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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Alaska Airlines CEO: We found ‘many’ loose bolts on our Max 9 planes. NBC…
- Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said that a new in-house inspection of the Boeing model in the fleet has uncovered that “many” of the planes had loose bolts. - United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in an interview he is contemplating a future for its fleet without the Boeing 737 Max 10, a newer version of the jet. * Related stories… ∙ Bloomberg: United drops largest 737 Max from plan after Boeing missteps ∙ NYT: Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 Lost Nose Wheel Before Takeoff, F.A.A. Says ∙ Reuters: Boeing to pause 737 production for quality stand down on Thursday * Isabel’s top picks… * CNI | Pritzker touts climate investments despite renewables lagging state goals: But the Illinois Power Agency – which handles energy procurement for the state’s utilities – reports that the state is lagging far behind its goals. In its current long-term plan for renewable purchasing, which was published in May, the agency projected that by the 2025 delivery year, only 8.1 percent of electricity will come from sources that qualify as renewable under state law. “Achieving these goals would require a substantial increase in new renewable energy generation,” according to the agency’s report. * Tribune | Paul Vallas facing $10,500 fine from city’s ethics board: The board found Vallas’ campaign committee accepted a $5,000 contribution from an unnamed entity, over and above the $1,500 cap on contributions to candidates for city office, and issued the fine this week. Asked about the fine, Vallas said he had not yet heard from the board about it, and that he donated past excess contributions to charity rather than refunding them to the donor. * Here’s the rest of your morning roundup… * WLPO | Candidates To Replace Yednock In Springfield Square Off Tonight At IVCC: Those expected to give their stances this evening include: Democrats Amy Briel of Ottawa; Cohen Barnes of DeKalb; and Carolyn Zasada also of DeKalb. Republicans going after the House seat are Crystal Loughran of Peru and Liz Bishop of La Salle. * Gov Pritzker, Sens Durbin and Duckworth | Illinois has the tools and talent to power America’s next stage of AI: Leading the discovery of quantum supercomputing and next-generation AI will be what keeps America competitive on the global stage. The future strength of our economy depends on America leading and maximizing these discoveries. * WTTW | Illinois Officials Look to ‘Knock the Dominoes Down’ and Ban Some Additives, Dye Used in Ultra-Processed Foods: State Sen. Willie Preston has a goal: To ensure that when Illinois residents go to the grocery store, they can be confident they’re not buying food “laced with poison.” But that description doesn’t sit well with Illinois manufacturers who say the ingredients are safe. Preston, a Chicago Democrat, is the sponsor of a proposal (SB2637) that would ban a handful of common additives in food made and sold in Illinois starting in 2027. * WBEZ | Chicago charter schools are in a fight for a future in the city: All are guaranteed to be renewed when the board votes on Thursday because there’s a ban on closing schools in Chicago until next year. But most have fought for new deals to stay open up to another 10 years, arguing that would offer stability for their students. Instead, Chicago Public Schools staff are recommending four years or less for all of them, continuing a trend in recent years of short contact renewals. * WTTW | Battle Begins to Ban Natural Gas in New Chicago Homes and Businesses to Fight Climate Change: Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward), the chair of the Environmental Protection and Energy Committee, said the proposal, dubbed the Clean and Affordable Buildings ordinance, was “the first step in a managed, planned process to move away from dirty, expensive gas and embrace a cheaper, cleaner energy future for all Chicagoans.” * Crain’s | O’Hare slipped further behind Atlanta airport last year: Hartsfield-Jackson handled the most flights last year, at 775,818, according to new data from the Federal Aviation Administration. O’Hare was No. 2 at 720,582. But the distance between them is growing: Hartsfield-Jackson had 8% more flights last year than O’Hare, up from a 2% gap in 2022, according to FAA data. A year ago, O’Hare appeared to be closing the gap. A big reason for the change is that fewer but bigger planes are flying in and out of O’Hare. * Crain’s | Wrigley Field sportsbook still awaiting gambling approval: report: “The state moves a lot more slowly than we hoped, but there are signs that they’re moving and we’ll get the license soon,” Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney told the Tribune. “Their inquiries have nothing to do with our connection to a baseball stadium.” * South Side Weekly | WVON Celebrates Sixty Years Of Community-Driven Content: station began its journey in 1963 when it was purchased by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess of Chess Records—the legendary record label that distributed the work of Chicago’s great blues musicians. WVON was born as a music station featuring jazz, blues, gospel, and more. However, since its original purchase, the station has gone through changes in ownership, frequency, and format. * RFT | St. Louis Slumlord Got Federal COVID Relief Funds, Tenants Say: On and off since 2014, Danielle Hopkins has rented from Dara Daugherty, the St. Louis slumlord who was hit last week with a lawsuit from the city accusing her of operating “illegal rooming houses” in 39 condemned houses across south city. * WCBU | DCFS bringing a push to expand its workforce to central Illinois event: Stephanie Ward, a DCFS employment recruiter, says the agency’s staffing level is already the highest it’s been in more than 15 years. “We have over 3,400 employees currently. But we’re constantly seeking new employees to work in the central Illinois area in addition to statewide in Illinois,” Ward said. “There will always be a need for investigators and caseworkers and support staff, so we’re always looking for new employees.”
