Alaska
Harrowing video shows $81 million F-35 fighter jet crash at Air Force base in Alaska
![Harrowing video shows million F-35 fighter jet crash at Air Force base in Alaska Harrowing video shows million F-35 fighter jet crash at Air Force base in Alaska](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/81-million-f-35-fighter-97529591.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024)
Shocking video captured an F-35 fighter jet plummeting onto the runway and bursting into flames during a training exercise at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska early Tuesday afternoon.
The footage, shared on social media, shows the $81 million jet spiraling to the ground after the pilot ejected from the aircraft and floated safely onto the runway thanks to their parachute.
Even so, the pilot was transported to the Bassett Army Hospital for observation, according to a press release from the 354th Fighter Wing’s public affairs office.
The pilot experienced an “inflight malfunction” before the crash, Col. Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, said at a press briefing.
As the wreckage continues to be cleaned up, Wing officials have warned against stopping on the nearby highway to ogle at the remains and noted that photography along the section nearest to the base is prohibited under federal law.
“Our people are our most important resource, and we are committed in ensuring their safety and security. I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again,” Townsend said in the statement.
F-35 jet manufacturer Lockheed Martin has come under fire for cutting corners in its production of the aircraft while still making it obscenely expensive.
The price of the fighter jet has been cut in recent years, dropping from roughly $135.8 million each in 2021 to $81 million in 2024 per a preliminary deal between the US Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin.
In November, Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk slammed the Pentagon’s F-35 program for its shoddy execution and promised to cut federal spending for it.
“The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people. This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes,” Musk wrote on X.
“And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway,” Musk added. “Will just get pilots killed.”
Musk asserted that the future of warfare lies in drone-oriented weaponry, including fighter jets.
The F-35 program is expected to run through 2088 with costs anticipated to exceed $2 trillion, according to the US Government Accountability Office.
With Post wires
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Alaska
Elizabeth Peratrovich Day – Mike Dunleavy
WHEREAS, born in Petersburg, Alaska, on July 4, 1911, Elizabeth Peratrovich was an Alaska Native woman of the Tlingit nation who was instrumental in the campaign against ending the discrimination that plagued the Alaska territory, and in doing so, she left a permanent mark on Alaska’s history; and
WHEREAS, despite becoming citizens in 1924, fighting in World War II, and paying taxes, Alaska Natives were consistently discriminated against and restricted on where they could live, receive medical care, and attend school; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth and her husband, Roy, fought for their campaign tirelessly, and after four years of penning legislation, enlisting the help of other Alaska Natives, and lobbying territorial legislators for support, in 1945 their anti-discrimination bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate; and
WHEREAS, on February 16, 1945, after a two-hour long hearing, Elizabeth stood and delivered an impassioned and eloquent speech that garnered the support needed to pass the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, which was the first anti-discrimination law in Alaskan history and the first of its kind enacted in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth continued her humanitarian work championing civil rights until her death on December 1, 1958, at the age of 47. Many consider her the face of civil rights in Alaska, and in 2020, the United States Mint issued five-million $1 gold coins honoring Elizabeth and the passing of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth Peratrovich left behind a strong and inspiring legacy, and will forever be a woman of distinction, exceptional courage, and a beacon of hope to many. Each year on February 16, we honor and celebrate her life and her contributions to freedom and equality.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Mike Dunleavy, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALASKA, do hereby proclaim February 16, 2025 as:
Elizabeth Peratrovich Day
in Alaska and encourage all Alaskans to celebrate and honor the life and legacy of Elizabeth Peratrovich and her work to eliminate discrimination and bring about equal rights in Alaska.
Dated: February 16, 2025
Alaska
Open & Shut: Anchorage adds a candle studio, a new Alaska Airlines Lounge, a Korean BBQ diner and the long-awaited Eye Tooth restaurant – Anchorage Daily News
Open & Shut is an ongoing series looking at the comings and goings of businesses in Southcentral Alaska. If you know of a business opening or closing in the area, send a note to reporter Alex DeMarban at alex@adn.com with “Open & Shut” in the subject line.
