrepid Spirit


“Actually,” I hear my pilot, Logan, say by the headset, “the primary time I got here to this glacier, it was like a child’s first time at Disney World.”

We’re simply touchdown the helicopter on the huge bluish-white Mendenhall Glacier, streaked with darkish rock particles and silt. I sit stupefied by the sight of this marvel wedged among the many jagged peaks of Southeast Alaska. I used to be raised in Florida; earlier than this journey to Alaska on Holland America Line’s Noordam, I had by no means even seen a glacier. Standing on this immense, silent, slow-moving pressure, I really feel the unmistakable thrill of journey: For just a few seconds, I am Jason Bourne or James Bond.

Certainly one of our guides takes the requisite {photograph} of me leaping into the air atop the glacier. I hop down into push-up place and decrease my physique sufficient so my lips contact the rivulet of water working right into a crevasse. I’ve traveled to 5 continents and greater than 60 nations—why have I by no means come right here earlier than?

Juneau—like different ports of name alongside this sail from Whittier, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia, together with the Gold Rush settlement of Skagway and rustic boomtown of Ketchikan—hugs the Pacific Ocean, deep inside the Inside Passage of slender waterways and forest-covered islands alongside the rugged western shoreline of North America. Whereas it’s attainable to fly on to Juneau and drive by this area, there’s just one correct approach to absorb the misty fjords and craggy headlands, the turquoise waters filled with aquatic life, the ferns and firs of the temperate rain forests, the icy glaciers and snowcapped mountains: by sea.

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Alaskan cruising is now almost absolutely again on observe after the interruption of the pandemic. Holland America Line, the primary passenger line into Alaska, has been creating journey experiences right here repeatedly since 1947, earlier than statehood. Over the previous couple of a long time, Alaska has turn into one of the fashionable locations in cruising. However Holland America Line has sure ad-vantages over its competitors due to proprietary entry to the land, which has allowed it to create a few of the first-ever cruise-tour experiences to Denali Nationwide Park and into Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Nonetheless, unmatched entry to nature isn’t Holland America’s solely enchantment. There may be additionally the glamour within the glossy strains of Noordam, the 936-foot-long Vista-class cruise ship. Each morning, simply after daybreak, I stroll by the ship, Americano in hand, the darkish blue of the hull and the wooden paneling of the decks evoking Holland America Line’s Nineteenth-century origins as a transatlantic passenger line, ferrying immigrants and rich vacationers throughout the Atlantic from Rotterdam—typically heading as far south as South America.

My fellow passengers, whose eyes gleam with lifetimes of tales, benefit from the swimming pools and eating places and retailers and exhibits on board. A number of have cruised in Alaska earlier than. Simply after our departure from Whittier, I enterprise to the dinner for single and solo vacationers within the ship’s principal eating room. I sit subsequent to Miss Barbara, a retired insurance coverage adjuster from japanese Tennessee, whose husband handed away just a few years in the past. She regales me with household tales with a folksy aptitude that might make Dolly Parton proud. I dine on hen and waffles, Miss Barbara on lobster, whereas Noordam slips out of Prince William Sound. It does not take lengthy earlier than she reveals to me her secret to cruising: “You possibly can keep on the boat if you wish to. You may get off the boat if you wish to. You are able to do what you wish to.”

On a kind of stay-on-the-ship days, we sail quietly up the center of Glacier Bay. The water is turquoise and easy like a glass tabletop, besides close to the shoreline, the place it laps rhythmically towards towering partitions of grey rock and dust-specked ice. Tiny chips of ice float between the ship and the shore, glowing white just like the snow-covered peaks on the horizon. The sound of seagulls pierces the quietude. Each single passenger of Noordam appears verklempt, surprised into silence by the surprising grandeur and fragility of the confluence of ice and stone and sea and sky. Within the subsequent second, a big chunk of the glacier breaks off and falls into the bay. I spy it drop into the chilly, clear water. And a second later, the thunderous crack reaches my ears.

A seven-day Glacier Discovery cruise on board Holland America Line begins at $589 per particular person; hollandamerica.com

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This text appeared within the December 2022 challenge of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the journal right here.



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Alaska’s congressional delegation split on President Trump’s executive orders, Jan. 6 and his nominees

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Alaska’s congressional delegation split on President Trump’s executive orders, Jan. 6 and his nominees


Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation welcomed President Donald Trump’s executive orders that were intended to boost resource development in Alaska. But the delegation has been divided on other actions Trump has taken since returning to the White House.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke to the Daily News on Thursday from Washington, D.C., about Trump’s executive orders, Jan. 6 and his Cabinet picks.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III responded to several questions through prepared statements.