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- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 9:13 am:
I support cleaner air but still have my worries of unintended consequences from the natural gas ban.
If these new units have all electric heating instead of gas will we have more people in northern U.S. freezing during ice storm events that take out power lines?
- That Guy - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 9:17 am:
Boeing has really shot themselves in the foot due to chasing infinite shareholder growth.
Glad to see a company finally face consequences for its greed, hopefully, it doesn’t kill any more than it already has before airlines move on from Boeing (many have died overseas, the crash in Ethiopia comes to mind. By the way, this was blamed on inexperienced/incapable pilots, before it came out that the Max 9 needed retraining, despite Boeing saying otherwise. Wild that they haven’t faced push back for that).
Such a shame a once great name is now a laughing stock. I bet they’re hoping their gambit into missile production pays off, otherwise, the company will be bankrupt soon.
- TheInvisibleMan - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 10:25 am:
“hopefully, it doesn’t kill any more than it already has”
We haven’t even started to address ATC issues yet. The recent ground collisions are pointing at more serious problems developing. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to take a tragedy before any action is taken.
Last Fall, sept 28th, I watched this in the air with my own eyes and still have the screen capture from a flight tracking app of the event taking place.
A small private plane was flying in the landing path for planes to Midway about 25 miles from the airport. I was watching the flight paths in real time, as well as seeing it in the sky above my house. I watched a 737 (SWA444)coming in on the landing path approaching the path of the small plane. Their paths were going to intersect. I figured surely the small plane would change course at some point. Yet, it wasn’t. At the last minute, the 737 made a sharp bank to the left and then back to the right to avoid the small plane, and then banked back into its planned landing path.
A mid air collision was missed by a mere few hundred feet. At the same FL.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 10:51 am:
deep concern about all passenger planes in use now. old ones getting replaced by new ones where bolts are loose and door/windows not fit makes one very afraid of family flying. very scary.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 11:04 am:
===freezing during ice storm events that take out power lines? ===
Last I checked, my gas furnace can’t operate without electricity.
- former southerner - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 11:13 am:
The difference is with a heat pump, a larger capacity backup generator is needed and if the heat pump uses electric heating assist for very cold weather then it will definitely be out of the class of the small portable generator.
A gas fired furnace can easily be powered by a small generator. I installed a 40 KW diesel standby generator because of a deep well pump, electric water heaters, etc. but for many years a 5KW portable ensured I could keep both HVAC systems running during a winter outage.
- TNR - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 11:28 am:
Setting aside the political obstacles of “they’re-taking-away-your-gas-stove,” the biggest concern about phasing out natural gas heating/cooking is whether the electric grid can take on the added demand. It obviously can’t right now or anytime in the next handful of years, but if the phase-out is gradual enough, the grid can probably handle it decades from now. Then again, all the projections on the energy transition are way behind schedule (as that CNI story points out) so instead of saying “decades” we should probably say “many, many decades” from now.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 11:42 am:
@Rich Miller, bingo on furnace. power went out the other day and I was deeply sad feeling the radiators. fireplaces are still useful.
- yinn - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 12:01 pm:
Thanks for the link to the candidate forum info, Isabel. I would not have found out about it but for coming here today.
- Thomas Paine - Wednesday, Jan 24, 24 @ 2:38 pm:
I think folks are missing the point.
Yes, your gas furnace requires a small amount of electicity. mainly for the fan. As former southerner points out, that can be supplied by a small generator, which few people in the city have, and which you cannot run in a condo or apartment any way.
But it can also be supplied by a back-up battery supply, which is becoming more common, and is an obtainable household item starting around $100.
As TNR points out, part of the issue is whether the electric grid in Chicago can handle the demand of everyone heating their homes all winter long on electric, which it clearly cannot.
The other issue is that even if you do not have heat, if you have a gas range then you can probably boil water, and you can still cook, and as long as you can boil water and cook you are not going to freeze to death in your house.
I have slept outside in a tent with temps between 10-20 degrees and while was cold, i still have my fingers and toes.
The fact is that if Chicago moves forward, as soon as the first person freezes to death in their home during a power outage, the city of Chicago will be blamed, and none of the hypotheticals about gas will matter.