Open
Eye Tooth Tavern & Eatery: The long-awaited third Tooth restaurant opened its doors on Thursday.
A line of 75 or so people stretched outside just before the opening, said Rod Hancock, a founder of the company.
“We feel blessed and fortunate that people are excited to want to come and see what our new endeavor is,” he said.
The Eye Tooth is named after a climbing area in the Alaska Range like its predecessors, the original Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria and the Bear Tooth Theatrepub and Grill. It’s the only Tooth restaurant located in South Anchorage, at 8330 King St.
The new location will still focus on pizza, but with alternative varieties, said Hancock, a climber and self-described pizza lover.
It will be “its own unique collection of food, decor and concepts,” he said.
For now the Eye Tooth is starting with limited hours and a limited menu that includes many of the well-known pizzas served at the Moose’s Tooth, he said. But the menu will grow in the future, with new dishes released almost weekly, he said.
“We’ll be doing Detroit pizzas, tavern pizzas, Neapolitan pizzas, as well as the classic Moose’s Tooth pies,” he said. “So we’ve introduced some of those, but not all. There’s a lot more, culinarily, that we’re excited to do as we get situated and going.”
Already, the Eye Tooth is offering tavern pizzas with crispy, house-made sourdough crust, such as the Cup n’ Curl pepperoni with marinara and multiple cheeses. There’s also the Backcountry with goat cheese and other cheeses, yellow squash, mushrooms, red peppers and other ingredients. The New Haven includes sopressata, hot honey, cheeses, peppadew peppers and chives.
Chefs will also be able to make limited-batch dishes in a special “kitchen within our kitchen,” including seafood items and other plates, Hancock said.
The menu also includes hamburgers, sandwiches, fries and chicken wings, plus beers on tap, cocktails and a liquor menu that’s more whiskey-based than the other Tooth diners, he said.
The bar area features about 90 seats for dining or drinking, with a small stage for live music. Large glass doors open onto an outdoor beer garden.
A huge, gas-fed fire pit on the patio is made from the old the bull wheel from the former Chair 1 ski lift at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, he said.
A separate dining area, still being completed, will have an outdoor eating area.
The company purchased the building four years ago. Hancock initially hoped for a quick opening.
But the pandemic slowed plans. Hurdles included supply-chain issues, adding delays and cost.
“Doors were taking nine months to arrive, and then they’d come and be wrong,” he said. “There was also a fair amount of inflation in building materials. And so all the quotes were changing, and so we were re-crunching numbers and making sure that the project still penciled and made sense.”
The pandemic-era labor shortage also added serious concerns, he said. But that’s largely been alleviated. The Eye Tooth has hired around 50 people so far. That number could exceed 150 as the operation expands, he said.
The tavern is currently open 4-10 p.m. from Thursday to Saturday. Those hours will grow steadily starting soon, he said. The Eye Tooth should be fully operating by summer, he said.
• • •
Gogi Korean BBQ: Helena Yun ran a hairdressing salon in the Dimond Center for decades.
But she recently started her first restaurant, to share the social experience of eating traditional Korean food around a table grill.
“I always liked to cook and share with friends and that is my nature in my life,” Yun said. “And we (were) missing something like this restaurant in Alaska. So one day I decided this is going to be good for the community.”
At Gogi Korean BBQ, guests or staff can grill high-quality meats such as wagyu ribeye, prime beef kalbi, marinated pork short ribs, bulgogi or fire meat. Sprawling combo plates come with several shareable appetizers, such as soybean stew, steamed egg casserole, and banchan, or side dish, with its array of items like kimchi, caramelized potatoes, pickled daikon radish and green onion salad.
One unique feature at Gogi are overhead table lamps with vents that draw smoke upward through the food, adding to the flavor, Yun said. Wet- and dry-aging fridges also tenderize and flavor the meat.
Launching the restaurant took time, she said. “Every corner I touched with my soul,” she said.