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Jan. 6

Murkowski was alone among Alaska’s three-member congressional delegation in stridently opposing Trump’s blanket pardons of hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, including some who assaulted law enforcement officers.

“When someone attacks, assaults, beats, violates a police officer, it shouldn’t make any difference what day of the year that took place,” she said in a phone interview. “It is a criminal act, and it should be charged and prosecuted as such.”

Over 100 Capitol police officers were injured in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol after Trump lost the 2020 election.

Murkowski said that she recently spoke to a Capitol police officer who quietly thanked her for her recent statement of support on social media.

Sullivan said through a statement that Trump had promised “many times” on the campaign trail that he would pardon the Jan. 6 defendants.

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He said that stood in contrast to former President Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons for his family members, and his commutations for murderers on death row.

Sullivan, a former Alaska attorney general, said he didn’t know the details of the roughly 1,600 cases related to the attack on the Capitol, and he declined to comment on “the specifics.”

”In general, however, as I have said since January 6 — and as Vice President Vance said as recently as last week — if someone committed acts of violence against law enforcement officers, they should be held accountable,” he said.

In an emailed statement, U.S. Rep. Nick Begich said on Thursday that Trump acted within his constitutional authority to issue the Jan. 6 pardons.

He also criticized Biden’s actions to pardon family members, but did not directly respond to a question on the appropriateness of erasing sentences for people who assaulted police officers.

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”During the years of enduring Democrat calls to defund the police, Republicans stood firm with law enforcement and ‘backed the blue.’ My strong support for law enforcement will not change,” he said.

Executive orders

Since his inauguration on Monday, Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders, including one entitled, “Unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.”

The sweeping Alaska-focused order is intended to boost energy production on the North Slope, reverse logging restrictions in the Tongass National Forest, and to support building a long-sought road between King Cove and Cold Bay — among other impacts.

”I think it’s exciting in many, many, many ways,” Murkowski said.

She said that the executive order would be “enormously helpful” as the state worked to access more of its mineral and timber resources.

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Fellow Republican political leaders — Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Sullivan and Begich — were similarly enthusiastic about Trump’s plans to boost mining and oil and gas development in Alaska.

Trump on Monday ordered for North America’s highest peak — Denali — to be renamed McKinley. Murkowski was strongly opposed to that name change, but Sullivan, Begich and Dunleavy were more ambivalent.

She said Alaskans were “buzzing“ about the mountain’s name-change back to McKinley.

But on Trump’s other executive orders, Murkowski was more cautious.

She said the orders were “broad and far reaching” — related to a wide array of subjects like energy, the environment, and border security.

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People would initially be very excited and concerned about those actions, Murkowski said, but it would take some time for her to evaluate their impacts.

“It’s a lot to take in. So, we are very, very, very busy,” she said.

As an example, she pointed to a planned pause of Biden-era infrastructure spending that Politico reports could imperil billions of dollars in projects already under construction. That spending came partly from a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Murkowski, herself, helped author in 2021.

“I don’t fault an incoming administration for wanting to do a close and a critical review of programs,” she said.

Nominees

Murkowski on Friday voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to lead the U.S. Department of Defense.

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In a lengthy statement, she said on Thursday that her opposition came partly from sexual assault allegations leveled against Hegseth, and his past opposition to women serving in combat.

Murkowski was one of three Republican senators — along with Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and Maine Sen. Susan Collins — to oppose Hegseth’s nomination. She became the first Republican to publicly announce she would vote against a Trump cabinet pick.

Sullivan voted in favor of Hegseth’s nomination. He felt confident Hegseth would “refocus our military on lethality, warfighting and peace through strength,” he said in a statement Thursday.

Other Trump cabinet nominees have proven contentious.

A national healthcare group is urging Murkowski to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including a concerted effort in Alaska.

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Kennedy has been opposed for threatening a “war on public health,“ and his long history as an anti-vaccine activist and an opponent of fluoride in drinking water.

Similarly, former Hawaii Democratic U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence — has drawn concerns over her meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and her questionable statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Murkowski, though, declined to say how she would vote on either Trump nominee — or dozens of others still to be confirmed.

“I’m doing what I do best, which is my homework, and I anticipate that I’m going to be doing that, not only with those two, but we have a good handful,” she said.

Last month, Sullivan posted statements on social media indicating that he would support Kennedy and Gabbard’s nominations.