Yun refused to open until she found the best meat through suppliers, she said. She designed every aspect of Gogi herself, down to the clean, black-and-white decor. Tables come with call buttons to summon staff, and “Korean 101″ sheets with expressions, like “annyeonghasaeyo” for “hello.”
Yun grew up in Korea, but moved to Alaska as a young woman close to four decades ago.
People say she’s “crazy” for opening a restaurant at an age when many are thinking about retirement, she said.
“But I always wanted to see this kind of restaurant in Anchorage,” she said one day last week, as customers began flowing in for dinner.
Gogi is located at 7780 Old Seward Highway. It’s open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends, 11-11.
Get Scent Studio: Chester Mainot starting making candles as a pandemic hobby and selling them at markets.
Online sales soared after a friend with a social media following pitched his products on YouTube.
Late last year he opened Get Scent studio in Midtown Anchorage. And this month he went all in, quitting his job as a GCI network engineer for full-time entrepreneurship.
“It’s terrifying,” he said. “But I’m excited about being my own boss and doing what I love to do.”
Get Scent is located at 5121 Arctic Blvd., unit F, just down from Alaskan Burger & Brew.
It’s part gift shop and part studio, with classes for candle-making and succulent gardening. There’s also jewelry crafting with an Alaska Native artist who works with natural items like porcupine quills, sweetgrass and moose antlers.
Mainot’s candles are made with natural ingredients like soy wax. Scents can be traditional, like vanilla or lavender. The Alaskan collection includes wildberry, forget-me-not, and mountain trail, with forest fragrances like pine.
Another line focuses on the Philippines where Mainot grew up before moving to Alaska with his parents at age 20.
The Sampaguita, named for the Philippines’ national flower, reminds him of the floral smells drifting from his family garden at sunset. Halo-Halo, translated to mix-mix, smells like the dessert of the same name, made with shaved ice, tropical fruit and other ingredients. Ube is named after the country’s purple yam.
“Its nostalgia to me, my Filipino collection,” Mainot said.
Get Scent also sells gifts like locally made jewelry, fragrant wax melts and sprays, and beard balm.
It’s open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• • •
Alaska Airlines lounge: The Alaska-born airline expanded its lounge at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport this month, following a short closure for construction.
The upgrade doubles seating to 140. It adds cozy chairs, modern charging stations and small computer tables.
More windows overlook the tarmac, brightening the room and expanding the view of taxiing planes beneath mountains.
![](https://www.adn.com/resizer/v2/YVIBJVPE6RG5JO4JPZZN7L6FPM.jpg?auth=030630ea6cd0283350761b958c1382191f899eea1d29eecc534393049e44439c&width=800&height=533)
There’s several new pieces of Indigenous artwork from across Alaska, too, curated by the Alaska Native Heritage Center. They come with QR codes to explain the work.
“Each one of the pieces represents one of the major cultural regions,” said Kelsey Ciugun Wallace, a vice president at the heritage center, during a recent tour of the lounge. “The diversity is important because a lot of people mistakenly think about Alaska Native peoples as a monolith.”
![](https://www.adn.com/resizer/v2/INNDEFSUO5D2TIE32IW5Q2XYLE.jpg?auth=22198e934313765bd07c5612cdb6bed732e3f79a3bccbe36a83c3666f345bada&width=800&height=533)
The lounge hadn’t been revamped in years, said Marilyn Romano, vice president of the Alaska region for the airline.
Access is available through a membership or day pass. It offers a buffet of locally made, seasonal foods, hand-crafted espresso drinks using Kaladi Brothers beans, as well as wines, craft brews, cocktails and mocktails. It’s open daily almost around the clock, from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m.
The changes are part the airlines’ $60 million plan to improve terminals and other facilities around the state, including in communities such as Bethel and Kodiak. The lounge is the most visible of the upgrades in Alaska so far, Romano said.
The lounge was the company’s first to open in 1979. Up to 1,000 travelers use it daily. It’s the airline’s third-busiest lounge of nine — behind two in Seattle.
SHUT
Moose A’La Mode: The cafe and sandwich shop closed in downtown Anchorage in December, after about two decades in business, said co-owner Brandi Rathbun.