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Out-of-state powerhouses at Alaska Airlines Classic take Anchorage’s wet winter weather in stride

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Out-of-state powerhouses at Alaska Airlines Classic take Anchorage’s wet winter weather in stride


The last time basketball players from Heritage Christian School came up to the Last Frontier to participate in the annual Alaska Airlines Classic was two years ago.

Head coach Paul Tait and the team from Northridge, California, were able to experience a true Alaska winter as they arrived in the middle of a typical snowy season.

But with this winter marked by unseasonably warm weather and rain, the team couldn’t really lean on their previous experience when deciding on the appropriate attire to pack.

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“We did not bring any umbrellas,” Tait said with a chuckle. “It’s funny. The last couple weeks, we talked about boots and snow jackets and everything else, and then I check the weather about five days ago and I’m like, ‘Hold up a second, let’s make sure we have rain boots and different types of gear.’ But we have Southern California kids, so anything below 65, they start freaking out — so rain or snow, it didn’t matter.”

The Warriors only have three players on this year’s team who made the last trip as sophomores and are now seniors. Star forward and San Jose State University commit Tae Simmons and guard Jesse Tweneboah played in those games. Forward Dylan Shaw, a Saint Mary’s College commit, had suffered an injury in their last game before the tournament, and had to spend the entire trip on crutches.

In Heritage’s 59-36 win over Colony on Thursday in the opening round of the tournament, Shaw led the team with 21 points in his Alaska Airlines Classic debut. Simmons narrowly came in second with 20 points. That total far exceeded the eight points he was held to the last time he was on the West High court, in a 2023 tournament championship loss to Anchorage’s own Grace Christian.

“It’s always incredible coming up here,” Tait said. “We enjoyed our experience last time. We’re just trying to shake off the rust of travel and everything and also know there are a few teams that traveled even farther than us, so it was good to get the first win under our belt.”

Those three returners told teammates who were making the trip to the Alaska Airlines Classic for the first time about how unique of an opportunity it was.

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“Just getting out and seeing different experiences,” Tait said. “We did the zoo last time and we’ll do the wildlife observatory Friday, dog sledding on Saturday maybe, just fun stuff.”

He told his wife shortly after they got married that he’d like to come up to Alaska with his team every four to five years to give each generation a chance to experience it — but he didn’t wait nearly as long this time.

Coming to Alaska, Alabama juggernaut gets reprieve from winter snow

Hoover High School last made the trek to the 49th state from Alabama to take part in the Alaska Airlines Classic over a decade ago, in January 2013. That was before Scott Ware was the head coach of the Buccaneers. This year’s trip is a first-time experience for every player on the team and coach on the staff.

“We had a lot of opportunities to play in different places throughout the country, and we kind of held off to see what was best for us, and when this opportunity came up, we wanted to come back,” Ware said. “We heard from the previous staff how good of a tournament it was, so we wanted to make this trip.”

When they committed to compete in the Classic and started making plans, the Alabama powerhouse program had no idea that it’d actually be warmer in Alaska than it was back home.

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“It’s actually colder at home in Alabama and more snow than when we left,” Ware said. “It is what it is. We’re just happy to be here. We’ve played from Florida to the Midwest. We’ve been all over and thought this would be a great opportunity.”

There was 6 inches of snow in Orange Beach, Alabama, when they left, which is less than 4 1/2 hours from Hoover by car.

The undefeated Buccaneers brought heavy jackets and boots but didn’t think to bring their umbrellas, which would’ve been more useful.

“It’s good to travel, guys are making lifelong memories and this is a special group of guys we’ve got,” Ware said. “They’ve been special for four years now and we have a bunch of seniors who have accomplished a lot, but when you talk to them, some of the trips we’ve been on have been a bigger thing for them than winning a state championship.”

Hoover is the two-time defending Alabama state champion of the 7A division. It’s the first nationally ranked team to participate in the Classic in nearly a decade and a half, and the first top-10 ranked squad in several decades.

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Ware and his team relish the chance to see some of the best competition Alaska has to offer, and they could potentially face two-time defending 4A state champion Bettye Davis East if both teams advance to Saturday’s final.

“It’s good to get out and see how people play and do things around the country,” he said. “Obviously basketball is basketball, but people approach it differently, so just to kind of see different styles throughout the country and the way they approach things is good so that we’ve seen a little bit of everything when we get to the playoffs.”

The Buccaneers are led on and off the court by 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior power forward DeWayne Brown, who is committed to play at the Division I level at the University of Tennessee.

“He’s an incredible kid, he’s an incredible person, obviously has a great skillset in basketball,” Ware said. “He does a little bit of everything for us but what people don’t see is his basketball IQ. It’s off the charts. He takes what the game gives him and plays that way.”

In Hoover’s 69-26 win over Service on Thursday, Brown scored a game-high 20 points in two and a half quarters of action before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. Even though he’s talented and physically gifted enough to take over a game and seemingly score at will, he often kicks the ball out to his teammates when they’re open for uncontested looks.

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“It was just always in me to be unselfish and just play basketball the right way and make the right play,” Brown said.

After not attempting any dunks in the first quarter, Brown slammed down a quartet in the second on some alley-oops and fast breaks, which got the crowd excited.

“It just got kind of easy,” he said. “It’s fun hearing the crowd go crazy. It always kind of motivates you to keep going. I feel like once you get the crowd into the game, it makes you play a little bit harder.”

While Brown didn’t join the team until his freshman year of high school, this group has played together since the third grade and it shows in their chemistry on the court.

“Our guys love each other and they’ve been best friends for a really long time,” Ware said. “We’ve didn’t have kids move in from all over the place to form this team. These are Hoover kids, they’ve grown up together, they spend time outside of basketball together. If you see one, you always see four or five of them.”

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Alaska House plans fast action on bill that would boost school funding and tie it to inflation

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Alaska House plans fast action on bill that would boost school funding and tie it to inflation


The Alaska Legislature is getting to work on a bill that would lay out a three-year plan for boosting public education spending. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, introduced the bill Friday, which would boost the base student allocation, the largest component of the state’s public school funding formula, and provide annual inflation adjustments.

In total, Himschoot said, per-student state funding would increase by:

  • $1,289 next school year, a 22% increase over this year
  • $691 for the 2026-27 school year
  • $570 for the 2027-28 school year

Himschoot, a former teacher who co-chairs the House Education Committee, said the bill is an effort to catch up after years of inflation outpacing public school funding. Adjusting for inflation, total public school funding — including federal, state and local contributions — peaked in the 2010-11 school year, according to legislative budget analysts who briefed the committee on Friday.

Prices have risen by nearly 40% since 2010, while base education funding has risen by roughly 7% over the same period, according to documents Himschoot filed alongside the bill.

“There’s a huge gap there,” she said. “I think that all of us have noticed and have heard from families, from school districts, that that gap is there, and it’s causing huge, huge problems and taking opportunity away from our students, so this bill looks to correct that.”

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Leaders of both the House and Senate have said increasing the base student allocation is a key priority.

Education funding reached record levels last year after lawmakers passed a $175 million one-time funding increase for public schools, but the one-year bump was not included in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget for the next fiscal year. That means lawmakers will have to budget at least that much to keep school funding at current levels.

Himschoot’s bill is just two pages and addresses only the base student allocation. That’s a contrast with last year’s approach, when lawmakers pursued an omnibus funding bill that was ultimately vetoed by Dunleavy. The Legislature failed by one vote to override his veto.

This year, Dunleavy says he plans to introduce a $200 million education bill pairing a funding increase with reforms. Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage and the House majority leader, said funding was only one piece of the puzzle.

“Our focus should be on preparing Alaska’s students to succeed,” she said by text message. “While the funding discussion is important, equally important are enacting new policies that can improve outcomes for our students and families.”

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Republican lawmakers plan to discuss the funding issue at a retreat over the weekend, she said.

Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said she plans to introduce a similar bill in the upper chamber. She said she thinks it’s important to tackle the funding question before moving on to other education policy issues.

“All of those things I anticipate we will tackle in the next two years. However, you can’t rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic as it goes down,” she said by phone from Anchorage. “You have to get the ship stabilized and moving in the right direction.”

Majority lawmakers say they hope to move the bill through the House and Senate quickly, since school districts typically have to submit their budgets in early spring.

Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, a former school board member who also co-chairs the House Education Committee, said the three-year phase-in and inflation adjustment are meant to make budgeting more predictable — and stem the tide of outmigration.

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“This is an effort to keep our residents here (whose) number one thing is, how are you going to educate my kids?” she said.

Though it could ease budgeting for school districts, Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, said tying education funding to inflation might make the state’s budget less predictable.

“Inflation is tricky because we, at a state level, don’t control monetary policy,” he said. “That’s typically how a liability gets away from you in a budget process, to tie it to something you don’t control.”

The House Education Committee plans to hear Himschoot’s bill, House Bill 69, at least three times next week. They’ll take public testimony at two hearings scheduled for Wednesday.

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