She and her husband, Marty, purchased it during the pandemic. But a thinned-out downtown due to remote working, and struggles dealing with the homeless population, were factors in the closure, Brandi Rathbun said.
The couple still operates their Tiki Pete’s food trailers serving hot dogs, hamburgers and other fare. One will serve food at the the Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic in Big Lake. The Feb. 21-23 event raises funds for the Scotty Gomez Foundation.
They also provide all the food concessions at the Sullivan Arena after it began doing public events last years, after its service as a low-barrier homeless shelter for much of the pandemic. That includes the baked potato bar, Pete’s Penalty Box with fare like chili dogs and mac n’ cheese dogs, and the Center Ice and Glacier grill with the Bobster burger with bacon and fried egg and the BrockStar burger with jalapenos and bacon.
• • •
Walgreens: The Walgreens store in northeast Anchorage at 7600 DeBarr Rd. closed in December, reducing the chain’s pharmacies in Alaska, among other services.
The retailer continues to operate eight stores in Alaska — six in Anchorage and one each in Wasilla and Eagle River, according to the company.
• • •
Party City: The party and costume supply store is closing its sole Alaska location on Feb. 26, a store representative said.
The national retailer announced in December it was shutting down. It has blamed competition from e-commerce and brick-and-mortar rivals, as well as inflation that forced its costs higher and slowed business.
The store is located in the Glenn Square in Northeast Anchorage, 3090 Mountain View Drive, No. 120.
• • •
Joann: The crafts retailer is closing two stores in Alaska, but it isn’t leaving the state entirely.
The chain’s lone location in Anchorage will close, at 3801 Old Seward Highway. The store in Juneau will also close, according to a recent closure list. No date has been announced yet, an Anchorage employee said Friday.
Joann stores in Fairbanks, Soldotna and Wasilla were not listed for closure.
The shutdowns stem from a bankruptcy restructuring plan, the result of competition from e-commerce and rivals like Walmart.
Joann recently listed 533 stores for closure across nearly all U.S. states. It operates more than 800 stores.
Alaska
Unalaska school board, superintendent push Alaska State Legislature for education funding increase
![Unalaska school board, superintendent push Alaska State Legislature for education funding increase Unalaska school board, superintendent push Alaska State Legislature for education funding increase](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb66e12/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1075+0+230/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe8%2F23%2F7a0c5ced44ff99ed63d4afc37624%2Fimg-8219.jpg)
Unalaska City School District officials are advocating for more education funding during their annual visits to the Alaska State Legislature. A top priority is increasing the base student allocation, or BSA — that’s a number the state uses to determine how much funding each district receives per student. Members of the UCSD school board flew into Juneau over the weekend to speak with representatives and address the Legislature. Superintendent Kim Hanisch is also slated to visit the state capital in late March.
Hanisch told KUCB’s Andy Lusk why the island’s representatives want the BSA to grow, and about challenges in retaining teachers.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Kim Hanisch: During [the Association of Alaska School Boards legislative fly-in, board members are] training, [in] conference[s], learning about the legislation that’s out there. They get to take some time to really fine-tune their talking points. They’ll practice when they go in to speak to one of our legislators, or when they testify. So they get practice and gain some confidence. And then Monday, our board has appointments to visit with our local legislators, so we’ll be seeing Rep. Edgemon and then Senator Hoffman and Senator Olson as well.
Andy Lusk: Who would the board members be training with?
Hanisch: They will have some of it just with the Alaska Association of School Board staff, and then usually they’ll get someone from AML — Alaska Municipal League — and talk a lot about…budget. They’ll probably bring in a couple of school board members that have been active over the years to talk to them about how they advocate. And I’ll be going back [for] the superintendent fly-in…at the very end of March.
Lusk: Will you be talking about the same priorities at these separate meetings?
Hanisch: Our priorities will likely stay the same. We might approach them differently depending on where the bills are and which ones are still active. And by that time, there’s probably going to be new things that are thrown into them. So that part of it will change, but our underlying message will stay the same.
Lusk: And what is that message?
Hanisch: Increase the BSA.
Lusk: Describe what exactly the BSA is and why it matters.
Hanisch: BSA itself stands for base student allocation. It’s the amount of money the state allocates per student.
There’s a huge formula that the numbers go through. Say we have 331 students, which we do right now, that starts the formula — then cost of living for us is taken into consideration, number of Special Ed students, CTE — all these factors go in there, so that a student in Unalaska now has a value that’s going to be different than a student in Anchorage, because it costs more to educate them here.
So if we increase the base student allocation from where it is right now — and what our ask is for the next coming year is a $1,000 increase — if we calculate that out…that would bring in approximately $900,000 that we don’t have right now.
Lusk: That’s a lot.
Hanisch: That’s a lot. And being in the BSA instead of one-time funding means next year it’s still that amount, and the next year after, it’s still that amount — or maybe more. That still doesn’t inflation-proof us at that point, after 13 years of flat funding, but it would take some pressure off.
Lusk: And that’s priority number one, so what are some of the [others]?
Hanisch: Out of the list really, for us, considering hiring as well as retention, the BSA is going to have the most dramatic impact on us being able to afford teachers that want to come here. And then there’s two sister bills that are regarding retirement benefits. And so again, for retention, the retirement benefits are pretty important.
Lusk: That’s pensions, right?
Hanisch: Yeah, giving people at least a choice between defined contributions and defined benefits.
Lusk: What makes these such pressing matters right now? What’s changed recently?
Hanisch: I’d say more, what hasn’t changed over the last 13 years — that’s an increase in the BSA. So we’ve been flat funded. Put in another way, as the cost of living increases, we don’t get any more money to pay for those expenses in any of the school districts in Alaska. So that’s the pressing issue: districts, including us, we’re getting to the point of near panic over what we’re supposed to do if we do not get that increase.
Lusk: Let’s say a member of the general public hears this interview and they say, ‘Oh, I’m also passionate about those issues. How can they get looped into this?’
Hanisch: You can always be writing letters to our legislators. Specifically, that would be Hoffman and Edgmon. And by the way, our legislators are very much supportive of education, so you’re not going in to fight them. You’re going to say, ‘Keep doing it. Keep doing it. Keep doing it.’
If you’re wanting to testify during a specific committee meeting that’s taking place, the easiest way to access that information is through Gavel Alaska. Just do a quick search on that. It’ll show you any live meetings that are taking place. And then there’ll be a number that you call in. I just did it yesterday, as a matter of fact. So you call in, they’re going to ask your name, which committee you want to go into, and then you’re on a waiting list, and you just listen to everybody else, and pretty soon your name gets called up, and you get between two and three minutes.
Lusk: A little bit like a city council meeting.
Hanisch: Yes.
Lusk: What would you like the general public to know about all of this that maybe we haven’t touched on yet?
Hanisch: We want everyone that’s part of our school community to be inspired to navigate unique and personal journeys.
Well, as the cost of living is going up and no extra money is coming in, to be able to achieve that becomes impossible because we can’t broaden programs. The only thing we can do is narrow what we can offer. It starts cutting into programs that were already [there] because that does take staffing to offer different programs. It starts making us look at class sizes. Students don’t get as inspired in a class that’s really large, and they don’t feel seen.
Those are some big things to really be thinking about. If we don’t have this funding, what’s the risk that we’re losing? Also, without that funding to be competitive in the salary market, people aren’t flocking into Alaska in general. They’re definitely not looking at areas that they can’t afford. It gets disheartening when we know that we’re going to struggle, but we will find quality teachers. They’re out there, but we’re going to be digging. Increasing that BSA would sure help a lot.
Lusk: If we can do a thought experiment for just a moment, I don’t want to think about the next couple of weeks — I want to think about maybe five to 10 years from now. What would you like to see change within that timeline to bring more teachers onto the island?
Hanisch: Have a competitive salary that allows them to show up here and not spend the first year trying to get out of debt. And I think that goes with anyone that moves here. So it’s not just teachers — that’s everybody.
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